I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 143

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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 143
6 PM.
The moment everyone glanced at their watches, they began shutting down their computers.
Mark quickly rose from his seat, tidying away his coffee cup with visible urgency.
Lim Mi-mi, too, was unusually hurried in organizing her desk.
Mark caught my eye and gestured.
“Sung-guk, aren’t you getting up?”
“The party can happen anytime—why is everyone in such a rush?”
“Sung-guk, it’s Friday night. Plus there’s a party. Would you really want to work on a night like this?”
[I’m a workaholic by nature. At Samjeon Group, my office lights came on first and turned off last! You need to work sixteen hours a day to succeed!]
Contrary to my thoughts, I shrugged casually.
Mark shook his head disapprovingly.
“Lim Mi-mi, Sung-guk just doesn’t understand why we want to have fun.”
“The Restaurant Owner really is like a dictator. I bet Kim Jong-il didn’t know how hard his people had it either.”
“Lim Mi-mi, please stop comparing me to Kim Jong-il. I simply don’t see why we need to rush to the party so badly… Kim Jong-il lived lavishly while abandoning his people, didn’t he?”
“Exactly my point. Just as Kim Jong-il didn’t realize his people were starving while he was full, you don’t realize your employees crave the party because you’re not hungry for it yourself.”
She’d struck a nerve.
Mark barely suppressed his laughter beside me.
“Sung-guk, let’s get out of here before you become a real dictator.”
“Fine. I’m going.”
I powered down my computer.
* * *
The area in front of Jessie’s Dormitory was packed with people.
Everyone seemed to be carrying cheap liquor, drinks, and food inside.
I shook my head disapprovingly.
[I absolutely despise these twenty-something parties. Who eats that cheap junk anyway?]
Suddenly, Dennis appeared out of nowhere and shoved cheap snacks into my mouth.
“Sung-guk, eat this at least. There’s nothing to eat inside but alcohol, and you can’t drink anyway.”
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
I chewed the snack.
[Of course it’s MSG. Should I have another? It’s bad for you though….]
But with remarkable restraint, I pushed the snack away and looked at Dennis.
“Dennis, why aren’t you going in?”
“Parties just don’t seem like my scene.”
“Weren’t you interested in Jessie?”
Dennis looked at me with surprised eyes.
“Sung-guk, how did you know?”
[How old am I? As if I wouldn’t notice. When a man’s eyes light up like that, the game’s over.]
Dennis soon gazed at me with a dejected expression.
“But my interest in Jessie is like my love for Britney or the Spice Girls. She’s someone I can never reach….”
I shrugged my shoulders.
I couldn’t fathom why so many men were drawn to Jessie.
Just then, Mark and Lim Mi-mi, who were inside drinking cheap liquor and having a blast, gestured toward me.
“Sung-guk, come on in.”
“Dennis too!”
Dennis grabbed my shoulder and pulled me forward.
“Sung-guk, since you’ve come this far, you might as well get a taste of the party.”
[Ugh, what a hassle….]
I stepped into the chaotic party.
Jessie approached me in a form-fitting dress.
[Jessie, I’m a minor.]
With a slight flush from the alcohol, Jessie offered me bottled water and milk.
“Sung-guk, what’ll it be?”
“Tonight… milk.”
“What’s with you and milk every time? Sung-guk, dance with me.”
Jessie began dancing around me in circles.
[Sigh… these twenty-somethings really are something….]
I slowly backed away, gradually putting distance between myself and Jessie, then abruptly slipped away entirely.
Mark and Lim Mi-mi, each holding a beer bottle, were dancing quite naturally with the other partygoers.
I stood in a corner of the Dormitory where there were the fewest people and drained my milk.
At that moment, an old piano in the corner caught my eye.
In my previous life, I had played piano for an extraordinarily long time.
Though my skills were insufficient to make a living from it, during my turbulent adolescence, I had once dreamed of becoming a successful pianist and traveling abroad.
In this life, I had received instruction from Cho Sung-won at Kindergarten, but it was only a one-time thing.
Of course, Cho Sung-won, recognizing my talent even then, had strongly urged me to continue learning piano, but I knew my limitations well.
I was drawn to the piano as if by a magnet and sat down before it. I opened the dusty keyboard cover and removed the protective cloth.
Amid the cacophony of music, I tapped a few keys.
The piano needed tuning, but it wasn’t unplayable.
And perhaps this loud music gave me the courage I needed.
[With all this noise, no one will pay attention to my piano playing….]
I began playing the keys quietly.
It was Chopin.
There’s a saying that the body remembers.
No matter how long ago something was learned, if it was ingrained in the body, it remains.
Riding a bicycle was like that, and so was the piano.
Though learned in my previous life, I played Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor—a piece Chopin composed for his first love, Konstancja.
As I became absorbed in the performance, someone tapped my shoulder.
Who was it?
I barely lifted my head to look at whoever had touched my shoulder.
The face was familiar, but who was it?
“Hello. I’m Natalie.”
[Natalie? Could it be… Natalie Portman?]
It was indeed Natalie Portman, the renowned American actress and current Harvard student.
Natalie leaned close to my ear and whispered.
“Keep playing.”
“Yes.”
I continued the performance as Natalie requested, only lifting my hands from the piano keys once I had finished.
Natalie gazed at me intently.
“Shall we step outside and talk for a moment?”
“Yes…”
[Natalie, I’m a minor.]
But such a comment would be premature—nothing had happened between us yet.
Dennis, who had watched me slip away from the party with Natalie, quickly followed us out.
“Sung-guk, that’s Natalie Portman.”
“Yeah, I’ll just talk with her for a bit.”
“Does Natalie know you’re underage?”
“Dennis, don’t worry. I’m holding a glass of milk.”
As always, I stepped out into the dark Harvard campus with milk in hand.
Natalie Portman.
She became a global star from a single film about an assassin when she was young. Though she appeared in several films afterward, critics said none matched that first performance. Now, having enrolled at Harvard, she had cultivated an image as an intellectual actress.
“You’re Sung-guk, right?”
I was surprised that Natalie knew my name.
“How did you know my name?”
“We’re in the same class this semester, and you only showed up once.”
“Michael Sandel’s lecture?”
“Yeah. You made quite an impression that day.”
[I always make an impression.]
I shrugged. But my father in this life, Jeon Ji-sung, the CEO of Won Uncle’s Bossam, always said the same thing—that a person should be humble.
“I don’t know what could have been so impressive about me.”
“The way you answered Michael’s question that day really stood out. Could I possibly join FaceNote?”
“Of course.”
I couldn’t possibly pass up such an opportunity.
A Hollywood actress joining FaceNote!
Natalie Portman had just become the first Hollywood actress to join FaceNote.
That’s when I remembered I’d left my laptop in my room.
“Natalie, I’m sorry. I left my laptop in my room.”
“Then, why don’t we go to your room?”
What did that mean?
I felt my throat tighten as I swallowed.
Prevention was always better than damage control after the fact.
“Natalie Portman, I’m sorry, but I’m a minor.”
At my words, Natalie Portman tilted her head back and laughed. Once she finally stopped laughing, she looked at me.
“Sung-guk, I’m sorry, but… I’m really interested in FaceNote. I came with my boyfriend. Should we head to the Dormitory together with him?”
Oh no.
I’d completely barked up the wrong tree.
I felt embarrassed and scratched my head awkwardly.
At that moment, Natalie Portman stepped in and clarified the situation.
“Sung-guk, I understand that someone like you must deal with this kind of thing all the time. I apologize for not mentioning it beforehand.”
“It’s fine, Natalie Portman. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
Just then, a tall man approached from a distance. Natalie Portman greeted him warmly.
“Sean, over here.”
He appeared to be Natalie Portman’s boyfriend.
Natalie Portman quickly introduced me to Sean.
“Sean, this is that famous Sung-guk.”
“Nice to meet you, Sung-guk. I’m a senior at Harvard. But seeing you in person, you’re even more handsome than I expected.”
“Sean, I just asked Sung-guk to help me sign up for FaceNote.”
“Sung-guk, can I ask you too?”
“Of course.”
I answered readily.
But surely the bitter aftertaste lingering in my mouth was just my imagination, right?
* * *
Late at night. In my Dormitory room were a world-famous Hollywood actress and her boyfriend, along with Dennis and me, huddled together examining FaceNote.
I had deliberately brought Dennis along to introduce him to Natalie Portman.
Natalie Portman had filled in her basic information to sign up for FaceNote and was now staring intently at me with only the final enter key left to press.
“Sung-guk, if I sign up for FaceNote, will I be the first Hollywood actress to join FaceNote?”
“Yes, you’ll be the first actress from Hollywood.”
“Wow, I want to record this historic moment….”
[Natalie Portman, that’s a great idea!]
I quickly pulled out the camera Father had given me to record daily life, placed it on the edge of the dresser, and adjusted the angle.
“The timer’s running. I’m going to jump in!”
I dashed into their midst, and behind me came a loud shutter sound.
Dennis looked at the photo and chuckled.
“Sung-guk, we need to take it again. You came out like a ghost. Come on, let’s try once more!”
This time Dennis ran hard and found his place.
Huff— huff—.
Just as Dennis caught his breath, the shutter clicked.
Fortunately, this photo captured me, Natalie Portman, Dennis, and Sean all in one perfect frame.
Natalie Portman looked up at me with eager eyes.
“Sung-guk, can I press enter now?”
“Of course!”
Natalie pressed enter without hesitation.
* * *
I uploaded a photo I’d taken with Natalie to FaceNote.
– Natalie Portman, a Harvard student and famous actress, has joined FaceNote. Natalie, let’s see you around on FaceNote often.
– Sung-guk, thanks for the piano performance today and for showing me your dorm room.
At Natalie’s single comment, the replies began pouring in.
– Sung-guk, you play piano too?
– You were alone with Natalie in your dorm room?! Oh my God!
– Look at the photo—Natalie has a boyfriend too.
Dennis stared at me with an exasperated expression as he watched the flood of comments.
“Sung-guk, am I invisible or something? This is too much. Everyone’s only talking about you and Natalie.”
“Dennis, relax. Your boyfriend’s being treated like a backdrop too.”
“Sigh… the world’s really unfair. Sung-guk, I’m asking this out of genuine curiosity. Even if you’re underage, you have plenty of girls around you and they’re all good friends. What’s your real ideal type?”
“My mother….”
I smiled faintly.
Dennis shook his head in disbelief.
“When I see things like this, you’re really every bit the teenager.”
“Dennis, couldn’t we incorporate what happened today into your film?”
“Into The Whip?”
“In the story about young people coming to Los Angeles to find their dreams. You mentioned before that you wanted the male lead to be a jazz pianist. What if he came to a party at a luxury mansion in Hollywood to play piano for money?”
“And the female lead happened to come to that party and met him there….”
Dennis’s eyes began to sparkle.
“But the female lead isn’t a celebrity like Natalie—she’s an unknown aspiring actress….”
“And there, two people who truly came to find their dreams meet by fate….”
Dennis suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, as I was talking, I just thought of who the model for the teacher role in The Whip should be.”
“Who?”
“You!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sung-guk, you’re constantly cracking the whip on me, making me write the screenplay!”
Dennis laughed cheerfully.
I crossed my arms lightly with a slight smile.
[Caught red-handed….]

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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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