Village chief Jang Minseok’s house.
After dinner, Jang Minseok sat sunk deep into the sofa. On the television, a female singer was belting out a soulful trot song, but not a single line reached Jang Minseok’s ears.
His brow was furrowed, and he was lost in thought, even forgetting to light the cigarette clamped between his lips.
Just then, the front door opened and his son, Jang Byeongu, came in. With a dark expression, Jang Byeongu sat down across from the sofa.
“So, did you take care of it?”
Jang Minseok asked without taking his eyes off the television screen.
Jang Byeongu huffed as he spoke.
“Just like you said, Father, the village folk have been sneaking over to Geumsan Clinic. They mixed in with the outsiders, got medicine, got treated—did the whole lot.”
As if he had expected as much, Jang Minseok’s expression did not change.
“Hmph. Didn’t I tell you? Only believe half of what folks say with their mouths.”
“You were right a hundred times over. Even the head of the women’s association, who said she’d never so much as turn her head toward Geumsan Clinic, was seen going in there the other day. And that old man, the secretary of the senior citizens’ association, who swore he’d only ever go to hospitals in downtown Samcheok even if it killed him—he was seen going there last time too.”
Click. With the sound of the lighter, cigarette smoke spread hazily through the living room.
Jang Byeongu swallowed a cough and continued.
“The old folks in the village are all saying it. That the young doctor at Geumsan Clinic treats people fast and is kind. That he’s better than the hospitals in downtown Samcheok too.”
Jang Minseok exhaled thick smoke through his nostrils and thought. It seemed the nasty rumors he had spread and the pressure he had put on the residents no longer worked.
He slammed his palm down on the table.
“Those damn bastards! They think the village chief’s word is a joke, is that it?”
Ash from the cigarette dropped to the floor.
Jang Byeongu tore off a piece of tissue to wipe it up, but when Jang Minseok burst into anger, he quickly froze.
“If I weren’t here, what in this village would ever run properly?”
Jang Byeongu quietly crumpled the tissue in his hand and lowered his head. More than anyone, he could feel painfully that his father’s authority was being shaken.
Jang Minseok’s eyes narrowed.
Ever since he heard that that young punk Gang Taeho had taken over Geumsan Clinic, he had felt uneasy.
The day of the mine collapse seventeen years ago.
Jang Minseok, the coal mining supervisor, had received a report that cracks were forming in the ceiling of the tunnel. But the higher-ups were pressuring him to increase the mining speed.
Jang Minseok ignored the report and sent the miners into the tunnel.
The person who had reported the cracks to him that day just so happened to be Gang Taeho’s father, Gang Duseok. And that day, Gang Duseok died inside the collapsed tunnel.
Whenever Jang Minseok saw Gang Taeho, he was reminded of what had happened back then, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. That was why, the moment he learned the bastard had come back, he tried to drive him out. But for some reason, the more he hit him, the bigger and harder the bastard became.
Jang Minseok said in a low voice.
“We can’t leave things like this. This time, I’ll have to wipe that whelp out completely.”
“How?”
Jang Byeongu asked back, tense.
Jang Minseok stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and spoke as if whispering.
“I’ll have to take a trip to city hall.”
“You’re going to meet the mayor?”
“There’ll be a way to yank that bastard right out of here.”
Jang Minseok’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Even Jang Byeongu felt his knees go weak at the look in his father’s eyes.
***
Saturday, 5 p.m., the village community hall.
So many people had gathered that it made one wonder if this many people really lived in the village. There were too many to fit inside the small community hall, so tents had to be set up outside and chairs laid out.
On a table set to one side, makgeolli and rice cakes were piled high, and from behind the community hall came the savory smell of pork being boiled.
On the stage of the hall stood village chief Jang Minseok and his son, Jang Byeongu. Jang Byeongu was holding the speaker and speaking at length before the residents.
“Everyone, our Geumsan-ri, you see, after the mine closed down, the population all drained away. In another twenty years, they say it’ll be a village that disappears from the map. In educated words, population extinction. You’ve all heard of it, haven’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“He’s right about that.”
People nodded. Even among those gathered, most of the original villagers were middle-aged or elderly, in their sixties or older. The only young people were laborers who had come in from other places to work on the Eco Resource Center construction.
“What saved our dying Geumsan-ri is this very Eco Resource Center. Huge investors from Seoul are putting money into it. Once this is finished, a tremendous amount of money will come into the village, and lots of jobs will be created too!”
“Of course!”
The people listening in the front row clapped with particular vigor, steering the atmosphere. Most of them were close associates of the village chief.
With a face drunk on triumph, Jang Byeongu waved his hand.
“Everyone, I’m not saying this just because I’m the son of village chief Jang Minseok, but has there ever been anyone who brought in a project like this for the development of Geumsan-ri the way our village chief has?”
“No, there hasn’t.”
“That’s right, there hasn’t. So from now on, all we need to do is trust the village chief and support him all the way. Do you understand?”
“Of course.”
“Sure do.”
“Then I’ll bring the village chief up now, so please give him a big round of applause.”
Amid the sound of applause, village chief Jang Minseok took the microphone. He swept back his gray hair with one hand and began to speak.
“Good evening, everyone. I am Jang Minseok, village chief of Geumsan-ri. It’s been nearly twenty years already since I started working myself to the bone for the development of Geumsan-ri. But these days, I can’t sleep at all from worrying about our village. Why? Because they say the state of Geumsan Clinic, the only hospital in Geumsan-ri, is downright rotten.”
The residents sitting in the back began to murmur.
“What’s this? Why is he suddenly talking about Geumsan Clinic?”
“Chief, what are you saying?”
Jang Minseok raised his hand and calmed the residents down.
“In short, the Geumsan Clinic building is dangerous right now. That building was built well over thirty years ago. It may look fine on the outside, but inside, it’s rotten through and through.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, it is old, isn’t it?”
Sighs broke out among the residents. Many nodded at the village chief’s words. As far as they remembered, Geumsan Clinic was one of the oldest buildings in the village.
Seeing the mood shift, Jang Minseok smiled in satisfaction.
“We can’t just leave such a dangerous clinic as it is, can we? So if you all simply write your names on the petition paper prepared here, the city will help us demolish Geumsan Clinic.”
“Chief. Then there won’t be a single hospital left in Geumsan-ri, will there?”
Someone sitting in the back raised a hand and asked.
As if he had expected that question, Jang Minseok smiled and answered.
“We can’t have that, now can we? That’s why, after demolishing Geumsan Clinic, we’ll build a new hospital in its place. We’ll bring in far better equipment, all modern, and invite a skilled specialist as well.”
Village chief Jang Minseok made rosy promises.
But the mayor had not promised to build a new hospital in Geumsan-ri. He had only said that if Jang Minseok gathered petitions from the village residents, they would conduct a building safety inspection and help shut down Geumsan Clinic.
Jang Minseok was just about to continue his speech when he noticed the entrance to the community hall and greeted someone with feigned familiarity.
“Who’s this? We didn’t even invite you, yet you came bustling all the way here?”
The villagers’ gazes turned toward Taeho.
“If this concerns Geumsan Clinic, shouldn’t I know about it too?”
Taeho deliberately raised his voice as he answered.
Village chief Jang Minseok frowned and said,
“What do you have to say for yourself, treating people in such a dangerous hospital and calling it medical care?”
Taeho slowly steadied his breathing and climbed onto the stage.
“As the director of Geumsan Clinic, I promise that if a building safety inspection comes, I will cooperate with it sincerely. However, there is something far more urgent and important right now.”
Taeho calmly continued, addressing the focused villagers.
“Everyone, what I am about to tell you today is extremely important. After examining the health conditions of the village residents, I discovered that a serious problem is occurring. It is heavy metal poisoning. And the cause is highly likely to be the Eco Resource Center currently under construction.”
At those words, village chief Jang Minseok snorted.
“Heavy metal poisoning? Hah, what evidence do you have? The Eco Resource Center is as environmentally friendly as it gets, and you don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
But Taeho shook the papers in his hand and said,
“These are the results of blood tests I conducted on the villagers who came to Geumsan Clinic. I confirmed traces of contamination by heavy metals such as cadmium and lead. So for several days, I personally analyzed the soil and microorganisms around the Eco Resource Center. The test results are summarized here, so please read them. If exposure continues under these circumstances, the air the villagers breathe and the water they drink will all become contaminated beyond recovery.”
From the entrance of the community hall, Bak Geumja, the nursing assistants, and Seong Gihwan began handing out papers to the people.
Seong Gihwan had completed, in the shortest time possible, a flawless research report analyzing the soil and microorganisms around the Eco Resource Center and attached it to the materials.
A sudden murmur rose among the residents.
“If this is true, isn’t this a big problem?”
“Our house uses groundwater. What are we supposed to do?”
The residents’ expressions turned grave. Some read the papers and sighed in worry.
Village chief Jang Minseok’s face changed as he shouted.
“This is all lies! That bastard is talking nonsense. You punk, don’t think you can lie to us just because we’re country people.”
“It ain’t no lie. I’m the proof.”
The person who raised his hand and stood up was Bak Jeonggyu.
A friend of Taeho’s father, and a former miner.
He was currently working as a construction laborer on the Eco Resource Center.
“I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to the hospital, and they told me I was poisoned with heavy metals. So I took all the coworkers I work with to get blood tests too. And they all came back with similar results for heavy metal poisoning.”
Several construction workers sitting around Bak Jeonggyu nodded in agreement.
The atmosphere was turning more and more against the village chief.
Taeho continued firmly.
“All of these materials and evidence have already been submitted to the Eastern Metropolitan Environmental Headquarters, the Gangwon Institute of Health and Environment, and the city’s Environmental Protection Division. Soon, an official investigation team will come to determine the exact situation.”
Just then, village chief Jang Minseok suddenly shouted into the microphone.
“You damn whelp! What the hell are you talking about?”
Jang Minseok’s face was flushed red.
By contrast, Taeho looked straight at Jang Minseok without any change in expression and said,
“Chief, you’ve also been embezzling the medical welfare support funds that should have gone to the village residents, haven’t you? That matter will be thoroughly investigated as well.”
Jang Minseok clenched his fists and trembled, as if utterly dumbfounded.
“What kind of ridiculous slander is that! Everyone! Are you going to believe that bastard who rolled in from Seoul, or are you going to believe me, who’s lived in this village all my life?”
At that, the village chief’s associates in front of the stage all began hurling curses at Taeho.
“Young bastard’s got a death wish!”
“What the hell is he running his mouth about?”
“Get out!”
The hall fell into chaos.
There were residents who looked uneasy, and residents who cursed, saying they had always known the village chief was like that.
On the other hand, there were also residents pointing fingers at Taeho. They were the village chief’s associates, who had been sharing in the village interests with him, and most of them held titles, so their influence was strong.
“Ahem!”
At that moment, an old man quietly rose from his seat.
The moment Taeho saw him, he remembered that he was his first patient, Gu Yongsan. A difficult patient, full of complaints and stubborn in temperament.
But among the residents, he was a highly influential figure, so everyone turned their attention to him.
“I got treated at Geumsan Clinic and went to the biggest hospital in Seoul for tests, didn’t I? And just like that young man said, my kidneys were in a very dangerous state. If not for Director Gang of Geumsan Clinic, it could’ve gone all the way to kidney failure, but he caught it early. I, Gu Yongsan, stake my name on it and vouch for him. Believe what Director Gang says this once!”
Exclamations of surprise erupted throughout the hall.
“If that elder says it like that, then it’s worth believing.”
“Of course. A man who’s never praised anyone in his life wouldn’t say that for no reason.”
In an instant, public opinion among the residents settled to one side.