The Re-education of a Submissive
She finished her shower slowly and stepped back into the room. As she took in the scene before her, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson once again.
"..."
She could have just walked out, but she busied herself tidying the room, doing her best to cover the damp patches on the bedding with the duvet. She straightened the scattered items, carefully picked up the shards of the broken glass, and dropped them into the trash can. She even stood the rolling wine bottle upright on the table. She wanted to erase the evidence. How tightly must she have gripped the sheets to leave such deep wrinkles? How violently must she have clawed at the pillows to leave one corner crushed like that? She kept blushing, and when she caught her reflection in the mirror, she bit her lip slightly.
"Haa..."
The hickeys he had left behind. She stared at them intently, tracing them with her fingertips. Her body trembled. It wasn't just that 'he' had left them. She remembered vividly that this wasn't the Han Suhyun she had known for decades—the man she thought she understood—but the uncontrollable beast, Han Suhyun, who had marked her. She felt the space between her legs growing wet.
'...It’s so annoying, really...'
Nothing was going according to her plans. The harder she tried, the more things fell apart. Whenever she made a move, he shifted in a completely different direction. Yesterday had been the worst. She had wanted to enjoy the look of shock on his face, and she had wanted to climb on top of him in the hotel. But she hadn't been able to do it even once. When he grabbed her by the throat, she had only struggled to survive, barely holding onto the fraying thread of her sanity as she endured the waves of maddening pleasure. She felt that if that thread snapped, she would never be able to return to herself.
The real problem was after he showered. After feeling the humiliation, she had tried to suppress her anger and fall asleep, but he had lifted one of her legs and inserted himself at will. Then, he did the one thing she hated most: he pounded into her relentlessly in the missionary position. It wasn't the gaze of a man making love. It was a look so dangerous it made her afraid to even look up. She couldn't just sit there and watch his expression—half-crazed, seemingly driven by two conflicting thoughts: a deep hatred for her and a desperate, singular intent to get her pregnant. He moved his hips with only that in mind.
"Haa... Haha... Really... what am I thinking..."
And yet, she wanted to see that look again. No, she wanted to chase after him to the office right this second. Or rather, before that, she would just stop by the hospital to have her contraceptive device removed and seduce him all over again. If she did that, he would make that face again, and then, just like last night, he would be so hot, treating her roughly, ravaging her.
As she stared into the mirror, her eyes turning red and sinking into a swamp of thoughts—
'If I do that, I’ll definitely get pregnant... With that much thick fluid inside me... I’ll be pregnant for sure...'
'I might as well just have his baby. I’ll go away for a while, give birth, and raise it...'
'...If I go to Suhyun before the child starts elementary school, he’ll have no choice but to accept me. He’s a man who loves children... Yes, I’ll do that if I have to...'
But fortunately, her reason was still intact—truly, just barely. She recalled that look, those gestures, and that tone of voice. She could picture him looking at the baby, his expression turning cold as he cast her aside. A total failure was to be expected. As she slowly gave up on that idea, her reason returned.
'...'
She had let out some pretty over-the-top moans until now. It had felt good—really good. No, wait? Every moment she spent with him was good. At first, she held back because she was embarrassed. After that, she held back because it felt like she was surrendering to him. But yesterday...
"Hng..."
What if I’m completely broken? It’s so dirty to moan like a child while being pinned down by Suhyun. That’s not the image I wanted... She had thought things like that, but only today did she realize the truth. All the worries she had harbored until now were just groundless fears. She realized that the moment he made up his mind, everything else became something she couldn't control. It was uncontrollable. There was no 'pause' button. And she was left with only one option: to surrender completely. Once she realized that, she fell into an endless abyss of terror. The home she had stepped into was no longer a sweet newlywed nest; it was a place designed to remodel her.
Other emotions besides fear filled her head. The feeling of truly serving him as her master, of being conquered by him, of being forcibly ravished by him. She had never done drugs, and she didn't smoke. Yet, she knew instinctively that this was like a drug.
'Me, me climbing on top of Suhyun...? Don't make me laugh...'
She scolded and educated herself. She mocked herself for being a fearless woman who had tried to get on top of her ex-husband. She also thought about how every moment she was pinned beneath him felt so good it made her lose her mind, and she wondered why she hadn't been interested in this feeling until now. If she had known a little earlier, she wouldn't have divorced him, and she could have let him do whatever he liked while enjoying sweet nights herself.
'I want to... I want to do it again...'
It felt like the thread of reason she had desperately clung to had snapped, but she didn't know it. It wasn't that she had let go of her reason; it was that the very concept of what she considered 'reason'—her basic common sense—was being completely reorganized.
She checked out alone, then took a deluxe taxi back home. She was still wearing that hanbok. The clothes smelled of a lewd scent, but she didn't care. If the driver had any other ideas, she planned to kill him. Because the only person who could react to this scent and ravish her was...
'...Only my Master...'
That was how it was. After returning home, she started to prepare lunch but stopped mid-action.
'Damn it, the lunch box.'
He didn't like lunch boxes. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a situation she couldn't possibly understand, but now, with her reason half-broken—or rather, perhaps finally returned to a normal state—she could understand. She had caused a scene at the company, and that would put him in a difficult position. That was why he didn't like the lunch boxes she brought. Anyone else might say that was an obvious thought, but until now, she had acted as if she had a personality disorder: "I personally packed the lunch box you wanted and brought it to you." "What are you complaining about?" "I did what you asked. Why is there no reaction?" That was how she had been. To put it bluntly, she had been a woman showing signs of a sociopathic personality. But now, she had been remodeled:
'I went to the company without permission, causing trouble for Master...'
'I made a scene...'
'He was working, and I opened the door without knocking...'
'And I just tossed the lunch box at him, telling him to eat...'
= 'What is this... what is this...'
So, she made a resolution.
'From now on, I will get [permission] first before bringing him a lunch box.'
'And I’ll be as careful as possible... I won't go find him myself; I'll ask if I can give it to other employees instead.'
'He won't be happy if I go... Yesterday, he tried to kill me...'
'....'
She was finally thinking normally, yet she felt a little afraid. She realized that he had come to hate her because everything she had done until now had been like that. Her solitary thoughts eventually led back to last night. So that's why he said he would kill me. That wasn't a lie. He was serious.
'...I could have really died...'
She was engulfed in terror. And so, she just sat slumped on the floor, staring blankly into space.
"Anyway, that's how it turned out. We've also handled the early repayment of the Pyeonghwa Bank loan. It seems you're keeping bond issuance in mind."
"Yes. I think that would be better. We were thinking, should we issue perpetual bonds now..."
"Hmm."
"I understand. Issuing perpetual bonds will be a burden on you, won't it?"
Perpetual bonds—corporate bonds without a maturity date. Since there is no maturity, there is no obligation to repay the principal; however, the company must continue to pay interest to the bondholders every year for decades, or until the company is liquidated. Issuing them now could act as a significant catalyst for management activities, but the problem is...
"Because the interest burden can grow as time goes on."
"But couldn't we just buy back and incinerate the perpetual bonds at some point?"
"Why are you suddenly taking your father's side?"
"I think it's a good idea. The timing is just important. I don't think it's the time for anything radical right now."
"...That's true. Then I'll take your side, too."
The Chairman nodded and reviewed the materials he had provided next.
"Seongjeong is participating?"
"Yes. That's how it turned out. I think it will be beneficial."
"The conditions are good, too... Hmm..."
"Yes."
He stood quietly, watching the Chairman. Soon, the Chairman furrowed his brow slightly.
"Did you pay them a rebate?"
"No."
"Did you threaten them? Saying you'd cancel the consortium if they didn't?"
"Ah... I thought you might say that. No, I didn't."
"Hey. Why would you go out of your way to do this if you're not crazy? One of my juniors is on their board of directors; should I give him a call?"
"Yes. Go ahead. You trust your son so little, yet you handed over the company and entrusted me with all this... truly..."
Faced with that reaction, the Chairman nodded, fetched the ink pad, and stamped the document with a loud thud.
"Tell them to process the rest with final approval. I've stamped it, so proceed. You've taken on a big project; can you handle it?"
"Who do you think I am?"
"A foolish executive who still has a long way to go."
"....Agh, come on!"
The Chairman laughed heartily, handed him the stamped documents, and said, "Chairman Eun of Seongjeong came by personally. Unlike you, he was full of praise... he was just..."
"I thought as much."
"Huh?"
The Chairman stood up slowly and said to him, "I've seen him a few times... he keeps showing a lot of interest in you. When we were at a Korean restaurant talking, your name came up, and it was the first time I'd ever heard someone else praise my own child like that. I still remember it."
"You could have told me that beforehand. Seriously..."
He turned around with the documents in hand, ready to leave, when the Chairman added, "Hey. How was I supposed to tell you that in advance, you brat."
"Why couldn't you!"
The Chairman looked at him, hand on the doorknob, and said, "Seongmin kept saying to me, 'Hyung-nim. Please, just one meeting between my eldest daughter and your son...' He came to ask me every week, you know? And you're already out there looking at wedding halls with your daughter-in-law. Why would I tell you what someone with those thoughts said?"
"..."
"A businessman shouldn't let personal matters cloud his judgment. You shouldn't even be told things like this. Don't go acting like you're something special to Chairman Eun just because I told you this. Always be polite. ...You brat, you understand?"
Father, you should have beaten me to death back then; why did you... Why did you...