When The Phone Rings

Chapter – 01

What happened was a broadcasting mishap.

『It was truly a record-breaking torrential rain. With the longest continuous rainfall in history, a nearby mountain collapsed, forcing about 500 villagers to evacuate to a temporary shelter…―』

A small problem had occurred during the weather updates. Whether it can be called a small blunder depends on perspective.

The origin of the issue is a small oval, taking up a sixteenth of the screen, approximately.

Heeju, the sign language interpreter, occupied that space. Currently, the frame was frozen where she was flicking her middle finger.

‘What the…!’

Heeju was panicked and unable to process what had just happened.

From outside the studio, she could faintly hear the director standing up and yelling through the thick glass wall.

‘Nothing like this has ever happened before…!’

Suddenly realization hit Heeju and she forced herself to continue. Her expression never wavered as she looked at the prompter.

But one second, two seconds, three seconds… passed. Yet the frame was stuck.

‘I’m screwed…’

My eyes kept darting around as I continued to move my hands.

The prompter^[1] was still aggressively displaying the word ‘Mountain!’.

Meanwhile, the control room was in utter chaos. The PD^[2]  was clutching his head, and the assistant director was shaking his head in frustration as he answered the phone.

Thankfully, the screen soon transitioned to a reporter’s live field report.

Finally, Heeju exhaled, wiping her flushed face.

“Miss Interpreter, are you okay?”

When the news writer approached, Heeju gave a blank nod.

‘I think I need some medicine.’

The director was still nervously bowing repeatedly as he seemed to explain the situation to higher-ups.

Technically, she was supposed to have her middle and thumb fingers open to sign “mountain,” but due to a technical difficulty, the frame froze when only her middle finger was up.

It would be ideal if this mistake were accepted as an unforeseen error, but often, the louder voices won.

And just as expected, the director came back with a darkened expression after his call ended.

“Heeju…Um… I’m really sorry, but…”

He scratched his messy hair with a nervous look.

“Breaking news!”

At that moment, the control room door burst open with a bang and the assistant director rushed in.

“Due to a kidnapping case, the Blue House^[3] spokesperson is giving an emergency briefing!”
“What?”
“They’ve sent a direct order from the Blue House requesting simultaneous broadcast on all stations!”

The director’s expression immediately changed, and he quickly put on the headset that was loosely hanging around his neck.

“Get the breaking news caption up and have Anchor Park smoothly transition!”

The deep navy background took over the screen where the logo of the Blue House dominated. The spokesperson of the Blue House appeared, erasing the previously awkward atmosphere like a wave.

He was dressed in a flawlessly tailored black suit. And his sharp eyes were focused straight to the camera.

Heeju watched him without even breathing.

“Heeju, could you do a live interpretation right now…?” The director trailed off, sounding hesitant.
“I- I’m sorry. L- Let’s talk about it later.”

He hurriedly withdrew with an awkward look on his face.

“We’ll proceed with the Blue House briefing without sign language interpretation!”

Heeju began to get a sense of what the director was going to say.

‘Am I going to be replaced?’

A bitter taste overlapped her mouth as Heeju stood up and grabbed her bag from the corner of the studio.

Perhaps it was because, as a child, she couldn’t speak due to aphasia, but at times, the world around her felt like an aquarium.

Drowning in the sea of silence, she struggled to find her voice. Her words, like fleeting bubbles, popped before they could fully form. Growing up in this muffled world, Heeju learned to speak with her hands.

This one job suited her well, but now even that has gone wrong.

A familiar feeling of helplessness washed over her once more.

『Good evening, this is Baek Saeon, spokesperson of the Blue House.』

But that man was different.

A low, firm voice stopped Heeju in her tracks. It was a voice she seldom heard. Probably this was also a reason why it struck a steady, sharp resonance.

Her heart skipped a beat, as it did every time.

『Negotiations began this morning for the sixteen of our citizens kidnapped on the 5th in southwestern Argan…』

As the staff gathered around the large monitor, a sense of quiet anticipation filled the room. Their posture, stiff and formal, betrayed the underlying tension.

The same went for Heeju.

『A government task force has arrived on-site, conducting two face-to-face negotiations, but two hostages have been killed. The armed group demands an immediate withdrawal of Korean troops and a ransom payment…』

The spokesperson’s tone was devoid of any emotion, yet reassuring.

『They warned that if their demands are not met, more hostages would be killed…』

Saeon’s gaze, locked on the camera, was both fierce and unyielding. His dark hair and eyes contrasted sharply with his cold, pale skin.

The man delivering the words of highest authority possessed many qualities she lacked.

An exceptional political talent with astute instincts of a confident orator.

He was famously quoted as saying, “Don’t think of the government as a plaything,” in reference to the lax attitude of reporters.

The president required a tenacious spokesperson, as every press interaction was a high-stakes confrontation.

The youngest-ever Blue House spokesperson, he maintained his position without blemish or threat of removal.

While past spokespersons had a high turnover rate, often resigning or being dismissed due to corruption, harassment, external pressure, or controversial statements, Baek Saeon had an unblemished record, entirely free from scandal or rumor.

『Now, I will share the Blue House’s stance on this matter.』

His grip tightened on the podium as he inclined towards the microphone. His gaze, steady and intense, was fixed upon the audience.

Even the briefest silences were purposeful, a calculated display of authority. At the age of thirty-five, he commanded public opinion with a skill that seemed almost innate, a legacy inherited from his distinguished family.

He was born for this.

Baek Saeon, in himself, was authority.

『There will be no negotiation with the kidnappers regarding a ransom.』

His piercing gaze made Heeju flinch.

“Don’t delude yourself into thinking we’re a couple.”

Those ruthless words overlapped with the disdain in his voice.

“You were sent as a hostage to my side.”

The last time they had a conversation was ironically the first day of their marriage. For three years, they existed in a state of silent estrangement, their roles as spouses reduced to mere formalities.

From the start, Heeju had barely spoken, and her husband treated her as if she were invisible.

Their seventy-square-meter “newlywed” home was always chillingly cold, and she saw her husband more on TV than in their house. Can this be termed as a deeply unhappy marriage?

『We will not, under any circumstances, compromise on the principles we must uphold.』

Heeju habitually fiddled with her bare finger without a ring. And yet, she couldn’t take her eyes off her husband, who she held resentment against.

She had foolishly clung to her feelings for him since their first encounter.

 

***

 

“Dear, don’t you think it’s time to quit your job?”
“…!”

She was expecting this conversation to pop up.

Heeju paused, her grip tightening around the steaming teacup before releasing it. Having ignored her mother’s persistent calls, she had inadvertently found herself in a sudden meeting with her mother-in-law.

She found it strange to see her mother and her mother-in-law sitting side by side.

Her mother-in-law, a professor at Korea University from a family of scholars, and her mother, the former top singer of Club Siren who eventually became the Chairman’s legal wife after being his mistress—what an odd pair they made.

And now, for some reason, these two were sitting together, hounding her.

“In a month, the election campaign will kick off. So, you should quit your job and join your father-in-law’s campaign.”

Although her mother-in-law’s tone was soft, Heeju felt an instant headache.

She had seen this coming.

“With Saeon working in the Blue House, he won’t be able to participate in the election campaign. But if you join, you’ll be a strong ally.”

Heeju clenched her tingling hand.

A marriage was arranged between a major newspaper seeking a kingmaker and her father-in-law, the next major presidential candidate.

Baek Saeon’s family was involved in politics. His great-grandfather had been Korea’s first vice president, while his grandfather had served as chief justice, member of parliament, auditor general, chair of the National Election Commission, and a political party leader—essentially, he had done everything but be president.

Their sole objective was to secure a presidential victory, a goal that had eluded the grandfather three times. To solidify this alliance, Heeju was ‘temporarily’ sent as a political pawn.

As the day before the wedding,
Baek Saeon’s real fiancée, one of the main protagonists… Heeju’s step sister… had vanished.

---

 

TL/N:
[1] Prompter- A teleprompter, also known as an autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script.
[2] PD- Producer/ Director
[3] Blue House – A pavilion that formerly served as the presidential residence and the diplomatic reception halls of South Korea from 1948 to 2022.

Also if readers feel distracted by the manhwa images you can let me in the comments, I’ll avoid adding them in future chapters!