Chapter 86: A Showy Apology, A Modest Sincerity

I turned off the shared view with the Grim Reaper.

‘That’s my father, all right!’

A laugh escaped me before I realized it.

A man who, while others shouted “business,” could step back and cry out “people!”

That was my father, through and through.

‘Sure enough, with only U-Gwang Hospital, it would be hard to take in all the injured.’

I tried to recall how the Taeseong Chemical fire accident had been handled in the past.

Unfortunately, the Taeseong Group report contained no details about that incident.

‘Grandfather immediately held an emergency press conference to make a public apology, and donated thirty billion won of his own fortune to establish the Taeseong Foundation.’

That was as far as the Taeseong Group report went.

But the U-Gwang Group report went a little further.

‘After stepping down as chairman, Grandfather personally ran the Taeseong Foundation and worked tirelessly to help the victims’ families, to the point that it seriously damaged his health.’

Rather than focusing his efforts on preventing Taeseong Construction and Taeseong Chemical from being split off, Grandfather had prioritized caring for the victims’ families.

‘What will Chairman Kim of U-Gwang do?’

The Grim Reaper appeared quietly.

[Tch, I missed my soap opera. There’s nothing but boring programs on at this hour.]

He was making a fuss just to watch television.

‘Even if I spent all night eavesdropping on their meeting, it wouldn’t change anything. What comes next is the working-level meeting anyway.’

They’d be delving into detailed discussions about concrete strategies.

That sort of thing just gives me a headache.

What I care about is the strategic direction—not on-site details that are out of my hands anyway.

[Now what’s all this about?]

The Grim Reaper shouted, clearly agitated.

I turned my head and saw Chairman Kim Woo-gwang, head of U-Gwang Group, appear on the TV screen with large captions.



At this hour?

It was nearly time for the national anthem broadcast, and soon the night curfew would begin—it was that late.

The TV showed an auditorium that appeared to be at U-Gwang Group’s headquarters.

Chairman Kim, standing at a podium with the U-Gwang logo, turned on the microphone.

- Dear citizens, regarding the unfortunate accident that occurred today at U-Gwang Chemical, I, Kim Woo-gwang, bow my head in deepest apology.

It was Chairman Kim’s public apology for the U-Gwang Chemical fire.

As Chairman Kim bowed, camera flashes erupted chaotically.

When the camera panned to the other side of the auditorium, U-Gwang Group’s affiliate presidents and executives stood in a row, bowing at a ninety-degree angle.

- We sincerely apologize!

- We are deeply sorry for causing concern to all the citizens!

It was U-Gwang’s apology.

Chairman Kim read his prepared statement, word by word, in a clear voice.

- Once again, I deeply apologize, bowing my head to all victims of U-Gwang Chemical, their families, and all the citizens. U-Gwang will do its utmost to recover from this accident, and we promise to make a sincere effort to determine the cause of the fire, as well as to provide fair compensation to the victims and bereaved families.

U-Gwang’s affiliate presidents and executives shouted in unison.

- U-Gwang will take responsibility!

- This will never happen again!

The captions on the TV changed.



- From now on, U-Gwang will make safety its top priority and become a chemical company trusted by customers. No matter what damage the company suffers, we will keep our promises to our customers.

Chairman Kim Woo-gwang stared straight at the camera.

- To fundamentally resolve the anxieties of all customers and citizens who love U-Gwang Chemical, and to regain market trust, we will become a completely new company.

Not a single word about donating his personal fortune.

- We will do our utmost to ensure that you can trust and use U-Gwang Chemical’s products.

Nor was there any mention of compensation for the bereaved families.

- Furthermore, by placing safety and social values as our highest priorities, we promise to contribute to the economic development of the nation.

There was not a word about establishing a U-Gwang Foundation.

- Finally, once again, I deeply apologize, bowing my head to all those who have suffered because of this U-Gwang Chemical fire, and to all citizens.

With that, U-Gwang’s public apology press conference ended.

I found myself at a loss for words.

‘Heh, he didn’t even say he’d step down as chairman out of self-reflection?’

So this is a conglomerate’s apology to the nation?

This is the stance, the resolve, of a company head whose business caused nearly two hundred deaths?

‘U-Gwang...’

Chairman Kim Woo-gwang had chosen a completely different path from my grandfather, the head of Taeseong Group.

‘Will the Blue House just let this slide?’

There must have been pressure from the Blue House, which is probably why Chairman Kim had to make a public apology at such a late hour.

What on earth is going on?

The owner of the Blue House I saw at Hyeonmu Hotel didn’t seem like someone who’d let things go so easily.

‘Is this really the end? Is it just because they’re a conglomerate?’

---

It was strange.

I’d fully expected the press to tear apart last night’s public apology with harsh criticism come morning.

Instead, the media scrambled to paint U-Gwang in a positive light.





It was enough to make me curse out loud.

“These damned hacks! Just how much did they get paid off?”

It wasn’t just the newspapers.

Even TV broadcasts churned out well-polished news about the U-Gwang fire.

- Chairman Kim Woo-gwang has prepared a joint memorial altar for the victims of the U-Gwang Chemical fire!
- We’ve covered the ongoing procession of mourners in depth!
- More details on the nine o’clock news!

In truth, Chairman Kim Woo-gwang never once showed his face at the joint memorial altar for the U-Gwang Chemical fire victims.

The news cameras only showed funeral wreaths sent from U-Gwang Group affiliates filling the corridor of U-Gwang Hospital.

Ruling and opposition party lawmakers who visited the memorial altar quickly thrust their faces before the microphones.

- So many people dead and injured... I am deeply saddened.
- We must all join forces to ensure that such a tragic disaster never happens again.

Politicians, greedy to get even a second more of screen time.

Click.

[Why’d you turn off the TV! It’s almost time for the daily soap opera!]

‘I couldn’t stand the sight anymore.’

[You don’t have to watch the news. The daily soap opera didn’t do anything wrong. If I miss it, I’ll never get to see it again!]

No matter what the Grim Reaper said, I sat there, arms crossed, unmoving.

Just then, Mother poked her head out from the kitchen.

“Junhyeok, come eat dinner.”

I wasn’t hungry.

“Tomorrow morning, you have to go to Taeseong Hospital with me.”

Taeseong Hospital?

Ah, right!

Tomorrow’s the day we’re supposed to deliver the donation for Taeseong Family Patient Support.

---

Mother and I rode Uncle Cheolgu’s jeep to Taeseong Hospital.

In that short time, the rainbow of bruises on Uncle Cheolgu had faded considerably.

“Still busy catching spies these days?”

“Of course! I catch all the spies in this country! Don’t you know? Hahaha, I’m officially back to work starting tomorrow!”

He’d been given quite a long break from the Agency after suffering water torture at the Seobinggo interrogation center.

Seems his leave is over and he’s returning to work.

Uncle Cheolgu smoothly turned the steering wheel.

“Madam Kang, why are you so nervous? First time getting a health checkup?”

“Of course, this is the first time in my life! I’m scared to death.”

The voice of our landlady, sitting in the front passenger seat, trembled unlike her usual self.

“How old am I now? What if they find something serious?”

“Oh, Madam Kang. You worry too much. Don’t you know why you get a checkup? So you can catch anything bad before it gets worse. Ever heard the saying, ‘block it with a hoe before you need a spade’?”

Whack!

The landlady whacked Uncle Cheolgu on the head with her handbag.

“Why are you talking about spitting phlegm here! I’ve been worried sick lately because my cough won’t stop!”

That’s not the kind of “phlegm” he meant, though.

We arrived at Taeseong Hospital.

Mother’s eyes went wide when she saw the crowd camped out in front of the hospital lobby.

“Oh my, why are there so many people in front of the hospital?”

Surely Director Song of Taeseong Hospital hadn’t summoned the medical staff?

There must be a lot of patients brought in from the U-Gwang Chemical fire.

But my concerns proved unfounded; most of the people out front weren’t medical staff.

“Director Song.”

“Young master, Madam, you’ve arrived?”

Director Song greeted us at the corner of the main entrance, his face drawn with fatigue.

So I asked,

“Why are all these people here?”

“They’re the bereaved families and guardians from the U-Gwang Chemical fire.”

Now that I looked closely, the things they were holding looked menacing.

There were eggs and tangerines, even buckets of water.

Director Song wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

“Well, today is the last day of U-Gwang’s joint funeral. Rumor has it that after the funeral ends, someone from U-Gwang will be visiting this hospital.”

---

When we entered Taeseong Hospital, there really was a huge banner hanging inside.



Even from afar, I could see Grandfather’s name at the top of the donation list, and right next to it, my own name.

There was a poster next to the banner.



The poster explained the reason and process for the banner, and detailed which families had been selected as Taeseong Family Patients and how their medical expenses would be supported.

It was all factual, but reading it made my face burn with embarrassment.

“Today, the reason we’ve invited you, young master, is to quietly hold a small ceremony for the Taeseong Family Patient Support event.”

In the corner where the banner and poster were displayed, there was a podium decorated with flowers and wreaths, and the words  adorned with colored ribbons and balloons hung overhead.

It was all set up in the lobby so that everyone visiting Taeseong Hospital would see it.

“I only wanted to quietly support the medical bills. I never meant for it to be such a spectacle.”

I’d simply wanted to help with Kim Gap-yong’s situation by supporting his hospital bills.

“Young master, you were the one who asked for such a big banner to be hung in the hospital lobby.”

I’d wanted it to be clear that Taeseong’s executives had contributed out of goodwill for a good cause.

For them, honor was a matter of pride and face.

I’d just followed the lesson I learned at the year-end night.

“Thanks to you, young master, twenty-five Taeseong Family Patient households are receiving support for surgery and hospital expenses this time.”

So that’s why, in addition to people in Taeseong Construction work uniforms, there were a fair number of people in suits gathered here as well.

“From the perspective of boosting loyalty, and pride, it’s right to have even a small event like this, to show that Taeseong doesn’t forget the efforts made on its behalf.”

There was nothing wrong with Director Song’s words.

Just as I wanted to honor the executives who’d opened their wallets for a good cause, Director Song seemed eager to make me look good for organizing this event.

“Hey, kid. Have you been secretly doing good deeds behind our backs?”

Uncle Cheolgu put his hand on my shoulder, grinning mischievously.

“Don’t tell me you slipped a little something in the doctor’s coat pocket to make this happen, too?”

There was pride in Uncle Cheolgu’s laughter.

At that moment, Kim Gap-yong and former Taeseong Chemical employees, all wearing their Taeseong Construction uniforms, spotted us and came running over.

“Young master, you’ve come!”

Kim Gap-yong and the others who’d risked their lives to save their colleagues in Plant 6 smiled shyly.

They wore new Taeseong Construction uniforms now, but the overlock name tags on their chests were still the same.

‘If these people hadn’t risked their lives to save their coworkers, the death toll from the Taeseong Chemical fire might have been much higher than just twenty-three.’

Yet for the same kind of fire accident, the death toll at U-Gwang Chemical had ultimately reached fifty-six.

“Thanks to the young master, our foreman Kim’s hospital bills were all paid off, so now he’s working away with a spring in his step.”

“You wouldn’t believe it. Out at the site from dawn, supervising night shifts in the cold dew.”

“Well, that’s only natural, since his daughter’s surgery was a smashing, smashing, smashing success! He says he’ll devote his whole life to Taeseong.”

Kim Gap-yong and his wife bowed deeply.

“Director Song told us. It was you, young master, who planned this event to support Taeseong Family Patients, wasn’t it?”

Their voices trembled with gratitude.

“Thanks to you, our daughter was able to have surgery safely. All our overdue medical bills are taken care of...”

“Thank you, young master. Really, thank you.”

But then, from over there, a familiar figure swaggered toward us.

“Hey, Kim Gap-yong! When are you going to pay me back?”

It was Gasoline from Bulgwang-dong.