Paek Nam-nyong - Friend - A Novel from North Korea

Jeong Jin Wu was overjoyed because the deputy director had done as he had been told.

“When will you return?”

“Friday will be our final performance there, so I guess on Saturday. Why do you ask?” asked Sun Hee.

“I’m asking because this Sunday is May 10,” said Jeong Jin Wu as he looked at the calendar. “Isn’t that your tenth wedding anniversary?”

Sun Hee was shocked. She had her hand on the doorknob, but now she lost the strength to so much as grasp it. A shadow of remorse covered her pale face. She tried to avoid making eye contact with Jeong Jin Wu by focusing on one corner of the room. Tears began to fill her eyes again.

“That day… those kinds of days are only meant for normal families,” Sun Hee replied.

“Would it be okay for me to stop by your house on that day?”

“Please, who can stop you, Comrade Judge?”

“No, I’m not going to your house as a judge, but as a friend. It’ll also be fun to see my friend Ho Nam.” Jeong Jin Wu laughed.

Jeong Jin Wu could not transfer his joviality to Sun Hee, who met his amicable gesture with seeming indifference.

He went over to Sun Hee and opened the door for her.

“Then have a great time on your trip. I wish you the best,” said Jeong Jin Wu, trying to be encouraging.

Sun Hee left without saying a word. The clicking of her high heels faded down the corridor. Then there was silence.

Jeong Jin Wu’s entire body was on the verge of collapsing. His throat was parched. Layers of fatigue and worry weighed his body down. He drank a cup of water and then sank deep into his sofa. As he closed his eyes, he thought about how Seok Chun’s family life contrasted with his own marriage. He had harbored various resentments whenever his wife traveled for her research, leaving him with the housework. He had expressed disappointment and indignation before showing patience and affection.

Jeong Jin Wu missed his wife.

Since the cold weather had lifted and the warmth of spring had come, his wife could also be on her way back home.

The mountainous roads in that area were dangerously steep and windy. There was only one bus a day that came from that direction.

If she missed the bus, then she would have had to hitch a ride on a truck. She’s probably sitting in the back of a bumping truck with a towel around her head, thinking about something. What was she thinking about?

She had never once expressed her difficulties in doing her research to her husband but instead kept them to herself. The tall peaks, the bright blue sky, the magnificent evergreens, and the dark river flowing below the steep mountains made for a picturesque view on first sight. But since Eun Ok traveled this road often, they no longer had the power to refresh her. That was why she would close her eyes and doze to allow time to pass. However, the bumpy roads would prevent her from truly resting.

What was she thinking now ? Jeong Jin Wu thought.

Before she got married, when she had traveled the mountain road, she probably had great expectations. But then disappointment followed her failed experiments, and her complaining husband added to her distress.

Jeong Jin Wu recalled the last time he had greeted Eun Ok when she returned from her field research. He had been stern and cold, like an executive administrator. He had said things he should not have said to her. It was because he had been utterly fed up with what he considered her hopeless research. But even then, Eun Ok just smiled and caught up on the housework. How could he complain about such a saintly person?

The phone rang.

Jeong Jin Wu picked up the receiver. It was Chae Rim. He sounded like he wanted to pacify the judge.

“Comrade Judge, will you be in your office for a bit?”

“I will. In fact, I’ve been meaning to give you a call. Come by my office now,” said Jeong Jin Wu in an authoritative tone.

“I’ll be there. Comrade Judge, I haven’t been able to sleep for the past couple of nights. I’m really sorry, and the more I think about my wrongdoing, the more I can’t sleep.”

Jeong Jin Wu wanted to discipline him right then and there, but he held his tongue. Chae Rim had hindered the country’s technological advancement and trampled on the inventors’ sincere efforts. Did he think that a few sleepless nights would be enough to absolve him of his crime and guilt?

“Comrade Judge, I am truly sorry before the law and I regret my misdeeds. This morning, I returned all the furniture that I had bought with the money meant for the cash prize. And then I decided that our administrative building does not need a metal fence and that a brick wall would do.”

“Comrade Chairman, are you trying to exonerate yourself with a single phone call?”

“No, not at all,” Chae Rim responded quickly. “I will be there soon.”

Judge Jeong Jin Wu hung up the phone and pursued another line of thought. He needed to punish Chae Rim harshly for his illegal conduct. He had no choice but to consider Chae Rim’s misdeeds a crime. He had sabotaged the inventors for profit and was apathetic about the country’s technological advancement. He still was not completely truthful and remained a hypocrite, but he sounded as though he was prepared to rectify his mistakes. This was his first count of misconduct, and coming to the courthouse to confess his crime would be an amazing sight in itself if he carried it out. Jeong Jin Wu considered lessening the sentence if Chae Rim came to the courthouse to confess. Chae Rim would have to award the cash prize to the inventors after all, and then it would be up to the court to decide whether he would be punished for violating the moral codes and principles of his administrative work.

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.