It's Way Too Late To Stay Locked Up Inside Ourselves

Three Days (Part One)

"And finally, we have the update on scholarship fund commitments..."

Hong Chang-sik's voice began to sound far away as Se-ri glanced at the clock again. She scraped her nail back and forth against her thumb impatiently. Just thirty minutes remained until she was supposed to leave for the cabin. After three months of waiting to see Jeong-hyeok again, it was finally down to a half an hour. Across the city, he was speaking at an event aimed at young voters. His unpaid leave from the agency had freed the campaign to put him front and center at rallies. Not surprisingly, the handsome former rock star turned patriotic hero had proven to be quite the draw.

After the events of the day finished and his father retired behind closed doors for debate prep, Jeong-hyeok would drive to an office building garage across town. Then he would wait twenty minutes and switch to a car rented in Jung Man-bok's name to ensure that he wasn't followed. Park Kwang-Beom had been enlisted to drive Se-ri to the lake so that only one car would be parked outside the cabin for the weekend. She had a baseball cap and a mask stashed in her purse so that her face could not be clearly photographed. Precaution was layered on top of precaution - all in anticipation of the unlikely event that the cabin was discovered. It all felt very elaborate —like something out of a Jason Bourne film. She preferred watching those movies rather than living them.

Se-ri thought back to how much had changed since their first spur of the moment trip to his childhood retreat. But anything was worth having these three days with Jeong-hyeok. Her mind flashed to the look on his face when she had first held that key. Shifting in her seat, Se-ri forced herself to concentrate on the words coming out of Hong Chang-sik's mouth.

"... and Hanjo Group committed to 30 billion won this morning and announced that they will maintain that level every year. Their recent legal troubles seem to have pushed them to give even more than we asked."

Se-ri rubbed her pen against her lips as she smirked. Hanjo Group made her family's past troubles seem like child's play.

"J One Holdings and Quantum & Time wired their donations yesterday. So, including the new Hanjo Group commitment, that takes us up to 800 billion in total donations."

800 billion in three months. Never had she imagined this kind of response. Se-ri was once again in the newspapers —but this time it was about her efforts to launch the largest private scholarship initiative in the country. Han Jeong-yeon proved an effective lobbyist of the old guard. She twisted arms with a smile and a honeyed tone at teas and luncheons. Se-ri in turn hosted events for the younger generation of business leaders — the CEOs of startups, studios, music labels, and fashion houses flocked to her exclusive parties.

Together, she and her mother had proven to be a force to be reckoned with. Their initiative had tapped into the swirling anxiety around the election and leveraged it masterfully. Some who donated were motivated by a sincere desire to make a difference; others merely sought the positive press coverage. Either way, their checks cashed.

"Excellent. And how did the application site test go?"

"Without a hitch, Ms. Yoon. We will be ready to launch at the end of next week after the press conference."

"I'm looking forward to being the one to talk again at a press conference, Hong Chang-sik." She raised an eyebrow meaningfully at her faithful team manager.

He grinned widely at her and then slipped a magazine out from under his notepad.

"We all are, Ms. Yoon. And while we're on the subject, I thought you might like to take a look at this."

He slid the magazine across her desk. It was an international business journal. Se-ri's face was staring back at her on the cover. It had nothing to do with her family, who she was dating, or what she was wearing. She leaned forward and traced the words printed under her face: "The New Power Fifty."