One night, Doctor Soyeon paid Jung a surprise visit at his home. His mother, who was not used to having visitors, fussed over her and outdid herself in the kitchen, despite having just a few items on hand. After enjoying a hearty but simple meal, Soyeon requested if she could borrow Jung for a while to talk about something personal. They walked outside and into the nearby barn. Jung’s mother was slightly oblivious to the tension in the air and didn’t realize the importance of the doctor’s visit. But Hyusil, a veteran of political intrigue in his own office, had an inkling, and he stared perceptively at their backs as they walked outside.
Dr. Soyeon finally breaks her silence near the barn. "You did not go back to the clinic to work for the last few days," she told Jung.
Do I still have a job at the clinic after what happened? Jung thought grimly. “Do you still want me there? ” Jung asked instead.
Her smile was weak, and she was looking at the giant owl in the barn, who looked back at her with suspicion.
“I wasn’t lying when I told you, you have a knack for becoming a doctor. You are intelligent and can think on your feet. Above all, you are the type of man who can see beyond the immediate problem. There are layers to a situation, and the first one you see is not the only truth available. Sometimes, our decisions must be more than fixing the patient but on his quality of life.”
The doctor turned to Jung hee. Despite being ten years older than the boy, she is already looking up at him. And the moon behind him gave his eyes that uncanny light of a man with an unerring path.
Jung looked back at her. She still held her medical white coat in one arm. The symbol of who she is and of what she has become. Even the flowery blouse,tucked in her power pants, and practical shoes made a statement. He just didn’t understand what the woman was getting at.
“I want you to go to the militia headquarters and change your statement,” Soyeon said simply. “Kim Jung hee, I want you to save principal Noh and not let him die.”
Jung didn’t react outwardly, but deep inside, his lower mouth was lying next to his feet. “Why? ” Jung finally asked.
She sighed. “Do you know what’s the 2nd leading cause of death in korea? It's a heart attacks. And the fourth leading cause of death is complications due to arterial blockage. Together, they kill almost 630,000 koreans every year. That is how important the drug eliquix is to our nation. Unfortunately, due to the western embargo on our country, we are not allowed to buy these drugs or the chemical ingredients we need to create our very own. There is a large surplus available in India right now, and it is being sold for $40 a box. That is where the professor came in. During one of the communist symposiums he attended in Russia, he was able to befriend some Russian businessmen who created a shadow firm that buys the blood clot remover and sells it back to us. That was 12 years ago. Sure, it helps us get around the US prohibition, but they have a complete monopoly on the sale to our country, so you can imagine that their ‘service tax’ for selling the medicine cost us an arm and a leg.”
Jung just stared at her.
“While the rest of the world buys eliquix for $40, we are forced to buy them for $1210 per box. Despite what the Ministry of Information is saying, we are running out of cold, hard cash reserves. Our own Korean Won is a joke to the rest of the world, and no one has use for it. They only want dollars. Every year, our government has given us 780 million dollars to buy at least 600,000 boxes of Eliquix.”
“What is that got to do with-"
“Because the professor fixed that problem,” she said, cutting him off. “He went to every education seminar, every inter-government conference, or two-bit convention in India in the hopes of getting contact with the manufacturer of the drugs. And three years ago, his efforts bore fruit. He is able to make contact with a senior executive of the pharmaceutical company and then bribe him to sell us the drugs directly. Instead of paying a thousand dollars per box, we are now able to pay just $65 per box. That gave us a lot of savings. We were able to triple the number of Eliquix we are able to buy and leave a few dollars to fund certain... improvements for our little town.”
Jung raised an eyebrow.
Doctor Soyeon sighed. “You’ve seen the repair project on the road outside the town, right? That came from the professor's, err, savings. He also paid for the multipurpose court near the market area. And he funded a lot of the small businesses around the area with no interest. ” Then her eyes were buried deep into Jung’s. “He also paid for the scholarship program for deserving kids..."
"Including the son of a farmer.”
Jung Hee didn’t say anything. The woman took a cigarette in her purse, and Jung recognized it to be one of those expensive foreign brands. Jung didn’t miss her slight shaking hands as she lit it up with her own lighter. She took a deep breath and released it. Jung could almost feel the tension release from her as she exhaled. But it was only temporary.
Jung wanted to tell her that what she was doing was not good for her health, but he also knew she would just laugh at him. She is a doctor, after all.
“And then that... girl,” the doctor said. The venom in her voice was something that surprised Jung. “She met with the professor, who is your principal, and explained that she learned about the Eliquix deal from her boyfriend. She then went ahead and proceeded to blackmail the professor. I knew it was a mistake to add those idiot businessmen to our cause, but we needed more storage space, and they are the only businessmen in town with adequate space.”
Jung took a step towards the doctor, his mind reeling from the new information. “What do you mean, she?"
“You still don’t get it?" Soyeon said harshly. "Your ‘friend’ blackmailed your principal,” she said. “My friend! ”
Jung wanted to say something. Hell, anything to defend Eun Mei. But he couldn't...
The doctor took another drag from her cigarette, and now she was looking into the dark forest beyond. It was clear; she is remembering things and is barely aware of Jung anymore.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Professor Noh was never good at confrontation, and after trying to talk the girl down, he realized that the girl was committed. So sadly, he gave in and paid her demands.” The doctor turned to Jung with a bitter smile. “Do you know what she wants? She wants the same scholarship that the professor gave you. Her reasoning is that if the principal can give away a scholarship to the useless son of a farmer, then why can't she have the same? ”
Jung remembered the gossip he heard around school about Eun Mei receiving a scholarship and the disbelief from the rest of the school. His blood especially boils with the innuendo that she must have repaid the scholarship with something else in order to get it. Jung knew Eun Mei was smart. Smarter than anyone give her credit for. But she never truly applied herself, and it showed in her grades. No one in the entire Guanzu people’s school believes that she deserves it.
“Of course the professor gave in, and all of a sudden, there are two scholars from Guanzu,” she said, then she turned to him, a bitter smile etched on her beautiful face. “But it didn’t end there. You won some awards and received some money from the state. A science contest.”
“Math,” Jung automatically corrected.
“Loh, and behold, that girl, Eun Mei, came back to the professor’s office and demanded an amount comparable to your winnings, or else she would report what she knew to the militia. She blackmailed him again.”
Jung could not keep the shock out of his face, and the doctor smirked at him. “For a girl who claims to hate you, she is awfully attached to your activities.”
"I just won a metal cookware set,” Jung said lamely. “Several pots and pans.”
Doctor Soyeon laughed at no one in particular as she inhaled deeply with her cigarette. "Why am I not surprised? On paper, you won a monetary value equal to 830,000 korean Won ,” she whispered. "And you get pots and pans. Meanwhile the girl gets cold hard cash for her troubles.""
Jung’s shock turned to irritation, but he managed to control it. Barely. “What would you know about her?! ”
“Everything I could,” she answered promptly. “Like I told you before, I deal with my problems by learning everything I can about them, then I act.”
Jung stared at her. It can’t be, he thought to himself. But he saw it in her eyes.
“Yes,” she said simply. “The professor came to me when she blackmailed him again, and the more I learned about the girl, the more I realized that she would never stop.”
Jung’s face hardened to granite. “So you ordered her to be kidnapped and killed.”
She stared at Jung for a moment. “We have no other choice.”
“You always have a choice!! ” Jung screamed at her. His pet owl flapped her wings in the barn, even buching the cow mooed. The doctor stood her ground and stared back at Jung, unafraid. “You could have talked to her about how important the drug was to you and to the country! ”
“Be true to yourself and think, Young Jung Hee,” she said, almost pitying him. "Do you really think that will work? On her, of all people? ”
Eun Mei’s face rose to Jung’s mind, unbidden. She is crying uncontrollably in his arms. “I hate this town,” she said. Jung turned away from the doctor, suddenly exhausted.
I hate everything about this place.
“I need you to retract your statement to the militia,” the doctor said in a voice as if she were trying to soothe an angry puppy. Jung wanted to get angry again, but he was simply exhausted. “Once you make your retraction, every piece of information and evidence that came from your statement will be considered null and void. It will become her words against the professor. And without compelling evidence, it will become a stalemate. By then, I bribe the people’s tribunal and tilt the balance of justice towards the professor.”
Jung was shaking his head. The militia will want their pound of flesh one way or the other. It doesn’t matter to them who. If they can’t prosecute the professor, then they will prosecute Eun Mei for blackmail instead.
If he wanted to save the professor, then he needed to kill Eun Me. It was that simple.
“You are aware that if the professor is prosecuted, your scholarship is forfeited as well. And I know for a fact that although you have lovely parents back there, they do not have the resources to send you to uni. Everything you sacrificed all these years will be gone. And you will be nothing more than a farmer for the rest of your life. Do this, and you will receive a donation of $20 million neatly packed and waiting for you in the clinic.”
Jung didn’t say a word.
“Kim Jung hee! " The doctor’s words broke as she called him. Jung can feel the need and the desperation in her voice. “The professor is a good man. He doesn’t deserve this! ”
“And Eun Mei? Do you believe she deserves it? ”
“Yes! She may not have been like that before, but she is now! She is rotten to the core! No sane person goes out and blackmails people, no matter the reason,” the doctor said. “The professor is loved by everyone, and his continued presence will save lives by the thousands, No! By the millions! ”
Jung forced himself to take a step away from the doctor. His face is a misery. For the first time in his life, Jung is faced with a problem with no solution. A problem that cannot be solved by more effort.
And Kim Jung Hee is lost.
Saving the professor is the right thing to do... but...
Jung remembered Eun Mei face when she broke down in the factory.
Her cute face in a ponytail when he first saw her for the first time in school a long time ago.
He remembered her rare smile...
“I can't, Soyeon-nim. I just can't.”
“Why not?! ” It was the doctor’s turn to scream at him. “Because what? You love her?! You are fucking eighteen! And the girl will never love you! The girl doesn’t even know what love is! That girl-”
“She has a name!! ” Jung screamed back. Everything the doctor said was true, but...
Jung remembered the time she accepted his gift bracelet and stared at it dubiously. "Aah, Thanks, Jung hee."
I just can't.
And I wont.
Suddenly, a massive owl landed between them. She didn’t say anything, but her intelligent yellow eyes stared at the doctor, and Dr. Soyeon took a step back. The bird was the biggest one she’d ever seen, and it broke her train of thought.
Then a throat cleared behind them. When the doctor turned, Jung Hee’s mother was glaring at her. She was leaning against the back door, and her arms were across her chest. Next to her was her husband. “I think it is time for you to leave, doctor,” Hyusil said calmly but firmly.
Soyeon opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it again. She shook her head in disgust at Jung and stormed out, not saying another word.
Jung Hee watched her go. Carefully, he lifted his bird, who surprisingly let herself be taken, and Jung walked away towards the barn.
*****
A week later, the communist party compelled the whole People's School of Guanzu to line up on the school grounds to watch the televised execution of their former principal by firing squad a few miles away behind the people's courtroom, close to the mayor's office, on a big screen.
Principal Noh was found guilty, and he was marched out of the courtroom. After repeating his sins in the eyes of man and the fatherland.
Principal Noh went to his death with silent dignity and faced his executioner without flinching. Jung Hee watched him with silent admiration while the rest of the school cried around him. The principal was loved by many. Jung Hee, who has always been treated as a kind of lovable pet by the rest of the school staff, became a pariah overnight. None of them knew exactly what happened, but none of them believed the formal charges of illegal trafficking and transactions resulting in kidnapping and bodily harm.
Jung tried to talk to Mrs. Shin, the elder secretary who served Principal Noh for more than 40 years. They used to have a good relationship, and she even bought some appliances from Jung. But the day the principal died, she brushed him off as she cleaned her own desk to retire. The thought of serving another person just didn’t sit well with her.
Principal Noh left six letters that he gave his attorney. One is for his wife, two goes to his adult children, and another goes to Doctor Soyeon. The fifth one is to someone Jung didn't learn about.
And the last letter was for Kim Jung Hee.
It was a short letter.
“I have never been more disappointed with a student in my entire life. I am not angry with you, but I am also not happy with the decisions you have made in life. So live your life on the path you believe you should follow, but do so without my help.”
Inside the envelope was a copy of the principal rescinding his support for the scholarship of one Kim Jung Hee. Without the backing of an important communist party member on education, any scholarship is basically useless.
Just like that, Kim Jung Hee lost his scholarship to DongChaek University.