Allies
While Yun-hyeok was busy resolving the issue of increasing train runs at Mir Station, something shocking was happening on his YouTube channel.
Oh my god.
His subscriber count had exploded.
"To think it surpassed ten thousand in barely a week."
Much faster than expected, the channel might actually start functioning as a political PR outlet.
Of course, the reason it blew up so spectacularly was thanks to the edited video of Doma Elementary School.
"This is a bit of a dilemma."
Because the YouTube channel had suddenly taken off, a new problem had arisen.
"What do I do for the next video?"
Lee Yun-hyeok had uploaded a raw, unedited sixteen-hour live stream to his channel, along with a three-hour-and-twenty-minute video of his meeting with the Mir City Hall Traffic Department. He had also organized and uploaded the administrative data and traffic reorganization plans he had reviewed onto his blog.
However, Yun-hyeok lacked the ability to edit all of this into a concise, sophisticated video like the Doma Elementary School one.
One day, while he was deep in thought, looking into outsourcing companies, an email arrived in his inbox.
It was from the same anonymous sender who had edited the Doma Elementary School video.
Ba-bam!
Right from the opening highlight clip set to music, the difference was night and day.
The typography animation was clearly the work of a seasoned professional.
Set to a cheerful beat, bold text popped up to deliver the core message, instantly grabbing the viewer's attention.
Photos Yun-hyeok had taken himself flashed on screen. They depicted the typical, chaotic scenes of a hellish subway commute.
A photo of endless queues on the platform. The screen transitioned rapidly.
The editor definitely had a keen sense of what worked.
They had perfectly aligned the video's purpose with policy promotion and "politician PR." Not only did they clearly explain Yun-hyeok's plan to increase train runs at Mir Station, but they also highlighted the sheer effort he had poured into making it happen.
Over 336 hours of raw streaming footage were compressed into a high-speed ten-second montage, interspersed with clips of him running around the station interior and train cars to measure congestion levels.
The latter half of the video even included footage from his first meeting at the Mir City Hall Traffic Department—carefully edited to make Yun-hyeok shine, complete with easy-to-understand maps and policy explanations.
"This is incredibly detailed."
To produce this, the creator must have meticulously reviewed the massive amount of raw data Yun-hyeok had uploaded. They had clearly watched the entire three-hour-and-twenty-minute meeting with the Traffic Department.
"What should I do?"
A real problem had presented itself.
"I need to include the meeting with Seongil Transit too."
This video only covered the first half of the Traffic Department meeting, simply because that was as far as Yun-hyeok had uploaded to his unedited channel.
Yun-hyeok wanted to contact the creator and ask them to include the negotiations with Seongil Transit and the second round of the Traffic Department meeting.
But if he was commissioning work, shouldn't he pay them?
That was the catch. It wasn't that he was stingy with his money; rather, paying them could leave him vulnerable to attacks under the Political Funds Act.
This was the ultimate dilemma for an independent newcomer.
Under the Public Official Election Act, any funds used for "political activities" must be spent from a registered political fund account.
And the Politician Lee Yun-hyeok channel, serving as a means of political PR, could easily be classified as a political activity.
Therefore, to pay the editor, the money had to come from a political fund account.
However, to open a political fund account, one had to register as a candidate in an election.
But there wasn't an active election going on right now.
Which meant he couldn't register as a candidate.
And without registering, he couldn't open a political fund account.
How am I supposed to pay from an account that doesn't exist?!
It was absurd, but that was the law.
This was why many political rookies, thinking it was fine to use their personal funds, would transfer money from their private accounts only to face severe backlash later.
Furthermore, a label like "Violation of the Political Funds Act" sounded to the general public like a heinous crime involving dirty money and backroom deals, making it even more damaging.
"What are my options?"
To bypass this issue, the most common method rookie politicians used was to join a political party, receive party funding, and frame their actions as "party activities."
The second method was to handle it quietly with cash through a supporters' association. For instance, disguising the video editing as "voluntary support" and secretly handing cash to the editor.
The final method was to pay out of pocket under a personal name and claim, "This isn't political activity." They would argue that it was merely personal content creation and public interest work, not politics.
Since Yun-hyeok didn't belong to any party, the first option was already out of the question.
The second option was unethical, so he dismissed it immediately.
And the third option was also bound to be problematic. It was an undeniable fact that Yun-hyeok was running the YouTube channel to build a political foundation, not for personal amusement.
So, what was left?
"I wonder if... this would work."
Filled with apprehension, Yun-hyeok sent an email to the video editor.
A reply arrived.
Its contents were utterly surprising.
This editor was willing to work for free!
Unbelievable!
"My goodness."
Yun-hyeok was left speechless by the editor's overwhelming coolness, talent donation, and spirit of volunteerism.
"How is this even possible?"
At the same time, he had a strong inkling of who was on the other side of the screen.
"Hye-min... is it you?"
She had been his wife in his second life, and his wife in his third life as well.
They had met while volunteering at Doma Elementary School. There had been many university students there, but Ji Hye-min was the only digital media major who would go this far out of her way to help him.
Moreover, he could read her true feelings through the considerate phrasing of her email.
Wanting to use it for her portfolio was just an excuse.
She simply wanted to help him. And to make him feel less burdened, she had added all those excuses about being an inexperienced student and needing it for her portfolio.
"Thank you."
He was sincerely grateful.
A gratitude that carried the weight of his second and third lives.
Yun-hyeok gladly accepted her incredibly thoughtful gesture.
He drafted another email.
This time, he attached the materials from the Seongil Transit meeting and the second presentation held at the Mir City Hall Traffic Department.
"Perhaps the reason I failed in my first life..."
He clicked the send button.
"...was because you weren't by my side."
In his first life, Yun-hyeok had remained unmarried and single.
Lee Yun-hyeok's Mir City Traffic Master Plan was produced as a three-part special series.
From the proposal to increase trains at Mir Station, the first and second Traffic Department meetings, to the negotiations with Seongil Transit—all the complex details were neatly packaged.
A disclaimer serving as a safety net was inserted at the end of the video.
About a week after the videos were uploaded.
• Video 1 Views: 4,501
• Video 2 Views: 20,692
• Video 3 Views: 81,047
Suddenly, the video views began to skyrocket at an incredible pace. The subscriber count surged along with them.
What's going on?
Even Yun-hyeok was taken aback.
Where is all this traffic coming from?
There was a reason behind the explosive growth of the YouTube channel that even Yun-hyeok hadn't anticipated.
[ Traffic Reform Created Together with Citizens ]
[ Mir City Announces the 2025 Traffic Reform Plan. Citizen Policy Proposer: Lee Yun-hyeok ]
Banners were hanging all over the neighborhood.
He had asked to have his name included in the official publications, but he hadn't expected this.
He certainly hadn't expected them to plaster his name all over the banners like this.
And to top it off...
"Even a QR code!"
A QR code linking directly to Yun-hyeok's channel was printed on the banners.
Furthermore, the official policy introduction posted on the City Hall website's announcement board actually embedded Yun-hyeok's three YouTube videos.
Under the pretext that they perfectly and clearly explained the policy introduction, the grounds for implementation, and the standards for the revised routes and dispatch schedules.
Thanks to this, a massive wave of Mir City citizens flooded into Yun-hyeok's channel.
Their reactions spoke for themselves.
Is this Director Kim Min-cheol's doing?
No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one person who could have promoted him so extensively across the entire city of Mir.
Kim Min-cheol was a man loyal to the current Mayor of Mir City, Baek Hyeong-guk. For a chief of staff or high-ranking official, loyalty was their moral compass. And Yun-hyeok was a potential rival who could challenge Baek Hyeong-guk's reelection in the next local election.
Despite that, Kim Min-cheol had backed Yun-hyeok.
In politics, one occasionally encountered such people.
People who helped without any hidden agenda or expectation of reward.
Like Kim Min-cheol, who provided supporting fire despite being on the opposing side, or Ji Hye-min, who insisted on working for free.
Thank you.
Perhaps Yun-hyeok's political career would grow even faster than he had anticipated.
And the downfall of the current Mayor of Mir City, Baek Hyeong-guk...
...could also be brought forward much sooner than planned.