When The Phone Rings

Side Story 02

“Aren’t you concerned about your health?”

At that, the hand gripping her soft, round cheek released her without resistance.

“…Fine, I was wrong. I’ll quit smoking.”

Baek Sa-eon muttered as he ran a hand over his grim expression, his voice in surrender stripped of any sharp edges.

“But just one last time.”

He lifted Heeju by the waist.

“…!”

Instead of leaning down, he hoisted her up to his eye level and pressed his lips against hers as if to consume them.

“Mmm…!”

He wanted to steal the bitter, tangy flavor that lingered in her mouth.

He wrapped his tongue around hers, pulling her deeply into his mouth in a way that felt obsessive as if he were attempting to cleanse her of some unseen impurity.

In the stifling heat, sweat clinging to her skin and the clatter of the old fan a constant drone, she kissed him, tasting the bitter tang of cigarettes on his lips.

Half a year ago, Heeju could never imagine this future.

“Haa…”

He opened his mouth, a predatory glint in his eyes, gently nibbling at her lips as a wave of desire washed over him. Sa-eon’s teeth grazed her lip as their tongues intertwined, the rough surfaces of their tongues pressing together.

A brief break in their embrace allowed a puff of noxious smoke to escape. He frowned in disapproval.

“Don’t ever do something like this again, even as a joke. It’s really bad for lungs like yours.”

There it was again—treating her like some immature child. Heeju pressed firmly against his shoulder in defiance, certain she had used significant force, yet he remained completely unmoved.

“How old do you think I am? Stop talking to me like that!”

Baek Sa-eon chuckled softly and ruffled her hair.

“It’s because you mean the world to me.”
“…!”

He pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face into the crook of her neck as if to eliminate any space between them.

“I’m sorry, Heeju.”
“?”
“I was too busy holding onto you to even notice my own feelings.”
“…!”
“I thought wanting something meant simply keeping it near me. That’s what I’ve always learned—how to possess and occupy things that weren’t mine to begin with.”
“…”
“But looking back on the years I kept you like a fish in a bowl, I regret it.”

For a moment, Heeju pressed her lips together, feeling her nose sting.

“I never even considered sharing your loneliness, your pain.”
“…”
“I believed there was nothing wrong with our marriage. Just knowing you were always within my sight, being able to lose myself in your tranquility after work. That was enough for me.”
“…”
“I found comfort in the evidence of you— the way your presence lingered on the sofa, a reminder of our shared moments.”
“…”
“You made our house a peaceful, comforting place. Coming home to you was the only thing that eased my fatigue.”

Heeju blinked her trembling lashes slowly.

“So I deluded myself into thinking we could live like this forever.”

His lips brushed softly against the pale skin of her neck.

“Until 406 called me that is.”
“…!”
“Once the illusion crumbled, you were all that remained.”

Finally, he lifted his head to meet Heeju’s gaze.

“You’re my everything, Hong Heeju.”
“Ah…”

Heeju bit her lip, trying to hold back the wave of emotion surging within her.

“You’re the water that enveloped me with comfort.”

Once again, his lips met hers, pressing, gliding over her tender surface, exploring her delicate inner walls.

Baek Sa-eon could never forget the fishing ground that had changed his fate, but he longed to immerse himself in the small, watery world of this girl— a droplet that sheltered only him.

“I regret not holding you closer, not cherishing these moments sooner.”

With all the barriers gone, only a man discovering love for the first time remained, showing his clumsy way of love. Stripped of his name, his family, and left with nothing but his bare self, yet he wore a strangely liberated expression.

“I want you to give me my new name.”
“…!”

Heeju, startled by this unexpected task, pointed to her chest with a trembling finger.

“M- Me?”
“If not you, then who else?”
“Maybe someone professional, or a respected elder with deep knowledge of Hanja…”
“No.”

The refusal was firm.

“I want you to do it. I want to be reborn from your lips, Hong Heeju.”
“…!”

Her heart stuttered facing Sa-eon’s deep, intense gaze.

 

***

 

Afterward, she fell ill.

She had endured countless trials, both physical and emotional, leaving her body battered and bruised.

Her muscles ached terribly, and places she couldn’t even mention were sore, leaving her bedridden for some time.

She ate meals brought to her on schedule and only left the bed for bathroom breaks. But being in a foreign land, nestled in the arms of the man she found, wasn’t so bad. Even as she panted with fever, she found herself smiling at times.

“Ridiculous.”

Although he always scolded her sharply, Hee-joo cherished the moments when he would gather her into his arms like a child, gently wiping the sweat from her brow with a tenderness that belied his stern words.

“When… did you start liking me?”

Heeju looked at him with labored breaths. Baek Sa-eon smirked, one corner of his mouth twisting upward.

“I still can’t believe Hong Heeju talks this much. When did your personality change?”
“I’m just not embarrassed anymore.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s why I dared to threaten you and even played phone s3x with you.”
“…!”

The way she sweetly pronounced those words so clearly made his eyes narrow momentarily.

“I’m the type of person who, when cornered, will always find a way to push through.”
“…”
“I really, really like you.”

Heeju grinned and rubbed her nose against his chest. Her voice was tinged with affection. Baek Sa-eon sighed, but he didn’t seem displeased. In fact, his neck muscles tensed as he quickly turned his flustered face.

“I appreciate your openness, but be mindful.”
“What?”
“Every word you say makes my blood rush.”

When Heeju blinked in confusion, his eyebrows raised slowly in a suggestive tilt.

“I’m hard now.”
“…!”
“So… what are you going to do about this?”

Baek Sa-eon was already pressing his heated body gently against her again.

Heeju fanned herself with her hands. Then, in a voice hoarse with embarrassment, she suddenly blurted out something that had been on her mind.

“But… why did you pretend not to know?”
“Know what?”

He raised an eyebrow as if puzzled by the strange question. Heeju squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again with a groan.

“You knew all along that I was 406! Why did you act like you didn’t… even though you already knew!”

The tips of her ears burned red like cherries. Baek Sa-eon leaned in and captured one of her crimson earlobes in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue before responding.

“Because that was the only way I could talk to you.”
“…”
“That was the price I had to hear Hong Heeju’s expensive voice…”

He paused and let out a sigh, realizing the lengths he had gone to for her. The memories of what they had done over a single phone left him momentarily speechless.

“And I felt so betrayed. I thought… you were playing around behind my back!”
“Did you really think I would be with 406 while I’m with Hong Heeju?”
“Well…”

The man kissed her creased brow, softly tracing over it with his fingers to smooth it out.

“I didn’t even care about my dignity and touched myself there just for you to hear.”
“…!”
“When your calls were even a little late, I was so anxious, wondering if something had happened. I never imagined I would end up waiting for 406’s calls like Pavlov’s dog.”

At last, Heeju began to understand his behavior—the actions she had viewed through a judgmental lens.

What she had thought were signs of emotional infidelity turned out to be his attachment to her. Her heart raced under the weight of this sweet, possessive love.

“Then… what do we do now?”
“What do you want to do?”

The question she had struggled to voice was thrown back at her. For them, who had left their homeland behind, the life ahead would be nothing like the sheltered existence they once knew. A foreign land, political unrest, senseless deaths, and a precarious life that offered no room for complacency.

And yet—

“I’ll stay with you, no matter where that is.”
“…!”

The man furrowed his brow slightly before suddenly grabbing the back of her head and pulling her into a kiss. His tongue surged into her mouth, a wave of warmth washing over her. Their lips met with a fierce intensity, their noses brushing together.

Their bodies, entwined, heaved with heavy breaths, the air between them thick with the scent of desire and the heat of their passion. Then, as Sa-eon’s wet lips parted from hers momentarily, he spoke.

“Let’s go back to Korea.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not going to let us live like wanderers forever.”
“…!”
“Don’t live like a fugitive for my sake, and don’t think about enduring hardships.”
“…”
“So, let’s go back home.”

For a moment, confusion flashed across her face as if to ask how, but then—

“Marry me, Heeju.”
“…!”
“I need to reclaim my place by your side.”

The world dissolved into silence, a ringing in her ears the only sound. Yet, despite the shock, Heeju surged forward, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck.

The man caught her weight effortlessly, chuckling softly. Who laughed first, neither of them could tell.

The rustling of the sheets grew louder and deeper. Heeju willingly surrendered to the tide of pleasure, giving him all of herself without hesitation.

And so, the days of being unable to leave the bed continued yet again.