Chapter 36 — Summer After the Rain

Phuc sent an official apology to Linh and her mother, a handwritten letter more than three pages long. He wrote that he had been silent about Mr. Hai for many years, personally edited the report to hide the truth, and then used the money he earned from the project to build a respectable personal image in the eyes of others. He did not ask for forgiveness in any line of the letter.

Linh read the letter three times in a row, each time finding a different emotional nuance in each word. Her mother did not want to meet him in person. So is Linh. They sent a response through their lawyer: the apology was officially recorded, but the damages and investigation process continued as usual, without any exceptions.

Phuc then offered to donate the entire land he bought around the theater area to the community fund for management. The Town Council accepted this proposal after carefully verifying the origin of the money used to buy the land, ensuring there was nothing shady hidden behind that action.

Minh said a late apology still has a certain effect if it comes with a corresponding substantive asset. Linh said that humans are not a machine that just needs to be filled with enough money to erase all the mistakes they have made. Minh replied that he knew that, he was just trying to find a way to more fully understand the complex psychology of a person who had caused a lot of hurt.

Phuc only appeared once at the theater gate after that, not daring to step inside. Linh stood quietly in the ticket office looking out. The two looked at each other through the foggy window glass. He bowed his head low, then quietly turned away without saying another word.

Linh did not feel completely relieved after that moment. But she realized that the distance between them now had a clear name: responsibility, not simply blind hatred like before.

The court asked Linh to participate in an official confrontation with representatives of the South Bank. She had to listen again to the words that had caused her father to be called by the whole town as the person who caused the unjust flood. The company representative reread the old report in a monotone, cold voice, as if a human life was simply a line of expenses that needed to be balanced on the books.

Linh did not get angry at all during the confrontation. She asked each point calmly: who signed the document, who was responsible for checking, who silently revised the data afterward. When the company said "the records are no longer kept", Mai immediately placed a copy with a full confirmation stamp on the table. When they said "no one remembers the details", Thu An immediately presented a full list of witnesses ready to speak. The confrontation continued for three tense hours.

After that confrontation, Linh did not feel as relieved as she had expected. But she clearly realized that the distance between her and those who had committed crimes now had a precise name to call it: responsibility, not extreme hatred. She doesn't need the company representative to be humiliated in front of a crowd. She just needed him to clearly answer why the same report had three completely different timelines.

That evening, the whole group chose movies about restarting life after a breakup, not too tragic but also not pretending that everything will be okay immediately. Linh's mother personally made the guest list for the special screening, and Phuc was invited to attend as an ordinary person like everyone else. He arrived on time, sat quietly in the last row, did not use the special invitation reserved for guests of honor.

When the movie ended, Phuc stood for a long time in front of Mr. Khai's photo hanging on the wall. Linh did not step closer to him. He personally placed a small bouquet of confetti under the photo, then quietly left the theater. Minh quietly asked her if she wanted to know what he was thinking at that time. Linh replied that there are things people can only say after living long enough with their own tormented silence.

That night, she wrote a short line in her personal notebook: "Justice does not make the past disappear completely. It only helps the future no longer have to be guessed all over again."

After the widely publicized confrontation, Linh received many conflicting messages. Some people sent their sincere thanks, while others criticized her for deliberately bringing up old stories just to become more famous. She turned off her phone completely and went to clean every row of seats in the theater to relieve herself. Minh didn't tell her to ignore all the gossip, he just quietly gave her a clean towel to wipe her hands.

“What if someone doesn't like this story?” Linh asked, her voice a bit tired.

"They have the right not to like it. But no one has the right to force the whole community to forget the truth."

After that, they held another public reading session for all interested people. Mai patiently explained each confusing legal term, Tan presented the technical diagram visually, Thu An read aloud the information that had not yet been fully verified. People have the right to ask questions freely, but are absolutely not allowed to scold or insult any witnesses present. Hau stood at the door handing out entrance cards, so serious that a curious child even asked him for an autograph as a souvenir.

Phuc arrived very early that day, sitting quietly in the last row as usual. When someone in the crowd asked him directly why he did not choose to leave town to avoid everyone, he replied that he had thought about leaving many times in his mind, but in the end he still chose to stay to hear directly from the people he had hurt. Linh wasn't sure if it was a truly courageous act or simply an unavoidable delay, but she still recorded that answer verbatim in the minutes.

That night, she and Minh worked together to re-arrange the movie schedule for next week. Minh proposed to name the upcoming screening "Sorry but not re-showing", a name that sounds quite harsh. Linh said that name sounded too harsh. He changed it back to "Once more", much simpler and gentler. They both laughed, because sometimes just a lighter name is enough to make people willing to step into the theater without fear.

When the evening's movie ended, Phuc stood for a long time in front of Mr. Khai's photo once again. Linh did not step closer. He personally placed another bouquet of confetti, then quietly left like before. She recorded the incident in her notebook, without adding any personal comments.

Minh asked her if she wanted him to write anything else in there. Linh said there was no need, because Phuc's actions needed to be allowed to stand on their own merits, without needing anyone to interpret them for them. She only recorded the date, time and name of the person who witnessed the incident. The rest, she leaves for future readers to ponder for themselves.

After the public profile reading, there were still some people who were determined not to want Phuc to step foot in the theater again. Linh completely respects their personal decision. She does not turn forgiveness into a special privilege ticket for anyone. Phuc is only allowed to participate in activities that have clear written records and must always stand in a position where everyone can see him. He accepted that condition without a single complaint, and even proactively offered to buy personal name badges from his own pocket for the group of people who still openly opposed him.

Minh asked Linh why she didn't choose to completely push him out of all theater activities to get it over with. She said because if he simply punished him in silence, the whole town would never learn how to recognize and deal with power in a sober way. Ha Vang is not a place where everyone is automatically forgiven easily; it's a place where everyone has the right to know what's really going on before making their own decisions.

Late that night, Minh tried to operate the oldest projector in the warehouse again. The light bulb flashed twice and then went out completely. He cursed softly, then suddenly burst out laughing when he realized that he had just been angry at an inanimate object like he was angry at an ex-lover. Linh gave him a box of repair tools, telling him that if the machine couldn't be saved anymore, don't try to be a hero alone. He replied that now there is a separate process for handling that. The two of them sat and repaired the machine together until it was fully daylight, and for the first time, that small machine room was no longer the place where he had to shoulder all the repair responsibilities alone.