Whisper Chapter 16

“…A phone.”  

 

I’ve never seen one like this before, but I know what a phone or a mobile phone is. The aunty back in the mountain has one, and though it’s rare, I do go to the market sometimes.  

 

“Just hold on to this for now.”  

 

Lee Heewoo just stared blankly at the mobile phone Cha Gyeol was handing over.  

 

“I don’t need a mobile phone.”  

 

I don’t understand why he’s giving me this. I only have my grandmother, and she doesn’t have a mobile phone either, so I have no use for something like this.  

 

“You might need it. My number is the only one saved in it. And with this, you can see everything that you were looking at earlier.”  

 

Even though she had said she wouldn’t watch those dramas, her expression was so transparent that Cha Gyeol let out a small laugh.  

 

Her sulky face, insisting she didn’t need it, changed to one that practically had “Oh, really?” written all over it.  

 

“Keep it with you at all times. I’ll teach you how to use it slowly.”  

 

“Thank you, sir.”  

 

Lee Heewoo politely accepted the phone with both hands and bowed. It had looked small in Cha Gyeol’s hands, but once it was in her own, it felt rather heavy and big.  

 

“Let’s go now.”  

 

Because of Jang Pal-yong and his drama, they were far behind schedule and needed to hurry.  

 

“Where? Am I coming too?”  

 

“Or would you rather stay here alone?”  

 

“N-No!”  

 

Lee Heewoo quickly stepped closer to Cha Gyeol. Afraid he might leave her behind, she tilted her head all the way back due to their height difference and looked up at him with her beautiful eyes, trembling with apprehension.  

 

Feeling a tingling in his gums, Cha Gyeol clenched his teeth.  

 

“But sir, you’re really tall.”  

 

Lee Heewoo muttered while fiddling with the phone with both hands.  

 

“I’m not small anywhere.”  

 

Replying indifferently, Cha Gyeol started walking ahead. Following closely behind, Lee Heewoo stared at him for a moment before nodding as if she had just realized something. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a big back. His hands and feet were also large.  

 

Right in front of Lee Heewoo, who was thinking innocent thoughts, Cha Gyeol was recalling his own massive erection.  

 

He thought he should call in a woman tonight to take care of this desire.  

 

***  

 

“Where did you find someone this pretty?”  

 

The hair designer admired Lee Heewoo’s delicate face.  

 

The owner of the hair salon Cha Gyeol frequented had been curious about the sudden appointment, as he had left not long ago.  

 

Since high school, Cha Gyeol had only used this salon, so the owner was well aware of his habits.  

 

Cha Gyeol wasn’t someone who liked changing hairstyles.  

 

“It’s not easy to pull off short hair, but where did you get this cut?”  

 

The owner ran their fingers through Lee Heewoo’s hair, which was as smooth as silk. The texture was amazing, but whoever cut it was clearly an amateur—the lengths were uneven.  

 

“…At home.”  

 

“Home? Ah, a family member must have done it. You’ve never permed or dyed your hair, have you?”  

 

“…No.”  

 

While Cha Gyeol stepped away to take a phone call, Lee Heewoo kept looking around for him.  

 

— Instead of hair, I’d rather cut her throat.  

— She smells delicious.  

— I want to make her mine.  

 

Spirits surrounded her. Buildings on main roads had a lot of ghosts. Lee Heewoo felt like she was about to faint from the ghosts touching her.  

 

She had never met such unruly spirits before.  

 

It was only now that she realized how kind the ghosts she had encountered until now had been.  

 

Her face had gone completely pale, and her lips were tightly pressed together, her lower jaw trembling like a walnut.  

 

She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.  

 

Just as the owner was about to ask if something was wrong, the automatic door of the salon slid open, and Cha Gyeol walked in.  

 

The moment he approached, everything she had seen vanished, and the voices she had heard were cut off.  

 

The faint scent of cigarettes reached her nose, and her pale face relaxed slightly with relief.  

 

She didn’t care about her hair anymore—she just wanted to hold onto Cha Gyeol.  

 

“Your expression completely changed as soon as the President showed up. You looked like a lost child just a moment ago.”  

 

At the owner’s remark, Cha Gyeol raised his eyebrows and looked at Lee Heewoo. Maybe because she was in an unfamiliar place, she seemed tense. Her smiling eyes looked like they were slightly teary.  

 

“How should we do her hair?”  

 

The owner asked, and as Cha Gyeol was about to head toward the sofa in the back, he noticed Lee Heewoo’s expression and stopped, standing nearby at a comfortable distance.  

 

Her expression visibly relaxed.  

 

“Just trim it.”  

 

“Are you planning to grow it out?”  

 

The owner, reading Lee Heewoo’s face as if everything had been entrusted to Cha Gyeol, kept asking Cha Gyeol.  

 

“It’s short, but it’s pretty. I don’t think you need to grow it out.”

 

Through the mirror, Cha Gyeol looked at Lee Heewoo as if asking a question with his eyes. Lee Heewoo gave a small nod. It didn’t matter what was done. All that mattered was getting close to Cha Gyeol as soon as possible.  

 

“Got it. I’ve known the President for over ten years, but this is the first time he’s brought a woman in.”

 

The owner, always high in tension, burst into laughter. It was a hair salon operated by appointment only. There were many regulars, and the owner was skilled, so hiring staff would probably bring in a lot of money, yet the owner stubbornly insisted on working alone.  

 

Since Cha Gyeol rarely changed things once he liked them, he found this place even more appealing.  

 

A small space, no employees, and quiet.  

 

“You don’t have to be nervous.”  

 

Cha Gyeol spoke to Lee Heewoo, who was staring at him intently. Those clear eyes even seemed desperate, making Cha Gyeol feel slightly flustered.  

 

“……Okay.”  

 

A sigh-like voice quietly slipped out. The owner, while preparing, glanced at the two of them.  

 

“You look good together. After all, the President has high standards.”  

 

The owner spoke playfully. Even back when he first saw him as a high school student, he had made a big fuss about how such a handsome kid could exist. Now, as he grew older, even an overwhelming masculine sensuality had been added, making it hard to take one’s eyes off him.  

 

“You don’t know, do you? President was something else in high school.”  

 

At the owner’s playful tone, Lee Heewoo, who had been looking only at Cha Gyeol through the mirror, turned to him. Her expression showed curiosity, making the owner chuckle again as if he found it adorable.  

 

“High school girls were going crazy, causing an uproar, forming lines just to see the President.”  

 

There was no exaggeration in the owner’s words, and Cha Gyeol shook his head as if he couldn’t be bothered. Standing with his hands shoved into his pants pockets, he seemed overwhelming for such a small space.  

 

“……A line?”  

 

Lee Heewoo’s round eyes turned back to Cha Gyeol.  

 

“It was the first time I’d seen anything like it. I thought it was just exaggerated stuff they say on TV. The President must have received a lot of confessions too. I made a lot of money back then thanks to him, you know? High school girls kept making appointments. But you know what’s funny?”  

 

“……?”  

 

Lee Heewoo shook her head as if mesmerized. She was so engrossed in the owner’s story that her previously pale face had gained some color.  

 

“Even the male students came in a lot, trying to copy the President. They had their pride, so they couldn’t say it outright, but it was hilarious.”  

 

Snip, snip. Hair was being cut away, but Lee Heewoo was too focused on the owner’s words to notice.  

 

Like a sponge soaking everything in. Cha Gyeol let out a scoff as he watched her.  

 

“What about now?”  

 

As if it were something serious, she even asked a question.  

 

“Now? Not as much as back then, but there are still quite a few. I make my living thanks to the President.”  

 

At the owner’s laughter-filled words, just as Lee Heewoo quietly repeated to herself, “Ah, so there are many.”  

 

“Heewoo.”  

 

Thump!  

 

The first to react was her heart, collapsing with a sound. It really felt as if her heart had fallen to her feet. Otherwise, there was no reason for breathing to feel so unnatural.  

 

Cha Gyeol, once again, called her “Heewoo,” looking at her like a startled rabbit—or a surprised puppy.  

 

Noticing her flinching response, Cha Gyeol rolled his tongue against the inside of his cheek, considering whether to change the way he addressed her.  

 

***  

 

Once, long ago, Jang Pal-yong had a dog. A Maltese, white and soft like tofu, which didn’t suit him at all. He had said he took it in from someone else.  

 

Jang Pal-yong adored that dog, which he called “Kotsoon,” sometimes even bringing it to the office. When Cha Gyeol saw the dog with a flower pin in its hair and wearing clothes, he had sneered that bringing a damn mutt around was ridiculous. Jang Pal-yong had covered the dog’s ears with his big hands and made a huge fuss, asking how he could say such things in front of a baby.

 

He constantly showed off pictures of the dog to his employees and spent an absurd amount of money on dog clothes.  

 

That was when Cha Gyeol first learned that designer brands even made clothes for dogs.  

 

Jang Pal-yong had seemed crazy for being so dedicated to dressing up his dog.  

 

And yet—  

 

Somehow, he could understand Jang Pal-yong just a little.  

 

Cha Gyeol, sitting in the restaurant with new clothes, watched as Lee Heewoo timidly but eagerly looked around.