The members added one word at a time.
‘I don’t know if there will be another opportunity.’
It was clear that if Yusan came to power, all the traitors would be cut down. Seeing him beat Dokgo-jin, he seemed like a person who had no hesitation in dealing with others.
Dokgo Gap nodded.
“Thank you for understanding everyone. Congressman will also be pleased with your efforts. That’s why we brought Congressman Han Joong-taek here today.”
As he gave instructions to his subordinates, the door opened and Congressman Han Joong-taek entered. He said he was in his late 40s, but he looked young enough to believe that he was in his early years.
“Hello. I’m Han Joong-taek, a member of the National Assembly.”
“Hello. Senator.”
“Long time no see.”
When Han Jung-taek said hello, everyone rushed to speak. He leisurely accepted each one of them. It was a movement that felt dignified.
“Nice to meet you. President Kim Jae-gu. I am Han Jung-taek, a member of the National Assembly.”
Dokgo-gap must have talked about me beforehand, so he greeted me without hesitation.
“I’m Jaegu Kim.”
“I heard from Chairman Dokgo-gap that he is the person who will lead Korea’s agriculture.”
“Not quite like that.”
What were you talking about?
We are considering setting up a pear farm with the Carver Company, but it wasn’t grandiose enough to be called a Korean grain business.
‘no way. I’m not mistaken that the land I bought in Hwaseong is a farm, right?’
150,000 pyeong of rice field. It seemed that it would be possible to grow crops that could feed millions of people.
Of course, I had no intention of doing so.
“I hope to go along well.”
I shook his hand lightly. Compared to Seol Kyung-taek, his hands were quite cold. It was a minor point, but I got the impression that the other person looked cold.
I didn’t share business cards. This meeting was always a secret society.
As Han Jung-taek approached Dok-go-gap, Dok-go-gab moved away. He naturally took the initiative in the conversation.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the distinguished guests who are here today. Representative Lee Yu-san and I. At first glance, they may look like Goliath and David.”
Aren’t you ashamed to compare yourself to David?
The congressman’s brazen blood was beyond my expectations.
“But in the end, it’s David who wins. Right now, Mt. Lee may seem like a huge foe, but after this election, you’ll know it’s nothing. My victory will be your victory, and we will move forward together.”
I felt like the chairman of a small business or a pseudo-religious leader. He was a person with a good appearance, but he certainly didn’t have an aura like Seol Kyung-taek.
‘I expected a little, but it’s a pity.’
Still, 1% expected him to be better than Seol Kyung-taek. But no such miracle happened.
‘Still, if Han Jung-taek collapses, it won’t be difficult to take over these members, right?’
Hearing of the deal they had with Han Jung-taek and discussing with Seol Kyung-taek and coming up with an alternative seemed quite feasible. If the conditions aren’t right, I’ll have no choice but to walk a different path…
In terms of human aura, Seol Kyung-taek was one step above.
‘I’ll have to use Han Jung-taek to reduce Yu-san’s physical strength as much as possible.’
When I met him today, I thought that I should take the Seol Kyung-taek line.
***
Han Jung-taek’s speech was lengthy and lacking in substance, but the conversation that followed was quite productive.
‘It’s not bad to decide to blackmail an individual with the data obtained from the transcript.’
It was difficult to arrest with only the transcript. But he knew he had committed the sin.
The contact was decided to be made by Dokgo Gap. It shouldn’t have been difficult since he took over the human infrastructure prepared by Dokgo-jin.
‘It’s not a murder teacher, it’s a light job.’
Even if the tail was caught, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
I didn’t expect that everyone would quit the candidate because of the threat. If even one out of 10 resigns, that would also reduce Yu-san’s stamina.
‘not bad.’
It was New Year’s Day soon, and the faces of the candidates who would receive a list of the sins they had committed instead of paying for rice cakes on New Year’s Day could be seen.
‘Mochi price!’
When it was a holiday, many people stood in line with money for rice cakes to wait in line for a member of the National Assembly. I mean.
‘There is a high probability of getting paid for the rice cake this time too.’
It was clear that it would be a good weapon if it could capture the scene of being paid for. However, I couldn’t move alone because I needed a lot of manpower to keep an eye on them.
‘The center of the meeting is Dokgogap, so I only need to contact Dokgogap.’
I sent him a message asking me to meet him.
***
Dokgo-gap was heading to the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do to meet Kim Jae-gu. In the car, there were three bodyguards to protect him, and a vehicle loaded with bodyguards was following him.
‘It’s to avoid getting caught by the tail, but it can be dangerous to go out alone in the middle of the night.’
He didn’t think that Kim Jae-gu would harm him, but as long as Yu-san noticed this side’s movements, he might send an assassin from that side.
When he arrived at the meeting place, a car was already waiting for him. Kim Jae-gu also put a car with bodyguards on standby in the vicinity just in case.
Of course, the engine was off.
“President Dok-go. I’m sorry for calling you late at night.”
“No. I didn’t have time to meet you at this time. What did you call me for?”
When Kim Jae-gu called him, the reason was clear. So, isn’t that why we came out to meet like this, splitting the time we should be sleeping?
“I want you to monitor the people of this heritage.”
“Since it’s right before the general election, everyone will be saving themselves, but is there any point in monitoring?”
“Isn’t it Lunar New Year’s Day soon? There will be people who will try to line them up using the holiday as an excuse.”
“…Since there are not just one or two candidates, there must be a leak among them.”
“That’s right.”
It was virtually unreasonable to monitor all the people running for 300 districts. However, it was possible enough if the target was narrowed down.
“Why don’t we send someone for corruption in the entrance examination, send someone for drunk driving, send someone for s*xual harassment, and then deal with the person who took the bribe?”
“I think we only need to monitor those who do not have a history of irregularities in the entrance exam, drunk driving, or s*xual harassment. We are trying to make it into an affair, but I don’t know if it will be a decisive blow.”
“Affair is ambiguous. Even if you look at overseas cases, there are many people who get elected even if they have problems in their personal lives. Now that adultery is no longer a crime, they can’t be sent to prison.”
It was possible to drop the vote by reducing the image of the other person through infidelity, but it was not fatal compared to other items.
A bribe was more certain.
“People who have a history of taking bribes are more likely to take bribes, so it’s better to keep an eye on them.”
Those who have eaten meat know the taste, and those who have taken bribes know the taste. If the call records were used to monitor those who had already taken bribes, the scene could be captured.
“If the police know anyone, that’s the icing on the cake.”
And if it hit the scene, it was even more certain.
I thought of Moon Moo-young for a while, but he was just a detective. In order to mobilize personnel to search, a higher-ranking person was needed.
Dokgo Gap nodded.
“Yes. A raid on the spot won’t be easy, but it’s worth considering.”
“That’s right.”
He met his eyes with calm eyes.
“May I ask why you didn’t talk about this at the last meeting and called me to speak separately?”
“I did it because I felt burdened to bring up the question of mobilizing surveillance personnel.”
He was silent for a moment, then nodded.
“It could be. Thank you for your opinion. I’ll try to discuss it with the members. Since it’s been a while since we got together, it’s going to be difficult to reconvene, so I’ll take care of this.”
“If there is anything I can help with, please let me know.”
I added a word out of courtesy.
“Okay. Thank you for your comments.”
***
next day. A list of people I need to monitor has been sent via personal mail. There were four candidates, none of whom were MPs.
‘Did he deliberately choose someone who was easy?’
Rather good.
From now on, there was a lot of work to do to make Han Seong-min debut as a member of the National Assembly.
I was on my way to his office when I got a call from Radley Wood that a report on the poll results was ready. Han Seong-min was sitting in the seat next to him with a serious face.
“Attorney Han Seong-min.”
“Yes. Boss.”
“What do you want to do first if you become a member of the National Assembly?”
Let’s celebrate victory after the game
When asked what he would like to do first if he became a member of the National Assembly, Han Seong-min opened his mouth without hesitation.
“I want to make laws for the common people.”
“A law for the common people?”
“I want to amend the law so that the powerful cannot exploit them.”
“Are there too many holes?”
“If you put it on your ear, it’s an earring. If you put it on your nose, it’s a nose ring. The ambiguous part gives an advantage to the powerful. I want to make a specific legal text so that they can’t treat the powerless without care.”
‘Because I must have been burned a lot while fighting the Dokgo Group.’
He was a man who even took off his inspection uniform while fighting against the Dokgo Group. It was clear that there was a problem that he could not solve even though he was involved in the law.
‘It’s not a bad plan.’
It was clear that if Han Seong-min worked for the common people, his image would improve. If that happens, it would be a good thing for me to work with.
When something happens, you will be able to get the right help.
Dunesney Land was a business whose demand had already been verified, but if it wanted to start a business other than that, it could need support from local residents.
If Han Seong-min made a good impression on them, it would not be difficult to win the support of local residents.
“Cheer up.”
“I will do my best.”
When we arrived at the office, Radley Wood greeted us with a smile. The staff nodded and walked away.
“Welcome. This means that precious people have come.”
“You should come when Mr. Wood calls.”
She smiled and sat down in front of him. There were piles of materials on the table.
‘Couldn’t it be that I’m not asking you to see all of this?’
“I let you see the questionnaire in case you want to see it yourself. Here’s what you’re going to see today.”
He handed me a thin file. It contained only ten sheets of paper.
“This is a summary of what I’m going to report today. First, I’ll explain the current situation.”
Radley Wood pressed a switch, and a presentation appeared on the wall. The first page was a map of Gap-gu, Hwaseong-si.
“First, let me tell you about the entire constituency.”
He started by talking about the entire constituency, then gradually narrowing down the districts. There were things that I wanted overall, but there were also long-awaited projects that each district wanted.
Most of the long-awaited projects were already included in the pledges received from Seol Gyeong-taek.
‘Seol Gyeong-taek’s camp also properly grasped it.’
But it had meaning. It was a resource that might help them set priorities and set killer commitments they didn’t see through.
‘What voters want is jobs, urban development, and security.’
Since it is an area with many factories, the problem of illegal immigrants seemed to be serious. Needless to say, it was enough to know what would happen if people who were not even properly registered as residents lost their jobs.
‘The job can be covered by Dunesney Land.’
It seemed that the pledge to attract Disneyland would show a greater light than expected. The purchase of the land had already been completed, so if Han Seong-min was elected, it would be just a matter of starting the construction along with the infrastructure.
‘Who do I entrust this to?’
Taesan Engineering & Construction has been busy building towers in Silicon Valley. In order to do the construction as quickly as possible, I had to choose a place with a fairly large scale.
‘I’ll have to think about it.’
It may be an opportunity to attract a big player who is not currently related to the political world. A foreign construction company could have been used, but Korea’s construction technology is at a world-renowned level, so there was no need to attract foreigners.
‘It would be good to think of urban development and public order as a feeling of a smart city.’
Among the policies, there were already many items related to urban development. It was clear that as the city developed and the number of people increased, security would naturally improve.
‘How about having a patrol robot?’
It seemed that the crime rate would drop if robots were deployed to immediately rush to the scene when a report was received and take pictures. These days, because investigative techniques have improved, it is not difficult to catch criminals even with just a few hairs. And even more so if you have pictures.
‘It’s cute too.’
It reminded me of the dog robot I saw in Roborabo. I remembered that my parents really liked it because I acted like a real puppy.
‘Citizens will like it too.’
It was still in the development stage of a prototype, but the introduction could be considered. If you could get the budget, it was possible to furnish enough.
CCTV has blind spots, but robot patrol dogs don’t have blind spots. It was decided to emphasize that if a report is made, it will arrive at the scene faster than the police.
“So the pledge we propose is this.”
Radley Wood posted a list of pledges derived from the survey results. The results of the survey were pretty close to what I had in mind.
The only difference was that it was written as a slightly more refined policy.
“Compared to the previous pledges you sent, this has changed.”
He took the pros and cons of the pledge and added and added what to include and what to leave out. Some of the things Seol Gyeong-taek’s camp has been pushing have not progressed for decades. Moreover, according to the survey results, the number of voters who wanted the pledge was not very large.
“It’s okay to take this down. There’s no need to get rid of the pledge, but there’s no need to emphasize it from the front. So, I’ll summarize it at the end.”
The pledges he talked about appeared clearly organized on one page. By dividing the categories of jobs, urban development, and public order, important things are emphasized, and small pledges are annotated in small letters.
Most voters do not read the small print carefully, but some do.
The main pledge was, of course, attracting Dunsney Land.
“The attraction of Dunesyland will shine the most in this election. The important point here is that Congressman Han Seong-min has to show that he is related to Dunesyland.”
“Do you even need a picture of the encounter?”
“Yes. And it’s better if Dunny Land directly mentions it. If you tell them that you have plans to enter Korea, people will know that this is not an empty check.”
Politicians who make too many promises and fail to properly keep them are overflowing. In order to differentiate from them, I had to show a different side of myself.
Fortunately, there is quite a bit of time left until Election Day.
‘It was good to prepare in advance.’
I decided to make an appointment with Walter Sanford. They’ll also be curious about the progress of Dunesyland. He is a trustworthy colleague and would not refuse my offer.
“That is all.”
Radley Wood paused and bowed politely. As they raised their hands and started clapping, Sungmin Han also stood up and clapped.
“That’s a good suggestion. Let’s go with it.”
The pledge list of the opposing camp was obtained in advance through Seol Kyung-taek. Even if there was an update after that, there would be no such thing as a huge agenda like Disneyland.
‘Besides, he’s the one who wants to bring in the landfill.’
It was natural for the voters to turn their backs on him when his true intentions were revealed. This was a game almost won.
Han Sungmin took a deep breath.