When The Phone Rings

Chapter – 04

Heeju complied, extending her hand to grasp the steering wheel.

“Do what I tell you. D- Don’t stop till we reach the destination.”

The hot breath brushing her ear felt revolting.

Confined with an unknown and clearly unstable individual, Heeju was overcome with terror. Her sweaty palms rotated the wheel.

Beep… beep…

The familiar tone of the dialing phone drew her attention. The man, holding a rather large telephone, placed it on speakerphone.

Beep… beep…

As the tone dragged on, the man started trembling like an alcoholic going through withdrawal.

Beep… beep…

Although Heeju was aware of his increasingly ragged breathing, she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead.

― “Yes, this is Baek Sa-eon.”
“…!”

The sound of his voice caused her to tremble. Despite the tenuous nature of their marital relationship, his voice still evoked a strong emotional response.

A choked sob escaped her lips, but her mouth was only clamped down harder.

― “If you don’t speak, I’ll hang up.”

Sa-eon’s weary tone suggested that he was getting irritated.
The kidnapper’s lips twitched in annoyance.

“B- Baek Sa-eon w- what I mean…”
― “This doesn’t seem to be a Korean number.”

Sa-eon’s voice moved slightly away, then closer again. It sounded like she was double-checking the number.

“H- Hey l- listen…”
― “Who are you?”

Baek Sa-eon asked stiffly.

― “Please identify yourself.”
“K*ll. I’ll k*ll her!”
―“…”
“I kidnapped her. Your wife, I’m going to k*ll her.”

The kidnapper’s voice turned louder as he rambled on.

Heeju moved towards the center and tried to take control of the wheel. Her back was already drenched in a cold sweat.

“…”

There was a chilling silence over the receiver.

I thought I heard a short chuckle, followed by the words, “What kind of nonsense…” and then a short expletive, but I couldn’t be sure.

― “I don’t engage in phishing calls.”

With a sarcastic retort, he hung up.

The kidnapper spat on the floor and slammed his head into the compartment box in disbelief. But Heeju felt the impending horror.

“Arghh.. Sis.. listen to me..”

The man gritted his teeth.

“If Baek Sa-eon keeps doing this. If he hangs up on me again, if he ignores me again… I- I”
“…”
“I’ll k*ll you.”

Heeju sucked in a sobbing breath and swallowed.

“Do you know where we’re going now?”
“…”
“Here. Look at the map. We’re heading to the lake.”

I turned my eyes to the screen and saw the address.

“You’re going to end up in the water,” He chuckled.
“Baek Sa-eon should show some curiosity for you to survive.”

‘…I’m really screwed,’ Heeju thought again.

 

***

 

“Sir, is something wrong?”

Baek Sa-eon, engrossed in his thoughts, remained focused on his phone, disregarding his aide’s query.

“Should I charge your phone?”

The aide, perceptive and eager to please, was hardly on his radar.

Baek Sa-eon’s phone number was public knowledge, especially among political reporters. But a few years ago, when someone who left the journalism field leaked his number, he had to deal with all kinds of pranks and threatening calls.

However, no one had ever called claiming to know his “wife”— Not even once.

The man with the furrowed brow snorted and dialed somewhere.

― “Yes, sir.”

The person Baek called was the head of the house, who was in charge of scheduling.

“What is Hong Heeju’s schedule for today?”

He had never enquired like this before and got straight to the point without even a greeting.

“An appointment with my mother, yes, understood.”

He repeated the information he got from the other side.

So, she was meeting his mother at Chairman Hong’s house. But the uneasy feeling didn’t go away, so he tapped his fingers on the table.

He turned his phone back on.

“Mother, what time did you leave Chairman Hong’s house today?”

After a point, Baek Sa-eon had stopped changing his number to avoid calls from madmen.

Instead, he just blocked numbers relentlessly. It’s no wonder he was called the impenetrable shield of the house. Nothing could make him weaver. But one word from the caller kept bothering him.

Sa-eon pressed his throbbing temples.

‘That girl…’

She was six years younger than me. I couldn’t forget her curious eyes when she was looking at me in my elementary school uniform.

“She’s probably still at home. No, it’s fine. Goodnight.”

Baek Sa-eon’s suspicion wasn’t quenched so he made another call.

“This is Baek Sa-eon. Yes, how have you been? Is Heeju there right now?”

Would his in-laws know something? His mother-in-law chuckled confidently, certain that his wife would be well- cared for, as women often feel most at ease in their maternal home.

“She’s fine, then.”
“Of course, she’s fine,” his mother-in-law said proudly.

After ending the three calls, Baek Sa-eon tightened his once-loose tie.

His wife’s whereabouts, which he hadn’t disclosed publicly…

‘How could anyone know? Am I reading into it too much?’

“It should be a typical phishing scam.”
“What?!”

His aide was startled.

“406-000-1290.”

He recited the numbers dryly, resting his chin on his hand.

“Trace that number.”
“What…?”
“Did you memorize it? That..”
“406-000-1290.”
“4 0 6- 0 0 0 -1 2 9 0.”

The aide repeated the number as the office line rang loudly.

The fumbling junior aide grabbed the receiver quickly.

“Yes, I’ll notify him!”

Through the window, rain continued to pour. And a shadow was cast on Baek Sa-eon’s face.

“Sir, they need you on the hotline right away. The Argani government has reached out for urgent communication. They’re waiting for you!”

Baek Sa-eon glanced at his phone, which was down to 4% battery, before finally jamming it into his pocket.

 

***

 

Beep… beep... Another call signal went through.

“Answer it, answer it, answer it…!”

The road stretched onward, leading Heeju to a place she had never been. It was an increasingly desolate area.

The kidnapper kept calling like crazy, but none of the calls went through.

His face had turned red due to anger and he started kicking Heeju’s seat relentlessly.

“Ugh…!”

The violent kicks sent shocks through her body. She clutched the steering wheel, enduring the queasy vibration. Hoping this ordeal would end soon.

‘Should I scream?’

If Baek Sa-eon answered, she could beg him to help, to save her…! But would he even recognize her voice?

After all, Heeju had failed her sign language interpreter’s exam three times because her voice just wouldn’t come out.

If she spoke, he would probably think it was a fake.

“This b*stard! He’s ignoring me again…!”

Seized by a fit of rage, the kidnapper clambered into the passenger seat and began to search beneath it. A moment later, he pulled something with a scrape, and suddenly, a knife was in his hands.

“…!”

‘W- Why is that in my car…? How long has it been there?’

“Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer!”

With a crazed look in his eyes, the man jabbed the headrest beside her repeatedly.

Riiiiipp

The torn leather hung in tatters like fish scales and the metallic sound made her right ear freeze with fear.

The blade was pressed so close to her ear that if it had been even slightly closer, it would’ve pierced through.

Heeju exhaled a shaky breath through pale lips.

The kidnapper banged his head against the window while repeatedly calling.

‘This man is completely unhinged.’

Her hands shook along with the wheel as she tried to stay steady amidst his erratic mood swings.

Beep… beep…

‘Please, just answer already…!’

Just as she began wishing for it, the kidnapper’s face suddenly went cold. His excitement was replaced with an abrupt calmness.

“Ah, sis, I made a m- mistake. I totally forgot—”

He played with the phone, showing a broad smile.

“I didn’t modulate my voice.”

Despite the foul odor, his profile was youthful and well-defined.

His creepy eyes and sudden emergence from the trunk were terrifying, but his fingers danced across the phone with practiced ease.

“What happens if they catch me, sis?”

He didn’t seem worried at all.

“This phone has no SIM card. I modified it. Modified it by myself.”
“…”
“So it can’t be traced. It’s a burner anyway. T- They can’t trace it.”

Since the knife had sunk into her headrest, Heeju kept her eyes on the road, refusing to look away.

“There’s a small device installed, like what the police use for secure communications? I put it in here. It doesn’t use signals but can directly call Baek Sa-eon. All calls lead to him. I- I even put a voice modulator here.”

Heeju gulped in fear as this kidnapper was far more thorough than she had imagined.