Chapter 10
“…Huh?”
―“Go on. Continue.”
“…?.. S- So I stabbed her in the cheek with a knife.”
Is this how things are supposed to go? A strange, tingling sensation prickled from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
―“And then?”
“You hung up on me, remember? That’s when things escalated.”
―“What did you do?”
“I don’t even remember everything because of how intense it was, but she started it. She just went crazy. She must’ve gotten some serious bruises.”
―“…”
“She was soaking wet and her clothes were ruined…”
A sharp, cutting laugh echoed faintly, almost too faint to catch.
“Hello? Are you still there?”
Goosebumps crept up from her neck; it wasn’t her imagination. But no matter how long she waited, there was no response from the other end of the line.
Heeju winced as she rotated her sore shoulder.
In the midst of debating whether to call out to him…
―“I’ve never been this curious about a man’s face before.”
“…”
―“Forget about peaceful surrendering, Sa Gong Yuk1.*”
“…!”
―“This is going to be amusing.”
His disinterest, once palpable, evaporated, replaced by a focused intensity. The sudden shift in intensity left Heeju flustered.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. What she wanted was cooperation, not abnormal curiosity.
More precisely, she wasn’t expecting a disturbing fixation on the “blackmailer”.
What had gone wrong? What had she missed? A chill crawled up the back of her neck, the kind that made her feel like prey under a predator’s gaze.
At that moment, the timer she had set to nine minutes blared.
“D*mn it…!”
She frantically pressed the end-call button.
First Call.mp3
Was this a complete failure, or did it somehow work? Her heart pounded in trepidation.
***
Shortly after hanging up, the door lock beeped and clicked open.
‘Oh no…!’
A surge of panic propelled Heeju towards her room. The brazen confidence she had while on the call disappeared as though it had been nothing but intoxicated bravado.
Pressing her ear against the door, she tried to guess his movements.
“Phew…”
The silence outside suggested he had gone to his room. Heeju slid down against the door, as the tension gradually dissipated.
‘What was I thinking? What have I done? Hong Heeju, you’re insane!’
She had actually done it. She had actually called her husband to blackmail him.
Her hands trembled as she gripped her phone tightly.
Then came a knock.
“Hong Heeju, come out.”
“…!”
Did Baek Sa-eon ever come to this room? Had he caught on? But how?
She kept staring at the closed door in panic. Scrambling, she hid the “negotiation phone” under her pillow.
“I’m coming in.”
Another knock followed, indifferent and perfunctory. He clearly wasn’t waiting for permission as the door swung open immediately.
“…!”
Sa-eon stood expressionless. Against the ivory wallpaper, his figure was striking.
His gaze scanned Heeju from head to toe.
‘No way… Did he figure something out?’
She swallowed hard.
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
The vibrating phone in his jacket pocket broke the tension.
Without breaking eye contact, Sa-eon retrieved his phone. The fluidity of his movements—from unbuttoning his coat to swiping the screen—was unnervingly smooth.
Even while on the call, he gave no verbal response, merely listening. Words like “scrapped… confirm…” drifted faintly from the speaker, likely he was talking to a subordinate.
After ending the call, he let out a dry laugh.
“Come closer.”
…Had she misheard him?
When she stayed rooted in place, he crooked two fingers impatiently.
The mix of irritation and annoyance on his face was oddly unfamiliar. Before she could react, he grabbed her arm and yanked her forward.
“Ah—!”
Heeju bit her lip to suppress a gasp.
Sa-eon turned her arm this way and that, inspecting small scratches. Tugging down her loose shirt, he examined the bruises on her shoulder, then tilted her face to check her scalp.
His touch was devoid of gentleness.
“What’s this?”
His gaze lingered on the rounded contours of her shoulder.
“I asked you a question, Hong Heeju. What is this?”
She silently adjusted her shirt, unsure how to answer.
‘Well, even if you ask I can’t speak…’
She had a pretty good idea of what he was doing. He was verifying the blackmailer’s claims.
‘But why?’
Whether she was injured or not shouldn’t matter to Baek Sa-eon. Confusion flickered across her face.
“If you can’t answer. Just nod or shake your head when I ask.”
He pressed his temples briefly before correcting his tone.
“Was there a car accident?”
His hardened gaze remained locked on hers.
…She nodded.
At her small movement, his expression twisted.
“You really went through an accident.”
“…”
“Did it happen on October 6th, sometime between 5 and 6 PM?”
When he uttered the exact date and time, Heeju flinched for a split second, but her expression remained unshaken.
She kept her face as lifeless and melancholic as usual.
“And you even had the car scrapped.”
With his hands on his hips, he lowered his head. His chest swelled and deflated like he was taking a deep breath, though no sound of suppressed breathing escaped him.
“So…you’re saying you really got hurt that day.”
“…”
“That b*stard really…”
His muttered words were chilling enough to make her shiver.
It seemed he was finally beginning to believe the blackmailer’s claims, realizing that the call had been anything but a prank.
His previously detached expression began to contort, slowly but unmistakably.
Heeju watched the change unfold right before her eyes.
‘Finally…!’
The threat she had aimed at him had finally hit its mark.
“There must’ve been someone who approached you.”
He suddenly leaned closer.
“Did you see the guy’s face?”
“…”
Startled by his icy glare, she instinctively shook her head. She moved her hands as if trying to explain, miming someone putting on a mask.
“He wore a mask, so you couldn’t see his face?”
To her surprise, he immediately understood her fumbling gestures.
She nodded fervently, maintaining her innocent act despite having actually seen the man.
“That b*stard… What did he do?”
His tone was so low and flat it barely qualified as a question.
“Head, lips, cheekbone…”
His slow, deliberate gaze traced over the areas he murmured.
“Did he touch you anywhere else?”
“…”
“The car even rolled off.”
His calm voice turned sharper mid-sentence.
“You crashed, and ended up soaking wet.”
Heeju clenched the hem of her pants, wondering why he was pressing her like this.
‘I don’t even hold any value as a hostage.’
Her mind was filled with question marks as she tried to make sense of his apparent concern for her.
“Even after all that, why didn’t you tell me?”
Baek Sa-eon spoke through gritted teeth, his words coming out in clipped fragments.
He said he would ask questions that could be answered with a yes or no. By the time she looked back at him, his expression had already returned to its usual neutral state.
“…”
“…”
As she stared at him in silence, his gaze narrowed.
For a fleeting moment, she realized it had been a long time since they had looked each other in the eye like this.
Heeju quietly tapped her empty ring finger, then pointed at him before miming a hand around her neck.
His sharp gaze turned razor-like. He clearly understood what she was implying.
I was sent here as your hostage.
No matter what, she was still a hostage. What use would it have been to tell him anything? She shrugged lightly, as if to say, it wouldn’t have mattered either way.
“I’ll assign a bodyguard to you. Stick with them for now.”
“…!”
Heeju’s eyes widened as she’d been swallowing her frustration. She crossed her arms in an X and shook her head vigorously.
Baek Sa-eon’s eyebrow arched slightly at her reaction.
“Doesn’t matter if you don’t want to.”
He tugged irritably at his once-immaculate tie.
“It won’t take long.”
Was that confidence in his ability to resolve this quickly?
“I’ll book a hospital appointment. You’ll get checked.”
Heeju stared at him with conflicted eyes, trying to decipher his intentions. Baek Sa-eon rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze sweeping over her room.
The small bed and desk. The thick stacks of books and glossy monitor. The pastel stool and the dainty vanity.
His indifferent eyes lingered on each piece of furniture, steeped in traces of daily life.
“That piece of shi*…”
“…!”
He cursed under his breath.
She had heard him use thousands of polished, formal words on news broadcasts, during speeches, and even on the Blue House podium.
But hearing such an unfiltered expletive from him up close was a first.
“So, he wants to play games with me.”
Heeju flinched involuntarily at his words. But seeing his reaction now, she was certain of one thing.
‘…my plan worked!’
