Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 138

138. Unfair Negotiation (1)

“The ballot box was completely destroyed?”

Ryu Sua asked, unable to believe it. It was a perplexing situation, happening just as the ballot boxes were gathered to begin counting.

“Yes. The transport vehicle overturned… Fortunately, none of the occupants were seriously injured.”

Ryu Sua didn’t respond but fell into thought. Publicizing the Awakened report had shaken her approval ratings. However, she was still the leading candidate.

This was because the targets she used Hypnotize on were mostly organizations more likely to support the second-place candidate than herself.

‘What’s better than a solid supply line is seizing the enemy’s provisions.’

‘The fact that the report is fake will naturally come to light over time. So there won’t be any problems after the election. I didn’t think this would be the end of it… Is this also Kang Hyun-woo’s doing, or just a coincidence?’

Ryu Sua wasn’t naive.

She suspected Hyun-woo’s involvement in every variable.

The fact that Kang Hyun-woo remained secluded despite her desperate search and surveillance fueled her suspicion.

She didn’t think Kang Hyun-woo would end the election without showing his face even once.

As the election camp was shaken by Ryu Sua’s silence, her secretary approached and whispered.

“Assemblywoman Ryu Sua, the ballot boxes from that area are from a region with many of our supporters. According to the overall exit poll results, we were ahead, but it’s not certain as it’s within the margin of error. I don’t think a few ballot boxes will change the overall trend, but…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Ryu Sua gestured to silence her secretary.

“Rather, if we happen to lose by a narrow margin, we can demand a recount because of this incident. Our supporters have higher loyalty, so there won’t be a problem.”

If a recount were to happen, her Hypnotized supporters would gladly vote again. But what about the people in that district?

Recounts aren’t designated as public holidays, and they’re likely to find it annoying to have to vote again after already doing so.

Whether she wins or loses this election, the fact that a recount is possible is a boon for Ryu Sua.

‘Such petty tricks. Kang Hyun-woo.’

Did he really think he could win by getting rid of the ballot boxes filled with votes for her?

The childish thought brought a smile to her face. But Ryu Sua pressed down on her face to erase the smile.

She couldn’t let her guard down.

The opponent knew, somehow, that she even possessed the Hypnotize skill.

She couldn’t let her guard down until the end.

‘I need to tighten control over my supporters even more. Until now, I’ve been winning by narrow margins, refraining from using the Hypnotize skill for fear of being exposed… But once the report is revealed to be fake, trust in me will only increase. Because I can paint the person claiming to be an Awakened as a liar.’

Ryu Sua’s face was as expressionless as ever, but a deeper smile spread in the depths of her heart.

‘Trying to beat me with an election is your miscalculation, Kang Hyun-woo.’

Even as Ryu Sua tried to remain calm, she couldn’t help but recall her own image of overcoming all these adversities.

She had no intention of ending up as just the Mayor of Seoul. Next, or at the very least the one after that, would be the President.

She would become the face of the Alliance, a preacher spreading the Teacher’s teachings.

‘For humanity.’

Ryu Sua smiled, recalling the old propaganda slogan that she would gladly dedicate herself to her country.

***

The election results were out.

Despite the damaged ballot boxes, Ryu Sua won by a narrow margin of 48.7% to 48.9%. Almost exactly matching the exit poll results.

The opposing candidate, who lost by a 0.2% difference, naturally demanded a recount. Ryu Sua criticized the opponent but took it lightly.

A few days later, the recount took place, and the added vote count from the district was released.

Ryu Sua had lost.

***

“Oh, dear.”

Yoo Min, who had been watching TV with great interest, could only utter those words.

Amidst the ruling party’s sweeping victory in the national local elections, whether they would take Seoul or not was a matter of great interest.

Moreover, the Seoul mayoral election results were decided by a decimal point difference, and the absurd coincidence of a transport vehicle overturning and ballot boxes being destroyed kept overlapping, turning it into a national drama.

But in the end, the fierce recount resulted in a major reversal: Ryu Sua’s defeat.

Looking at the overall results, the second-place candidate barely won by a 0.3% difference.

However, looking only at the results of the recounted district, it was a complete defeat for Ryu Sua.

Ryu Sua’s image of being unable to hide her shock and leaving the election camp was captured on camera, and there was no concession speech.

On the other hand, the incumbent Mayor of Seoul couldn’t hide his delight at the unexpected reversal.

“If they had filmed Ryu Sua or the Mayor of Seoul as the main characters, it would have made for a great drama, but knowing the inside story, my feelings are a bit complicated.”

“They were the ones who engaged in wrongdoing first.”

Yoo Min wondered if manipulating citizens to vote for a specific candidate through Mind Control was actually illegal.

The relevant laws were still weak, and it seemed to be in a gray area.

On the other hand, what Park Hwi-so did was clear election rigging.

In reality, there was no will of the citizens, and the results were determined by manipulation, collusion, and conspiracy.

“How did you do it?”

“If you hear it, Miss Yoo Min, you’ll become an accomplice too.”

“Ah, I also thought about election rigging once in middle school. But back then, no matter how I thought about it, it seemed impossible, so I thought, ‘Wow, our country is tighter than I thought. It seems like a country that has suffered a lot from illegal elections.'”

Park Hwi-so sighed and opened his mouth.

“First, during the first vote, we switched the ballot boxes with other ballot boxes, overturned the car, and set it on fire. We made them believe that the ballots were completely destroyed. And the votes in the first ballot box were… arranged to our liking during the second vote.”

“It seems like a lot is omitted between the words ‘arranged’.”

“It’ll get complicated if we go into the details, so just know that much. I’ll send you the data later.”

Park Hwi-so spoke as if it were simple, but there’s no way he could take out ballot boxes like taking coins out of his pocket.

Moreover, considering electronic counting, identity verification, analysis, and the Election Commission’s supervision, the problem becomes more complicated.

He explained it roughly, but all sorts of persuasion, threats, and conspiracies must have taken place within.

“As Miss Yoo Min said, election rigging isn’t easy. Ryu Sua might be able to control things so that she wins by a narrow margin, but we can’t. It’s not a dictatorship, so we can’t rig all the ballot boxes in Seoul.”

Yoo Min chuckled.

“But you can rig just one ballot box, right?”

That’s why the recount process was necessary.

“Ryu Sua probably knows we did something, won’t she demand another recount? We can’t use the same method now. Unless you’re going to burn another transport vehicle.”

Park Hwi-so shook his head.

“She won’t.”

“Why?”

“It’s already the result of a recount, so it’ll be difficult to demand another recount just because she lost. It’s a difficult claim to make, no matter how shameless she is. The public won’t accept it either. Her image will plummet. Do you know what Ryu Sua said to the candidate who demanded a recount in the first vote?”

“She said they were pathetic candidates who couldn’t even accept obvious arithmetic and were running a delusional happiness circuit.”

Park Hwi-so nodded.

“She’ll get to see her own words come back to her. The election camp will probably tell her that it’s better to prepare for the next general election. If her image is ruined, there’s no next time. It’s better to step down here and maintain a clean image.”

Park Hwi-so gave a bitter smile.

“Of course, there won’t be a next time for Ryu Sua.”

Park Hwi-so left those words and began to put on his coat.

“Where are you going?”

“Ryu Sua.”

Park Hwi-so continued, picking up his fedora and cane.

“Ryu Sua believed that she would naturally maintain power. So she made promises she couldn’t keep, both domestically and internationally, in the political and business worlds. There will be many people who are angry at her failure. If we don’t act quickly, someone else might kill her first.”

***

Ryu Sua was desperately packing her bags.

She didn’t need many things. She already had many assets overseas.

All she needed was a forged identity that wouldn’t be traced and enough cash to last a few days.

First, she told her secretary that she was going to the United States for a while to learn about advanced country politics.

Her departure would be announced in the form of a statement a few days later, and people would only then realize that she was not in the country.

However, Ryu Sua had also booked flights to Japan, Canada, and Australia in addition to her flight to the United States. She planned to go to one of these countries and then take another flight to a third country with a forged identity.

After that, she would rent a private plane and go to a place where no one could find her.

‘It’s only temporary.’

The moment she lost the election, she lost everything.

Election rigging doesn’t matter.

The fake Awakened report will become more serious, the political attacks will intensify, and the countless organizations that had received many promises from her will demand repayment all at once.

And Chief Secretary Park Gyu wouldn’t be able to protect her anymore.

‘But it’s not completely over.’

She could build a foundation even from overseas. Her abilities could be effective in many places besides politics.

If she became a high-ranking official in some small country, or even a warlord…

“Ryu Sua.”

Ryu Sua was startled by the voice behind her and turned around.

A man in a suit was standing there with a serious face.

“Shi Bin.”

Ryu Sua sighed in relief and pressed down on her chest. In this situation, he was the person she could trust the most.

Shi Bin patted Ryu Sua’s trembling back and reassured her.

“I rushed here from Shanghai after hearing the news. What’s going on?”

Ryu Sua was about to talk about Hyun-woo. But at that moment, her mouth slammed shut.

If she told Shi Bin about Hyun-woo, Shi Bin would be furious.

Then she would be dragging him into this finished fight.

And if two members of the Alliance were to stand against Kang Hyun-woo, the Teacher would have no choice but to intervene.

‘That can’t happen.’

She couldn’t let the Teacher be exposed for something like this.

She had to protect the Alliance’s secret, not only out of respect for the Teacher but also for practical purposes.

If she wanted to save her life, it would be impossible without the Alliance’s help.

“A mistake… I made a ridiculous mistake.”

“A mistake? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a woman who wouldn’t make a mistake even by accident.”

Ryu Sua didn’t even have the strength to argue. When she didn’t even smile, Shi Bin seemed to realize that the situation was quite serious.

He found the plane tickets in the luggage Ryu Sua was packing and frowned.

“It seems like it’s not just that you lost the election? Does South Korea purge people when they lose elections?”

“It’s not that. But…”

Ryu Sua bit her lip tightly.

What was the point of just fleeing overseas and dreaming of a return without the Alliance’s help? Wasn’t that just a life of being unable to die?

Wouldn’t she end up failing to keep the Teacher’s ideal, the promise she made to protect the sustainable future of humanity that the Teacher had spoken of?

The moment a surge of emotion welled up, Shi Bin pressed his palms tightly over Ryu Sua’s eyes.

The warmth of his palms and the pressure pressing down on her eyes seemed to encourage her. Ryu Sua recalled the heart she had when she first decided to become a politician.

After a while, Shi Bin took his hands away. His palms were slightly damp.

“Shi Bin.”

Shi Bin felt that Ryu Sua’s eyes, which had been filled with fear until just now, had become firm. It was the Ryu Sua he knew.

“Thank you. I think I know what to do now.”

“I can help if it’s too difficult.”

“No. This is a problem I have to solve. The Alliance doesn’t need to step in yet.”

Ryu Sua took a deep breath. Then she closed the suitcase she was packing and pushed it under the bed.

She recharged the phone she had turned off and prepared herself for the numerous conversations and threats that would follow.

“I am Ryu Sua. I was Ryu Sua even before I awakened as an Awakened.”

She decided to negotiate directly with Kang Hyun-woo.