I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 131

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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 131
Lim Mi-mi quickly took the pizza box from Mark’s hands.
“Let me carry that for you.”
“Mi-mi, am I also your boss like Sung-guk? Is that why you’re being so formal with me?”
Mark was grinning like an idiot, completely out of his mind.
[Mark, please… get a grip….]
Lim Mi-mi looked at him with a slightly sour expression before breaking into a bright smile again.
[Lim Mi-mi, I saw that! That bitter smile just now!]
Mark quickly pulled the pizza box back toward himself.
“This is something a man should do!”
[Sigh… please, Mark~]
Still, I wasn’t too worried.
Mark’s crushes came and went easily, but they ended at lightning speed more than anyone else’s.
* * *
Lim Mi-mi entered the office, set her laptop on the table, opened the window for ventilation, then naturally made her way to the makeshift kitchen and brewed coffee.
Mark and I watched this situation unfold awkwardly.
Lim Mi-mi opened the refrigerator door and looked at me.
“You take milk, right, boss?”
“Yes….”
I answered without thinking.
Mark whispered quietly.
“Sung-guk, shouldn’t you tell her she doesn’t need to do things like this?”
“Yeah, I should….”
The moment Lim Mi-mi turned around, for some reason we both hastily placed our laptops on the table and frantically powered up our computers.
Lim Mi-mi set the milk on my desk.
“Here you go, boss.”
“Lim Mi-mi, can we talk for a moment?”
“Of course, boss.”
“You’re still an intern at our company, but we didn’t hire you to do things like this. We’ll handle that ourselves.”
“Do you dislike doing this, boss?”
“Dislike doing what?”
I couldn’t fathom what was going on in Lim Mi-mi’s head.
Yesterday she was a porcupine with all her quills raised, but today she was like a puppy wagging its tail at its owner.
“I lived under a dictator for over twenty years. In North Korea, the hierarchy is strictly determined by your family background, and that’s ingrained in me. But even here in the United States, people seem to love it. So I thought, perhaps all Americans in this capitalist country also dream of becoming dictators.”
[Well, she’s not wrong….]
But!
“We think a freer atmosphere helps us work better. Since Mark and I are still students, this formality feels awkward to us.”
“If that’s what you want, boss, then I’ll do that. I lived under a dictator for over twenty years, so I’m good at following orders.”
[Over twenty years under a dictator….]
“Twenty years under a dictator…”
Why did I sense such a strong echo of Father’s storytelling charm emanating from Lim Mi-mi?
Rustle. Rustle.
Mark opened the pizza box and offered it to Lim Mi-mi.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a variety. Pick whichever you prefer.”
“Please, you owners choose first.”
“Lim Mi-mi, just call me Mark. Make it casual.”
[Mark, are you on a blind date right now? Sigh… I should focus on work.]
I concentrated on my tasks to avoid paying attention to them.
What was FaceNote’s biggest problem right now?
I pondered this, then glanced at Lim Mi-mi.
Since she’d hacked into FaceNote accounts, she would understand FaceNote’s vulnerabilities better than anyone else.
“Lim Mi-mi, Mark. Should we have a meeting?”
“Sung-guk, a meeting all of a sudden?”
Mark asked while crunching on a slice of pepperoni pizza.
“Since we have a new employee, I thought it would be good to discuss FaceNote’s problems together.”
“Sounds good, sir.”
“But… Lim Mi-mi, calling me ‘sir’ feels uncomfortable. You’re much older than me, after all.”
“I’ve seen your FaceNote profile, so I know everything. But calling you by your name like I do with Mark feels too collegial, and calling a CEO so much younger than me by their first name feels disrespectful. I’ll just call you sir.”
“Sung-guk, it’s actually pretty catchy and nice. Sir. It has a ring to it.”
[Mark, what’s bothering you now….]
I grabbed my laptop and headed toward the sofa.
“Let’s get to the meeting!”
* * *
Lim Mi-mi’s expression became quite serious when she worked.
Her small hands flew rapidly across the laptop keyboard.
“Lim Mi-mi, how did you first discover FaceNote? It’s still mainly used by college students in the eastern region, after all.”
“I told you I worked many part-time jobs. When I worked at a cafe, one of my coworkers was a Harvard student. She kept sneaking peeks at her laptop during work hours, so I got curious and looked into it. She was obsessed with FaceNote, constantly checking it.”
“Obsessed with it?”
“Posts about parties happening somewhere, or people looking for companions to go places. That kind of content keeps popping up, so you can’t look away. All the American girls and guys here seem desperate to date, no matter what.”
“That’s not quite right. They’re just lonely, so they do that.”
Mark actively defended the FaceNote users who craved romance.
“That just shows how addictive it is.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lim Mi-mi was looking at FaceNote on the laptop resting on her lap when she suddenly glanced back and forth between Mark and me.
“I can tell you both lack any particular talent for appearance, but why is FaceNote entirely blue?”
I looked at Mark. This was also a personal pain point for him.
Mark scratched his head sheepishly.
“I’m colorblind to red and green.”
“What does that mean?”
“Red and green don’t exist in my color spectrum, Lim Mi-mi.”
Lim Mi-mi looked at Mark with a hint of surprise.
“You’re saying two colors are missing from the rainbow spectrum—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet?”
“That’s right. I don’t see all seven colors of the rainbow. Never have, never will….”
Mark spoke matter-of-factly.
“Mark handles all the technical aspects of FaceNote, doesn’t he? Blue isn’t even a color people dislike… I naturally think I should provide the most comfortable environment for Mark, our developer.”
“But… is blue tacky?”
Mark seemed bothered by Lim Mi-mi’s opinion.
“Blue isn’t tacky, but it is a bit too simple.”
I nodded in agreement.
The simplicity was the biggest complaint from FaceNote’s early users. Yet this very simplicity would eventually dominate the world.
Lim Mi-mi paused thoughtfully before continuing.
“At first I thought it might be a little tacky, but it’s actually intuitive and simple. And blue is definitely better than red any day. In North Korea, they carved red characters on every building for everything. This feels much more like the color of democracy.”
Mark’s spirits lifted immediately at Lim Mi-mi’s words.
“Lim Mi-mi, what we need to do over the next month is enhance FaceNote’s server functionality while also increasing its capacity. Since Sung-guk is mainly handling the business side, we’ll probably be working together quite a bit. Feel free to share your thoughts like that.”
“Yes, Mark.”
[This isn’t some elaborate plan to stick together, is it, Mark?]
Lim Mi-mi turned to look at me and raised her hand slightly.
“Restaurant Owner, I have a question.”
“Go ahead. And you don’t need to raise your hand. Just speak naturally.”
“I’ll work on that too, Restaurant Owner. By the way, I’m new here, but don’t we do a team dinner?”
Mark and I exchanged surprised glances at Lim Mi-mi.
“Lim Mi-mi, do they have team dinners in North Korea?”
“I watched South Korean dramas and variety shows, and office workers always had team dinners. I’ve always wanted to try one.”
“Mi-mi, let’s have a team dinner right now!”
Mark shouted before Lim Mi-mi could even finish speaking.
I quickly grabbed the hem of Mark’s t-shirt.
“Before that, we need to… finish the meeting first, Mark.”
“Restaurant Owner, let’s get to work. Those who don’t work don’t get paid—that’s the logic of capitalism.”
Spurred on by Lim Mi-mi’s insistence, we all refocused on the meeting.
Mark and I began offering various ideas.
“First, I think we need to make the location exposure feature available only to people I choose.”
“Sung-guk, I was thinking the same thing. Most of our current features are simple and too widely open. I think refining these features is what we need to focus on going forward.”
Mark certainly had a sharp, decisive side when it came to work.
Ding dong.
Just then, someone rang the office doorbell.
Mark and I exchanged glances.
“Mark, are we expecting anyone?”
“No… there’s no one who would come looking for me at this office.”
Lim Mi-mi jumped up from her seat and checked through the door viewer.
“Restaurant Owner, there are two tall white men outside who look like twins.”
When it came to unusually tall white twin men, there were only two people who came to mind.
[The Winklevoss Brothers?]
I jumped to my feet and checked the door viewer.
The Winklevoss Brothers stood at the door, one holding wine and the other holding a potted plant.
“Sung-guk! It’s us. The Winkles!”
* * *
Cameron Winkle handed the wine to Sung-guk.
“Sung-guk, sorry we brought wine instead of milk. Buying milk for an office opening just doesn’t look classy, you know?”
Tyler handed an elaborate bouquet to Lim Mi-mi.
“When did you hire a female employee?”
“Today is her first day.”
“Perfect timing. We came at just the right moment. We’re seniors from the Lyan Club that Sung-guk belongs to.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lim Mi-mi.”
“Your accent is quite unique. You sound like you’re from Korea, but your intonation is subtly different from Sung-guk’s.”
Lim Mi-mi answered Tyler’s question without hesitation.
“I came from North Korea.”
“Wow—”
Tyler stared at Lim Mi-mi with the fascination of someone observing an exotic animal at a zoo. That touched a nerve with her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
The sociable Cameron quickly stepped in.
“It’s just our first time meeting someone from North Korea. Sung-guk, since we have a new employee, should we have a glass of wine to welcome her?”
“This isn’t even your company. Why are you welcoming me?”
Lim Mi-mi glared at the slick Tyler and Cameron with her arms crossed.
Standing before Cameron and Tyler, who towered over 190 centimeters, Lim Mi-mi resembled a porcupine bristling its quills defiantly before a massive elephant.
[Lim Mi-mi, you’ve got some nerve….]
“Don’t misunderstand. We’re that close with Sung-guk and Mark.”
[Sure, you say that, but really you’re just thinking of us as prey to exploit….]
I folded my arms and watched the confrontation between Lim Mi-mi and the Winklevoss Brothers unfold.
Lim Mi-mi poured the wine the Winklevoss Brothers brought into a coffee cup without hesitation.
Cameron rushed forward in alarm.
“Don’t you have wine glasses?”
“This office wasn’t set up for playing around. Isn’t it strange that we’d have wine glasses?”
“Ah, you’re right. Sorry about that.”
Cameron took a step back.
Mark was barely suppressing his laughter, biting his lower lip.
“Sung-guk, Lim Mi-mi is completely different when dealing with us.”
“She clearly distinguishes between enemies and allies.”
Lim Mi-mi was bristling with the same hostility she’d shown when I first met her yesterday, directing it fully at the Winklevoss Brothers.
Lim Mi-mi handed the poured wine to Mark and the Winklevoss Brothers, then offered me milk.
“Please, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Tyler lifted the corner of his mouth in a sneer, looking down on both Lim Mi-mi and me.
“Restaurant Owner? You just called Sung-guk ‘Restaurant Owner’? Sung-guk, did you ask her to do that?”
“Lim Mi-mi said it felt awkward calling me by my name, so she decided to call me that instead.”
“That’s hilarious. Sung-guk really is a baby boss. Young, but a boss is a boss.”
[Is he really trying to start something with me right now?]
I gripped the milk carton tightly in my hand.
That was when it happened.
Lim Mi-mi suddenly stumbled and spilled wine all over Tyler’s clothes.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
She kept her apology brief.
Anyone could see that Lim Mi-mi had deliberately spilled the wine, and Tyler was clearly irritated as they glared at each other.
“Do you know how much this costs?”
“I’m from North Korea, so I wouldn’t know.”
“A month’s salary from someone like you wouldn’t even cover the damage.”
[Damn it… that bastard Tyler.]
I finished the milk and hurled the carton into the trash with force.
The bang drew everyone’s attention to me.
“Tyler, isn’t that a Goose brand? It probably costs around 500 to 600 dollars. Since our employee made a mistake, I’ll buy you the same shirt.”
“What?”
Tyler scoffed. They clearly weren’t picking on Lim Mi-mi because they lacked money.
Cameron quickly stopped Tyler.
“Tyler, that’s enough. It’ll come out with dry cleaning. A gentleman doesn’t accept that kind of money.”
“Isn’t the land of gentlemen England?”
Lim Mi-mi muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
As an angry Tyler approached Lim Mi-mi, Cameron flashed his usual polite smile and dragged Tyler away.
“Sung-guk, we just came to congratulate you. No ulterior motives.”
[Don’t lie. I know better than anyone how many ulterior motives you have.]
“Let’s call it a day, and we’ll contact you in advance next time for a proper visit.”
“Cameron, Tyler. I apologize on behalf of the unpleasantness today.”
“Thanks, Sung-guk.”
Cameron took Tyler and left the office.
The door closed, and I looked at Lim Mi-mi.
“Lim Mi-mi, you spilled that wine on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Restaurant Owner.”
“Why?”
“They came into someone else’s office and mocked both me and you. Bringing a 100-dollar wine and acting all high and mighty…”
“Mi-mi, how did you know the wine’s price so well?”
“I worked part-time at the Liquor Shop, so I know well.”
Mark stared at Lim Mi-mi with curious eyes.
“Lim Mi-mi, please refrain from doing that in the future. And… it was far too obvious that you deliberately spilled the wine. In the United States, you could face serious litigation over something like that, so be careful going forward.”
Of course, the Winklevoss Brothers were at a point where they absolutely needed to stay in my good graces, so they wouldn’t dare sue.
“Yes, sir. But when I watch Korean dramas, they’re always splashing water, throwing juice, grabbing people by the hair… I guess that doesn’t work here?”
“That’s just drama… and this is the United States, after all.”
I would have loved to indulge in such theatrics myself, but I felt oddly relieved that Lim Mi-mi had essentially dealt with those insufferable Winklevoss Brothers on my behalf.
“Understood, sir. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Lim Mi-mi returned to her seat.
[It’s been so long since I’ve heard someone call me “sir”… I have to admit, it doesn’t feel bad. Capitalism truly is wonderful!]
I allowed myself a subtle smile.

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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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