Power & Sex, and... 04
After finishing my apologies to the police station officers, I headed back to the minbak where we had stayed. The women were already up, deep in gossip with Suji at the center, while the men were still lost in their drunken dreams from the night before.
The men's room reeked so heavily of booze it was enough to get anyone drunk. I opened the windows and tried to wake them, but they just wrapped themselves tighter in their blankets, refusing to stir.
"Suji's leaving."
"What? Already?"
At my words, the guys shot up like they'd never been asleep, fixing their messy hair as they stumbled out the door. The women burst into giggles at the sight. Once we'd roughly gotten ready to head out, we moved to Minrak-dong for some kongnamul haejangguk to soothe our sore stomachs, then parted ways. Suji left too, saying she had an appointment.
"Mother-in-law, I'm back."
"Did you have a good time?"
"Yes. Sorry, it was hard to break away from the mood last night, so I couldn't even say goodbye properly."
"It's fine. I can see you anytime you come down. But breakfast?"
"We grabbed something simple together."
"You must be tired—go rest in your room."
I crashed in my room and passed out. Having not slept a wink all night, the moment my head hit the pillow, I plunged into deep sleep.
"Honey, get up and eat."
"Lunchtime already?"
"Lunch? This is dinner."
In the end, I'd wasted the whole day sleeping. I dragged myself up, splashed some water on my face, and sat at the table. The savory aroma whetted my appetite.
"Why go to all this trouble? You didn't have to make so much."
"To serve the country, you need a healthy body first."
Anyway, I enjoyed the meal Mother-in-law had prepared. After a walk, I returned to my room, but living with a traditional woman like her made me wary—bedding Ara felt awkward, so despite being aroused by her scent, I tossed and turned all night trying to calm myself down.
Monday morning, I left home early and headed to the district office. Even rushing, the on-duty staff were already there, hard at work at their desks.
"How've you all been?"
"Whoa, Congressman, you look even sharper now."
"Come on in, sir."
"Bro, everything good?"
"Hey, this is the office. Congressman."
"Aigoo, we're family here—why so stiff?"
"Have a seat anyway."
Guided by the Office Manager, I sat at my desk, and the staff followed suit.
"You all worked so hard during the election, but I left without properly thanking you."
"Aigoo, we're not outsiders—what's with the formalities?"
"Right, we're family, so I can feel a bit less guilty?"
"Of course."
"Then I was gonna treat lunch today, but let's have the Youth Committee Chair do it instead."
"What? No way, that's ridiculous. Tradition is the congressman treats the on-duty staff. Plus, we have core party members joining for lunch today—want them seeing us get kicked out?"
"Aigoo, our Youth Committee Chair gets all serious over one meal."
We bantered lightly, reminiscing about the election and chatting casually about what lay ahead.
"Congressman, it's Suji. Can I see you now?"
"Huh? You haven't gone back to Seoul yet? I'm at the district office."
"Where's that around?"
Mid-conversation with the staff, I got a call from Suji. I gave her rough directions and headed to the office entrance around her arrival time. Moments later, she stepped out of a taxi. I led her up to the office.
"Huh???"
The Youth Committee Chair, Women's Committee Chair, and Kim Yeosa gaped in shock. The Office Manager looked puzzled, Jeong-ah beamed brightly, and so on.
"That's singer Suji?"
"Hello, I'm Suji from SJ Entertainment."
Suji bowed to the staff.
"How's a star like Suji visiting our little office?"
"I'm a fan of Congressman Park Maru."
Suddenly, I was elevated to the status of a hot idol's fan. From Suji's perspective, it must've been hard to define our relationship, so she fell back on her usual "fan" label. Once greetings wrapped up, the staff buzzed around snapping photos with her, turning the office into a photo frenzy for a while.
Lunchtime snuck up, coinciding with our core party members' appointment. Suji agreed to join, so we headed next door to the samgyeopsal place I'd frequented as a secretary. There too, she drew stares from our members, other diners, and staff. Acting every bit the fan, she even asked the customers to support me. Suji was a total pro.
We finished the hectic lunch, said goodbyes to the core members, sent Suji off on our way back, and I started meeting pre-scheduled afternoon visitors. By dusk, I was wiped from back-to-back guests. With a standing committee tomorrow, I regretfully bid the staff farewell and left the office.
I'd sent those texts to Jeong-ah on my way out. Last night, I'd been caught up with Ara's friends, no time for her, and today was all sleep—so before heading to Seoul, I needed to see her alone.
"Oppa, I got off the bus."
"Okay, walk a bit toward Lotte Hotel and wait. I'll come to you."
I pulled up at the Lotte Hotel entrance with hazards on, and Jeong-ah came running. I put her in the passenger seat and headed toward Yangjeong.
"You must've been pretty bummed with me, huh?"
"Huh?"
"For coming to Busan and not making time for you."
"Pfft, as if. I knew you'd be busy anyway. And now you're a congressman—you shouldn't be seen with a girl like me."
"Hey, a girl like you? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oppa, just live easy without worrying about me. I'm plenty satisfied you hired a dropout like me as your secretary."
Jeong-ah had changed. Normally, she'd throw a fit, but now she seemed to be avoiding personal time with me because of my election win. For a girl barely twenty, she was growing up too fast.
"I hired you to help with tomorrow, not because of anything personal. In my eyes, you're the best at appealing to young people and assisting me."
"I know. But there are tons of regular college grads who could do it."
"No, that's wrong. Who else would pour their soul into it like you did during the election—or the other night? No one paid just for salary or title could match that."
"Anyway, fine. But that was 'cause I wanted to, so let it go. Just don't let me make you uncomfortable from now on."
She even seemed burdened by the 7th-grade online specialist secretary gig. I needed to clear that up. Sure, there were tech-savvy or popular SNS users who outdid her. I knew a few myself.
But most political SNS users barely understood the scene, pounding keyboards with self-righteous opinions, riding trends without logic, spreading nonsense. Jeong-ah had gaps there, but during the election—and last night, despite being younger than Ara and her friends—she prioritized her duty as a staffer over fangirling an idol like Suji. That mindset wasn't typical for girls her age. And above all, she'd always stay loyal, my unwavering ally.
"So, where we headed?"
"Hotel."
"Oppa, are you crazy?"
"Crazy how?"
"What if someone recognizes you? No way!"
"Why? Not in the mood today?"
"Not really, but even if I was, no more with you from now on."
"Why?"
"What if someone who knows you sees us entering a hotel? I couldn't do that!"
"Worrying over nothing. Sunglasses, and no one'll know."
"Still no. If you can't hold out, go home and do Ara-unnie. Or head to Hwangnyeongsan. I'll suck it out for you."
"Dummy, I'm thinking of you holding out."
"I don't even feel like it lately. Rejected my boyfriend a few times when he wanted to, and he got pissed and broke up."
"So you did?"
"Yeah."
In the end, I turned toward Songjeong. I parked at the beach road lot, grabbed coffee, and we chatted in the car. Talking with her, I wondered if she had trauma from sleeping with Congressman Hwang, who died of a heart attack during.