Chapter 54
Baek Sa-eon.
The eldest grandson of the late Assemblyman Baek Jang-ho. The only son of the next presidential candidate and a professor at the prestigious Hankuk University, Shim Gyu-jin.
The man she had seen for nearly 20 years, secretly liked, and even married… was not the real one.
‘And… the real Baek Sa-eon is the one threatening me…’
Goosebumps spread across Heeju’s body. It was all so jumbled, but at the same time, the picture was coming together. The entire world had been deceiving her.
When she heard her sister was back, all Heeju had expected was a clean divorce— nothing more.
‘But a confession…?’
The reappearance of the real Baek Sa-eon, whom everyone thought was dead toppled her world.
Because of this shock, even though she was in the same city, Seoul, it took her over five hours to get back home. Her mind was still in chaos, unable to sort out a single clear thought.
‘The story turned out to be The Prince and the Pauper…’
I often heard at the parties that Baek Jang-ho was very fond of Baek Sa-eon. He only made his appearance public once he was attending middle school. As a result, none of the relatives saw him grow up.
It’s not surprising that the child would have changed in the middle.
If the child had been swapped at some point, no one would have known.
But what about his parents, who lived in the same house? Could they have known and kept the secret from everyone? Why? For what reason?
Sitting in the dark, Heeju clasped her phone like a lifeline, her thoughts spiraling.
‘Then who… is Baek Sa-eon?’
No, the man who lived pretending to be Baek Sa-eon—
The man I loved—
What kind of life did he lead? A boy who couldn’t cry freely, a boy who was kept hidden behind walls. Scrawny, pale, reluctant to eat, with a sharp tongue that always got him into trouble. The boy I fell for.
“I thought we finally, just finally managed to connect…”
I dared to imagine that we might have a different future.
Wiping her reddened eyes, Heeju picked up her phone. Her hand went up reflexively as the ticking clock showed 10 pm.
‘There might be some misunderstanding. I need to hear it from him.’
Ring! Ring!
I have to ask him.
― “Yes, 406.”
His voice was tired, but it was also full of joy.
There were so many things I wanted to ask, but my throat felt hot. The suffocating silence, her sister’s muteness, and his demands that made her feel like a hostage— It was all too much.
But the pain of unspoken feelings, the chasm between them, hurt even more. Covering her swelling eyes with her arm, Heeju spoke.
“I heard… something unbelievable.”
Her lips trembled.
“It’s shocking enough that the Blue House spokesperson might make it to the front page—”
― “…”
“They say Baek Sa-eon… isn’t Baek Sa-eon.”
― “…”
“Does this even make sense?”
But the other end of the line remained silent. She was used to his silences, but not now. Now, it was terrifying.
“Say something! Anything!”
Her voice, rising with desperation, cracked sharply.
“This is grounds for divorce!”
― “…”
“Now, Hong Heeju has every right to demand a divorce!”
Her words carried an edge of indignation.
― “If I get divorced…”
Then, a low, rough voice scraped through like nails on metal.
― “…And go to 406, will you accept me?”
“What?”
― “I’m asking if I can come to you.”
“What is that supposed to mean…?”
Disbelief washed over her, her face contorting in a mask of betrayal.
“…Did you just say you want to meet 406?”
― “Why not?”
The corners of Heeju’s eyes twitched.
“I always knew… I knew you were duplicitous, that you were a two-faced person! But Hong Heeju… Hong Heeju still…”
What could she even say? That she had loved him? That she wanted to believe in him? That she thought they could have a different ending?
But a woman as destitute as she was couldn’t bring herself to say such things. The raw honesty of the moment was too vulnerable, like a fragile truth that left her defenses stripped.
Her pride bristled, sharp as thorns. Heeju knew better than anyone the humiliation of pleading and clinging.
“No. I won’t meet you.”
She narrowed her eyes and said with determination.
“Even if you throw everything away, get a divorce, and come to me…”
― “…”
“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you so much.”
― “…”
“From the very beginning, from the moment I first saw you, I hated you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have called you endlessly with those tiresome, threatening calls.”
Suddenly, something broke inside her, and tears welled up. She didn’t understand this heat rising in her throat—was it anger? Or was it resentment?
All she knew was that she wanted to scream and cry, but she couldn’t stop herself from speaking.
“I should’ve never made that first call… I should’ve just let things wither and die. I should never have had this experience. I shouldn’t have talked to you so much. I should’ve just stayed ignorant…”
The unsettling calls, her only point of contact with the unknown, gradually unveiled a disturbing truth about her husband’s life.
They had subtly altered the dynamic between them as a couple. But now, it all felt unbearably bitter.
Heeju moved on and entered the man’s bedroom, her gaze lingering on his coat draped over the nightstand chair.
― “Do you regret the things you did with me?”
“…”
Heeju silently wiped her tears, lifting the coat. She buried her face in the coat. Just hours ago, his scent had been so comforting.
“Who the hell… are you…?”
― “…”
“If you’re not Baek Sa-eon, who are you?”
Her voice was barely above a whisper. But the man still offered no excuse, no explanation.
Heeju hugged his coat and closed her eyes tightly. Then she blurted out a question that was too terrible to utter.
“Were you… there when Baek Sa-eon died?”
― “Have you figured it out already?”
“……!”
His answer, a tacit admission, froze her.
― “When did you start working with him?”
“Who?”
― “Baek Sa-eon. The one who helped you disguise your voice as 406.”
“…..”
She had wanted to believe it wasn’t true, that it was just a devil’s whisper. But her stiffening neck and numbing fingers betrayed her disbelief.
So it’s true…
It really is true…
―”Did he threaten you?”
“No.”
― “Baek Sa-eon is dangerous. If you get involved with him-”
“I said no!”
She shouted. Hearing him refer to “Baek Sa-eon” as if it were someone else felt strange and wrong.
You’re Baek Sa-eon! Why do you keep speaking like this…! The confusion and turmoil swirled.
“No matter what it takes…”
Heeju’s face and voice turned red as she screamed.
“Even if it was a mess, even if it was just once, I wanted to live my own life! I wasn’t blackmailed into this. I just wanted to be free of all the chains.”
Chains from her family, from his family, from Baek Sa-eon, and even from the quiet, voiceless self she had been.
Every time she picked up the phone, she felt like she was shedding a layer.
“I just wanted that, and you… you…!”
It was you. It was you who shook my resolve. That day, something had ended between them.
― “If I confess everything to 406, what changes?”
His voice, sharp yet subdued, broke the silence.
― “What could I say to a woman who just wants to be free?”
“…”
― “My words might just become another chain for you.”
His words were laced with unspoken pain.
― “Or… if you pity me, would you finally distance yourself from Baek Sa-eon?”
“What are you talking about…”
― “I was there when Baek Sa-eon died. Yes, I was there. He drowned in the river, and I just stood there watching. I watched him drown in the clear water from start to finish—”
“Stop.”
— “I saw it all, from beginning to end.”
“Stop! Just stop!”
Heeju collapsed, burying her face against her knees. Their ragged breaths tangled violently through the phone line.
Now she seemed to understand the true nature of the nightmare he had been having ever since childhood. The face this man had always seen in his dreams was actually Baek Sa-eon’s perspective of his own face— a recurring nightmare.
“Ugh…”
Swallowing her sobs, she clung to her arms and asked in despair, “What were you thinking… Why did you…”
A faint chuckle drifted through the line.
― “Why…?”
His voice, low and crushed, dragged out the word. It was devoid of any emotion.
It was the most barren, desolate tone she had ever heard from him.
