Kang Jiwoo’s innocent misunderstanding.
Because of that, Han Seoyoung’s face turned red.
“It would’ve been better if you just nagged me. This is kind of painful…”
After managing to explain herself somehow, Han Seoyoung started cleaning.
Kang Jiwoo offered to help, but he was more of a hindrance, so she told him to sit on the sofa.
“Then, I’ll practice really hard!”
By “practice,” he meant tongue-twister practice.
Bong Soohee’s provocation of “You’re a genius if you succeed, but a fool if you fail” had ignited Kang Jiwoo’s determination.
“Alright. I’ll clean diligently, and you practice hard!”
“Practice hard! Practice hard!”
Kang Jiwoo seemed particularly fond of the term “practice hard.”
Although he mispronounced it as “pra-sing hard,” he had been vowing since the office to practice whenever he had the chance.
“Ugh, it’s my house, but even I can’t bear to look at it. Since there’s a kid here, I’ll have to vacuum, mop, do the dishes, and split the laundry…”
Han Seoyoung worked fast.
In about 30 minutes, the chaotic state of the house looked somewhat tidy.
Kindly enough, Kang Jiwoo continued “practicing hard” on the sofa the entire time.
It wasn’t until the cleaning was nearly done that Han Seoyoung could pay attention to his practice.
“Chirp-chirp… Chirp-chirp…”
“Chirp-chirp? What’s that?”
Something was odd.
Even if it was a tongue-twister, it wouldn’t just be a random, meaningless word.
Unable to resist her curiosity, Han Seoyoung, still wearing rubber gloves, asked Kang Jiwoo,
“Candidate, what’s chirp-chirp?”
“Chirp-chirp is… um… I don’t know…”
“Can you show me what you’re practicing?”
Kang Jiwoo quickly walked over and showed her his smartphone.
There was a message from Bong Soohee:
Bong Soohui: “We aim for policy consistency and sustainability while promoting systemic institutional improvements to enhance public welfare. This is the Future Marriage Ginkgo Korea Party.”
Bong Soohee: “If you can pronounce this perfectly within 5 seconds, you’re a genius!”
Bong Soohee: “If not, you’re a fool. LOL.”
—
At last, Han Seoyoung understood what “chirp-chirp” was.
The first word of the tongue-twister, “policy” (jeongchaekjeok), had turned into “chirp-chirp” (jeongjjakjjak) as his tongue twisted in the effort to say it quickly.
Han Seoyoung burst out laughing.
“Haha, so ‘chirp-chirp’ was ‘policy’!”
Kang Jiwoo’s lips pursed, and he looked slightly sullen.
“I-I wasn’t mocking you!”
“Chirp-chirp…”
“Well, the cleaning’s almost done now, so I’ll help you! Let’s practice together, okay?”
“Okay… Let’s practice together…”
Han Seoyoung spent quite some time coaching him on pronunciation.
But it wasn’t going well.
When he spoke slowly, it worked fine, but as soon as they timed him, “chirp-chirp” popped out again.
The nervousness caused his pronunciation to crumble even more than usual.
But it wasn’t easy for this childlike person to manage his nerves.
And to Han Seoyoung…
“He’s so cute… I have to record this before he gets it right…”
She found him unbearably adorable.
Feeling it would be a waste to keep it to herself, she sent a video to Bong Soohee.
—
Han Seoyoung: (Chirp-chirp video)
Bong Soohee: “Haha, so cute.”
Bong Soohee: “As expected, I’m a genius.”
—
“What?”
Calling herself a genius after seeing this cute video—what kind of nonsense was that?
Han Seoyoung soon realized what she meant.
“Did she suggest the tongue-twister challenge knowing this would happen…?”
Han Seoyoung knew Kang Jiwoo’s pronunciation wasn’t the best.
And she understood it was endearing.
But the idea of using it as a promotional tool hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“Tch… She’s so annoying…”
Still, she couldn’t help but admire her.
At the same time, she felt a bit jealous.
Back in college, Bong Soohui was a legendary figure who had received academic warnings and earned the title of a 6th-year student.
Even more shocking, she dropped out during her 6th year.
“The real shock was finding out her original major was math.”
She had initially majored in math, then switched to sociology, spent her time idling, and eventually dropped out.
Everyone thought she had disappeared quietly…
“Who would’ve thought she’d reappear as the hottest director in the advertising industry?”
Bong Soohee was always like that.
She seemed to play around, yet produced results—far better ones than ordinary people could achieve.
She was an anomaly no one could catch up to.
Thinking back to how she underestimated Bong Soohee during a club debate as a freshman and got utterly humiliated still made her flush with embarrassment.
—
Bong Soohee: “Let’s shoot it tomorrow.”
Bong Soohee: “I’ll bring a kids’ sparrow pajama costume.”
Bong Soohee: “You can dress them up in that and take a picture, I think.”
Me: “The sparrow pajamas?”
Me: “Why on earth do you even have something like that at home?”
Bong Suhee: “I don’t.”
Bong Soohee: “I’m going to borrow it from an acquaintance’s shop.”
Me: “Oh, I thought you owned it.”
Bong Soohee: “Well, I do have adult-sized sparrow pajamas I wear.”
Me: “Why did you even buy something like that?”
She left me on read.
That was the end of our conversation.
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp…!”
Kang Jiwoo kept chirping incessantly.
Her voice grew louder, seemingly frustrated at her inability to pronounce it properly.
Suddenly, I noticed her face was a bit grubby.
“Come to think of it, am I supposed to bathe her?”
I had made her brush her teeth, wash her face, and wipe her hands and feet in the office before.
But for a full shower or bath, Attorney Lee Soyoon, who had a child, had taken her to a nearby bathhouse.
“Candidate, would you like a bath?”
“Chirp chirp… Yes!”
“I’ll help you bathe.”
“I-I can bathe on my own…”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll just prepare the water for you.”
That was a relief to hear.
Honestly, I wasn’t confident about bathing her myself.
“I’ve prepared the water. This is shampoo, and this is body wash. You’ll be fine, right?”
“Yes!”
An excited Kang Jiwoo promptly entered the bathroom.
“You need to take your clothes off before going in.”
“I’ll take them off inside…!”
“Am I treating her too much like a kid?”
The doctor had said so.
Even if she didn’t appear that way on the outside, her original personality was still inside.
So, I shouldn’t treat her solely like a child.
“But how can I treat her like an adult when she’s this adorable?”
Of course, that was easier said than done.
It had been an hour since Kang Jiwoo went into the bathroom.
She showed no signs of coming out.
“Candidate? Are you almost done?”
“Almost done…!”
How meticulous could she possibly be while bathing?
“Could she have done something wrong in there?”
Children are often called pure evil.
Not because they intend harm, but because they do terrible things without malice.
For instance, endlessly squeezing out shampoo to turn the bathroom into a sea of bubbles.
“Surely not…?”
“Candidate, can I ask what you’re doing in there?”
“N-nothing…!”
“Please let it be nothing serious…”
I had been overworked for days, not to mention the super-speed cleaning I did today.
I desperately hoped there wasn’t another mess to deal with as I opened the door.
“……?”
Thankfully, there wasn’t a sea of bubbles.
Kang Jiwoo was quietly playing with water.
She had floated a shampoo bottle like a boat in the bathtub and was playing with it.
“Candidate?”
“Ahhh…!”
“Why are your clothes still on? You didn’t bathe, did you?”
“I-I bathed and then put them back on…”
“But your socks are still on. What do you mean?”
Other than the fact she hadn’t bathed, she hadn’t done anything particularly wrong.
“Take your clothes off properly this time. TaniPings will like you better if you’re clean.”
“Okay…”
Kang Jiwoo began taking off her clothes hesitantly.
Then she paused and carefully pointed at a towel.
“Um… can I cover myself with that when I go in…?”
“Of course.”
“A-and… can SiljangPing not come in…?”
“I won’t. I’ll bathe separately, so don’t worry.”
Washing her hair and cleaning her body wasn’t difficult.
Kang Jiwoo was surprisingly well-behaved.
“All done drying your hair! I’ll take a quick bath now, so just wait for me.”
“I’ll practice super hard!”
She seemed to be in a much better mood after the bath.
“Yes, practice super hard!”
Laughing, Han Seoyoung stepped into the bath she had prepared.
“It feels like my body is melting…”
The hot water quickly made her body feel relaxed and drowsy.
As she was enjoying the moment,
Ka-tok!
Her phone buzzed.
Thankfully, it wasn’t an urgent message.
Instead, her eyes fell on the election headquarters group chat.
Attorney Lee Soyoon: [Link]
Attorney Lee Soyoon: Major media outlets are running big stories on our candidate ^^
Director Koo Duseok: Free publicity! Our candidate is so impressive!
Secretary Song Yeon: LOL
Secretary Song Yeon: I keep rewatching that press conference video. Sniff.
– Secretary Song Yeon: She’s so cute that I never get tired of looking at her~
– Assemblyman Park Seokji: Video. Where can I watch it?
– Lawyer Lee Soyoon: When someone calls me “Lawyer Ping,” I almost have a heart attack haha.
– Administrative Secretary Song Yeon: Right? Ugh.
– Secretary Song Yeon: But now it’s become a habit.
– Secretary Song Yeon: Wherever I go.
Goh Bi
I introduce myself as Surfing, haha.
– Assemblyman Park Seokji: Video. Where.
– Lawyer Lee Soyoon: Oh my gosh hahaha.
“Goodness, this feels just like a fan club group chat for Kang Jiwoo.”
These days, it was always like this.
Ping.
The topic was always Kang Jiwoo.
Whether choosing lunch, during meetings, or even amidst disagreements, the conclusion always circled back to, “Kang Jiwoo is so cute!”
– Lawyer Candidate Lee Soyoon: Are you watching, Ms. Candidate?
– Lawyer Lee Soyoon: You were amazing at the press conference~
– Secretary Song Yeon: Totally agree.
– Secretary Song Yeon: Praise for our candidate~
– Assemblyman Park Seokji: Video. Where can I watch it? This is my third time asking.
– Representative Kang Jiwoo: I love you, Party Pings.
– Lawyer Lee Soyoon: We love you too, sniff sniff.
– Secretary Song Yeon: Jiwoo Ping, love you~
– Assemblyman Park Seokji: Love you too. ^^
– Assemblyman Park Seokji: And. The video.
Thanks to Kang Jiwoo, the party’s atmosphere had improved.
It wasn’t bad before, but… how to describe it? It was a distinctly different kind of happiness.
“Well, we were under an unbelievable amount of stress before.”
It’s tough to survive in this field without a bit of malice and mental fortitude.
That applied equally to lawmakers and their aides.
The National Assembly is a battlefield.
Sure, it’s not the only tough workplace, but how many others have people throwing personal insults at each other under one roof?
Government officials try to suppress you with their authority.
Rival parties are out for blood.
A colleague who greeted you warmly in the morning might stab you in the back by lunch, suggest reconciliation by dinner, and badmouth you behind your back by night.
So lawmakers were always on edge.
Their stress spilled over directly onto their office aides.
Stress-related disorders were practically a given in this workplace.
Gastritis was a virtue.
Occasional surprises like… body aches and hives.
Han Seoyoung had once seen a secretary’s hair falling out in clumps right before her eyes.
And then, in a place like that—
“A chirping angel appeared, so it’s no wonder everyone lost their minds…”
A being crafted from pure cuteness descended.
Just looking at her was healing.
Accumulated stress melted away like snow.
Her cuteness, at least to the workers of Yeouido, had a magical quality.
“Not even baby kittens can compare.”
Baby kittens?
How dare anyone compare them to Kang Jiwoo?
Baby kittens are just ordinary cute. Kang Jiwoo was the one and only, uniquely cute being in the world.
“She’s so cute, so unbearably cute, I just want to cuddle her to sleep!”
Han Seoyoung stepped out of the bathroom after her bath.
Roughly drying her hair, she paused in front of the door.
“Practicing her tongue twisters again?”
She peeked her head in to check on Kang Jiwoo.
To her surprise, Kang Jiwoo was jumping on the bed.
After a while, she stopped jumping and looked at her smartphone.
Probably reading messages.
“Heehee.”
The sight cheered her up, so she started jumping on the bed again.
Then she checked her messages again and burst out laughing, “Eheheheh!” before jumping some more.
She seemed ecstatic, likely over the compliments flooding in from Party members.
“Ahem. Ms. Candidate, I’m coming in.”
Kang Jiwoo quickly perched on the bed.
As if she hadn’t been jumping moments ago, she put on a composed face.
“Chirping… chirping…”
She was hurriedly practicing her tongue twisters.
Though her hair was a complete mess,
Han Seoyoung decided to pretend she didn’t notice.
“It’s bedtime now.”
“Okay…”
Kang Jiwoo, slightly wilting like a fading blade of grass.
There was a lingering sense of regret.
“But…”
“Is there something you want to ask?”
“Um… Can I… come back to Siljjangping’s house again…?”
“Of course. From now on, you can stay here unless something special comes up.”
Kang Jiwoo nodded.
Then she muttered softly.
“Awesome…”
“Is that… something you like?”
“Yes… Really… chirp chirp…”
Feeling a bit shy, Kang Jiwoo practiced tongue twisters once more.
“If you can’t sleep, should we practice for one more hour and then go to bed?”
“Yes! Let’s practice hard!”
“Alright! Let’s practice diligently and flatten the director’s nose tomorrow!”
“Flatten the nose…? But that would hurt the director…”
“No, it’s a metaphor. I don’t mean literally flattening it… Anyway, let’s give it our best shot!”
“Yes!”
Thus began the late-night “intense practice.”
That night, Han Seoyoung had to try hard to resist the urge to snuggle up to Kang Jiwoo.