Power & Sex, and... 71
0118
"Assemblyman Park Maru, right?"
I'd gotten a call from Han Seong-su, a three-term assemblyman who ranked among the party's heavyweights. He'd wanted to meet to discuss something, so we'd set up a time, but the problem was I had no carrots to offer the guy. What he wanted—what pretty much every assemblyman who'd been hounding me lately wanted—was all the same thing. Still, I couldn't just flat-out refuse their requests to meet, so even though it felt like a waste of time, I had to go see them.
"Assemblyman Park, give me a hand this time, yeah?"
"Do I even have the pull for that? I'm just a first-termer."
"Sure, you're a first-termer, but there's no one in our party as popular with the rank-and-file members as you. Plus, you're the de facto head of the National Assembly Reform Alliance."
"Sorry, but I just don't think I'm up to it."
"Assemblyman Park, I know you're backing Supreme Committee Member Kim Seong-gap, Supreme Committee Member Jeong Sang-won, and first-term Assemblyman Park Seong-hwan. Throw me in the mix too, will you? I'll repay the favor."
"Assemblyman, you know the party convention uses the one-member-two-votes system. Kim's running for party leader, so that's separate, but backing Jeong Sang-won and Park Seong-hwan already maxes out the slots. You know that better than anyone."
"I get that. But if you step up a bit more aggressively, we could spread it out and make it work. That's why I'm asking. If you need it, I'll swear my loyalty right here."
A three-term assemblyman's loyalty oath? Tempting, honestly. And unlike Kim Seong-gap, I wasn't thrilled with Jeong Sang-won's attitude either. But I couldn't backtrack now, so I had no choice but to mull it over.
As I parted ways with Han Seong-su, I figured it might be worth pushing the limits just this once. I had a hidden card up my sleeve for worst-case scenarios, and this seemed like a good time to test it. Plus, even if it wasn't Kim Seong-gap, sparking a loyalty contest between Jeong Sang-won and Park Seong-hwan wouldn't hurt me—it might even lock them in as my people for good.
Of course, if nearly half the supreme committee slots filled up with my guys, my influence in the party would skyrocket. And the assemblymen close to them could eventually get roped into my network too.
In the absolute worst case, if Jeong Sang-won pushed back, I was even prepared to cut him loose entirely and bring Han on board. If it came to that, Han—with his fresher image compared to the veteran Jeong—would be the better pick anyway, especially if all I wanted was the same number of supreme committee seats.
First, I needed to stoke Han Seong-su's fire a bit more. I'd just called them together to set up the election strategy HQ, so summoning him again right away would feel like training a mutt. Better to let the Han issue simmer for 2-3 days.
"Han Seong-su wants to meet over the party convention too?"
"Predictable. But bringing him in might not be a bad idea."
"Won't that piss off Supreme Committee Member Jeong Sang-won? Worst case, you could lose both."
"I'll handle it."
After lunch with Han Seong-su, I got back and filled in Kim Sil-jang on the meeting. He voiced the same concerns, but I had my aces in the hole, so I just grinned at his worried look. Even so, he left the room with a slightly unsatisfied expression.
It was late when I got a call from Im Bi-seo saying he'd arrived at Seoul Station. I told him it was too late—just head home, rest up, and brief me in the morning before hanging up. No real rush, and making him trek all the way to Yeouido just to turn around would be inefficient. Plus, remembering my own out-of-town trips, I knew it pissed off subordinates.
"Oppa, when you getting off work?"
"Why? My hours aren't fixed."
"I busted my ass today. Buy me dinner."
Less than 30 minutes after hanging up with Im Bi-seo, Jeong-ah called. Nothing pressing at the office, so I headed to the coffee shop in Jongno where she was waiting.
"What do you want to eat?"
"You have dinner yet, oppa?"
"Ate pizza at the office."
"Then let's grab some meat."
Thanks to Jeong-ah, I was in for some pork belly after ages. Up in Seoul, I didn't have many folks to share it with, and eating alone at a barbecue joint felt awkward, so it'd been limited to the occasional pack grilled at home in a pan.
"But oppa, she straight-up offered, so why didn't you take her up on it? Looked like your type—face, body, the works."
The pork belly joint was noisy with customers, but her words made me jump and glance around. Part of me envied Jeong-ah's boldness, but it was still hard to get used to.
"Girl, why say wild shit like that? Who told you?"
"She did. Said you turned her down even after she offered, and she even cussed you out."
"How could I touch a girl trying to save her dad's life? I'm not some stray dog humping legs."
"Fair. Sometimes you act like a saint. While banging every woman in sight."
"Wanna get smacked? Eat your pork."
"Anyway, she's totally hooked on you. Play it right, she'll be stripping and running wild later."
Her words had a thorny edge. I still didn't get why that girl had spilled such a personal secret to Jeong-ah, and it was weird for Jeong-ah to bring it up so sharply over dinner out of nowhere.
"Did you at least get the full report?"
"Yup, plenty!"
"So how you gonna push it?"
"Post announcements on our fan cafe and Suji's, run a voluntary fundraiser. If that gets traction, slap it on the party board for members too."
"Not sold."
"Don't sweat it. Worst case, talk to unni, put Suji up for a charity show."
"Suji?"
"Yeah. Unni's company building finishes in three months tops. We could do a grand opening concert as a charity event. That'd cover surgery and hospital bills easy."
Her plan sounded solid as a backup. From the entertainment side, no big payout for their own singer, and branding it charity would count as CSR—good for the company image. Win-win.
She'd clearly already looped in Eun-mi and Suji, so I decided to hand off Sin Hye's dad's surgery funds entirely to Jeong-ah. Priority was scouting hospitals for living-donor liver transplants, then seeing what aid they could offer. I tasked Im Bi-seo—who'd joined the Sin Hye interview—with hospital stuff. He needed to learn the ropes anyway.
Once the party convention schedule dropped, things heated up fast inside the party. Aspiring candidates scrambled for supporters, and the party board flooded with posts shilling their picks.
Thanks to Kim Sil-jang's hustle, I scored a spacious, clean office a block from the National Assembly's main gate. We'd use it as election strategy HQ through the convention, then repurpose it post-leader race as a policy think tank run by Kim Dae-ryeong and defense experts.
Even with the office secured, better to settle the Han Seong-su issue first before everyone moved in. That way, no one claimed turf—no starting from equal ground.
I met Kim Seong-gap first to smooth over the Han issue. From his view, partner was partner—Jeong or Han, no skin off his back. He took it in stride.
I summoned Park Seong-hwan to my office and briefed him on Han. No complaints there. He knew I needed him more than Jeong or Han, even with Han joining—Kim aside—so no reason for friction.
With those two squared away, no time for Jeong Sang-won to stew: we'd drop the Han bomb at tomorrow's meeting with all three.
Han Seong-su's coals were good and hot—time for his carrot. I called to meet; he said he'd come to my office. Hung up, and not five minutes later, word came he'd arrived.
"Assemblyman, come on in."
"Thanks for the call. Your staff's working like machines."
"Total workaholics. I've given up."
"So, decided?"
"Not my call alone—I floated it with them. We'll finalize tomorrow, but barring surprises, you're in. That's why I'm tipping you off early."
"Aigoo, thank you. I won't forget this favor."
Han Seong-su grabbed my hands with both of his, face lit up with genuine gratitude. A three-termer ignored by the party brass, dreaming of staff roles but shut out—now betting on a rookie like me to shake things up. If he won, he'd "serve like an ox or horse," swearing undying loyalty.
I briefed him on progress: no solo acts—we'd form a joint election strategy HQ as a bloc of four, splitting costs 1/4 each from campaign funds.
He jumped in, offering to cover extra expenses beyond office bills with receipts, plus dispatching all his aides (save personal secretary and female staff) to the HQ. A bold move that lightened my load big time.