Chapter 1 : The Committee’s Best Member of the Month

Trucks can be seen frequently on the streets.

They are trucks for presidential candidate campaigns.

Shouting encouragement until their voices break,

listening to the citizens’ voices, and party members performing cheesy dance routines.

Right now, South Korea was in the middle of the presidential campaign period.

• A worker who sees the future!
• A young president, a young Korea!
• Innovation! Progress! Leap forward! A solid choice for a better future!
• Vote for Candidate No. 5 Kang Jiwoo!

I am Kang Jiwoo.

The first 30-something presidential candidate in South Korea’s history.

I’m not exactly sure how I ended up running for president.

I just worked hard and did my best in the given moments.

To be honest, I was lucky.

Politics is like a vast river.

Politicians are just leaves floating down that turbulent current.

It doesn’t matter if you’re ahead or behind for the moment. You could get stuck on an obstacle at any time or ride the current to get ahead.

I just happened to catch the flow a bit better than others.

I was lucky.

“Candidate, the Gallup poll results are out.”

“Red or blue?”

“Red……!”

A grin spread across my face.

Of course, it should rise.

Just yesterday.

I destroyed the candidates from the two major parties in the TV debate.

“9.7%! It’s within the margin of error, but still on the rise!”

Han Seoyoung was bubbling with joy.

She was the chief of staff and a junior who had been with me for a long time.

“Hmm….”

“Aren’t you happy?”

“I thought it would surpass 10%. Is that all the impact the TV debate had?”

“You did win the debate, of course. But there was some feedback that you were too sharp.”

“Too sharp? I was being so gentle!”

“Oh, please. At least fix your tie properly.”

Han Seoyoung undid my tie and re-tied it for me.

“You’re a great candidate, but you’re too aggressive.”

I felt wronged.

Shouldn’t it be called being logical, not aggressive?

As if reading my thoughts, Han Seoyoung scolded me.

“Winning is important, but sometimes you need to show a harmonious side too. Be soft. Soft and white like tofu.”

“You want me to channel tofu when those candidates are spewing crap left and right? I should be pouring spicy hotpot broth on their mouths, not acting like tofu!”

I consider myself to have strong patience.

The fact that I held back in that low-level debate is proof.

“They say they’ll solve the job crisis by increasing public sector jobs, and that’s fine. But when I pointed out the insufficient budget, they say they’ll take money from the defense budget? How can I not raise my voice?”

At some point, the level of politics had deteriorated.

Worries for the future, political philosophy, and logic had disappeared,

and now only personal interests, political connections, and slander ran rampant.

What’s left of this field is thin populism.

“Those people probably don’t even know what they’re saying. I entered this field to fight with facts. If I were going to do it half-heartedly, I wouldn’t have gotten involved.”

Squeeze.

“Eek.”

Han Seoyoung pulled my tie tight, choking my neck.

“Respected Candidate? Facts are great, but we need to get the election costs reimbursed, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“If you don’t want all of us starving, you need to soften up, right?”

“Everything you say is correct, chief. Haha…”

Election costs.

Our party had poured 8 billion won into this election.

If we exceed 15% of the vote, we’ll get 100% of the election costs reimbursed.

If we exceed 10%, we’ll get half reimbursed.

Below that? We get nothing.

What if we end up with single-digit support?

‘Our party will go bankrupt…’

Not a joke, but a real possibility.

Earning 8 billion won as a small party is no easy feat.

And the actual costs not covered by law increase the total even more.

“It’s time. Let’s move now.”

“Let’s go.”

I left the office and headed to the agreed-upon location.

On a large outdoor stage.

In the middle of Seoul, our party members and supporters were gathered.

After finishing the prepared speech, the crowd cheered passionately.

“Kang Jiwoo! Kang Jiwoo! Kang Jiwoo!”

I belong to a minor party with little chance of winning.

These are people cheering for someone as insignificant as me.

They are the ones who understand the sincerity that others claim is too sharp.

As I watch them, I feel a lump in my throat despite myself.

“I am Kang Jiwoo, candidate number 5! I will keep moving forward!”

For these people,

for the citizens,

for all of our futures, I will run.

“I will…! I will definitely repay you…!”

I will gladly burn this body for it.

I had a dream.

The presidential candidate leading the polls had died.

Cause of death: using a fan while sleeping.

The second-place candidate resigned voluntarily.

During their campaign, their reptilian identity was revealed when their skin peeled off.

Thanks to that, I, the third-place candidate, became president.

It was a dream where, even though I became president, my party and I acted absurdly.

‘Wow! Since we won, we’ll get 100% of the election costs reimbursed!’

‘We were almost broke but survived!’

‘Kang Jiwoo is the best!’

I’m president, yet we’re still talking about election costs?

Now our party can stand tall as the ruling party!

We can instantly transform into a large party with overflowing funds!

“Ugh…”

Around that time, I woke up.

I had woken up early because of my own voice.

“Uuuugh.”

No matter how tired I was from yesterday’s speech, why was I making that weird sound?

It was such a cute sound, I felt disgusted with myself.

I was wide awake now…

Rustle.

I threw off the blanket and stretched.

“Haaaah.”

Why did my voice keep sounding like that?

Did I catch a cold?

When I came to my senses, I realized my pajamas were ridiculously large.

The sleeves were flapping around.

“Wha?”

No, my clothes didn’t get bigger.

My body got smaller.

“My… my body shrank?”

My voice had changed to that of a girl’s too.

I didn’t even have such a high-pitched voice before puberty.

A chill ran down my spine as I sensed something was terribly wrong.

I slowly stood up and walked over to the mirror.

In the mirror stood a ‘young elementary school girl.’

“…

•Huhhh???”

What is this?

Is this a dream?

I pinched my cheek and stretched it.

It was so elastic, like a chewy rice cake.

“Ow, that hurts.”

I could feel pain.

And the surroundings were far too realistic.

So, this is real?

I really turned into a little girl?

“???”

Wait. Hold on.

I think I heard about a rare disease like this.

No way, right?

“This better not be real.”

I grabbed my smartphone and searched.

TS Syndrome (Trans-Sexual Syndrome) is an extremely rare disease where an adult male suddenly transforms into a female body, with age changes being random.

TS Syndrome.

It sounded like an absurd rare disease.

But apparently, it’s real.

Even the academic community acknowledges it.

So, I have TS Syndrome?

Just my luck.

But there’s got to be a way to overcome this, right?

I kept reading the document.

It was a bit long, but I am a politician from one of Korea’s top universities.

I read documents like this every day, so this was nothing.

1. The process and symptoms of onset

TS Syndrome generally occurs upon waking from sleep.

All characteristics of the body change with the gender transformation.

A common symptom is a significant decrease in intelligence…

“Yawn… I’m sleepy.”

Maybe it’s because it’s morning?

I can’t seem to focus.

I get the gist, so let’s skip ahead.

The most important part: the cure.

I’m in the middle of a presidential election.

How can I function as a little girl in such an urgent situation?

There is currently no known cure for TS Syndrome.

“Gasp. What do I do…?”

I’m totally screwed.

I’ve tried hard not to curse even in my mind since I entered politics, but this is just too much.

How am I supposed to deal with the rest of the election like this?

What about my fellow party members who’ve fought alongside me?

What about the supporters who believed in me??

And what about the 8 billion won we spent on this campaign???

“Uuuu… we need to get over 10 percent… If we don’t, my friends and I will all be broke…”

Even my speech is starting to sound ridiculous now.

“Let’s begin emergency… strategy… meeting…”

“It’s ‘meeting,’ not ‘strategy,’ Candidate?”

“St-strategy… meeting…”

I called an emergency meeting with all the party leaders who were out campaigning.

Of course, this was all at my command.

But as I stood before these grown-ups, I suddenly felt scared…

Wait, scared?

Why am I scared? My body may have shrunk, but I’m still an adult!

“Is this really Kang Jiwoo, our candidate?”

“Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?”

“We’re in the middle of a crucial campaign! What kind of nonsense is this?!”

“Is this a joke? Where is Candidate Kang Jiwoo?!”

The senior members were fuming.

And rightfully so.

Even I, the person in question, still couldn’t believe what had happened to me.

How baffled must they be?

Bang.

Han Seoyoung, my chief of staff, slammed her hand on the table.

The room instantly fell silent.

She clicked a remote, and the screen displayed a medical certificate.

“This is the diagnosis we just received from the hospital. This is no joke. The candidate has been diagnosed with TS Syndrome and has transformed into a young girl.”

Thanks to Han Seoyoung and the others’ explanations, the senior members began to reluctantly accept the situation.

“Th-this is real?”

“This can’t be true…”

“The election is doomed.”

I know the election is doomed.

But even so, the reason I gathered everyone here was…

“We still have to get over 10 percent…”

…because of the campaign reimbursement.

It’s my last desperate effort to do right by those who believed in me.

As I stammered, Han Seoyoung stepped in to speak on my behalf.

“The candidate is right. We have to secure the campaign reimbursement.”

“But what are we supposed to do in this state?”

“If we do nothing, we’ll all be holding hands as we head to the Han River. We need to squeeze out something, anything.”

“Ahem. Chief of Staff! Watch your words!”

“Maybe you’ll be fine with your seat in the assembly, but the rest of us won’t be. If we lose all our campaign funds, our party will be stuck in a rut for the next ten years. Unless, of course, you plan to personally fund us, Assemblyman.”

“Hmm…”

Money, money, money.

Money was the central issue.

When money came up, the party members’ faces looked like they aged ten years.

Maybe that’s why they suddenly became more pragmatic, offering suggestions one by one.

“This is practically an accident. Shouldn’t the government cover the election costs?”

“As long as the election isn’t suspended, the costs are reimbursed based on vote percentage.”

“Why don’t we throw everything away and go for a sympathy campaign?”

“That’s not politics. That’s begging.”

“Then we’ll have to change the candidate. If we’re talking about a replacement, I’m the only option.”

“Assemblyman, go outside and ask random people if they know your name. I bet none of them do.”

“Then what’s the solution? We’re running out of options!”

No matter how much my wise colleagues debated, no clear solution emerged.

Ah… Why do I suddenly feel like crying?

Is this really how my political career ends?

I at least thought I’d make it to being a minister.

“This is driving me crazy…”

Han Seoyoung ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.

Her gaze shifted toward a woman sitting quietly.

“Director Bong Soohee. Don’t just sit there spacing out. You’re our media and publicity consultant, after all. Do you have any suggestions?”

“…”

A woman with an oddly fox-like expression sat with a bemused look.

Her name was Bong Soohee.

We went to college together.

She wasn’t a politician by trade but had been brought in to help the campaign.

She had a reputation for being a talented director in the advertising industry, so we recruited her, but…

She always sat there with a bored expression, lost in her thoughts.

Her lazy posture, with her elbows on the table and her face resting on her hand, was just part of the package.

“Director? Anything you want to say?”

Bong Soohee blinked her eyes slowly and then finally spoke in a casual tone.

“Just go for a cute concept.”

C…cute?

“???”

Everyone’s faces lit up with question marks.

They were reacting as if she had just spoken complete nonsense.

She casually scratched her back with a backscratcher she pulled out of nowhere and elaborated in her usual nonchalant manner.

“Everyone loves cute things, no matter their age.”

“What… what are you talking about?”

“Sure, Candidate Kang is cute but…”

“It’s still a presidential election. Shouldn’t we focus on policy?”

People murmured in confusion.

Bong Soohee casually replied without much thought.

“Hardly anyone votes based on policies anyway, right?”

“!”

Was… was that persuasive…?

“So just dress Kang Jiwoo up cutely. I’m just an advisor, so I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to sleep now. I’m dead tired.”

Sigh.

So, what she’s saying is…

That I should present myself as cute to the public?

Me, Kang Jiwoo, the fierce debate warrior…

…should become cute…?

“Hehe… Hehehehe…”

Stop enjoying this, damn it!!!!