Chapter 189
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The Patriot II
That morning as the members of the National Road Management Corps arrived at headquarters (nicknamed the Tower of Babel or the Demon King's Castle), they felt an inexplicable emptiness.
"Why is it that the commute isn’t as annoying today?"
"Congratulations. You’ve finally lost it."
"Has the plaza in front of our workplace always been this clean?"
"It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, adults like us should stay home and relax..."[1]
Just when they started doubting whether they had gone insane from overwork, someone pointed toward the plaza and shouted, "Oh! He’s gone!"
"Gone? Who is?"Cheêck out latest novels on n/o/ve/l/bin(.)c/o/m
"The crazy guy! Jo Yeong-su isn’t here!"
"Huh?!"
Yes. Jo Yeong-su—who held up a sign while shouting “Noh Do-hwa, step down!” every day, through rain and snow, through seasonal colds and strange viral infections—had vanished.
The members of the Corps were amazed. With just one person gone, the Tower of Babel plaza revealed its natural elegance.
"Wow, it’s so nice without that guy..."
"During lunch breaks, he’d always approach us while we were eating our sandwiches and start yelling."
For the first time since joining, the members of the National Road Management Corps experienced a peaceful commute.
Of course, happiness is fleeting, like summer ice cream—you can’t savor it slowly.
Exactly fifteen days later...
"Please take a look at this!"
"What?"
Thud!
With a beaming face, Jo Yeong-su returned to the headquarters of the National Road Management Corps and placed a large stack of documents on the reception desk.
"Uh..."
The receptionist was confused. The National Road Management Corps wasn’t a government body that served the public as their master. Naturally, there wasn’t a complaints office for civilians. (There was, however, a reception desk for patients seeking support devices from Noh Do-hwa personally.)
"Uh, Mr. Jo Yeong-su? What is this...?"
"This is a public opinion survey about whether Noh Do-hwa is suitable to rule the Republic of Korea as its leader!" Jo Yeong-su’s voice rang out like a lion’s roar, drawing the attention of the Corps members enjoying their lunch break in the lobby.
"A public opinion survey?"
"Yes! See for yourself!"
On the front page of the survey, consisting of 400 sheets of recycled paper, was written:
Republic of Korea's First Public Opinion Survey
Question: Do you believe that Noh Do-hwa, the head of the National Road Management Corps, was elected through legitimate democratic procedures as the de facto ruler of the Republic of Korea?
Very legitimate – 12.3%
Somewhat legitimate – 15.1%
Somewhat illegitimate – 5.5%
Very illegitimate – 1.6%
Indifferent – 59.7%
No response – 5.8%
The writing, densely packed and in pencil, was clearly handwritten. The paper was ragged, as if the text had been rewritten numerous times.
"Oh..." The receptionist blinked. "Um, what is this exactly...?"
"This is the survey data collected by personally visiting hundreds of Busan citizens!" Jo Yeong-su’s clear eyes gleamed with enthusiasm.
For the record, although it doesn’t matter, Jo Yeong-su’s head was as shiny as his eyes at the time. Just saying.
"As you can see, 27.4% gave positive responses, and a whopping 7.1% gave negative responses!"
"Uh, well. Assuming the survey was conducted properly, isn’t the approval rating quite high...?"
"Currently, the Republic of Korea is essentially under Noh Do-hwa’s dictatorship! In such a situation, over 7% of the people risked their lives to express their opinions! It’s a figure that cannot be underestimated!"
"Dictatorship..." The receptionist glanced around, startled.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the Corps members, who by now were accustomed to Jo Yeong-su’s antics, didn’t blame the receptionist. They simply gave him a look that said, "Here we go again."
"This is the voice of the people, the cry of the masses! The National Road Management Corps must not ignore the public sentiment that boils like lava beneath the surface!"
Question: In Pyongyang, Korea, a puppet state called the Eastern Holy State has been established, and the National Road Management Corps has not released any official statements about them. Do you think the Eastern Holy State should be recognized as a state?
Republic of Korea's Eleventh Public Opinion Survey
Question: This year, as a countermeasure against typhoon and monsoon damage, the government forcibly relocated citizens from the southern island areas of Korea. Do you think the National Road Management Corps can infringe on the freedom of residence and relocation in a national crisis?
Republic of Korea's Twentieth Public Opinion Survey
Question: Do you think guild leaders' authority can be established without democratic agreements or discussions? If so, do you think guild leaders have a certain amount of duty to the people?
I wish I could show you these questionnaires. In a sense, they’re truly fascinating.
On the recycled paper, whole lines were marked out with pencil strokes Jo Yeong-su had made several times. Like this.
Sometimes, he found some whiteout somewhere and covered the text, only to write over it once more. □□□(like this).
Sometimes, he tried to erase words, but the quality of the eraser and paper weren’t up to par, and the paper would tear with a riiip, and so he’d write next to the torn holes. ■■■like this.
So, if I were to reproduce Jo Yeong-su’s opinion surveys as accurately as possible:
Republic of Korea's NineteenthTwentieth Public Opinion Survey
Question: With the growing disparity in infrastructure between cities, ■■a small number of guild leaders are concentrating power.Do you think guild leaders’ authority can be established □□ without democratic agreements or discussions? If ■■■■■so, do you think guild leaders have a certain amount of duty to the people?
A tattered rag.
And he used the same opinion survey multiple times, noting the responses of participants with small marks next to each answer. Like this:
Authority is established – 11111 11111 11111 11111 11111 11111 111
Jo Yeong-su returned to his shack, counted the tallies one by one, calculated statistics, and finally wrote the percentages on the "final draft." Like this.
Authority is established – 66.3%
He then submitted these "statistics" and "public opinions" to the National Road Management Corps.
Over durations as short as fifteen days to as long as over one hundred, Jo Yeong-su conducted surveys.
Years later, a curious phenomenon occurred.
"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step down! Step down! Step down!"
The landscape of the Tower of Babel plaza had changed just slightly.
The sight of Jo Yeong-su holding a protest sign, clad in the relic armor inscribed with the Korean Constitution, shouting for Noh Do-hwa to step down, remained unchanged.
The sighs of the National Road Management Corps members commuting to and from work also remained unchanged.
However, there was now a cardboard box placed in front of Jo Yeong-su’s feet.
"Mister, here’s some used paper—"
"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step dooown!"
"Good luck—"
The National Road Management Corps members dropped "used paper" into the cardboard box as they left work.
One sheet. Another sheet. Yet another.
As if leaving bills for a poor street guitarist.
"Hey. Isn’t it kind of creepy how Team Leader Yu Ji-won can keep the same expression 24/7?"
"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step down! Step down!"
"That’s why she’s the operations team leader. I heard she keeps the same expression even when dealing with problematic members."
"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step down! Step down!"
"No matter how good the treatment and salary are, I couldn’t join the operations team..."
"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step down! Step down!"
"What about having army stew today?"
"Oh, army stew sounds good. I’m in."
Laughter and chatter.
The National Road Management Corps members, now fully accustomed to Jo Yeong-su, conversed amongst themselves as they passed through the plaza.
Until the sun set and Yu Ji-won was the last to leave, Jo Yeong-su continued to call for Noh Do-hwa’s resignation. Of course, Yu Ji-won didn’t spare him a glance and left.
"Ack, gak, eugh. My bones..."
By the time night fell and Jo Yeong-su returned to his shack. His hands were full with thick stacks of recycled paper.
The volume of those papers was the size of the territory held by the current "Republic of Korea."
Footnotes:
[1] A reference to the iconic line from Sans’ boss battle of the video game Undertale: “It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming... On days like these, kids like you... should be burning in hell.”
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