One day passed.
As Hyuk had decided, he requested for his phone time. Since it was his first time making a call, and after being so well-behaved lately, the prison guard did not hassle him too much and directly brought him to the 'call room'.
The call room was a rectangular space, filled with a row of phone booths. A desk was placed at the end of the room, a seat prepared specially for the supervisor. He signed his information into the logbook and walked over to the booth he was assigned to.
"All phone calls are and will be recorded and monitored for safety reasons," the supervisor strictly warned.
Hyuk frowned, knowing that his conversation will be heard by someone else. It felt like a breach of privacy—but then again, everything in prison was a breach of privacy. He was a criminal, murdering scum, so in the eyes of the law and prison authorities, he barely deserved the bare minimum. Nevertheless, he had no power to go against it and it felt disgusting to know that his personal time with Yeo Ri was being scrutinised by some other b*stard. It completely slipped his mind that his conversations during his usual visitations were also being recorded and monitored, so he shouldn't have felt so offended.
Hyuk picked up the handset and took a deep breath before punching in the familiar string of numbers. Part of him was worried that she might have changed it since he got it for her, but the girl hadn't said anything about changing her number. Another part of him worried that he might be bothering her when she was busy.
The phone rang only once before it was picked up.
"Hello," a male voice sounded.
Hyuk felt his stomach drop. Before he could wonder if he had dialled the wrong number, the person on the other side began speaking, "Is this Mr. Lee Hyuk? I'm sorry—Miss Yeo Ri is currently working right now."
The man's mention of Yeo Ri had made Hyuk stop in his tracks. "Who the hell are you?" he found himself asking a little too aggressively. His expression worsened, torn between suspicion and envy. Whoever the man was, he must be pretty close to his Yeo Ri to be able to answer her phone for her. His voice was on the young but mature side, too, not that it mattered; Hyuk didn't and couldn't like any man who stuck themselves next to his girl.
"I am Kwon Tae Yang, Miss Yeo Ri's manager and personal assistant. Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir," the man politely introduced himself to the younger man.
Tae Yang knew how much Yeo Ri valued her brothers, and thus made the wise choice to be polite. In any case, he'd seen the caller ID, and he knew this was her other brother who was in prison—such a dangerous person should be handled carefully.
"Please wait for a few minutes while I fetch Miss Yeo Ri," Tae Yang notified as he got ready to flag the production team to take a break. It was rare that she got to speak to her other brother, so he treated it as though it was an emergency.
"Huh? Wai—"
Before Hyuk could tell him that he could call back another day so as to not bother her work, Manager Kwon had already moved the phone away from his hearing range.
"—Excuse me, but can I have a moment with Miss Yeo Ri? It's urgent," Tae Yang braved through the annoyed glares of the staff as he stopped them in mid-production. "Family matters," he added in clarification.
Yeo Ri paused in alarm and immediately headed towards her manager-bodyguard-assistant, muttering apologies and bowing to the staff and cast as she passed them.
Maintaining his professional, strict persona, Tae Yang handed her the phone, mouthing, "Your brother." She took the phone and moved to a secluded spot so she could talk comfortably. Tae Yang followed after her dutifully, shielding her from the curious, prying gazes of the others.
"Oppa?" she greeted, a trace of worry in her tone.
"Yeo Ri," Hyuk breathed out, his happiness and relief evident in his voice.
Yeo Ri's brows jumped as she recognised his voice. When Tae Yang had said it was her brother, she had thought something had happened to Gun, but was surprised to hear it was Hyuk.
"Hyuk-oppa? You're calling? Did something happen?"
"N-no, I... I just wanted to talk to you for a bit, 'cause, you know, it's been a while since we last saw each other..." Hyuk stumbled with his words, suddenly feeling shy now that he could hear her voice directly in his ears.
Yeo Ri's shoulders sagged in relief, glad that nothing seemed to trouble him. Regaining her vigour, Yeo Ri chuckled. "I'm sorry, Oppa... I've been really busy lately. I promise I'll come see you as soon as the press tours end, okay? I miss you."
Hyuk could not fight off his urge to smile. He broke into a wide grin, his face practically lighting up in delight at her words. "Me too," he cleared his throat bashfully, "I miss you too, Yeo Ri-ah."
"How have you been, Oppa? It's fall now. Summer wasn't too hard in there, was it?"
"It was alright," he fidgeted, thinking of how much he struggled during the summer. The cell was hot and humid, the nights were a horrible battle of sweat and discomfort, but he didn't want to add to her worries. "I gained weight—mostly muscles, though—since they feed us a lot during mealtimes," he assured. Of course, the quantity could not justify the quality of the meals. They barely tasted like human food, but at least they were generous with the amount. His body received some much needed nutrition thanks to the scheduled mealtimes which was an improvement compared to his old diet where he would forego his meals for more time and money.
"Really? I'm glad," Yeo Ri smiled, glad that her brother was doing well despite his situation.
"I miss your cooking too, Yeo Ri-ah. When I get out, can you make your kimchi stew for your Oppa?" he simpered. He remembered how she used to make the dish regularly, as it was an easy recipe and a family favourite. He'd come home in the middle of the night, tired from work, and come morning, he would be greeted by the tantalising smell of the hearty, warm meal. Due to their clashing schedules, they rarely sat down together to have a meal, but Yeo Ri always made sure there was breakfast prepared for everyone.
Yeo Ri giggled at his simple request, "Alright. Not just kimchi stew—I'll make all your favourites once you come home, Oppa," she declared, "so tell me if you crave something, okay?"
Hyuk's heart warmed. "Okay," he nodded, his mouth loosening. One more sweet promise from the girl and he might turn into a puddle of mush.
The supervisor, who was listening in on the conversation, glanced at the inmate preening at his phone booth. His face twisted into a strange expression, feeling irked yet fascinated by how soft the inmate was acting despite the fact that they had just been glaring at each other as the inmate filled out the logbook earlier. It reminded him that prisoners could be human too, despite all odds.
Hyuk's time on the phone was limited, but he was more than content to hear Yeo Ri's brief recount of recent events. He loved to hear her soft, lovely voice, the tinkling sound of her laughter, and the way her words rounded with so much love that it made him feel full.
Yeo Ri had barely managed to mention In Guk's military service when Hyuk received a warning that his time was up.
"Will you call me again, Oppa?" Yeo Ri asked with a hopeful tone.
Hyuk, assured by the girl's willingness, nodded, though she could not see him. "Yeah. I'll try to call you as much as I can. Is that okay?"
"Mhm!" Yeo Ri replied eagerly. Her face flushed with genuine happiness at his words. "I'll be waiting for you, Oppa. I love you."
Hyuk blushed, his expression softening, "I-I love you, too." He still found it awkward to profess his love so openly after years of repressing his emotions, but it felt good, even when he knew they were being watched.
With that, Hyuk's first outgoing call ended. A mere ten minutes, yet it was the most fulfilling and happiest ten minutes of his life in a while.
Yeo Ri handed her phone back to Tae Yang once the call was over, for safekeeping. She couldn't keep her phone on herself anyways, what with the lack of pockets in her outfit and the question of professionalism if she were to openly carry her phone while filming.
She stood still for a moment, as though she was digesting the experience. Tae Yang gave her time to process, not in a hurry to hustle her back to work.
Yeo Ri had been so wrapped up in work lately that she had forgotten about Hyuk.
She inwardly chastised herself. The reason for her hard work was so that they could afford their own home that Hyuk could come back to when he gets out; let them be a whole family again, Hyuk, Gun, and her. All the acting and modelling and interviews had distracted her from her main goal. What if Hyuk thinks she had abandoned him? She needed to do something, she decided. The call reminded her of how much she truly missed the old days, despite the hardships. She missed those days when she could wake up and see her brothers by her side, sandwiching her as though they were her shields against the dirty, ugly world.
After a while, the girl finally spoke: "Secretary Kwon."
Tae Yang straightened his posture. "Yes," he readily replied.
"The DNA test..." she muttered softly, "I'll do it."
"Yes?!" Tae Yang jolted in surprise.
Her affirmation had come from out of nowhere—perhaps the call with her brother had somehow changed her mind?
"But not with that person," she voiced her condition, "I'll do it with my brothers. The results would mean the same thing anyways."
The man shook himself out of his stupor. "Alright. I will inform Mr. Heo," Tae Yang nodded, agreeing to her condition before she could change her mind. In any case, proving whether she was related to her brothers was just a roundabout way of confirming her relation to Heo Woo Seung. If they were related, then she wasn't Mr. Heo's daughter; conversely, if they weren't related, then she would certainly be his daughter.
"I need to meet Hyuk-oppa in person. Then you can collect his DNA sample, too. Can you make it happen?" Yeo Ri knew that despite the fact that Hyuk was not in a maximum-security prison, he was not cleared for physical visitations. The most she could do was see him through a glass wall. Just as how he missed her physically, Yeo Ri missed his touches too. Despite his brusqueness, he was always so gentle with her, and Yeo Ri liked that about him the most.
Tae Yang took a deep breath. His brain worked out a plan, and when he had a basic idea of what to do, he nodded. "It'll be done," he firmly replied.
Yeo Ri smiled, satisfied with his answer.