[The Unification of Candidates]
For a moment, silence descended upon the fairy-tale-like suite. To be precise, it was the silence of YS. It took the time it would have taken to swallow three large gulps of water before he finally opened his mouth.
“……What did you just say?”
“I said I would like you to unify the candidates and support DJ.”
“……?”
YS’s expression was one of pure bewilderment. After mentally re-organizing the current situation, he spoke again.
“You want to scout me, right?”
“That is correct.”
“And the presidential candidate for this election is confirmed as N?”
“That is correct.”
“Yet, you’re telling me not to lead my party members to join N’s party, but to join DJ’s party? Have you lost your mind?”
It was a perfectly rational and cold analysis, but given the current political climate, even a college student could have reached the same conclusion. That was how absurd the request Yoon-gi was making truly was.
“If I were to ask you to join the Excellency, would you do it?”
“No, are you crazy? Why would I join JD?”
As YS began to get half-angry, Yoon-gi calmly spoke again.
“The Excellency I am referring to is not JD.”
“What? Not JD? Wait, then, don’t tell me?”
YS looked toward N, and N, seemingly embarrassed by the gaze, cleared his throat and looked at Yoon-gi.
“Ahem! Ahem! I didn’t expect you to call me ‘Excellency’ in front of someone else.”
“JD has already lost his real power, and since you are the one holding the reins of the current administration, it is only natural to call you Excellency.”
Though N was embarrassed, he didn’t dislike it. After all, it was an acknowledgment of his status, right in front of YS. YS found the scene ridiculous, yet deep down, he felt a twinge of envy toward N. Because, for him, there was no one who called him Excellency.
“Assemblyman, I will ask you again. If I ask you to join the Excellency, will you do it?”
“Even if that Excellency isn’t that Excellency, I have no intention of doing so.”
At YS’s reply, Yoon-gi smiled.
“That is why I am asking you to join DJ.”
“No, I mean, why on earth?”
Yoon-gi smiled at YS, who was starting to get annoyed.
“Because that is how your losses will be minimized.”
“Losses minimized? That much is obvious, but……”
As Yoon-gi said, if he sided with DJ, his losses would indeed be minimized. He had already been scouted by Yoon-gi. If he followed Yoon-gi’s advice and DJ won the election, DJ would surely offer him some form of treatment. If DJ lost? Since Yoon-gi had intended to scout him, he would provide some form of compensation. If becoming president himself in this election was the best-case scenario, following Yoon-gi’s advice to push DJ was the second-best. Provided, of course, that Yoon-gi was in his right mind.
“I don’t understand……”
To YS, who repeated the same words, Yoon-gi explained the reason.
“I have no intention of borrowing your strength for this presidential election. Because even without it, the Excellency will win. I will make it so.”
It was an incredibly arrogant statement. Honestly, YS couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed, but he was also curious about why this young kid in front of him would make such a bold claim.
“Then, why are you approaching me now?”
“For five years from now.”
At that moment, YS realized what Yoon-gi was thinking.
“You, don’t tell me…… do you intend to become the King Maker who makes me president in five years?”
“That is correct. If I approach you in five years, it will be too late. But if I approach you now, I can show you my sincerity.”
“That is certainly true, but…… hah……. Then, let me ask you one thing.”
“Please, go ahead.”
YS raised the question that naturally had to come up in this situation.
“Why did you choose me instead of DJ?”
“That is because you have such a bold and heroic personality.”
“H, huh?”
For a moment, YS felt a little embarrassed. The other party was giving him praise that bordered on flattery, but in a way, it was only natural.
“I know that once you make a decision, you never back down. That is why choosing you over DJ is the right move for me.”
In truth, it was a lie. The real reason was that in the history Yoon-gi remembered, YS became president first. But since there was no reason to say that honestly, Yoon-gi gave the best possible answer with his exceptional social skills.
“My goodness…… to think you see me that way……. Aren’t you making me feel too embarrassed?”
“Yoon-gi usually has a strong tendency to be like this. That is exactly why it’s a reason to be with him.”
Even N chimed in, causing YS to scratch the back of his head as if he had become fifty years younger. He then straightened his posture and looked at Yoon-gi.
“Lastly, let me ask one more thing. If the DJ I support wins, what will you do? All your plans will be ruined, won’t they?”
“Do you think the Excellency will lose?”
At Yoon-gi’s confident reply, YS smacked his lips. In fact, YS himself had been predicting the outcome of this election to some extent.
‘If YK doesn’t help, and DJ and I unify candidates, we will win. But if YK pushes N, the odds aren’t good.’
Having finished his thought, YS let out a wry smile.
“You really are something. Do you not know that what you are doing is Money-Power Electioneering?”
“It is rather an upgraded method.”
“Yeah, that’s certainly true……. Since it doesn’t violate election laws.”
“These days, if you do Money-Power Electioneering like in the 50s or 60s, you’re in big trouble. The people of our country are very smart.”
This wasn’t sarcasm; it was sincere. Because Yoon-gi felt pride in being a citizen of South Korea himself.
“True…… it’s not the days when people like Lee became president by handing out rice wine and rubber shoes. Come to think of it, looking at the methods revealed on the surface, the relationship between YK and N isn’t Collusion between Politics and Business. It’s closer to political support.”
It was indeed the case. YK had received no special favors, and N had received no bribes. It was, quite literally, an ideal Politics-Business Integration for the people.
“Hahaha, my goodness. Should I be happy about this?”
“You should naturally be happy. In five years, when the next presidential election comes around, this kind of election campaigning will be applied to you just the same.”
“Are you really saying you will do that for me?”
“I am already doing it for the Excellency, so there is no reason I cannot do it for you. Now, make your choice. Will you join us?”
At the words of Yoon-gi, who held the initiative in the room, YS finally chose to join.
“No matter how I think about it, joining seems to be the right judgment in this situation.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yoon-gi smiled brightly and handed YS a bankbook and a seal.
“Please, take this.”
“What is this?”
“You’ll see when you look.”
The amount printed in the bankbook was 1 billion won.
“That is merely a token of courtesy. There will be consistent rewards during the five years the Excellency is in power, and you will receive benefits that surpass that during the five years you become the next Excellency.”
For a moment, YS narrowed his brows.
“Wait, isn’t this a bribe?”
“It is not a bribe.”
“What?”
To the puzzled YS, Yoon-gi smiled slyly and explained the reason.
“If I had made a request related to your official duties, it would be a bribe. But have I made any request related to your official duties?”
In the 2010s, the Anti-Graft Act, often incorrectly called the Kim Young-ran Act, stipulated that one should not receive money from others even if it was unrelated to their duties. However, in this era, one only had to avoid receiving money related to their official duties.
“Well, if you think my request to support DJ is a solicitation, I have nothing to say, but you can tell from our conversation that you didn’t think of it as a solicitation, right?”
YS nodded. He truly thought that whether he supported DJ, N, or JP, it was his choice, not a solicitation.
“Then, what do you want to ask of me later?”
“Please do not be corrupt.”
“What?”
“The biggest thing I will ask of you is to not be corrupt. And I will ask for a few bills to be passed.”
YS wore an expression that said, ‘I knew it.’‘Asking me not to be corrupt, while wanting me to pass their bills? They’re just making excuses.’ However, at Yoon-gi’s following words, YS was greatly shocked.
“Whether you execute the bills I propose or not, that will be at your discretion. I will only submit bills that are purely for the people.”
“No, why on earth?”
YS was dumbfounded. What on earth was the benefit YK gained by doing such a thing? Spending a fortune to make someone president, only to want a president who isn’t corrupt? And even if they propose bills, it doesn’t matter if he rejects them? Why on earth would they act like that?
An indirect answer to this question was provided by N.
“Assemblyman, you just have to choose. If you look at me, don’t you see? I have received so many things from Yoon-gi. The amount is also significant. However, I have never been asked for any illegal acts by YK. You can tell just by looking at how YK withstood the attacks from the National Tax Service, can’t you? Of course, it’s not Samwoo, but still.”
YS had no choice but to be convinced. ‘Certainly, when they were subjected to high-intensity tax audits by the National Tax Service, YK was truly clean. Of course, it wasn’t that there wasn’t a speck of dust, but that was closer to mistakes by the working-level staff.’ The more he thought about it rationally, the less he understood YK, but the more he looked at the reality of the situation, the more he understood YK’s sincerity.
“Haa, my goodness…….”
In the end, YS decided to follow the reality that the situation presented.
“I understand. As you say, I will support DJ.”
As soon as the words were finished, N spoke up.
“If I become president, I will appoint you as Prime Minister.”
“……? What about your other close associates?”
“Most of them will prefer money.”
It was an indirect remark, but YS could immediately understand what it meant. ‘What on earth are they trying to do with politicians who have an outwardly non-corrupt image? I’m curious, so curious. In my life, this is the first time I’ve met such a mysterious guy.’YS instinctively realized at some point that the actions Yoon-gi was taking were not instructions from Choi Ki-hyun, but Yoon-gi’s own actions.
* * *
YS was absolutely not a fool. Of course, this didn’t mean he had betrayed them after saying he would join Yoon-gi. It just meant he had to rack his brain to avoid arousing suspicion from DJ. If YS had suddenly changed his route and said, ‘I will be the next president!’ as soon as they met, what would DJ have thought? DJ was a seasoned politician who had lived through a long period of suffering in political history. As such, he was more likely to suspect YS. If that happened, what DJ might do was unpredictable even for YS.
Therefore, after requesting a meeting with DJ, YS argued with him very persistently for a long time. For a whopping 14 hours! YS was amazing for arguing for 14 hours for his purpose, but DJ, who kept dodging the issue with vague words, was also truly remarkable. However, in the end, YS had no choice but to win.
“Phew, there’s no way to reach a conclusion. Assemblyman, then I will make one proposal.”
“What is it?”
At DJ’s question, YS sighed and opened his mouth.
“To hell with it, I will become the next presidential candidate, so make me the permanent Prime Minister of your administration.”
It was YS effectively using the proposal he had heard from N.