Was yesterday a dream?

Heeju stifled a yawn, her hands busy.

"As stated in the medical report, the patient underwent emergency surgery to repair a ruptured testicle, but the prognosis is extremely poor."

She was in the courtroom, interpreting into sign language.

As a freelancer, Heeju was assisting the centre's director in court that day. She was often sent to courts, prosecutors' offices, police stations and hospitals. At the moment, Heeju was interpreting for a deaf defendant.

"That b*stard fell on his own while acting crazy!"

The defendant's wife was furious. She slammed her hands on the stand.

The case was about a woman cracking her husband's testicle with a ladle.

"Who do you think drove me to the brink with unfounded jealousy?"

Clutching her breast, the wife glared at her husband sitting across the courtroom. It was a tangled case of negligent injury and divorce proceedings.

"We present evidence in the form of medical reports that the defendant has suffered years of domestic violence at the hands of her husband."
"Your Honour, any intentional injury to a critical organ that causes physiological damage should be given primacy in determining intent..."
"We also submit recordings of the husband's verbal abuse and death threats, along with text messages and photos of his extramarital affair..."

The arguments on both sides were heating up, and Heeju, who was faithfully interpreting the lawyers' statements, found herself drawn into the case.

When an audio recording of the husband's voice was played, the courtroom fell silent. The words were too vulgar to repeat.

The wife covered her face with grief.

All that remained was the judge's decision.

Suddenly the woman, who had been sitting with her head down, looked at Heeju with a strange expression.

Heeju began to interpret her words.

I couldn't fix him.
'...Pardon?
'There are always early signs. I should have fled when I first noticed it.

A faint, bitter smile tugged at the woman's lips.

Never let your guard down. A husband can become your enemy in an instant.
'....'
I've lived as a deaf person all my life, but the most problematic thing I've had to deal with wasn't related to hearing... it was... my own husband, the man who lived in my house.
'...!'
Communication? It was impossible with a man like him.

For some reason, Heeju avoided her gaze.

'Do you have someone like that at home, Miss Interpreter?
'Who knows...'
'Then don't regret it later, like I did.

The doors opened and the judges returned to their seats. With a cold expression, the woman signed a final comment.

I should've smashed both of them instead of just one.
"...!"

Heeju felt a chill.

***

 

"Heeju... My dear Heeju!"

The director shook her shoulder.

"Have you been listening to me at all?"
"Yes? Heeju blinked.

"I asked you what you thought of interpreting in court. Do you want to continue?"

Heeju stopped walking and fell into thought.

The courthouse corridor was buzzing with people. Prosecutors and judges in robes, prisoners being escorted by officers, and others arguing loudly or sobbing uncontrollably.

Heeju licked her dry lips.

Extortion, defamation, cybercrime, wiretapping... For the first time, she thought about the consequences of her actions.

The unchecked adrenaline rush had blinded her to the impending danger.

"Heeju, do you feel sick?"
"No.

She assured the director with a faint smile.

'Court work... it's too nerve-wracking for me.
"Huh? What do you mean?"

If I kept coming here, I'd feel too guilty to commit crimes myself.

The look on the defendant's wife's face wasn't unfamiliar to Heeju. The day she smashed the glasses, her face looked the same.

 

***

 

As a child, Heeju's classmates often played a game called 'Mafia'. Players who were assigned the role of a mafia would work out their plans during the night phase. 

Likewise, it was time for the blackmailer to begin his activities.

Ring! Ring!

Heeju grabbed her phone with an even more desperate expression.

But what happened that day?

When Baek Sa-eon had approached her the night before, she had instinctively braced her thigh.

Heeju had provoked him by daring him to find out the truth, and she was ready to take the consequences.

But Baek Sa-eon had simply mentioned the position of sign language interpreter and walked away, as if to show that no petty blackmailer could influence him.

Was it a sign of trust in his wife? Or just arrogance? She couldn't tell.

The ringing stopped.

"Hello..."

-"I'm busy right now. Call back later."

He hung up before she could finish.

...What?

Heeju stared at her phone in disbelief. Her expression froze, then quickly turned to irritation.

How dare he ignore a blackmailer? Is he crazy?'

Fuming, Heeju poked at the screen and dialled again.

Ring! Ring!

Being the one to initiate the call had always been her form of control. It should be Baek Sa-eon who felt the pressure, not her. Her bold strategy... her fragile sense of power... had just crumpled like paper.

Heeju's lower eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

"Baek Sa-eon, don't you dare hang up..."
- "I can't talk now."
"Wait...!"
- "At this point, I can't tell who's more desperate."

Her voice rose, "If you go on like this, I won't let you! I mean it!"

- "Then wait."
"What?"
- "If you're so desperate to talk, then wait."
"..."
- "A punishment like this is necessary for an over-excited pervert."

What the...

- "Call me back in five minutes."

He hung up again before she could reply.

"Argh!"

Heeju let out a hysterical scream and threw her phone on the bed.

Those five minutes were, without exaggeration, the longest of her life. She kept picking up the phone to call again, only to despise herself for acting so obsessively.

She put the phone down and took a deep breath.

You lose the moment you lose your patience.

Blackmailers shouldn't beg or appear desperate. Gritting her teeth, she waited what seemed like five days before carefully dialling again.

Ring! Ring!

This time she decided not to lose her cool.

"I am very calm.

- "Does it feel good to act like an affectionate dog?"
"Phew... stay calm.
- "Keep groveling like that. Who knows? Maybe I'll throw you a bone to chew."
"Don't react, Heeju.
- "What do you say? A muzzle might suit you."
"Do you want to die?"

The composure she had barely mustered evaporated like dandelion fuzz in the wind.

"What are you trying to pull here?"

Thinking her threats lacked weight, she decided to go online that very day and expose everything. Gritting her teeth, she declared, "I'm not going to let you get away with this. You'll regret it later!"

- "That's why I'm taking matters into my own hands."
"What?"
- "This temper of yours... if not me, who else could possibly fix it?"
"Hah. You're dead meat, Baek Sa-eon!"

Just then, a loud bang rang out through the receiver, followed by a distorted static noise.

"Hello? Hello?"

A piercing beep assaulted her eardrums. She dropped the phone and instinctively cupped her ear, wincing in pain.

"What the hell..."

She scrambled to pick it up from the floor, but the line was already dead.

Her ear continued to throbbed in pain.

"Ah...!"

In a fit of rage, Heeju concluded that Sa-eon had orchestrated the audio attack to maintain dominance. She massaged her ear, still smarting from the unexpected attack.

Her third attempt at a call had been completely derailed.

"Is he crazy!"

 

***

 

Baek Sa-eon didn't come home that night.

Even in the past, when he stayed out late, he always returned before dawn.

For the first time since their marriage, he was spending the night away.

 

***

The next morning:
 

"A fire broke out in an office in Yeouido at around 10:07 pm last night, causing a large number of casualties. Here's Kang Soo-ji from JBS with the report." 』

The TV was showing the morning news as Heeju dragged her feet into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and piled side dishes on the counter.

"A man in a black jumper and cap was seen carrying a white container up the stairs. He retrieved something from the bag and entered the fifth floor office."

She opened the lid leisurely.

"Moments later, flames erupted and thick smoke engulfed the area. Those inside scrambled to escape downstairs, but the smoke quickly consumed the building." 』

Yesterday, Baek Sa-eon stayed outside. There was no need for him to come back. But this matter made Heeju toss and turn all night.

Or was it a nightmare?

She tilted her head in thought.

'Yes. This office space, where six people were injured, is still filled with smoke. Fragments of computers used by the victims are scattered inside. Overhead fixtures, apparently dislodged by the explosion, have fallen onto desks." 』

Heeju absentmindedly practised her signature as she poured rice from the rice cooker and prepared her utensils.

"A single shoe left behind hints at the panic during the incident." From the empty office, the victim's phone continues to ring incessantly." 』

The persistent ringing on the television made her look up. Unwanted thoughts of Baek Sa-eon surfaced again. Her throbbing ear was a reminder of the bizarre antics.

"The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes, but six people were found collapsed from toxic gas inhalation. They are currently being treated for their injuries." 』

She finally took her first bite of rice.

A glance at the television showed that the scene had shifted to a newsroom.

"We have exclusively obtained audio recordings of the suspect. The recordings reveal that he frequently made threatening phone calls to the victims, and even warned them about the incident beforehand..."

The spoon suddenly slipped out of Heeju's hand.