Beyond that, it’s normal for children to develop misplaced romantic interest in adult authority figures. It is NOT normal for said interest to trigger commensurate attraction in the adult. And despite Haegu’s verbal denials, that is what the narrative is telling us happened given the juxtaposition of Mian’s idle thoughts and Haegu’s own reflection on how long Mian’s been appearing in her dreams.
I’m frankly uninterested in placing the burden of initiation at Mian’s feet, and it’s notably a deflection that only serves to make the sexual relationship (and s** scenes) more palatable. Regardless of whether Mian “wants it” or not, it is bizarre to develop attraction to a teenager as an adult. It is more bizarre for that attraction to be to a teenager that you yourself raised, and it’s strangest of all to then act on it regardless of later technical legalit -- and I hope you’re not ready to sincerely argue with me otherwise. Whether the audience or the narrative itself wants to acknowledge it, Mian’s been deeply wronged. Hence why I said it would be interesting if Mian actually went through with killing Haegu -- though, again, the chances are nil since for all the story has to say about male systemic and sexual exploitation of women, the oddness of the main relationship so far seems to be more for titillation than anything.
@Jay "It is NOT normal for said interest to trigger commensurate attraction in the adult". Haegu was not romantic or sexually attracted to Mian when she was a child/teenager.
@Jay "And despite Haegu’s verbal denials, that is what the narrative is telling us happened given the juxtaposition of Mian’s idle thoughts and Haegu’s own reflection on how long Mian’s been appearing in her dreams.". This is a more delicate subject to discuss and the story doesn't delve into that in later chapters, but assuming she really had those dreams, do have in mind that dreams don't necessarily reflect real feelings and desires. All we know is that Haegu's dreams are a consequence of what happened 5 years ago. We need to take into consideration how much of shocking experience it was for her: to have a person she saw grow up and that was supposed to hate her, actually feel attracted to her (a teenager, no less). What happened back then was something that completely changed how she saw Mian, and that may have had an effect on her dreams. But again, that doesn't necessarily mean attraction from her part.
@Jay Another possible interpretation (and the one I think makes more sense) is that Haegu never had those morally questionable dreams to begin with. Maybe she only recalls, hazily, the fragments of what happened that day with Mian. We see in the flashback that she was almost in state of semi-consciousness (when she wasn't completely unconscious). She was in great pain and she couldn't think clearly, even wondering, when she first saw Mian in her room, if that was a dream — she couldn't distinguish, at that time, what was real and what wasn't. Mian did all that stuff while Haegu was in this state, and Haegu could only watch and wonder if that was really happening or not. But remember she saw everything: Mian kissing her, laying with her on her bed and touching herself. Mian later manipulates her (in the present), saying Haegu had been dreaming of her sexually for a long time, when in reality she's just constantly recalling that situation, confused as to whether that was something that really happened in the first place or not.
@Jay "Whether the audience or the narrative itself wants to acknowledge it, Mian’s been deeply wronged. Hence why I said it would be interesting if Mian actually went through with killing Haegu". Yes, Mian was indeed deeply wronged. But the thing is, Haegu was even more deeply wronged... so does she really deserve to die? That's what makes this story so interesting.
