I Think I've Poked a Sleeping Bear
Chapter 4
Nothing Happened. …Not Yet
Have you ever heard the voice of a star clamoring from the far reaches of the universe?
That glittering, tumultuous voice.
‘It’s the President! He’s the one I like!’
He had heard a sound he had never heard before—one he would never be able to forget.
“What are you talking about? Stars don’t make sounds.”
Do-hyun said, sticking close behind Yi-heon. Startled, Yi-heon cleared his throat.
“Did I say something out loud?”
“Yes. Something about the voice of a star…”
I must have been so shocked my thoughts slipped out.
Yi-heon needlessly shifted his gaze to the elevator floor indicator.
While climbing the stairs, he had overheard an employee’s confession and, like a disoriented navigation system, unconsciously headed toward the elevator and stepped right inside.
‘Ra Iheon! I like President Ra! Ever since the first moment I saw him after joining the company, I’ve liked him so much!’
The intense shock made Yi-heon shake his head.
Perhaps his mind had briefly snapped after suddenly learning the secret of his birth. He pressed firmly against his temples.
“Secretary Kang, what I heard earlier…”
“You mean that passionate confession directed at you, sir?”
A passionate confession.
“You heard it?”
“How could I… not have heard it? I could practically feel her determination to spread it through the whole company just so it’d reach your ears.”
So I didn’t mishear.
“She must really like you, sir. To shout from the rooftops that she likes a man who already has a fiancée… Just how much does someone have to like someone to do that?”
Is it really possible to like someone that much—to have feelings like that?
“Well, it’s not like there are only one or two employees who like you, sir.”
Yi-heon, whose lips had been twitching, widened his eyes.
“There are more?”
At Yi-heon’s question, Do-hyun put on an incredulous look.
With that face, wouldn’t it be harder… for there NOT to be?
“I don’t know for sure, but wouldn’t there be quite a few?”
“Are you asking me?”
Why are you asking me? Are you mocking me?
“There… probably are.”
As Yi-heon furrowed his brow, Do-hyun clasped his hands together.
“I’ll look into it.”
“Do you not have work to do, going around looking into things like that? Don’t report unconfirmed information.”
It’s definitely true, though.
Grumbling under his breath, Do-hyun soon asked the question he had been curious about all morning.
“By the way, what did you go investigate today? You could have just ordered me to handle something like that. Was it urgent? Or something important…?”
‘You mean that passionate confession directed at you, sir?’
Do-hyun chattered on, but all that reached Yi-heon’s ears was the clamor of that star—a deep echo lingering in his chest.
What was the feeling of liking someone?
Come to think of it, he had never felt anything like that in his entire life.
No, he had never felt much of any emotion at all.
‘Hyung, I heard you’re getting married? Is it really okay to get married like this?’
…Marriage.
When Chul-min set his wedding date, the very first thought Yi-heon had had was, ‘Is my schedule free then?’
Without any emotion, without any sentiment.
Because to him, marriage was merely business.
‘If I ever get married, I want to marry the President! Because I like him so much!’
The employee he had met in the emergency stairwell had said she liked him so much that she wanted to marry him. She had definitely said that.
That must be how normal people get married.
But what about me?
Getting married without even knowing my own feelings.
Getting married as a business deal, without an ounce of affection.
…Was that truly all right?
“Should I call off the engagement?”
“Did you need a background check because of calling off the engagement? If that was the case, you should have told m— Pardon? Call off the engagement?”
Do-hyun’s eyes went wide as he shouted in shock.
“Did you just say call off the engagement? Did something happen? D-Don’t tell me, that confession from earlier…?”
“Why? Do I look like a crazy bastard who’d call off an engagement over a single confession?”
Uh… with that look in your eyes right now… a little bit?
The Yi-heon Do-hyun had observed until now was not that kind of person.
But right now, there was somehow a shimmer of madness flickering in his eyes.
“If not, why are you suddenly acting like this…?”
“It was a joke.”
“Y-You make jokes?”
Thank goodness, Do-hyun thought, wiping metaphorical sweat from his brow, but Yi-heon was just staring at the changing elevator floor numbers with a terrifying expression.
Mr. Pres… ident?
Well, he must have just said it offhand, right…?
That confession earlier was sensational, sure, but a man who probably received at least three love letters a day since childhood wouldn’t call off an engagement over something like that… would he?
Once he gets married, the President will work less and go home early, and then I can actually get off work on time for once.
The President gets married, and I get to go home on time.
That’s our happy ending, buddy.
Right?
Right, Mr. President?
Isn’t it?
It has to be.
It MUST be right…!
Do-hyun repeatedly wiped the sweat from his forehead, trying to regain his composure.
The ominous premonition did not fade.
Yi-heon’s attire, which had never once been disheveled, underwent a complete transformation over the next few days.
The front of his shirt was unbuttoned, and his sleeves were rolled up.
His always-immaculate hairstyle was loosened as well, a few strands of hair falling down across his forehead.
He looked rather like a male lion lounging in the middle of a vast savanna.
An undeniably sexy, languid bad-boy aura radiated off him.
“Mr. President, as I mentioned yesterday, there are items you need to approve by this week.”
Thwack.
The rubber ball left Yi-heon’s hand, bounced off the wall, and returned to his grasp.
“The most urgent is the approval for the new business investment. It’s a twenty-billion-won budget increase proposal…”
Thwack. The ball hit the wall once again.
While Do-hyun gave his report, there was no answer—only the ball bouncing back and forth.
Had he gone beyond workaholism to the point where even taking time out to exercise felt like a waste, so he was multitasking work and working out?
For this work machine of a man, it was entirely plausible.
Do-hyun took a deep breath.
“Mr. President? Why the sudden ball throwing?”
“Ah, this? I just found it good for stress relief.”
And with that, he threw the ball against the wall with another thwack and caught it.
“Why do something so unlike you all of a sudden…”
“What was ‘like me’ again?”
“Pardon?”
Thud. As if he had lost interest, Yi-heon tossed the ball onto the sofa and straightened his posture.
“What happened with the information I told you to look into?”
“Ah, about that.”
Do-hyun flipped open his planner.
“Her name is Lee Dan-a. A family of four, the elder of two daughters. She graduated from Hankuk University and joined our company’s Public Relations Office two years ago.”
Lee Dan-a… Hankuk University… Public Relations Office…
Yi-heon mulled over Do-hyun’s words, etching them into his mind.
“She’s diligent—never been late once—gets along well with her peers, and has a good reputation for being respectful to her superiors. After work, unless she’s meeting friends or working out, she usually heads straight home early.”
“…”
“She bought a three-month gym membership, but only went for two weeks and hasn’t gone since.”
“Is she unwell?”
“No. That is… exceedingly normal, I’d say.”
One of Yi-heon’s eyebrows arched crookedly.
Buying a three-month gym pass and only going for two weeks is normal?
“It’s confirmed she currently doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
Right. So she doesn’t have a boyfriend.
Is that obvious? Because she likes me?
Yi-heon nodded. But no further words followed.
“Is that all?”
“Ah, yes. Nothing else notable came up… She’s about as ordinary as they come.”
When Yi-heon stared at him intently, Do-hyun shuffled through the documents, though there was nothing more to find.
“Uh… sh-she eats well. Her eyes are clear, so she seems to sleep well, too…”
“Where?”
“Pardon?”
“Where does she eat well?”
“What? Well… wouldn’t she eat at the company cafeteria?”
“Are you asking me?”
“She probab— I’ll go find out.”
“Never mind.”
Yi-heon stood up from his seat.
“I can just find out myself.”
“What? What does that… Mr. President? Where are you going all of a sudden?”
Yi-heon, who had already reached the door, looked back at Do-hyun.
