In the meantime, a few people had approached Myungsoo to talk, but he sent them all away and remained alone.

His expression looked unusually serious. I slowly walked up to him and asked,

“What’s with you? Shooting a solo movie or something? Why the face?”

“Huh? Muhyuk.”

When he turned his head, I could see up close that his face was tinged with frustration.

“What’s going on? Did things not go well with President Yoon Changho?”

“That’s... no.”

Myungsoo started to say something, then stopped.

“What is it? If I need to, I can look into it. Just tell me.”

“Ha... it’s just...”

Myungsoo quietly began to speak. I simply listened without interrupting.

After hearing everything, I understood why he was reacting like this.

And why Yoon Changho was as well.

“Well, I can see why President Yoon Changho would act like that.”

Yoon Changho and Lee Myungsoo weren’t in a vertical relationship, but a horizontal one.

From its very foundation, the Centrist Party had been built for Yoon Changho.

So even though they abolished the party chairman position and declared a separation between party and government, Yoon Changho’s grip over the party hadn’t weakened at all.

Up until now, the person he chose became party leader, and the person he chose became floor leader.

Even Myungsoo, despite being in a horizontal relationship, always put the president first, going so far as to earn the nickname “shadow president” while leading the charge for the success of the Yoon Changho administration.

But this time, the election of the floor leader was no different from openly defying Yoon Changho.

When Yoon Changho had called me, he probably hadn’t imagined things would turn out like this. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“So, want me to step in?”

“How would you step in? Just stay out of it. This is something I have to resolve. If you step in, it’ll be over in no time. The president might even reconsider if you talk to him.”

As Myungsoo said, if I asked, Yoon Changho would probably take a step back.

Whether he wanted to or not, crossing me was a burden even for him.

But Myungsoo clearly didn’t want that.

“If you step in and solve this too, then I’m nothing more than your puppet. I chose to step forward, so I have to play every card I’ve got.”

Watching him bite his lip in determination, I nodded.

“Alright. Do it your way. But how are you planning to handle it?”

“I’ll have to think about that. I already made a promise to the opposition, and breaking it would be a big burden for me too.”

No matter how messy politics could be, trust—keeping promises—was more important than anything.

Especially agreements between floor leaders. Even if their own parties opposed it, those promises were rarely broken.

That was the authority of the floor leader, and any backlash that followed was their responsibility.

“The promise was about passing the bill, right? After that, the president can veto it.”

“Even if that’s the truth, they’ll think I pulled something behind the scenes. You know how it is. In the National Assembly, the ruling and opposition parties fight like they want to kill each other, but off the stage, they laugh and joke together.”

On the political ring, they tore at each other viciously. But once off the stage, they acted like nothing had happened, calling each other brothers.

“If this bill gets vetoed, my position will shrink. But clashing directly with the president is an even bigger burden. Even if I hold leverage over him. It’s only a weapon while you hold it—once you use it, it becomes a blade that cuts you back.”

“That’s true. But I can block that for you.”

“No. Stop trying to shake me. If it gets really bad, I’ll tell you. Let’s head back now. There are quite a few people waiting for me.”

Myungsoo forced a playful smile and waved his hand.

Sure enough, quite a few people were watching us.

“You go ahead, Myungsoo. I’ll follow later.”

At my words, he lightly tapped my shoulder and headed back to the crowd.

I decided to take a moment alone. My chest felt strangely tight.

If Yoon Changho and Myungsoo ended up clashing, I would naturally side with Myungsoo.

If Yoon Changho was a partner, Myungsoo was family.

‘Still... it’d be better if they didn’t fight.’

Neither of them was in the wrong. It was simply the nature of power.

“Are you President Kim Muhyuk?”

Just then, someone spoke to me while I was lost in thought.

I turned toward the voice.

“You know who I am, right?”

At her confident question, I nodded.

“You’re the floor leader of the People’s Union.”

“You do know me. That’s a relief.”

There was no reason for this woman to come looking for me.

After I funded the creation of the People’s Union, I had completely ignored them.

“What is it? I’d prefer to be alone right now.”

“You were talking with Representative Lee Myungsoo for quite a while.”

“We’re old friends. I wasn’t talking to the politician Lee Myungsoo, but to my childhood friend.”

“Even if you say that, others won’t see it that way.”

Lee Sujin glanced toward the center of the reception hall where people were gathered in small groups.

Following her gaze, I saw people sneaking glances at us.

“Ha... what do you want to say?”

“Nothing much. I just wanted to meet you, but never had the chance.”

“And what exactly would I talk about with you?”

She smiled slyly and waved her hand.

“Oh come on, why act like that? We’re both players here.”

“Players? Don’t lump me together with you. And this behavior of yours is uncomfortable.”

“This is a problem.”

In her casual tone, the greed in her eyes was unmistakable. She wanted political funding.

“Are you looking for sponsorship?”

As if she’d been waiting, she nodded.

“Yes. I need to aim higher.”

“Do you understand what it means to receive funding from us?”

“I do. I’ve heard that even if you provide funding, you don’t interfere much afterward. And that it won’t cause any problems.”

Well, now. Where did that rumor come from?

“Who told you that?”

“Who else? Our party leader.”

“I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you have, but I’m not a charity.”

“Ah, right. So what do you want? As long as it’s not a crime, I can help with anything. I have that much power.”

Seeing her flaunt that tiny bit of power made me sigh.

What exactly did she think I was?

“Is that so? But Representative Lee, even if I fund you, I don’t see what I gain from it.”

“What?”

“If I wanted something, wouldn’t it be faster to ask Myungsoo? Or someone like Park Jihyun?”

“...Are you looking down on me right now?”

She glared at me furiously. I responded with a deeper smile.

“Of course not. How could I look down on the floor leader of the third-largest party?”

“Then what do you mean?”

“I mean there’s nothing in it for me. I funded your party because it benefited me. Now that the People’s Union has served its purpose, I have no further interest.”

“Excuse me, President Kim!”

She shouted sharply.

“Lower your voice. This isn’t your party office.”

My cold tone made her flinch as she glanced around before lowering her voice.

“You’ll regret treating me like this. I may not be able to remove Lee Myungsoo, but I have more than enough power to make things difficult for him.”

“Go ahead. I have no intention of stopping you.”

There was no way Myungsoo would lose to someone like her.

“Still, since we met, I’ll donate the maximum allowed by law.”

“I don’t need it. You’ll regret this. You’ll soon see how Yeouido really works.”

“Do as you please. But Representative Lee.”

“What!”

I wiped the smile off my face. She flinched.

I stepped closer and whispered in her ear.

“Fight fairly in the ring. I’ll allow that. But don’t try anything dirty outside the ring. That’s my specialty. If you do, you’ll have to deal with me.”

I could feel her sharply inhale.

I stepped back, my smile returning.

“If you’re wondering what that means, ask your leader over there—the one watching with that anxious look.”

I gestured toward the People’s Union leadership.

She turned to look.

“You should go back. They’re calling you.”

“...Just you wait.”

She shot me one last glare before turning away.

‘Now even this kind of trash is crawling over. Tch. This is why I tried to keep things moderate.’

Getting too involved in politics left a bitter taste in my mouth.

‘Time to wrap things up and step back.’

Ignoring the politicians approaching me, I headed toward where the business leaders were gathered.

“Chairman Kim.”

Several people were gathered around Kim Byungwoo’s table.

“Ah, President Kim! Are you done talking? The chairmen here have been waiting for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. It’s about business in China.”

“Are you sure you’re asking the right person? That should be that table over there...”

I trailed off, glancing toward the Chinese delegation.

“Haha, you know how it is. In China, guanxi is everything. And for these gentlemen, that’s the biggest hurdle.”

Even so, some of them should already have connections in China.

“Don’t you all have meetings scheduled with President Hu Jintao?”

“Unfortunately, only the top ten groups were selected.”

Looking around, none of the people at this table were from the top ten.

I glanced at them, then asked Kim Byungwoo,

“Are all of them close to you?”

“Yes. We do quite a bit of business together.”

“Hmm... then wait a moment.”

Making introductions wasn’t difficult.

Since Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao were already in meetings, I approached the next most senior figure.

“Committee Member Li Min.”

Among the delegation, there was only one Politburo Standing Committee member—Wen Jiabao.

Below that were the twenty-five Central Committee members. Li Min was one of them.

“Ah, President Kim. Good to see you.”

He stood and shook my hand warmly.

“Do you have a moment? There are some people I’d like to introduce.”

“If it’s someone you’re introducing, I’d be honored.”

“Thank you. Then shall we?”

I led Li Min to Kim Byungwoo’s table.

As he approached, the chairmen stood up like new recruits.

“You know Chairman Kim Byungwoo, right?”

“Of course. How could I not know the chairman of Joongwoo Group? We already greeted each other earlier.”

So they’d already spoken.

I nodded and gestured to the others.

“These are chairmen who do business with Joongwoo Group. They want to build factories in China but are hesitant due to regulations. Would you mind speaking with them?”

“Oh, is that so? Investment is always welcome! Let’s not stand here—please, this way.”

Li Min took them all with him, saving face for me.

Once the table was empty, I smiled and lightly scolded Kim Byungwoo.

“You’re handling even things like this now?”

“They’re all good people. I’ll introduce them properly next time.”

“Mixing personal feelings into business rarely ends well.”

“Don’t worry. They’re not the type to let that happen.”

If Kim Byungwoo recommended them, it wouldn’t hurt to know them.

I nodded and looked around.

“I’ll be going now. If I ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) stay any longer, everyone will start gathering here.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“Yes. No need to see me off.”

After saying goodbye and leaving the reception hall, someone called out to me.

“President Kim, just a moment.”

It was the Chief of Staff.

“What is it?”

“Haha. Are you heading out?”

“Yes. Staying longer would just give me a headache.”

“The president would like to see you for a moment.”

“The president?”

He nodded.

Yoon Changho, asking to see me here, publicly?

“...I think it’d be better to meet him separately later.”

“I don’t know the reason either. I was just told to bring you.”

I hesitated for a moment.

But if he called me like this, there had to be a reason.

I nodded and headed back into the reception hall.