I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 23
Ra Iheon Project ‘Dating and Getting Married’ - Mission #3. Dating
“What is your relationship with Han Jihoon?”
Startled by Yi-heon’s question, Dan-a pulled back from his embrace.
“H-How do you… know… Han… Jihoon?”
I knew it myself. Even to my own ears, asking back like that sounded suspicious as hell.
But I had no choice.
If we’re talking about Han Jihoon…
‘Actually, he’s the one I really liked. It was Han Jihoon, not the President.’
…he was the very Han Jihoon in that sentence. (Though my attempt to confess had failed, of course.)
In other words, the culprit behind this entire mess.
“I saw you talking in the break room earlier. It looked like you were teasing each other—are you that close?”
“Ah, w-we joined the company together. But he already has someone he’s going to marry. Yunseo. There’s a girl named Yunseo on my team. The three of us are peers from the same recruitment class. I’m just a pebble wedged between the two of them.”
Damn it. What a messy explanation.
There was no need to panic like this. No one ever knew about my feelings anyway, so there was no way to get caught.
You’re going to give it away yourself, you idiot.
“Ah, I see. What a relief. For a second, I thought…”
As if he hadn’t really cared about that in the first place, Yi-heon pulled her into another tight embrace.
Seriously, what is with this guy? Just hugging me whenever he wants.
Still, it was a relief. Lost in his own ulterior motives, the President didn’t seem to notice my stammering at all.
Maybe because I was held in his arms with a sense of relief…
For some reason, his embrace felt so cozy and warm.
Our President has broad shoulders and a warm chest…
Right around the time the thought crossed my mind—Wait, is it okay to stay like this?—the sound of footsteps echoed near the emergency stairwell.
Ah, right. We’re at work, aren’t we?
Besides, I need to casually date the President and break up with him.
Why was I just standing here doing this?
Startled, Dan-a quickly backed away.
“W-Well, my break is over, so I’ll be heading back to work.”
Dan-a scurried away.
Left standing with his arms still in mid-hug, Yi-heon let out a soft chuckle and slid his hands into his pockets.
“…….”
Han Jihoon.
A guy who already had a fiancée giving another woman such a friendly smile?
And to my woman, no less?
If he didn’t already have someone to marry, Yi-heon would have thoroughly investigated whether the guy harbored feelings for Dan-a.
My small, cute, precious girlfriend.
She’s too precious to let out of my sight. What am I going to do?
I should have just married her right away after all.
“It’s not like I can carry her around in my pocket…”
Wait a second.
…Why not?
Now, here we have a pocket.
A pocket is not merely a storage space.
It holds something, protects it, and serves as a boundary dividing the inside from the outside.
If you cup your hands, that too becomes a pocket,
and biological structures, like the human stomach, function as pockets as well.
The same goes for the heart, which holds emotions and memories.
The concept can be expanded even further.
A home is a pocket that holds a life,
a city is a pocket embracing the individual and society,
and a nation is a pocket acting as a structure to maintain order.
What about the universe!
It is, quite literally, the ultimate pocket.
It contains everything, yet gives nothing back.
Black holes in particular swallow form, name, and time, holding their very existence to the end.
In the end, a pocket is a boundary formed wherever I exist.
In other words, that boundary changes depending on how I create it!
Whoa! Whoa! Applause erupted at Yi-heon’s speech, bringing the executive board meeting to an end.
Do-hyun followed behind Yi-heon.
“President, your speech today was wonderful.”
“Hmph. Was it?”
“Still, while analyzing the debt ratio and cash flow, why did you suddenly bring up pockets…?”
“Well. Because I wanted to convey that the essence of a pocket depends on how I define it?”
“I mean, what does that even mean, and why in the world during the meeting would you bring up such sophis—”
When Yi-heon stopped in his tracks, Do-hyun flinched.
“I-I wasn’t trying to call it sophistry…”
“I’ll be leaving for the day.”
“Pardon? It’s only five o’clock.”
“That’s when I’ll be clocking out from now on. Secretary Kang, consider yourself dismissed and clock out as well.”
“What? What about your work?”
Even while asking that, Do-hyun pulled a Chalna Four Cuts photo strip out of his planner and handed it over.
“What is this?”
“I simply had to praise you. Leaving early—isn’t that the greatest virtue of all? Please, go ahead and leave. I’ll take care of wrapping things up.”
Never mind worrying about our problematic precious boss anymore.
Since it came to this, he might as well enjoy clocking out early.
Immediately pressing the elevator call button, Do-hyun bowed to Yi-heon.
Stepping into the elevator, Yi-heon’s eyes sparkled.
From now on, the entire world is my giant pocket.
And Lee Dan-a, I am on my way to put you in it.
Yi-heon tightly gripped Dan-a’s photo in his warm hand.
“President!”
Dan-a panted as she came to a halt in front of Yi-heon.
Looking at Yi-heon, who remained impeccably put together even at quitting time, she couldn’t tell whether her racing heart was from sprinting all the way from the lobby, the thrill of running into a handsome man on the street, or just pure fluttering excitement.
“D-Did you wait long?”
“So there are days when Ms. Lee Dan-a doesn’t leave right on the dot.”
He said, checking the time.
Though they hadn’t made dinner plans, the President had been sending messages since six saying they should leave work together.
Guilt-ridden for keeping him waiting, Dan-a brought her hands together apologetically.
“I’m so sorry. The celebrity endorsing our company caused some trouble, so I had to clean up that mess.”
“It’s fine.”
What do you mean ‘it’s fine’ after waiting for two whole hours? If it were me, I’d have gone home, munched on fried chicken, and finished almost an entire episode of a Netlix drama.*
Still, it was partly her fault that he had waited like this.
Because she kept messaging: President, I think I’ll be about thirty minutes late. About twenty minutes late. About ten minutes late, which in the end prevented him from going home.
Who knew it would end up taking two full hours?
I should have told him to just go home in the first place.
But I still lacked the courage to tell the President, ‘I’ll be leaving late today, so please go on ahead.’
As if reading her exact thoughts, he beamed at her.
“Do you feel sorry?”
“Why should I? I was working for your family’s company.”
Suddenly, the look in Yi-heon’s eyes shifted ominously.
I pushed my luck too far.
“I-It was a joke.”
“I only looked at you because I liked your sense of humor. Even if you’re not sorry for being late, at least pretend to be.”
“Well, should I apologize just a little, then…? This is a joke too…”
“You don’t need to explain every single time.”
Still, trading cheeky jokes with the President is terrifying. I feel like you’ll turn on me in an instant.
But she had to push through.
Because she needed them to get comfortable quickly so she could speedrun all the way to a breakup.
The problem was that she still couldn’t believe the President was actually her boyfriend.
“Now then.”
He stretched out his arms as if inviting her into a hug.
“You said you were sorry. Shouldn’t you give a reward to the boyfriend who waited without a single complaint?”
Just as she was about to reach out her arms as if spellbound, she snapped back to her senses.
It felt like things were moving strangely fast.
But how far was she supposed to take this?
She had only planned on dating casually before breaking up. She hadn’t given physical intimacy any thought at all.
If things kept going like this, her plan would go off the rails.
As a thorough, plan-oriented MBTI ‘J’ (self-proclaimed), once a plan collapsed, it took forever to recover.
“D-Didn’t we already do that earlier?”
She mumbled vaguely.
“What did we do?”
“Uh, you know, hugging and…”
“We did? When was that again?”
“I mean, earlier in the stairwell…”
“I think I’ll need a reenactment to remember.”
“Ha, that transparent trick won’t work on me.”
“It didn’t work? I thought we clicked.”
Yi-heon made a sulky face.
I shouldn’t fall for that expression.
(Devil: Don’t go soft. That’s just an act. Kick him in the shin and turn around. Flip him the middle finger!)
(Angel: How can you NOT go soft for a face like that? Embrace him right now! Cuddle him, hug him, grope him, feel him, savor him! Push the pace and claim the President for yourself!)
Doesn’t it feel like the angel and the devil swapped roles?
“President, please behave yourself. We’re right in front of the company.”
“Why, are you embarrassed of me?”
As if that could ever be true.
“We did it inside the company earlier.”
“T-That was because no one was watching…”
“So where no one is watching, it’s fine?”
“D-Does it work that way…?”
“Get in.”
“Ah, yes…”
Turning her head, there was a Rolls-R*yce right in front of her!
The thought of asking how many cars he owned briefly crossed her mind before vanishing like the wind.
Because the moment she got in the car, he held out both arms as if begging to be hugged immediately.
Whining like this when he’s built like that.
Still, he waited two whole hours; ignoring him would just be inhumane.
“Ahem. Then I’ll reenact it just a little bit.”
His face instantly lit up. Cute.
“Uh-uh, you can’t come forward first. I said I’d reenact just a little.”
“Then.”
Yi-heon struck an at-ease stance with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Is this good?”
Tch, look at him putting his heart and soul into wanting a hug from me.
She stepped closer and gently rested her head against his chest. Yi-heon caught the hand she had wrapped around his waist, pulled her closer, and gently cradled the back of her head.
“This is cheating.”
“What wouldn’t I do right now?”
When she laughed, he patted her back affectionately.
“You worked hard today.”
Could the proverb ‘joy comes at the end of suffering’ have originated right here?
The entire day’s exhaustion melted away like snow before his warm chest.
