The Dream of Reckoning
"But after we did it, I thought you'd ask to see me again. I waited so long, but as time passed, there was no word from you..."
"That's because I was busy. How could I contact you every single day? I don't contact —-, —, or —- every day either. We often —- at my place, but that doesn't mean I —- every day..."
"I don't know! I've never been in a relationship before, so how would I know how that works?"
"I don't think we were in a relationship to begin with."
"...Anyway, I don't know anything about that."
"That's why I'm so resentful... You, the Executive Director, took my body and bewitched my heart... and now you're pretending like I'm a stranger? Pretending like we're complete strangers? Do you have any idea how angry that makes me? You ejaculated inside me whenever you wanted, and you even taught me how to perform oral sex when I knew nothing... Do you know how humiliating the kneeling position is? And then,"
"Wait. You consented to me finishing inside. You were the one who told me not to use a condom."
No, seriously? I did it inside a woman I didn't even know? If I actually go through with it just because she gave permission, then, damn it...
"...Why do you only remember things like that?"
"I don't trust you," he says. "You're the type of woman who would record me even at this very moment. At least, that's how it feels to me."
"Executive Director..."
"If I had lost that trial, I would have gone straight to prison. You accused me because that's exactly what you wanted. That is an unforgivable sin. I assume you knew that when you did it."
"Doesn't it occur to you that the very fact you're standing in front of me after pulling such a deranged stunt is me showing you mercy? I feel like I wouldn't be satisfied even if I tore you to pieces right now..."
At that, she finally grabbed his hand tightly and said, "I have something to tell you."
The dream suddenly shifts to a different space. I don't know where this is. It's not home, and it's not the office. The interior... it's a place I've never seen before. Hmm... there's a coffee pot sitting by the door. The desk is impossibly long and wide, incomparable to the one in his office. In the dream, he thinks that if he had a desk like that in reality, he wouldn't be able to use the space properly. It's a desk completely specialized for work, blocked off on both sides, but... I didn't like it. It's too closed off. I wouldn't be able to get up comfortably when I needed to leave.
The woman who invites me to sit—the lawyer whose name I don't know. As I do as she says and sit in the chair to wait, she brings a document envelope from a cabinet and sits in front of me, sliding it across.
"Read it."
The 'me' in the dream follows her instructions, opening the envelope to check the contents. Maybe because it's a dream, I don't really know what's written inside... but the contents of those documents seem important. The tone of my own voice in the dream has changed, after all.
"How do you have this?"
"...It's material reviewed by my father's firm, —. ...I've locked the door, so it doesn't matter."
"Why this?"
"It's an important document. Right now, it's the most powerful thing for Doowon. Because the Future—Party... they aren't the type of people to just sit still."
I don't know what the contents are... but at least one fact is clear: the father of the woman sitting in front of me is a representative lawyer at a law firm, and these documents seem related to his company, the political sphere, and this law firm. I have no choice but to assume that. I can't see the contents, after all.
"You can't just leak this at will."
"It doesn't matter. I hold a concurrent position, after all."
"..."
"My father is quite deeply involved with the —— Party. And since I almost put you in prison using the methods my dad taught me, well."
"...He's still your father, though."
"I hate my dad. You know that well."
Hmm. Right. Relationships can be bad. But to hand over documents just because the relationship is bad...
"Please accept this as a token of my apology."
"Do you think this will forgive what you did—"
"...You're already doing it, aren't you?"
Then the woman said, "Executive Director, I've heard a few things."
"That you don't just look at the women around you as... mere concubines. I know that one by one, they have all helped you."
The woman said, "First of all," and made even the 'me' who was sleeping focus intently.
"One woman boosted your capabilities. Ha, the media atmosphere these days is like that, isn't it? There are so many fans of yours. You've succeeded in all sorts of things, so that's to be expected, but... as someone who likes you, Executive Director, I feel a bit bothered. I want to be the only one who knows you're a good person, a great person... Well, I guess that's just how I think because I'm a woman."
"I heard that the —- was also that woman's idea, and that she was the one who made it possible for — to —- at —. That's amazing. I, on the other hand... I don't have any great abilities other than memorizing precedents and reciting them. Though, people around me did find it strange. How a secretary who worked with you since you were a Managing Director could make it all the way to Executive Director. Rumor has it that if you succeed to the chairmanship later, she'll be the Chief of Staff too. ...It's annoying."
I don't think you're the one who should be annoyed. You and I—no, the 'me' in the dream—don't have a good relationship.
"Everyone needs to know. What you do in your office. That you're a man who sits his secretary on his lap and sexually harasses her to his heart's content before leaving work. Everyone needs to know... Ah, well, I guess everyone knows now. You kept talking about it at the trial... with your own mouth. Anyway..."
Next, the second one. She didn't say her name, so I don't know who it is.
"It's such a shock because it's so different from what I expected. That you would make such a judgment. I thought you and that woman had a terrible relationship, so I don't understand why you chose her out of all the women... Of course, she's the one who threw her body on the line to save you, but... no, why do you like a woman who hurled such nasty, vulgar insults at you?"
Around that time, the 'me' in the dream tells that woman that she is someone everyone likes, but—
"But you're legally married to that woman, and the other women are nothing. Really... and me, even if I become your woman after giving you these documents... I can't even get married for the rest of my life. I just have to live by clinging to you..."
"If you don't like it, get lost."
Oh, that's a bit harsh for Han Suhyun, isn't it? —is what he thought. While sleeping. But,
"...Phew, yeah. If I don't like it, I should be the one to get lost. But... I can't help but like you. Yeah. Even if we say we don't need anything else, really... You're the one who taught me that sex is so good, so how could I... how could I possibly get lost? Does that make sense? I really go home and do it by myself every day. You're the one who made me like this. I'm supposed to be reading books and watching movies, but now I can't even sleep."
"So you gave me these documents, you're really a woman obsessed with sex. Aren't you?"
"Yes, that's right. I'm crazy. I'll admit it. Please, just do me one more time."
What the fuck, do you one more time, what?
"If things go wrong, your father and the law firm L&M will all collapse. Ah, you'll obviously be dragged down too..."
"No way. If I call all the media outlets right now and show them this paper, I think a protest for impeachment will start... You're popular, too, Executive Director. It's possible. It's not even a difficult task. The documents are what matter."
"I think I'll need something other than this to use as evidence."
"As much as you want. I can access the computer network, and I can see my father's documents. He left them open for me to read as educational material, and he still hasn't revoked my access."
Then, the woman returns to the starting point and continues the conversation.
"...Anyway, and that woman... that even more rude, crazy woman. She also helped you with your rapid promotion. Though, I wonder if it was just help. After that incident, I heard everyone in the world likes you? Ah, except for — and — and those companies. Anyway... actually, I thought you and that woman would work out, but I guess not. She's the woman who helped you rise up like that..."
"But I can't give you any help. That's what's annoying."
What kind of help? Does she mean she gave me money? No, then does that mean I sold my body for money to several women...
"Knowing too much about me, I don't like it."
"I didn't want to know this much either. But because I like you... my heart leads me to act this way, so how can I stop it?"
...This is too much. This woman.
"Why do you like me?"
"I told you. You were warm to me—"
"But that's not the case now."
Right. This woman accused me, after all. How could I be warm to her?
"...Ha, seriously..."
"So stop it. It's been resolved well, and since you helped me in some ways, too. Because of this incident, in a way, I've reached a point where it's not a problem for me to live in one house with several women."
What is this now? That I've come to live with several women... is that because she helped me?
"...I'm going to die."
Damn it, she's going off the rails again, seriously. But in the dream, he acts as if it's nothing.
"Go ahead..."
"You're... not going to stop me?"
"It's better if you die, actually. And I have these documents in my hand, don't I?"
The 'me' in the dream says this while tucking the documents into his own hands.
"It's better for a dangerous existence like you to disappear quickly. Yeah, with this, my management rights will be guaranteed for sure. Hmm. Since —- and —- will disappear and my father will be able to run the company stably, I'll be recognized again. But when that happens, you shouldn't be here. Because—"
In reality, he holds his breath, trying to hear what the 'me' in the dream is about to say. But immediately after, the woman says,
"I'm pregnant. You're still not going to stop me, right?"
"You'll know whose baby it is, won't you..."
Ah... I'm really getting dizzy...