when the phone rings novel
Someone came to visit you.
When Hee-joo showed the text on her phone screen to the nurse, the nurse beamed brightly.
"Hee-joo, long time no see."
Hee-joo returned the smile as she walked through the still-unfamiliar hallways. Through the glass walls, the lush green garden was fully visible. This was a top-tier nursing home.
Stopping at a familiar door, she adjusted her clothes before stepping inside.
She saw an elderly man sitting on the balcony. His expression was vacant, his eyes staring blankly at a spot in the garden.
Hee-joo approached him and carefully pulled up the blanket that had slipped from his lap.
"Dad, I'm here."
She spoke naturally, her voice soft and mysterious.
"How have you been? How's the food?"
"..."
Despite her gentle tone, her father's gaze remained unfocused.
The only time Hee-joo would actually speak was when visiting her biological father. But even then, it wasn't a conversation.
Her father had long been trapped in an inescapable abyss.
"Dad, is it comfortable here?"
"..."
"Can you say something? Dad..."
Her biological father had once been a humorous emcee at a run-down club. He was the kind of man who could make his daughter laugh with a single cherry tomato, and Hee-joo had adored him.
Even though they lived in the club's basement, being together never felt lonely—until her mother caught Chairman Hong's attention.
Around that time, her father's health began to fail. Breathing became difficult, his tongue dried and cracked, and his breath carried a sour stench. Her mother grew disgusted and refused to speak to him.
Hee-joo had watched the slow erasure of her father's existence.
Her mother became someone else's mistress, while her father sank into silence.
The man who could once make people laugh with just a microphone faded away like a burst bubble.
Even when her mother left, her father didn't say a word, his bloodshot eyes the only response.
"Why didn't you say anything back then? You lived your whole life with your voice—why didn't you use it to curse her out? Even a single insult would've been better."
Hee-joo gently stroked her father's frail, withered hand.
"But, Dad... this is just how I want to live now."
"..."
"I want to do this. I'm sorry."
The elderly man, his face lined with wrinkles, continued to stare out the window as though waiting for something.
"...It might be time to move to a different nursing home."
A father who had given up on everything.
Even so, his luxurious surroundings in old age were thanks to her mother's money.
Hee-joo had bargained with her mother, offering to replace her older stepsister, to secure her father's care.
"If you divorce, the funding stops."
For her father's sake, Hee-joo had held on for a long time, but her patience had worn thin.
Just then, her father's vacant gaze shifted slightly, and his lips parted.
"Yeon-hee... Yeon-hee..."
"...!"
Hee-joo's face twisted instantly.
"Again, always this...!"
She could never escape being caught in the middle.
Her father saw her mother through her, while her mother used her as a shield.
Her injured stepsister tried to reconnect with the world through her.
As a sign language interpreter, Hee-joo had always conveyed other people's words.
People always looked at others through her.
"Yes, Dad, because this is what I'm best at..."
Hee-joo's gaze suddenly hardened with determination.
That night, the second phone call came.
---
Beep—beep—
The phone rang at the exact same time as the day before.
The nine-minute timer began its countdown, as always. Hee-joo took a deep breath, her demeanor calm and composed.
"I can't afford to lose my nerve today."
But that wouldn't happen again.
Her expression quickly grew serious.
When the monotonous ringing abruptly stopped, her voice leapt out like a runner at the start line.
"Have you decided?"
"...Why are you so punctual?"
"Just my mood. After all, you can't call me back."
"..."
"You don't even know my real number."
"..."
"Alright, just take the call."
Is this real? Am I actually teasing my husband...?!
Hee-joo clenched her fists in excitement.
"So, have you decided? Will you restore the situation, or is it 200 million?"
"Before that, I want to know something."
Her opponent's voice suddenly became loose, dragging out his words.
"Hong Hee-joo."
"...!"
The accurate use of her name sent chills down her spine.
He... he called me by my name?
"How do you know that name? And how do you know she's my wife?"
"...Huh?"
"I've blocked all personal information about Hee-joo."
"..."
"Where did it leak from?"
"..."
"She would never tell you this..."
His slow, self-directed muttering carried an oddly sticky tone.
At the same time, Hee-joo felt a sense of relief, knowing he hadn't uncovered her true identity.
Her straightened back slumped as she exhaled a suppressed sigh, her heart nearly bursting.
"Are you near me?"
"...!"
"I can block the media, but I can't stop classmates or acquaintances from talking. Maybe our social circles overlap."
"Wait, it's just a name. Do you need to overreact this much...?"
Raising her voice in nervousness, Hee-joo's frustration grew.
The person who was supposed to feel threatened was instead using her name as leverage, and it infuriated her.
The power she thought she had slipped away like soap in water.
"Don't you get the situation yet? I said I'll bring you down...! I'll brand you with filth!"
"I know."
"What?"
"A lunatic crashed my wife's car."
"Does that even matter?"
Hee-joo frowned at the frustratingly circular conversation.
He didn't care about her life or death—so why this sudden shift?
"I won't compromise."
"So, you don't care about your reputation?"
"Even though I can't tolerate stains."
So, what do you want...?!
Their conversation spiraled in circles.
She glanced at the timer. As expected, he was stalling for time.
So, that's it.
Baek Sa-oen was someone who wanted to capture his threatener without causing any collateral damage.
Now, he wasn't just taking the call—he was tracking her.
For a moment, she almost thought he cared about her.
Letting go of her pretense, Hee-joo's gaze sharpened with resolve.
This was why a second plan was necessary.
"But I've discovered something interesting—you have plenty of skeletons that can be exposed."
Hee-joo briefly pulled the phone away from her ear and sent a photo. Her fingers trembled slightly, but she didn't regret it.
"So, what do you think, brother? Take a good look."
—...!
"Still not willing to compromise?"
—...What is this?
His voice immediately turned sharp, and Hee-joo couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh my, you're her husband, and you can't recognize this?"
...Explain yourself.
"If this really isn't your wife, you're doing a terrible job of hiding it."
—You better hope I'm wrong about this.
His voice dropped an octave, but Hee-joo's lips curved into a faint smirk.
"This is your wife's leg."
—...!
This was the second script designed to press him.
"That's why I've been telling you to make your decision quickly."
What was amusing was that the subject of a scandal didn't always have to be the person directly involved.
In fact, the ones who often dragged public officials down were troublesome family members.
So, Hee-joo decided to take matters into her own hands.
If she'd already exposed her voice, what was a photo compared to that?
The photo was boldly angled, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her crotch was fully visible, as though she weren't wearing anything below. With her legs slightly apart, the inner thighs were prominently exposed.
Most striking, however, was the black garter belt attached to her lingerie.
The salacious life of a public official's wife!
And if she claimed this was paid for using government funds from the Blue House's expense account...
This would push him into a corner. A true blackmailer needed such trump cards.
"I won't say anything more for now."
But how this photo is used, what kind of story I spin..."
"Brother, you'd better imagine it yourself."
Suddenly, he seemed to let out a cold laugh. Yet it wasn't laced with any emotion -merely the rustle of fabric brushing against itself.
"Tomorrow, I'll ask you again. Either quickly deal with Hong Hee-joo, or cough up 200 million. Otherwise, forget about ever being a congressman."
"Aren't I kind? I'm even giving you multiple choices. So, you'd better show some sincerity."
Of the three options the simplest was clearly the first.
Yet Hee-joo couldn't fathom why Baek Sa-oen hadn't resolved such an easy problem already.
"Brother, I won't compromise either."
"And as for proof that this photo is of my wife..."
"What a strange question. How could a husband ask something like that?"
Hee-joo chuckled coldly, cutting through his gritted response.
"Don't you know Hong Hee-joo's thigh has a distinctive mark?
"How could you not know?
"Is it that you don't care, or have you never bothered to look?"
She couldn't hold back her laughter.
Baek Sa-oen fell silent for a long time.
"Ah-this is what real blackmail feels like!"
Never in her life had Hee-joo imagined she could render Baek Sa-oen speechless.
This strange silence was as sweet as honey.
For the first time, she had managed to make the perpetually cold, unfeeling man feel a hint of humiliation.
As her anger began to dissipate, Hee-joo gently touched her flushed cheeks.