DAI-YU HAN · COMEDIA CORP CFO · AN OLD, FORGOTTEN TENDERNESS
❝ there is something so beautiful about reaching out to the monstrous with intent to touch it gently. to risk the sharp teeth and the lethal claws, to defy fear and revulsion, and choose to be delicate with something that can be, and often is, incredibly brutal. ❞
[ ! ] — it seems that [ daiyu han ] has entered the scene ! she looks exactly like [ liu shi shi ]. this [ 40-year-old ] is the [ cfo ] of [ comedia corporation ]. it’s a small wonder since she is known for being [ altruistic & loyal ] and [ reclusive & dogmatic ]. she has been involved with the company for [ 17 ] years.
how can you hate without first knowing love? how can you taste sweetness if you've never known bitterness?
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE A TASTE FOR IF YOU’VE BEEN TOLD NEVER TO SHOW YOUR TEETH?
she had been born lucky. the only child to the prominent han family, daiyu's birth had been nothing short of a miracle. it was, perhaps, a fact that would shape the rest of her life — her parents were strict but doting; traditional but flexible. with an ancestry that could be traced back china's dynastic era, the hans had enough resources to last many generations thereafter, with most descendants choosing to pursue higher passions: professors, politicians, researchers — always quietly in the background, the soft whisper that guides a player's hand in chess; dissipating into the morning light a second before the game is won.
from her teenage years, daiyu had been encouraged to pursue whatever she was interested in. from archery to painting to figure skating, she never knew disappointment; was shielded from the cruelty of the world. her parents made sure of it.
it wasn't until college that she realized she had a knack for numbers — however boring it may sound. she studied at the london business school, where she met bernard alderidge. to call him inspirational would be too much of an inflation of his ego — but his companionship made her realize the emptiness within her life. bernard had goals — a singular path wherein he built every cobblestone; planned every stride — while she had always been floating amongst the stars, a singular point of light; eery and untouched. perhaps that was why she agreed to the position at comedia corp — she held the light of the stars, but he taught her the meaning of constellations. that there could be more, if only she looked. for once, life wasn't just about living.
so often we hearing the warning tale of icarus: flying too close to the sun, wings melted as he plummets to the ground. BUT WHEN DO WE HEAR ABOUT THE SUN? the sun — perched above all else, mighty and bright and alone. the sun, who is destined to watch as others experience love, sorrow, joy. every evening, sinking down to the horizon, close enough to the sea to bid its whispered farewell, but never close enough to touch. unable to save even one man. powerless.
it didn't take long for daiyu to realize that she actually enjoyed working at comedia. throughout her life, she'd taken on projects because she simply could. it was an airy way of life; a freedom that had become monotonous. there was no difference between failure and success, and she'd long become complacent. but at comedia, it was different. her actions had an impact. they shared in victories; they leaned on each other in defeat.
her feet touched the ground, and she couldn't help but stare up at the sky, finally knowing how it felt to be human.
