I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 121

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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 121
“Hello, I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Oh, your English pronunciation is excellent. Did you live in the United States?”
“I attend school in the United States.”
“Based on your appearance, are you a university student?”
“Yes, I am a university student.”
“Ah, that’s right. Min-guk bragged so much about his older brother being a genius.”
We naturally continued our conversation in English.
The Kindergarten Principal seemed restless before cautiously joining our conversation. In Korean.
“Oliver, this person would like to observe the class… would that be alright?”
“Of course.”
Oliver was as shameless as ever.
The Kindergarten Principal then relaxed and began to boast about Oliver.
“Our Oliver graduated from Princeton, one of the Ivy League schools in the United States. Since you attend Harvard, the two of you should get along wonderfully.”
“You attend Harvard?”
Oliver looked slightly surprised.
“Would it be alright if I observe the class? Min-guk’s parents are worried because he doesn’t study much.”
“Ah… yes. Since there are other students as well, observing for about ten minutes should be fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Then, please come this way.”
Oliver naturally guided me to the classroom where Min-guk was.
Oliver chattered unnecessarily, as if trying to ease the tension.
“By the way, you and your brother look very similar.”
[What are you talking about, Oliver? I’m far more handsome than Min-guk.]
“Your face seems familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”
[Of course we have. You chatted with me quite a bit when I was tutoring Jung-woo, Oliver.]
“I’ve appeared on TV programs before and filmed several commercials.”
“Ah, so that’s why your face is familiar…. Today I’ll briefly explain some grammar from our textbook and then conduct free conversation. Just watch for a moment.”
“Would it be possible to have a consultation after class?”
“Of course.”
Oliver answered shamelessly.
Oliver’s class was neither good nor bad.
With the textbook, he explained a few grammar points and had the students create simple sentences from them, then had the children practice exchanging them with each other.
Min-guk followed the class quite well. Surprisingly….
[So he does have a good mind after all….]
I then observed Ji-hee’s class, which was being conducted next to Min-guk’s classroom.
Ji-hee participated in class more enthusiastically than any other student in her class, as expected. She used far more vocabulary than the other children and had excellent expression.
[Ji-hee won’t be a concern.]
“Sung-guk.”
The Kindergarten Principal quietly called me from behind.
“Shall we have a cup of coffee in my office?”
“Yes, but I can’t drink coffee. Could I have water instead?”
“Of course.”
* * *
“Our academy is one of the oldest in this area. There’s been a lot of talk lately about native English teachers, you know—people saying some instructors don’t even have proper degrees from American universities. We’re very thorough about verifying credentials.”
[That doesn’t seem right….]
I sipped my water silently while the Academy Director did her best to promote the academy.
“Academy Director, I saw on your resume that you graduated from Boston University, but you didn’t actually graduate from Boston University, did you?”
“Ah, well, I completed a short-term course at Boston University. That counts as graduation too. And I don’t teach classes myself, as you can see—I just coordinate between students and teachers. So don’t worry. We offer one hundred percent native English instruction.”
[Right, the director has to make a living too.]
I nodded silently without saying anything.
Knock. Knock.
The door opened and Oliver entered after finishing his class.
“I told Min-guk to study on his own.”
Oliver spoke naturally in English.
The Academy Director seemed slightly flustered, so I quickly responded.
“Thank you for taking the time.”
“It’s only natural from my perspective as Min-guk’s teacher. Please ask if you have any questions.”
Oliver sat down in front of me with a polite smile.
[Oliver’s become much more Korean-like since I last saw him.]
I pretended not to notice and asked about Min-guk.
“Is Min-guk falling behind in class?”
“As you saw earlier, he follows along well during lessons. But it seems he’s not reviewing the material. Language learning requires frequent use and repetition, you know. Min-guk is lacking in that area. I think it would help if you could support him with that at home.”
Oliver had a good grasp of Min-guk’s situation.
“Oliver, you really do seem like a proper teacher now.”
Oliver looked slightly surprised at my words.
“A proper teacher now? What do you mean by that?”
“You don’t remember, Oliver?”
Oliver’s eyes narrowed.
He seemed to be recalling the past.
“Was I perhaps tutoring you?”
“You tutored my friend Jung-woo. That was about seven years ago.”
“Jung-woo?”
“You don’t remember? I was that friend chattering away next to Jung-woo during his tutoring sessions.”
“No way….”
Oliver’s mouth opened slightly.
He seemed to be vaguely remembering me.
“You told me back then—you said you quit college in America and came to Korea because it’s easy to make money here if you’re good at English.”
“Ah, well….”
Oliver was searching for an excuse.
The Kindergarten Principal, unable to follow our conversation, maintained a polite smile while watching our faces carefully.
“Oh, that’s right! I remember now, that little kid. He was so good at English back then that we joked around a lot together.”
“It wasn’t really joking—we just had a conversation.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I talked about myself a lot too, didn’t I?”
“The principal here thought Oliver graduated from Princeton?”
“Ah, that’s… I did tell the truth about it. But the principal said it would be better for the parents to hear it that way… Who would graduate from Princeton and teach English at a small academy in Korea like this? Besides, I’ve been doing this for a long time now and I teach the kids well.”
I had to agree with that to some extent.
Watching him teach Min-guk, there didn’t seem to be any real issues.
“Anyway, it was nice to see you after so long. Please take good care of Min-guk going forward.”
“Of course.”
Oliver answered awkwardly.
[Since we’ve already pretended to know each other like this, there shouldn’t be any problems.]
I stood up and bowed to the Kindergarten Principal.
“It might have been a difficult request, but thank you for agreeing. Please take good care of Min-guk and Ji-hee going forward.”
“Of course. We always do our best. And I… my school is…”
“I won’t tell the parents. The native English teachers handle all the classes anyway. Oliver, please take good care of them.”
“Yes.”
Oliver answered quickly as well.
Both the Academy Director and Oliver had leverage I could use against them, so they wouldn’t dare neglect Min-guk and Ji-hee’s lessons no matter what.
* * *
I held Min-guk’s right hand and Ji-hee’s left hand firmly as I headed toward the Supplementary Academy.
“Hyung, are you going to watch during class time again?”
“Why, don’t you like it?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of embarrassing. Hyung, can’t I go to the Supplementary Academy by myself? I’ll work really hard from now on.”
“Okay, but you can’t forget the contract you made with me!”
“Of course not. I keep my word! But, hyung.”
Min-guk tugged my hand toward somewhere.
“Where are we going?”
“Hyung, do you have money?”
“Why?”
“Buy me some tteokbokki before I go to the academy. They have this Pikachu pork cutlet there that’s really delicious.”
Ji-hee also tugged my hand.
“Oppa! Ji-hee is hungry too!”
“You want to eat too?”
“Yes!”
Ji-hee nodded with a bright smile.
There’s no older brother in South Korea who could resist this.
“Alright, I’ll buy everything for you. Let’s go.”
“Yay!”
“Hyung, the best!”
Min-guk and Ji-hee pulled me along by the hand as they ran.
“Hurry, oppa!”
[Fine, I’ll be your fool today. Do whatever you want!]
* * *
I knelt down in front of Mother alongside Min-guk and Ji-hee.
Mother glared at us with an angry expression as we sat there sheepishly.
“Sung-guk, you said you were going to watch how Min-guk and Ji-hee study, but you didn’t send them to the academy and you’re eating tteokbokki instead. What were you thinking?”
I scratched my head.
I’d forgotten to bring my wallet, so I’d ordered way too much food and had to call Mother to come pick us up.
Without a phone, I’d had to borrow one from the snack restaurant owner, which meant Min-guk and Ji-hee missed their academy classes and were stuck at the restaurant like hostages.
Even in that situation, Min-guk kept ordering more tteokbokki and fried food, insisting he’d eat more until Mother arrived.
“Mother, I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head deeply.
[My dignity as the eldest son is completely ruined….]
Just then, Min-guk hugged me tightly.
“Mom! Don’t scold oppa! I asked him to buy me tteokbokki! And I forgot what time academy was—it’s not like oppa did it on purpose!”
Ji-hee also hugged me tightly.
“Mom, don’t scold oppa! Oppa didn’t do anything wrong!”
“That’s right!”
Min-guk hugged me again tightly.
“You two are impossible. Mother is scolding you because it’s ridiculous that you just bought and ate tteokbokki without any plan. What if Mother had gone to work today? How long would you two have stayed there?”
“Mother, please don’t scold Min-guk and Ji-hee. It’s my fault for not bringing my wallet properly.”
“Like true siblings, protecting each other. Anyway! From now on, never be late to academy! And when it’s over, don’t dawdle—come straight home, understand? Got it?”
“Yes!”
“You answer well, at least.”
Mother finally calmed down.
I hugged Min-guk and Ji-hee tightly.
So this is what it feels like to have younger siblings who protect you when Mother scolds you….
I could never have imagined this in my past life.
My siblings back then would find each other’s weaknesses and tattle on one another….
My heart swelled.
Again, my heart ached with emotion.
“Oppa, don’t cry.”
“Oppa! Are you crying?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Mother clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk. Sung-guk, why are you crying over something like that?”
“I’m not crying….”
[I’m just moved!]
Min-guk and Ji-hee hugged me tightly again.
[Yes, in this life, I’ll take responsibility for all of you until the end.]
With that in mind.
“Jeon Min-guk, Oliver said your English is decent during class, but it’s not improving because you’re not reviewing. Let’s go over what you learned today with your brother.”
“Brother! Why are you suddenly like this?”
“And Ji-hee. I noticed today that you have good vocabulary and great expression. But you can’t stop there. To expand your vocabulary further, you need to read a lot of English books. You know the Harry Potter book I bought you, right?”
“Yeah, brother.”
Ji-hee also seemed uneasy.
[That’s the book you used to devour back then.]
“Alright, Min-guk, bring your academy textbook. Ji-hee, bring Harry Potter. Let’s study with your brother!”
Min-guk let out a deep sigh and muttered.
“People don’t change.”
“Jeon Min-guk, hurry and get the book.”
Min-guk and Ji-hee grumbled as they headed to their room to fetch the books.
Mother looked at me with a gentle smile and gave me a thumbs up.
“Our eldest son is the best!”
[You’re just realizing that now? Even Mother….]
* * *
Finally, I had time to myself.
I opened Face Paper.
And I briefly checked on my friends’ updates.
Mark’s European trip ended up being nothing but selfies from start to finish.
[Tsk tsk. He should have at least bought a tripod….]
His post about the excitement of wondering who would sit next to him on the plane ended with a relieved comment that nothing happened.
Dennis often posted photos of sweet moments with his girlfriend Michelle.
[He’ll delete it all if they break up. I like how he doesn’t make it too obvious, Dennis.]
Of course, I had plenty of such snide remarks.
Jessie kept posting lovey-dovey shots with Tyler, but I wasn’t envious at all.
[Like a display window couple….]
Ding.
My phone alarm went off.
Who could it be at this hour?
A name I hadn’t seen in a very long time appeared on my phone. It was Jeon Mi-jin.
– The Samjeon Kindergarten special class reunion will be held on Sunday, February 1st at Samjeon Hotel. We look forward to your attendance. Jeon Mi-jin.

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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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