Chapter 32: The Beginning of Politics (2)
Our eyes clashed sharply.
Before the standoff between me and Seo Inha could end, the reporters started bombarding us with questions.
"Is that true?"
"Are you the perpetrator of school violence?"
"When did it happen?"
I swiftly searched my memory.
There were three times I had hit someone. I had subdued two people in an alley to save Kang Daemyung from being robbed, and during my first year of high school, I had floored Class President Oh Man-seok and Vice President Choi Hyeong-chang in the classroom.
Could they be talking about that?
No matter how much I thought, there was nothing else.
Seo Inha pressed me.
"Can the perpetrator not remember?"
"I remember. That wasn’t violence, it was self-defense."
"There are four victims. Are you saying you acted in self-defense four times?"
I looked at the Floor Leader and spoke.
"I’ll explain."
"Go ahead."
I stared at Seo Inha and explained.
"There were three incidents around my first year of high school. First, I flipped two people who were hitting my intellectually disabled second eldest brother. Then I slammed the Class President who was using his power, and lastly, I only struck the Vice President once for insulting my mom. I never intentionally bullied anyone."
"Isn’t that violence? The other party was beaten unilaterally."
Who could have told Seo Inha about this?
In my head, the name of Oh Man-seok, the Class President at the time who held a grudge against me, came to mind.
Legally speaking, it was violence. The other party didn’t resist and was overpowered one-sidedly.
But I didn’t think I committed an act of violence.
"Should we just sit quietly and take it when someone bullies us? If we stay silent and don’t resist, the bully becomes a monster and the victim ends up living as a slave!"
My voice gradually grew louder.
This wasn’t just about injustice — there was a personal grudge against Seo Inha laced in.
"You’re not even willing to apologize to the victims?"
"Those bastards deserved it. Because they were the perpetrators."
"There’s no such thing as a justified victim in this world. That’s just another form of violence."
"You have a very convenient way of thinking. If you keep turning a blind eye, you’re just acknowledging the other person’s violence! Would you stay silent if someone powerful suppressed you, Reporter?"
"You really won’t admit any wrongdoing until the end."
"Representative Kang, let’s go quickly. We’re running late."
I was pulled out of the Party Leader’s Office by the Floor Leader.
Jin Jung-o’s voice echoed loudly.
"Representative Kang, you must be vetted! That’s the duty of a politician!"
Jin Jung-o, the reporter who had been hostile toward me from the start.
I wanted to turn around and curse him out with all I had, but I held back.
The place I followed the Floor Leader to was a Member’s Office on the sixth floor.
A middle-aged man sitting on the sofa stood up upon seeing me.
"Representative Kang! Nice to meet you."
"Hello, I’m Kang Cheonmyeong."
Unlike the Floor Leader, he spoke informally right from the first meeting.
"Representative Seong spoke highly of you. You had a scuffle with a reporter."
"What do you mean?"
"I have to go deal with the reporters, so Representative Seong will listen and make the judgment."
"Understood."
The Floor Leader quickly left the Member’s Office.
Had I made a big mistake?
Thinking of how I used to scream at reporters in my past life made me feel ashamed. Just like my eldest brother said, if I wanted to go into politics, I should’ve maintained a good relationship with the press.
"My name is Seong Chang-rae. Nineteenth class graduate of Single High School."
"Nice to meet you."
Only then did I understand why he had spoken informally.
I bowed again in greeting.
"That kind of gangster-style greeting isn’t appropriate."
"Apologies. I haven’t seen you at the Total Alumni Reunion."
"I go occasionally, but I guess we never ran into each other. So, what happened with the reporters?"
I told him everything as it had happened.
Seong Chang-rae chuckled heartily.
"You had quite the initiation. But you and Reporter Seo are enemies?"
"It turned out that way. Back in Elementary School — no, it’s called Elementary School now. I was better at studying, and it seems her jealousy has lasted a long time."
"If it's Seo Inha, that makes sense."
"You know Seo Inha?"
"Of course. She’s a political news reporter. I think she works at Yeonhan News now. Before that, she was probably at another newspaper."
Seong Chang-rae got up and brought a drink.
"Thank you."
"Do you know any reporters?"
"I know a few."
"Your article will probably flood the papers tomorrow. Reporter Seo hates our party."
"What should I do?"
"You need to explain everything accurately. Bring out people who know the incident and change the atmosphere quickly. If you dawdle, the public will form a bad impression."
Seong Chang-rae took a sip of his drink and continued.
"This will be a chance to see what Representative Kang is made of."
"Excuse me?"
"The Floor Leader will try to calm the press, but since you’ve had bad blood with Reporter Seo, the article will come out. They’ll subtly imply you're a perpetrator of school violence. Use the weapons you have to fight back. I’m curious to see how it turns out."
Seong Chang-rae gave a sly smile.
Was he planning to raise me tough from the start? Or was I just a recruit they could discard anytime, which was why the party wasn’t stepping in?
Seong Chang-rae read my mind.
"Don’t take it personally. Politics is a cold world. Even if all my closest colleagues lose, it’s fine as long as I get elected. Even if our candidate doesn’t become president, as long as I wear the badge, that’s enough."
"Yes."
"But when too many people think that way, the party falls apart. Do you know why everyone wants to become a Member of the National Assembly? Once they go on an overseas business trip, they can’t forget that taste. They’re the last to board the plane but the first to get off. They sit in business class and receive information handed directly by National Assembly Secretariat staff. In the country they visit, they’re treated with the highest protocol."
Seong Chang-rae tried hard to tell me everything about being a Member of the National Assembly.
You could meet anyone, rent and use cars freely, have nine aides, receive support for air, rail, and sea transportation fees, plus immunity from arrest and exemption privileges.
And so on.
He also shared the difficult parts.
The chance of winning compared to the number of candidates is around 15%, fierce primaries and main elections, the inconvenience to family members who must undergo scrutiny, the tight schedule of constituency events and legislative work, the strained relations with the press.
Seong Chang-rae was a second-term Member of the National Assembly.
He was categorized as a hardline lawmaker, but proudly claimed he was so popular in his district that people called him hyung and dongsaeng.
"I want to make South Korea an economic powerhouse. That’s why I’m entering politics."
"Livelihood comes first. I agree."
Then, a man entered through the open door.
When I saw his face, I quickly stood up.
"Hello."
Yeo Deok-su, Secretary-General of the Korea Unification Party, and a three-term lawmaker I had met during the Total Alumni Reunion.
Seong Chang-rae stood up as well.
"Hyungnim, what brings you here?"
"I heard a junior joined the party, so I had to come see. I couldn’t sleep thinking I lost him."
"Haha. Our party was slow to move, so the Korea Unification Party stole you away. It goes both ways."
"It’s a real shame. Representative Kang has the qualities to achieve greatness."
"The bus has left. I’m not going back."
"Politics is a living thing. Don’t be so sure."
Yeo Deok-su smiled contentedly and looked at Seong Chang-rae.
"I’d like to borrow the junior for a bit."
"Where to?"
"Shouldn’t I at least buy him a cup of coffee?"
"Of course. But return him quickly, please."
"Got it."
Like a calf with a nose ring, I followed him.
Room 707 on the 7th floor.
When I entered Yeo Deok-su’s Member’s Office, I was hit with a shock.
I already knew Ryu Jong-min was joining the Korea Unification Party, but I never expected to see Wang Dohun here.
"You all know each other, right?"
At Yeo Deok-su’s words, Wang Dohun stood up from the sofa.
"Cheonmyeong, long time no see."
He wasn’t the timid Wang Dohun I remembered.
He still wore horn-rimmed glasses, but his eyes had transformed from innocent like a cow’s to sharp like an eagle’s.
"It really has been a while."
I shook hands with him and looked at Ryu Jong-min.
"Are you joining today?"
"We’re joining tomorrow. Prosecutor Wang told me about you. What a small world."
Wang Dohun was a prosecutor?
In my past life, I hadn’t taken much interest in politics, so I didn’t know his background.
I only remembered that he had served three terms as a Member of the National Assembly and chaired the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, during which he allocated contracts from audited agencies to his acquaintances.
At the time, my business suffered because of it, so he was someone I could never forget.
"Representative Kang, have a seat. I should at least offer you a cup of coffee. Secretary Lee, a cup of coffee please."
"Yes."
The female secretary went into the pantry and brought out coffee.
"Thank you."
"Wouldn’t it have been great if Representative Kang had joined our party? Your friends are all here. If you ever change your mind, come over to us. A fine businessman like you is always welcome."
"Thank you."
"Director Ryu is close with Representative Kang, and what was Prosecutor Wang like back in school?"
"I transferred in my second year, so we didn’t have much interaction."
"We were in the same class during first year. I remember racing Dohun back then."
Yeo Deok-su showed interest.
"Racing?"
"I barely won."
Wang Dohun’s expression twisted. He remembered that moment.
"Well, Representative Kang is tall and agile, so I bet you ran well."
"Back then, I had such poor stamina that even finishing 100 meters was hard."
"Haha. You’re good with jokes too."
"Dohun, where did you transfer to back then? And you're a prosecutor now?"
"I graduated from Gangnam High. Worked in the Central Investigation Department but left."
Saying he worked in the Central Investigation Department meant he had walked the elite path.
But why did he quit?
That question had to wait for now.
Perhaps working at the Central Investigation Department had given him confidence.
Just then, the secretary’s voice came through.
"Assemblyman, the Party Leader is looking for you. He’s waiting in the Rotender Hall."
"Got it. You three chat. Let’s have dinner together later."
"Yes, thank you."
"Take care."
We stood and gave a polite nod.
Ryu Jong-min looked at me and asked,
"You already had the induction ceremony. How was the atmosphere? Did the reporters ask a lot of questions?"
"It was simple. Once you go through it, it’s nothing much."
There was no need to share every detail with Wang Dohun present.
Then a thought suddenly struck me.
Could Wang Dohun testify?
He would clearly know why I had no choice but to knock down Oh Man-seok and Choi Hyeong-chang.
Just then, Ryu Jong-min stood up.
"I must be too tense. I’m going to the restroom."
"Okay."
Once Ryu Jong-min left, I looked at Wang Dohun.
"Which university did you go to?"
"Law School at Yeonje University. I could’ve gone to Hanguk University’s Law School, but a professor I liked was there."
Some things never changed—his show-off attitude.
For someone who had such pride that he transferred schools because his grades were behind mine, saying he gave up Hanguk University for a professor didn’t make sense.
I played along.
That was the only way I could get help.
"You really are smart. Only elites go to the Central Investigation Department. So why did you leave?"
"I got an offer. It was Gangnam, so I couldn’t turn it down."
Just like in my past life, he started his political career in Gangnam.
Now I had to make a request.
I wasn’t sure if he’d accept, but—
"Dohun, can I ask a favor?"
"What is it?"
"You remember when I knocked down the Class President and Vice President in our first year of high school, right?"
"Huh?"
A strange look crossed his eyes.
He definitely remembered.
If he remembered the race, there was no way he forgot the incident that flipped the whole class upside down.
"I’m in a tough spot, and I was wondering if you could say something about it."
"No. I don’t remember!"
Wang Dohun refused firmly.
This guy still saw me as a rival.
In that case, I had no choice but to find another way.