The Secretary's Women 41
Once the meetings wrapped up, the party staffers started filing out of the office one by one. Soon, only the Office Manager, Kim Sil-jang, Baek Aide, and the rest of the crew from the Yeouido National Assembly Members' Office Building—along with me—were left.
"Office Manager, do we really need to gather all the party members for this in a situation like this?"
"What choice do we have? That's how the Jumin Party does things. Even with the assemblyman here, selecting the regional committee chair properly means collecting opinions from the members."
"But how much do regular party members even know about politics?"
"Isn't that a bit harsh, Baek Aide? Without party members, how do we even run elections?"
While the Office Manager and Baek Aide were going at it, Baek tossed out that line about party members not knowing politics, and the Youth Committee Chair—who'd been keeping quiet until then—jumped in, pissed off. Even Kim Sil-jang chimed in, pointing out that Baek's wording was over the top, and Baek's face started turning beet red.
"Baek Aide, that was a bit much."
"Anyway, let's not make a big fuss. Just hold a standing committee meeting and have them appoint the regional chair."
Even as his face flushed with anger, Baek stuck to his guns, insisting they skip polling all members and just let the standing committee—basically the regional execs—handle the appointment instead.
Of course, Baek's idea was procedurally sound, but if they went that route, it would've put me at a disadvantage for getting picked as regional chair. That's why the Office Manager insisted on a full member assembly, which had the moral high ground.
"No way! The staff already heard what I said earlier. If we do it like that, it'll just look like backroom dealing."
"Man, you're so nitpicky. I'll handle that issue, so just play dumb, Office Manager."
"It's not something you can just push through, and I absolutely won't agree."
The standoff between Baek Aide and the Office Manager left the office atmosphere so tense it felt like a balloon inflated to bursting—one prick of a needle and boom. Finally, Baek let slip something blunt: he wanted to be regional chair himself.
"Who the hell are you gunning for here, Office Manager? Does it bother you if I become regional chair?"
"You planning to run, Baek Aide? How much do you even know about the region to have such a ridiculous idea?"
"This damn guy!"
"'This damn guy'? You calling your own father that too?"
Baek openly admitted his ambition for the regional chair spot, and the Office Manager shot it down as absurd. Unable to hold back his rage, Baek pointed at the much older Office Manager and spat out "this damn guy." Seizing the moment, the Office Manager dropped the polite language he'd been forcing himself to use and raised his voice. The office teetered on the edge of an explosion.
With the Office Manager finally blowing up over Baek's slip, Kim Sil-jang was sweating bullets trying to pull them apart. In the end, Baek stormed out, slamming the door with a bang, and the Yeouido crew—including Kim Sil-jang—followed after him one by one.
Once they were gone, it was just the Office Manager and me left in the office.
"Bro, did you have to go that far?"
"Go that far? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, but did we need to make the vibe this ugly?"
"If we don't put that guy in his place like this, he'll be a headache later. Even Kim Sil-jang agrees."
"Kim Sil-jang too?"
"Yeah. That guy's got that elitist complex from his fancy Seoul university drilled into his bones. Word is he was a real lone wolf up there too."
"Yeah, kinda."
In the end, the whole scene today had been orchestrated by the Office Manager and Kim Sil-jang to take down Baek Aide, who'd been eyeing the regional chair position.
Baek was an S University grad—one of those so-called top schools every parent in Korea dreams of for their kids. He'd been a grade 5 bureaucrat in a central ministry before jumping into politics on Hwang Seong-tae's offer to join his staff. Even in the Yeouido office, as a grade 4 aide same as Kim Sil-jang—his political senior—he acted like he didn't give a damn, showing that arrogant streak that led to today's fallout.
"Anyway, for now, make soothing the staff your top priority over everything else. I'll handle the regular members with the staffers."
"Got it. If you need expense money, just say the word."
"Come on, Park Secretary. Where you gonna get that kinda cash?"
The Office Manager, looking relieved now, tasked me with calming the staffers and promised he'd step up with them to persuade the regular members. I'd built camaraderie with the staffers back when I worked with them before heading to Seoul, and even after getting booted and coming back to the regional office. Calming them down wouldn't be too hard.
But convincing regular members? That was no walk in the park. For me, it was damn near impossible, but even for the Office Manager and staffers, meeting them one-on-one or calling around wouldn't be easy either. And yeah, that meant buying meals or coffees, so I offered to cover those costs. The Office Manager, who knew my situation inside out, looked at me with worried eyes when I said I'd handle it.
"Chairman Lee Hoe-jang said he'd provide financial support."
"You and the chairman are really that tight?"
"Yeah. He even said he thinks of me like a son."
"Since when?"
"It's been a bit. Ran into him by chance, and he took a real shine to me for some reason."
"Looks like you've got a knack for winning people over, Park Secretary. Good timing anyway. Use this chance to pin on that badge yourself."
"With you helping me this much, bro, I don't even know how to thank you."
"Just don't turn into another Hwang Seong-tae once you get the badge. Don't let greed take over."
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind, bro."
In the end, I had to spill the beans a bit about my tie to Chairman Lee. That way, when meeting members, we wouldn't skimp on expenses and risk screwing up over something small. As we wrapped up that talk with the Office Manager, my phone rang—Kim Sil-jang.
"You at the office?"
"Yeah, chatting with the Office Manager."
"Can you bring him and head to Seomyeon?"
"Sure. But skip Seomyeon—let's go somewhere else."
"Whatever. Meet at Seomyeon first and we'll figure it out."
I picked up the Office Manager and grabbed Kim Sil-jang in Seomyeon, then headed to Songjeong Beach. We sat at a cafe with a killer ocean view, tilting beer glasses across from each other.
"Damn, this place is nice. You found a gem, Park Secretary."
"What the heck was that guy doin', huh?"
"Just blowin' off steam alone, stompin' around. What else?"
"Good work. But Kim Sil-jang, you feel slighted?"
"Never planned to run from the start, so what's to feel bad about?"
"Good to hear. You'll keep backing Maru, right?"
"Well, once he gets that badge, if he starts givin' me grief, maybe I'll think about it if you help me out then, bro."
"Whoa, bro—when have I ever given you grief? People might misunderstand."
"People change—who knows when. Park Secretary, you think there's a guarantee you won't once you get that assemblyman badge?"
"Fair point. But I'll bust my ass not to, so trust me."
"In that spirit, today's drinks are on Park Secretary."
"Deal!"
We clinked glasses at that ocean-view coffee shop in Songjeong, starting with the afternoon drama and moving on to how we'd persuade members and get me elected regional chair at the full assembly.
Truth be told, without the Office Manager and Kim Sil-jang, I never would've even dreamed of running in my district, let alone competing with Baek, who outclassed me on paper.
The staffers had history with me, so they might give me the edge beyond specs. But regular members, who barely knew either of us? When pitting an S University hotshot against a local college grad like me, they'd dismiss me outright based on school alone.
Plus, Baek was grade 4 aide; I was grade 5 secretary. Some members might see me as some punk mouthing off to a superior. All in all, it was a rigged game I had no shot at winning.
As our chat with the Office Manager and Kim Sil-jang wound down, I slipped out, drove to the bank, and withdrew 20 million won—split into two envelopes. Had to drive the point home with cash. Back at the cafe...
"Where'd you go?"
"Take this."
"What's this?"
"What else? Obvious."
"Bullshit. You think we helped you for money?"
"Don't talk nonsense. If you're helping me, you need expense money, right? Bro, you at least need motel cash. Once you clear out the Yeouido office, Seoul's done—you gotta come back to Busan."
"Kim Sil-jang maybe, but I don't need this much."
"Bro, who else but you to meet and persuade regional members? Coffee alone ain't cheap. Refusing this is like saying you won't do the work—you know that."
I practically forced the envelopes on them to end the back-and-forth. Sure, they pretended to refuse, but neither was well-off. Without this, they'd worry about activity funds, or feel shortchanged—or chew me out as naive and clueless. Anyway, the three of us left Songjeong in high spirits and headed home.
Somehow, Chairman Lee had pulled strings: the central party's organization department tagged our region as troubled, named me acting regional chair, and put me officially in charge. We rushed a member assembly, I ran unopposed, and became the real deal. Baek griped, but faced the cold shoulder from members, gave up running, cut ties entirely. The regional office settled down without a hitch.