Special Side Story 03
“What do you mean by that? Lies?! Are you saying you can’t lie?”
The neurologist asked, adjusting his sliding glasses. His eyes narrowed in disbelief, as he had never heard of such a weird condition.
Baek Sa-eon pressed his throbbing temples and shot a glance at his assistant. It was a silent cue for him to explain something that Sa-eon didn’t want to repeat.
The young man beside him stepped in immediately.
“It’s not a joke, and this isn’t some media stunt.”
“But still….”
“He’s concerned there might be an issue with his brain and wants to undergo an MRI. He’s also open to a psychiatric evaluation to check for sudden tic disorders.”
“I- I see,” the doctor replied, though his hesitation lingered.
“And everything needs to remain strictly confidential,” the assistant added firmly.
As the assistant delivered his explanation, Baek Sa-eon remained seated with his arms crossed, eyes closed.
How could he possibly describe the suffocating sensation of having his mouth act against his will? He clenched his teeth, fighting back another surge of impulses.
If he opened his mouth now, there was no telling what might come out—but one thing was certain: it wouldn’t be anything pleasant. It felt as if an invisible hand was choking him, plunging his face into deep water.
The words he needed wouldn’t surface, yet raw, unfiltered fragments spilled out uncontrollably, like a dam breaking. Words poured from him in a chaotic, uncontrollable torrent, against his will.
Something had to be wrong.
This wasn’t a simple slip of the tongue. It had to be a neurological issue. Baek Sa-eon needed answers. Unlike his shocked assistants, he had gone straight to the neurology department, determined to find out why his speech had become so crude and out of control.
There was no way he could return home in this state.
“Damn it… Heeju….”
The harsh curse slipped out before he could stop it, plunging the room into awkward silence.
How could he go home to his gentle, soft-spoken wife with such vulgar words spilling from his mouth?
“I just want to hold her and never let go until the sun comes up.”
Even the smallest attempt to speak would unleash a deluge of coarse, shameful confessions.
“Sir, maybe it’s best if you just keep quiet for now,” the assistant suggested with a nervous cough. But despite the gravity, Baek Sa-eon couldn’t control himself.
It was spiraling out of control.
***
“There’s… no problem,” the neurologist finally reported. “The brain scans came back completely clean.”
“Did you take me to a quack?”
Baek Sa-eon reclined on the sofa, a cold compress pressed against his weary eyes, muttering to himself in frustration.
Zero problems? That couldn’t be right. Every time he opened his mouth, uncivilized, impulsive words teetered on the edge of his tongue. How could there be nothing wrong with him?
In annoyance, he yanked the compress away. He couldn’t go home like this— not until he fixed whatever was causing this issue. If he saw Heeju now….
“Dam… f*ck, no, shit… Damn it!”
Despair washed over him, and Baek Sa-eon clutched his face, biting down hard on his tongue to stifle the rising tide of emotion.
As he discreetly made the rounds at neurology and psychiatry clinics, the calls from various media outlets had been relentless. Messages from enraged party leaders and fellow lawmakers piled up, yet his office ignored every single one.
“All of your scheduled appointments have been canceled,” his assistant informed him. “We’ve told the press it’s due to health issues from overwork.”
“That excuse is pathetic. The internet’s probably on fire by now.”
Baek Sa-eon clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
“And… an article just came out. The Blue House is filing a defamation lawsuit against you. We’re considering issuing a statement criticizing the press for pushing too hard, but…”
“It won’t do much good. People aren’t stupid.”
“…That’s true. Also, I’ve already contacted other hospitals.”
No matter how he looked at it, this situation was absurd. He had spent years honing his ability to manipulate the truth, finding the perfect balance between blunt honesty and diplomatic finesse. His ability to manipulate language was his greatest weapon.
He knew what his supporters admired about him: the polished image of an elite, rational, and composed leader. Someone who operated efficiently and kept his emotions in check.
But now…
Baek Sa-eon gritted his teeth, battling a surge of despair. To get to the bottom of this, he had even subjected himself to grueling psychological evaluations, filling out hundreds of questionnaires and sitting through therapy sessions.
When asked about his childhood, he snapped several times, saying, “What’s the point of this nonsense?” At one point, he lost his temper entirely, barking, “I could earn a f*cking medical license myself at this rate!”
The results proved what he already suspected— his overly defensive personality. As he had expected, it was a complete waste of time.
“By the way, sir,” the assistant hesitated, holding up his vibrating phone, “your wife has been calling non-stop. I can’t keep ignoring Madam’s calls. The battery is about to die.”
Baek Sa-eon froze, his mouth clamping shut. The thought of being separated from Heeju was unbearable, reigniting a wave of frustration within him.
“Are you really not going home?”
“How can I, when I am like this?”
A bitter laugh escaped him.
“Every time I open my mouth, it’s a disaster. How am I supposed to face her? I would rather face the fallout from cursing out the president on live TV a hundred times over.”
With her gentle and refined nature, Heeju gravitated towards men who were equally composed and dignified.
Perhaps it was because of his past as a news anchor and a former Blue House spokesperson, but she often frowned at even mild cursing, let alone vulgar language. Loud voices made her uncomfortable, and crude jokes were completely out of the question.
If she were to catch wind of his crude behavior… That squirrel-like creature would undoubtedly flinch and back away. What lengths had he gone to win her affection? How diligently had he cherished her?
“Assistant Yoon, you’re single, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then you wouldn’t understand what happens in a marriage without the right amount of lies.”
“Excuse me?”
The assistant didn’t fully understand his words. Baek Sa-eon’s gaze darkened.
“Whoever said couples should always be honest clearly wasn’t married.”
***
It had been four days since her husband last came home, and for Heeju, that meant four nights of restless sleep.
Stifling a yawn, Heeju flipped through her script. Distracted by thoughts of her husband, she couldn’t concentrate on her work.
Baek Sa-eon still wasn’t answering his phone. He wasn’t at the National Assembly, either. The only sign of life came through the occasional text message checking on her.
“Miss Heeju, you’re next!”
Snapped out of her thoughts, Heeju jolted upright from her seat.
‘The voice of the National Assembly.’
That was the phrase often used to describe Hong Heeju, the National Assembly’s sign language interpreter. A regular fixture at press briefings, Heeju interpreted for spokespersons and lawmakers alike, ensuring accessibility for all.
In fact, the first initiative Baek Sa-eon pushed after becoming a lawmaker was “Inclusive Operations for the National Assembly.” Back then, an article had mockingly labeled his efforts as “Rep. Baek Sa-eon’s Self-Serving Political Move!”
“Wait for a sec..”
Rounding a corner, Heeju saw the elevator doors slowly closing and called out. At that moment, her eyes met a man inside the elevator.
“???”
Relief and longing washed over her, her eyes widening. A shiver ran through her body as she quickened her pace, her heels clicking a frantic beat against the floor.
Through the narrowing gap in the elevator doors, she saw Baek Sa-eon pressing his hand against the threshold, his face contorted in urgency. His furrowed brow was so deeply etched that it stood out even from a distance.
‘It couldn’t be…?’
She was sure their eyes had met. If not, then what was that burning gaze she saw? Just then, Yoon, his assistant, gave her an apologetic bow.
Heeju stood frozen before the descending elevator, her breath catching in her throat.
“What exactly happened…?”
