When The Phone Rings

Chapter 63

“Am I not allowed to talk back to you?”
“You…!”
“You used your own daughter to secure your position, but I can’t even speak about it?”
“……”
“If we’re going to do this, let’s make it fair!”

Her older sister, who had been dozing off nearby, jumped awake at the raised voice. In-ah instinctively stepped between the two, trying to mediate, but it was no use.

Heeju, who had completely snapped, wasn’t looking at her mother with the kind of gaze that could be suppressed. Even In-ah was momentarily overwhelmed.

“I know you hate me.”

“……!”
“There’s no way you could see me favorably. I’m the result of your past, stitched together. Watching me grow up in a chaebol household with good food, nice clothes, and a luxurious room must have been unbearable at times.”

Kim Yeon-hee’s face turned ashen.

“When you came back after hearing people gossip about your background, you would always come looking for me. You would nitpick and mock me over the smallest things.”
“……”
“You felt suffocated until you could see me being treated worse than you. I was your only comfort in the cold, desolate world of the rich.”
“……!”
“You wanted me to be more miserable than you.”

Heeju straightened her back.

“But the truth is, you can’t live without me.”

Kim Yeon-hee’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t refute a single word.

“Stop surviving by sacrificing me.”
“You…”
“I’m not going to be your sacrifice anymore.”

Heeju took deliberate steps backward, putting distance between herself and her mother. Kim Yeon-hee reflexively reached out her hand, but Heeju brushed it aside without hesitation.

“I don’t need you anymore.”
“……!”
“Nor will I have any sort of affection for you.”

She recalled the image of the empty urn she couldn’t bring herself to fill. To truly begin loving, one first had to learn how to sever ties. It was a truth she had realized far too late.

“I have learned to live perfectly without you now.”

***

 

When had she last opened those blackout curtains? Heeju tried to remember.

Since the funeral, she hadn’t stepped out of her husband’s bed. She drifted off to sleep, hoping that when she woke up, it would all be a dream.

She didn’t watch the news and lived like the dead. And so it went for a day, two days, a week, two weeks, a month…

If it weren’t for her older sister, who would come by with food every now and then, she would have starved to death.

“Hey, Heeju… How long are you going to lie there?”

“…….”

It wasn’t as if she had shared a grand love or made some profound vows with Baek Sa-eon. Yet, she had lost all will to live.

She had fought so hard not to end up like her father, but when she finally came to her senses, she realized she had become exactly what she had been running from.

Staring blankly at the dust floating in the air, Heeju murmured, “It wasn’t that I wanted to escape an arranged marriage…”
“Yeah.”
“I think… I think I actually wanted it.”
“……!”
“I think that’s what I truly wanted all along.”

Words that had once seemed so impossible to say now came out calmly.

Compared to the pain of losing him completely, they felt like nothing at all. Words so simple to say had festered into bitter regret.

“But he was your fiancé, so I kept it hidden deep inside. I didn’t want people to sneer at me, saying I’m just like Mom who coveted someone else’s man. I just kept suppressing my feelings.”
“……”
“And sometimes, it felt suffocating.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah… I hated enduring and swallowing everything just to avoid people’s judgment. Sometimes, I even thought about disappearing altogether. But in the end—”

Heeju paused, unable to continue.

It wasn’t easy to hold back the lump rising in her throat.

“He’s the one who disappeared.”
“……”
“I was wrong. The one left hurting was me, and the one who dissolved into nothing was him.”

The pillow quietly absorbed her tears.

Perhaps her father didn’t lose himself because he was betrayed by love but because he hadn’t given his all. Because he hadn’t thrown himself fully into the pain. That regret gnawed at a person from the inside out.

Every night, the recurring vision of his retreating back ended in self-loathing. The loop of regret never stopped spinning in his mind, draining the very life out of Heeju.

“……!”

Sunlight flooded the room as her sister yanked open the blackout curtains. Heeju squinted, shielding her eyes.

“Do you want to go outside with me?”
“……”
“It’s snowing out there, and you’re thirty now.”
“……!”

Heeju, who had been buried under the blanket, suddenly lifted her face.

“…I’m thirty?”
“What? Yup. The new year has already passed.”

At those words, Heeju, who had been lying like a lifeless chicken, sprang up from her spot. She began hastily changing into whatever clothes she could grab.

Hong In-ah stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.

“Hey… What’s gotten into you?”
“I have to go out”
“What?”
“Pretty shoes… And a bag,” Heeju muttered mechanically.
“I need to buy those.”
“What?”

Hong In-ah was mesmerized, her eyes fixed on Heeju as she darted about the room like a whirlwind.

***

And so, thirty-year-old Heeju bought herself pretty shoes and a bag.

Ten days later, she found herself cleaning floors at an animal shelter. Spending the whole day playing with the dogs left her utterly exhausted.

Among them were a few with drooping ears who just stared out the window. Heeju’s heart clenched as she gently stroked their frail backs.

Another ten days passed.

This time, she went to a karaoke bar and refused to let go of the mic. Her sister and Han Joon, the director of the sign language center, awkwardly shook tambourines on the side. Screaming out high notes left Heeju feeling oddly refreshed.

Ten days later, she visited an artist to have her gloomy face immortalized in a portrait. Sitting still for so long was unsettling, but the final painting was starkly different from a photograph.

Did Baek Sa-eon want to see this? The thought briefly crossed her mind.
Another ten days passed, and Heeju dined out. But even then, her sister and Han Joon, who had tagged along, kept stealing glances at her. That night, she threw up all the food she had eaten.

Ten more days passed, and Heeju started exercising. Since he had told her not to get sick, she figured she would start by soaking in some sunlight.

Walking through a park near her house, she saw a phone booth being dismantled. She promptly turned around and went back home.

Ten more days passed.

Now, Heeju was researching ways to stop thinking about him. But it was no use. She had tried everything he had instructed her to do, yet she couldn’t regain her energy.

There was nothing left to try.

***

“Director Han, is there any work for me?”

Heeju visited the sign language interpretation center for the first time in a while. Her face was still pale and worn.

“Work?”
“I’ve been resting for too long.”
“Well…”

Han Joon scratched his eyebrow.

“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Well, there is one job… but I’m not sure if you can handle it.”
“What do you mean? What’s there that a sign language interpreter for the Blue House can’t handle?”

Heeju absentmindedly tapped the fresh flowers on the table.

“You’ve never done voice interpretation before. I still feel awkward talking to you like this. Don’t you think you need some time to adjust?”
“It’s fine. My tongue’s loosened up enough from all the arguing.”
“What?”
“…It’s a long story.”

Her detached, unenthusiastic response made Han Joon sigh deeply. His gaze, intense and unwavering, seemed to probe the depths of her resolve.

“The interpretation is needed for the bride’s speech at a Wedding Hall.”
“……!”
“Can you do it? If it’s too much, you don’t have to force yourself—”
“No, I can do it.”

Heeju replied calmly.

***

The wedding hall adorned with flowers was stunning. This job involved interpreting a deaf bride’s speech for the wedding guests.

Heeju, wearing a neat two-piece suit for the first time in ages, sat among the guests. Even as the ceremony progressed, she remained expressionless, glancing at her wristwatch.

“―And now, for the final segment, the bride has prepared a speech for the groom! Interpreter, please join us on stage.”

The emcee announced the final event.

Heeju stood up and took a deep breath. The bride, dressed in pure white, recognized her and gave a slight bow.

Heeju grabbed the microphone, focusing on the bride as she began signing.

“To my beloved groom.”

It was her first voice interpretation. Her voice trembled, but the serene tone flowed steadily. Heeju’s gaze remained fixed on the bride’s hands and her lips moved automatically.

“It’s been such a long time since we first met. Back then, I had nothing, but now I’m a salaried employee.”

In one corner of the hall, Han Joon watched discreetly with crossed arms. Nervously, he bit his dry lips. As if he could miss Hong Heeju’s first voice interpretation…!

Heeju was finally becoming a full interpreter, but Han Joon couldn’t feel the joy.

“I owe so much to you, but I’ve always been too reserved to express it. So today, I want to take this chance to share my feelings.”

His expression grew serious at that moment.

“Thank you for always embracing me and loving me—”

Heeju’s voice began to waver.

“When you embraced me more deeply than my parents ever did, I felt a sense of rebirth…”

Heeju abruptly stopped. The guests started murmuring. But when the bride caught her eye, she managed to pull herself together.

“―and solace.”

The microphone trembled visibly in her hand.

Han Joon knew this wasn’t caused by nervousness. This was Heeju’s feelings…

His chest felt heavy.

“Thank you for scolding me sometimes. Because of you, I’ve become a better—”

Again, her voice faltered. Her lips quivered as she fought back tears.
“I’ve become a better… hic… a better… hic…”

By now, the bride, seeing Heeju’s tears, also grew misty-eyed. The sight of the interpreter crying before the bride drew laughter from the guests, but Han Joon couldn’t join in.

“A better person— sniff…!”

That day marked the 100th day since his passing.