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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.”