The Chairman's Generosity
The staff who had worked at the Members' Office Building, except for Aide Baek, all relocated to Busan and began commuting to the district committee office. After consulting with Chairman Lee, Maru registered them as employees of one of the chairman's affiliates. Their salaries wouldn't match what they'd received from the National Assembly Administrative Office, but they would get a fixed monthly stipend. Of course, he also decided to provide the on-duty party workers with a set amount of activity funds each month—unofficial, but a step up from before.
Once the district committee office had stabilized, Maru visited the National Election Commission with the office manager to formally register as a preliminary candidate, kicking off full-scale election preparations. The day after the registration, Chairman Lee and Eun-mi stopped by the district committee from Seoul.
"Committee Chairman Park, you've been working hard."
"Welcome, Chairman. Madam, thank you for making the trip down here too."
"Yes, you've been working hard, Committee Chairman."
"Might we speak privately for a moment?"
"Of course. Please, come inside."
Mara guided Chairman Lee and Eun-mi to the committee chairman's office and asked Kim Yeosa to bring some tea. Once Kim Yeosa had set down the tea and left, Chairman Lee spoke up.
"The office atmosphere looks good."
"Yes, thanks to you, Chairman."
"Still calling me Chairman?"
"Sorry. It feels awkward for me here at the office."
"Fair enough. Is there anything you need?"
"Everyone from the old aides at the Members' Office Building to the party workers is satisfied. Thanks to you, they're getting regular monthly activity funds now, so the workers are putting in even more effort."
"Does that mean they were working without any activity funds until now?"
"Yes, that's right. They were all volunteers, unpaid. Of course, whenever some loose cash came in, I'd divvy it up a bit."
"Really? Then where did all the money that Hwang guy took from me go?"
"……."
The late Assemblyman Hwang had apparently been drawing funds from Chairman Lee in the form of salaries for district party workers. Maru felt a mix of bewilderment and curiosity about where all that money had gone, but there was no way to confirm it with a dead man.
"What's the point of blaming the dead? Don't make the same mistake yourself. Remember, money only yields returns when it's spent on people."
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
"I'll make sure the monthly activity funds and expenses for the party workers are paid promptly, so if you ever need more, just give me a call."
"What we have now is plenty. No need to worry."
"Money's a tricky thing—it doesn't just move people; it can sway spirits too. Think of it as the blessing of having a rich father-in-law and push forward with whatever you want, no hesitation."
"Yes, I understand."
Wrapping up his talk with Maru, Chairman Lee asked to see the office manager and Chief Aide Kim first, so Maru brought them in. The chairman praised them for their hard work at Hwang's funeral, asked them to support Maru just as they had Hwang, and extended the same request to the aides from the Members' Office Building and the district party workers before leaving the office.
Once Chairman Lee had gone, Maru gathered everyone and personally handed out the gold day envelopes the chairman had left for him, one by one.
"Whoa~ What a big spender. Never in my life have I gotten a ten-million-won gold envelope."
The party workers cheered as they peeked inside their envelopes. Even Maru was stunned; he hadn't expected Chairman Lee to bet so heavily.
"Wonder how much our committee chairman got."
"Me? Probably around a hundred million, right?"
He opened the envelope with his name on it. Five million won. His first thought was that he'd have to report it to the election commission. The reason Chairman Lee had given a mere five million to the district committee chairman while stuffing ten million into envelopes for mere party workers was obvious: the Public Official Election Act's rules on donations. The timing was the issue, though.
"Huh? Our Park Committee Chairman only got five?"
"Yeah, why's that?"
"You guys have been eating party rice for years and still don't know the election laws?"
"Ah!"
Only then did the party workers catch on to the chairman's intent, letting out gasps of realization.
"Anyway, thanks to our Park Committee Chairman, we got to see such a huge gold envelope."
"What do you mean, thanks to me? It's just the reward for all your hard work so far."
"If it was reward for past work, we'd have gotten hundreds of millions back when Hwang was alive."
"Point is, Chairman Lee is one generous guy."
"That's our Park Committee Chairman's good fortune."
Thanks to the gold envelopes from Chairman Lee, the afternoon passed in high spirits. As quitting time approached, the party workers and aides headed out together for a group dinner. When Maru said he wanted to go thank Chairman Lee at the Lotte Hotel, no one tried to drag him along anymore, so he made his way to the hotel and sought out the chairman.
"Come on in."
"Aren't you overdoing it today?"
"Back when Hwang was alive, I was giving thirty million a month for party worker expenses and office upkeep. This is nothing."
"……."
"Anyway, how was the office mood?"
"As you'd expect. They went wild over their first big payout."
"Good. If they work as hard as the money they got, it'll all turn into votes."
"Thank you, Father."
"Anyway, now you just handle being my son and son-in-law."
"Yes, Father."
"I'm heading back to Seoul now, so take care of Eun-mi for a while."
"Leaving tonight?"
"It's not easy for me to be away from Seoul."
"Understood."
"And don't make her cry."
"Yes, Father. I'll keep it in mind."
Mara saw Chairman Lee off from the hotel with his secretary, then returned to the room.
"You've gotten so thin."
"I missed you."
"Aigoo, put some spit on your lips before you lie like that. It's only been how long?"
"Sheesh, how much time have we even had alone, with everyone watching?"
"True enough. How long are you planning to stay in Busan?"
"I talked it over with Dad. Thinking of just living here full-time."
"Won't that be inconvenient?"
"What's inconvenient about it? Just put me on the affiliate payroll and clock in."
"Anyway, you decide what's best."
"I want you."
"Already, this early in the evening?"
"Yeah. My insides have been burning up down there—driving me crazy."
Her words ignited him too; his body started heating up. Truth be told, it had been months since he'd slept with anyone. Even after Hwang's funeral, he'd been too busy stabilizing the district committee to think straight, and Ara and Jeong-ah had held back out of sympathy, never pressing him for sex. He'd all but forgotten the word.
As he stripped her clothes and roamed her heated body, they slowly merged into one.
"Why are you so hard?"
"……."
"Haah~ So good. You're filling me up~"
"……."
"Ah~ Oh, honey~ Gently~"
"……."
"Honey~ Slower~ I'm dying~"
She finally collapsed. Maru poured himself deep into her valley, sprawling beside her, panting, while she stroked his sweat-dampened hair.
"You really haven't done it with anyone this whole time?"
"Where would I have found the time?"
"Not even with Ara?"
"No room for that."
"Sorry to Ara, but this felt too good. Hng~"
She let out a nasal hum and kissed him.
"Don't you need to marry Ara before the general election?"
"No time for marriage."
"Why not talk to her parents and at least register the marriage first?"
"I'll think about it."
"Do it, honey. I'll help with your campaign too, but a candidate's spouse plays such a big role. You know that better than anyone."
Eun-mi urged him to marry Ara quickly, if only for the campaign. She had a point—in an election, where every extra hand mattered, no one could campaign as freely and actively as the candidate's spouse. Not even registering the marriage would be insane.
"Got it. Don't worry. But you're going to help with the election?"
"If I help your campaign, locals will naturally see you as his successor. People still think he was a capable assemblyman."
"True. Hwang has a lot of supporters. But won't it be tough for you?"
"Pfft, you think I haven't done a few elections? I came down for his campaigns and even local ones."
"Alright, talk it over with your father and decide. I'd love your help."
"Dad already said to do it."
"You already told him?"
"He couldn't marry us, but he thinks of you like a real son-in-law."
As they talked elections, Maru drifted off to sleep without realizing it.