I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 32
Kairos
The Marketing Team’s relocation began.
Amid the frantic moving, a tearful farewell was taking place.
“Sob. How could this happen? After all the years we’ve worked side by side!”
“Sniff. Honey… you have to work hard even without me.”
“What am I going to do without you? All I had to do was turn my head and you were right there. But now you won’t be. Waaaah.”
“I know! That was the only thing getting me through this brutal job. How can they tear us apart? Sniffle.”
It was Yunseo and Ji-hoon.
Clinging to each other, the two wailed that they couldn’t be separated.
Dan-a watched them with sympathetic eyes.
If she hadn’t met the President, she might have thought it was for the best that they were split up.
But now, she understood what love felt like.
If she worked with Lee Heon and was suddenly separated from him without warning, her own heart would probably break into pieces too.
Still, why on earth had this happened out of nowhere?
At least it was a relief her team wasn’t the one being relocated.
“I mean, why this sudden desk reshuffle overnight? In all my years, I’ve never seen an entire team relocated out of the blue like this. Manager Oh, going back and forth from the Strategy Office, didn’t you hear anything from upstairs?”
“Not really. Oh? Department Head Choi? Have you heard anything?”
“Well… from what I hear, it was a special directive straight from the President….”
“The President? Is he moving us because our desks were cold? It’s just so sudden. Department Head, give that to me. I’ll carry it.”
Department Head Choi and his lackeys walked away. Now, Dan-a stood alone in the desolate space of the Marketing Team, having watched their departure with pity.
A special directive from the President? Why all of a sudden?
“…”
What is this? I have a bad feeling about it, but I can’t guess the reason.
Should I ask him directly?
“Nah. Meddling in company business crosses the line.”
The President must have his reasons.
“The Marketing Team’s relocation?”
The moment she got into the car after work, the first thing she asked about was the Marketing Team’s relocation.
Dan-a’s unexpected question caused Lee Heon’s brow to furrow slightly.
She reacts so quickly whenever it comes to Han Jihoon.
His gaze turned cold.
“The work of the Marketing Team and the Crisis Management Team is vastly different. I received a report that their independence was compromised, and that measures were needed to provide a more conducive work environment.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Why? Is something bothering you?”
“What? No. It’s nothing big, just that Yunseo and Ji-hoon are head over heels for each other, and they seemed upset about being separated all of a sudden. I mean, they’re getting married soon, so they’ll see each other at home anyway, but….”
Lee Heon narrowed his eyes.
Lee Dan-a, just how generous is that heart of yours?
“Why… are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. It just seems your consideration for your friends runs very deep, Lee Dan-a-ssi. Seeing as you even care about their departments being separated.”
“It’s natural between friends. Yunseo and Ji-hoon were constantly exchanging glances and making hand signals during work hours. Knowing they won’t be able to do that anymore just made me feel bad for them.”
And how did you feel watching that?
Whenever he imagined how she must have felt, having to make a fake confession right in front of the man she loved, it kept him awake at night.
How desperate must she have been to use me, the company president?
When he first learned her confession was fake, a stinging shock had pierced his chest like a gunshot wound.
For a single second, he had even contemplated letting her go.
The fact that he wasn’t her first love, nor the man she had loved for two years, nor even the one she liked right now—he hated it to an unbearable degree.
But he was never a man to view any matter from a single, superficial angle.
He was a businessman who lived his entire life thinking only of how to turn any situation to his own advantage.
What mattered was that Lee Dan-a was now in his pocket.
And ironically, that was all thanks to her fake confession.
In her panic to confess to her friend, she had used him, and he happened to be passing by right at that moment.
That was how their relationship began.
That out of all those employees and superiors, she had specifically singled out the President to say she liked him…
Was that really just a coincidence?
That he happened to be taking the emergency stairs he had never used once in his entire life—a mere coincidence?
No, no fate could ever be this exquisite.
Yes, they were destined.
Han Jihoon was nothing more than a passing Supporting Character 1, existing solely to bring them together.
Of course, now he would have to demote him from a supporting character to an extra who would soon vanish.
Without fail.
“P-President?”
Dan-a spoke cautiously, reading Lee Heon’s mood as his eyes burned in silence.
“It’s not like Yunseo and Ji-hoon were neglecting their work and only sending signals. It was just once in a while during work. They’re both great at their jobs. I only brought it up because I felt bad that they lost a little bit of fun in their day.”
And what about you, Lee Dan-a?
Watching the man who loves another woman—your own friend at that—how much did you hurt?
If it were me, I would never have hurt you.
Why was it that bastard and not me?
No matter whom you met first, I would have been waiting for you.
“I see. Shall we stop talking about other men and talk about us?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“First, this.”
Lee Heon captured Dan-a’s lips in a fierce kiss.
“Mm!”
Dan-a’s breathy moan was swallowed directly into his mouth. As their tongues tangled, he scooped her up effortlessly and set her on his lap.
Inside the narrow car, their bodies pressed closer. The two held each other tight as wet, wanton kisses continued.
Breaths grew ragged, and the car filled with stifling heat.
His lips trailed down her nape toward her collarbone. The touch was far more intense than before, making Dan-a’s body shudder.
“Ah, mm… President, wait… haah.”
Without pausing, he pressed his lips more aggressively, traveling down to the swell of her chest.
As his hand moved toward her breasts, she caught both of his hands.
If you keep going here, you won’t be able to stop, President.
Looking at Lee Heon’s eyes, burning into hers with unprecedented intensity, she felt as if he were about to devour her whole.
Yes, I want to be devoured just like this….
She barely managed to cling to her reason teetering on the edge of a cliff.
“President?”
“Hm?”
“Nothing happened today, right?”
Something did happen. A lot happened. And I’ve completely changed.
I can’t bear how badly I want to have you more deeply right now.
He looked up at her.
“Who knows. Do I look different?”
“Somehow… how should I put it? Your eyes look a little scary….”
“That couldn’t be. I just treasure this time being together with you, Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
“Aw… President….”
Lee Heon’s gaze reflected Dan-a looking back at him intently.
She was so lovely and adorable he couldn’t tear his eyes away—his girlfriend.
Lee Heon caressed her cheek.
If only I were the only one who could look at you.
If he could, he would blind every man who ever laid eyes on Dan-a.
Starting with that bastard Han Jihoon’s eyes….
Dan-a kissed his lips again with a soft peck. Parting his lips, he hungrily drew hers in as if ready to swallow her whole.
“Dan-a…”
Brewing coffee in the break room, Dan-a dropped her cup at the sight of the silhouette before her.
“Gasp! Han Jihoon? What happened to your eyes? Weren’t you happy that the Marketing Team moved to a secluded corner because it was quiet?”
Ji-hoon stood there like a zombie, his eyes completely bloodshot.
“I don’t know. Work suddenly piled up like an avalanche, and there was so much that I couldn’t even go home over the weekend.”
Taking off his glasses, Ji-hoon rubbed his eyes.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve kept my eyes open for so long. I feel like I can’t even see straight anymore.”
“What on earth happened? Does the Marketing Team have that much work?”
“Yeah. No. Yeah. No.”
“What are you saying? Is there a lot or not?”
“There’s a lot, but only for me. Work comes rushing in like a tsunami, and when you open the files, it’s all assigned to me. The rest of the Marketing Team is completely free. Only I’m drowning. This is the biggest adversity of my entire life.”
“How could that even happen…?”
As she watched Ji-hoon dabbing at his tears with pity, a chilling breeze seemed to blow in from nowhere.
“And lately, why do I keep getting these chills?”
Ji-hoon shuddered.
“So? What are you doing here? Did you come to see Yunseo?”
“Yeah. My only joy in life. If I get to see my Yunseo, won’t that give me the energy to keep working?”
“Right. Go see Yunseo to your heart’s content and get back to work. You got this.”
After cheering Ji-hoon on, Dan-a stepped out of the break room.
Just as she let out a sigh, feeling bad for him, an ominous shadow loomed over her.
Startled, she flinched and looked up.
Lee Heon was standing there.