When The Phone Rings

Chapter 40

/contains suggestive text/

Heeju stared at Sa-eon without blinking. She wanted to say so much. Hundreds of questions to ask, words to pour out - but instead all she could manage was to tug at his suit jacket.

"I stopped by before I went to work."

His reply was immediate, a quick and sure answer to the unspoken question in her eyes. Surprised by his answer, she fidgeted nervously. At the same time, the man leaned forward to meet her gaze.

"How did you keep it all in? Someone like you should have blabbed the most."
"..."
"You used to sing so well, too."
"...!"

Though his tone wasn't particularly kind, every word struck a chord deep inside her.

"It's not hard to guess. Hong In-ah's deafness must have been the reason."
"...!"
"You must have felt wronged."

His cold voice continued to pinpoint the dynamics within her family. But the edge in his tone wasn't directed at her.

Sa-eon reached out and brushed back her stray strands of hair. Heeju tried to hold back her tears.

"It's okay. This is okay too."

He smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"There's more than one way for a married couple to communicate."

Unbeknownst to them, the first rays of dawn began to illuminate the world outside.

***

The day passed quickly.

Her mother and Chairman Hong hadn't contacted her, even after hearing she was injured. Staring blankly at the darkening window, she suddenly thought of her sister.

Sister...

Heeju and Hong In-ah had become close after the accident in their childhood.

At first, her sister had treated her like an unwelcome stranger. But after the accident, things changed completely. The once haughty daughter of a wealthy family began to cling to her insignificant stepsister, the only one who had survived the wreckage with her.

Why did she disappear?

What she had chalked up to rebellion or a passing whim suddenly seemed much more suspicious. Alone, her thoughts drifted.

Heeju and her sister had not been close siblings. But they had been inseparable, in a mutually beneficial relationship.

When she disappeared, what was going through her mind?

Heeju was lost in thought. And soon it was time to make a phone call.

"Don't call me again."

His warning echoed in her mind, but she shrugged it off.

It's just a phone call. What can he really do?'

The dialling tone buzzed in her ear and energy returned to her tired eyes.

Despite the tension, the truth threatened to be the only way she could get information from Baek Sa-eon.

A soft click indicated that the call had been connected.

"Hello?"
Shaaaa!
"H- Hello?"

Suddenly, an unexpected background noise made her freeze. The sound of rushing water, loud and constant, was all that reached her ears.

"Are you there?"

Heeju finally pulled the phone out of her ear. She checked the screen and saw that the call had gone through without incident.

She narrowed her eyes and put the phone back to her ear, feeling a shiver run down her spine.

- "Haa.. mmm.."

Her pulse quickened as a faint, sticky moan seeped through the line.

"What the h*ll?

She doubted her ears.

"He-Hello?!"
- "Ah... f*ck..."
"...!"

Heeju's grip wavered and the phone almost slipped from her fingers.

"What... what's happening?

Heeju barely managed to grab the phone before it slipped from her grasp. Her ears were burning from the noise.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Her heart pounded as a sudden premonition flashed through her mind.

Thump! Thump!

A cacophony of sounds filled the room: the steady cascade of water, deep moans and the unsettling rhythm of thumps.

- "Mm... hah..."
"Baek Sa-eon, what are you doing?"
- "I told you."

His voice, strained and tense, suggested a high level of emotional turmoil.

- "Don't call me."
"What...!"
- "Haah... you'll regret it."

The low, heavy moans mixed with soft chuckles only grew hotter. The unseen took shape in her mind's eye.

Heeju turned pale at the thought of what was happening on the other side.

"Whatever you're doing, stop it now!"
- "Talk a little more."
"What?"
- "Before I... say something..."
"...!"

His voice, harsh and urgent, sent a shiver of fear through her. She swallowed nervously.

"I have something to say. We need to talk seriously...!" she stammered.
- "Speak louder."
"W- What?"
- "I said, louder."

She was plagued by numerous questions, but her mind was a mess.

- "So I can do it all the way..."
"...!"

The overwhelming shame made Heeju tremble.

- "406, don't tell me... Are you trembling?"

The smooth, wet sounds became faster and faster. Boiling breaths, like molten iron, poured into her ears, overwhelming her.

"You... you crazy b*stard...!"
-"You used to moan so confidently."
"......."
-"Why don't you show the same courage now?"

His exhalations, sharp and wet, echoed softly. Each frantic breath fanned the flames of her rising temperature.

She felt suffocated, like a fish gasping for air on dry land. Her earlobes, even the corners of her eyes, turned crimson.

- "When someone gives you advice, listen carefully."
"..."
- "Thanks to a disobedient 406, hmph... I haven't felt this excited in a long time."
"...!"
- "I haven't felt this way even in front of my wife."

His gritted teeth and the muffled, painful moans sounded like a fierce struggle.

- "As a husband I am really inadequate."
"...!"
- "After all, Heeju and I are only husband and wife in name."

The smacking, rhythmic collision sounds intensified.

- "You're the first person I've ever let hear something like that, 406."

Baek Sa-eon took a deep breath and all the noise stopped abruptly. Only the sound of rushing water filled the receiver.

Heeju, frozen in place, immediately furrowed her brow, as if she could almost smell the metallic tang of the scene through the phone.

"Are you even sane right now?"

Her voice wavered as she finally managed to speak, belatedly feeling a wave of heat rush to the top of her head.
 

What did he do? On the phone.

- "Will you call again tomorrow?"

His voice, husky and deliberate, broke the silence as the shower turned off, leaving the air heavy with the bathroom's unique echo.

"You... you..."

Heeju was completely stunned, her mind a whirlwind.

Is this really the Baek Sa-eon I thought I knew?

The man who stood so neatly dressed at the podium, so composed and professional... Is this really who he is?!

Her face flushed, then turned pale, swinging between extremes as the implications sank in.

- "If you call again, I'll do it again."
"You perverted freak!"

"Was he being so bold because he found out I was a woman?
- "And..."

His lazy, velvety tone slid through the phone like a predator stalking its prey.

- "And the ringing of your voice will only make me more aroused.
"......!"

***

"Good heavens! Somebody pull the hair out of that bastard's head!"

After abruptly ending the call, Heeju wandered through the hospital corridors with a pale face. Feeling suffocated, she went downstairs, only to hear lively chatter from the lounge.

"How could he do this in front of his devoted wife?"
"He's crossed the line! It's over!"

The elderly women, all tethered to their IV stands, engaged in a heated verbal exchange.

Without meaning to, Heeju found herself in the back seat, her head hanging like a wilted flower. Her spirit, wrung dry, left her slumped and tired.

"Men's loyalty has always been below the waist, you know."
"Of course! And now what's going to happen to his poor, decent wife?"
"What else? If he doesn't stop it, she should put him in his place!"

Heeju jumped at her fierce declarations.

Her already volatile temper had caused her to throw the phone earlier. Heeju didn't even remember if she had ended the call.

The TV was showing a typical scene from a cable drama: an ambitious man betraying his loyal wife to spend the night with a mistress.

Strangely, her leg began to shake involuntarily.

"My goodness! Look at that scoundrel, flaunting it after keeping his wife waiting for years!"
"Look, now he's trying to make up for it with flowers and gifts."
"Typical. Repentance comes too late when you misuse your 'equipment'."

The vehemence of the women's reactions was almost comical, their IV lines shaking with the fervour of their protests.

Clutching her forehead, Heeju let out a heavy sigh.

What the hell just happened?

The surreal events of the ninth phone call felt like a distant, hazy dream.

Even the memory of his voice, so thick and rich, made one side of her head burn and her ears flush. It was too much, far too much for her to process.

What did Baek Sa-eon just do? And why... with 406 of all people?! Even though 406 is actually me.'

Her face contorted in frustration and disbelief.

To her own surprise, what she felt most was betrayal. It felt like witnessing the first cracks of infidelity - the kind you desperately don't want to believe in.