Jeong Jin Wu was relieved to find Seok Chun after restlessly searching the factory.
“Comrade Seok Chun, why are you sitting here alone?” asked Jeong Jin Wu warmly.
When Seok Chun saw Jeong Jin Wu, he stood up immediately. He tried to come up with some excuse. “The night shift workers will arrive soon. I volunteered to watch over the molten metal by managing the furnace heat.” But this was an obvious lie.
There were dark circles, traces of his exhaustion, around Seok Chun’s eyes.
“Does a lathe worker know anything about working the furnace?”
“I’ve been working on the casting for a while now, so—”
“So you’ve learned the ropes. Were you successful in making the remote control?”
“It’s such a sensitive piece that if it bubbles or if there’s a rupture, then you have to just throw it away. The sand I’m using is also pretty old, so it causes additional problems.”
“Speaking of which, I brought some sand. Would you care to have a look?”
“You did? From where?”
“If it’s of any use, I’ll tell you.”
Jeong Jin Wu lowered his backpack. His shoulders and lower back ached intolerably, but he did his best not to reveal his pain. He did not want Seok Chun to be concerned. Seok Chun quickly unzipped the backpack and picked up a handful of sand. He spread the soft white sand on his hand and brought it in front of the furnace for a better look. Then he turned around and looked at Jeong Jin Wu’s wet and muddied pants and shoes.
“So, will it be useful?” Jeong Jin Wu asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Seok Chun was careful not to spill any of the sand on the floor. He put the handful of sand back inside the bag and stood up. Tears welled in his eyes.
“Comrade Judge, the sand is really good. Did you get this from the river?”
“You guessed correctly. I got it from under a large boulder below the small footbridge.”
“It’s really deep there and really cold,” muttered Seok Chun, trying to hold back his tears.
“Nonsense. It was actually quite refreshing. Never mind that. So, then, you’re telling me that it’s useful?”
“It looks better than the one they haul by train from the other factory. I will go with the other workers to the river and dig up some more.”
“Great! Then my efforts were not in vain,” Jeong Jin Wu exclaimed.
Jeong Jin Wu had hesitated to bring the sand to Seok Chun at first, but now he felt relieved and lighter on his feet. From his backpack, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a match. He had wanted to smoke a cigarette ever since he had gotten out of the river, but the cigarette and match were soaked.
Seok Chun quickly offered one of his cigarettes. Then he grabbed a long wooden stick and got a flame from the furnace.
“You’re quite talented,” said Jeong Jin Wu, complimenting Seok Chun as he brought his cigarette close to the flame. “Why don’t you smoke one, too?”
Seok Chun smiled glumly and returned to the furnace.
The two sat for some time without saying anything, and it seemed as if only the furnace listened to their deep thoughts. The radiance from the blaze reflected on the faces of the two men.
Seok Chun carefully broke the awkward silence.
“Comrade Judge, I don’t know what to say. You’ve been so helpful and…”
“No need to say more. I know how you feel.”
Jeong Jin Wu picked up a steel ladle and twirled it around. “But I do want to know if you’ve been thinking about what I said in my office the other day.”
When Seok Chun did not answer, Jeong Jin Wu said, “Something still seems to be bothering you.”
Seok Chun remained silent.
“Before you think about divorcing your wife, you have to consider what she wants from you. Don’t be so antagonistic. It’s time for you to think objectively about how she feels about you. I was deeply moved by your tireless efforts on the lathe without coveting awards or recognition. However, you cannot apply the same kind of fervor you have for your work to your family. A family may be small, but it’s connected to one’s world. You cannot think that yesterday’s feelings for your wife will remain the same today. You need to constantly renew those emotions, your vows, and continue to paint your ideal family—those make up your world. But what are you doing in this respect? You have not changed with the times. You love Sun Hee the press worker and not the renowned mezzo-soprano of the performing arts company. She has progressed and become a new person. Times have changed, and so must you. Our entire society is actively progressing toward becoming intellectualized in scientific technology and the arts. But you, comrade, have fallen behind the times. Your so-called love for your wife is outdated. You’re trying to measure your wife’s love for you with a yardstick used in the old days, tallying all the good and bad things she has done for you. And then you try to work on your invention with all this baggage. How well do you think you will be able to perform your duties at the factory? If you had listened to your wife and gone to the Engineering College, then you would be a technician by now and would not have wasted all those years trying to figure out the complex engineering components of your invention.”
Seok Chun took off his worn-out hat and started fidgeting with it. Jeong Jin Wu continued.
“Since you couldn’t properly assess the changing times and only looked disdainfully at your wife with your nearsighted views, you criticized her for being vain. You think she’s been acting superior to you for recommending technical college. Comrade Sun Hee’s concern for you derived from your aimless life and technical stagnation. Can you really blame her after all? I believe that her demands are aligned with the demands of society, which is to raise the consciousness of the people in our country. She understood that the family is a unit of society, and that is why your self-improvement is absolutely required. You really have to correct your erroneous and ultra-conservative thoughts.”
The hat in Seok Chun’s large hands became like a small lump of cloth.
“Comrade Seok Chun, then, do you feel superior to Sun Hee? Yes, you do. It emerges from your narrow-minded pride. You act like you’re the only one working loyally for the factory and for society, and, in doing so, you’ve trampled all over her dignity. You have to acknowledge that your wife’s voice moves the hearts of the people. Your wife is our society’s cultural representative, an artist.”
Seok Chun rested his chin on his fist like Rodin’s The Thinker, immersed in deep thought.
Jeong Jin Wu took the hat from Seok Chun’s hand and dusted off the ashes. He returned the hat to its original form and put it on Seok Chun’s head.
“Comrade Seok Chun, you’ve been criticizing Sun Hee. But for so many years, she’s been by your side, suffering with you, feeling your pain when your invention goes awry. She believed that you would progress the same way she has progressed. That is why she was frustrated with you. As a man responsible for the stability of his family, if your wife says things like that, can’t you just accept it? She wants to be proud of her husband because she truly loves you.”
Seok Chun was at a loss for words.
“I am advising you, not as a judge, but as your elderly friend. Starting today, try to think progressively like the youths of this generation and create your own path. Don’t be like an old factory worker set in his ways. Get your act together like an intelligent expert technician. Start by taking care of your appearance. Go to the Engineering College. On Sundays, take your son to the theater and watch your wife’s performances. You’ve been wrong to think that these things are pretentious. I know you can do it, and I look forward to that day.”