I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 35
Missed Connections
“Over here.”
Yi-on waved his hand as he watched Seo-rin walk into the café.
I’m worried she might suddenly collapse.
Has she been exercising properly?
Watching Seo-rin walk in with slow, fragile steps, his heart felt so precarious that he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Was it because of her one-piece dress? She looked almost like a fairy.
“You’re here early?”
“When our princess noona calls, how could I not rush over?”
Seo-rin flashed a faint smile and took her seat. Drinks were placed between them.
Yi-on glanced around the café. It was a hotel café under the Saja Group umbrella.
If she wants to avoid gossip, she really ought to steer clear of hotels.
“If word gets out that we’re meeting in a place like this, it’s only going to cause unnecessary trouble for our princess noona.”
“It’s something we have to go through anyway, isn’t it?”
At Seo-rin’s words, Yi-on looked at her with puzzled eyes.
“If I’m going to marry you, won’t rumors have to spread eventually anyway?”
At the word 'marriage' coming from Seo-rin’s lips, Yi-on’s heart fluttered violently.
“Uh… did you decide to marry me?”
“Why are you so surprised? When I called, didn’t you expect an answer?”
“Of course I did.”
He had, so why was he suddenly this shocked?
Yi-on cleared his throat and pressed a hand over his chest.
“I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”
Finally, I can be of help to hyung too.
On top of that, he had talked big to Yeon-sook earlier.
A marriage with Seo-rin was about to redeem everything.
Since it was an indispensable marriage for her as well, the outcome had been predetermined from the start.
Even so, this felt far more satisfying than he had anticipated.
Was that why?
His heart was thumping.
Yi-on’s pulse was racing more intensely than it ever did during any fun diversion.
“On one condition.”
“A condition?”
“Once we’re married and the deals between our groups are settled to a certain extent, divorce me then.”
“…What? Do… what?”
“About two years should be enough. A contract marriage. That’s my condition for agreeing to this.”
Seo-rin offered a dim smile as she looked at the frozen Yi-on.
“I want to be independent. If I don’t do it this way, I don’t think I’ll ever escape that house for the rest of my life.”
“…….”
“I won’t ask you for alimony. No, if I have the means later, I’ll give some to you. It’s not like you’re marrying me because you like me anyway; you’re only doing it out of necessity to help your company and your hyung. Ah, just in case, I even brought a contract.”
Seo-rin slid the document in front of Yi-on.
Because she was explaining the terms with such a completely harmless expression, Yi-on forced himself to smile.
However, it didn’t come easily.
***
It had to be an unfounded worry.
What happened with Ji-hoon was just a coincidence.
Logically speaking, this wasn’t how someone would behave if they knew the confession was fake.
“Right, otherwise how could he ask out the person who gave him a fake confession? I’m just feeling guilty, that’s all.”
Dan-a had been picking out clothes since the crack of dawn for her date with Lee Heon.
“Ooh. Not bad.”
Dressed up, she checked her reflection in the mirror.
I almost ended up wearing this to a blind date, of all things.
That day, after sternly warning her younger sister to keep her mouth shut, Dan-a had shown her mother the photo she took with Lee Heon.
Which idol group is he from?
Who are you fangirling over?
Now you’ve gone so far as to photoshop pictures?
Despite hearing all sorts of skepticism, she stubbornly insisted to the end that Lee Heon was her boyfriend.
No, she hadn’t just insisted—he really was her boyfriend!
Thanks to her dad, who suggested they give their daughter some credit, the blind date her mother had relentlessly set up was canceled for now.
‘What’s the big deal about someone looking like this to make such a fuss over?’
Everyone was appalled by Dan-mi’s comment upon seeing the photo.
Her mother was especially horrified.
‘Can you even read text with those eyes? Are you really studying properly?’
As if going blind from obsessive studying wasn’t upsetting enough.
Dan-mi had slunk away in defeat after receiving nothing but a scolding from their mother.
Though her mother added that she wouldn’t believe it until Dan-a brought him right in front of her eyes,
at any rate, the weekend date with Lee Heon was back on.
Dan-a waited for Lee Heon with a fluttering heart. But then.
A Lambo*ghini appearing in a quiet neighborhood…?
Paranoia had a way of coming true. Just as she was thinking, Surely the President won’t step out of that car, Lee Heon naturally got out.
“P-President?”
“Have you been waiting long?”
Just how much effort had he put into his appearance today? His already dazzling looks were so brilliant that she practically had to squint.
He gently placed a pair of sunglasses over Dan-a’s eyes.
“Get in. Let’s go get some fresh air.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
Dan-a got into the car in a daze.
Why sunglasses all of a sudden?
He’s not going to make us ride a helicopter again, is he?
Fortunately, that wasn’t it. Well, it wasn’t, but…
“Excuse me, President…”
“Why am I flying through the sky on a private jet?”
Dan-a looked down at the cloud-covered Republic of Korea through the airplane window.
“I told you we were going to get some fresh air.”
Lee Heon smiled warmly as he clinked his champagne glass against the one in her hand.
I mean, yes, but… a private jet just to get some fresh air?
President, why is your affliction acting up again…?
She should have known the moment he asked to see her passport photo.
I should’ve just taken it to work. Why on earth did I bring my passport on a date?!
“…….”
An ominous chill blew in from somewhere.
***
By the time she came to her senses, she was eating sushi in Japan.
When she snapped to her senses again, she was eating Peking duck in China.
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.
When she regained her senses once more, she was galloping along a beach on horseback.
By now, she had no idea where she even was.
All she knew was that Lee Heon was looking back at her with a gentle gaze like a southern duke from a romance fantasy novel, and she was simply riding along behind him in a daze.
That was just Saturday’s itinerary.
Completely exhausted, she fell asleep the moment she got home, only to wake up the next morning to find him already back to pick her up bright and early, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
At least they weren’t boarding a private jet this time, which was a relief.
From Sunday morning onward, they toured luxury brands one after another—Her*ès, Ch*nel, Lou*s Vuitton.
She ended up picking out clothes in a blur. Before she knew it, she was walking around wearing a couple look he had specially ordered.
A little later, they visited an upscale couples’ spa for a full course of scalp treatments, skincare, and massages.
Her body felt pleasantly relaxed and languid, but that ominous sensation refused to fade.
Back home, she stared at the luxury shopping bags clutched in her hands.
She had reached the point where she couldn’t tell whether all of this was reality or a dream.
“Something is… off.”
He had been incomparably sweet, and there were no issues between them.
Even their skinship had grown deeper than before.
Yet somehow, the distance between them felt wider than ever.
It felt as though they were holding hands while completely swallowed by fog.
Even though she was looking right at him, she couldn’t seem to see him clearly.
“What am I talking about? There’s nothing wrong with us…”
Then what is this chilling sense of dissonance?
Flump. She threw herself onto the bed.
“Ha, since when was I this sensitive? It’s probably nothing. I’m just anxious because I’ve never dated like this before and I’m too happy.”
She had a dream.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The President was galloping on horseback.
‘President? Where are you going?’
Ra Iheon, who had clearly been a warm, blond southern duke, had turned into a black-haired northern grand duke, glaring down at her with a bone-chilling aura.
‘President? Where are you going?!’
‘To get married.’
‘Pardon? Get… what?’
With that, he began to gallop frantically again.
‘President! Take me with you! Wait for…!’
However, she had no horse.
She was sure they had been riding together just moments ago.
She tried to run on foot, but there was no way she could catch up to him.
Are you going to get married all by yourself?
Is that bride not supposed to be me?
She pumped her legs as hard as she could to chase him down, but she couldn't reach him.
Soon, thunder and lightning roared across the sky.
‘The fruits of sincerity cannot blossom in a field of lies!’
Thud, crash.
‘Aargh!’
The ground beneath her caved in, sending her into a free fall.
After falling for what felt like an eternity, she found herself trapped in a pitch-black pit.
A dark shadow loomed over her head. When she looked up, Lee Heon was glaring down at her with a terrifying expression.
‘President?’
‘Did you deceive me?’
‘P-President…’
‘Did you think you could live happily after deceiving me? With me, of all people?’
‘President, that’s, that’s not it…!’
‘I will destroy you.’
‘Presi… dent…’
‘From the very highest peak down to the lowest gutter. In the most miserable way possible.’
‘President! President! Ra Iheon-ssi! Hey! You crazy man!’
Gasp.
Dan-a snapped her eyes wide open.
“I see… It’s my turn next.”
The order of retribution. In the end, it was aimed squarely at her.
President Ra Iheon♥
Shall we go to an amusement park next week?
It’s a place I’ve never been to, and I’d love to visit it first with Dan-a-ssi.
A text arrived from Lee Heon.
He’s probably going to rent out the entire amusement park, isn’t he?
While sweetly saying he just wanted to be alone with me.
She finally understood.
Why he had pretended not to notice even after hearing everything Dan-mi said.
‘From the very highest peak down to the lowest gutter.’
At her happiest moment,
“He’s going to ruin me…”
Shiver.
Dan-a trembled violently as she wiped away her tears.