Special Side Story 10
“…!”
“That b*stard!”
On the other end of the call, Heeju’s face hardened as Hong In-ah stormed through her rant. Heeju took a deep breath, maintaining a composed facade despite the rising tension.
Her sister’s misunderstanding was plausible, of course, but still—an STD?
“It can’t be true.”
— “This isn’t the first time he has visited a urologist!”
“……”
— “Baek Sa-eon claimed he was busy after the election. But the truth is, he has been making frequent visits to the urologist.”
Heeju tried to stay calm, but her lips quivered.
— “He must’ve been doing something else! Have you forgotten? Baek Sa-eon was the one who used to make those sketchy phone calls with some random girl!”
“Sister… how many times do I have to tell you it was me on the phone?!”
However, Hong In-ah pretended to have forgotten the entire incident. Heeju let out a bitter laugh and glanced at the navigation system. She was near the destination.
< The Seoul Street Art Festival >
She knew Sa-eon would attend the festival’s opening ceremony in central Seoul.
Heeju parked her car at the curb and stepped out. The streets were packed with people. She scanned the crowd, searching for Baek Sa-eon.
“How could you do this to me…?”
Learning about his urologist visits confirmed her suspicions. It brought back the chilling dread she felt when she found her discarded pregnancy test in his study.
Thousands of questions were plaguing her mind-
‘You jerk! How long are you planning to hide this from me…? What were you even doing at the urologist’s? I thought you felt the same way about me…’
Believing they shared a future together, having overcome so much, Heeju assumed Baek Sa-eon dreamt of building a home. She never imagined he was rejecting her, to the point of destroying a pregnancy test.
“It was just my own wishful thinking.”
She realized now that she should’ve asked him directly instead of avoiding it…
At that moment, she spotted a familiar face entering a building, surrounded by bodyguards.
“Ugh…!”
Heeju wanted to rush straight to him, but the surging crowd pushed her back.
“W- Wait! Let me through—!”
Waving her arms, she noticed a group of artists pushing a cart loaded with materials, their clothes were covered in splashes of paint.
Without thinking twice, Heeju grabbed an egg from the cart and hurled it straight at Baek Sa-eon.
“…!”
Thwack!
The raw egg shattered against Baek Sa-eon’s shoulder. The crowd gasped—no screamed—at the sight of the yolk dripping down his jacket.
A cold silence fell over the area, and several stunned faces turned toward Heeju.
‘No way… I didn’t think it would hit him so perfectly…!’
The once-bustling crowd parted suddenly. All eyes were on her, accusing and condemning, as fingers pointed her out as the culprit.
That was when the bodyguards grabbed her by the elbow and started dragging her away.
“O- Ouch”
But the pain didn’t last long.
“Let go.”
She felt the leather-clad hand of a bodyguard being forcibly brushed aside. Heeju gasped, recognizing the familiar scent of the man now standing in front of her.
With a swift, cold assessment of the situation, he pulled her close to his chest. His arm acted as a protective barrier as they navigated the surging crowd.
Lowering his head, he whispered in her ear-
“I didn’t expect Hong Heeju to make an appearance at today’s event.”
“Sa-eon…”
“You’ve got good aim. I hope you had fun.”
“No, it’s not like that—”
“Let’s go to the car.”
Heeju stiffened but obediently followed him realising it was the calm before the storm.
***
Baek Sa-eon drove them home quickly. Heeju wanted to interrogate him right away, but she held her tongue, afraid he might distance himself again.
As the door closed, his lips found hers in a passionate embrace. Heeju rose to meet him, their bodies pressed against the wall, their breaths mingling.
A simple kiss sent a jolt of electricity through her, a wave of heat washing over her from head to toe. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his, her breath catching in her throat with each lingering gaze. But Heeju pushed him away, and his large frame seemed to freeze in place.
“Just looking at you like this makes me smile. For me, there has been no one apart from you…”
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“You went through with it without telling me, didn’t you? The surgery?”
“What?”
“I heard you’ve been visiting a urologist.”
“…!”
“Nothing could ever be wrong with you, and I know you better than anyone.”
With a forceful tug on his tie, she brought his lips close again. Her teeth clenched, a low growl escaping her throat.
“That leaves only one option: the surgery. A vasectomy.”
“Hong Heeju.”
He gripped her shoulders as if trying to bridge the gap between them. But the more he tried, the tighter she tangled her hands around his tie.
“Don’t push me away. Just tell me if you did it or not.”
“…”
His silence wasn’t an answer.
Heeju grabbed his rigid face as he tried to avert his gaze, forcing him to look at her. She caught a glimpse of the pained expression etched onto his features.
A cold hand brushed against her cheek, wiping away tears she hadn’t even realized were falling.
Heeju blinked rapidly to clear her blurry vision and wiped at his cheeks in return. His face looked pale and hollow.
“I wanted to have a baby. You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
His voice cracked.
“And yet you went to the hospital alone, without telling me?”
“…Yes. I did it.”
Heeju scrunched up her face at his innocent confession. A wave of hatred washed over her, so intense it stole her breath. When he saw the hurt in her eyes, Baek Sa-eon felt a sharp pain, as if he had been physically wounded.
The desperation in his gaze, the way he clung to her, left Heeju utterly bewildered.
“Sometimes I thought about the baby we could have. I used to tell you how excited I was, how curious I was about our child. You would always agree, saying it would be precious, a little version of me. You would pat me and smile.”
“…”
“But why?”
“…”
“Did you hate the idea of having a child that you had to lie to me?”
Heeju repeated her question, but he remained silent, shaking his head in defeat.
‘Not again,’ she thought.
Frustration overwhelmed her, and she hit his chest, screaming in anger.
“Then why don’t you say something…!”
She shouldn’t have made it about herself, but Heeju’s pride was wounded, and she felt like she was about to fall into self-pity. She couldn’t stand the idea of being so humble in front of this cold, motionless man, dreaming in vain.
“I was the only one hoping for it, imagining it, getting excited about it…! You didn’t even want to have a baby with me! You’re so cruel, Baek Sa-eon. You’re too cruel!”
Her sobs soon burst into tears, and Baek Sa-eon was pushed away.
His dark eyes, pools of ink, seemed to pierce through her. Heeju hiccupped, feeling a strange unease. His expressionless face, pale and almost translucent, created an eerie atmosphere.
“You’re right, I don’t want to have children, Heeju.”
Sa-eon eyes were vacant, devoid of any emotion. He didn’t even bother to bite his lip, the pretense had finally been abandoned. Baek Sa-eon started talking as if he was about to confess a sin.
