I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 104
Click.
I closed the book and finally checked my message.
– Welcome to the Lyan Club. The freshman welcome gathering is next Friday. Dress code is black suit.
“Sung-guk, but why didn’t they send me an invitation?”
[Well, they probably know who the real power player is.]
But I didn’t say that.
“Probably because I’m known around school for being prom king and all that. They might not even know you’re a developer.”
“Yeah, since you handle all the business side anyway. Honestly, I’d rather play computer games than go to something like that.”
At that moment, Mark’s eyes lit up.
“Sung-guk, we finally did it!”
Mark had updated the profile service that allowed users to post personal information like whether they were dating or married.
Mark quickly announced to the world that he was single.
“Sung-guk, you do it too. That way others will follow.”
“Okay!”
Single.
I quickly updated my relationship status.
Then Jessie soon updated her profile as well.
Creak.
The door opened and Dennis came in.
“Sung-guk, did the Lyan Club contact you?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re passing, right?”
“Of course. Dennis, come update your profile too. We’re all single.”
“You finally made it?”
Dennis excitedly updated his Face Paper profile.
“But why is Jessie still single? There must be more than a few guys trying to court her.”
[That’s because of me.]
* * *
Dennis spent the night groaning as he typed something on his computer.
Beside him, I was reading a book.
Coming to university, I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with my studies at an IQ of 121.
Harvard was a place where only the top one or two geniuses from American high schools came.
Life with an IQ of 121 was truly a continuous struggle.
[I miss my IQ from my previous life….]
I heard Dennis let out a long sigh.
“Sung-guk, will you listen to my story?”
“What story?”
“I’m writing a scenario… but it’s just not coming together.”
I closed my book.
I had to listen carefully to anything Dennis had to say.
Because within the next ten years, Dennis would become the most promising director in American cinema.
“What kind of story are you writing?”
“I took drum lessons briefly when I was fourteen. There was a drum class during after-school hours at school, so I joined it, and it was so much fun. At first, my skills improved quite rapidly… so I thought, why not make a living playing drums? I practiced incredibly hard with that mindset.”
[So this is where Dennis’s first film would begin.]
I listened intently to Dennis’s story.
“But then my drum teacher suddenly changed. The previous teacher would encourage students during lessons. He’d say things like, ‘Even if you struggle now, you’ll get better with more practice,’ and he gave lots of praise. But the new teacher was terrifying. Whenever I made a mistake, he’d snap at me saying I had no talent for drums. Because of that, I quit drums altogether.”
“You want to turn that story into a film?”
“Yeah… but the scenario feels too clichéd.”
“Hmm….”
I pretended to think it over.
“You didn’t set the protagonist’s age as a middle school student in reality, did you?”
“Right now, I did….”
“If it were me, I’d want to age the protagonist up more… what if it were about college students majoring in music in New York? It would feel more urgent, and they’d desperately want recognition for their talent.”
Dennis’s eyes sparkled.
“Sung-guk! Do you want to write this scenario with me?”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
[Hmm, I’ll need to draw up another contract….]
I nodded with a bashful smile.
“Let’s work on it together whenever we have time.”
“But I’m worried. The scenario doesn’t feel commercial enough, so I’m not sure if we can even get investment.”
“Dennis, if we can’t get investment, I’ll invest in it myself. Don’t worry.”
“Sung-guk, do you have that much money?”
“I’ll earn a lot.”
Dennis fell backward laughing.
“Sung-guk, you’re hilarious!”
[Wealthy people don’t flaunt their money. And with just five billion won… in my past life, my stocks alone were worth trillions.]
I quietly turned my eyes back to my book.
* * *
The first meeting of the Lyan Club was finally approaching.
The dress code was suits.
As I put on my suit, I tilted my head in confusion.
Mark, who had opened the door to come in and use the computer, also tilted his head in confusion.
“Sung-guk, did you grow taller again?”
My pants had become too short, exposing my ankles clearly.
“Looks like it. I didn’t notice last week since it was nighttime… but in daylight, they’re incredibly short.”
Mark quickly came to my side and stood next to me to compare heights.
I was actually taller than Mark by just a thumbnail’s width.
Mark sat down at the desk with a dejected expression.
“Now you’re even taller than me! Wow, this is completely frustrating. All this time I’ve been getting by on being older and taller than you….”
“Mark, don’t worry. You’ll always be older than me.”
“I wish it were the opposite.”
Mark’s face fell into a dejected expression.
[But what about the suit….]
Just then, the door opened and Dennis entered.
Dennis had the exact same reaction as Mark.
“Sung-guk, how tall are you exactly?”
“I haven’t measured, so I’m not sure exactly. Oh! Dennis, do you have a suit I could borrow?”
“I have one.”
Dennis pulled a suit from his closet.
“My mother told me to buy one just in case, so I got it from a discount mart. Will it work for you, Sung-guk?”
“It should fit better than that short one from before.”
“The kids coming to the Lyan Club aren’t messing around. According to what’s floating around on Face Paper, there’s the son of an American oil magnate and the son of a Princeton professor. They’re all pretty impressive.”
“Anyway, since I’m Asian, I won’t worry too much about it.”
I picked up Dennis’s suit.
The pants fit surprisingly well, and since it was bought from a discount mart, it had a timeless, unpretentious style that didn’t follow trends.
“Sung-guk, it looks better on you than it does on me.”
“I’ll buy you lunch tomorrow as payment for borrowing the suit.”
“Sounds good.”
* * *
Among Harvard’s clubhouses, the Lyan Club’s clubhouse was the largest and most beautiful.
This also meant that the senior members of the Lyan Club wielded considerable influence.
I could see several students in suits walking ahead of me.
According to what circulated on Face Paper, of the seven who passed, the other six besides me were either sons of well-known companies or sons of famous scholars—names that everyone would recognize.
Just as Dennis had mentioned, there was Jimmy Brown, the son of an American oil company executive, and Justin Woods, the son of a professor who had won the Fields Medal and was teaching mathematics at Princeton.
They were all dressed in clearly expensive suits.
As I stood in front of the clubhouse, the Winklevoss Brothers greeted me.
“Sung-guk, congratulations. And welcome to the Lyan Club.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed respectfully and stepped inside.
The interior of the clubhouse felt as though I had stepped into early modern America.
Cameron, one of the Winklevoss Brothers, approached me and offered a glass of champagne.
“How about a glass of champagne?”
“I’m still a minor, so I’ll have water instead.”
[Cameron, you’re testing me, aren’t you? I’m not falling for this.]
I picked up a cup of water.
“You’re quite disciplined about self-management, Sung-guk.”
[More like, I don’t trust you guys. What are you trying to do, getting me drunk?]
I smiled and brushed it off casually.
“You have to protect what needs protecting. That way, there won’t be problems later.”
“Listening to Sung-guk speak, he really sounds like someone who’s lived a long life.”
[I’ve lived longer than you, you naive fools.]
Cameron led me around the clubhouse, showing me various corners of the place.
“This is where we gather to smoke cigars, chat, play chess, drink… it’s like a lounge. You’ll probably spend the most time here. Sung-guk, you don’t smoke cigars, right?”
[I smoked occasionally in my past life, but I won’t touch them in this one. I’ve learned that even if you have everything, losing your health means losing everything, Cameron.]
That’s how it was in my past life.
I had everything, yet I died of a heart attack.
I smiled bitterly and gulped down some mineral water.
“The seniors will probably arrive in about an hour. They’re all prominent figures in finance and business, so it would be good to make a proper impression.”
“Thank you for the explanation.”
[Now get lost, would you.]
But Cameron didn’t budge from my side.
He was like a defender marking me closely.
Surely he wasn’t trying to prevent me from advertising Face Paper?
I looked at Cameron with suspicious eyes.
“Um, I need to use the Restroom….”
“Around the corner.”
As I started to move, Cameron followed suit.
“I can find the Restroom just fine on my own.”
“Oh, sure.”
Cameron, looking embarrassed, just kept drinking champagne.
* * *
Sitting on the toilet, I quickly sent a message to Mark.
– Mark, search for some famous investors among the Lyan Club seniors. And get detailed info on Peter Brenton especially.
– Okay.
The reply came quickly.
Just as I was about to open the Restroom door, I felt someone pushing it from outside.
And a childish voice came from beyond the door.
“Hey, Oriental! I heard you got the most contact numbers from girls this time?”
[So whenever you excel, you get ostracized somewhere. There’s no helping it. This is my fate….]
With a resolute expression, I kicked the door hard!
The owner of that childish voice tumbled onto the Restroom floor from the impact.
[What, he’s just a weakling.]
The one sprawled on the floor was none other than the son of an American oil tycoon.
His name was Jimmy Brown.
I extended my hand to Jimmy Brown.
“Aren’t you going to get up?”
“….”
Jimmy Brown chewed his lips sullenly without responding.
“If you don’t like it, then don’t.”
The moment I withdrew my hand and turned to leave the restroom, I caught Jimmy Brown—sprawled on the floor—attempting to trip me with his leg.
[How childish.]
I quickly sidestepped Jimmy Brown’s foot.
In doing so, he rolled across the restroom floor once more with his entire body.
“Seems you’re fond of the restroom floor. See you later.”
I trampled on Jimmy Brown’s pride one last time before stepping outside.
* * *
The seniors began arriving one by one.
The freshmen greeted them respectfully, and the seniors introduced themselves without hesitation.
Most of them held positions at companies whose names alone commanded respect, or had passed through high-ranking government posts.
I was continuously sipping water while avoiding Cameron.
“It seems like you’re the first East Asian in the Lyan Club.”
A middle-aged man with a pleasant demeanor extended his hand for a handshake.
“I’m from Korea.”
“Ah, Korea. I’ve been there before, for investment purposes. My name is Peter Brenton.”
[Finally found him.]
The investor I’d been watching for was none other than Peter Brenton.
“I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
I clinked my water glass against Peter’s.
“We have the same taste. Water.”
“I’m a minor, so I can’t drink alcohol.”
“What?”
Peter looked me up and down with astonished eyes.
“If you’re a minor, are you eighteen? Did you skip grades?”
“To be precise, I’m twelve years old. I’ve skipped quite a few grades.”
Peter stared at me in disbelief, then stared again.
“Most people don’t believe it, but I’m really twelve. I can show you my ID if you’d like.”
“You entered Harvard at twelve years old?”
“Yes. I suppose that’s why I received an invitation to the Lyan Club despite being an East Asian minor.”
“That could be it, but… it’s difficult to receive a Lyan Club invitation based on that alone. In South Korea, there’s something called chaebols, and I wonder if your parents happen to own one of those companies we’d recognize just by name.”
[In my previous life, that was the case.]
But in this life, it’s absolutely not.
“No. My parents run a small restaurant.”
“Really?”
Peter’s expression grew increasingly puzzled.
Just then, a message came from Mark.
– Sung-guk, Peter Brenton is an incredibly famous investor. He invests by the book, earns by the book, and he’s been very vocal in criticizing the underhanded tactics of private equity funds!
I smiled at Peter.
It seemed the moment to bring up this topic had finally arrived.
“It’s probably because of the SNS I developed with a friend. Face Paper.”
“Face Paper? You mean that SNS Microsoft tried to acquire?”
“Yes.”
I took a long sip of mineral water.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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