I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 39
Chapter 39
The Secret of Birth
Haah, this is way too shameless.
“Mmng, haahh….”
The position was just too….
The moment they stepped into the tub, the skinship had escalated to an unbelievable place.
Like a lion tasting a hunted rabbit, he devoured her with ravenous intensity.
Both the searing heat and the sensation grazing such an unfamiliar spot were entirely new to her, and only high, sharp moans escaped her lips.
“W-Wait… that feels weird… I-Iheon-ssi….”
Far from stopping, Iheon grew only more aggressive once he sensed her response.
“I-Iheon-ssi, you can’t eat th—… Haa, Iheon-ssi….”
“Why are you so sweet even here, Lee Dan-a-ssi? I can’t pull my mouth away.”
Thoroughly preyed upon, the rabbit had no choice but to surrender everything to him.
It was a dizzying, yet cozy entrapment.
“Phew… and here you said you’d hold back just for tonight.”
Soaking in the tub and leaning against Iheon’s chest, she exhaled the lingering heat and spoke.
“I didn’t actually put it in, for one.”
Right, you just didn’t put it in!
When Dan-a looked back with narrowed eyes, he pressed a gentle finger to her cheek with a sheepish chuckle.
Dan-a chuckled softly too, resting her head back against his chest.
“President. No, Iheon-ssi. You actually smile a lot, don’t you?”
“Do I?”
“Yes. I feel like I’ve seen you smile a lot. Especially today.”
“How could I not smile on such a wonderful day?”
From behind, he gently cupped Dan-a’s breast.
“You never miss an opportunity, do you?”
Haha, he laughed again.
Dan-a scooped up a handful of foam from the tub and playfully plopped it onto Iheon’s arm.
It was just light teasing, but the look he gave her was more serious than before.
“I didn’t used to smile much. I think it only started after I met you, Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
“Look at you, giving only the right answers. A full hundred out of a hundred for your life.”
He chuckled softly, pulling her closer into his embrace. A tinge of loneliness shadowed his expression.
“I used to live thinking my life was a solid hundred, too.”
“‘Used to’? Why the past tense? Were you going to surprise me by saying it’s a thousand points now?”
“Having met you, Lee Dan-a-ssi, that wouldn’t be wrong.”
“Passed. I’ll give you a thousand points.”
Smiling, Iheon lowered his voice.
“Before I met you, I think my life was worth less than ten.”
“What? No way. You’re the President of Saja Group.”
“…I don’t remember it, but my mother passed away when I was four, and I was raised by my grandparents. When they passed away as well, my father took me in and raised me.”
“What?”
“Ah. Is it too early to share this? If it’s too burdensome….”
“No. Four in the morning is the perfect time for a talk like this.”
Dan-a looked back at him with an encouraging smile. Her words wrapped Iheon’s heart in gentle warmth.
With this woman, I could face anything.
That conviction struck him powerfully at this very moment.
“It must have started back then. To win my father’s approval and ensure I wouldn’t bring shame to Saja Group, I worked relentlessly, doing whatever I was told. I also wanted to show filial devotion to my mother, who raised me even though I wasn’t her biological son.”
“…….”
“I lived like an AI, existing solely for the family. Without ever looking up at the night sky, without laughing or crying, simply studying and working. But… not long ago, I found out. That I’m not even my father’s biological child.”
“What?”
Dan-a’s eyes widened at the shocking revelation.
“I was the child of my father’s friends. An ordinary family. But both of them died in an accident. That’s how my current father ended up bringing in an orphaned boy.”
“Ah…. But why would he tell such an intricate lie instead of the truth…?”
“He had a reason.”
“What… was it?”
“He brought me in so that my younger brother could inherit the company smoothly, and to have someone to use if Saja Group ever needed a pawn.”
“What? What kind of use could justify taking in a child just to….”
Perhaps because she pictured Iheon living so earnestly without knowing a thing.
Her voice trembled with heartache.
“Who knows. I suppose he thought he’d use me wherever an opportunity arose. In the end, it was an arranged marriage with Dongyeon Group. That’s where he chose to use me. After all, he couldn’t marry off his biological son, Yi-on, to a woman he had no feelings for.”
“Wait, then what about you, President—no, Iheon-ssi! Does that mean you can just marry anyone?”
“To be honest, I didn’t care.”
Iheon let out a dry laugh.
“I’d never once thought about what it felt like to like someone in my life.”
“How could—that makes no sense! Just how badly did they gaslight a child…!”
“That was when it happened. When I heard your confession, Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
“…….”
“Thanks to that confession, I realized I had never even been in a relationship.”
Is life really all about timing?
A lie tossed out like salvation at his absolute lowest moment.
That a fake confession was what liberated a fake life—life truly was ironic.
“Only then did I finally look up at the sky. That was when I realized the night sky was blue. It wasn’t as pitch-black as I had thought. Without knowing even that much, I had lived solely for the family.”
“…….”
“To someone like me, your confession was like the stars in that night sky.”
‘It’s the President! The one I like!’
‘Ra Iheon! I like President Ra! I’ve been crazy about him since the first moment I saw him after joining the company!’
“The words telling me you liked me sparkled and echoed across the blue sky. It sounded like the clamor of stars.”
A clamor….
Well, she had to admit she’d shouted that confession pretty damn loudly.
Stroking her cheek, Iheon whispered warmly.
“I had finally found my universe.”
Wait, how did he reach that conclusion…?
A twinge pulled at her heart; it was a deeply moving confession that made the tip of her nose sting.
“How could I ever give up my universe? I had to have it, no matter what. So I had no choice but to obsess over you, Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
“But why weren’t you angry? The sound of the stars echoing from that universe was entirely fake.”
“Stars can’t make sound in the first place.”
…Wait, how could he flip the script so fast?
“I’m a realist. I can’t stay lost in romance forever.”
Iheon smiled softly and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck.
“Your lie served its purpose by opening my eyes. Since I’ve already come to love you, Lee Dan-a-ssi, the fact that the confession was fake no longer matters.”
He spoke in a measured, careful tone, as though delicately laying bare his heart.
“I was far more afraid that you might leave me because of it.”
“You really are a realist. But that won’t happen now. …I’ve learned far too many good things to ever be with anyone else.”
The two of them exchanged a knowing glance and laughed.
“So, that brings me to this… Lee Dan-a-ssi.”
“Yes, Ra Iheon-ssi.”
“Marry me.”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“D-Did you just propose?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her flustered hand.
“I intended to do it while watching the fireworks at the amusement park, but someone beat me to the punch with a confession.”
“Then when you said you had something to tell me back then, was that a pro… po… sal…?”
“Why? Did you think I was going to say I’d break you?”
“Ayy. W-Would the President really be th-that kind of person?”
“Now that I see it, your eyes lose focus whenever you lie. Were you like this when you faked your confession too?”
“It was probably… at its worst then, right?”
Damn it. I missed that?
She must have looked adorable.
With a regretful expression, he presented a jewelry box he seemed to have had on him all along.
She opened the box.
Inside lay a necklace and ring adorned with jewels that anyone would consider excessively lavish.
In the past, it would have felt a hundred times too burdensome, but now she only thought how fitting it was for her President—no, for Ra Iheon.
“Put it on me yourself.”
She held out her hand.
“Does that mean you accept…?”
“A bathroom proposal. Consider it points for originality.”
The two of them burst into laughter.
At the sound of her bright, refreshing laughter, Iheon’s eyes curved softly.
His gaze was brimming with love.
He gently fastened the necklace around her neck and slowly slid the ring onto her finger.
As their eyes met, Dan-a broke into another blissful smile.
Seeing that smile, Iheon smiled along with her.
The two of them shared another sweet, lingering kiss.