When The Phone Rings

Chapter – 03

‘Did my car get hacked?’

If the controllers inside a car get hacked, someone could manipulate the ignition, locks, black box, travel route, radio, air conditioner, engine, brakes, and more.

Heeju wasn’t sure if her car was hacked and sabotaged.

‘If so, who would do such a thing? Who ordered it?’

My in-laws are very famous people, so they naturally have a lot of enemies. Thinking like that a lot of suspicious people came to my mind, like political rivals who clashed with my father-in-law, or groups with grudges against the Sangyong Daily.

‘But out of all my relatives, why would they target me…?’

Her pursed lips loosened in despair.

‘…Am I destined to be a pawn?’

At the same time, the white headlights pierced her retinas like a knife.

Heeju instinctively shut her eyes tightly and raised her hand. Something was coming straight at her.

“A- Ah…!”

Heeju pressed the gas pedal desperately, but the car wouldn’t move. To be precise, a massive dump truck was accelerating down the slippery road toward her.

“D- Don’t come- !”

Panic made Heeju suddenly speak up. Her own voice, echoing in the confined space, felt strangely unfamiliar.

She pounded on the steering wheel and blared the horn. A powerful sense of dread overcame her. And the scent of d*ath was gradually enveloping her.

As the blinding headlights neared, Heeju could only think of one sinister face.

Screeech—!

***

 

The aggressive camera flashes continued till Baek Sa-eon entered the room and shut the door with a bang.

His eyes narrowed as he singled out a few reporters who were not behaving themselves even though it was a non-press briefing.

Soon the atmosphere became tense.

Sa-eon was the most prominent man in the Blue House, the youngest, and the most elite.

“I am about to share sensitive information with the people present.”

Despite having hundreds of hawk-like gazes Sa-eon remained nonchalant.

For days, Baek Sa-eon stayed at the Blue House, attending daily senior staff meetings and counter-t*rrorism team meetings.

Even after fielding calls from relentless media outlets from dawn until midnight, he showed no signs of fatigue.

In fact, his sharpened, intense eyes had a frightening gleam.

“The kidnapper groups and our government are communicating indirectly through the media.”
“…!”

The briefing room murmured.

“They are watching our press coverage and adjusting their stance accordingly.”

While standing at the blue podium, his usually cold face became even sterner.

“Therefore, I urge all media outlets to exercise caution in their reporting. Please avoid posting personal grievances or government criticisms that could be misconstrued by armed groups.”

He rolled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch.

“5:02 p.m. As of this moment, the government is enforcing a temporary media blackout.”
“What does that mean…!”

The stunned reporters murmured.

“An embargo? Is this an embargo¹? Is the situation that serious?”
“Spokesperson, you know this infringes on the public’s right to know. Does the government really desire this? Should we take your words as it is?”
“We’re not parrots…! Are we just supposed to repeat whatever you feed us!?”
“Spokesperson, isn’t this suppressing journalistic independence and editorial freedom?”

Even as the reporters laughed sarcastically and raised their voices, Baek Sa-eon did not blink.

He simply observed the reporters with the same expression he had when he entered.

Standing calmly like the eye of a storm, he muttered, “I’m doing this because your careless writing might get the hostages killed…!”

It was a murmur, but since he spoke into the microphone, no one missed Baek Sa-eon’s comment.

But he continued speaking calmly, “Please wait until the negotiations are complete.”

Sa-eon’s calm facade left the reporters questioning if they had hallucinated his last, shocking revelation.

“There’s no extra room for interference in this negotiation. Don’t ruin it by crying about your ‘right to know.’”
“…”
“And let’s get this straight. You’re not doing this to learn the truth; you’re doing it for personal gain: the thrill of writing, the desire for attention, driven by some kind of superiority complex.”
“……!”
“No citizen wants to hear news of a hostage being brutally sl*ughtered.”
“……”
“So don’t disgustingly mask your frustration and disappointment as if it’s for the public good.”

A frosty jab deflated the boiling atmosphere.

“Life is more important than knowledge, and stirring things up at the risk of human life is not a right- it’s cruelty. At least in this case.”
“……”
“Just understand that your silence right now will save our citizens who have been taken hostage. And willingly support the negotiation team on-site so they can do their job without distraction.”

His grip on the microphone tightened.

“If anyone here screws up with their wording and another hostage ends up dead—”

The sound was muffled by his hand over the microphone, but the reporters understood Baek Sa-eon’s warning clearly.

As soon as Baek Sa-eon finished the briefing and stepped out, an aide quickly handed over his belongings.

“Sir, your phone has been ringing nonstop.”

Without replying, Baek Sa-eon strode away with long steps. The phone was almost hot from the number of calls it had received.

Hundreds of calls from media outlets, alternating between familiar and unfamiliar numbers, had flooded in. The battery was draining just from sitting idle.

A rare flicker of frustration crossed his face as he clicked his tongue and glared at the unknown number.

“Send me the negotiation team’s timeline as soon as it’s updated.”
“B- But sir, why didn’t you go there yourself?”
“What do you mean?”

Baek Sa-eon’s icy gaze spurred the aide to speak quickly.

“I meant the on-site negotiation team. Isn’t that normally your specialty?”
“……”
“Your mother was the country’s first negotiator, and you have a master’s in political science, plus you’ve been trained in hostage negotiation by the FBI.”

Baek Sa-eon didn’t spare another glance at the junior staffer who knew his resume inside out. His steady pace remained unchanged.

“And I heard the president secretly hoped you would go.”
“Enough with the chatter—”

The insistent ringing of the phone shattered the silence. Baek Sa-eon yanked at his tie. Frustration was evident.

Sa-eon couldn’t simply turn it off.

He furrowed his brows in irritation but habitually memorized the number. His dry eyes glanced briefly at the aggravating screen and then looked away.

The battery was only at 5 percent anyway.

He almost wished it would die and go dark for good.

 

***

 

Am I dead? Did I just die and come back to life?

‘Hah..!’

The massive dump truck barreled past, narrowly missing the car. The side mirror shattered, and the door caved in from the force of the impact.

‘…!’

I lay there, paralyzed with fear, my face pale. I was hesitant to move.

Hee-Joo slumped over the steering wheel, gasping for air. Already, various parts of her body ached, and her sweat-soaked clothes were damp and uncomfortable.

‘Can I even make it home safely?’

My eyes were already glazed with fatigue and my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t even grip the steering wheel.

‘But who…?’

Suddenly, her hair stood on end.

Out of instinct, she glanced at the rearview mirror, feeling a strange sensation as if something was scratching at the back of her neck.

“…”

And the moment she made eye contact with a man who looked like a homeless person, she gasped.

“Ah- !”

Before she could scream, a figure crawled out of the trunk and lunged over the backseat.

The man, who had been smirking, clamped a hand over Heeju’s mouth. His arm came around from behind, pinning her head against the seat. A pungent, sour smell filled the air.

“Hmph, ugh…”
“Are you surprised, sis?”

Everything happened in an instant.

“…W- Who… ugh…”

Her attempt to ask who he was was muffled by the hand covering her mouth. The man reeked faintly of paint thinner. Her body began to tremble like an aspen tree.

“Right.. It should be Baek Sa-eon. Baek Sa-eon!”
“…”
“Let’s call him. I know his number. I know Baek Sa-eon’s number. Baek Sa-eon’s phone… Yes, we have to call.”²

His bushy curls bobbed as he inclined his body towards the driver’s seat.

“You’re now the hostage. A hostage! You know the people on the radio had been saying something about hostages nowadays.”
“…”
“So you be the hostage, and I’ll be the demander. Like the one who makes the call.”

[ Starting navigation ]

The navigation system, which had been reset, automatically set a destination and displayed a road map.

“Sis you drive.”
“Ugh…”
“And I’ll make the call.”

---

 

TL/N:
[1] Embargo- news that is released to the public at a specific time, often with a strict restriction on its publication or broadcast before that time.

[2] The kidnapper’s dialogue might sound a bit weird to the readers. Probably he’s an addict or going through some kind of relapse. This is why his dialogues are sometimes slurred, sometimes incomplete, and repetitive.

[3] ML’s aide addresses him as Seonbae/선배. Most likely, because he’s a senior to him at work. But I decided to go with ‘Sir’ because it’s more relatable to us.