"This can't be..."

Sang-jong Lee muttered to himself as if he couldn't believe it, and abruptly rose from his seat.

"That survey has to be wrong. Father. The survey must be wrong. If it's not, how could a result come out saying Sang-hoe Lee is losing! It makes no sense."

Sang-jong Lee's voice grew steadily more certain.

"With all three networks pulling out those figures, some kind of error had to have happened. If not... a result like that has no reason to come out..."

"Sit down, would you."

Tak-hyeon Lee said this to the noisily babbling Sang-jong Lee in a voice full of exasperation, and gestured with his chin at the TV.

"It's still just an exit poll. There's no need to make such a fuss."

"No, sir. This clearly has something wrong with it."

Sang-jong Lee, unable to sit even when told to, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

"I'll call Shinpyeong Party right now and check what on earth is going on — just give me a moment."

Sang-jong Lee, without so much as waiting for Tak-hyeon Lee's response, walked off to one side of the living room, pressing the phone's buttons.

And, seeing him do this, Hyeon-ju Bang spoke words that stood in for everyone's thoughts.

"When the result's about to come out anyway, what does he think he's going to accomplish by checking..."

"Ahem."

Min-yeong Oh, showing a look of discomfort at Hyeon-ju Bang's remark to herself, rose from her seat.

"I'll go to the kitchen and bring out something to eat."

At Min-yeong Oh saying she'd get some food ready, Hyeon-ju Bang also rose from her seat.

"I'll go in and check with my sister-in-law too."

When Min-yeong Oh and Hyeon-ju Bang had left for the kitchen, Sang-jong Lee, having finished his call, came back to where everyone was gathered.

"I checked, and they say it's wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Yes. They say the survey was wrong."

Sang-jong Lee, coming back with a face far more at ease than when he'd left, dropped into the seat where he'd been sitting a moment ago and…