novelraw Chapter 59 : A War Without Gunfire (5)
Chapter 59 : A War Without Gunfire (5)
Chapter 59: A War Without Gunfire (5)
Our candidate declared that he could no longer delay and would accept anything, but then suddenly, Yang Chil-su resigned.
An unforeseen incident just four days before the campaign began.
Things escalated quickly.
On the second day of the campaign.
A meeting was held at the Organization Headquarters.
The Member of the National Assembly in charge of the presentation spoke.
“This is not a good situation. According to the polling results, the rate at which we are absorbing Yang Chil-su’s supporters is only in the 50% range. The problem is that 20% of them support the ruling party candidate. Nearly 30% remain undecided.”
“This is a serious situation.”
“If you look at the last general election results, the pro-ruling bloc had 46.03%, and the pro-opposition bloc had 46.75%—it was a close match. Without Yang Chil-su’s votes, it’ll be difficult to win.”
“Even if we unify the opposition, will it still be hard to win?”
The Division Head of the Organization Headquarters posed the question, and the presenter responded.
“It would have an effect, but the internal dynamics are complicated. There are also two independent candidates with opposition leanings, so some votes may drift that way. There are also factions that say they’ll vote for the other side if unification happens.”
“Still, unification would be better. Representative Kang! How are things going in the southern region?”
“It’s moving more than before, but it’s still unsatisfactory.”
It was the region where I had previously visited and clashed with a Member of the National Assembly.
The party had issued a stern warning, so the organization was moving, but it was far from satisfying.
It felt very forced.
“Visit the western region today. It’s the perfect place to stir the wind.”
“Understood.”
“Since the candidate is visiting this afternoon, make sure to pass the word again to gather many people.”
“Yes.”
The Division Head of the Organization Headquarters assigned regions to other Members of Parliament and gave a closing remark.
“Our policy pledges have been released much later than the ruling party’s. I’ll support you so that you can work hard in the field, so keep encouraging the team.”
“Understood.”
After the meeting ended, I headed to the western region with Ahn Jin-su.
Inside the moving car.
Pyo Dong-ho, the secretary, asked.
“Is the candidate coming this afternoon?”
“I heard he’s coming to Jungbu Market.”
“Then we’ll have to move quickly.”
“No need. The western region is moving well, so it doesn’t need close inspection.”
“I see.”
The car entered the highway.
Ahn Jin-su spoke with a worried expression.
Since Pyo Dong-ho was present, she used honorifics.
“It seems to be getting more difficult.”
“It’s unfortunate that Yang Chil-su is not taking an active role, but a large part is because the ruling party candidate has secured the centrist image. He’s taking a lot of votes.”
“What about the internal polling?”
“The numbers aren’t good.”
There was nothing I could do.
I had to admit that I couldn’t change this historical tide.
Still, I needed to learn what I could so I could prepare for the future, and that’s why I worked hard.
“We need a turning point.”
What should I say?
It was negative, but I couldn’t say it that way. And there didn’t seem to be a real chance to reverse the situation.
I stayed silent.
An hour later, the car arrived at its destination.
Ten minutes before the candidate’s arrival.
Ahn Jin-su and I sat on the second floor of a café overlooking Jungbu Market.
The western region, perhaps because it wasn’t far from the Capital Area, was running smoothly.
Ahn Jin-su’s expression brightened.
“As expected, when the candidate comes, a lot of people gather.”
In front of Jungbu Market, the crowd was so large that traffic had to be controlled.
There looked to be several thousand people.
At the front of the street stood the local Member of the National Assembly and regional council members, while party members formed a scrum to open up a path.
“This is a war. They’re all scrambling to take a photo, and the Member of the National Assembly is of course at the very front.”
“Because the Member of the National Assembly controls the nominations, the local council members can’t take the lead.”
“This kind of thing needs to change. That’s why the line-up culture never disappears.”
I agreed with Ahn Jin-su’s opinion.
“Wow!”
Ahn Jin-su’s eyes widened.
I, too, was shocked enough to lean back in my seat.
The crowd was so dense there wasn’t even space to plant a tack.
“Cheonmyeong, isn’t this the momentum? The crowd is surging in.”
“Yeah. It’s not even quitting time yet, but there are so many people.”
Could it really be the momentum, just like Ahn Jin-su said?
The security vehicle entered first to secure the route.
“He’ll be here soon.”
Three minutes later, a black van drove in, and Members of Parliament greeted it at the front.
Cheers erupted from the supporters, and party members held up placards in support.
“He’s here!”
Several people crowded around the candidate as he got out of the car and waved his hand.
A fierce battle to get just one photo.
The Members of Parliament pushed and shoved each other in chaos.
Ahn Jin-su clicked her tongue.
“Photos must be really important.”
“Taking a photo with a presidential candidate is important. He might become President someday.”
“Someday?”
“I don’t think this will be the last time.”
“That may be true, but we still have to win this time.”
The heat was intense.
Just watching it made it hard to breathe, there were so many people, and the chants echoed thunderously.
“By the way, didn’t the proposal to target the 50s and 60s voter sentiment get passed? In the pledge book, it was listed under a subcategory.”
“I strongly insisted on it, but it didn’t pass. Pledges by generation and class are important, but the party chose to frame it as past versus future.”
Even if my idea had been accepted, it would have been difficult to change the overall trend.
The ruling party was conducting the campaign through conservative unity and was expanding its territory by absorbing our policies.
“Well, people don’t really look at the pledges anyway, and the media coverage is the same. Still, a lot of people came today. Feels like the wind is blowing.”
Ahn Jin-su must have wanted to hold on to even a sliver of hope.
I didn’t want to crush her expectations.
“If we keep this momentum, a come-from-behind victory might be possible.”
“Elections are all about momentum. We could still turn it around. Today’s energy is incredible.”
The candidate disappeared from view as he entered the market.
Supporters following behind cheered until their voices cracked.
Huh?
The procession of supporters seemed endless.
Could we really win if the wind kept blowing?
In my heart, the sprouts of hope began to grow rapidly.
A massive crowd gathering wherever the candidate campaigned. The rapidly narrowing gap in internal polling. Feeling that the wind was blowing on my skin, I held on to the hope of a reversal.
But the result was, unfortunately, a narrow defeat.
I spent the night at the local office watching the vote count broadcast.
Next to me, Ji Jeongseok sat with a dejected look on his face.
“The conservative rallying is terrifying. Not just the Chowan Blowfish Soup incident—when there’s a crisis, they unite superhumanly.”
A week before the election.
Our party received intelligence that an NIS agent was posting slanderous comments about our candidate, so we rushed to an officetel in Yeoksam-dong.
A reporter and the police came along, but the woman inside said she wasn’t an NIS agent and locked the door. Since we hadn’t received a search and seizure warrant, we couldn’t go in, and we failed to verify anything on-site.
Ji Jeongseok let out a deep sigh.
“That was unfortunate. It could’ve been a decisive turning point.”
“It’s already in the past.”
“There was even a golden cross three days before the election, wasn’t there?”
“We even took the lead for the first time. It was close, of course, but the momentum was good, and we were really pumped up.”
“That’s why it’s frustrating. And who issues a press release at 11 p.m. on the night of the TV debate? It was all rigged from the start.”
I agreed with him.
A golden cross had occurred, and just when we were supposed to ride the upward momentum after the TV debate, the police announced they found no trace of the NIS agent’s comments.
Did they really have to announce it right after the debate?
Facts aside, the timing was far too suspicious.
I asked Ji Jeongseok,
“Didn’t you hear any of the rumors?”
“There were some stories.”
“What kind of stories?”
“That someone using the ID ‘Leftist Beheading’ was stirring up regional conflict and leaving comments all over the place. And every time there was an article about the opposition candidate, malicious comments would appear, so people suspected an organized comment group.”
“But comments can be written by supporters gathering together. Our party members and supporters also post comments.”
During the general election, I even received proposals to help through comments. Many people offered various ideas that straddled the line between legal and illegal, but I rejected the idea of comment support because it felt shady.
Ji Jeongseok nodded and said,
“Still, it’s on a different level when a national institution is involved. If it’s true, it’s blatant intervention by the regime.”
I judged the intel the party received was unlikely to be false.
Whether she was really an NIS agent or someone paid to post comments, the fact that she locked herself in clearly showed she had something to hide.
But the election was already over, and with a difference of over a million votes, we had no choice but to concede.
“Jeongseok, if the investigation had been carried out properly, do you think our candidate would have won?”
“If a national institution really did run a comment operation, maybe. Remember the gubernatorial election where an illegal call center was busted in the final stretch and turned the tide?”
“But still, a million votes is a huge gap.”
“That’s true.”
The taste in my mouth turned bitter.
Losing felt unbearably uncomfortable.
“Cheonmyeong.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s going to be a bloodbath in the party. Since we lost, it’s certain we’ll move to an Emergency Committee. A full-scale battle for party leadership is about to begin.”
“Yeah, that’s likely.”
“The candidate and the Mainstream will have to disappear for a while. They’ll get another chance someday thanks to their overwhelming public recognition, but for now, they’ll be cast out.”
As expected, Ji Jeongseok understood politics well.
In any case, our candidate would become President next time.
I didn’t have the skill to compete with him, and I was aiming for the time after that.
“Should I pick a side wisely?”
“Either that, or push for a primary focused on the dues-paying party members.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“What other options are there? There’ll be plenty of people aiming for your constituency.”
“Of course there will be.”
Ji Jeongseok asked with a serious expression.
“What does the Candidate Screening Committee use to grade applicants?”
“Document review 50 points, candidate suitability and competitiveness 30 points, interview 20 points. A total of 100 points.”
“You don’t have any allies now. The Party Leader and Floor Leader are gone, and the Mainstream that rated you positively will vanish too.”
“I acknowledge that.”
“Getting the nomination next time won’t be easy. They can just assign the scores however they like. So pick your side carefully.”
“Haha. I guess you really do need to align yourself properly, no matter where you are.”
I laughed, but it didn’t feel good.
I didn’t want to play politics just to get in line, but I was a first-term lawmaker with no faction.
Reality was reality.
“That’s how the world works. If someone doesn’t pull you along, you can’t take even a single step forward.”
“Let’s watch the situation for now.”
“The way I see it, Kang Cheonmyeong isn’t the type to submit, which is why I’m worried. But you’re a first-term lawmaker, so I recommend you align yourself properly. Plan for the future.”
“Got it.”
Ji Jeongseok squinted and asked.
“I wonder if Reporter Song will be okay. They said firing the President wouldn’t lead to any repercussions, but is that really possible?”
No way.
I was worried about Song Min-chae too, but now wasn’t the time to worry about others.
In this political maelstrom, I had to survive no matter what.
For now, I’d just do as I pleased.
And if that didn’t work, I’d think of another way.