“Yes.”
“That’s a relief! I was a bit worried that he would back out.”
Chae Rim took a Silver Bell cigarette pack from his pocket. He effortlessly peeled off the packaging, put a cigarette in his mouth, and offered one to the judge.
Jeong Jin Wu pushed an ashtray in front of Chae Rim without a word.
“Comrade Judge, since they both want a divorce, isn’t it a simple case now?”
“I have to investigate Sun Hee’s side of the story a bit further.”
“Come now, you met with them. Is there a reason to make this so complicated? Let’s just divorce them here and now. Just sign the papers.”
“Comrade Chairman, please do not misunderstand me. The Superior Court does not divorce couples based on some legal documents or on advocates like yourself.”
“Of course, I’m familiar with the procedures of the court.”
“I’m not just referring to the procedures but more to the importance of the divorce issue. Comrade Chairman, I’m sure you know that when a man and a woman fall in love and decide to marry, it’s their free decision. But they have to register for their marriage license. The law protects the entity of the family, as it is a component of society. It’s not an easy matter to destroy a piece of the nation. Divorce disconnects the relationship between a husband and wife. It’s not a personal matter or a matter that can be decided by executive administrators like you. The family’s fate as a unit of society is intimately connected with the greater family of said society. As a result, the court will carefully assess the divorce case.”
Chae Rim straightened up, as if he had heard enough, and raised his chin to tighten his necktie.
“Comrade Judge, I am well aware of the law.”
Jeong Jin Wu also straightened up.
“Comrade Chairman, I’m sorry for lecturing you. Please don’t be offended. Comrade Chairman, as someone who oversees one of the sectors in this province, I was hoping you would understand my position. Don’t take Sun Hee’s divorce case too personally.”
Chae Rim guffawed cynically. “Do you think what Sun Hee has is a family? Let’s look at the reality of her situation. If I may speak frankly, my cousin lives not in a family but more like in a boarding house. They share a single kitchen, but they sleep in separate rooms. It’s really pathetic. Do you still think they are a family? Is that how a family of this great nation lives?”
Chae Rim glared at Jeong Jin Wu and said, “It would be in your best interest to divorce them quickly and quietly. I don’t want their divorce to be fodder for gossip in this city and have it ruin Sun Hee’s reputation or, certainly, mine. And you had better not come up with excuses to reject their divorce case. Just know that you’re dealing with an explosive man here. That is, once I’m set off, there’s no telling what will happen next.”
“Are you threatening me? Or expecting me to guarantee their divorce?”
“Isn’t it the job of the court to foresee future events and prepare necessary measures?”
“Don’t borrow trouble. If there is enough evidence, then I will divorce them. Just wait patiently,” said Judge Jeong Jin Wu.
Chae Rim stood up to button his suit and then reached out his hand to Jeong Jin Wu. It was not a gesture prescribed by etiquette but a sign that the conversation was over. As Chae Rim approached the door, he stopped. It appeared that he was unsatisfied with the result of his visit. He was disappointed that he was not able to bring the judge over to his point of view.
“Comrade Judge”—Chae Rim’s voice was serious—“I’m asking as a favor. Please, handle this issue rationally and not only according to the strictures of the law.”
Jeong Jin Wu cracked a smile at Chae Rim’s comment, not because Chae Rim thought that rationality and the law were separate entities, but because Chae Rim thought that Sun Hee’s divorce case was something exceptional.
Judge Jeong Jin Wu walked Chae Rim out to the front of the courthouse.
7
After Jeong Jin Wu paid a visit to the neighborhood leader of Sun Hee’s residential area, he went to the Gang An Factory.
The musty air in the factory smelled of metal machinery and grease residue mixed with steam from the cooling water. Enormous green lathe machines occupied one side of the factory, while massive blue boring machines and planing machines lined the other side. If one did not have a good sense of direction, one was liable to get lost in the jungle of machines. The cleaning apparatus clanged, and the pressing machine stamped out huge metal sheets in a jarring rhythm.
A forklift carrying metal parts roared up behind Jeong Jin Wu. He stepped out of the way so it could pass. The female driver nodded a greeting at Jeong Jin Wu and made her way to the boring machines. A technician with blueprints under his arm hopped on the forklift for a free ride. The female driver nonchalantly raised the fork high, elevating the technician perilously close to the boring machine. The technician recognized the imminent danger and hopped off, waving a fist at her in anger. The female driver laughed.
Jeong Jin Wu could not help himself and laughed along. It was refreshing for him to leave his office with its piles of dull legal documents and come to an exuberant factory.
Judge Jeong Jin Wu met with Seok Chun’s equipment manager.
The equipment manager was well over sixty, but he still looked strong and energetic. He stretched out his thick-veined calloused hand to Jeong Jin Wu. After shaking his hand, the equipment manager led him to a corner of the factory and pulled out some metal chairs. A ray of sunlight penetrated the windows, exposing dust particles lingering in the air and scraps of metal on the floor.
The equipment manager quietly smoked the cigarette that Jeong Jin Wu had offered him and sat silent, motionless, with his pensive eyes fixed on the ground. Jeong Jin Wu looked at the manager with respect and admiration. The equipment manager’s leathered face and bent back told of years of work at the factory.
“Comrade Judge, you came all this way to see me, but there is not much I can say about this matter. I feel responsible and ashamed. I taught Seok Chun how to operate the lathe machine but neglected to teach him about family. I didn’t tell him how to manage his family because I didn’t want to poke my head into another man’s personal life. Besides, I’m no family counselor.”
“I see, sir.”
Jeong Jin Wu was in his fifties, and for him to call the equipment manager “sir” was strange, but he did not feel he was worthy of calling him “comrade.” He recalled the old equipment manager from Seok Chun’s story, and even at this first meeting with the elderly man, Jeong Jin Wu deeply respected him and humbled himself before him.
“I didn’t come here to ask you about your responsibility to Comrade Seok Chun’s family or to make you feel guilty. I just want to know what you thought of their marital problems.”
The two sat in silence. This was someone else’s family problem, but they both handled it as if it were their own.
Jeong Jin Wu asked quietly, “Sir, what do you think about Comrade Seok Chun?”
“He’s a genuine worker,” the equipment manager said without skipping a beat. “I’m not saying that just because I trained him. If someone asked me to pick out the best workers, I would pick Seok Chun. Ever since he started working here, with peach fuzz under his nose, he worked on the lathe machine relentlessly. He works on the lathe as if it were his life and soul.
“Some workers start with the lathe, and later when it gets to be too difficult, they resort to learning less complicated machinery. Others consider the lathe a stepping-stone to joining the Party, and they eventually do work that doesn’t require much physical labor. They think a promotion means they’ve succeeded. But I know what they’re really thinking. They’re lazy and have no conscience. They work at a factory for a few days and put down on their résumés that they’ve done something great, betraying the true workers of this nation who are here year in, year out. I’ve had to put so many of that kind of worker in their place. There was this one time when I reported them to the Factory Party Committee, saying that these boys should not be admitted to the Party unless they’ve worked here for more than ten years.”