A fresh breeze in politics.
A new political paradigm.
The politics of a new era…!
All of these were evaluations directed at Kang Jiwoo.
And it wasn’t just empty words.
“Hello, this is Kim Changseong with News Breaker!”
“Since the second presidential debate, the political scene has been abuzz with compliments! Politicians from opposing parties are showering praise on one another! Let’s take a look at the footage!”
“Though we belong to opposing parties, aren’t we all colleagues in the end?”
“Criticizing, fighting, and slandering… that’s not what politics is about. Unity and cooperation are what matter.”
“The Republican Party’s pledges are commendable, particularly their security policies. I must praise them for that.”
“Politicians complimenting their opponents? During a presidential election? This is truly shocking!”
“That’s right. It seems Kang Jiwoo’s influence is at play here.”
“The citizens’ reactions have also been positive! They’re saying it’s refreshing to see politicians praising one another after witnessing constant criticism!”
Amid the heartwarming news, the anchor suddenly began to rage.
“But here’s the thing!! Today, Representative Gan Sinha of the New Breeze Democratic Party said this: ‘Kang Jiwoo should just go back to school!'”
Of course, not everyone was full of praise.
Some politicians continued their harsh negativity.
The anchor was furious.
“Is that something an adult should say?! The kid is promoting harmony, giving out thank-you cards, and doing her best!! Representative Gan Sinha!!! Aren’t you ashamed as an adult?! Reflect on yourself!!!”
It wasn’t a broadcast mishap.
The show was always like this—prone to heated rants.
After cooling down through a discussion with a panelist, the anchor delivered the next piece of news.
“The Future Marriage Ginkgo Korea Party has gone viral with their promotional video for the presidential fund. Let’s watch it together!”
The video began with Kang Jiwoo bowing at a perfect 90 degrees.
“Hello~ This is Kang Jiwoo~!”
A small girl with a modest height greeted politely, effortlessly bringing smiles to viewers’ faces.
Kang Jiwoo read from a script.
“Thank you for your constant support… I promise to bring… great policies and leadership…”
Her greeting was somewhat typical.
The gist was simple: they’d opened a presidential fund, and she was asking for support.
“If you all lend your strength, we can build a wonderful Korea! Thank you~!”
The video ended with another bow.
Or so it seemed.
A caption appeared:
(Bonus Recorder Performance)
A squeaky, off-key recorder melody began to play.
It was a performance by Kang Jiwoo.
Her skills were a disaster.
But her focused expression and proud smile were so endearing they made people laugh despite themselves.
As the performance ended, a tiny voice could be heard:
“By the way… if there’s money left… can I buy just one hot dog…?”
“Hahaha.”
(We bought her a hot dog right after filming.)
With this caption, the video concluded.
Even her promotional video for the presidential fund was irresistibly cute.
Among her supporters, sharing proof of fund participation became a trend.
—
Title: Joined Kang Jiwoo’s Fund
“I didn’t have much money, so I borrowed 5,000 won from Sanhwa Money. Now I’ll get to see Jiwoo Ping become president, right?”
(Frog character giving a thumbs-up)
Sanhwa Money?
“You’re basically making your life a hard mode by yourself… If Jiwoo Ping becomes president, the KOSPI will hit 5,000, and you’ll pay off that debt, haha.”
—
Title: Stole My Mom’s Card to Join the Fund
“My mom supports Yoo Hangcheol. I told her it was for Yoo Hangcheol’s fund and secretly joined Jiwoo Ping’s fund instead. So worth it.”
“Crazy dude hahaha.”
“What a filial child hahaha.”
“Your mom got scammed hahaha.”
“After reading this, I’m off to steal my grandma’s account for the fund.”
“Hahaha… you’re nuts hahaha.”
Kang Jiwoo’s fund was off to a great start.
—
The sun was shining brightly one morning.
The weather was so pleasant you could almost smell the warmth in the air.
Holding Han Seoyoung’s hand in one hand and a recorder in the other, I hopped along cheerfully.
“I’m going to become a recorder master!!”
For some reason, Jiwoo Ping never let go of the recorder these days.
It seemed she was quite fond of it.
“Her playing is dreadful, but…”
Well, practice makes perfect.
“Candidate, why are you so excited today? Feeling good?”
“Yes! Because the weather is amazing…!”
Jiwoo Ping, hopping with joy just because of the good weather!
Let’s live life as happily as Jiwoo Ping!
Hand in hand with Han Seoyoung, Jiwoo Ping headed to the Office of Budget and Planning.
Today, I had to spend money.
By the way, our campaign’s planning and finance office is still outside the building.
In a shabby tent, no less.
“Director, it’s Manager Han. May I come in?”
“Come in!”
I unzipped the tent and stepped inside.
Gu Doseok was sitting cross-legged, engrossed in something.
“Director? What are you doing?”
“Making a toad. A golden one.”
“A golden toad?”
“Yes. Don’t they say that placing a golden toad brings in money?”
Han Seoyoung looked at Gu Doseok with a somewhat baffled expression.
“But that’s just yellow sticky notes…”
What Gu Doseok held wasn’t a golden toad.
It was a yellow post-it.
He was folding countless origami frogs with it.
“We can’t afford a real golden toad, can we? If you don’t have teeth, you chew with your gums.”
With that, Gu Doseok flicked a post-it toad toward me.
It was folded so well that it hopped and landed right on my knee.
“Heheh… Look at it jump…”
“These are all yours, Representative. Carry them around, lose them if you must, but keep them at your office and home.”
“Thank you…”
My interest immediately piqued.
I started bouncing the yellow frog around, playing by myself.
“…”
I even made sound effects with my mouth as I played.
The way it bounced was oddly addictive.
Of course, my ears stayed open, focusing on the conversation between Han Seoyoung and Gu Doseok.
“Director, what’s that cat drawing behind you?”
“It’s not a cat. It’s a tiger.”
“Well, whatever.”
“A tiger painting wards off bad luck. We must ensure our candidate’s approval ratings don’t drop.”
Gu Doseok’s fussing wasn’t without reason.
‘He’s in charge of the presidential campaign fund.’
Anyone could suggest issuing a campaign fund.
But Gu Doseok was the final decision-maker.
When it came to money, he ranked higher than me, the candidate, or even my deputy, Han Seoyoung.
‘What if, by some absurd chance, my approval rating drops below 15%?
Goodbye to election reimbursements.
Hello to political retirement.
The start of a grueling journey to repay debts.’
“Anyway, why not return to the office now? We’ve secured enough funds with the campaign.”
“That’s impossible. There’s no guarantee the money will keep coming in. Besides, if we show any signs of improvement, party members will storm in, demanding we hand out money…”
Why does Gu Doseok continue staying in a tent?
‘To look pitiful.’
Looking pitiful might make party members feel guilty about asking for money.
What a ruthless man.
Then again, that’s why I recruited him.
“Well, if that’s the case…”
“By the way, you came here for a reason, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I need some funds.”
“Gasp…!”
At the mention of money, Gu Doseok recoiled as if he’d been attacked.
If I asked for too much, he might even cough up blood.
“It’s absolutely necessary.”
Han Seoyoung handed over an approval document.
“E…eighty million?”
“We’re planning to replace all promotional materials after a photoshoot. Just for today, we need eighty million, and there will be more expenses starting tomorrow.”
Gu Doseok froze.
He looked like a golden statue.
“Boing~ Boing~”
I flicked golden frogs at him.
Even with my teasing, he remained motionless.
‘No wonder he’s scared. The sources of incoming funds are fixed, but the expenses are endless.’
Spending money?
There’s a ton of it!
Having hit rock bottom once, Gu Doseok must be even more afraid of spending.
But sometimes, you have to spend money.
Replacing posters and banners is especially urgent.
Even now, the streets are still plastered with posters of Kang Jiwoo as number five, pre-transition.
Sure, my face was handsome back then, but since it’s changed, it won’t help the election.
“Do we really have to use this studio? It seems far more expensive than the average.”
“I booked an expensive one on purpose. You know the camera doesn’t do justice to our candidate’s cuteness. Only the best photographer can capture even 80% of this beauty.”
I learned from others that I’m not photogenic.
They say the camera doesn’t capture even half of my actual appearance.
No wonder Bong Soohee struggled so much when taking my photos.
It must have been an effort to achieve the best results in a limited situation.
“Please stamp your approval quickly. We need to put our candidate’s face up across the country as soon as possible.”
“……”
Groaning, Gu Doseok rummaged through the tightly hidden backpack.
What he carefully pulled out was a seal.
Shiver, shiver.
The hand holding the seal trembled violently in the air.
“Th-then… I’ll stamp it…”
“I’ll stamp it now!”
Click.
The camera flash went off.
“Great job.”
“I think the photo came out so beautifully. As expected of Photographer Seongjun.”
“Haha. It’s because the model is great.”
Lee Seongjun.
He was a photographer who ran his own studio.
From family photos to wedding pictures and even cosplay shots, he didn’t limit himself to any specific genre.
His skills had become well-known through word of mouth, earning him a solid reputation in the industry.
“No time to rest.”
Checking the time, Lee Seongjun immediately started preparing for the next shoot.
Today, he had a special model lined up.
Kang Jiwoo.
It was the day he would take profile and concept photos for the much-discussed presidential candidate.
“Hmm…”
While setting up the studio, he looked up information about Kang Jiwoo.
He wasn’t very interested in politics and didn’t know much about her.
“Rising approval ratings because she’s cute? Does that even make sense?”
This wasn’t some joke of an election.
Who would vote for someone just because they’re cute?
The world must be going crazy.
Clicking his tongue, Lee Seongjun skimmed through articles and comments about Kang Jiwoo.
“My heart hurts… She’s on another level of cuteness!”
“A person born to spread cuteness across the world!”
“My spouse and I originally decided to be child-free, but after seeing Candidate Kang Jiwoo, we’ve decided to have kids~ Isn’t she the only politician who can solve the low birthrate crisis?><“
“Vote for Jiwoo-ping, and let’s take the KOSPI to 5,000!”
The endless stream of praise-filled comments.
Solving the low birthrate crisis just by existing?
Raising the KOSPI to 5,000 if she gets elected?
“Ha!”
A snort escaped him.
What nonsense.
Solving low birthrates was one thing, but how could cuteness possibly influence the stock market?
“They’re making such a fuss… How cute could she possibly be?”
He checked out her photos and videos.
His expression didn’t budge.
Having worked with countless child models in his studio, he had developed an immunity to cuteness.
“As expected, it’s just hype.”
He admitted she was cute.
But at best, it was the level of a regular model.
Certainly not worth all the fuss, in his opinion.
At that moment, his phone buzzed.
It was a message from Han Seoyoung, the campaign manager.
Han Seoyoung: Hello, Photographer! We’ll be arriving in about 5 minutes~
Han Seoyoung: Please make sure our candidate looks super cute and adorable today~
Seongjun: Don’t worry. ^^
Han Seoyoung: Our candidate doesn’t look great on camera…
Han Seoyoung: I feel like the photos never capture even half of her charm.
Han Seoyoung: But I’m sure your work will make all the difference, right?
Han Seoyoung: (with a sparkly-eyed emoji)
“She’s not even her kid, but she acts like an overbearing mom,” he muttered, annoyed.
Was it because Han Seoyoung’s words sounded subtly provocative?
Or perhaps the fact that an elementary school candidate for president felt absurd to him?
To Lee Seongjun, it all seemed like mockery toward the public.
He thought about ignoring the messages but decided to respond casually.
Seongjun: If the model’s charm is 100, I’ll bring out 150, maybe even 200. Haha.
Seongjun: And for kid shoots, as long as the model follows my directions, there’s no issue. ^^;
The only variable in results was when kids got bored or lost focus.
“As long as the model does her part, there’s no problem, lady.”
With 15 years of experience and being at the top of his field, his confidence was well-earned.
A short while later, Kang Jiwoo’s team arrived.
“Hello~ I’m Kang Jiwoo~ Candidate No. 5 for president~”
Lee Seongjun finally met Kang Jiwoo in person.
“…!”
The thought that crossed his mind at that moment was:
“K-KOSPI 5,000…!”
The kind of cuteness that could make KOSPI 5,000 seem possible.
Perhaps it wasn’t an exaggeration after all.
It’s hard to explain exactly, but there’s this instinctive feeling, like some sort of mechanism will make the KOSPI skyrocket………!
“Can I really take a good picture of this kid…………?!”
Soon, an overwhelming sense of pressure swept over me, almost to the point of fear.
It felt as if the fate of domestic retail investors was resting in my hands.