Jae Heon let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.

“The day my personal secretary first proposed to me at a bar.”
At his words, Ra Jin’s cheeks turned red.

“The day we first fell asleep together.”
“…Yes.”
“I fell asleep without even realizing it. You might think it’s nothing special, but to me, it was as astounding as the creation of the universe.”
Jae Heon said, leaning towards her.

“It’s incredibly hard for me to fall asleep. Even with soothing music and burning aroma oils, even amidst various religiouslike prayers and rituals, even when I tried hypnosis, I failed.”
Recalling the past days when he had put in all sorts of effort to sleep, it was nothing short of a miracle to have been able to sleep deeply and peacefully by Ra Jin’s side.

“Since when have you been suffering from insomnia?”
His lips parted heavily.

“Right after my parents passed away.”
It was the first time he had revealed this secret, known only to his grandfather, Chairman Seo Seong Jae, with his own mouth.

“I’m reluctantly revealing this because I trust my personal secretary. So I hope you will definitely abide by the third clause.”
Jae Heon’s gaze deepened.

“Especially, my uncle’s side must never find out.”
Ra Jin seemed to be calmly listening to his words, but she was actually stunned with surprise.

The president has insomnia.

So that’s why he’s so temperamental… I mean, sensitive.

While it was true that his meticulous and thorough nature played a part, she often thought he was excessively sensitive to even the slightest touch from others.

‘Wait, if it started after his parents passed away…’
Ra Jin covered her mouth.

Jae Heon’s parents passed away when he was sixteen.

He is now thirtytwo.

He has been suffering from insomnia for 16 years.

Although not as much as Jae Heon, Ra Jin knew very well how torturous sleepless nights could be.

When she was at the orphanage, she couldn’t sleep for a while, tortured by the worry, ‘what if I’m the only one not adopted?’ and after being adopted, ‘what if I get kicked out?’

Not being able to sleep deeply was more difficult for the mind than the body.

More than the body feeling heavy and tired like a sponge soaked in water, it was more painful to be tortured by constantly arising negative thoughts. At least, that’s how it was for Ra Jin.

It probably wasn’t much different for Jae Heon.

Everyone in South Korea knew that the eldest son and his wife of Chairman Seo Seong Jae of Geonyoung Group died in a plane crash on the same day.

At the time, it was such a widely discussed event that it was continuously reported on the news.

Due to Geon Yeong’s side hiding the details, unverified stories about the cause of death ran rampant.

Twelveyearold Ra Jin remembered her foster parents watching the news, commenting, “Even such wealthy people can’t avoid sudden accidents.”

Back then, she, in her youthful heart, dared to empathize with the son of the chaebol family.

Thinking now, that person too, had become alone.

Of course, there was a vast difference between her parents passing away in an accident and being abandoned by parents, regardless.

Whenever the children in the orphanage became anxious, the director would comfort each one with a hug.

When she was embraced in that generous and warm bosom, her trembling heart would calm down.

That’s why she had this desire to give this boy, whose face she did not even know, a firm hug.

Even if he is a rich heir, being left alone in the world would be lonely.

“From that time until now, straight through……”
The thought of Jae Heon, who must have been sleepless and in agony, hurt her heart so much.

How difficult must it have been? How painful?

Jae Heon must have suffered more than her, for sure.

I don’t even know what my parents looked like, if they are even alive.

But in Jae Heon’s mind, the memories and recollections with them would be vivid.

“A significant fact that only my grandfather and I knew in the world, my secretary just found out.”
“……”
“For me, it’s no different than risking my life.”
His words were even quite grave.

“If the outside world finds out about this, they’ll say it’s because of insomnia if I deviate from my course even a little. Just like my secretary just did.”
At his gaze, Ra Jin coughed and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry.”
“They will question my management ability. They might even wonder if my condition will get worse.”
It was clear in her mind what kind of words my uncle Hwae Myeong and his followers would use to attack me.

“If I’m with my secretary, I can sleep soundly. And… I don’t have nightmares.”
“Nightmares?”
If he managed to sleep, Jae Heon dreamed.

Dreaming of his parents waving at him with bright smiles as they boarded the plane.

Telling them not to go, that it wasn’t safe, begging them to come back, but his body was frozen and he couldn’t move.

Eventually, the plane his parents boarded soared into the sky and crashed into the ground with a loud noise.

Jae Heon’s eyes popped open.