Chapter 67: Politics Is Done With The Body

“Grandma will make even tastier food!”

Park Seok-ji made a confident declaration.

He always took pride in his wife’s cooking whenever food came up in conversation. He seemed thrilled at the thought of showing me her cooking.

“But… is there really anything tastier than hot dogs?”

“Haha! Of course! You’ll probably be amazed!”

“Wow…”

Something tastier than hot dogs.

My mouth was watering at the thought.

“Slurp…”

As I imagined the food, licking my lips in anticipation,

From behind Park Seok-ji, Secretary Song Yeon suddenly appeared. 

She clung to Han Seoyoung’s arm, pleading.

“Can’t we let her sleep over at my place today? Please? You know how much I like the candidate~”

Song Yeon liked me. 

She was a cheerful person with a lively personality and a fondness for cute things. 

Whenever she saw me, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“No.”

However, Han Seo-young remained firm.

“Why not…?”

“Song Yeon, you live alone.”

“So what?”

“No matter how much the candidate’s body has changed, she was originally a man. It wouldn’t be proper for a young woman like you to be alone with her.”

Hmm… She had a point.

Even I was more comfortable around men than women.

“But you’re also a young woman, Chief.”

“That’s different!”

“How so?”

“We’ve known each other for a long time…”

“Long enough to visit each other’s homes?”

“That’s not… Anyway, no.”

Song Yeon giggled, subtly teasing her.

As we went back and forth, other party members began to gather around.

“Oh my, the candidate is staying at Representative Park’s house tonight? How about letting her come to my house instead?”

“Now getting involved with this?”

“My house has kids, so it would be no problem~”

Lawyer Lee Soyeon also wanted to take me home. 

She was another person who got along well with me.

She even had a kindergartener, so looking after me wouldn’t be an issue. 

Jiwooping liked her as well.

“Then it’s only fair that I take her.”

Suddenly, Bong Soo-hee spoke up.

“What are you talking about? How is that fair?”

“Besides Han Seo-young, I’ve looked after Jiwooping the longest.”

“I’ve already discussed this with the chief. His wife is already preparing lots of food.”

“Then we’ll just eat too much.”

The party members bickered.

Was it really worth fighting over who got to take me?

This was all starting to feel a bit surreal…

“Why are you all so worked up over this?”

Han Seo-young said, throwing a casual remark. 

The party members shot her sharp looks.

“Chief, you monopolize the candidate every day, so you don’t understand how important this is.”

“Exactly, Chief Han. Secretary Song is right. This is a serious matter.”

“This feels like a turf warping…”

I thought they’d argue for a bit and come to an agreement,

but nobody was willing to back down.

It looked like they were going to have a serious fight.

In the end,

“Why don’t we let the candidate choose?”

The decision was placed in my hands.

“Jiwoo, have you ever seen a big dog? There’s a huge one at my grandfather’s house! Don’t you want to see it?”

“Candidate, if you come to my house, you’ll have a sweet little brother~”

“There’s a cat at my house!”

“I’ll buy you 100 hot dogs.”

Four party members, holding out their hands and waiting to be chosen.

I hesitated for a moment…

‘Why am I even agonizing over this?’

I left the decision to Jiwooping’s impulse.

Jiwooping’s choice was…!

“I want to go with Grandpa-ping…”

As expected, Jiwooping couldn’t resist food.

It seemed Park Seok-ji’s earlier words had stuck in her mind.

“Because they’re already making food. And they spoke up first, so it’s only fair…”

“Ah, well, that can’t be helped.”

“Next time, come see your little brother~”

“Traitor-ping.”

“Supervisor-ping… Sorry, Namukorea Party…”

“It’s okay, Namudang.”

Judging by how Jiwooping kept glancing at Bong Soohee, she probably wanted to go with her deep down.

Their emotional bond was the strongest, after all.

But it seemed she didn’t want to disappoint Park Seok-ji.

“Haha! I knew you’d choose me!”

“Ah!”

Park Seokji suddenly lifted me up.

“You little cutie!”

“Heheh…!”

His face bloomed like a sunflower.

“Bye-bye~.”

I waved at the office staff, who responded with smiles.

“Candidate-nim, bye-bye to you too~.”

Usually, Han Seoyoung is the last to leave the office.

It’s routine for her to send everyone else off before stepping out herself.

But today was different.

Park Seokji typically leaves early unless there’s something special.

Today, I followed his lead and left early too.

The issue arose in the parking lot.

“Candidate Kang Jiwoo!”

A man suddenly jumped out from behind a pillar.

“Can I get an interview?”

He shoved a camera in my face without warning.

Startled, my shoulders twitched.

“H-heek…!”

Park Seokji quickly stepped in to protect me.

“Hey!”

“Who are you?!”

“I’m a reporter!”

“A reporter…?”

“Just a quick comment! It’ll only take a moment!”

He had a camera, and he did look like a reporter.

But something about him felt… off.

Whoever he was, this wasn’t proper behavior.

Political reporters do sometimes rush in for a scoop,

But only when there’s a big scandal or controversy.

Normally, they set up appointments in advance — that’s the unspoken rule.

So there was no reason for me to entertain this unannounced interview.

“Get in the car.”

I climbed into the back seat.

Meanwhile, Park Seokji and my secretary were still confronting the reporter.

“Where exactly are you from?”

“I’m from Political Affairs Division 1!”

“Political Affairs Division 1? That’s just a far-left YouTube channel!”

“We’re live-streaming to thousands right now! Watch your words!”

“What’s wrong with being far-left? Struck a nerve, did I?”

Oh dear, Representative Park.

At this rate, he’s going to let something reckless slip.

Thankfully, the secretary managed to prevent the situation from escalating.

Park Seokji got into the car, and the secretary safely took the wheel.

The self-proclaimed reporter continued pounding on the car window, shouting.

“Candidate Kang Jiwoo! Why do you want to become president? Do you even know what politics is? Do you know what you’re doing, trying to become president?!”

Through the glass, his face looked venomous.

His piercing shouts left me frozen.

“Let’s just go.”

“Yes.”

The car finally started moving.

But my startled heart refused to calm down.

“Jiwoo, you were scared, weren’t you?”

“I’m fine now. Don’t worry. People like that will keep coming, like flies. You’ll have to get used to it.”

“Yes… I-I’m okay… really.”

In truth, I wasn’t okay.

Was it because I was scared of the situation?

No.

It was because I couldn’t answer his question.

“Politics is about governing a country…”

“Exactly! Politics is about governing. That guy just doesn’t know how smart our Jiwoo is.”

I understood the definition of politics.

It was one of the first things I learned when studying vocabulary.

But deep down, I knew.

That wasn’t the answer they wanted.

What they were really asking about was philosophy and beliefs.

They wanted to know my thoughts.

And so, I was disappointed in myself.

I had promised to try my best.

I had vowed to train hard to become a great president.

Yet, here I was, unable to express a single thought of my own.

I suddenly remembered filming “President Kang Jiwoo in the Forest!”

Back then, I faced criticism.

People worried I’d just be a puppet, parroting the words of adults.

If I didn’t improve, those fears might come true.

Rustle…

I pulled a small diary from my backpack.

It was something I had bought a while ago.

I had intended to develop a habit of jotting down notes whenever I had free time, but I’d forgotten about it.

I clenched my small fists tightly.

Even though my wits were still at a “cute” level, I could at least try my best.

“Grandpa…”

“Yes?”

“What is politics…?”

“Politics is governing a country. Didn’t Jiwoo just explain that?”

“Yes… but apart from that… politicians are supposed to have their own ideas. Does Grandpa have something like that too?”

Park Seokji burst into hearty laughter and joked with his aide.

“Haha! This kid is throwing difficult questions all of a sudden! At this rate, they’ll become a big shot! Don’t you think so, Mr. Kim?”

“You are absolutely right, sir.”

Seokji pondered Jiwooping’s question and answered himself first.

I became a politician purely because of personal emotions.

I grew up in an orphanage, and that experience led me down this path.

There were many incidents, but they’re just mundane and lengthy stories.

To put it simply…

‘Creating a society that offers more opportunities.’

Providing more chances for success to more people.

A society where anyone can dream of success—that was the future I envisioned.

How do I plan to achieve that?

This brilliant mind of mine has it all figured out.

‘The method is…’

I won’t explain it!

Because it would take too long.

It’s absolutely not because my intelligence is lacking or that I’ve forgotten.

“Are you curious about what Grandpa thinks about politics, Jiwoo?”

“Yes… I want to study.”

Jiwooping showed Park Seokji their notebook, a gesture of determination to take diligent notes.

“Haha. For this Grandpa, politics is not just about words. It’s done with the body.”

“With the body…?”

“Yes. Traditionally, politics has always been done with these two legs and two arms.”

Park Seokji raised his arms as if showing off his muscles.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll teach you some ‘physical politics.’ Mr. Kim, what time is the local campaign event scheduled for today?”

“There’s one at 4 p.m. at the welfare center and another at 6 p.m. at the central square.”

“Given the time… we can make it to the 4 p.m. campaign, right?”

“Yes. Should we head to the welfare center instead of home?”

“Let’s do that.”

It seemed they were talking about a campaign event in his district.

Park Seokji was a four-term district representative.

Despite controversies over his blunt remarks, he had managed four terms, likely due to his effective district management.

Come to think of it, I’ve never discussed Park Seokji’s secret to district management before.

Maybe this is my chance to learn.

“For this Grandpa, politics is about ‘meddling.'”

“!?”

Meddling.

Jiwooping reacted as if they’d just uncovered a monumental secret.

Then, clutching their pencil, they diligently jotted it down in their notebook.

Politics is meddling.

Not “meddlingy,” but meddling…

Oh well, they’ll learn the exact term later.

For now, let’s focus on Park Seokji’s political secrets.

“Ready to learn?”

“Yes! I’ll do my very best!”

Learning real-world politics from Park Seokji.

Filling this notebook completely to become a master of politics…!