I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 116

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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 116
Sitting across from me were Seo Jin-ah with her coy demeanor and Lee Yu-mi with her aloof presence.
Between us, tteokbokki bubbled away in a steaming pot.
Bang Mu-hyuk had arranged this gathering.
“Sung-guk, you’ve been living abroad for so long… and you don’t have friends your own age, right? Yu-mi and Jin-ah happen to be the same age as you, so it’d be great if you all got along well. They can teach you about Korean peer culture too…”
[Korean peer culture? What? School bullying?]
My eyes narrowed.
That tall male trainee from earlier had tested my patience repeatedly.
For debut, it was routine for trainees to compete endlessly against each other.
Because of that, they were somewhat hostile toward newcomers like me who had perfect features and impressive credentials.
Lee Yu-mi grinned and started eating the tteokbokki.
“Sung-guk, you really go to Harvard?”
“Yeah. You’ve seen all the articles about me.”
“I saw them, but… I’ve never met a genius like this before.”
“Plus you’re so tall… and your visuals are completely mature.”
Seo Jin-ah agreed.
[Do you girls even know how old I am?]
Bang Mu-hyuk set a cola in front of me.
“Here, minors should drink cola.”
[Sigh, a minor who has to drink cola. I got a D for the first time in my life today—maybe I should down some cola tonight to celebrate!]
I gulped down the cola.
Seo Jin-ah asked Bang Mu-hyuk coyly.
“Producer, how long have you known Sung-guk?”
“Oh, I met him a few years ago when I went to New York. Beom-seon introduced us. You all know Beom-seon, right?”
“Yes! He’s a member of Just.”
“Right. I went to New York with Beom-seon, and I happened to run into Sung-guk at a restaurant. After that, Sung-guk and I spent a lot of time together—went to galleries and such.”
“Wow.”
Even coy Seo Jin-ah’s jaw dropped.
“Really amazing, right? Anyway, you two need to help Sung-guk a lot. Since he’s never attended school in Korea, he’ll probably struggle with peer relationships and things like that.”
Lee Yu-mi asked while putting tteokbokki in her mouth.
“Sung-guk, how much studying do you need to get into Harvard?”
[Until you’re sweating bullets.]
If I said something like that, they’d call me unsophisticated, wouldn’t they?
“I was in the top ranks throughout boarding school—that’s American high school. The SAT, which is like your country’s college entrance exam, you need to get the highest scores. And American universities don’t just look at grades; they care a lot about extracurricular activities too. Developing ‘Face Paper’ helped me a lot with college admissions.”
“What’s ‘Face Paper’?”
“It’s an SNS like Acorn World that exists in Korea.”
“Wow, you’re really amazing.”
[Well, this much is nothing.]
I slurped down the tteokbokki after a long time.
In my previous life, they wouldn’t even let me eat junk food like this…
[Why won’t they let me eat something this delicious?]
It truly was an eye-opening burst of flavor.
“By the way, Sung-guk. Are you going to upload the video you practiced today to Face Paper?”
I had already asked Bang Mu-hyuk to send me the files of today’s practice so I could upload them to Face Paper.
“Yes. Just like I did the thirty-dollar challenge last time, this time I’m planning to upload content about living as a trainee in South Korea for a month on Face Paper.”
Lee Yu-mi and Seo Jin-ah didn’t seem to fully understand my conversation with Bang Mu-hyuk.
[It’s not exactly normal for a fourteen-year-old to understand this conversation. I’m a very special case.]
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Just uploading trainee life would be fun, but wouldn’t it be even better if we had a clear goal like last time?”
Bang Mu-hyuk really did have sharp instincts.
“One month as a trainee, then debut. How does that sound?”
“It’s an impossible mission, but it would definitely grab people’s attention, wouldn’t it?”
“Exactly.”
I was already getting excited at the thought of going and uploading this to Face Paper.
Bang Mu-hyuk shared more tteokbokki with us.
“Start your diet tomorrow. Eat plenty for now.”
“Yes, PD.”
Lee Yu-mi and Seo Jin-ah slurped down the tteokbokki.
For idol trainees in South Korea, dieting was a harder assignment than calculus.
“By the way, Sung-guk. Do you think you can keep up with the training starting tomorrow?”
[Wait, is Bang Mu-hyuk actually worried I can’t keep up?]
Bang Mu-hyuk drove the point home.
“Being a top student at Harvard doesn’t mean you’ll be a top student at JP Entertainment.”
Whoosh.
My competitive spirit, which had been dormant inside me, began to ignite.
“I’ll try. No, I can do it!”
* * *
“Hyung, you can’t do it like that. Look, your body has to move with the music. Follow me.”
[I can’t believe I’m learning dance from Min-guk. Min-guk, do you remember I coached you to get that child actor role? You don’t?]
Min-guk pouted with an angry expression.
“Hyung! Why can’t you follow something this easy!”
[I think he remembers when I scolded him back then.]
I stopped dancing.
“Jeon Min-guk. I’m your older brother. Are you really getting angry with me right now?”
[Do you have any idea who you have to thank for eating and sleeping comfortably in this house?]
It was essentially a different version of that same line.
Min-guk looked at me with a slightly apologetic expression.
“Hyung, it’s not that… you’re just really bad at it.”
Frustration.
The word felt like it was being driven straight into my head.
[Me. Jeon Sung-guk. There’s something I can’t do….]
Min-guk studied my expression before softening his voice.
“Hyung, try following me.”
I followed Min-guk’s lead, recalling Lee Seo-rin’s instructions from yesterday, and attempted to wave my body through my head, chest, pelvis, and stomach—but failed miserably.
“Sigh…”
I exhaled a long breath.
Min-guk came beside me and crouched down next to me.
“Hyung, I thought you were someone who couldn’t fail at anything in this world. But you really are hopeless at dancing. How are you planning to become a JP trainee like this?”
Even Min-guk was looking down on my abilities.
I clenched my teeth.
Min-guk patted my shoulder.
“Hyung, this won’t work. Let’s give up on becoming an idol.”
“Min-guk, I’m not practicing to become an idol. I’m simply… working on the ‘Face Paper’ project. I’m showing people something continuously for one month. A month might seem short, but it’s time that can change your entire life.”
There was no way Min-guk could understand everything I was saying.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
[This brat Min-guk has grown up and is already rebelling.]
“Hyung, with this level of skill, you could get kicked out of JP in a week, not a month. Let’s start practicing again.”
“Yeah, okay.”
I stood up again and began learning dance while Min-guk pointed out my mistakes.
* * *
– South Korea JP Trainee Day 1. Vocals: D. Dance: D-. Can I debut with this skill level? 30-day project begins!
As soon as I posted this text along with my video on Face Paper, comments started flooding in like crazy.
– Sung-guk, anyone can dream. But few actually achieve them.
– He’s not cleaning at JP, right? He really looks like he’s cleaning….
– With that level of dancing, you can’t say anything to Mark at the Halloween party!
– Sung-guk, we love you just as you are.
– Is this Sung-guk’s first failure we’re witnessing?
The last comment was from Mark, who was in Europe.
Mark was traveling throughout Europe.
I replayed the video over and over. It really felt like Jeon Sung-guk’s first failure in life was right before my eyes.
Click.
Min-guk burst through the door.
“Jeon Min-guk, you should knock before entering.”
“Hyung, were you watching something weird?”
“What? No.”
Patter patter patter.
Min-guk didn’t even listen to my answer and was already running toward the kitchen.
I could hear Min-guk shouting from outside.
“Mom! Hyung is watching a weird video!”
“What?”
At the same time, I heard Mother rushing over.
“Sung-guk, what is Min-guk saying?”
“Mom, I didn’t see anything weird. I was just watching a video of today’s practice.”
In that instant, Mother’s and Min-guk’s eyes sparkled.
As if they’d discovered prey.
“Sung-guk, Mom’s so curious about your practice too. Show me.”
“Hey, Mom. Look at this. Hyung, you dance so badly. Oh my goodness!”
Min-guk had already rushed over to the laptop and showed the video to Mother.
[Jeon Min-guk, just you wait.]
Mother watched my video and smiled.
“My, our Sung-guk has things he can’t do too.”
Devastation.
Even in Mother’s eyes, I looked like a mess.
“Sung-guk, just think of this month as making friends and having new experiences.”
Mother patted my back.
Beside her, Min-guk stuck his tongue out and made a silly face.
“I’m cooking now, so come out in a bit.”
“Yes, Mom.”
Just as Min-guk was about to follow Mother out, I grabbed him by the nape of his neck.
“Hyung, what are you doing?”
“Jeon Min-guk, want to study some arithmetic with your hyung?”
“Huh…?”
I could see Min-guk’s face stiffen.
“Even if hyung’s not smart, if he studies hard, he can at least get average grades, right?”
“Yeah. Mom and Dad say my brain is good. It’s just that I don’t try hard.”
“Then, how about using that good brain to try hard with hyung?”
“Hyung, I’m hungry.”
“Thirty minutes before dinner. Thirty minutes after. Go get your arithmetic book. Otherwise, I’m canceling the JP Entertainment tour.”
“No, that can’t happen. Absolutely not. Okay, Hyung. I’ll go get the book from my room.”
Min-guk bolted toward his room.
I lifted the corners of my mouth slightly.
[This is how you take revenge.]
* * *
– January 1st, 2004. Will effort truly never betray me? Another day at the JP Practice Studio.
I stood in front of the mirror in the dance practice room and took what’s called a mirror shot, then posted it on Face Paper.
Comments like “so handsome” and “incredibly good-looking” came in so frequently they’d become tiresome.
I turned on the music in the empty practice room.
And I surrendered my entire body to the music.
Boom-chick boom-chick. Boom-chick boom-chick. Boom boom-chick.
[Yes, this is it!]
An empty practice studio.
A sound that filled every corner.
I had finally shed the suffocating chains of my former identity as a fallen tycoon….
Click.
At the sound of someone entering, my entire body went rigid.
[Who dares interrupt my practice?]
“Huh? Isn’t that Sung-guk?”
When I turned around, Ye-jin was standing there.
“Oh, noona?”
“It is you, right? I heard a trainee was coming during the break, and here you are.”
“Yes. What brings you here, noona? It’s January 1st, after all.”
“I came to practice too. There’s not much to do at home anyway. I heard there was an incredibly handsome new trainee, and I thought it might be you.”
Ye-jin appeared noticeably more mature than the last time I’d seen her.
Her face, framed by long black hair tied back in a single ponytail, was still adorably radiant.
“You’re lucky you didn’t get cut, noona.”
“Yeah, thankfully I didn’t. I’ve been practicing a lot. But what were you just doing?”
My pupils trembled for a moment.
[What was I doing? I was dancing….]
“Don’t tell me you were dancing?”
“….”
It was a question where admitting the truth or denying it both spelled trouble.
“Haha, Sung-guk. You really are uncoordinated, aren’t you? Want me to teach you? I struggled with it too before I finally broke free of it.”
“Don’t you need to practice yourself, noona?”
“You know, helping someone else always helps me improve too.”
Ye-jin smiled as she approached, then loosened her ponytail and shook it out.
Suddenly, a sweet fragrance filled the air.
[What perfume is this?]
Everything felt so warm and intimate, as if the very air of the world had transformed.
I found myself staring at Ye-jin again.
My heart began to race inexplicably.
Thump. Thump. Thump-thump.
[Could this be… an arrhythmia?!]

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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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