I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Dun-Dun!
“Why did you come looking for me?”
Seorin had assumed they would at least go into a café and have a calm conversation.
Following Dan-a had already felt thrilling, almost like stepping into a spy movie, but she never expected to be dragged into an alleyway and interrogated like an actual character in one.
“Then again, the reason is obvious. No matter what you say, I’m not giving up the President.”
Dan-a met Seorin’s gaze with resolute eyes.
“I’m truly sorry to you, Baek Seorin-ssi. My sudden appearance ruined your marriage. But even so, I can’t stupidly back down now. Because… I’ve fallen in love with him.”
Why on earth are you saying something like that in a back alley?
“So now that you know, please leave.”
Seeing Dan-a speak with such forceful resolve, Seorin thought she was remarkably cool.
She’s so good at apologizing, too. Meanwhile, I’ve been hesitating the whole time.
It was only natural, really. While Dan-a had been falling in love, Seorin had been running a background check on someone else.
Suddenly, Seorin felt pathetic. As if she had truly become the obstacle standing between the two of them.
“Will you… be all right?”
Seorin let out a soft chuckle.
“The future of two corporate groups is hanging on our marriage, and you’re making him throw that all away for you.”
Dan-a, who was about to walk away, turned back toward Seorin.
Dan-a was trembling. Yet it was plain to see how hard she was trying not to lose her nerve.
Taking a deep breath, she offered a small smile.
“No. I’m not all right. Of course it weighs heavily on my conscience, and I feel guilty. But a man I don’t want to lose has appeared in my life, and he wants me just as much.”
“……”
“So I’m going to see it through. Whether a cliff or a flower field awaits at the end… I’m going to find out together with him.”
Ah. Right.
“I’m truly sorry, Baek Seorin-ssi. I hope you meet someone as wonderful as our President… though that might be difficult. But I’ll be rooting for you. Sincerely.”
I wanted to be the protagonist of my own life one day, too.
I thought someone like me—weak and treated with contempt by my family—had no right to it.
I figured I would just stay tucked away in some quiet corner for the rest of my life, living whatever life was handed to me while causing as little trouble as possible.
That was what I had thought.
Yet Lee Dan-a-ssi…
By all accounts, she seemed so ordinary that she wouldn’t even stand out in a crowd, yet she was living more like a main character than anyone else.
Right. Shouldn’t I at least be the protagonist in my own life?
“Excuse me!”
Seorin caught the hand of Dan-a, who was walking away.
“Here.”
What she hurriedly shoved into Dan-a’s hand was a photograph.
“Actually, I came here to give you this.”
“What… is this?”
“It’s a photo taken of the two of you on a date.”
“……What?”
“Yes, I had someone investigate you. It wasn’t to interfere; Ra Iheon-ssi suddenly wanted to break off the engagement, and I was just curious as to why.”
“……”
“It wasn’t like I did it knowing Lee Dan-a-ssi was by his side from the start. I’m… I’m sorry, too. I know it must make you uncomfortable……”
“How could……”
“I know. I know what I did, but I just……”
“The photo came out so well!”
Wait, you like it?
At Dan-a’s response, Seorin’s face flushed—as if she had just met a fellow fangirl.
“Right? Didn’t it turn out great? That’s why I wanted to give it to you. Especially here—Lee Dan-a-ssi, you look really pretty.”
“No way. Look at the President.”
“No, Dan-a-ssi came out great too.”
“Look at this. Isn’t our President ridiculously handsome?”
“Well, yes, he is, but……”
“Hmph. What do I do? I miss him already. Can I keep this?”
Dan-a’s eyes sparkled with wide, dewy wonder, like Puss in Boots.
“Yes, of course. That’s why I’m giving it to you. But you did hear my apology, right? I ran a background check……”
“Ah, yep, yep.”
“Wait, I really don’t think that’s something to just brush off like that……”
“Come on, haven’t you watched dramas? Running a background check is practically the default. If I get upset over something like that, how am I going to survive what comes next? Ah, of course, I’m not saying what you did was right. Please don’t do it again, Baek Seorin-ssi.”
Lee Dan-a-ssi. So cool. So awesome.
“Thank you for saying that. And I’m sorry.”
“Me too. Thank you for the photo, and I’m sorry.”
“I’m more sorry, though.”
“If we’re talking about who feels more sorry, it’s definitely me.”
“I’m not backing down either.”
“Think you can beat me?”
At this rate, they were about to drop to the floor and bow in full prostration. Realizing they were on the exact same wavelength, both burst into laughter the moment their eyes met.
“Shall we stop here?”
“Yes. Sounds good. But… is this all the photos?”
“No. There are more, but bringing them all felt a bit much. Would you like me to get them to you?”
“Aww, yes, please!”
“All right, I’ll make sure to save them for you.”
“Then could I have your phone number……?”
“Ah, sure, sure.”
The two exchanged numbers.
“Thank you. The photo is so pretty.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s because the two of you look so lovely……”
“Well, of course. Our President is gorgeous, after all. His Chalna Four Cuts photos turned out super pretty, too. Anyway, I had to rush out of the office today so we’re ending like this, but I’ll definitely treat you to a meal next time.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Goodbye then.”
Seorin waved toward Dan-a, who was showering the photograph with little kisses as she walked away.
A fool who only knows love. Lee Dan-a-ssi.
I’m glad she looks happy.
Does taking charge of your own life like that make you happy?
“I’m…… jealous……”
She envied Lee Dan-a, who stood tall and confident without feeling inferior to anyone.
Phew. Dan-a clutched her chest, feeling like her heart was about to burst.
She had stepped outside to take a look after the manager mentioned there was someone as gorgeous as a celebrity standing in front of the company, only to realize it was Baek Seorin.
She had probably come looking for her.
To say what she couldn’t say last time.
In the past, she might have said she would give up on Iheon, but Dan-a couldn’t let go of him now.
Because she had finally realized her own feelings.
Yet to her surprise, Baek Seorin had acknowledged her instead and even apologized.
And not just that—she got photos of the President, too! Hehe.
Though she desperately wanted to look at it again, she tucked it safely inside her bag to ensure it wouldn’t get leaked.
I’ll show it to the President on our way later.
“Whew. Now all I have to do is mentally prepare for the breakup articles to drop.”
Did she become the ace of the Crisis Management Team for nothing?
Crisis management in work and in love—completely under control.
She had all the confidence in the world to weather whatever wave crashed over her.
Just then, a message arrived from her mother.
Our Mrs. Son
Saturday. 4 PM. Star*bucks in front of the house.
Dress nicely. Do your makeup well, too.
What is this?
She inspected her phone from every angle, though obviously that didn’t help her make heads or tails of it.
Yet if it was a message from her mother……
Our Mrs. Son
Arranged blind date.
Or a regular blind date.
More messages poured in rapid succession.
“Are you kidding me? She really wants me to go on one?”
Our Mrs. Son
Mom, Mom, I have a boyfriend.
She fired off the reply frantically, but the only response was chilly silence.
She doesn’t believe me?!
Whether it was broken engagement articles or anything else, Dan-a had forgotten that a far larger tidal wave was looming right before her.
What do I do?
No matter how much I insist I have a boyfriend now, there’s no way she’ll just believe me.
Still, taking the President home already……
He might feel overwhelmed.
He doesn’t love me yet……
Let’s not think about that.
I’m not mentally prepared to go there yet.
What should I do? Just go to the blind date and sabotage it? If I do that, Mom will throw a fit.
“Oh, the photo!”
Come to think of it, Seorin had given her a photo today of all days.
Baek Seorin-ssi, I love you. I’m definitely treating you to a meal next time.
If she showed this photo, her mother would believe her.
Because to anyone looking, they were photos of a couple gazing tenderly at each other.
All right. No one can come between me and the President.
Not even Mom.
“You visit your family’s house often.”
After work, Iheon drove her all the way to her parents’ home.
“Yes. It just kind of turned out that way.”
“I couldn’t see you last weekend because you said you were having dinner with your family. Since you came to your parents’ house on a weekday this time, does that mean I get to see you this weekend?”
She gripped the bag holding the photo tightly.
“Of course.”
As long as I convince Mom today.
“Well then, I’ll be heading in now.”
“All right, go on in.”
“Yes, I’m heading in.”
“Mhm. Go in.”
“Yes. I’ll go…… You should head out first, President. I’ll go in after watching you leave.”
“I can’t do that. What if someone snatches you away right in front of the door?”
“Haha. You really have a way with jokes, President.”
“I’m serious.”
If he gets any more serious, lasers might shoot from his eyes. People would curse at us if they heard that!
She felt she had to hurry inside if only to prevent anyone else from overhearing.
“Then I’ll go first.”
Sob. She turned away in dramatic sorrow.
When there wasn’t even enough time in the world just to look at the President’s face, what kind of ordeal was this?
The trial was simply too immense.
“Unnie?”
Iheon and Dan-a turned their heads at the same time.
Unlike Iheon, who was startled by the intensely damp and gloomy aura, Dan-a recognized Dan-mi at once.
“Lee Dan-mi. Where is a high school senior coming back from at this hour?”
“Could you please remember that I go to a study café because of you?”
“Then you should be studying, why are you wandering around?”
“Mom told me to come home and eat. Why are you here again, Unnie? And who is this……?”
Dan-mi’s gaze shifted toward Iheon.
Oho, a witness appears.
Introducing him to the family might be a bit much, but just a quick greeting with her sister should be fine, right? Dan-a thought it would be light and easy for Iheon, too.
Dan-a pointed at Dan-mi and looked up at Iheon.
“Uh, well, this is my younger sister, Lee Dan-mi. And over here is our Pres—”
“Ah. Is he that person?”
“Huh?”
“The President who heard Unnie lie about liking him when Unnie was actually trying to confess to Han Jihoon oppa but found out he was marrying Kim Yoonseo unnie, and then asked Unnie to marry him after overhearing that as he passed by?”
“……”
“……”
It gets exposed like this?!
Without any preparation whatsoever?!