I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 31
Before Love
“Ha, fuck. I went and did it.”
Yi-on ruffled his hair.
‘I’ll do the arranged marriage with Dongyeon Group. I’ll marry Baek Seorin. So deal with it.’
Hyung has protected our family all this time, so now it’s my turn to protect him.
…That had been his bold mindset when he shouted at Yeon-sook and stormed out.
The problem was, it wasn’t something he could do just because he declared he would.
Marriage wasn’t something one could do alone.
What would that woman say if she found out?
Counting chickens before they hatch…
“Ah, this is so unfair. I’ve lived my whole life without ever jumping the gun like this.”
Still, that woman. She collapsed because she was sick.
He had wondered why she suddenly toppled over like that. Anemia, was it…
No wonder she felt light as a feather.
There were rumors that every single member of the Dongyeon Group family was rotten to the core.
He wondered if she hadn’t even been able to eat properly while walking on eggshells around them.
Yi-on recalled how she had looked lying on the bed as if dead.
Skin whiter than snow, and a peacefully sleeping face that seemed to radiate light.
The prettiest woman he had ever seen.
That was the very first thought that had crossed his mind when he first saw her.
It made him think it was a relief he hadn’t attended his hyung’s engagement ceremony.
If he had seen this woman back then…
A chill ran down his spine just imagining what he would have felt.
Of course, his position wasn’t all that different now. Wasn’t she the woman whose engagement with his hyung was broken off?
The person who should be furthest from him.
So why couldn’t he stop his eyes from drifting toward her?
Her high-bridged nose, haughty gaze, and red lips that made him curious about what words would spill from them.
If he had an ideal type, he wondered if it might be a woman like her.
How could hyung fall in love with another woman when he had someone like her?
If this woman were my fiancée, I would never look at another woman…
“Ah, damn it.”
Coming to his senses, Yi-on shook the thoughts away.
“Radiant, my ass. She was just pale.”
Let’s just think about how to clean up the mess I made. Think, think, think.
Knock, knock. Right on cue, someone knocked on the hotel room door.
Opening the door, his eyes filled with a pale face. It was Baek Seorin.
Even though he already knew they were supposed to meet, the moment he saw Seo-rin’s face, his heart dropped like he had run into her by sheer coincidence.
Ah, damn it, what’s wrong with me?
While Yi-on tilted his head in confusion, Seo-rin grumbled as she stepped inside.
“Why did you want to meet at a hotel again? What crime did you commit?”
“Man. Did you throw manners out the window? How about a greeting first?”
“Uh, right. Hello…”
Seo-rin waved her hand with an awkward expression. Seeing her innocent reaction, taking his words so literally, he let out a chuckle.
“I did what you told me to, so why are you laugh… ing?”
“No reason. Just thought our Princess noona was cute.”
“I’m not a princess.”
“No way. You totally are. Anyone can see you look like a princess. Hmm, is today’s concept Snow White?”
When Yi-on scanned her up and down as he spoke, Seo-rin glared at him.
“Are you going to keep teasing me? I went and apologized to Lee Dan-a-ssi just like you said, okay? I did everything I had to do, so let’s not see each other anym—”
As Seo-rin turned to walk out, Yi-on quickly caught her wrist.
Tension flared in both of their eyes. Promptly, he raised both hands as if pleading his innocence.
“Wait, I still have things to say…”
Letting out a low sigh, Seo-rin sat down on the sofa. Yi-on took a seat opposite her.
“What is it now? Things ended well with Lee Dan-a-ssi, so I won’t be bothering your sister-in-law anymore. I talked to Ra Iheon-ssi on the phone, and the article about the broken engagement will soon…”
“The breakup article isn’t going out.”
“What? What do you mean… I’m not marrying Ra Iheon-ssi. You saw the photos too, seeing how good they look together. Lee Dan-a-ssi was even more charming in person. I can’t marry a man who loves another woman. No, I won’t.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“What?”
“It’s a corporate deal. That marriage. Leaving my hyung aside, what about you, noona? Can you tell your family? That you’re going to cancel a marriage with trillions of won on the line?”
He was right.
Unable to refute it, Seo-rin could only bite her lip tightly.
“See? What good is being considerate of other people’s circumstances without any plan of your own? You should be figuring out a way to make the marriage happen no matter what.”
“What… are you saying right now? Are you telling me to break your hyung and sister-in-law apart or something?”
Turning pale, Seo-rin scolded Yi-on.
“I didn’t think you were like this, but you’re nasty. How could you say something like that? After raising such a fuss telling me to apologize to your sister-in-law, now you stab them in the back like this? I can’t do that. I’d rather tell my parents… Tell them…”
“And how are you going to tell them?”
“Th-that’s…”
Watching Seo-rin hesitate, Yi-on quickly seized the opportunity.
“I can help you.”
“How…?”
“Marry me, noona.”
“…What?”
What did I just hear?
Seo-rin flinched and stared at Yi-on.
“I’m a son of Saja Group too. If you marry me, the deal between our groups stays intact, and you won’t have any reason to get chewed out by your parents.”
“…”
“Good idea, isn’t it? So take a chance on me, noona. Huh?”
“…”
Staring blankly at Yi-on, Seo-rin burst into laughter. Yi-on’s face scrunched up.
“What? Why are you laughing right in my face?”
“Stop joking around.”
“I’m not joking.”
“If it’s not a joke, then what is it? Are you really trying to get married? You and me?”
“Why not?”
“No way.”
“No way? Wait, you didn’t even think about it for a single second and said no way? Why? Why not?”
“Do you like me?”
“…Ha, seriously. Who marries out of love? You know the situation full well. Did you like hyung?”
“Not that, but… he was handsome, so I thought it wouldn’t be bad.”
Yi-on furrowed his brow.
“If that’s your reason, why can’t it be me? My face doesn’t really lose out to hyung’s, does it?”
“You’re younger.”
Isn’t that an advantage?
“Excuse me, we’re only one year apart, you know?”
“You’re still younger. Maybe your hyung, but you’re not my type.”
He had heard thousands of times how amazing his hyung was without ever feeling offended.
So why did hearing it from this woman rub him the wrong way?
“Fine, whatever. If you have a better plan, let me know. In that case, go have a nice chat with your parents.”
“…”
“Ah, but since you’re already here, eat before you go. You need to eat well to have the energy to get scolded by your parents.”
“What? Is that something you should say right n—”
“Since you listened to me and apologized to my sister-in-law, my treat. What do you want to eat?”
Yi-on grinned and picked up the phone.
“Who turned on the air conditioner in this weather?”
The Marketing Team Leader looked around. People were shivering and hunching their shoulders.
“Global warming or not, the spring chill hasn’t even passed yet. Who turned on the AC?”
Everyone looked around.
“The AC isn’t on?”
“What? Then why is it so cold? Did someone open a window?”
“Nobody opened a window.”
“Then where on earth is this draft blowing from? Just where is this chilling wind coming from?!”
Searching for the culprit, the Team Leader shuddered.
The epicenter was right here.
The hallway in front of the Public Relations Office.
There stood a man radiating a chill comparable to Siberia.
It was none other than Ra Iheon, who had transformed into the most cold-blooded man in the universe.
Their departments… were close.
With both hands shoved into his trouser pockets, Iheon stood glaring coldly at the Marketing Team.
He watched as Ji-hoon got up from his seat, walked over to the air conditioner, and checked for airflow.
Tapping on the window and reaching his hand toward the ceiling to check the air made him look downright foolish.
Just why did Lee Dan-a-ssi like that kind of guy?
“President? Um, are you planning to freeze the entire eleventh floor?”
Unable to watch any longer, Do-hyun approached and asked.
Anyone looking would think the genre of this novel is fantasy.
Conjuring dark clouds, freezing the company…
“Secretary Kang-nim.”
“Yes, President.”
“What do you think?”
“About what, sir?”
“Han Jihoon-ssi.”
“Ah, Han Jihoon-ssi. …Who is that?”
“Between Han Jihoon and me, who looks better?”
For starters, the President didn’t look well at all.
He needs to take his medicine first.
“Naturally, you, President.”
Here’s your medicine.
“Naturally?”
“Yes, naturally.”
“Then why didn’t that ‘natural’ truth work on Lee Dan-a-ssi? Why did she like Han Jihoon instead of me?”
Who falls in love with the company President?
Unless you give them a salary without making them work, maybe.
“Well… wouldn’t it be a matter of timing when they met?”
Right then, Ji-hoon returned to his seat and gestured to Yunseo that it was cold.
Yunseo mirrored the pose and looked at Dan-a. Dan-a could be seen glancing around and shrugging her shoulders.
Yunseo didn’t register in his gaze at all. Only Ji-hoon and Dan-a were visible to him.
Iheon’s eyes narrowed.
Looking now, Han Jihoon was seated right where Dan-a would see him the moment she raised her head.
Right. Seeing him every day like that, feelings would sprout even if there weren’t any before.
Even if she wanted to forget, how could she when she looks at him every single day?
Did she say they were peers who joined at the same time? No wonder I didn’t like him.
‘Right after joining the company, you told me there was someone you liked, so I wondered if it might be our Ji-hoon…’
‘What are you talking about! Of course it’s the President!’
She liked Han Jihoon from the very first moment she saw him…
During those two years when he thought Dan-a loved him and felt it was such a waste, in reality, she had been in love with Han Jihoon.
Now, it wasn’t just a matter of regretting those two years.
If time were something he could smash, he felt like crushing it into fine powder.
At the sight of Ji-hoon and Dan-a (though it was the three of them including Yunseo) huddled together chatting, Iheon’s gaze hardened stiffly.
“Secretary Kang-nim, we need to relocate.”
“Yes, President. I was freezing to death anyway. Since you’ve done this much, that Han Jihoon-ssi or whatever his name is has probably gotten the message, so let’s head back.”
“Move it today. The location of the Marketing Team.”
“Yes, President. …Pardon? President? What did you just say?”
“I said I made the scope of my pocket too wide.”
“Pardon? P-pocket? No, are you going on about that pocket again?”
Lee Dan-a. If your feelings have been fake until now, I’ll make sure they become real from here on.
Because now that I’ve put you in my pocket, I’ll never let you out.