I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 195

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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 195
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung faced his son Jeon Tae-guk.
Silence hung heavy in the quiet suite room.
Jeon Tae-guk hadn’t even touched the wine he usually enjoyed.
Given everything Jeon Tae-guk had been doing in the United States, it was obvious that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s rebuke would come crashing down.
Scenes of him leaving Apple stores appeared regularly in various gossip columns.
The article headlines always emphasized the fact that he was the heir to the Samjeon Group.
On top of that, not long ago, at Sung-guk’s request, he’d even brought back the hamburger restaurant owner from in front of the U.S. military base in Korea.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung sipped his wine silently. And as always, he regarded Jeon Tae-guk not as a son but as a successor.
“Tae-guk…”
“Yes, Father.”
“How is school going?”
‘This doesn’t feel good…’
Jeon Tae-guk’s narrow shoulders hunched even smaller.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung surely knew that Jeon Tae-guk wasn’t attending school properly.
His grades and test scores were at a level that couldn’t be maintained without the help of Samjeon Group employees in San Francisco.
“Well… school is school, you know. I am attending.”
“Right… school is school. Just get the diploma. Once you have it, you can find a school for your MBA.”
Jeon Tae-guk felt even more uneasy.
Words that had never once come from his father’s mouth were now being spoken.
“Father… are you feeling unwell?”
The words tumbled out of Jeon Tae-guk’s mouth before he could stop himself.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung let out a long sigh and took another sip of wine.
Clink—
The sound of Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung setting down his wine glass seemed unusually loud today.
Jeon Tae-guk’s shoulders hunched again without reason.
The suite room.
Outside the door, the protocol team was waiting, but inside this room, only Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung and Jeon Tae-guk were present.
He could have received the beating he’d missed last time, and having a wine glass thrown at him was nothing new.
‘Could there actually be an ambulance waiting outside?’
Jeon Tae-guk swallowed hard.
But today, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was somehow different from usual.
This strangeness was driving Jeon Tae-guk mad.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung slowly, very slowly, opened his mouth.
“Tae-guk, isn’t it true that people learn more from society than from school?”
‘Is Father really sick? He always used to yell that I’d never succeed in society if I can’t even study at school, so why is he like this today? Really…’
Jeon Tae-guk’s palms were already damp with sweat.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung already knew that Jeon Tae-guk was fidgeting nervously.
“Tae-guk, how are things going with Sung-guk?”
Jeon Tae-guk quickly turned his head.
‘What answer does Father want from me?’
Suddenly, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung asked bluntly.
“Not the answer I want. Tell me what you truly think.”
Hiccup.
Because of that, Jeon Tae-guk even hiccupped.
Under normal circumstances, several glasses would have been flying by now, but Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung stubbornly held back.
Jeon Tae-guk sensed this patience wouldn’t last long, so he gulped down water and answered.
“Actually, Father…”
“….”
“I really enjoy spending time with Sung-guk.”
“Why?”
“Sung-guk is younger than me, but he’s decisive in everything he does and completely genuine. When people hear I’m the successor to Samjeon Group, they all scramble to impress me. But Sung-guk doesn’t do any of that—in fact, he often ignores me when I say something stupid. Yet when it really matters, he helps me out.”
“Hmm….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung nodded.
“Having him by my side is reassuring. If I had an older brother, I think he’d be like Sung-guk. That’s what I feel.”
That was sincere.
Sung-guk’s personality resembled Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s in some ways.
He handled everything coldly and rationally, always manipulating every situation to his advantage.
The difference was that Sung-guk, perhaps because of his family, had a warm side to him.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung gazed at Jeon Tae-guk intently.
“I see… I was just curious how you’ve been lately. You’ll be spending tonight at the hotel with Sung-guk, won’t you?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Go on then. I need to fly back to Germany at dawn.”
“Yes, sleep well.”
Jeon Tae-guk left the suite room looking slightly bewildered.
There was no verbal abuse from Father, no violence as usual.
* * *
The moment I stepped out of the gallery, I deliberately acted tired.
“I’ve had a lot to do today and I’m exhausted. Park Secretary, would you like to have dinner with Jung-hee instead of me?”
“Pardon?”
Park Sung-hee seemed a bit flustered.
[Why are you flustered? I know exactly what you want.]
Jung-hee kept her mouth firmly shut and said nothing.
I know that expression well.
Jung-hee seemed to want to talk more with Park Secretary.
“Since I’m a minor, there are limits to where we can go together anyway. Please enjoy your meal comfortably. I’ll just order room service at the hotel.”
“We’ve come all this way, so let’s go together.”
Park Secretary tried to stop me, but I declined and returned to the hotel.
* * *
The hotel room was dark.
Click. As I flipped the switch, I saw Jeon Tae-guk sitting on the bed.
“Hyung, why didn’t you turn on the lights?”
“Oh… just…”
Jeon Tae-guk looked unusually gloomy.
“Hyung, I was thinking of ordering room service for dinner… what would you like?”
“Steak.”
“I’ll order for both of us.”
“Yeah.”
His responses were unusually terse, unlike his normal self.
“Hyung, really nothing happened?”
“Yeah. That’s what’s so strange. Honestly, I barely attend school at a level where I can graduate, and the Samjeon employees do my assignments anyway. They even predict my exam questions. Father must know all of this. But he hasn’t said anything. He just tells me to maintain grades good enough for an MBA. And before, he really hated that I was getting along well with you. But he hasn’t said a word about that either. It’s really strange.”
I naturally understood the reason.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was evaluating that Jeon Tae-guk was currently receiving positive influence from me.
It was clear he had reassessed that keeping me—who leads FaceNote and is close to American politicians—by his side was also beneficial for Samjeon’s future.
I patted Jeon Tae-guk’s shoulder.
“Hyung, let’s just eat.”
“Sung-guk, I told Father something too.”
“What did you say?”
“That you’re like a dependable older brother to me.”
[You were my older brother in my past life, though. You weren’t dependable back then. Crushing you was my job.]
Jeon Tae-guk tilted his head.
“Sometimes I think… you seem more like Father’s son than I do.”
[I do resemble Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung more. Of course, I’m also better than him in many ways…]
I quickly changed the subject.
“Hyung, where should we have lunch with Jung-hee tomorrow?”
“I went through a lot of trouble to make the reservation. By the way, Sung-guk. After we eat tomorrow, I want to walk through Central Park with just Jung-hee and me, so can you sit this one out with Park Secretary? Got it?”
“Of course.”
I answered calmly.
The die seemed already cast, but there’s a saying that it’s not over until it’s over…
* * *
The restaurant Jeon Tae-guk had reserved was already famous for having its reservations booked a year in advance.
It was also a restaurant I had frequented in my past life.
Jeon Tae-guk waited for Jung-hee with some nervousness.
“Why is she taking so long…”
“Hyung, didn’t you contact Jung-hee?”
“She said she was leaving.”
“We still have time before the appointment, so she’ll arrive on schedule.”
At that moment, Jung-hee and Park Sung-hee entered through the restaurant entrance side by side.
The two were conversing with gentle smiles on their faces as they looked at each other.
They weren’t holding hands, but the atmosphere suggested something was about to happen.
I quickly examined Jeon Tae-guk’s face.
The anticipation that had made him restless just moments ago had vanished, replaced by a hardened expression.
It seemed Jeon Tae-guk felt the same thing I did.
“You came early, oppa.”
“Oh… yeah, I left a bit early.”
As Jung-hee approached the table, Park Secretary naturally pulled out her chair.
I didn’t need to see Jeon Tae-guk’s expression to know what he was thinking.
“How did you two come together?”
“Park Secretary’s hotel is right next to my condo. Since we were going to have lunch together anyway, we decided to meet up and come together.”
“When?”
Jeon Tae-guk asked as carefully as possible, but it was obvious he was fishing for information.
“We had dinner together yesterday and talked about it.”
“You… had dinner together too?”
[Jeon Tae-guk, calm down. They’re not even dating.]
Jung-hee then answered with a bright smile.
“Yeah. Sung-guk said he was tired yesterday and was going to bed early, so I had dinner with Park Secretary. Oppa, Park Secretary got top marks in the humanities track at Seoul National University.”
Jung-hee chattered away, oblivious to Jeon Tae-guk’s feelings.
Or perhaps she knew full well and was chattering anyway.
As for Jung-hee’s father, there was nothing more to say.
In my previous life, he was so desperate to connect me with Jung-hee that it gave me a headache, and it was obvious this life would be no different.
People don’t change.
Soon the ordered course meal arrived, but Jeon Tae-guk barely touched it, only drinking several glasses of wine.
In contrast, Jung-hee and Park Secretary marveled at each dish and even carefully savored every bit of sauce.
[Jeon Tae-guk, I should introduce him to Charlie Jobs soon…]
Then Jeon Tae-guk stood up from his seat with a forlorn expression.
“I think the wine made me dizzy. I’m going to step away for a bit. You three enjoy your meal.”
“Oppa, are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll feel better after resting a moment.”
“Don’t push yourself.”
“Thanks, Jung-hee.”
“Oh… I’ll take care of the bill.”
And so Jeon Tae-guk, playing the fool, turned his back and left the table.
* * *
Throughout the meal, Jung-hee and Park Secretary smiled at the smallest things, and it was quite an eyesore.
But I remained steadfastly in my seat and ate through to the final dessert with gusto.
[This restaurant… I really loved it in my previous life…]
Park Secretary stood up with an apologetic expression.
“I need to use the restroom.”
“Go ahead, Park Secretary. Take your time.”
“I’m sorry, Jung-hee.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
[My words….]
And so Jung-hee and I were left alone at the table.
Jung-hee took a sip of champagne, then smiled at me with a soft grin.
“Sung-guk… thank you.”
“For what?”
I feigned ignorance.
“You deliberately introduced Park Secretary to me, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly deliberately.”
[Not entirely intentional, I’d say… more like ninety-five percent deliberate and five percent coincidence.]
Jung-hee wore a radiant smile.
“To be honest, I knew Jeon Tae-guk was interested in me, but it felt like too much pressure. His mother absolutely despises me.”
[I know that well.]
The Iron Lady had always scorned Jung-hee whenever I saw her, calling her family vulgar and beneath our station.
“I’m grateful for Jeon Tae-guk’s kindness, but I don’t have feelings for him… I was struggling with how to reject him, so it worked out well that you introduced Park Secretary to me.”
“You’re not just using Park Secretary, are you, noona?”
“He seems like a good person. But I need to keep studying in New York… and Park Secretary has to return to Korea soon anyway.”
“If it’s meant to be, you’ll find your way back to each other.”
Jung-hee simply smiled softly at those words.
[Jung-hee, I know you’re drawn to bad men like me. In this life, meet a good man instead.]
I shrugged my shoulders.
* * *
I walked toward a small bench in Central Park.
There, Jeon Tae-guk was already sitting with an ice cream cone in his mouth, his expression utterly forlorn.
“Hyung, you were here.”
“Yeah… Jung-hee left?”
“Yes, thanks to you we had a great meal.”
“Yeah… sigh….”
Jeon Tae-guk exhaled a long, heavy sigh.
“Sung-guk, did Jung-hee go out with that secretary?”
“Yes, it looks like they’re going to see a musical on Broadway together.”
“…I got VIP seats and asked her to come with me, but she said she was busy and refused….”
“Hyung….”
“What?”
Jeon Tae-guk turned to me with sorrowful eyes.
“If it’s meant to be with Jung-hee noona, won’t you meet again someday, no matter what?”
“Sung-guk, if I wait for Jung-hee, will she ever look back at me even once?”
“In my opinion… hyung, as painful as it is, you should let go of Jung-hee noona.”
[Let me tell you your future. In about five years, you’ll marry a food conglomerate magnate famous in South Korea for their seasoning brand. You’ll have an affair with your child’s English teacher and get divorced… so anyway, Jung-hee was never meant to be your match.]
I patted the back of the sorrowing Jeon Tae-guk gently.
“Hyung, is this how we all grow up?”

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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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