Chapter 13
—“Do you smoke?”
“…What?”
—“I asked if you smoke.”
“N- No. I don’t.”
—“How much can you drink?”
“T- That… I’m not really sure…”
Heeju reflexively answered the rapid-fire questions. The topics had nothing to do with the blackmail, which only made her drop her guard even further.
—“Are you married?”
“N- No. I’m not. Wait, why are you…”
—“When did you lose your virginity?”
“…Pardon?”
The formal, monotone voice made the blunt question even more jarring.
Heeju thought she misheard what Sa-eon had said.
“Did you ask about my… virginity?”
—“When did you first use your lower half?”
“…!”
How could the presidential spokesperson, of all people, say something so crude?
Heeju’s jaw dropped. She was like a fish gasping for air.
Baek Sa-eon had always maintained a flawless image as a student council president. Wherever he went, he commanded respect, a natural-born leader who effortlessly drew others to him.
The closest thing to rebellion in his life had been a brief stint as a war correspondent in his early twenties, wandering through conflict zones like Tikrit, Fallujah, and Erbil.
He had always been a man others looked up to, which made this uncharacteristically vulgar tone all the more unsettling.
—“Answer you pervert.”
“Wait, who are you calling a pervert?”
—“The one fantasizing over cheap spam photos, harassing people, and slandering my wife. Are you aware this falls under the law against indecency using telecommunications?”
“Spam photos?!”
Did he know how much effort she put into taking those?!
—“There’s a certain standard to blackmailing.”
His previously neutral voice suddenly turned mocking.
—“Acting so desperate makes you look pathetic.”
At that moment, the timer went off. She should have ended the call there, she really should have…
— “Don’t waste your time on something so easily disproven. If you want to threaten me, at least do your homework. Don’t drag her into this. I know better than anyone how honest she is.”
Just then, something snapped inside her.
How dare he, just a husband in name only, act like he knew everything about her?
“Then check for yourself! See if her thighs look like the photos or not!”
She realized only after spouting the words. No, no, no, this wasn’t what she meant to say…!
Heeju fumbled to hit the end call button. She knew that she had messed up big time.
Second Call.mp3
Something had gone very, very wrong.
***
“Sir! We’ve locked onto the signal!”
Mr. Park, his aide, burst into the office. His face was lit up with excitement.
The stark, minimalist office, overlooking the city, was a perfect reflection of Baek Sa-eon’s cold, calculating nature.
“We’ve narrowed it down to the Yeongdeungpo, Seocho, Gangnam, or Songpa districts. Those extra seconds on the call paid off!”
Indeed.
But Baek Sa-eon simply stared at his disconnected phone in silence, his expression hardening with the passing time.
“S- Sir?”
“The more I engage with that lunatic, the more my patience frays.”
“Wait… S- Sir?”
His startled junior immediately stood up, noticing the pressure.
“How could anyone drag Heeju into something so vile… using her name like that…”
With a blank expression, Baek Sa-eon idly tapped his phone.
His carefully constructed world had begun to crumble. For a man who had always steered his life with precision and command, this kind of disruption was deeply unsettling.
“When I asked if they were married, they hesitated for a moment before changing their answer.”
“Excuse me?”
“People reveal their truth in moments of urgency.”
Baek Sa-eon rubbed his sharp jawline thoughtfully.
“He’s married. Most likely dissatisfied with the relationship. Might have gotten divorced, or considering it. Let’s work within that range.”
“Understood.”
“Also, look into men who’ve recently purchased or repaired a car.”
Park nodded, absorbing the instructions like a machine.
“They stumbled over sexual questions. There could be a complex. Check for redcent s3xual offenders and scour the dark web.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Park Do-jae recognized the danger in his superior’s frosty tone. Baek Sa-eon was someone who grew colder the angrier he became.
Do-jae’s eyes briefly fell on a twisted pen left on the desk, but he quickly looked away, pretending not to notice.
Then, his gaze landed on an out-of-place, worn photo frame— a reddish sunset captured in poor resolution. The photo seemed out of place in the polished, metallic office.
“Should we trace the origin of this photo as well…?”
But before Park could finish, Baek Sa-eon froze mid-motion.
“Didn’t you know there’s something distinctive about Hong Heeju’s thighs?”
“Is it because you never paid attention, or… you’ve never spread them apart before?”
The distorted voice from earlier resurfaced in his mind, sparking a foreign surge of anger.
He bit the inside of his cheek, grinding down the unfamiliar emotion.
“…Sir?”
“Never mind.”
The man closed his eyes, drawing his hand back with practiced composure.
Failure was never an option.
Baek Sa-eon’s ambition had always aimed for the pinnacle of power—the one thing that moved his otherwise emotionless self.
Power meant never having to obey, and the ability to shamelessly take what belonged to others. That ruthless, tantalizing force was something he had coveted all his life.
Out of nowhere, a pest had appeared.
An anonymous blackmailer was trying to undermine his position, dragging him into a sordid scandal.
“You abandoned your longtime fiancée and married your soon-to-be sister-in-law.”
“That’s what I’m planning to expose.”
“Ditch Hong Heeju and bring back your original fiancée.”
Pretending to go along with demands was always the first step in negotiations.
Baek Sa-eon had no intention of letting anyone tarnish his life, and he wasn’t someone burdened by guilt or conscience to begin with.
His plan was to placate the blackmailer just enough to establish rapport and then extract everything down to the marrow.
But-
“Why do they keep targeting her?”
Several of the blackmailer’s moves were explicitly aimed at Hong Heeju, leaving him in an inexplicable dilemma.
Even pretending to comply left a sour taste in his mouth.
That morning, he had already faced the task of delivering the president’s “regretful” statement on the increasingly prominent issue of dating violence.
And now, this.
The blackmailer had demanded 2 billion won, down to the exact amount of a penalty clause of their marriage contract. Coincidence? Unlikely.
Details only someone close would know about his arranged marriage.
The way they spoke was as if they knew Heeju well. And then, that photo…Yes, that photo.
It wasn’t a fake. The shape of the knees, the mark, even the curve of the foot and toenails at the edge; it was undeniably Heeju’s body.
Outwardly, they acted like a mere opportunist looking for a quick payout. But beneath the surface—
Baek Sa-eon’s expression turned icy.
The blackmail, the demands, the motives; none of them added up.
“I’ll observe him a bit longer,” he said while rolling up his sleeves after undoing his cufflinks.
***
‘I’ve dug my own grave.’
Heeju had fallen into a restless sleep after hours of tearing at her hair in frustration.
Perhaps because she had spent the entire night tense and curled up, she woke with a vague sense of unease.
The room was dim, lit only by the faint glow of the city. Through her blurry vision, she saw a large figure looming.
“…!”
The shadow moved closer, stepping silently toward the bed and bending over her. Her sluggish mind struggled to process the happenings.
The man pressed his palms and knees into the mattress, leaning in until their eyes met. His sharp features were accentuated by the faint light and deep shadows.
Heeju tried to sit up, but he moved faster.
“You’ve been quiet until now,” Baek Sa-eon muttered, pressing her shoulder back down.
“I thought you’d stay obediently within my control.”
“…”
“Was I mistaken?”
His face was expressionless, making his pale complexion all the more out of place.
“Lately, nothing makes sense.”
His cold eyes glinted in the dark, the same detached gaze she had grown used to—one that saw her as an object, not a person.
But this time, beneath the chill, there was something else. Not heat, exactly, but… a kind of stubborn pride and arrogance.
“Heeju.”
His gaze trailed from her face to her lips, collarbone, and loose top, then further down, over the outline of her legs under the thin blanket. The icy gaze slid over her like a serpent.
“If you knew what I wanted to confirm, you would faint on the spot.”
“…!”
Smirking, he grabbed the blanket with one hand. The problem was, that his other hand had seized her leg.
She tried to resist, but the blanket only rustled weakly under his grip.
“There’s no way I don’t know everything about you, Heeju.”
His cold face made her want to look away.
The fingers drumming lightly on the blanket seemed to be deliberating as if deciding what to do next. When he tightened his grip, a sharp tingle radiated from her thigh.
“Your name has been grating on my nerves lately.”
“…”
“You’ve been far too loud.”
What did that mean by that?
Heeju lay frozen in place. After a long pause, the man finally stood up.
“There will be an opening for a sign language interpreter at the Blue House soon.”
Heeju blinked in confusion.
“It’ll be safer for you there than at home. It’ll be easier to keep an eye on you as well.”
…What was that supposed to mean?
“If you don’t want to get dragged into father’s circus-like campaign, do whatever it takes to secure that spot next to me.”
With that parting remark, he left the room without looking back.
Heeju remained paralyzed for a long time. She spent the rest of the night wide awake, staring at the ceiling.
