Chapter 14
‘Was yesterday a dream?’
Heeju stifled a yawn, her hands were busily in motion.
“As stated in the medical report, the patient underwent emergency surgery to repair a ruptured testicle, but the prognosis is extremely poor.”
She was in the courtroom, interpreting in sign language.
As a freelancer, Heeju was assisting the center director at court that day. They were frequently dispatched to courts, prosecution offices, police stations, and hospitals. Currently, Heeju was interpreting everything spoken aloud to a deaf defendant.
“That b*stard fell on his own while acting crazy!”
The defendant’s wife was fuming. She slammed her hands on the stand.
The case was regarding a wife cracking her husband’s testicle with a ladle.
“Who do you think drove me to the edge with baseless jealousy?”
Clutching her chest, the wife glared at her husband seated across the courtroom. It was a tangled case of injury by negligence and a divorce lawsuit.
“We submit evidence in the form of medical reports indicating years of domestic violence suffered by the defendant at the hands of her husband.”
“Your Honor, any intentional harm to a critical organ causing physiological damage should be given priority in determining intent…”
“We also submit recordings of the husband’s verbal abuse and death threats, along with text messages and photos of his extramarital affair…”
The arguments on both sides were heating up, and Heeju, who was faithfully interpreting the lawyers’ statements, found herself drawn into the case.
When an audio recording of the husband’s voice was played, a hush fell over the courtroom. The words were too vulgar to repeat.
The wife covered her face in grief.
Now, all that remained was the judge’s decision.
Suddenly, the wife, who had been sitting with her head down, looked at Heeju with a peculiar expression.
Heeju started interpreting her words.
‘I couldn’t fix him.’
‘…Pardon?’
‘There are always early signs. I should’ve escaped when I first noticed it.’
A faint, bitter smile tugged at the wife’s lips.
‘Don’t ever let your guard down. A husband can become your enemy in an instant.’
‘….’
‘I’ve lived my entire life as a deaf person, but the most problematic thing I faced wasn’t related to hearing… it was… my own husband, the man living in my house.’
‘…!’
‘Communication? It was impossible with a man like him.’
For some reason, Heeju avoided her gaze.
‘Do you have anyone like that at home, Miss Interpreter?’
‘Who knows…’
‘Then don’t regret it later, like I did.’
The doors opened, and the judges returned to their seats. With a cold expression, the wife signed one final remark.
‘I should’ve smashed both of them instead of just one.”
“…!”
Heeju felt a shuddering sensation.
***
“Heeju… My dear Heeju!”
The director shook her shoulder.
“Were you even listening to me?”
‘Yes?’ Heeju blinked.
“I asked what you thought of interpreting in court. Do you want to keep doing it?”
Heeju stopped walking and fell into thought.
The courthouse hallway was bustling with people. Prosecutors and judges in robes, detainees being escorted by officers, and others arguing loudly or sobbing uncontrollably.
Heeju licked her dry lips.
Blackmail, defamation, cyber crimes, wiretapping violations… For the first time, she reflected on the outcome of the deeds she had committed.
The adrenaline rush, unchecked, had blinded her to the impending danger.
“Heeju, are you feeling sick?”
‘No.’
She assured the director with a faint smile.
‘Court work… it’s too nerve-wracking for me.’
“Huh? What do you mean?”
If I kept coming here, I’d feel too guilty to commit any crimes myself.
The defendant’s wife’s expression wasn’t unfamiliar to Heeju. The day she smashed the glasses, her face looked the same.
***
As a child, Heeju’s classmates often played a game called ‘Mafia’. Players who would be assigned the role of a mafia would work their schemes during the night phase. Similarly, it was time for the blackmailer to begin their activities.
Ring! Ring!
Heeju gripped her phone with a more desperate expression.
‘But what happened that day?’
When Baek Sa-eon had approached her the night before, she had instinctively braced her thigh.
Heeju had provoked him, daring him to verify the truth, and she was prepared to bear the consequences.
Yet Baek Sa-eon had simply mentioned the sign language interpreter position and walked away as if to show that no petty blackmailer could sway him.
Was it a declaration of trust in his wife? Or just arrogance? She couldn’t tell.
The ringing stopped.
“Hello…”
―“I’m busy right now. Call back later.”
Before she could finish speaking, he hung up.
…What?
Heeju stared blankly at her phone in disbelief. Her expression froze, then swiftly twisted in irritation.
‘How dare he ignore a blackmailer? Is he nuts?’
Fuming, Heeju jabbed the screen, dialing again.
Ring! Ring!
Being the one to initiate the call had always been her form of control. It was supposed to be Baek Sa-eon who felt the pressure, not her. Her audacious strategy… her fragile sense of power…had just crumpled like paper.
Heeju’s lower eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
“Baek Sa-eon, don’t you dare hang up—”
― “I can’t talk now.”
“Wait…!”
― “At this point, I can’t tell who’s more desperate.”
Her voice rose, “If you keep this up, I won’t let it slide! I mean it!”
― “Then wait.”
“What?”
― “If you’re that eager to talk, keep waiting.”
“…”
― “A penalty like this is necessary for an overexcited pervert.”
What the…
― “Call me back in five minutes.”
He hung up again before she could retort.
“Argh!”
Heeju let out a hysterical cry and threw her phone onto the bed.
Those five minutes were, without exaggeration, the longest in her life. She repeatedly picked up the phone to call again, only to despise herself for acting so obsessively.
Setting the phone aside, she took a deep breath.
‘You lose the moment you lose your patience.’
Blackmailers weren’t supposed to beg or seem desperate. Gnashing her teeth, she waited out what felt like five days before cautiously dialing again.
Ring! Ring!
This time, she resolved not to lose her cool.
‘I AM very calm.’
― “Does it feel good to act like a clingy dog?”
‘…phew.. stay calm.’
― “Keep groveling like that. Who knows? Maybe I’ll toss you a bone to chew on.”
‘Don’t react, Heeju.’
― “What do you say? A muzzle might suit you.”
“Do you want to die?!”
The composure she had barely mustered evaporated like a dandelion fluff in the wind.
“What are you even trying to pull here?”
Thinking her threats lacked weight, she decided to go online that very day and expose everything. Grinding her teeth, she declared, “I’m not letting this slide. You’ll regret it later!”
― “That’s why I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
“What?”
― “That temper of yours… if not me, who else could possibly fix it?”
“…Hah. You’re d*ad meat, Baek Sa-eon!”
Just then, a loud bang erupted through the receiver, followed by a distorted static noise.
“Hello? Hello?”
A piercing beep assaulted her eardrums. She dropped the phone and instinctively cupped her ear, wincing in pain.
“What the h*ll…”
She scrambled to pick up the phone from the floor, but the line was already dead.
Her ear kept throbbing in pain.
“Ah…!”
In a fit of rage, Heeju concluded that Sa-eon orchestrated the audio attack to maintain dominance. She massaged her ear, still smarting from the unexpected assault.
Her third attempt at a call had been completely derailed.
“Is he insane!”
***
That night, Baek Sa-eon didn’t come home.
Even in the past, when he was out late, he would always return before dawn.
For the first time since their marriage, he spent the night away.
***
The next morning:
『“At approximately 10:07 PM last night, a fire broke out in an office in Yeouido, causing significant casualties. Here’s Kang Soo-ji from JBS with the report.” 』
The TV was telecasting the morning news as Heeju dragged her feet into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, piling side dishes onto the counter.
『“A man wearing a black jumper and cap was seen carrying a white container up the stairs. He retrieved something from his bag and entered the fifth-floor office.”』
She was opening the lids leisurely.
『“Moments later, flames erupted, and thick smoke engulfed the area. People inside scrambled to escape downstairs, but the smoke quickly consumed the building.” 』
Yesterday, Baek Sa-eon had stayed out. There was no need for him to come back. But this matter made Heeju turn and toss the whole night.
‘Or was it a nightmare?’
She tilted her head in thought.
『“This office space, where six people were injured, is still shrouded in smoke. Fragments of computers used by the victims are scattered inside. Overhead fixtures, likely dislodged by an explosion, have fallen onto desks.” 』
Heeju practiced her signing absentmindedly while pouring rice from the rice cooker and preparing her utensils.
『“A single shoe, left behind, hints at the panic during the incident. From the empty office, the victims’ phone continues to ring incessantly.” 』
The persistent ringing on the TV made her glance up. Unbidden thoughts of Baek Sa-eon surfaced again. Her throbbing ear was a reminder of the bizarre antics.
『“The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes, but six individuals were found collapsed from toxic gas inhalation. They are now receiving treatment for their injuries.” 』
She finally took her first bite of rice.
A glance at the TV showed the scene had shifted to a newsroom.
『We’ve exclusively obtained audio recordings from the suspect. The recordings reveal that he frequently made threatening calls to the victims and even warned them about the incident beforehand…』
The spoon suddenly slipped from Heeju’s hand.
