Friend

by Paek Nam-nyong

  FAMILY

  14

  It was late in the evening when Jeong Jin Wu finished talking with Chae Rim. Jeong Jin Wu drilled the law into Chae Rim for several hours, revealing to him how seriously the nation disapproved of his embezzlement.

  Chae Rim sat still like frost-covered grass when he realized that he would be severely punished and have to answer to Party leaders. He sighed with regret. He dared not contest the judge’s criticisms; there was nothing for him to contest. He was fortunate not to be in prison for his crime.

  Jeong Jin Wu led Chae Rim to the door.

  Chae Rim held the doorknob and glanced at the judge with forlorn eyes. But it was not a look that expected Jeong Jin Wu to lessen his punishment.

  “Comrade Judge,” Chae Rim spoke, “I have a question. Are you going to tell Sun Hee about this issue?”

  “Sun Hee and Seok Chun are trying to work things out for themselves. Go to their place and apologize to them.”

  Chae Rim slouched his broad shoulders and left the courthouse.

  Jeong Jin Wu watched Chae Rim walk toward the small park in front of the courthouse. He fixed his gaze on the trees, where Chae Rim had disappeared into the wooded park, with a feeling of unsettled dissatisfaction. Jeong Jin Wu was making Chae Rim pay the price for his crime, but he still did not feel at ease. He recalled the first time Chae Rim had stepped inside his office, exuding an aura of imperious pride and unassailable power. How do people become like that? thought Jeong Jin Wu. There were still too many people like Chae Rim who did not respect the country’s efforts to advance technologically and improve the economy, who instead flaunted their authority as they sat on the throne of bureaucratic power. Jeong Jin Wu wondered if those selfish individuals with no conscience realized that their salaries and the benefits they received from being in those positions came from society’s hardworking technicians and researchers.

  Jeong Jin Wu headed home after another difficult day at the courthouse. Neon signs began to light up the city as the crimson sun retired behind the hills. A gentle wind blew through the trees, rustling the budding leaves and giving off the fresh scent of spring. Lights appeared in apartment windows one by one, creating a mosaic of changing patterns. Cars, buses, and trucks brightened the evening streets with dazzling headlights. Jeong Jin Wu’s indignation toward Chae Rim began to subside as he found solace in the animated nightscape.

  People on the pedestrian path were going about their business, some walking with the swiftest of paces while others strolled without the least concern in their lives. Some raced urgently to their destinations, while others sauntered, at liberty to observe and admire the wonders of spring. Some passed shops and restaurants without interest, while others stopped to peer into the windows. Some fixed their eyes on the ground, while others surveyed the town. On this brisk evening, on these cheerful streets, people seemed to be content with their lives.

  “Hello.”

  Jeong Jin Wu turned around when he heard a familiar voice.

  It was the coal miner, the husband of the schoolteacher, who lived on the second floor of his apartment building. This man had two loves in his life: his wife and liquor. He had on a tattered brown suit and held a black lunch box under his arm. His hat came down to his eyebrows. His broad shoulders, thick neck, and the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth were a testament to his years of hard work, and yet his eyes still beamed like a young worker’s. It was clear that the coal miner was tired from a long day’s work. His clothes showed that he had been inside a deep cavity in the earth.

  Jeong Jin Wu asked, “Are you just now coming back from work?”

  “Yep. Another day’s work finished,” replied the coal miner proudly. “I worked the crane today.”

  The coal miner paused and looked at Jeong Jin Wu. Then he continued, “By the way, Comrade Judge, something seems to be bothering you.”

  Jeong Jin Wu smiled wryly at the miner’s keen observation.

  “It must be another divorce case,” the coal miner conjectured.

  “You’ve guessed correctly.”

  “Your job must be difficult with these cases lingering in your head even after you get off work,” said the coal miner. Then he asked the judge, “Is your wife still away doing research?”

  Jeong Jin Wu smiled and nodded his head. What began as housework for him to do became fodder for gossip throughout the apartment complex, and now it had become a conventional part of greeting him. The coal miner’s question was mixed with sympathy and understanding, which made Jeong Jin Wu feel grateful rather than spiteful. His wife’s research at Yeonsudeok was important not only for producing vegetables but for inventing a new type of hybrid, which made her work all the more important. Other people seemed to have realized this, but Jeong Jin Wu had forgotten about Eun Ok’s significant contribution to agriculture.

  “Comrade Judge, would you care for a drink?”

  Jeong Jin Wu raised his head to discover that they were standing in front of a pub with green neon lights flashing “Fine Liquor.” He saw a few customers through the window with their elbows on the table, hands clasped, and heads hung low.

  The coal miner said, “Just one pint.”

  “Let’s go home,” Jeong Jin Wu responded.

  “Why? There’s no one at your place anyway, and you seem to be lonely. Let’s just have one pitcher.”

  Even before Jeong Jin Wu could make up an excuse, one pint of beer had already increased to one pitcher.

  Jeong Jin Wu dragged the coal miner away from the pub. “Aren’t you concerned about your wife? She waits for you every night in front of the building. She already worries enough about her students. You don’t have to add to her problems.”

  The coal miner guffawed and headed toward the pub. But then he smacked his lips at the thought of his wife and turned around. He pulled out a cigarette and tried to justify himself.

  “Comrade Judge, as you can see, I’m quite healthy. But my wife thinks I’m sick and nags me about my drinking.”

  “That’s because your wife loves you.”

  “It gets pretty tiresome, if you ask me. I tried to put my foot down as a man, but it was no use. Her nagging continued, and now it’s to a point where I can’t handle it anymore. These days, I just keep my mouth shut. It’s better this way. You see, rain comes and goes, and the clouds eventually roll away.”

  “So, you’re still drinking.”

  “Comrade Judge, a wife is different from the law. She is far more generous and forgiving. When I promise her that I will quit today and then drink again, she just shakes her head and lets it go. That’s how we live.”

  “I always thought that the two of you were happily married.”

  “Of course we are,” responded the coal miner enthusiastically.

  Jeong Jin Wu said gently, “If your wife has to worry about your drinking, how will she be able to focus on her teaching?”

  The coal miner averted his eyes from Jeong Jin Wu.

  “On the outside, it may seem like your wife is fine, but can you imagine how much she has cried over you? Think about when you first met her, and the times the two of you spent together in the first couple years of your marriage. I’m sure you didn’t drink as much then.”

  The coal miner dug his hands deep into his pockets as he continued walking. He had a pensive demeanor. He felt that a fellow male comrade was betraying him. He then turned to the judge and shouted, “Drinking is not my life! I can quit! What’s so hard about that?”

  The coal miner strode away quickly.

  Jeong Jin Wu grinned. He was impressed with the coal miner’s curt but honest reaction. He was relieved to know that the coal miner had not wasted his life on liquor.

  “You don’t have to get upset about it,” said Jeong Jin Wu. “Wait for me!”

  Jeong Jin Wu caught up to the coal miner.

  The coal miner lowered his distraught eyes and stared at the ground. The lunch box at his side was on the verge of falling. Jeong Jin Wu helped the coal miner with his
lunch box and regretted admonishing someone who was joyfully on his way home from a hard day’s work.

  Jeong Jin Wu spoke to assuage the coal miner’s feelings. “I seem to have interfered in your marriage. I can’t seem to take off my legal hat. I’ve hurt many friends this way. Please forgive me.”

  The coal miner raised his head and looked deeply into Jeong Jin Wu’s eyes. The coal miner’s virtuous eyes were a telling sign that he was not a simplistic man who cared only about working and drinking. His eyes projected a light of determination that had lain dormant for all these years, a promising sign of no longer succumbing to the yoke of alcoholism.

  “Comrade Judge, I blame myself,” mumbled the coal miner in a subdued tone. “I respect you more than any of my drinking buddies. Actually, I used to think that your wife kept you on a tight leash and forced you to do all the housework while she was away doing research. I thought doing research was easy, so I asked myself, ‘Why can’t she do both, research and household chores?’ ”

  Jeong Jin Wu nodded as he, too, had those thoughts about Eun Ok.

  “This is coming from me who hasn’t done anything productive with my education. I’ve wasted my life by drinking and taking my wife for granted. In the corner of our closet, there is a dusty trunk full of my old research notes.”

  The coal miner continued speaking in a melancholy tone.

  “For the longest time, my wife wiped the dust off that trunk every day. I guess she was expecting me to do something with it. Whew! That was a long time ago. And now, there’s no way for me to retrieve those bygone days.”

  Jeong Jin Wu responded, “Isn’t there a saying ‘Start over with a clean slate’? Don’t be so down on yourself. It seems you’ve realized how precious time is. If you start now, you can still be productive. You have a strong-willed teacher as your wife who is more than willing to assist you.”

  The two walked in silence. They made a right turn at the fork in the road and walked toward their apartment complex.

  From the front gate of the apartment building, a woman in an old sweater walked out to meet them. It was the coal miner’s wife. The schoolteacher greeted the men warmly, but the coal miner kept his eyes on the ground. He was in a pensive mood, regretting his unproductive past. He then lifted his head and looked at his wife in shame for his irresponsible habit of drinking but also with a sense of determination to greet the new day ahead of him.

  The schoolteacher bowed to Jeong Jin Wu and then walked slowly beside her husband into their apartment.

  Jeong Jin Wu did not want to interfere with the couple, so he walked past them and went up to his apartment. He trudged slowly up the stairs, reluctant to enter his empty apartment. When he got to the third floor, he was overcome with loneliness. He knew he had to tend the vegetables in the greenhouse and prepare his own dinner. These responsibilities took time away from analyzing legal documents and thinking about other cases.

  Nevertheless, Jeong Jin Wu decided to let go of every last complaint about his wife.

  So what if I have to sleep less to finish the housework and work on my cases? Can’t I help Eun Ok, who’s probably walking the steep paths of Yeonsudeok? I must not become like those who forget the noble purpose of life promised during the wedding ceremony. I did not marry for my own complacency or pleasure.

  Jeong Jin Wu fondly remembered that day, that beautiful day, the day of his wedding, the snow-covered day in March twenty years ago.

  15

  Jeong Jin Wu searched his pockets for his keys, but then he heard footsteps inside the house. The door was flung open.

  Eun Ok stood in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron, pleased to see her husband and yet apologetic at the same time. With a rueful smile, she greeted him, wordless but filled with gratitude.

  Eun Ok had lost weight conducting research in the mountains. She had more wrinkles on her face, and her cheeks were chapped from the cold wind. It appeared she had rushed to complete some of the household chores as soon as she had returned home. Perhaps it was because she felt sorry for leaving so urgently ten days ago, but it was hard to tell.

  Jeong Jin Wu was pleased to see Eun Ok’s unpretentious attitude. He had always loved how Eun Ok never complained about the monotony of their married life, never acted entitled but instead always presented herself as a simple-hearted, gentle woman. He had always loved her for these qualities, but, for some reason, tonight they felt new to him.

  Jeong Jin Wu found traces of fatigue on Eun Ok’s face.

  “You must have had a hard time up there.” He tried to speak tenderly, but it sounded curt and with no affection at all.

  “Forget about me. I see that you didn’t take a lunch to work this morning,” said Eun Ok worriedly, noticing that Jeong Jin Wu was not carrying his briefcase or his lunchbox.

  “I woke up late this morning, so I couldn’t prepare lunch. I ate at the cafeteria instead.”

  “What about breakfast?”

  “I had some leftovers from last night.”

  Eun Ok felt sorry about not preparing his breakfast and lunch. She put his shoes away.

  “Something smells great!” Jeong Jin Wu exclaimed as he handed his coat to Eun Ok.

  The aroma of stir-fried vegetables filled the apartment, which made Jeong Jin Wu feel welcomed. He felt his weariness from spending endless hours at his office and living the life of a widower for the past ten days dissipate. How wonderful it was to reexperience the days when his wife used to stay home! The early days of their marriage flashed through his mind. He remembered how his heart had raced throughout the day of their wedding and on their first night together, and, like an ocean that never sleeps, he had lain awake filled with inexplicable happiness. However, tonight was incomparable, tonight Jeong Jin Wu was overwhelmed with feelings of joy, encouragement, and tranquility.

  Eun Ok went to and fro in the kitchen and prepared the dinner table. Her rough hands were sunburned and calloused like men’s hands, unlike on the night of their wedding, when he had held Eun Ok’s small, soft hands and gazed at her beautiful wedding dress. Her hair, once voluminous, black, and silky, was now dry and lackluster, thinning, with bristly strands of silver around her ears.

  “I’m not sure how the vegetables are doing in the greenhouse,” Jeong Jin Wu said worriedly.

  “You did a really great job. You even recorded their growth.”

  Eun Ok spoke as if Jeong Jin Wu was not her husband but her assistant.

  “Was it cold in Yeonsudeok?” Jeong Jin Wu asked, changing the subject.

  “It snowed. The wind blew hard, but although the fields froze at night, they slowly defrosted by the afternoon. It was unusual weather for this time of year.”

  “Didn’t the vegetables freeze?”

  “No, they all grew well. This year’s cabbage grew especially well.”

  Eun Ok described the vegetables as though they were her children. Whenever she talked about her vegetables, her eyes and smile were like those of a mother gazing at her infant. Jeong Jin Wu looked at her expression as she described the vegetables and thought back to how she used to hold their son in her arms, breastfeed him, and comb his hair back with her fingers. The way Eun Ok expressed her maternal love for their son then was no different from the way she was talking about her vegetables now. This moved his heart.

  Jeong Jin Wu rubbed his hands excitedly and said, “This year, I have a feeling that the cabbages will be large and tasty. The ducks will stay away from the radishes. And since you sowed the tomato and cucumber seeds early, they will be able to grow with little problem. I hope none of the flowers have fallen off the vines.”

  Jeong Jin Wu tried to encourage Eun Ok’s research. He wanted to say something optimistic and hopeful, something that would move her. However, this was the only way that he was able to express himself.

  Eun Ok lowered the empty tray in her hands and gazed at her husband. As she smiled, wrinkles formed around her eyes and mouth. The cabbages, the radishes eaten by ducks, the early sowing of tomato
and cucumber seeds, the inland weather, strong winds, seedlings, plant growth and development—these were all complex problems that derived from the ecological conditions of the plants’ natural habitat. But Jeong Jin Wu naively desired only the best results for Eun Ok.

  Eun Ok felt her husband’s steadfast love for her. Although Jeong Jin Wu’s promise to support Eun Ok’s research was the covenant on which their marriage was founded, Eun Ok felt grateful for his unchanging attitude and the work he put into maintaining their family’s harmony. Eun Ok looked back on the countless nights of doing research away from home. She knew that Jeong Jin Wu resented her each time she left. But on her return, she would notice that he had become an even more affectionate family man. This revitalized her fatigued spirit. Despite the hardships on the road and at Yeonsudeok for the past ten days, her weariness dissipated like a passing fog.

  Eun Ok said, “Your soup’s going to get cold. Please eat.”

  “You, too, dear,” said Jeong Jin Wu as he sat down. “What a feast! There are so many side dishes. Seasoned greens and vegetables. When did you have time to pick these?”

  “The villagers at Yeonsudeok gave them to me. They packed them in bundles and loaded them on the truck.”

  Jeong Jin Wu acted surprised.

  They had had this conversation right around this time last year, the year before that, and the year before that. Every year, the villagers handpicked various greens, bundled them, and loaded them on the truck for Eun Ok. Both of them took a moment to thank the villagers and then proceeded to eat their dinner.

  The rays of the sun spread their arms one last time before sinking into the horizon.

  A breeze brushed across the newly budding trees lined up along the street, forcing the young branches to tap on the windows of the apartments as though they wanted permission to enter. The wind had traveled a great distance, rushing down from China’s tall mountains, through the valleys, and across the vast plains. Yet, the wind did not appear to be tired after its long journey. As the evening grew darker, the brisk wind roamed the lonely city in search of a place to rest. However, there was no home for it to enter. The wind envied the lovely flowers resting in their pots in the warm apartments. It pushed the tree branches to tap incessantly on the windows, seeking attention.