Her panic lasted only a moment. Meilin hurriedly composed herself and continued.
“Of course. How could anyone buy a person’s heart with such a paltry sum?”
“Hmph.”
“You’ve worked hard, finishing your long years of study abroad in a foreign land. Please think of this money as nothing more than the cost of treating you to one round of drinks, Assemblyman.”
I Chanho’s face, cigarette clenched between his lips, slowly began to relax.
Contrary to his gentlemanly image, he was not actually a man who was merely dignified.
He was a fiery man. A hot-blooded man. A man who knew how to have fun, who could hold his own anywhere when it came to drinking, singing, and dancing.
“So you somehow found out that my drinking tab is particularly expensive. Now we’re finally speaking the same language.”
“I apologize if there was any misunderstanding. For someone like you, Assemblyman, we should naturally have received you with a blank check.”
“Ha ha.”
Perhaps pleased by Meilin’s honeyed attitude, a broad smile bloomed across his face.
“Well, if you put it that way. I suppose there’s no room to doubt your sincerity.”
“Thank you.”
“But what is it you really want me to do? Do you truly just need me to introduce you to anyone in political circles?”
“My father has always said that once the Korean Wave ban is lifted, we must quickly monopolize the import of Korean culture. And he’s very interested in land, but as you know, Chinese real estate has been struggling lately. My father is very interested in housing prices in Seoul.”
“Ah. Then just any old fellow won’t cut it. I’d have to at least connect you to someone from the Ministry of Land or the Ministry of Culture, would I?”
Meilin smiled gently.
“But what to do? My old party is still the opposition, so there’s no one who can use any real influence right away. The Korean presidential election is about three years away, so you’ll have to wait until then.”
“As long as necessary. If you will maintain this small connection, Assemblyman, I will wait no matter when it may be.”
“Truly?”
I Chanho looked at her with a slightly guarded gaze.
“I’m grateful for the gift, but from my perspective, it’s hard to understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, of course we’ll certainly win the next presidential election, but from President Zhang’s position, you would be waiting with no promise of anything. You don’t even know when it will be, so can you really offer two hundred thousand dollars as a drinking tab like this?”
Meilin smiled.
“Assemblyman. Do you know Lü Buwei?”
“Lü Buwei? You mean the man from the time of the First Emperor of Qin?”
“Yes. I don’t know much about history, but they say Lü Buwei asked his father, who was a merchant, this.”
I Chanho, understanding her meaning, began to grin as well.
“If one farms, how many times one’s money can one earn? If one sells precious metals, how many times one’s money can one make?”
“Yes. That’s right. You know it well.”
“Well, the story of Qin Shi Huang is something Koreans know too. And at the end, when he asked how many times one’s money could be made by making a king, his father’s jaw dropped... Is that the story?”
“That’s right.”
Ying Yiren, a collateral blood relative of the Qin royal house.
Lü Buwei recognized his potential early on and supported him with an enormous political fund, placing him on the throne of Qin. He devoted himself so thoroughly that he even offered up Zhao Ji, his beloved concubine.
And when Ying Yiren, into whom he had poured such effort, ascended the throne, and Qin ultimately unified the Central Plains, all under heaven came into Lü Buwei’s hands, just as his father had said.
Of course, before long, he would be purged by Qin Shi Huang.
“Ha ha ha.”
I Chanho was in a good mood.
“So what you’re saying is, you’ll become my very own Lü Buwei? And you believe I have the makings of Qin Shi Huang?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
I Chanho’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
This was it. If this was true, he no longer had to worry about cabbage farming. He would no longer have to take money from small fry whose identities and sources were unclear.
“It seems I’ve committed a discourtesy before a truly precious guest.”
“Not at all. Ho ho.”
“In truth, politics is like that. Ten years ago, chaebol chairmen would come to me carrying bundles of cash, but once I retired, they treated me like a cow looking at a chicken. But if President Zhang understands my efforts like this, I, too, am grateful.”
“Then...?”
“Let us work together. Yes, let us work together for the friendly relations between Korea and China. This is my direct card. I give most fellows my aide’s card, but for President Zhang, I will give you my own.”
“Thank you. I think my father will be truly pleased.”
Beneath his name card, instead of a company phone number, an account number was written. It seemed to be a gold business card handed out only to sponsors.
“Then I will call on you again soon.”
Having received the card, Meilin got into a taxi and let out a sigh.
“Putting on airs like he’s so expensive.”
She turned the business card this way and that, then picked up her phone.
“Yes—Mr. Sejun. It’s Meilin. I finished sorting out Assemblyman I Chanho’s cabbage farming. And he gave me some kind of business card. Should I take a picture and send it to you?”
*
—Bidon! Your lust for power is what has ruined America like this! How can you look for McCallan, who died three years ago, again at a presidential debate? Forget the White House—at this point, even a nursing home may already be too late for you!
The first debate of the American presidential election.
When Bidon looked for Secretary McCallan again, people were no longer surprised. With that, the rumors about his health had become accepted fact.
Bidon was cornered throughout the debate, his voice frequently rose, and he stammered even over trivial points.
Many experts pointed to hormonal changes as the cause of this appearance, so completely different from four years ago. Even CNN, which leaned pro-Democrat, pointed it out, so the game was as good as over.
—Please welcome her with applause! Our Democratic Party’s new candidate, Vice President Camilla!
And so, just days before candidate registration, the Democratic Party pulled out the extreme measure of replacing its candidate.
However, the convention effect was not as great as expected. In states that leaned pro-Democrat, her approval ratings rose, but in the truly important swing states, she failed to draw much of a response.
“What is this?! No, damn it! Does this make sense? Is this real? Isn’t it a deepfake? What the hell is this?!”
But our pension fund was in no position to worry about a foreign country across the sea.
In the meantime, something rather horrific happened in Korea. The president and his wife had suddenly committed suicide.
Many citizens still hoped the ruling party would handle the matter well... but instead, they blamed all of it on the opposition party and chose to be buried alive along with the presidential couple.
As a result, a massive vacuum in state affairs emerged, and the KOSPI fell endlessly.
In that heated winter.
The MBC special project drama that had drawn so much public attention came to a successful close. It was a drama about the impossible love between Michelle, the greatest hostess in South Korea, and a promising young prosecutor.
The premise was that the impossible love between the two of them had gone beyond the personal and endangered even the nation. Like Helen’s affair, which had brought about the Trojan War.
Because of this shocking premise, there had been much talk from the very start of its broadcast, but the truth was, with this type of drama, the more outrageous and makjang it became, the higher the ratings climbed.
Coincidentally, the drama spread by word of mouth among the elderly and built up a solid fandom, and by the time the final episode aired, the entire nation was practically enraged.
—I’m sorry... I love you...
Bang!
The promising young prosecutor committed suicide with a pistol before the grave of Michelle, who had passed away first. Unfortunately, the timing of the broadcast overlapped with the sudden deaths of the president and his wife, arousing the public fury of many people.
“How... can there be such a beautiful love?”
On the day the final episode aired.
Meilin wiped away her tears as she looked at the TV screen in the center of the hotel.
“I’m so envious of Korea as a country. This must be the power of democracy, right?”
“...”
“In China, if a movie’s ending doesn’t conclude with virtue rewarded and vice punished, you get dragged off by the public security bureau. But because freedom and freedom of expression are allowed like this, even a masterpiece like this can be born.”
“...Is that so?”
“Yes. Without a doubt. This drama will definitely be a mega-hit in China. If only there were no Korean Wave ban, my father would have made a fortune...”
I handed her a handkerchief.
“Don’t cry, Meilin. It’s just a drama.”
“Yes, yes. Oh dear, showing you such an embarrassing sight... By the way, I heard the KOSPI market has shrunk a lot these days because of political issues?”
“Yes, that’s how it turned out.”
“Even so, this emergency situation can’t go on forever... Mr. Sejun, what would you like me to do? Should I meet some ruling-party assemblymen too?”
I shook my head.
“There’s no need. Please continue putting effort into Assemblyman I Chanho. How much has gone in so far?”
“Two million dollars as of yesterday. He really does spend money like water. Well, thanks to that, I did get introduced to five sitting assemblymen too... But Mr. Sejun, are you going to keep investing effort into Assemblyman I Chanho from now on?”
“Why?”
“No matter how I look at him, he seems flashy on the outside, but dull and muddled on the inside. It also seems like it’s been quite a while since he retired from politics... To be honest, I don’t really understand why you have such high expectations for a person like that.”
I smiled bitterly.
“He’ll become a big figure soon.”
“Really? Then we truly don’t need to put any effort into the Daehan Party people?”
“No. Don’t give the ruling-party people a single ten-won coin. There’s no need.”
If my memory was correct, the Daehan Party would not even get near the Blue House for the next ten years.
Unable to accept the tragedy of the president and his wife, they would pour all their strength into rallying the far right and suffer crushing defeats in every election.
In that way, the Daehan Party, which had once dominated central politics, would shrink to the level of Silla in the Three Kingdoms period. They would not even be able to fill a majority of seats in the National Assembly, and their domestic influence would not extend beyond Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang.
“I understand. Then I’ll do that.”
Meilin smiled brightly.
“By the way, what a coincidence that a young man and woman happened to meet at a hotel. In Korean dramas, something strange always happens at times like this. Ho ho.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that kind of strange person.”
“Pardon? Ah... yes.”
“Instead, I’ll treat you to a wonderful meal, Ms. Meilin. The buffet here at the Breezen Hotel is so popular that it’s hard to book even in Korea. I went to a lot of trouble reserving two seats for us today.”
“Instead of that... can’t we eat cup noodles in your room, Mr. Sejun? My legs hurt a lot too...”
“I thought that might happen, so I prepared slippers. Let’s have a delicious dinner, then go see the Han River. Cup noodles taste even better there.”
Meilin pouted.
“Fine, then.”