บท 430: Chapter 430: I Don’t Trust Him Completely
If revenge ended with Il-seong Group's downfall, my plan began with making Yoon Chang-ho president.
No matter how favorable Kim Hak-gwon had been toward me he couldn't compare to having a president I put in power myself.
This would completely change the history I knew.
But I feared that if I didn't intervene in the original timeline political power could take everything I had at any moment.
So I decided to change everything.
And today was finally time to see the results.
Winter nights come early. The sun had already set and in 30 minutes the exit polls would be announced.
"Nervous?"
Han Gyeong-yeong who'd arrived in Korea a few days ago asked.
"There's no way we can lose this election. So why would I be nervous? I'm just keeping an eye on the vote count since we'll need to adjust our plans based on that."
"Oh look who's confident!"
Thanks to Han Gyeong-yeong's playful comment some of the tension eased away.
"If Huh Tae-min and Song Chan-hyeok had managed to unite maybe but right now their votes are split. There's no way we can lose."
If they'd united they might have rallied their supporters together but now Huh Tae-min and Song Chan-hyeok were at each other's throats trying to destroy one another regardless of the election outcome.
Yoon Chang-ho's victory in the presidential election was already a foregone conclusion.
I was focused on the results because depending on how many votes he got we could use that momentum to push through constitutional reforms.
Han Gyeong-yeong nodded in agreement.
"You mentioned you're thinking about constitutional reform?"
I nodded while picking up the glass from the table.
"You think that's possible? A parliamentary system in Korea… Public approval of members of parliament is so low do you think people will agree?"
"We'll make them agree."
"You usually accomplish whatever you set your mind to but politics has so many variables. Even I'm not sure about this one. Can you really do it?"
"We have to try."
While we were talking the voting period ended and the exit poll announcement was approaching.
Finally the time came and the exit polls conducted by the three major networks were announced.
The smile on my face grew wider.
* * *
5 PM. Everyone was gathering at the Moderate Party headquarters in Yeouido.
The entire party leadership had assembled starting with the floor leader along with presidential campaign officials and people who'd defected from the Conservative Party were starting to arrive one by one.
Behind the television they were watching broadcast cameras were lined up with reporters from most media outlets standing behind them.
With Yoon Chang-ho's seat left empty in the center Song Dae-chul who'd been appointed as the new floor leader during the merger talks with the Conservative Party sat on the left. The party leadership took their seats beside him.
Conservative Party members sat on the right. Yu Nak-hyeon the former National Assembly speaker who was designated as the new party president sat closest to Yoon Chang-ho's spot with other Conservative Party officials beside him.
But Lee Myeong-su was nowhere to be seen. Yu Nak-hyeon looked around curiously before turning to call Song Dae-chul.
"Representative Song."
Song Dae-chul who was having a quiet conversation with someone next to him turned toward Yu Nak-hyeon.
"Why isn't Secretary General Lee here yet?"
"I heard he's with the candidate. They planned to check the exit polls together over dinner at the candidate's home."
Yu Nak-hyeon finally nodded and smiled.
"Looks like Secretary Lee is quite the power player."
"Haha well they've been together since their prosecutor days. Of course the candidate would give him special attention. I hear he's close with the candidate's wife too."
"I see…"
Yu Nak-hyeon trailed off as he scanned the room. While the first row had an even mix of Moderate and Conservative Party members from the second row on it was mostly Moderate Party people.
Frowning at the stark power difference Yu Nak-hyeon whispered to Han Ji-ho beside him.
"The power gap is too wide. Can you navigate this difficult path?"
Han Ji-ho replied with a stern face.
"Once you take the party presidency Speaker we can change everything. All power ultimately flows to the president after all."
"That's true in theory but I worry if it'll really work out that way."
Yu Nak-hyeon thought Lee Myeong-su was the most dangerous figure even more than the key Moderate Party officials present.
The fact that he was meeting alone at the likely winner Yoon Chang-ho's house clearly showed where the real power lay.
But his thoughts were cut short as the exit polls began appearing on TV.
When the exit polls were announced everyone in the room jumped up cheering.
At that moment Yoon Chang-ho and Lee Myeong-su sat facing each other eating dinner at Yoon's home.
Yoon Chang-ho checked the clock on the wall put down his chopsticks and said.
"The exit polls should be announced soon."
"Are you nervous candidate?"
Lee Myeong-su asked as he set down his own chopsticks.
"The results are already in aren't they?"
"Yes. They should match our predictions shouldn't they?"
The outcome was clear even without seeing it. Both Yoon Chang-ho and Lee Myeong-su knew this.
"Yet I'm still nervous."
No matter how certain victory was it was natural to feel nervous.
As the exit poll time approached an increasingly tense Yoon Chang-ho repeatedly clenched and unclenched his sweat-covered fist.
But Lee Myeong-su remained calm. Taking a sip of water he continued.
"The results are already determined. What matters is how overwhelming the victory margin is. That will determine whether we can proceed with our plans without issues."
"You don't seem nervous at all."
Yoon Chang-ho shook his head at Lee Myeong-su who spoke as if this were someone else's business.
"By the way is it alright to hand over the party presidency to Yu Nak-hyeon? When I leave for the Blue House most of my allies will follow me there."
"We'll revise the party platform and policies while changing the party name and adjust the party constitution and regulations too. We'll also distribute some of the concentrated power from the president's position. No need to worry too much."
Though Lee Myeong-su spoke firmly Yoon Chang-ho still looked at him with worried eyes.
"Yu Nak-hyeon isn't an easy person to handle. The party might end up under his control instead. You know that right?"
"I do. I felt it more than anyone while directly handling the merger negotiations."
"And you're still confident?"
Lee Myeong-su replied with a confident voice.
"I am. Once you become president we'll already have won half the battle."
"If you're this confident it must be possible. Let's start moving."
"Yes candidate."
They moved to the living room sofa. Yoon Chang-ho called out to his wife in the kitchen.
"Bring two cups of coffee and join us in the living room. Let's check the exit polls together."
"Alright I'll bring them."
Yoon Chang-ho and Lee Myeong-su sat side by side on the sofa. Yoon Chang-ho pressed the remote to turn on the power.
He tuned to KBC's election broadcast and unconsciously swallowed.
Before 6 PM the announcer began the broadcast.
― Ladies and gentlemen fellow citizens. The 16th presidential election to choose the leader who will guide our Republic of Korea for the next five years is coming to a close. At exactly 6 PM we will announce the results of our network's exit poll.
Kim Mi-seon brought two cups of coffee to the living room. As soon as she set them down Yoon Chang-ho grabbed her hand.
"Sit here with us."
Kim Mi-seon sat beside Yoon Chang-ho her hands trembling slightly. Sensing her anxiety Yoon Chang-ho held her hand tightly and turned his attention to the TV.
The countdown began on TV and finally the exit polls were announced.
The results shown graphically on TV were…
― 16th Presidential Election Prediction Results!
[Yoon Chang-ho: 59.7%]
[Huh Tae-min: 25.3%]
[Song Chan-hyeok: 9.7%]
KBC's exit polls showed Yoon Chang-ho approaching 60% of the vote.
Yoon Chang-ho's hands trembled and Kim Mi-seon held her husband's hand tightly as she cried.
"Congratulations President-elect."
Lee Myeong-su stood and bowed.
"Ch-check the other channels too."
When Yoon Chang-ho spoke with a trembling voice Lee Myeong-su sat back down and changed the channel.
The other networks' exit polls were similar.
Yoon Chang-ho's landslide victory. All three major networks predicted around 60% of the vote in their exit polls.
"Honey…"
Kim Mi-seon called out to Yoon Chang-ho in a tearful voice. Yoon Chang-ho closed his eyes and squeezed his wife's hand.
His hand trembled slightly.
Lee Myeong-su switched back to KBC where regional vote predictions were now being shown.
Huh Tae-min led in South Jeolla Province Huh Tae-min and Yoon Chang-ho were in a close race in North Jeolla Province and Yoon Chang-ho led in all other regions.
The temperature difference between the Moderate Party and Progressive Party was clear on camera.
One side cheered while the other hung their heads.
"Honey… you worked so hard."
Yoon Chang-ho opened his eyes again and spoke to Kim Mi-seon. She nodded repeatedly while crying.
Turning to Lee Myeong-su a faint smile appeared on Yoon Chang-ho's face.
"You worked hard too."
"Not at all. You worked much harder President-elect. Congratulations again."
"Haha this isn't the time. My phone…"
Yoon Chang-ho looked around for his mobile phone. Kim Mi-seon quickly found it and handed it to him.
After dialing Yoon Chang-ho made a call somewhere.
The phone rang and after a short while the other party answered.
Yoon Chang-ho called out to the other person with an excited voice.
* * *
As the exit poll results were announced a deep smile spread across my face.
"You won. Congratulations Mu-hyeok."
Han Gyeong-yeong raised his glass and I smiled while clinking my glass against his.
"With exit polls like that we're definitely getting over 50% of the vote. If we actually get over 60% we can push through pretty much anything."
I took a satisfied drink and set down my glass.
Just then my phone on the table rang. The number on the screen was familiar.
"It's Yoon Chang-ho."
I put my finger to my lips while looking at Han Gyeong-yeong. He shrugged and made a gesture of zipping his lips.
What a joker. I smiled and answered the phone.
"Yes President."
― Chairman Kim!
Yoon Chang-ho called out to me with a loud laugh. He must be in quite a good mood.
"Congratulations on your election."
― The results aren't even in yet.
"With predictions like that it's as good as confirmed. Congratulations."
― Haha it's all thanks to you. I never imagined I'd become president before. This is all because I met you. Thank you thank you so much.
Yoon Chang-ho kept expressing his gratitude in a trembling voice. I hope that feeling doesn't change.
"Where are you now?"
― I'm at home. Watching the vote count with Secretary General Lee. I thought of you right after seeing the exit polls. I figured I'd be too busy later.
"When do you plan to head to party headquarters?"
― After the vote count progresses a bit. I'm thinking around 10 PM. The reporters are already camped outside my house.
I laughed out loud at his words. What kind of reporter wouldn't wait outside the likely next president's house?
"Congratulations again."
― Let's meet up soon.
"No it's better if we limit our meetings from now on. I'll see you at the inauguration."
― But still… we should have a drink.
"We can have one when you're in the Blue House."
After my firm response Yoon Chang-ho replied with a somewhat disappointed voice.
― Alright. It's a shame though. Thank you again. For making me president.
"Not at all. I'll let you know through Myeong-su what position I want when you form the transition committee. Also please have the prosecutors begin investigating Seo Jae-hoon."
― Alright. I'll do that.
"Yes. Then I'll see you at the inauguration."
With those words I ended the call with Yoon Chang-ho. As I put down the phone Han Gyeong-yeong spoke.
"He seems really grateful to you. You don't think he'll change like Kim Hak-gwon did?"
"Yoon Chang-ho watched what happened to Kim Hak-gwon from the sidelines. He won't change easily. Still I don't trust him completely. Nothing's more foolish than trusting people. If he betrays me he'll learn what hell really is."
I raised the corners of my mouth as I brought the glass back to my lips.
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