It rang once. Twice. Three times. He almost hung up.
"Haejin?" His mother's voice. Not warm. Not cold. Just careful. "Is everything okay?"
"I need to ask you something."
A pause. "About the trial? I saw the news—"
"About Jung Sejin."
Silence. Long, heavy silence.
"Mom?"
"I told you never to mention that name." Her voice had gone hard. Sharp. "All those years. I told you."
"I need to know—"
"You need to stop. Right now."
"A woman killed two people and kidnapped seven more because of someone named Jung Sejin. And she keeps saying it's connected to me. To our family. I need to know who he was."
"He has the same name as your father. That's all you need to know."
"But there was an idol—"
"Stop." The word was like a slap. "Whatever you're digging into, whatever you think you need to know, stop. You're going to bring down exactly the calamity I've been trying to save you from all these years."
Haejin felt his chest tighten. "What calamity? Mom, what are you talking about?"
