When The Phone Rings Temp 1

Chapter 22

“Wait a minute… Let’s have a proper conversation…!”
― “With you? Is there anything more dreadful than that?”
“Calm down for a second…!”
― “I think it’s you who needs to calm down.”
“No! I’m telling you it’s nothing like that!”

Heeju’s voice rose to a hysterical pitch.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

It was just one photo of a garter belt, how did it escalate into an affair?

‘I did leave room for imagination, but why did he think I was with another man!’

Why didn’t he consider other possibilities, like a paparazzo, a nightclub worker, or a blackmailer? Maybe the photo was taken at a party and passed on to someone else…!

There are so many possible scenarios! Especially when dealing with someone like Baek Sa-eon, who has many enemies…

But why did it have to be an affair…?

Heeju didn’t realize how long she had been quiet on the call. She had no idea how subtle nuances could turn the whole situation around.

She only knew how to parrot what others said and deliver it, but her communication experience was simply too lacking.

Heeju’s mistake turned out to be a classic blunder.

All color drained from her face.

― “406, are you still there?”

Heeju checked the timer and there wasn’t much time left.

She needed to find a breakthrough. Heeju didn’t want her carefully crafted plan to turn into mere love entanglements.

Threats needed to be truly scary, that could deliver a fatal blow. A fiery resolve gleamed in Heeju’s eyes!

“I could be doing this for Hong In-ah as well?”
― “……”

Baek Sa-eon’s breath was abruptly stifled.

“Tell Hong Heeju to leave, because In-ah needs a place to return to. If Hong Heeju is gone… everything will fall into place.”

Heeju’s brows furrowed in painful confusion.

The words that cut into her heart left her breathless as if she were climbing a mountain, struggling for air.

“I told you from the beginning. I said to throw away Hong Heeju and bring back your original fiancée. Don’t you get what that means?”
― “……”
“Then why did you come to that conclusion? I only showed you the photo. I haven’t said anything else.”
― “……”
“Could it be… are you suffering from jealousy? What’s going on in your head?”

Heeju, who had been cornered, shot back sarcastically. She was seeking revenge for the tension she had been under.

― “…I”

At that moment, a sharp laugh echoed through the line.

The fragmented mutterings sounded like words from someone who had just been hit with a harsh truth.

But soon, a cold voice without emotion spoke.

― “406, are you that dumb?”
“What?”
― “The last person Hong In-ah saw before she disappeared was me.”
“……!”
― “Didn’t Heeju tell you?”

…What?

Suddenly, Heeju was left speechless.

Did her sister meet Baek Sa-eon before she disappeared? And that too, as the last person?

― “So, don’t go blaming Hong In-ah and making excuses. Cut to the chase. You’re flustered and can’t even think straight.”
“……”
― “Or maybe, if I really had jealousy issues, would it make it easier for you to admit?”
“……!”

In truth, Heeju was too occupied to digest anything.

The mention of Hong In-ah was too shocking. Her thoughts were in chaos, and she forgot what she was about to say.

At that moment, she was completely frozen and her resolve shattered.

― “No matter what you do, Hong In-ah can never come back.”

The certainty in his voice was chilling.

― “What will you do now I wonder? I think I’ve just eliminated your reason for threatening me.”

Baek Sa-eon spoke in an unusually gentle tone But even as he spoke, Heeju couldn’t stop thinking about her sister.

‘What had her sister been thinking? What had they talked about the night before the wedding? Did Baek Sa-eon know where her sister was?’

― “Then, will you stop with the pointless threats now?”
“Even so, I have to keep threatening you…”

Before her mind could catch up, her words slipped out.

― “I did expect that from you.”
“Still, I’ll say it for the record… we are not having an affair”
― “Is that so?”
“No matter what, I wouldn’t… I’m not a home-wrecker.”
― “Ah.. So you don’t mess with married women? Then were we together before she got married?”
“What? N-No.. What I meant was…!”

Her eyes, which had been unfocused, suddenly sharpened. But by the time she realized her slip-up, it was already too late to take her words back.

― “These days, the world is full of filth. Men harassing or stalking women they’ve dated, and even going as far as killing them… the place is crawling with scum.”

At that moment, Heeju thought she might have finally figured out what provoked him.

― “Do you know how much I despise you 406?”

Baek Sa-eon was a man tightly bound by ego. To get to him, you had to tread on his domain. Even if it was a political marriage, the title of “wife” was still part of the territory he managed.

― “It seems 406 dislikes me just as much. Let’s do this the right way, once and for all.”

Sigh…

Heeju closed her eyes tightly in surrender, deciding to ride the flow.

“…But do you think Hong Heeju only has a mole on her thigh?”
― “…!”
“I had the most fun when I was with Hong Heeju.”

Before the words even fully landed, there was a loud crack and shatter—something had broken.

Heeju flinched for a moment but instead found herself more alert. Her voice took on a hurried tone.

“It didn’t matter to you when I committed arson or plucked out teeth.. I guess I should approach Hong Heeju once again…”

― “Twenty billion. I’ll give you twenty billion.”
“What?”

The sudden offer left her dumbstruck.

― “Instead, let’s meet. Just once.”
“…!”
― “I want to take a good look at 406’s face.”

The timer started blaring loudly.

― “Looks like it’s time for you to run. Why don’t you hang up first?”

Fourth Call.mp3

Heeju collapsed onto the sofa, utterly drained.

 

***

 

“Sir! The analysis of the nursing home’s CCTV shows it’s the same arsonist—!”

The door burst open, and Assistant Park barged in, only to halt abruptly.

Baek Sa-eon stood with his head bowed, leaning on the desk as if bearing the weight of a sin. He radiated an indescribable fury.

His neck bones and broad, mountainous shoulders were contorted in an unnatural way.

With each exhale, his upper body trembled, resembling the jagged movements of a rugged ridgeline.

“…Spokesperson?”

Park Do-jae approached him hesitantly. His voice was much softer than before.

“…D*mn it..”

The assistant flinched.

That reliable, low-pitched voice, known for its precision, was now spouting harsh profanity.

Baek Sa-eon crumpled scattered documents with his fingernails, a feral grin curling on his lips. The normally icy man seemed to be grappling with a foreign hostility.

It was as if a sudden spark had flared up within him.

The ramblings of a deranged soul had traveled down his throat, making him boil.

“When I was young, I had a small fishbowl.”
“Yes?”

Assistant Park’s eyes widened. Such an uncharacteristic preamble from Baek Sa-eon.

“The world was always greedy, noisy, and annoying. But near that fishbowl, I felt at peace.”
“…”
“Of all the things around me, that was the quietest. Just staring at it made breathing easier, for some reason.”

His voice seemed eerie as he spoke.

“I definitely utilised that fishbowl well.”
“…”
“That tiny thing absorbed all the noise of the world—”

The fever made his temples throb painfully.

“It was convenient to have around.”

Sa-eon began straightening his body, slowly.

“But then…”

His usually indifferent gaze took on something alien.

“I found out someone else was secretly siphoning from my fishbowl.”
“…!”
“In that case…was the fishbowl even mine to begin with?”
“…Pardon?”

Park Do-jae was utterly baffled by this line of questioning. Still, a skilled assistant knows how to decipher the core of a statement. Slowly, he rolled his eyes in thought.

“Is this about a new theft incident?”

Baek Sa-eon merely stared at him. But it didn’t seem like his gaze was fixed on the assistant’s face. Rather, he seemed to be glaring at something invisible.

Park Do-jae, tried to respond as best he could according to the mood. His boss never shared personal stories, so moments like this felt like golden opportunities to earn points.

“If the fishbowl’s at home, of course, it’s yours, sir…”

But the man’s expressionless face was terrifying.

“I never once took care of the bowl. I left it in plain sight, assuming it was mine.”
“…”
“I forgot it had a will.”

He tilted his head, letting out a dry laugh.

Park Do-jae quickly masked his shock. Everyone has objects they’re sentimentally attached to. But his boss always had peculiar tendencies.

Then again, maybe it was fortunate he was talking about a fishbowl, not a woman. Otherwise, enduring that icy anger would have been unbearable for her.

“That filthy…”

The man muttered as he swiftly threw on his jacket.

His assistant instinctively knew there was only one thing he could say.

“If it’s just a matter of water, you can always refill it.”

---

TL/N:

Remember the caller id? The first three digits were “406,”  this is why Sa-eon addresses the blackmailer by the number.