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Would you like an answer based on the novel?

I haven’t watched episode 5 yet. BSE might start to suspect and might even confirm that HHJ is 406 in that episode (did they go hiking?). But I’m saying that even if that is the case, BSE found out that HHJ could speak in certain circumstances first (before suspecting or confirming that HHJ was 406, possibly in episode 5) when he watched the police car dash cam footage in episode 4.

As of the end of episode 4 (when they showed BSE watching the police car dash cam footage and finding out that HHJ can speak in certain circumstances), BSE does not know that HHJ is 406 yet.

You're welcome!

MDL user Watermelon identified it in her comment above. The clip that CdramaAddict shared isn't a leaked scene from When the Phone Rings. It's a mashup of scenes from "Bloody Lucky Day".

I double-checked it and posted images from that drama above where Yoo Yeon Seok's character wears outfits that match what he's wearing in the clip that CdramaAddict shared.

Yes, that's it! Thanks for identifying the Yoo Yeon Seok drama they used to make the clip. I found stills of Yoo Yeon Seok's character from that drama with looks / outfits that match the clip to confirm it.

https://photos.hancinema.net/photos/photo1746032.jpg

https://photos.hancinema.net/photos/photo1746034.jpg

Tbh it kind of looks like someone took clips from one of Yoo Yeon Seok's other dramas or movies, slapped some music over it, added the spoiler warning text, and then tagged it as #WhenthePhoneRings to generate engagement. Maybe take that "leak" with a pinch of salt.

That's how Janssy seems to have interpreted the insta post that she saw. But I have read the novel and can confirm that, in the novel, BSE does not find out that HHJ is 406 by watching dashcam footage that recorded HHJ and the kidnapper in HHJ's car.

And I don't think that the drama has changed the sequence of events to make it so that BSE already knows that HHJ is 406 and has known it ever since he checked the dashcam footage from HHJ's car in episode 2.

BSE clearly wasn't lying about the dashcam not recording anything, because he asked Park Do Jae to try to restore the recording. Even if he could restore the recording, Park Do Jae wouldn't do so (for reasons that have not been revealed in the drama yet). In the middle of episode 2, we saw that the only thing that Park Do Jae showed BSE was some CCTV footage of the kidnapper getting into HHJ's car. BSE wasn't impressed and told Park Do Jae that he hadn't found anything useful. Later in episode 2, Park Do Jae tells BSE that the blackbox camera in HHJ's car was off (hence why nothing was recorded and there was nothing to restore) and he showed BSE an enhancement of the CCTV footage he showed BSE earlier, and the enhanced footage clearly showed the kidnapper getting into HHJ's car. The footage made it look like HHJ knew the kidnapper and willingly let him get into her car.

And we saw at the end of episode 4 that BSE was surprised to discover that HHJ could speak in certain circumstances when he watched the dashcam footage that recorded HHJ's panic attack in the police car. BSE watching the dashcam footage from the police car definitely occurred *after* BSE checked the dashcam footage from HHJ's car and after he received several calls from 406. It would not make sense for BSE to be surprised to find out that HHJ could speak after watching the police car dashcam footage if he had already discovered that HHJ was 406 by watching the dashcam footage from HHJ's car.

Hi Deeeena. Could you hide your comment under a spoiler cover so that viewers who haven't watched episode 4 yet can avoid seeing that spoiler?

Regarding your question, it's important to note that HHJ is not faking her mutism. Her mother initially forced her to fake being mute after the car crash, but then her mother was so brutal about enforcing that lie that HHJ was traumatized and developed a mental block that really does prevent her from being able to speak in most circumstances. In the drama, HHJ says to her father that she's had to "pretend" to be mute, but sometimes her trauma basically forces her to pretend against her will, and at that point it isn't really pretending anymore. However, her mutism is selective because there are occasions where the mental block doesn't prevent her from speaking. For example, when she is alone with her father in his nursing home room, she is able to speak with him. But when she is alone with her mother, the mental block prevents HHJ from being able to speak. In the novel, there are moments when HHJ tries to speak to BSE and is unable to because of her mental block.

Also, in the novel, BSE definitely watches the police car dashcam footage before HHJ's interview for the open Blue House sign language interpreter position. Which is why, in chapter 30 of the novel, he asks HHJ to speak to him directly (instead of signing and using an interpreter) during her interview. Later on BSE continues to try to figure out the specifics of when HHJ can and cannot speak.

As for when BSE watched the police car dashcam footage (and found out that HHJ could speak in certain circumstances) in the drama (which has changed the timing of certain events that occurred in the novel), I wrote a breakdown of when that scene most likely occurred in this comment: https://kisskh.at/766179-the-number-you-have-dialed#comment-19745396

Edit: Thanks for hiding your comment with a spoiler cover! ^^

Novel spoilers ahead.

The male lead doesn’t know that HHJ is 406 yet. If the drama follows the novel, he will figure it out soon and won’t tell HHJ that he knows for a long time. But as of episode 4 he hasn’t gotten there yet. He hasn’t even confirmed that 406 is a woman yet (which happens in chapter 33 of the novel), and that happens before he begins to suspect that HHJ is 406 (in chapter 34) and before he confirms that HHJ is 406 (between chapter 36 and chapter 38).

The insta post might have been referencing the dash cam footage from the police car when HHJ had a panic attack. We saw at the end of episode 4 that BSE has now watched that footage and now knows that HHJ’s mutism is selective and that she can speak in certain circumstances. Which will make it possible for BSE to consider that HHJ might be 406 later.

Rewatching episode 1. When BSE receives the first call from the kidnapper, the kidnapper says he's going to kill BSE's wife and then BSE's phone dies. BSE plugs in his phone and immediately calls SGJ (BSE's mother). When she picks up, all he says is, "오늘그애만나봤어요?" / "Did you meet that person today?" ( 애 is informal and indicates that the person is the same age or younger than BSE). BSE expects that that is enough information for SGJ to know who he's talking about, and he's right: she immediately knows that he's talking about HHJ.

The meeting between HHJ, her mother and her mother-in-law was probably planned in advance and not an impromptu get together. Perhaps it was something they did regularly, or perhaps it was a meeting that SGJ requested specifically so that she could ask HHJ to stop working. In any case, BSE seemed to be aware that HHJ was going to meet SGJ for a meal that day. Showing that he was aware of and remembered her schedule.

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Novel spoilers ahead.

Since SGJ is basically the mastermind behind the kidnapper it makes perfect sense that she would immediately know that BSE was asking about HHJ. But she also didn't feel the need to hide the fact that she knew he was talking about HHJ, and BSE seemed to expect that she would immediately understand who he was referring to. I know SGJ probably doesn't meet up with many people that are BSE's age or younger that BSE would have any kind of connection to or interest in, but I still feel like this small moment is an interesting early indicator of the fact that BSE cares about HHJ more than he lets on. To the point where it's obvious to him and to SGJ that he could only be asking about HHJ and there was no need for SGJ to take an extra moment to confirm that he was referring to HHJ, and not someone else, before confirming that she had met up with HHJ that day as planned.

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It's also interesting that BSE didn't try to call or text HHJ directly. He could've called SGJ next if HHJ didn't pick up or respond immediately. HHJ wouldn't be able to speak to him over the phone, but she would be able to pick up the call and make a noise (in the novel, she often taps her phone to indicate a response to a yes / no question) to confirm whether or not she was okay. Maybe a text or a noise could be faked by someone else if they stole or hacked her phone... but there were certainly questions he could ask to confirm it was really her responding. But interacting directly with HHJ while trying to deal with a threat is not BSE's style. He generally tries to avoid getting her involved in the darker aspects of his job / life. So again, this moment gives the audience an early indication of how BSE operates.

This is probably overthinking it on my part, but perhaps the Blue House has multiple sign language interpreters on staff and that lady is the manager of the interpreter team who is involved in the interview process to fill a vacancy in her team and she's looking forward to hiring someone so her team won't be short staffed anymore?

Or perhaps she is the current interpreter and is retiring, taking a leave of absence, moving abroad, or choosing to move on to a different position and is helping to interview her replacement?

Last summer new Chinese regulations meant that the drama Lost You Forever could not be aired in its entirety. So they cut off the first part of the drama at episode 39 and then the fandom had to wait, and wait, and wait to find out when the rest of the drama would air. It ended up being a one-year wait.

The waiting was awful, but thankfully that drama was based on a novel that had already been translated by fans years ago and the script for the remainder of the drama also leaked and was translated by fans. So there was a lot of content for the fans to analyze and discuss while we waited.

Luckily, in the case of WtPR, the web novel has also been translated by fans, so we can enjoy that while we wait for new episodes.

Thank goodness for amazing fans who are willing to spend their time producing translations and share them with other fans!

You're welcome! ^^

I agree that there are some similarities with Hidden Love. In both stories, the ML is several years older than the FL and first meets the FL when she is a kid and he becomes fond of her and protective of her, but he wasn't "in love" with her at that point (and it would be creepy if he was).

In Hidden Love, the ML didn't start to think of the FL in a romantic light until she was an adult and she seemed to have romantic feelings for another man who was making her miserable. Which made the ML feel both protective and jealous. And of course the other man turned out to be him.

That's pretty similar to BSE (in the novel at least) finally starting to realize the nature and extent of his feelings for HHJ after she is endangered by the kidnapper and after 406 makes him suspect that his innocent little HHJ might have had an affair or been with another man before their marriage. Which made BSE feel both protective and jealous. And of course there was no other man. The only person who got to see HHJ's garter picture was BSE.

If I remember correctly, the age gap in Hidden Love was 5 years, but the leads were a bit younger when their romance began. The female lead was still in university. In WtPR, at least in the novel, the age gap is approximately 6 years (with a caveat that I'll explain below) but their romance begins when they are older, when the female lead is 29.

***

Major novel spoilers ahead.

***

Since the male lead is not the real BSE, his age difference with HHJ might be different than the age difference between the real BSE's age and HHJ's age (a 6 year difference).

But the male lead's age does seem to be very close to the real BSE's age. So his age difference with HHJ is probably pretty close to 6 years.

Thank you, Sammy. ^^

(1) Hong In A (Hong Hui Ju's step sister who was originally engaged to BSE) tried to threaten BSE into breaking the engagement / calling off the wedding because she didn't want to marry him. Her reason for doing so has not been revealed in the drama yet.

BSE was fine with breaking off the engagement, but he found out that HHJ was also going to be put into an arranged engagement / marriage. In the drama, it's emphasized that the person she would be marrying was an awful man. To save HHJ from that fate, instead of calling off the wedding with HIA completely, he told HIA that he would marry her sister (HHJ) instead of her. This is shown in the flashback at the end of episode 2.

HIA was the first person that BSE told about his decision to marry HHJ, but I wouldn't say that he made the decision "with" her. BSE pretended that his reason for marrying HHJ was so that HHJ would be his hostage / his leverage against HIA to prevent HIA from revealing his secret. BSE and HIA are not allies.

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(2) It's complicated and the drama hasn't covered all the reasons that were addressed in the novel yet.

For starters, IMO, "loved her since childhood" is putting it a bit strongly. BSE did have a fondness for HHJ from childhood, but I don't think he was exactly "in love" with her from the time when she was nine. When they were kids, her innocent kindness and selflessness towards him and towards HIA touched him and her determination to learn sign language after the accident gave him something positive to focus on in the midst of the awful experience he had in the Baek household (that hasn't been shown in the drama yet).

When BSE returned to South Korea after his time as a war zone correspondent and saw adult HHJ for the first time, his attachment was clear (seeing her finally made him feel that he had come home) and he did appreciate her beauty and adult figure / features. But then he focused on his own agenda and nearly ended up marrying HIA.

Even when BSE married HHJ, I'm still not sure he was "in love" with her exactly. To me, it didn't seem like BSE spent the first three years of their marriage longing for a real romantic relationship with HHJ. And, in the novel at least, it's pretty clear that BSE definitely wasn't aware of the full scope of his feelings for HHJ until after the kidnapper and 406 showed up. Of course, BSE was clearly very protective of HHJ and had an attachment to her before they showed up. But once HHJ married him and was safe from that other arranged marriage, he was content to just have her be a peaceful presence in his home, like a fish tank (his own analogy, which I'll explain below).

You know that famous quote from Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice about when he first started to be in love? “I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” I feel like that describes BSE fairly well. He didn't understand his own feelings for HHJ for a long time, even after he married her. By the time he did understand his own feelings, those feelings had grown quite strong and were in the process of growing even stronger.

That said, the drama has made some changes and BSE in the drama seems to have a slightly better sense (compared to BSE in the novel) of his feelings for HHJ by the time the kidnapper appears.

The drama has also added scenes (like the phone call with her mother in episode 1 and the flashback in episode 2) to emphasize that HHJ's mother has pressured HHJ since the beginning of her marriage with BSE to get closer to BSE, to get him to like her, and to try to get pregnant with his child. BSE can obviously tell that HHJ's attempts to meet her mother's demands (making dinner for him, dancing clumsily with him, closing her eyes when she thinks he's going in for a kiss) were things that HHJ did because of her mother's pressure and not because she was acting on her own feelings. Being treated like another person's puppet and facing a mother's unreasonable demands is something that BSE can understand and empathize with. Which is why BSE tells HHJ in the drama that she doesn't have to act like a puppet in front of him, she shouldn't do everything her mother tells her to do, and she can forget about trying to force herself to have feelings for him. When he is cold towards her, he is choosing not to take advantage of the situation, he is protecting HHJ by not further fuelling her mother's attempts to use her, and he is protecting himself from being used and distracted. And when he tells HHJ that she wasn't part of his plans, he was telling the truth. He doesn't want her to get mixed up in the mess of politics and family drama that he's dealing with, and he also doesn't want her to distract him from his goals even more so than she already has.

***

MAJOR NOVEL SPOILERS AHEAD

***

BSE is not really BSE. Nor is he really candidate BEY's son. Nor is he really BJH's grandson.

Instead, the male lead is actually BJH's illegitimate son (rather than his legitimate grandson) who was raised by a fisherman (hence why he hates fish / the smell of fish). The real BSE was a psychopath and BJH killed him in front of the male lead when they were both kids. Then BJH forced the male lead to take over the identity of BSE.

When he moved into the Baek household, his life was suffocating and miserable. But his bedroom window was across from HHJ's bedroom window, and every night he used to watch through her window as little HHJ practiced sign language. As an adult, he described it as being like watching a fish tank that brought him a sense of peace and that made him feel like he could breathe. And when BSE married HHJ, he was content to have her continue to play that role. She could be just like a quiet fish tank that provided a sense of peace when he came home.

After 406 makes BSE suspect that HHJ might have had an affair, he tells Park Do Jae that he forgot that the fish tank (which he thought was his) "could move". 406's words about BSE seeming to have a jealousy complex also made BSE start to realize how much he cared about, and how possessive he felt about, HHJ.

As the novel progresses, BSE learns about sides of HHJ that he hadn't seen or appreciated before and his feelings for her grow stronger.

***

Guilt -- I had the impression that BSE unfairly placed some of the blame for the accident that killed HHJ's step brother, that took HIA's hearing, and that appeared to cause HHJ's mutism on himself. Because his real father / fake grandfather (BJH) arranged for the car crash to happen after HIA revealed that she could tell that he was not the same BSE that she had met before.

Emotional Detachment -- Due to the horrific situations he had faced, BSE became extremely emotionally detached. The novel describes him as such. He focused on surviving and on protecting HHJ. But he didn't think about romance or relationships until 406 came into his life and shook up his perspective.

Unwanted -- BSE also viewed HHJ as young, innocent, and forced into a marriage that she did not want. He didn't think she had any romantic interest in him. This is emphasized more in the drama, where they've done a lot to play up the idea that HHJ's mother puts a lot of pressure on her to try to get closer to BSE.

Horrific Truths / Danger -- Just as HHJ spent twenty years burdened by her mother's lies and her own mutism, BSE had spent decades hiding the horrifying truth behind his identity. Hiding the truth and maintaining the lie was a matter of survival. And he especially did not want HHJ to find out the truth that he had watched BJH kill the real BSE (BJH's legitimate grandson) or that he (BJH's illegitimate son) had replaced the real, murdered BSE. Both because the truth was horrific and because knowing the truth would be dangerous, given the lengths that the Baek family would go to in order to protect themselves and their positions in society even after BJH died. Acting coldly towards HHJ and keeping her at arm's length was preferable.

Weakness -- If the Baek family or his other enemies thought that he cared about protecting HHJ, let alone loved her, then there would be a risk that they would try to use those feelings against him, especially since he had so few exploitable weaknesses. This is emphasized when BSE receives the first series of phone calls from the kidnapper and he pretends that he doesn't care about HHJ.

Other Goals -- BSE did not want to become candidate BEY's pawn and did not want to be forced to join his presidential campaign. Before BSE changed his plans and married HHJ, his original plan was to amass his own power, to reveal the Baek family's corruption, and to abandon the name and identity of BSE. After marrying HHJ, he had to adjust his plans for her safety and wellbeing. But most of his original intentions still remained. He continued to amass his own power and to collect dirt on the Baek family and others. Pursuing his plans took up all of his focus and energy.

For all these reasons, IMO, BSE didn't really consider the possibility of having a real romantic relationship with HHJ and he even intentionally distanced himself from her both in public and in private. Before 406 showed up, he was satisfied with just having HHJ safe in his home, providing a calming presence like a fish tank.

To help viewers who have not watched all the episodes that have aired yet that might want to avoid spoilers, could you hide your comment under the spoiler cover please?

Edit 1: Thank you!

Edit 2: Also, I think your reasoning makes sense. And your memory and attention to detail are better than mine - I can't even recall seeing the kidnapper eating, let alone what it was that he ate!

In the novel, HHJ cries in front of 675 (this has been shown in the drama already), screams in front of 675 when she falls from a great height in chapter 35 (this hasn't been shown in the drama yet), and yells "Stop!" in front of 675 in chapter 38 (this hasn't been shown in the drama yet), so HHJ knows that 675 is aware that her mutism doesn't prevent her from speaking / making noise 100% of the time in the first half of the story, more or less.

But as for when HHJ realizes that 675 knows that she can sometimes speak in full sentences, and that she is 406, that occurs very late in the story (in chapter 61). But I’m expecting that the drama will make major changes to when and how she finds out.

In the novel, there is a pretty extended period of time when HHJ knows that 675 knows that 406 is a woman, but she thinks that 675 thinks that 406 is a different woman (i.e., that 406 is not HHJ), when 675 actually does know that 406 is HHJ.

Since 406 can speak to him and HHJ cannot, 675 intentionally pretends not to know that 406 is HHJ and continues to refer to her as 406. In that period, 406 and 675 have phone sex and discuss NSFW topics. Recordings of snippets from these conversations (but just the 675 parts) are eventually leaked to the press and 675 is accused of having an affair.

As part of the final showdown with the kidnapper, 675 makes a public announcement that includes him refuting the allegation that he had an affair / was unfaithful to his wife and stating that the woman he was speaking to in those recordings (406) is his wife. That’s when HHJ realizes that 675 knew that she was 406 and that she could speak in certain circumstances.

But at that point 675 disappears and is presumed dead. Until HHJ starts to get calls from an international number that starts with 675. Although the person on the other end of the call never speaks, HHJ suspects that person is 675 and that he is still alive, and she speaks to him when he calls. And of course in the end they reunite face-to-face and speak to each other then too.

I’m expecting that the drama will cut out the phone sex and NSFW conversations and will make other changes (e.g., to the timing of when things are revealed). They have already moved the reveal that 675 was the one who came up with the idea of marrying HHJ instead of HIA (in order to protect HHJ) from near the end of the novel to near the beginning of the drama. So I’m guessing the reveal will happen differently in the drama and possibly sooner in the story.

You're welcome!

Yes, that's an alternate term for the male lead.