Chapter 57: The Reason The Balloon Didn’t Fly

Title: Withdrawing Support for Jiwooping 

I’m now supporting Horangping~

“Horangping is so cute! “

“I hope he becomes the president of the forest!!”

“Awwww…Horangping is insanely adorable.”

“I wish it showed up as Horangping at the inauguration ceremony for the President. Lol”

“My brain melted as soon as I saw the thumbnail.”

Ddu-ddya-tta…

Kang Jiwoo dressed in a tiger costume.

It was hard to pass by that visual when it appeared on the algorithm.

The play’s clumsiness?

In the face of such cuteness that lowered one’s intelligence, those things didn’t matter.

More than anything, Kang Jiwoo’s acting played a big part.

The acting was quite good.

For someone who never learned, it was surprisingly serious.

Title: Isn’t Horangping Surprisingly Good at Acting?

If it hadn’t done politics, it could’ve been a child actor in a drama, crushing the ratings.

“With that face, it would definitely be a lead role.”

“It’s cute how fully immersed in Horangping it seemed. Lol”

“Even the party members acted well. “

“Especially Hyung Banchan was so good at playing along. Lol”

“Why is Park Seokji so good at acting?”

“The acting is great, but the face carries it all; he totally looks like a villain. Lol”

“Definite villain visuals, lol”

“How can someone who looks like that be a loyalist? Lol”

There were also many mentions of the party members.

Park Seokji received praise for his unexpected acting skills and perfect casting.

There were also quite a few mentions of another cast member, Han Seoyoung.

The focus was a little different from Park Seokji, though.

Title: NSFW Warning: Han Seoyoung Bunny Girl Cosplay Photo

(Han Seoyoung acting in a bunny costume)

“Hey gay… What did you even expect?”

“I got fooled by this”

“It is a piece of shit”

“Damn it.”

“Give me back my bunny girl Siljangping!!!”

“Oh wow…you idiot;;”

“???”

“What’s with that suspiciously shady guy above?”

The video shot up to the top of the trending list, grabbing all the attention.

However, attention wasn’t everything about the content.

As Bong Sohee intended, this was closer to an open dialogue than a play.

“Because the tiger is still young, they’re worried it’ll just do whatever the adult animals tell it to do. What do you think?”

A baby tiger that does whatever the adult animals say.

It was worded cutely, but it was a significant criticism.

Behind-the-Scenes Power Holders,

It refers to an unofficial figure who essentially wields presidential authority.

For Kang Jiwoo, who lacked his own abilities, it was an unavoidable criticism.

Hearing this, Kang Jiwoo fell into deep thought with a serious expression.

After a bit of back-and-forth, the core question was posed:

“What about an adult president?”

“An adult president?”

“Yes… Can an adult president do everything alone…?”

Han Seoyoung was slightly surprised.

It was a question that hit the nail on the head.

Of course, that one question alone couldn’t resolve the criticism. 

If it were that simple, the party would have addressed it already.

The important thing wasn’t to avoid criticism completely.

It was about accepting the criticism and showing an effort to improve.

Han Seoyoung’s role was to help Kang Jiwoo show sincerity.

“A president can’t do everything alone. But comparatively, a child is more likely to be swayed by other animals, right?”

Then… who could protect him…

Kang Jiwoo’s large eyes looked up at Han Seoyoung.

They were puppy-like eyes, as if pleading for help.

“I’ll protect you. But that alone won’t be enough, so our Animal Party is also working on a policy to publicly share your daily schedule and meeting contents.”

“If we show it, I won’t be swayed?”

“Probably, right? The more people watching, the more transparent it’ll seem.”

Kang Jiwoo nodded as if he understood.

At that moment, his short tiger legs swayed excitedly on the chair.

It seemed he had a good idea.

“I thought of something great. I’ll show everything I do!”

“Show everything?”

“Yes! Like broadcasting it…”

A live-streaming president.

Of course, not all work could be revealed.

The presidency involves national secrets.

Even the president’s location itself is confidential.

There were significant realistic limitations…

‘But maybe as an event, it’s possible?’

If it’s something to do, then why not?

The world’s first streaming president might be born.

The video’s views continued to climb.

As time went on, there were more discussions about the content than about Kang Jiwoo’s cuteness.

Title: “Forest President Reads Hate Comments”

The play was just briefly shown in the beginning.

The rest was simply Han Seoyoung and Jiwoo sitting and discussing things.

But the content was surprisingly serious.

“Forest Friends of the Nation”

“Predator Rival Candidates”

The terms were just slightly altered, but everything revolved around Kang Jiwoo facing criticism.

It was like a toned-down version of “reading hate comments.”

Even when someone just downvotes my post, my heart races.

Yet Jiwooping, despite being so young, faces it all so confidently—it’s seriously admirable.

Jiwooping will go down as the greatest president ever.

It’s absurd.

At first, I thought it was just another random nonsense, but after reading it all, it kind of makes sense?

Honestly, is there any other presidential candidate who directly faces criticism or controversy?

Meanwhile, Yutugi brands anyone who criticizes him a communist. Hahaha.

There wasn’t anything groundbreaking.

Nor was it an especially bold move.

She simply accepted criticism.

And yet, public response was overwhelmingly positive.

Perhaps the strategy of lowering Bong Soohee’s “intelligence” worked perfectly.

Episode 1 of “Forest President Kang Jiwoo”

It spread relentlessly.

One particular segment captured in a photo began circulating across communities.

Title: “Why I, an Internet Addict, Will Vote for Kang Jiwoo”

(Kang Jiwoo saying she will livestream her daily life as president to the people)

“I want to see a ‘loli president’ stream.”

“Damn. Hahahahaha.”

For real though. 

If she wins:

“Farmer President’s Internet Broadcast Debut!”

While virtual streams are the trend these days, her idea hit differently.

Ah, the virtual streamers are doomed!

The idea of a sitting president debuting as a streamer…!

It was uncertain whether it would happen, but it caused enough cult-like buzz.

Kang Jiwoo’s most famous supporter in the world:

Elon Mengsk also posted about her.

Elon Mengsk (CEO of Tesler)

(Photo of Kang Jiwoo with a tiger)

(Translated)

“A child presidential candidate in South Korea has made a pledge. If elected, she will debut on Internet streaming. I am deeply moved by her, and I am considering how I can help her in my own way. Perhaps this marks the dawn of a new era of diplomacy.”

Nooo, Elon. 

Please don’t start something new. 

Just stick to your role, you bad-bottomed man.

It seemed like he was hinting at a new venture.

Though not exactly welcomed, thanks to Elon Mengsk, Kang Jiwoo’s global recognition continued to skyrocket.

—

“Directorping, Directorping, how many balloons do I need to fly away?”

In the party office, I was blowing balloons with Bong Soohee.

“About 100?”

“Gasp…”

“But Jiwooping is small, so she might float with just 10.”

There wasn’t a real reason.

Bong Soohee just brought them along.

A bunch of rubber balloons and a small helium tank.

According to her, it was leftover from long ago.

Who even needs helium balloons at home anyway?

Either way, Jiwooping was thrilled.

“Are you going to fly with the balloons?”

“Yes!”

“Where to?”

“Hmm… I’ll go eat hot dogs and blood sausage soup!”

She really wanted to fly away with balloons, like in some comic.

Holding the finished helium balloons, she bounced excitedly inside the office.

“Shoooong~ Shoooong~”

“Ah, we’re done.”

Unfortunately, we only managed to blow up five balloons.

It seemed the gas had nearly run out.

Bong Soohee handed me the five balloons.

I closed my eyes and stood still.

As I gripped the balloons, my arm slowly rose, and I felt as though my body was floating.

Of course, it was all just my imagination.

“…I’m not flying.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“Yeah… but only a little…”

“Well, it might be for the best. If you go too high, it’ll hurt when you fall.”

“Hmm… Can’t I just fall slowly?”

“Yeah.

The balloons burst all at once.”

That was the end of the balloon flight dream. Jiwooping  felt a little disappointed, but it was fun for a while.

The office atmosphere was bleak due to constant studying, but Bong Soohee sometimes playing around helped with stress management.

“Let’s go have lunch, Candidate.”

“Yes!”

“Director, you’re coming too, right?”

“Yeah, but let me just send an email first. Go ahead without me.”

“Should we order something for you?”

“King-sized pork cutlet.”

Lately, Jiwooping  had been obsessed with pork cutlets, so they kept going to pork cutlet restaurants. 

Fortunately, the place was well-known in the area, so even the party members had no complaints.

“Are you really going to carry those balloons around?”

“Yes… They look so cool, I have to take them with me…”

“They do look cool. Just don’t let go of them, okay?”

“Got it…!”

Holding a bunch of balloons, I stepped out of the building. 

At the entrance, I energetically greeted the security guard and handed him one of the balloons.

“This is a gift…!”

“Ha ha. Thank you~”

Feeling proud of doing something nice, my shoulders straightened with satisfaction!

After all, small acts of kindness are the shortcut to happiness.

However, we had to stop immediately in front of the building.

“Who are those people? Don’t tell me they’re coming for us…?”

A group of people approached me. 

They were armed with cameras and microphones, their steps unnecessarily grave and urgent – like hunters spotting a wolf.

“Kang Jiwoo, Candidate! Can we get an interview?”

They were reporters. Truthfully, this wasn’t new. 

Ever since my approval rating skyrocketed, reporters had been showing up frequently.

But this time, something felt different.

It was as if a dark aura was seeping from them. 

They looked as though they had grabbed onto a big story and weren’t letting go.

Microphones lunged at me like blades.

“There are corruption allegations against Bong Soohee—what are your thoughts?!”

“You two are known to be close friends. Were you aware of the admission scandal?”

Bong Soohee’s corruption?

That’s just a conspiracy theory spreading among YouTubers.

There’s no proper evidence—just baseless rumors.

But apparently, something had shifted.

“Representative Yoo Hangchul has personally brought up Bong Soohee’s corruption allegations! As a party leader and presidential candidate, you need to state your position!”

What?

The legend of the media world, Representative Yoo, mentioned this conspiracy theory?

Wait a second.

It’s more likely Yoo Hangcheol’s side leaked it first, isn’t it?

“Are you saying you knew nothing about this?!”

“Where is Bong Soohee right now?”

“Please say something!”

The microphones kept closing in. 

Han Seoyoung quickly pulled me aside, but the reporters wouldn’t stop.

Some even fought among themselves, shoving and falling over.

“Eek!”

“Ah!”

“Don’t push!”

Because of the chaos, my party members and I ended up stuck in the crowd.

“The balloons…!”

In the confusion, my small hand let go of the balloons.

“I wasn’t supposed to let them gooo…!”

Whoosh—

The balloons floated away, resisting nothing as they drifted into the sky.

But then, they stopped at a reasonable height.

Instead of disappearing into the distance, the balloons remained in place.

Swish.

Bong Soohee appeared just in time, grabbing the balloons and handing them back to me.

“I knew this would happen, so I attached clips.”

Clips were tied to the ends of the strings.

Their weight kept the balloons from floating too high.

“Wow… Director Soohee, you’re a genius…!”

See? What insane insight.

I’m telling you—she’s a genius!