The Party
Ji Hye-min was flustered.
"I... I don't really know anything about politics..."
Her dream was to live a quiet, long, and peaceful life. She had never even thought about joining a political party, let alone starting one.
"To officially register a political party, you ultimately need five thousand members. But for the very first step, we only need five people," Lee Yun-hyeok said.
"If we have five people besides the representative, we can organize a preparatory committee for party creation and register it with the National Election Commission. I only need your help for that part."
"Ah."
Hye-min nodded.
"So you just need to borrow my name? Like when you were doing the petition drive at Mir Station."
"Exactly. Though it would be even better if you were active as a member."
"Hmm..."
Hye-min fell into thought for a moment.
Something felt strange.
Why me?
Yun-hyeok was currently the most popular politician in Mir City, enjoying nationwide fame. Even Hye-min, who knew nothing of politics, was well aware of this.
Surely, his network must be incredibly vast. He would have plenty of people to start a party with—other friendly politicians, entrepreneurs, or civic activists.
If he wanted to, Yun-hyeok could handpick five of the most socially influential figures from among them.
But I'm just a college student...?
For some reason, that thought made Hye-min feel good.
And Yun-hyeok's next words made her feel even better.
"You are the perfect fit for my party, Hye-min. I want you to be by my side."
Isn't this practically a confession?!
"But you said the two major existing parties can't do what you want, Mayor."
"Yes."
"Why is that? What is it that you want to do?"
"In a democracy, a political party is fundamentally an instrument that serves as a megaphone for a group, projecting its opinions to society."
In Korea, when a group wanted to express its will to society, they typically formed an "association."
This was structurally flawed because associations were usually subordinate to the executive branch of the government in some way.
For example, suppose pediatricians form the "Korean Pediatric Association."
The members gather, hold an inaugural general meeting, obtain approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and register it with the court.
In other words, from its very inception, the association is placed under the supervision and management of the Ministry.
Thus, while an association can negotiate with the government, it is highly restricted when it comes to directly checking government power.
If a group truly wants to forcefully convey its members' opinions to the government, it must become a political party, not an association.
What if an organization like the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination had been a political party instead of an association?
Perhaps they wouldn't have had to stage disruptive protests, clashing with citizens on their morning commutes.
Instead, they could have rallied the votes of disabled people nationwide to send proportional representation candidates from their own party into the National Assembly.
To the political establishment, that is far more threatening.
A political party is a megaphone that projects the interests and political opinions of a specific group into the political arena.
"And the group our party will represent is the collective of citizens who worry about the nation's future, and who possess the will, passion, and sense of responsibility to fix this society's deep-seated evils through social engineering."
"But wouldn't those kinds of people prefer to join the Hanmin Party or the Liberty Party rather than a brand-new startup party?" Hye-min asked.
Her point was valid. While the sentiment was noble, if the target group was too vague, their ability to mobilize would suffer, making it difficult to grow large enough to compete with the two giant establishment parties.
Hye-min's critique was spot on.
But there was a way around that.
Even if it required a rather ruthless method.
"The party I am going to build is..."
As Hye-min listened to Yun-hyeok's explanation, a look of sheer terror washed over her face.
This man is truly insane about politics.
There was one more hurdle to starting a political party.
It was incredibly tricky to establish a political party while holding the position of a local government head.
Although a local chief executive could maintain party membership and attend party events, founding an entirely new political party was too massive a political act, risking a violation of the Public Official Election Act.
So, what was the solution?
I resign, and wrap it up within three months.
To run for Gyeonggi Province Governor, he had to resign from public office at least 90 days before the election anyway.
Since the local elections were scheduled for early June, he would have to leave Mir City Hall and return to being a private citizen by early March.
As an independent, he would then be free to establish a political party.
About six months left until my resignation.
For now, instead of launching new municipal projects, he needed to focus on stabilizing existing ones.
And he would lay the groundwork for the new party behind the scenes.
Things like the party dues accounting system, the electronic membership registry...
...and drafting the party constitution and bylaws.
Since these were tasks for the politician Lee Yun-hyeok, not the mayor, he took great care to ensure they did not conflict with his official mayoral duties.
September, after Hye-min's summer vacation ended.
The trio of entrepreneurs in Durim-myeon had all grown their businesses to pull in tens of billions of won in revenue, earning them "unicorn" status from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
The startups that had moved into Jungang-dong were also growing rapidly, drawing particularly enthusiastic responses from major IT conglomerates in Seongnam.
October.
The multi-family housing complex project initiated in the Beomdol District was selected as an outstanding policy by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The policy was expanded to seven other villa districts across Mir City, leading to further urban redevelopment.
November.
The childcare equipment rental service under Mir Childcare 365 officially launched. It was a system where used strollers and other items had their seats replaced, frames washed and sanitized, and then vacuum-sealed and boxed for home delivery.
It became a massive sensation on social media, with people marveling at the services Mir City provided.
Early December.
Mir City swept presidential citations and awards from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
These accolades were for local economic growth rate, low birth rate response, venture ecosystem vitalization, contributions to urban regeneration, and local autonomy development, respectively.
As the end of his term drew near, the regrets of Mir City's citizens frequently surfaced in the YouTube comment sections.
In truth, Yun-hyeok felt a bit of lingering regret as well.
Then, on a snowy day.
Yun-hyeok received a phone call.
It was from the leadership of the Liberty Party.
Seol Jung-ho, the Party Representative of the Liberty Party, took off his Valentino coat. It was a gift from someone, though he couldn't quite remember who had given it to him. He only remembered being told it cost nearly ten million won.
"No matter who you're meeting," Seol Jung-ho said.
Instead, he threw on a cheap jacket that cost forty thousand won.
"TPO—Time, Place, and Occasion—is everything."
Even the chairman of the Sambyeol Group wore a turban when invited to the wedding of the eldest son of Reliance Industries' chairman in India.
"When meeting someone like Lee Yun-hyeok, you need the right battle armor."
He also took off his twenty-million-won Rolex. In its place...
"Hey, give me that."
He took his chief of staff's Apple Watch and strapped it to his wrist.
"Do I look a bit younger?"
"You look like you're in your twenties, sir."
"Heh."
Exchanging jokes, they headed toward the outskirts of Mir City.
The reserved venue was a humble gukbap restaurant.
He had left his entourage at the office, bringing only his chief of staff along.
Even then, he instructed the chief of staff to wait in the car outside.
This was a private, one-on-one meeting between a giant of the political world and its brightest rising star.
Lee Yun-hyeok.
The name he had heard only in passing since the by-election had now become the eye of a massive storm.
I'm looking forward to this.
Park Dae-man of the Hanmin Party and Lim Jun-won of the Liberty Party—both heavyweights with constituencies in Mir City—unanimously answered "he's dangerous" whenever asked about him.
Yet, the sheer irony was that both of them were actively participating and working alongside Lee Yun-hyeok in his massive projects.
Since those two rarely agreed on anything, it made the situation all the more fascinating.
With the local elections looming, everyone was on edge.
After all, anyone could guess that Lee Yun-hyeok was aiming for the governorship.
He might actually pull it off.
The unprecedented phenomenon of an independent Gyeonggi Governor.
If I can't have him...
Seol Jung-ho had come today to pitch an extraordinary deal.
Ding-dong!
The bell above the restaurant door chimed. Yun-hyeok arrived right on time. Seeing Seol Jung-ho already seated, he checked his watch.
"You're not late, Mayor Lee. I just got here early. You get impatient as you grow older."
Seol Jung-ho shook hands with Yun-hyeok.
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Actually, I'm originally from Mir City myself."
"Is that so?"
"I was born in Mir City, moved to Seoul when I was five, grew up there, and then came back here when I was preparing for the bar exam."
Seol Jung-ho sat down and gestured toward the menu.
"This restaurant is a place I frequented back then. Their blood sausage soup is excellent."
"I like it too. You certainly know your local spots."
The two ordered the soup and a bottle of soju.
"You graduated from Hankook University, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm Hankook University as well. Law school, not engineering, though."
"So we share not only regional ties but academic ones as well."
"In politics, half the field is from Hankook University."
Seol Jung-ho poured soju into Yun-hyeok's glass.
"Back when I attended, there were tons of cherry blossom trees in the field behind the engineering building. But I heard they're gone now. I wonder why they cut them all down. So many young couples used to date there."
"They were likely removed because the cleaning staff found them too difficult to maintain."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"That's a shame."
Seol Jung-ho downed his shot of soju.
Just as the soup was served.
"I have a gift I'd like to give you. In fact, that's the real reason I called you here."
He handed Yun-hyeok a file. Inside was a very interesting document.
[Evidence of Seongnam Mayor Choi Gwang-seop's Sabotage Against Lee Yun-hyeok]
It was so unexpected that even Yun-hyeok's eyes widened slightly.
"When you were preparing the childcare equipment rental policy," Seol Jung-ho said.
"You faced a massive barrage of attacks. Claims that you were destroying the industrial ecosystem, that the government was overstepping its bounds in the market..."
"..."
"That was Choi Gwang-seop's handiwork. He saw you growing into a viable candidate for Gyeonggi Governor and tried to cut you down before you could sprout."
Inside the file, the names of Choi Gwang-seop and Representative Kim Jae-o, the Liberty Party's strategist, appeared. There were press releases they had drafted, metadata from files created under an aide's name...
...as well as screenshots of emails shared within the Strategic Planning Department, "reporting guidelines" sent to journalists, and leaked group chat logs.
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"As the party representative, how could I tolerate such trash trying to crush a talented challenger? Besides..."
Seol Jung-ho grinned affably.
"We're practically family, aren't we? We share regional and school ties."
"..."
Yun-hyeok thought for a moment before speaking.
"You want to recruit me to seize control of the party, don't you?"
Seol Jung-ho's shoulders twitched.
With the local elections just around the corner, it was highly unusual for a party representative to hand over the weaknesses of his own party's gubernatorial candidate to a rival.
How on earth had such a bizarre drama unfolded?
It all came down to Seol Jung-ho's precarious position within the party.
Normally, in a party with a single-leader system like the Liberty Party, the representative should wield absolute power. However, the party was currently split into two factions.
This was because Supreme Commissioner Seo I-gyeong, the second-in-command of the Liberty Party, was aligned with the Blue House. Since the Liberty Party was currently the ruling party, political coordination with the Blue House was essential. Consequently, Seo I-gyeong's influence within the party had surged, leading to an ongoing factional war between her and Seol Jung-ho.
"And Seongnam Mayor Choi Gwang-seop is a core figure in the pro-Seo faction," Yun-hyeok noted.
"You plan to discard Choi Gwang-seop, recruit me as the candidate for Gyeonggi Governor, and win the local elections. That is your strategy, isn't it? That way, you will claim both the glory of victory and absolute control over the party."
To achieve that, he was even willing to engage in friendly fire against Choi Gwang-seop.
"You are a terrifying man."
"Heh."
Seol Jung-ho chuckled, his shoulders shaking as he took a spoonful of soup.
"I heard you were briefly part of Park Dae-man's camp, but how do you know the inner workings of our party so thoroughly?"
"I studied hard."
"You're not just good at administration; you're a master of politics."
"You flatter me. However," Yun-hyeok said.
"As far as I know, Mayor Choi Gwang-seop has already been officially selected as the gubernatorial candidate through the party's primary."
"Indeed."
"Is it really possible to bring in an outside mercenary and suddenly replace him?"
"Do you think I'm only doing this for my own self-interest?" Seol Jung-ho asked.
"Choi Gwang-seop can't win the election. At this rate, it will essentially be a two-way race between you and Han Gi-jeong."
"..."
"This is also a choice for the party. I am right. With this much ammunition..."
He tapped his finger on the documents he had handed to Yun-hyeok.
"Taking down Choi Gwang-seop is child's play. Do you know how many politicians suffered a backlash because of your project? I will refer the matter to the Supreme Council, claiming a candidate replacement is necessary, and arrange a special primary rematch between just you and Choi Gwang-seop."
"..."
"And I set the primary rules," Seol Jung-ho said. "We can start it on whatever date you want, right alongside your entry into the party. Choi Gwang-seop won't even have time to prepare."
"..."
"I will give you the governorship. And a seat on the Supreme Council. On top of that, the nomination rights for Mir City and Seongnam City."
This was insane.
It was an extraordinarily bold offer.
A Supreme Commissioner was a position that ultimately swayed the party's decision-making. And nomination rights meant the power to build one's own faction.
He was essentially offering to seat Yun-hyeok at the very top of the party leadership.
It was on a completely different level from the proportional representation slot previously offered by Park Dae-man or Lim Jun-won. Seol Jung-ho was indeed a man of grand gestures.
The only problem was...
"Aren't Supreme Commissioners and nominated candidates supposed to be chosen based on party member votes or public opinion polls?"
"You are someone who deserves to hold a Supreme Commissioner seat and nomination rights."
"I am asking if you, as the party representative, have the authority to hand those out at your whim."
"..."
"Isn't that a violation of the party constitution?"
"Haha!"
Seol Jung-ho burst into laughter.
"You speak so naively for someone of your caliber. The opinions of the party members? Who cares what those dogs and pigs bark about? Mayor Lee Yun-hyeok, listen carefully."
He pointed to himself, his voice dripping with absolute confidence.
"...is what he said."
Yun-hyeok tossed the whistleblower documents onto the table with a soft thud.
"You should be careful."
Choi Gwang-seop, the Mayor of Seongnam, looked as if he had been struck repeatedly with a hammer.
"Th-this... Mayor Lee..."
His eyes darted around in sheer panic.
By housing Seongnam companies in the Mir Data Innovation Lab, the two municipalities had maintained a cooperative relationship—at least on the surface.
Yet, behind his back, Choi had been caught red-handed orchestrating political sabotage against the very person he was cooperating with.
"This is... I mean..."
Yun-hyeok patted the shoulder of the utterly bewildered Mayor Choi.
"I don't blame you, Mayor. Isn't this common practice in politics?"
Choi Gwang-seop swallowed hard.
"...G-giving this to me... then the party representative's offer..."
"I rejected it. But he gave me the documents anyway, telling me to remember his sincerity. I suppose he didn't care if this fell into your hands or was exposed."
The party representative would simply play dumb and deny he was the one who leaked it.
And if it blew up in any form, the ones who would suffer the most damage were Choi Gwang-seop and Seo I-gyeong. The party representative had nothing to lose.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if he just said, "Fine! I gave it to him! I couldn't stand by and watch such outdated political sabotage! What of it?" he might actually gain positive public opinion by aligning himself with Yun-hyeok's popularity.
"That must have been his line of thinking."
"..."
"But I am sick and tired of fighting in the middle while holding a bomb like this. So, I am handing it directly to the party involved."
Yun-hyeok bid farewell to Choi Gwang-seop and walked out of the Seongnam Mayor's office.
Choi Gwang-seop's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the sofa.
He picked up the bomb Yun-hyeok had left behind, his hands trembling violently.
"That son of a bitch!"