Chapter 55: That Time I Paved a Highway in South America (5)

TL: Skye

Three months later.

KRAAAAASH―! RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

Along with an engine roar that seemed to tear the sky in half, all of San Marcos was turned upside down.

Hundreds of excavators and bulldozers shipped in from Korea tore forward, spewing black exhaust.

VROOOOOM―! BANG! BANG!

Ancient trees snapped like matchsticks, and massive boulders shattered and rolled away in thunderous cascades.

A scene that looked for all the world like a battlefield.

But the real show was just beginning.

Fwap―!

[Tortilla Engineering]

A banner unfurled through the dust, and following it...

"Hooraaaaah―!!!"

An orange tide surged to life across the mountain slopes.

The first wave of laborers, dispatched after completing training at ten education centers nationwide. Farmers who had spent their entire lives tilling cornfields, now gripping shovels and pickaxes, began smashing the earth open to level it.

Clang! Clang!

There was something almost manic in their eyes.

"His Excellency is watching!"

"Move that gravel! Don't stop!"

"Today's lunch is tortillas with sausage, they said!"

Construction machines flattened forests; where the machines couldn't reach, men flattened the rest.

Even with boulders the size of their own bodies strapped to their backs, the laborers bounded up the slopes like mountain goats.

"The dawn bell has rung A new morning has come Every one of us, rise Follow His Excellency's will"

Thanks to their momentum, the Central Mountains section, once considered the most difficult stretch of the entire project, began flattening rapidly.

And this same scene was playing out across every construction zone handled by some thirty different construction companies.

At last, the opening curtain had risen on the largest public works project in San Marcos's history.

***

"Whew... Looks like I can finally take a breather."

Hearing that construction had officially begun gave me the feeling of a massive weight lifting off my chest.

The stage was set, the money had been wired; the government's job was basically done.

All that was left now was for the construction firms to hash it out among themselves.

"You've worked hard, Your Excellency."

"You've worked hard too, Chief of Staff."

I set my teacup down and looked at Isabella.

She looked rough. The dark circles under her eyes threatened to reach her jawline, and her skin was dull and dry.

Then again, after seven straight months of overtime, from the national registration project all the way through the highway groundbreaking, looking fine would have been the abnormal thing.

'At this rate, she's going to report me to the labor board.'

I hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"Isabella, why don't you take the day off today?"

"...Pardon?"

She blinked at me, eyes wide.

"Are my dark circles as unsightly as they were the last time?"

"Ah, no. That's not it."

I cleared my throat and changed tack.

"I was thinking you could rest today, and I'd take tomorrow off. I'm pretty tired myself. Honestly, we've been running full tilt this whole time."

"Hmm..."

She furrowed her brow and answered.

"Then please rest first, Your Excellency."

"No, no. I have some paperwork to tidy up today. I think starting tomorrow would be better for me."

"......"

Isabella stared at me for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Understood. I'll head home, then."

"Please do. Rest well tonight, see you tomorrow. And make sure to turn your phone off."

"No, I'll be on standby. Call me whenever you need anything."

"There won't be any need for that. Now go on."

I watched Isabella's back as she left, and thought to myself.

'Tonight I'm firing up Netflix and cracking open some cup ramen.'

For once, I could have a late-night snack without having to watch my back.

***

After leaving Yu-jin's office, Isabella did not head home but instead made her way to her private on-call room, tucked away in a corner of the Presidential Palace's ground floor.

She had long since practically moved into the palace because of her workload, and since she spent more nights here than anywhere else, this place was more comfortable than home.

More importantly.

"Hmm-hmm Hmm"

There was a task she'd been putting off.

Click.

Upon entering the room, Isabella locked the door and changed into comfortable clothes.

Then, with a practiced hand, she booted up her computer and powered up her high-resolution photo printer.

Whirr- whirrrr-

Moments later, the photo printer produced images of a particular someone.

[Yu-jin delivering an impassioned speech from the podium on the parade grounds]

[Yu-jin poring over documents with a furrowed brow]

[Yu-jin catching a nap on the office sofa]

[Yu-jin passionately declaring at a Cabinet Meeting that the people are the nation]

When and how they had been taken, who could say, but every last one was a high-quality shot.

"Heh heh."

Isabella beamed with satisfaction as she looked over the freshly printed photographs.

She approached her bookshelf and pulled down the album bearing the most recent date from among dozens of thick albums.

[The Sun of San Marcos - Vol. 48]

When she opened the album, every page was packed with photos of Yu-jin.

With a reverence befitting the handling of some sacred relic, she used tweezers to carefully slot each photo into place.

"Perfect."

Isabella lost herself in admiring her collection.

"Hmm-hmm Hmm-hmm Truly, His Excellency is most dashing when his tie is loosened."

She glanced at the clock and started.

"Is it already this late..."

What was supposed to be a brief viewing had stretched to 10 PM.

She got up and changed back into the black suit she had worn to work.

She had a very important meeting to attend.

When she approached the bookshelf and pulled out Machiavelli's The Prince...

Kuh-chunk-

With a mechanical hum, the bookshelf rotated, revealing a dark passageway.

Tok, tok.

She walked in without hesitation, as if she'd done it a thousand times, and arrived at a place known to only five people in all of San Marcos: the Secret Meeting Room.

A chamber that had been constructed clandestinely, under Isabella's direction, during the Presidential Palace's renovation.

When she opened the heavy iron door and stepped inside, familiar faces were already assembled.

Field Marshal Pedro and Director Lucio, Senior Secretary Resa, and Protocol Secretary Anna.

Among the current administration, these were Yu-jin's inner circle of the inner circle.

"You're all here early."

With Isabella seated, every chair around the round table was now filled.

"We haven't much time, so let's begin right away."

The reason they had gathered in the dead of night, and in secret, was simple and crystal clear.

"The 13th regular meeting on the motion to install His Excellency as President for Life is now in session."

This, right here, was the group dedicated to making Yu-jin President for Life.

The members of [YUJIN Forever].

It was a gathering that would have made Yu-jin clutch the back of his neck and keel over had he witnessed it, but they went right on working behind the scenes to make him President for Life, entirely undeterred.

"First, the intelligence report. Director Lucio?"

In the dim light, SIA Director Lucio flipped through a chart.

"Our SIA has distributed publications compiling His Excellency's achievements through our covertly operated front publisher, The Sun's Library. Distribution points include hospital waiting rooms, hair salons, bank teller windows, and every government ministry break room nationwide. The contents are as follows."

Magazine covers appeared on the screen.

[His Excellency's Hidden Tears.]

[Why Doesn't Our President Uncle Ever Sleep?]

[The Deep and Vast Footprints of His Excellency.]

"Meticulous strategy, as we'd expect from Director Lucio. Well done."

"Thank you."

Isabella turned to Anna, seated beside Lucio, and the Protocol Secretary pushed her glasses up with supreme confidence.

"This time, I modified the visuals. I pulled out a five-year-old suit that had been buried in the back of storage and had him wear that, and I personally sanded down the heels of his shoes with sandpaper to make them look worn."

"Didn't His Excellency find it uncomfortable?"

"He's not the sort to pay attention to such things, so he showed no particular reaction."

"And the effect?"

"Considerable."

Anna pulled up a screen.

Comments under a MeTube video uploaded by San Marcos Public Broadcasting.

[Look at how worn down our Excellency's shoe heels are ㅠㅠ]

[I heard he doesn't even buy new clothes because he's trying to save the national budget...]

[I want to earn some money and buy him a new pair of shoes.]

"The image of a frugal and devoted father figure has been firmly established. At this point, regardless of approval ratings, we project that the people simply won't be able to let His Excellency go, if only out of sympathy."

"Excellent attention to detail. Well done."

Isabella nodded, highly pleased.

Next up was Resa, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

"The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has conducted no particular activities."

"...?"

Though that was essentially a confession of doing nothing, Resa wore a triumphant smile.

"Thanks to the influx of tourists from Korea, the entire tourism industry is beaming. They spend lavishly and their manners are excellent, so San Marcos's image of Korea, His Excellency's homeland, is at an all-time high."

"...Even luck is on our side."

The tides are in our favor. Isabella nodded, thinking His Excellency was destined to become the eternal sun of San Marcos.

"Good. Please take extra care to ensure no trouble arises with the tourists."

"Of course."

Next was Pedro's turn.

"The military's expanded its political education hours across the board. We show the men footage of His Excellency working through the night, and the moment it cuts out, special rations go around in His Excellency's name. So within the ranks, at least, His Excellency's approval's practically 100%."

"Sounds like Pavlovian conditioning."

Isabella nodded, her eyes glinting coldly.

"Now it's my turn."

She rose from her seat and began her explanation.

"I have directed investments for the future. I ordered Senior Secretary Sergio of Education to revise the textbooks."

A draft of an elementary school textbook appeared on the screen.

Alongside the founding heroes of San Marcos, a photograph of Yu-jin had been placed prominently.

"Furthermore, I elevated Korean language to equal status with English. Given the genuine surge in investment from Korean companies, the education frontlines responded that this made perfect sense."

"Early education, is it... Certainly effective."

"Once the children grow up, they will offer unconditional loyalty to His Excellency."

Isabella pulled up a map of the new highway routes.

"One more thing. I've begun work on incorporating His Excellency's esteemed likeness onto the signage of the highways being laid this time. In other words, every twenty kilometers, travelers will be able to see His Excellency. Since it's just a matter of printing it onto the signs anyway, it won't require much budget."

"Wow... How did you even come up with... You truly are remarkable."

Lucio was left speechless.

And so, the meeting, which had begun with each member reporting on their activities, came to an end after about an hour.

"Then let's meet again on the last day of next month, at this same hour. I trust you will all work diligently until then."

Isabella rose from her seat.

As if by prior arrangement, all five rose simultaneously, turned toward the life-sized statue of Yu-jin standing to one side, and, placing their right hands over their left breasts, spoke.

"To the eternal sun of San Marcos."

"To the sun."

As if in response, the life-sized gilded statue of Yu-jin reflected the light.