The Congressman Bows Low

Cha Jae-rim slowly turned around.

A look of joy spread across Goo Young-jin’s face.

[That’s right. Yes, you’re quite clever.]

Cha Jae-rim walked towards Goo Young-jin, one heavy step at a time.

My, how radiant!

Goo Young-jin hallucinated a dazzling light emanating from behind Cha Jae-rim.

If he had known Cha Jae-rim’s name, he surely would have made some childish joke, like calling him the Second Coming of Jesus.

Cha Jae-rim looked at Goo Young-jin intently and said,

“I’ve seen a few ghosts like you, though they are quite rare.”

[R, really?]

“And while they usually haven’t turned out so well, I’ll help you for now. I can’t just leave you there, tied up and unable to move. They say you shouldn’t live like a limp noodle.”

[Right, but I’m different. Completely different. And you’re not limp, you’re righteous and good!]

Cha Jae-rim chuckled wryly.

“That’s what they all say when they’re still tied up.”

Cha Jae-rim was quite distrustful of ghosts.

Goo Young-jin watched him with narrowed eyes and thought to himself,

‘It’s a good thing I didn’t mention that I was a six-term lawmaker.’

If he had said that, Cha Jae-rim’s distrust would have turned into complete disbelief, and he would have left him there on the spot.

Cha Jae-rim approached Goo Young-jin and fumbled around in his wallet until he pulled out a yellow piece of paper.

It was a talisman.

Taking out a lighter from his pocket, he set fire to the talisman and muttered an incantation.

The talisman quickly turned to ash and was carried away by the autumn wind.

A passerby glanced at Cha Jae-rim with a strange look and hurried on.

Cha Jae-rim’s ears turned slightly red.

‘People should learn to grow some thicker skin.’

Goo Young-jin was surprised that Cha Jae-rim could be so deeply embarrassed because of that.

To Goo Young-jin, shame was an emotion he could only feel after being backed into a corner, as he had been when he decided to commit suicide.

So it was strange to see Cha Jae-rim feeling embarrassed so easily over something so trivial.

Once he had burned the talisman, Cha Jae-rim exhaled sharply towards Goo Young-jin.

As he did, Goo Young-jin’s translucent legs solidified.

The being who had been bound to the asphalt of Seocho-dong, where he had fallen to his death, was now free.

That alone was enough to fill Goo Young-jin with joy.

He grabbed Cha Jae-rim’s hand.

Since he had no physical form, he wasn’t really grasping it, but it was a gesture nonetheless.

[Thank you, thank you.]

“It is I who should thank you for being so polite.”

[I’ll thank you a hundred times over if that’s what you want.]

“Including you, I’ve met about five ghosts so far, and three of them didn’t even say hello.”

[I’m not like those cheap bastards who eat free meals.]

“Is that so?”

[So can I wander around freely now?]

Cha Jae-rim shook his head.

“I bound your soul to my body, which had been bound to the earth where you died.”

[What do you mean?]

“I mean that your soul, which was bound to this place, is now bound to my body. That means you can’t go more than about five meters away from me.”

[What…!]

“It’s still better to be a balloon tethered to a little kid than an air balloon tied to the ground, don’t you think?”

[W, well…]

Cha Jae-rim smiled and started walking back towards the subway station.

Goo Young-jin followed after him.

If his feet had been unbound and he had been able to move around freely, he would have immediately turned and run in the opposite direction.

That plan failed from the very beginning.

He tried standing completely still until Cha Jae-rim was far away, but just as he had said, when he got about 5 meters away, Goo Young-jin’s soul slowly started to drift towards Cha Jae-rim.

‘Dammit…’

Goo Young-jin bit his lower lip in frustration, making sure that Cha Jae-rim didn’t see.

He hadn’t known that he would end up as this brat’s pet.

The great Goo Young-jin, of all people.

Since things had turned out this way, he would have to make sure the brat was upstanding.

Because if he was a jerk, he wouldn’t be qualified to be Goo Young-jin’s partner.

Goo Young-jin, who had been following Cha Jae-rim down the street without saying anything, glanced at him and asked.

[Do you live in Gangnam?]

“You’re asking where I live before you even ask my name.”

[…what is your name?]

“Cha Jae-rim.”

[Yes, yes, Jae-rim.]

Cha Jae-rim chuckled and then answered his original question.

“I don’t live in Gangnam. I live in Gangbuk.”

[There must be plenty of nice restaurants in Gangbuk too.]

“The person I made plans to meet lives in this neighborhood.”

[Tsk, tsk, if you let a woman lead you around from the very beginning, it’s not going to end well.]

Cha Jae-rim gave him a look of disbelief.

“I have no intention of receiving dating advice from you.”

[Where in Gangbuk do you live?]

“Seongbuk-gu.”

[Pyeongchang-dong?]

Goo Young-jin hoped with all his might that Cha Jae-rim lived in an affluent neighborhood.

Because it would be good if he were very rich.

When Cha Jae-rim didn’t answer his question about Pyeongchang-dong right away, but instead gave him a disappointed look, Goo Young-jin finally spoke.

“No, Anam-dong.”

[Anam-dong? Oh, so you’re a SNU student.]

If he didn’t live in an affluent neighborhood, then he had to at least be smart.

Seoul National University was better than Korea University, if nothing else.

Even in these modern times, when journalism was in decline, SNU graduates would still make good reporters. So SNU was okay.

But even those hopes were dashed when Cha Jae-rim said,

“I didn’t go to SNU. I’m a high school graduate.”

[What?]

“I said I’m a high school graduate.”

Goo Young-jin couldn’t hide his shock.

[W, what are you talking about?]

“What do you mean, what am I talking about?”

Goo Young-jin’s reaction was so blatant that even Cha Jae-rim, who was usually quite calm, began to raise his voice.

[Jeez, in this day and age…]

“I don’t know what kind of world you lived in, but in this world, there are both university graduates and high school graduates. And there are plenty of people who didn’t even graduate from high school.”

[That’s ridiculous, totally ridiculous…]

Goo Young-jin panicked for a moment and couldn’t hear what Cha Jae-rim was saying.

Yes, I know.

I know there are a lot of high school graduates and people who didn’t even graduate from high school. Why wouldn’t I know?

But Goo Young-jin didn’t want Cha Jae-rim to be one of them.

If out of all those people, this young man had caught his eye, then it must have been fate.

And fate dictated that anyone who crossed paths with such a great politician as himself should at least live in Pyeongchang-dong and at least be a SNU graduate.

That was simply a matter of common courtesy.

But what was this?

A high school graduate?

It was as if heaven itself were showing disdain for the great Goo Young-jin.

So it came as no surprise.

So he couldn’t speak.

Without even glancing at Goo Young-jin, who had forgotten how to speak because he was so taken aback, Cha Jae-rim headed down to the subway station.

Goo Young-jin asked again.

[Why don’t we just take a taxi? The subway is hardly the best way to get to Anam from here…]

“I don’t have any money.”

[You don’t have enough money for a taxi?]

“I have enough money for a taxi. I just don’t want to waste it on a taxi.”

[Doesn’t that mean you don’t have enough money for a taxi?]

“Just get in the subway quietly. Unless you want to be dragged down to the gates of hell.”

[Do you even have the power to do that?]

Cha Jae-rim looked at Goo Young-jin with cold eyes.

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried it. Should I give it a shot?”

[…underground exploration is nice sometimes.]

“I said I’ve met five ghosts so far, including you.”

[Huh? Oh, yeah, you did.]

Cha Jae-rim gave a cold laugh and asked Goo Young-jin,

“Then where are the other four right now?”

[…]

Goo Young-jin felt a chill run down his spine.

Even Goo Young-jin was scared of him. This brat was no pushover.

He meekly and silently boarded the subway, or rather, placed his soul on the subway.

Despite it being Saturday evening, the subway was still packed, though not as bad as the hellish rush hour during the week.

They were lucky to find two seats together, and Cha Jae-rim and Goo Young-jin sat down side by side.

Of course, everyone else could only see Cha Jae-rim. The seat next to him appeared to be empty.

Cha Jae-rim whispered to Goo Young-jin.

“Be quiet in crowded places. I don’t want people to think I’m crazy.”

[Y, yes.]

Goo Young-jin had already been domesticated by Cha Jae-rim, so his response was docile.

Rumbling, the Line 3 train departed from Gyo-dae Station and headed towards Gangbuk.

At that time, Line 6 had not yet opened.

Cha Jae-rim said he would have to transfer to a bus twice before reaching his destination.

No matter how much Goo Young-jin thought about it, it seemed much more efficient to simply take a taxi than to go through all that trouble.

But he didn’t dare say it aloud, lest he incur Cha Jae-rim’s wrath again.

In fact, Cha Jae-rim didn’t say a single word the entire subway ride.

He didn’t even turn his head to look at Goo Young-jin.

The moderately crowded subway car was transformed as soon as it arrived at the next station, Gosok Terminal.

People flooded in.

Of course, in the eyes of everyone else, Goo Young-jin’s seat, which appeared to be empty, became the object of a heated but polite battle.

The victor was a large middle-aged woman.

Unbefitting her size, she used her small handbag to claim the seat.

Enjoying the envious gazes of her competitors, the woman proudly settled her ample backside into the seat.

Goo Young-jin was horrified.

[This crazy bitch, where does she think she’s sticking her dirty ass? Aaagh!]

Goo Young-jin screamed as if he were being molested.

Unaware of his plight, the woman wiggled her large bottom from side to side.

It was an experienced maneuver to secure enough space for herself.

Goo Young-jin, crushed beneath her fleshy buttocks, writhed around with his eyes wide open.

Cha Jae-rim acted as if it were none of his business and didn’t even glance in their direction.

Goo Young-jin couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

In the end, Goo Young-jin, unable to endure the woman’s buttocks, gave up on sitting.

Since it made no difference whether he sat or stood, Goo Young-jin decided to stand across from Cha Jae-rim.

Cha Jae-rim sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, calmly riding the subway.

But Goo Young-jin was too restless to do the same.

In Goo Young-jin’s eyes, Cha Jae-rim was a man of endless shortcomings.

He didn’t think it was mere coincidence that he had met Cha Jae-rim.

He was able to see ghosts, and yet he had only met five, including himself, until now.

‘So that means my pitiful state is not the ordinary form of death.’

He didn’t know what the criteria were for becoming this kind of ghost after death.

But in any case, he had somehow remained in the mortal realm in the form of a ghost.

And if Cha Jae-rim was the only link between himself and the mortal realm.

Then Goo Young-jin had no desire to waste time with Cha Jae-rim, cracking jokes or engaging in idle chatter.

‘I have to figure out a way to make good use of this guy.’

But even the most skilled baseball player can’t hit a ball with a wooden chopstick.

Perhaps Cha Jae-rim needed to mature into a baseball bat.

But judging by the fact that he didn’t even have enough money for a taxi across the Han River, he didn’t seem to be very well-off.

And he was a high school graduate.

This was very unsatisfactory to Goo Young-jin.

Having followed an elite course his entire life, Goo Young-jin simply couldn’t fathom Cha Jae-rim’s current state.

So he couldn’t help but be disappointed.

But he couldn’t just wallow in disappointment.

Goo Young-jin wanted Cha Jae-rim to become a politician.

‘The ultimate success is definitely politics.’

The men who had driven him, of all people, to the brink of death.

The men whose names alone made him tremble.

He wanted to use Cha Jae-rim to turn them all into ghosts.

‘Let’s start with that son of a bitch, my son-in-law.’

As he recalled the face he had momentarily forgotten after meeting Cha Jae-rim, anger surged within him.

Even as he wandered in fear and trepidation, consumed by resentment like this, weren’t those sons of bitches still laughing sinisterly as they wielded power over this country?

It was simply unbearable.

Goo Young-jin opened his eyes and looked at Cha Jae-rim.

[Hey, Jae-rim.]

Cha Jae-rim opened his eyes instead of speaking, as if to answer him.

[You need to go into politics.]

At those words, Cha Jae-rim almost burst out laughing.

What the hell was he talking about?

He was barely making ends meet as it was, so what was he talking about going into politics?

It was ridiculous.