At the unexpected proposal, Seong-ho Kim went silent for a moment, unable to say anything.

Candidate Min-gu Noh seemed to find Seong-ho's reaction amusing; he smiled and spoke.

"There's no need to be so surprised."

He paused, then went back to eating his sundaeguk, and only once he'd finished the bowl did he set down his spoon.

"I remember you turned down my offer before. And I'm well aware that you've grown far too big now for our campaign to hold you."

"Then what did you mean by what you just said?"

Seong-ho Kim set down his own spoon and looked steadily at Min-gu Noh.

A trace of a smile lingered on Min-gu Noh's face.

It pleased him greatly that Seong-ho hadn't taken his words as a joke.

Min-gu Noh let the smile fade from his face and spoke to Seong-ho Kim in a serious voice.

"President Dae-sang Kim once said something to me. He said that during the national crisis, he sought your advice, President Kim, and that thanks to you, the country was able to climb out of the IMF crisis quickly."

"Do you mean the idea that the internet should become a national industry?"

"That's right."

Min-gu Noh nodded.

The first time he'd gone to the Blue House and heard it from President Dae-sang Kim, he'd thought it was a joke.

If it had been Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee, perhaps — but he hadn't imagined that Dae-sang Kim would have listened to Seong-ho Kim's words and boldly invested, shaping the nation's policy around them.

So Min-gu Noh had asked Dae-sang Kim about it more than once.

But each time, President Dae-sang Kim gave him the same answer.

[Don't take lightly what Seong-ho Kim tells you. When it comes to the economy, he's the best in this country. I've met countless people from the president's seat, but I've never seen anyone like him. Keep in mind that Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee — of all people — didn't seat his son-in-law in the president's chair of one of Ilhyeon Group's key affiliates for no reason. Seong-ho Kim. Make sure you hold…