Plan 10

"Tell me about yourself Sarah? Why'd you come all the way to Andover?"
"I want to succeed in America," Sarah answered. She took out a cigarette from her purse. She lit it quickly and inhaled.
"Is that the only reason?"
"No, I wanted to meet a certain Korean person."
"Have you met him? Are you pleased with him?"
"Not really, a bit disappointed," Sarah responded.
"And the American boyfriend? Does he fulfill your expectations?"
"He's not really a playboy. He just pretends to be."
"He sure convinced me."
"This is my Hall. Would you like to come in?"
"Why the fuck not?"

They walked up the stairs to her room.

"May I sit down?"
"Of course."
"Derek, do you know who I am?" Sarah looked defiantly at Derek.
"I have no fucking clue. Tell me."
"Should I tell you slowly over time or should I just tell you now?"
"Tell me now."
"Derek, do you know why your father was fired from Seoul University?"

Derek stood up. He really wanted to slap Sarah, but he refrained. Then, he wanted to leave but he didn't.

"Did you know my father?" he heard himself asking.
"No, I was too young to know your father, but my older sister knew him."
"She had an affair with him," he presumed. He sat down. "May I have a cigarette?"

"My older sister got accepted to Seoul National because of our family's growing wealth and respectability. Once she got accepted, she fell under the charm of your father. She thought he was some kind of genius, a real Korean genius that our nation could be proud of and could even brag about to Americans and Europeans. She hung on his every word and in some ways threw herself at him. He took full advantage of it and news of their stormy affair was beginning to fly through the campus."

"Stop. Why are you telling me this?"
"I think you need to know."
"Did you come all the way to Andover so you could tell me this?"
"Yes."
"How did you know that I was here?"
"My Aunt lives in Narberth, Pennsylvania, 10 miles from where you live. I paid her for information concerning you."

"Why should I believe you?" Derek asked.
"You see that locked wooden box over there. Inside are pictures of my sister and your father. There are also letters, gifts, etc."
"Can you open it, Sarah?"

Sarah went over to the box and opened it and then gave it to Derek.

"How did you get this?"
"My sister threw it away but I retrieved it."
"Why?"
"I thought you deserved to know."
"Have we met before?"
"I saw you in your father's office at Seoul National. My family was visiting my sister. You were 5."
"I don't remember anything about Korea. My brain has washed it from my memory."
"Some of the images are disturbing," Sarah warned.

There were pictures of Sarah's sister kissing his father, hugging his father, and loving his father. Then there were pictures of his naked father with ancient Chinese or Korean texts written over it by Sarah's sister. There were letters of absolute adoration toward his father, as if he were God or something. Derek couldn't stop crying as he looked at the pictures and tried to read the letters.

"What's the fucking point of this?" he asked finally.
"The point is that my sister adored and loved your father until... one day, she discovered a locked wooden box in his office. She pried it open and found works by Derrida, Nietzsche, Foucault..."
"Philiosophy books locked in a box. Let me guess, he was plegiarizing or paraphrasing lesser well-known ideas of these philosophers."
"Exactly. Then she became mad, insane with rage and hatred and she would shout things around campus and..."
"He just couldn't stay anymore." Derek finished.
"So why are you telling me this?"

THE END