chapter 2
2. Sponsors
The day after I received the winning certificate, I visited the National Assembly.
To be exact, the Assembly Hall with 300 Members’ Offices. Several of the aides of the failed congressman puffed their cigarettes while looking at me in vain.
I didn’t come here because I wanted to humiliate people who lost their jobs.
The target is the re-election that I assisted for nearly 4 years, no, the 3rd term now. It was an old boss who had entered the ranks of the middle class.
Na Hye-ri, member of the National Assembly of the Peace Party.
Not all members of the National Assembly are the same. The weight of the gold badge was the same, but her influence differed greatly from member to member.
Na Hye-ri was one of the top 10 figures in the Peace Party.
Do you like politics? She wasn’t like that, she was just a noble from birth.
She was a hereditary Member of Parliament who inherited her constituency from her mother, the former head of the National Assembly. Her wealth is so great that some say that it is difficult to live without stepping on the family land in her constituency.
In fact, out of the real estate that I, Hye-ri, owns, even if we look only at her forest land, she is close to the size of six soccer fields. Because of that, she was sniped in the news every season of her fortune, saying that she was a land-rich lawmaker.
It was right to stay close to such a nobleman from now on.
“Sorry. Greetings late, Senator.”
Na Hye-ri greeted me personally.
Short hair while. An asymmetrical skirt, black stockings that subtly peeked out her thighs. Even though it was right after her election, she looked healthy without a sign of tiredness.
She’s been very good at taking care of her body, considering she’s in her mid-thirties. It is common for women who like to drink and smoke to gain weight at that age.
“Oh, come in. It’s Suho.”
Openly palm. Na Hye-ri didn’t do this to just anyone. She probably thinks there’s nothing wrong with being comfortable with me.
Contrary to his comfortable title, he didn’t seem to have any intention of treating me as a secretary.
“Me, Congressman. In fact, I think I need to ask for your understanding. Sorry but now….”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell you to play rounds…. But even if it were me, how would I refuse if the old people seduced me to become a public official? It was only before that I hit it off in place of you, but it won’t be easy to refuse now, right?”
“I am afraid that I will appear on a broadcast soon and be afraid to say that I am having a hard time because of the rumor that I won the ball for entertainment golf. Then you will know how to control yourself.”
“Still, who is the person pushing? Elders don’t care about other people’s feelings.”
“It means that you have no intention of caring about me, so I think you can just refuse.”
“Reasonable. Even if you show it well to the grandmothers, it’s not nutritious…. Oh, I won’t be ugly, so don’t worry.”
The proof was that they didn’t say let’s play golf together. I shouldn’t have been touched by something like this, but I felt that I had succeeded anew.
But you have to be polite. At this point, I have to appeal that I am in your sphere of influence so that I can use it as a backing boat in the future.
The method was to ask for help.
You may think it’s strange, but it was a method that worked surprisingly well for someone who had both money and power.
‘There’s no point in giving a cheap gift to a wealthy nobleman.’
Even if I vaguely gave something like red ginseng or wine, it couldn’t impress me at all. I’d rather hate being treated like an old man. Rather, it was best to make a request that was not too burdensome so that he could show off his influence.
“Me, Congresswoman Na Hye-ri. I’m sorry for asking you this right after the election, but… Could you please take over as the president of my sponsorship?”
“Sponsorship Chairman?”
“Yes. Of course, if you can afford it.”
“I can afford it, but with Suho, I can find someone better than me, so I don’t know why he bothered to borrow my name.”
I don’t know. Obviously knowing
Seeing the lines drawn in my eyes, it seemed that Na Hye-ri could clearly see through my thoughts. Of course, she must know what it means to ask the same councilor to take over the sponsorship chairperson.
“It’s not easy to ask someone else. A young proportional representative could be criticized for being only interested in donations, right?”
“Okay. You’re asking, I can’t refuse by the way.”
“I will give you one-point lessons from time to time.”
“Thank you. I still haven’t gotten a feel for long irons.”
“No one handles that well at the amateur level. Don’t beat yourself up.”
Time to build friendship while giving and receiving moderately. Na Hye-ri smiled seductively as she leaned back as if satisfied.
At first glance, it was a trivial but necessary process.
‘Because I have to stand in line for someone anyway.’
There are 300 members of the National Assembly. The reality was that most of them were treated as minors, and few were proud enough to survive on their own. If there is no one to protect you in an emergency situation, it will be difficult to spend your four years in office safely.
Actually, male lawmakers tend to look after each other around men, but… I didn’t really want to join the ranks. I don’t mean to curse, but there tends to be too much about men’s rights.
If you had to lean on a big player, it was right to choose someone you were close to. In that sense, it was very fortunate that my old boss was a real person.
I don’t think there’s going to be a crisis, but insurance is essential. I looked up to Hyeri with her eyes full of respect.
*
For Na Hye-ri, the third member of the Peace Party, the political arena was a very boring world.
Maybe it’s because I don’t have to go through a crisis, so I feel like I’m spinning around every day.
All of this was thanks to the solid foundation her mother, who was a 7th line, laid down and handed down. It was even said that running as an independent would increase her vote.
I feel very sorry for her voters, but in fact, her entry into politics itself was not my will. It was her mother’s recommendation.
I have tried putting it off to her brother, but it has failed miserably. Her mother was an old man who openly said, “A man should keep the kitchen discreetly.” Her brother, her full-time housewife, also did not seem to want to inherit the constituency.
That’s why she entered the political world on a whim, and it was me, Hyeri, who came this far after many years.
Now the third line. Fortunately, it seemed like there would be nothing to be bored from this year.
It was thanks to her appearance that her old subordinate, who she cared for quite a bit, became her colleague.
‘I live really hard. As soon as the election is over, she runs around sucking.’
Na Hye-ri smiled and looked at Lee Su-ho.
Unlike the slender boys of her age, her face was in line with her strong body that had grown her muscles quite a bit.
It would be a lie if I said that Suho Lee did not give extra points for appearance when he first applied for an internship. He’s a little too tall, but his face is more than compliant. It was a reality that having a cute-looking male intern made the office atmosphere lively. Dealing with tough complaints is getting easier.
However, it wasn’t just because of his appearance that he cared for that friend.
‘I’m not a friend who works while receiving a civil servant salary, really.’
It’s been a while since I quit, but Lee Suho was once a great golfer.
A promising player who participated in the challenge tour as an amateur when he was in middle school and high school and ranked in the top ranks, and won several championships in junior competitions.
If he had grown up as expected, he would have been sitting on a pile of money by now. Korea is a country where men’s golf is more popular than women’s golf. There were more competitions and the prize money was higher.
He wondered why he had stopped playing such good golf in the first place, so he asked someone to find out.
“Mr. Lee Su-ho’s mother is a police officer. She came in as a constable, and now she’s a constable. I don’t know, but I don’t think Lee Soo-ho’s friend is without credit. He says that since he was in middle school, he has been called over 80 times to a golf course owned by the National Police Agency.”
He meant that since childhood he had been playing de facto entertainment golf.
He probably didn’t even receive the reward money as he suffered as he did. Sorry, I didn’t find out about the details, but the reason he gave up being a professional golfer probably had nothing to do with his parents. I felt sorry for him, so he treated me better from then on.
Of course, Na Hye-ri made him play golf.
But I didn’t wear it because I needed a teacher. Because she is the one who can invite active female players active in the PGA if she wants to.
‘If I hadn’t monopolized it, it would have been circulated here and there. Maybe.’
The political world was a world where talent donation was taken for granted. There were too many humans who asked for help for free if they had any talent. If Lee Soo-ho hadn’t put a name tag of Na Hye-ri on his back, he would have had a hard time waking up.
Lee Su-ho, the person in charge, was unaware of Na Hye-ri’s consideration, not consideration.
“Ah, Senator. You can call us at any time when not in session. I owe you something, and I have to pay it back step by step.”
… Seeing you say such a cruel thing.
I didn’t feel particularly sad. It was because Na Hye-ri didn’t help because she felt a great sense of responsibility anyway.
The same was true of this proportional nomination. To be honest, she was more like pushing a car that was boring, half for fun. With the thought that it would be good if she did well, but there was nothing she could do about it even if she were to die.
“Ah, Suho. Do you want to help me raise money while I’m in charge of the sponsorship chairman? If I preemptively plug in about 500 and then make a few phone calls, about 45,000 will come together right away, right?”
“Thank you for your words, but it’s okay. Sooner or later, I don’t think I will have to worry about political funds.”
“Hmm?”
When she asked if money had fallen from the sky, the answer came back that her coin investment was successful.
The entire market is in a downtrend, but Kimchi Coin, Mana, is doing well alone. He said that he invested in it in the early days of listing, and now it has become a major coin ranked 5th or 6th in market cap.
‘Mana? I think I heard it at first glance.’
Right before the general election, I heard that the Civil Affairs Office at the Blue House was making a fuss over domestic coins, but I didn’t think there was a need to mention it to Suho. It’s not a lot of money anyway (although that’s Na Hye-ri’s standard), and Lee Su-ho isn’t directly involved with the publisher.
I like that I made money, but there was no need to be discouraged. But.
“I think it would be better to dispose of it quickly. I am not forcing you.”
“Yes. Will sell soon I plan to sell quietly and then not even look at the coin side.”
That should be enough. She just smiled, thinking that I, Hyeri, didn’t need to interfere anymore. If you exaggerate too much, you might get a bad feeling.