Running for President, and You Tell Me This Is House of Cards?

1997. The Cold War is over, and the American Empire stands alone atop the world. Luke, a forensic medicine postgraduate, political strategist, and relationship guru who just crossed over into this era, finds himself standing dumbfounded on the parade ground at West Point. His first instinct is to break free from the military's grip—until he discovers his unique cheat: the ability to restart any losing hand. Since death is off the table, maybe it's time the Oval Office got a new occupant. He is West Point's football golden boy, a former Army Ranger who slapped chaebols in Seoul, beheaded a major general in the Middle East, and took out JSDF troops in Okinawa. An Olympic boxing gold medalist, a 9/11 rescue hero, and the man who threw himself on a landmine in Afghanistan to save his squad. By the time he launches his presidential run, Luke genuinely cannot see how he could possibly lose. Then, at the very peak of power—fresh off taking the oath of office as President of the United States, before his chair in the White House even warms up—his nominated Secretary of State gets torpedoed by a scandal. Wait... an old college editorial? An ambitious young female journalist? A humiliated withdrawal? The more he watches, the more familiar it feels. This is straight out of the TV series *House of Cards*. But the Democratic Majority Whip isn't Frank Underwood, and none of the hundreds of congressmen match that name. So who is really pulling the strings? Luke thought he was playing a warlord's rise to the top of American power. Now it's clear: the real fight has only just begun.