I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 36
The Saddest Confession
It was just as Dan-a had expected.
A midnight date, and the amusement park was completely deserted.
Yet every ride spun and glittered with brilliant lights, and fireworks were even bursting across the sky.
“How is it? I arranged it because I wanted us to be alone together.”
Lee Heon spoke gently.
Exactly as Dan-a had predicted, without a single flaw.
She decided to accept it. His severe punishment.
His revenge against her—to drop her from the heights of pure bliss.
Dan-a loved him, and if this could appease his feelings, there was nothing she wouldn’t do.
They rode the most thrilling attractions, ate cotton candy, and shared loving glances while wearing cute animal headbands.
She smiled more brightly than anyone, gratefully accepting every word he offered.
All while humbly waiting for the bottomless plunge to come.
Once this night ended, she would return to her ordinary life.
Just like Cinderella past midnight.
It was fine. That was the life she had always known, and she had never harbored any complaints about it.
Moreover, just having known a man like Ra Iheon and experiencing things she never had before would be a treasured memory to keep forever.
But if there was one thing torturing her—
It was that to Ra Iheon, her feelings would forever remain a lie.
Shamelessly, that was the one thing she couldn’t bear.
Because the feelings she had falsely confessed had long since become entirely, truly real.
“Did you have fun today?”
Having enjoyed the rides to their hearts’ content, the two settled by the lakeside.
“Yes, so much. What about you, President?”
“I enjoyed it as well.”
“Really? I’m… I’m so glad.”
A tender man right to the very end.
How could I not have fallen for you?
Fireworks burst in thunderous booms. Together, they looked up at the sky.
The dark night sky instantly bathed in shades of blue. It was beautiful.
Could she ever forget this night?
Dan-a knew she would never forget this day for the rest of her life.
I’ll remember every detail.
I will remember it longer than the President does, at the very least.
Because that is my punishment for trying to deceive him until the end.
“Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
Lee Heon turned to face her.
“There is something I must tell you.”
It had finally come. Sweat beaded on her palms.
“Lee Dan-a-ssi, I… haah…”
He let out a long breath toward the sky.
Yes, it must be hard on him too.
Cutting me off after all the affection we shared.
“Wait. Please let me speak first. From my own lips.”
Unable to bear the crushing guilt, Dan-a spoke before he could.
“That day… you overheard, didn’t you?”
“…That day?”
“What I told my brother. You heard it, right?”
“If you mean about your brother… are you talking about the confession? That you didn’t confess because you truly liked me?”
He really did hear.
Having clung to a faint glimmer of hope, she hung her head in despair.
“So… you did hear. It’s true. That confession back then wasn’t because I liked you, President. I… Han Jihoon was the one I li—”
“If it’s about that, I’m not particularly interested in hearing it.”
Lee Heon’s gaze turned chilling. Dan-a’s body gave a violent shiver.
“I know. You’re angry. You must find it offensive and disgusting, that I claimed to like you just to hide my feelings for Han Jihoon.”
“Will you stop? Unless you want to see that bastard Han Jihoon transferred to the middle of nowhere.”
Ah, our President isn’t this kind of person.
Seeing him turned so ruthless because of her made her heart ache.
“It’s my fault. I made you this way. You’re truly such a wonderful person, President. You treated me so well. So to find out everything was a lie from the very beginning… how furious you must have been…”
“Let’s stop talking about that.”
“Yes, we should stop. We should end everything. If that is what you’ve decided, President, I will follow. But… but before I leave, there’s just this one thing I desperately wanted to tell you.”
Terrified of how cold Lee Heon would be when he turned away, Dan-a still pressed each word out with utter sincerity.
“I’ve fallen in love with you, President.”
“…What?”
She looked directly into his eyes and spoke from the depths of her heart.
“My feelings are real now. I like you, President. I’ve fallen so, so deeply for you. When I said I loved your scent, it wasn’t a lie. The wonderful scent around you, the way you speak, your voice, your gestures, your actions, every single twitch of your brow—all of it!”
Fireworks burst in brilliant flashes.
“I love all of it. Truly, truly love you! I’ve never had feelings like this for anyone before.”
It was the very first confession she had ever delivered face-to-face in her entire life.
“Ra Iheon, I have fallen in love with you.”
Lee Heon merely stared at Dan-a.
At the woman who claimed to love him.
Thunder rumbled and crashed across the sky.
Lightning ripped through the heavens where fireworks had danced only moments before, and rain came pouring down in sheets.
Yet even under the relentless deluge, neither of them moved an inch.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you. It might sound like an excuse, but I was terrified that if I told the truth, you’d never see me again, so I couldn’t muster the courage.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I have some shame left. I already know how betrayed you must feel.”
Dan-a locked eyes with Lee Heon.
“I’ll leave. Before you come to care for me. Well… not that you ever could now, anyway.”
It was impossible to tell whether the moisture running down her face was rain or tears. But at the very least, what streamed from Dan-a’s eyes was tears.
Otherwise, her chest couldn’t possibly ache this much.
“I’m just glad… glad I could give you a confession from the bottom of my heart. Glad my confession isn’t a lie anymore.”
Dan-a bowed politely.
“I’ll be going now.”
The moment she turned around, Lee Heon snatched her wrist in a single, decisive motion.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
He raised an eyebrow, his gaze fierce.
“Leave? Where do you think you’re going?”
“P-President?”
“Did you really think I’d let you go?”
“…What?”
“When I already love you.”
“Pardon?”
Her heart plummeted.
What he had caused to fall was not Dan-a, but her heart.
Her heart sank so deep she could barely breathe.
Did I mishear because of the rain?
Or is this another dream?
Never had the cliché phrase if this is a dream, please never wake me felt so desperately real.
“W-What did you just say…?”
“I said I love you, Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
Love… Lee Heon.
A fresh stream of tears fell. She was grateful the rain masked them from his notice.
Too afraid to ask again, she simply stared at him, and as if reading her mind, he said it once more.
“I love you. Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
She was so overwhelmed that not a single word could escape her lips.
Lee Heon furrowed his brows slightly, wearing his signature warm smile as he asked her,
“You have feelings for me?”
When Dan-a nodded with a dazed face, Lee Heon exhaled a hot breath of relief and pulled her into a fierce embrace.
Haah, Lee Dan-a.
He had thought it might take a long time.
For a fake confession to become a real one.
He had believed it would take time for her to accept his proposal, and he had thought he wouldn’t mind waiting.
But now that he had heard her say she loved him, every second felt too precious, driving him impatient.
“I was so scared, thinking you were angry with me.”
Her voice drifted up from within his arms. Pulling back slightly, he looked at her with confusion.
“Did I do something to make you anxious?”
“Just… with my friends, and the date courses weren’t exactly ordinary…”
“I thought it was ordinary.”
“Seriously?”
A chuckle slipped past Lee Heon’s lips.
“It was a bit excessive, wasn’t it?”
Truly, thank goodness he was self-aware.
Otherwise, they would have ended up in a massive fight someday.
Lee Heon gently wiped the water from her face and asked tenderly,
“Why would I ever be angry with you, Lee Dan-a-ssi?”
“Well, because I lied, and couldn’t come clean about it, and then Han Ji-hoo… n… mmph!”
Lee Heon silenced her lips with a kiss.
A kiss so forceful it left her mouth tingling.
This time, he really seemed angry.
Ah, I get it now. His anger trigger: HJH.
Since she never wanted to make him mad again, she decided to refer to him only by his initials from now on.
“The rain isn’t letting up.”
“The weather was fine right up until the fireworks went off.”
“I know.”
Still, we didn’t know we loved each other back then, so I like right now so much better.
“You’re cold, aren’t you? You’ll catch a cold.”
“I’m fine… Ah, you’re cold, aren’t you, President? Should we… head home now?”
“You want to go home?”
“We aren’t?”
“Hmm. I was about to tell you about the next stop.”
“There’s another stop? The amusement park wasn’t the end? Where is it?”
“The place… we couldn’t go to last time?”
“Where would that…”
“The hotel suite.”
Lee Heon gazed intently at Dan-a. The look in his eyes was entirely different from when he had mentioned a suite on their first date.
An intense, simmering gaze laced with intimacy.
Just meeting that look made her heart surge with overwhelming heat.
“Ah. There.”
“Yes, there.”
“…”
“If you don’t want to…”
“W-We can’t cancel twice! That would be a waste of money…”
Lee Heon stepped closer, bringing his face right up to hers.
“Is that… really the only reason?”
“Well, I’ve never been to a suite, so I’m curious to see it, and…”
“And?”
“It’s raining, so we can get out of the rain… and dry our clothes while we’re at it…”
“And what else?”
“I want to… confirm this love… that you say you have for m—!”
Lee Heon scooped Dan-a effortlessly into his arms.
“I’ll show you as much as you want.”
All night long.
I’ll show you just how much I love you, Lee Dan-a.
So that you never feel anxious again.