A Chairman Who Has No Regrets - Chapter 132



Only Krnovel

Episode 132 – Faith, Hope, Love and Despair – (26)

While Director Baek went to Sanggye-dong with Kang No-ya, I rode in Attorney Kim Ho-cheol’s car and headed to the police station with Attorney Hye-in Lee. I heard that an arrest investigation will be conducted, and that they hoped to meet before the arrest if possible.

“But is it really possible to be arrested for something like that?”

“These days, protests… tend to be dealt with a bit harshly.”

“ah-”

It’s absurd that the frame of protest is higher than clear-cut criminal acts such as illegal home invasion, but I just let it be because of the times. It’s not disadvantageous to me and rather advantageous to me, so I have no choice but to keep quiet.

“Perhaps Mr. Park Jeong-yong would like to avoid being arrested. He looked like he was having a hard time even in the police station detention center… If he were to be arrested and sent to the Security Command or Namsan for ideological investigation, it would be a big problem.”

It’s absurd to think that public power is using violence openly, but this is normal these days. It makes me think again about how fortunate it is that my older sister was released from the detention center last time. In these times, both men and women suffer hardships, and sometimes one side suffers even worse.

So that something like that doesn’t happen again.

So that my sisters and mother can be free.

I must have power.

Squeak.

The car stopped and I, Kim Ho-cheol, and Hye-in Lee went into the police station in that order. As I walked down the corridors with people coming and going and headed toward the detention center, the detective in charge I saw last time recognized me and opened his eyes wide.

“Hey! Aren’t you that student?”

“hello.”

“Oh my- why, did you come all the way here?”

“I came to see Mr. Park Jeong-yong.”

The young detective next to Detective Damdam frowns at my words and says.

“Oh my- what is that red bastard doing…”

“Hey, Officer Park.”

“It’s even shown in the documentary – Senior, that student kept making a fuss even when I begged him to stop. If that’s not communism, then what else is there?”

“Okay, go and rest. I’ll take care of things from here.”

“Tsk, yeah.”

The young detective looked at me with ambiguous eyes and passed by. Then the detective in charge spoke to me with a slightly apologetic look.

“He wasn’t originally like that… His younger brother is a riot police officer, and he’s been acting like that since he got injured while trying to stop a protest.”

“Ah- yes.”

Panoramic view.

College students too.

Did they want to hurt each other? I don’t think so. It’s just the times and the higher-ups who make the young blood fight. Maybe the veteran detective who knows that feels sorry for the young detective.

“Well, it’s true that guys like Park Jeong-yong deserve to be treated as communists.”

“Ah- yes.”

Even though he seems to be awake, it seems like it is a time when it is difficult to be fully awake. In the end, he does not seem to have any resistance to using the word communist. This is probably evidence that it is a commonly used and commonly accepted frame.

Having lived in America, and especially in America that was awake, I knew very well how secretly and dirty the racism of the upper class was. But it was actually difficult to get used to the fact that the frame was being thrown out so openly and so casually.

In an age where social media is rife and a single slip of the tongue can cause tens of trillions of dollars in stock prices to disappear, you have to be careful about even your breathing.

“I want to see Mr. Park Jeong-yong.”

The detective nods at my words and takes me through the detention cells.

You can see Park Jeong-yong and a group of people from the Sanggye-dong shantytown carrying out the Wonsan bombing, also known as ‘head-smashing’, between the tightly packed detention centers.

I see

This is how people who protest at police stations these days are treated.

People who are called communists are not treated as human beings. If this is the case in the police station detention center, what about the Security Command or Namsan? Is it just my imagination that my older sister is flashing through my mind?

It seems like there’s no time to just relax.

Quickly, we need to build up our strength.

Don’t I already know that freedom can only be enjoyed by those with great power?

“wake up.”

Park Jeong-yong, whose whole body trembles like an aspen tree at the detective’s words, raises the corners of his mouth as if he will live, kneels down, and looks up at the sky.

Is it really that good?

It’s as if he’s reached the peak of pleasure. Is the trickling feeling from the corner of his eyes joy, sadness, or regret?

“Think of it as a meeting with the victim.”

The detective nods obediently at Kim Ho-cheol’s words and moves away. It might be possible, since he has no hostility toward me.

“Mr. Park Jeong-yong?”

Park Jeong-yong flinched at my call. Can a person change like that after being in a detention center for only a few days?

It’s not hard to understand, since he was a person who was far from a big shot. Why would he be so greedy for such a topic?

“You, because of you… because of you!”

It appears to be spitting out its last venom, but it is not very lethal.

“Shall we continue like this?”

Park Jeong-yong crawls onto his knees, bites his lower lip, and tilts his head sharply.

He seems to know very well that if I leave like this and don’t drop the charges, he will be arrested soon. If he is arrested, he will probably move to another place. And if that happens, it will be difficult for him to avoid responsibility as the leader of the protest.

Isn’t it a punishment in this day and age to commit a crime that doesn’t exist? Coming down with a disease that doesn’t exist is a kind of bonus.

“Hey, forgive me.”

Park Jeong-yong, talking in a voice that is very hoarse.

“what?”

No more honorifics came out of my mouth. The bastard was doing wrong all the way.

“Please forgive me…”

“Are you asking for my forgiveness?”

“Okay… please forgive me.”

I looked down at the guy.

The man’s eyes, trembling and moving his lips, were fixed on the detective in charge.

This guy till the end.

“It’s like trash…”

Eventually, a foul word came out of my mouth. Hyein Lee, who was next to me, flinched, and Kim Ho-cheol quickly approached the policeman and said something inappropriate. It seemed like he wanted to buy me some time.

Strangely, the thought came to me that the two lawyers were a good match. Thanks to that, I was able to calm down and speak dryly to Park Jeong-yong without any emotions.

“Four thousand in compensation, and a pledge.”

“What? Uh, how much?”

“If you give me 40 million won in compensation and a pledge, I will drop the lawsuit.”

“40 million won is child’s play!”

“Would you be able to say something like that if you were taken to a security service worse than this one?”

“Profit! A young man should not be obsessed with money!”

Shh.

The corners of the mouth are torn long.

It was such a familiar comment.

That guy who was obsessed with money.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“what?”

“He was obsessed with money.”

“……”

“Can you move your fingers? If you don’t do it now, you might not be able to move them, so it would be better to sign here.”

After saying that, he turned his head and looked at attorney Hyein Lee.

She quickly nodded and handed Park Jeong-yong the documents she had prepared. It was a written pledge and a compensation agreement.

“Just stamp your seal.”

The guy who was looking at the documents looked up at me again. His body started to tremble as he looked straight into my eyes.

“Aren’t you going to take a picture?”

“What kind of kid’s eyes are…”

“Well, if you don’t like it.”

The moment I was about to look at Attorney Hyein Lee again, a hand suddenly came out through the iron bars and grabbed my collar.

“Tsk, tsk! I’m taking a picture!”

I nodded and waited for him to make a move.

“Hey, there’s no Inju! Inju!”

He crumpled his face and answered.

“Why isn’t there a pearl?”

“what?”

“You have that useless tongue.”

I can feel Attorney Hyein Lee flinching next to me. Park Jeongyong, as if he couldn’t be more surprised, also froze and couldn’t move properly.

“Cut off just three inches of that tongue, and the pearls will fall so much that they will overflow.”

Attorney Hyein Lee is trying to open her bag in a hurry. Perhaps there is a pearl in the bag. I reached out and grabbed Attorney Hyein Lee’s hand.

“ah…”

Her trembling is transmitted to me.

I spoke to her in English.

“Inju is something that people use, so wouldn’t it be Inju?”

“oh my god…”

I turned my head and looked down at Park Jeong-yong. Park Jeong-yong bit his lower lip hard, then quickly put his teeth back into his mouth and shut his eyes tightly.

Gulp.

Blood flows down and Park Jeong-yong begins to stamp the mixture of blood and tears onto a white document, one by one, with his thumb.

People from the Sanggye-dong shantytown and lawyer Hyein Lee, who were watching the scene while swallowing their saliva repeatedly, and Kim Ho-cheol, who had hurriedly approached me as if asking what was going on, took one look at me and stayed by my side without saying a word.

“You will no longer have a home to live in.”

The people of Sanggye-dong shantytown look at me with bewildered expressions at my words.

I spoke to Kim Ho-cheol, who was very flustered, on behalf of attorney Hye-in Lee, who was very frozen.

“Gather your documents and come out, I’ll go first.”

“Ah- yes, yes.”

“If there are no issues with the documents, please proceed with withdrawing the lawsuit.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I left the police station alone like that. There was no one to stop me as I confidently walked out. In front of me, I saw Director Baek, who had dropped off Kang Noya and returned to the police station.

“Ah, Jeon Gang student!”

He was about to wave his hand in greeting, but when he saw my face getting closer, he flinched and put his raised hand down again.

“Oh, that… that, that didn’t work out well?”

“No, it happened as I intended.”

“Oh, okay… Then what else is there?”

I raised my head and looked up at the sky.

But is it still bright in Seoul? The sky is not very bright and the stars are not visible.

“I just… miss my friends.”

“Ah… I see.”

“I guess I’ll have to cancel our dinner plans. Let’s meet up some other time, Director.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do.”

“I’ll go first. Let’s chat with my senior.”

Director Baek quickly catches me passing by.

“It might take a while, senior, but I’ll take you there. Get on.”

“it’s okay.”

“Oh, no, it’s because I’m not okay, get on, get on.”

I obediently got into Director Baek’s car. He quickly sat down in the driver’s seat and asked.

“Should I go to Sanggye-dong? Where should I go? Hodori Village?”

I shook my head.

“This is the entrance to the Bukamsan hiking trail.”

“Huh? At this hour?”

“Yes, because my friend is there.”

“…Stand there, Grandma… Hmm, okay.”

I don’t even know how I got here.

My head was so complicated that it felt like it was going to burst.

Squeak.

“Be careful, student Jeon Kang. The mountain path is dark.”

“yes.”

After giving a vague answer, I got out of the car and climbed the dark Bukam Mountain. It was a place I had visited so often that I could climb it with my eyes closed, so I was busy organizing my complicated thoughts.

Strangely enough, climbing the mountain seemed to clear my mind a little. It just occurred to me that if I climbed a little further, my friend, her, would be there.

Just like that for a little while.

Flat rocks reflect moonlight.

Underneath that dark dirt floor next to it.

“Grandma… I’m home.”

I tried calling my friend, who hated being called “grandma,” “grandma.”

“Yeah, I’m upset. I’m really upset.”

There is no answer.

I’m so frustrated, but she doesn’t answer. How can I not feel upset?

Why did you raise your child like that?

I couldn’t tell you that your kid never asked for your whereabouts, never asked for your forgiveness, and asked for my forgiveness.

“Grandma’s son, the youngest son…”

My lower lip is trembling.

I gave him despair.

I couldn’t say, “Forgive me, that was the best I could do.”

“But he said he was sorry and asked if he had a conscience.”

Lies are coming out of his fucking mouth.

“Grandma… But you’ll still forgive me, right? That’s why I feel so bad.”

You don’t have to come here even once.

The bastard’s grandmother will forgive him.

After all, she is a mother too.

How could I not feel pain? How could I not be angry? How could I not have given despair to the son of a friend whom I raised with all my heart?

My mother too.

Me at that time.

Me of my whole life.

I wonder if you forgive me.

I sat on the flat rock that reflected the moonlight and looked down at the streetlights of Hodori Village that twinkled as if soothing the night.

someday.

When urban development is finished.

The nights in that Hodori village will always be filled with the eyes of my mother who looked down at me warmly.

“Shit.”

Those eyes.

You forgive me everything.

Phew.

I can’t even raise my head tonight. Like that bastard Park Jeong-yong said, I was crazy about money today. Because money was good back then.

“Stop loving me.”

He looked at the village of Hodori and shouted, “I am not yet qualified. I am not qualified to receive my mother’s love.”