SWNOVELXO Chapter 127 - Cheating Day Chapter 127
The More You Empty, the More It Fills (2)
“Now, now. Cha Ji-chan, please calm down. You two continue the discussion,” Ju Ji-seung intervened.
Baek Woo-jin, feeling thirsty, took a sip of water and cleared his throat.
“Commissioner Ban-chan, you like ice cream, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You especially preferred Baskin-Robbins to the extent that you would eat a half-gallon size by yourself. But don’t you find it strange?”
“In what way?”
“Berry Berry Strawberry is always sold, but why is apple flavor sold only as an event, like Apple Mint or Apple Country Hello Kitty, mixed with other flavors? Haven’t you thought about that?”
Thinking back, that is indeed the case.
“Strawberries are preferred over apples. Let’s take a look at the data.”
At Baek Woo-jin’s signal, Cha Ji-chan displayed reference materials on the screen.
“This is the result of a 2017 survey conducted by Gallup Korea and the Farmers’ Newspaper regarding the favorite fruits of Koreans. Unsurprisingly, the number one fruit was strawberries.”
Baek Woo-jin explained the data thoroughly.
“Women preferred strawberries, peaches, and watermelons in that order, while men preferred watermelons, strawberries, and apples. If we break it down by age group, those in their 20s to 40s preferred strawberries. Those in their 50s preferred watermelons. Apples barely made an appearance.”
└Strawberries and watermelons were the most popular.
└No tangerines?
└What about bananas?
└Apples came in fourth overall.
“This is disappointing.”
Baek Woo-jin’s expression hardened as he initially felt triumphant.
“The reliability of survey results varies depending on which organization conducted them and when they were conducted.”
“…And?”
“My findings differ significantly from yours. Take a look at this.”
Ju Ji-seung showed the image file I had prepared to the viewers.
“This is the 2018 Food Consumption Behavior Survey report published by the Korea Rural Economic Institute.”
“Ah.”
Baek Woo-jin gasped, realizing his mistake.
“Of course, apples came in first. They accounted for 25.3% of the total. The second-place watermelon was 8.5% behind, making it a significant difference.”
Baek Woo-jin frowned deeply.
“Third place was grapes, fourth was tangerines, and fifth was peaches. Where is the strawberry? Is it in sixth place? No, sixth place is pears with 6.3%.”
└Did it really change that much in just a year?
└These survey results are way too different!
└Strawberries seem to be only preferred among the younger crowd.
└Right? In the 19-29 age group, strawberries are first, but overall they drop significantly.
└What are we supposed to believe???
“My data is based on the 2018 survey, which is a year later than the 2017 data presented by Baek Woo-jin. Moreover, this data comes from a public institution under the Economic and Social Research Council of the Prime Minister’s Office, making it inherently more reliable.”
“Well…”
“Also…”
I interrupted Baek Woo-jin’s counterargument.
“It seems like you’re trying to hide the truth, but the fact is that strawberries cannot compete with apples.”
As I gestured, Ju Ji-seung displayed another piece of data.
“This chart shows the quantity of fruit produced worldwide in 2021.”
“The number one fruit was bananas, with about 124 million tons produced. Apples came in third with about 93 million tons. Let’s look for strawberries. Oh, they’re so far down that it’s hard to see. Please scroll down a bit.”
Ju Ji-seung scrolled down to show where strawberries were located.
“Strawberries were in 21st place, with a production of 9.18 million tons, just about 10% of apples.”
Baek Woo-jin covered his face.
“In ice cream, especially within a specific brand, strawberries might rank above apples. But when you look at global production, isn’t the difference glaringly clear?”
└Even if you combine raspberries and blackberries, it’s still under 20%.
└This is a loss.
└Wait, weren’t you supposed to be helping him?
└This is overwhelmingly in favor of Baek Woo-jin!
└Ban-chan really has no mercy
└Yeah, there’s no bike~
The truth is, it’s hard for me to lose in this debate.
The production quantity difference between apples and berries is absolute.
Unlike Baek Woo-jin, who had dealt with relatively mild and rational viewers, I had learned to endure attacks and manipulation from the viewers.
I cannot be defeated by logic based solely on facts.
Moreover, since I cannot afford to leave the impression that I’m giving leniency now, I am not showing any acknowledgment.
The only way for Baek Woo-jin to win this debate is if he realizes something. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to return to Seoul just like this.
“…1986.”
Baek Woo-jin, who had been covering his face, spoke softly.
“South Korean agriculture faced a tremendous crisis.”
With a serious demeanor and a slightly trembling voice, Baek Woo-jin slowly raised his head.
The most essential condition when inciting is learning how to appeal to emotions.
“Ninety-three countries gathered in Uruguay began discussing multilateral trade agreements. South Korea faced a situation where we were obligated to import certain agricultural products, leading to a price crash for those items. Naturally, rural areas stopped cultivating low-priced products, resulting in a significant drop in food self-sufficiency.”
Baek Woo-jin slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
“In response, the Agricultural Cooperative shouted one slogan: ‘The food grown in the land I was born in is best for my body.’”
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Baek Woo-jin slowly looked around before saying, “Sinto berry.”
└What does that mean?
└Hahaha, what the heck?
└What is that?
└Shinto Buri, haha!
└Oh! I’m getting nationalistic vibes!
“Our products are the best! Why do you defend apples instead of excellent domestic products? Are you a traitor?”
This is the logic that instead of using the American-made Apple phone, we should use WH’s Berry phone.
It seems that through the discussions so far, I’ve grasped the basics of incitement, but it’s still a bit clumsy.
“Thank you for your words.”
“Are you admitting defeat now?”
“No. However, I completely agree that we need to protect the self-sufficiency of our rural areas.”
“But?”
“For many years, we have valued domestic products under the belief that we should protect our industry. But what about now?”
Baek Woo-jin blinked.
“Why did the term ‘domestic discrimination’ arise? Is that all? Prices go up due to rising costs, yet when costs drop, you use the issue of existing stock to keep prices the same.”
His eyes wavered.
“How long will you force consumers to sacrifice? Times have changed. Consumers will make the best choice whether it’s berries or apples. You cannot convince consumers with a sense of belonging to the country or patriotism alone!”
Baek Woo-jin trembled slightly.
└Right, right.
└Haha, he’s going to use Apple.
└I just use berries because they’re convenient.
└For real, I also use a Berry phone, but it’s not because it’s Korean.
└Wait, why am I so mad even though he’s making a valid point?
└He sometimes pretends to be normal while saying nonsense, that’s why!
└When he’s dishing out compliments, it’s one thing, but when someone else does, he gets all serious.
└You need to push like that for incitement and manipulation!
└But what happens if Baek Woo-jin loses?
└That’s quite a walk.
└If Baek Woo-jin goes back, what happens to WH’s sponsorship?
At this point, he should have understood, but his reaction was still weak.
I needed to uproot any seeds of hope and make him realize there was only one path left.
“I’ll ask one last time. Is it wrong to use an Apple phone?”
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“Well…”
“Say it clearly! Are you saying that using a Berry phone makes me a patriot, while using an Apple phone makes me a traitor to my country?”
“I never said that!”
Baek Woo-jin jumped up.
└This is crazy! Hahahaha!
└I thought he was being normal! Hahaha!
└Is Baek Woo-jin really going off the deep end? Why is the “American traitor” coming up? Hahaha!
└Seriously, why does it have to go this far? Hahaha!
└What a nutcase!
└Look at his eyes. He’s crazy.
└Come on, just tone it down a bit! You want to do good, but do you have to go this far?
“What do you want to say then? Clearly! Don’t beat around the bush, just speak the truth!”
I pressed him, believing that someone who had been in sync with me all this time would understand my intention.
The glare from his eyes was growing more teary.
“…You really want me to go back?”
After a brief silence, Baek Woo-jin spoke with a trembling voice.
“I know! I knew it was going to be hard from the beginning and I opposed it!”
“…”
“But what do I do now that I’ve found out? Do you know how many people are waiting for me?”
It seemed he had found the last path available to him.
“Yeah! I know it’s a workaround! I said I’d go, and I acted like it was okay, but now I’m asking for a bike! It must seem ridiculous! It must be absurd! But I want to go too! I want to joke around with my brothers, eat ramen at the convenience store, greet my subscribers if I run into them! I want to see the kids! I want to play Go-Stop with the grandmas and grandpas! I don’t want Ji-hye to go on vacation either! I want to do all that! But… but do we have to go this far? Huh?”
Baek Woo-jin dropped tears as big as chicken droppings.
What a perfect timing.
“I think we should end the debate here. Since neither side is conceding, let’s decide by vote.”
I spoke while looking at Ju Ji-seung and Cha Ji-chan.
The two, who had been watching us with pained expressions, seemed to have understood my intention as their eyes widened.
“The debate time has ended with both sides being very close. If you think berries are better, please choose number 1, Baek Woo-jin. If you think apples are better, please choose number 2, Ban Chan-yong. We’ll conduct the voting until 6 PM.”
I checked the time and saw there were 5 minutes left until 6 PM.
Baek Woo-jin wiped his tears and glared at me, and when our eyes met, Cha Ji-chan nodded.
└I’m torn.
└Looks like Ban Chan-yong is going to win by a landslide! Hahaha!
└Poor Woo-jin, he got wrecked again today.
└But Ban Chan-yong is being a bit much today.
└Seriously, does he have to go this hard? He wants to go so badly.
└The “traitor” frame was set up by Woo-jin first! Hahaha!
└Is he seriously saying that? Hahaha!
└He did go a bit further than usual.
The chat reactions are quite positive.
It seems a significant number of people were moved by Baek Woo-jin’s genuine desire to do good.
In the end, the win or loss of the debate isn’t that important.
The key is whether the viewers, the public opinion, will allow Baek Woo-jin to have the bike.
If we stage it awkwardly, the viewers will definitely notice, and then we would end up getting criticized for trying to do something good.
In that case, it’s better to honestly appeal to emotions.
He really wants to go but can’t because his body won’t cooperate—asking for understanding and help.
Our viewers are not so heartless that they would ignore that voice.
“……”
However, this is merely my hope and expectation; I can’t know for sure what the actual outcome will be.
As I waited anxiously, the clock struck 6 PM.
“I will now end the voting. The results are in.”
Ju Ji-seung paused for a moment before displaying the debate results on the screen.
Baek Woo-jin (Berries) 29,377 votes
Ban Chan-yong (Apples) 28,591 votes
“Baek Woo-jin has won by a margin of 786 votes!”
“Wowwwww!”
Cha Ji-chan let out a loud scream. Overjoyed that he could have protein, he rushed over and hugged Baek Woo-jin, causing a commotion.
“Huh?”
Baek Woo-jin looked bewildered, as if he expected to lose.
“Nice strategy!”
Ju Ji-seung approached and casually commented.
“What do you mean?”
“I know everything.”
Ju Ji-seung grinned. I can’t handle this guy.
“Did you figure it out?”
“At first, I didn’t, but as I listened, I noticed you were being a bit more intense than usual. It seemed strange.”
Cha Ji-chan was spinning Baek Woo-jin around while lifting him over his head.
“We had to vote. If I concede, it would imply favoritism. If Woo-jin concedes, he would be hurt.”
Neither option yields a particularly good outcome.
“If we vote and a different result comes up, it’s what the viewers decided. The negative people would accept it to some extent.”
“And Woo-jin wouldn’t feel guilty either.”
Nodding, I felt a pat on my back from Ju Ji-seung.
“Nice job, Ban Chan-yong.”