## Chapter 253 – 26. Incheon (2)
Anyway, the fact that Ko Min-young was sending Kang Hye-young meant she was looking out for me a lot. It was something I could show off externally, too.
And everyone else decided to send their own high-ranking personnel in their own way.
In Ko Min-ji’s case, she said she’d send one of the secretarial team leaders, Ko Ha-young said she’d send the heads of key departments, and Ko Ha-yan, Ko Seon-ah, and Ko Seon-yul said they’d send teams of their secretaries.
And the big boss, my grandfather, said he’d film a holographic speech and send it, which might not seem like much, but considering his status, it was actually more than enough.
Just showing his face on a monitor and saying a few words would make people freak out.
Besides that, quite a few distant relatives who heard the news expressed their willingness to attend.
In this way, everyone in the extended Ko Ryeo family was looking out for my event in various ways, but the problem occurred in a place I never expected.
“They’re not attending?”
“Yes…”
With a bewildered expression, Sua delivered news that I found hard to accept.
“We made the offer several times… In the end, the city officials, mainly the mayor, and many of the council members and heads of local governments belonging to the ‘Equality, Freedom, Constitution Party’ have expressed that it’s difficult for them to attend due to preparations for the by-elections. Instead, they said they’d select representatives from each organization to attend.”
“What could take so long that they can’t attend? Does that even make sense?”
“…”
I took the documents Sua was holding and read them.
There were a lot of words, but in short, they were too busy preparing for the elections.
But the fact that most of the members belonged to the ‘Equality, Freedom, Constitution Party’ made it feel suspicious.
Were these guys trying to screw me over as a group?
“Are they acting like this about the Special Prosecutor’s Office law too? In a way that’s against me.”
“That’s not the case. There are cases where they formally exchange questions and answers for scenes to show the citizens, but there haven’t been any reports of actual opposition yet. It seems like it will pass naturally over time.”
“Then why can’t they attend this? It’s much easier than that. It’s not like voters will say anything just because they’re attending a party. Are they trying to bargain with me now? Asking for some perks?”
“Well…”
Sua cautiously offered her opinion.
“Could it be that they didn’t like the footnotes you added?”
“The footnotes I added?”
I checked the invitations on the desk.
“Hmm.”
It was true that it was a bit much to have all sorts of precautions written on the back.
If an invitation has such a long list of things to note, it might not look good to the person receiving it.
But I couldn’t help it.
Since they’re all high-ranking people, their egos must be very thick, and those kinds of people often reach out with their dirty hands.
I absolutely hate the idea of my secretary being touched by other guys.
“Besides, the things you’ve done so far might not have pleased them, so it seems like they’re rebelling in this way.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s a bit infuriating, even if I think about it.”
The biggest thing was probably the fact that I’d effectively ended the sexual favors for celebrities.
They must have been enjoying it, but I used the Lee Na-eun special investigation to completely destroy it.
This wasn’t just a matter of whether or not they could satisfy their sexual desires, but it was about taking away a kind of privilege, the sense that ‘I’m a special person in this society.’
So they could definitely freak out.
Anyway, thanks to that, my Ko Ryeo Entertainment was reborn as a huge agency with over a thousand celebrities, and all of them were female celebrities.
And using that power and the backing of the Ko Ryeo Group, we’re announcing industry-standard contracts and weakening the content itself that involves sexual contact.
That must be very absurd to those people.
“The Better Future Party… seems fine. It’s these Equality guys who are the problem.”
Looking at the others in different organizations, most of them said they’d attend if possible.
It was the Equality, Freedom, Constitution Party people who were the problem. The mayor too.
“The police… no problem, the prosecutors too… For now, keep trying to persuade them. But don’t be too servile.”
“Understood.”
Two days later.
Sua reported to me, sweating profusely.
“…I’m sorry. Master… The council members belonging to the Better Future Party… said it’s difficult for them to attend due to the by-elections—”
I snatched the clipboard Sua was holding.
She must have prepared it in a hurry, as some of the papers were crumpled or slightly misprinted.
Anyway, the important thing wasn’t that, but the fact that even those who had said they would attend were now saying they couldn’t make it.
“No, Kim Eun-ji, who’s actually running for district head, is attending, so why can’t the others make time? Are these guys messing with me?”
“…It’s understood that they’re responding to the news that the opposing party is focusing on the by-elections.”
“That’s not it. They didn’t like what Ko Mu-yeol was doing, but they couldn’t refuse outright, so they said they’d attend, but then they found out that the opposing party wasn’t attending en masse? So they thought, ‘Great!’ and boycotted it themselves.”
In terms of numbers, about two-thirds of the city councilors I invited had expressed their intention not to attend.
Of course, high-ranking officials from other organizations, such as the Prosecutor General, the Deputy Prosecutor General, or the head of the police agency, mostly said they would attend.
So, in terms of total numbers, still a much larger number of people were attending the grand banquet.
But it felt like shit.
If each of them was absent for genuinely personal reasons, I’d let it go, but the fact that a specific group was almost entirely absent meant that they were just trying to stand up to me, trusting in their numbers, right?
“Dare they try to tame me?”
Even considering the special circumstances of Incheon, it was unacceptable.
What kind of privileged class were they, anyway?
How much were they looking down on me? Of course, on the surface, I had no role in the Ko Ryeo Group and was being treated like a beggar in the family, but was it really this bad? I thought I’d been making enough noise.
“Wait a minute. They might not know how the situation is unfolding. They didn’t know that so many people would openly refuse to attend. Surely they didn’t intend to insult me.”
The next day.
My prediction was somewhat correct.
When too many council members said they wouldn’t attend, they must have realized that it wasn’t right, so a few of them subtly took the lead and said they would attend, and a few others said they would send their aides. There were quite a few of them.
But that wasn’t a satisfactory result at all.
If they were going to send their subordinates to take the credit, it would only work if it were my sisters or aunts.
At least they should have said so from the beginning. What was this now?
“Keep watching. See what they do.”
And on the morning of the event.
There were no changes. The majority of the city councilors still insisted on not attending.
While others were already getting on the super yacht.
– I-I’m sorry, Master…! I’m trying to persuade them, but these people are collectively crazy, they won’t listen…
Kim Eun-ji apologized several times over the phone.
It seemed like both parties were acting very strangely.
Since most of them were doing it, they must have thought it was okay, right?
“It’s okay. They’re busy, right? What can I do? They’re busy.”
– Th-that’s…
“Are you preparing well?”
– I-I’m doing my best!!
“Okay. See you later.”
I ended the call.
Anger boiled up from my gut.
So they were going to screw me over like this, huh?
Today, the people my family sent were coming, and the distant relatives said they’d come too.
In front of those people,
dare they,
to me,
give me this insult?
“Sua.”
“Yes, Master.”
“It doesn’t make sense for anyone to lie to me, does it?”
“Of course not.”
“Kim Eun-ji, who’s actually running, is coming, so what are they saying, that they’re too busy with the by-elections to come? It’s ridiculous. What should I do? To those who are telling me obvious lies.”
Sua thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
“I will bring them, even if I have to use force.”
That was a good idea.
After all, I had a total of 16 knights, including Baekseol.
But that wouldn’t have enough impact.
“No, Sua. I said it doesn’t make sense for anyone to lie to me. Lies shouldn’t reach me.”
“Then…?”
“We have to make it true. That statement.”
Sua still didn’t understand my intention and tilted her head.
“They’re saying they’re too busy to attend my banquet. Because of that district head by-election. Shouldn’t we increase it?”
“Y-yes?”
“Shouldn’t we make the district head by-election several times bigger than it is now, so that our respected members of both parties are too busy to even breathe?”
“!!”
“Then it becomes true. Let’s see… There are exactly 16 districts in Incheon now. One of them is already subject to a by-election. If the remaining 15 district heads suddenly die, and we have to re-elect all the district heads in Incheon,”
I got up from my seat.
Sua looked at me like I was crazy.
It was a look I hadn’t seen in a while.
“Everyone would understand. Ah, it’s an unavoidable situation. It’s not that those guys dared to defy the young master of the Ko Ryeo Group.”
“…”
I am a generous person.
I’m not such a brat that I’d insist they attend my banquet when suddenly all the district heads in Incheon have to be re-elected.
Therefore, I decided to forgive the city councilors for their absence, understanding their situation.
They’re busy, so what can I do?
