I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 204

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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 204
I quickly sent a message to Jeon Tae-guk.
– Hyung, be careful with women.
Soon, a characteristically boastful reply from Jeon Tae-guk came flying back.
– Sung-guk, I suppose you don’t know since you’re still a minor. I’m a man of considerable experience. You might be an irresistible man in America, but here in Korea, I’m the irresistible one.
[Sigh, this fool….]
The reason Jeon Tae-guk was considered irresistible in Korea was painfully obvious.
He was the heir to the Samjeon Group.
And on top of that, a girl group from Bang Mu-hyuk’s company….
That girl group would never even properly debut before falling apart.
The reason was one member who flirted with wealthy men and used it as leverage for blackmail.
[What was her name again….]
I couldn’t recall that member’s name at all.
In my previous life, I had never been entangled with such a member, nor had I paid any attention to her.
I only remembered the incident because one of my close wealthy acquaintances had been subjected to such blackmail, resulting in his private life being splashed across newspapers and internet communities, bringing him utter shame.
[Maybe if I heard the name, I’d remember….]
I quickly asked Jeon Tae-guk for the name of the girl group member from Bang Mu-hyuk’s company.
– Hyung, what’s the name of that girl group member I’m meeting today? I’ll ask about what kind of person she is when I meet with Representative Bang.
– Sung-guk, you can’t say things like that to Representative Bang. The girl group has a dating ban on the surface, after all. Anyway, just pretend you don’t know around Representative Bang. See you tomorrow!
[Why is he only tight-lipped at times like this! Jeon Tae-guk!]
My head was throbbing.
The way Jeon Tae-guk was acting, the more I tried to stop him, the more determined he seemed to become.
* * *
Sunday night arrived.
In just three more nights of sleep, I would leave home and head to the United States.
I began packing the clothes I’d bought at the Department Store into my suitcase.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The only person who knocked on my door.
“Oppa, can Ji-hee come in?”
“Sure.”
The moment I answered, Ji-hee entered. Then she looked at me with sorrowful eyes.
“Oppa, you’re going to America again?”
“Yes. Ji-hee, after three more nights of sleep, oppa’s going to America.”
“Whimper.”
[Indeed, there’s only our Ji-hee. The saying about a daughter being so precious you wouldn’t feel pain even if you put her in your eye—that’s truly about having a younger sister. Except for Jeon Mi-jin, of course.]
I quickly embraced Ji-hee.
“Ji-hee, are you sad that oppa’s going to America?”
“Yes.”
“Ji-hee, you see, oppa really hopes you’ll study harder and come study abroad in America. Then oppa can teach you so much right by your side….”
“Op. Pa.”
Ji-hee called me out firmly and stared at me intently.
“Ji-hee, what’s wrong?”
“Ji-hee likes Korea.”
“Ji-hee, I like Korea too. Growing up eating warm meals beside Mother and Father is wonderful. But for a person to achieve great things….”
“That’s not it. I like Korea because Jung-woo is there.”
Crash.
Was the sound of my world crumbling only audible to my own ears?
Ji-hee chattered away without caring whether her older brother’s world was falling apart or not.
“Oppa, when you go to America, when will Jung-woo come visit?”
“…Min-guk is a trainee, so there will probably be times when we visit together.”
“Sniff. How much longer do I have to wait?”
Tears rolled down Ji-hee’s round eyes like drops of rain.
The strength drained from my arms holding her.
“Jeon Ji-hee…. You weren’t sad about me going to America?”
[Please say no! Please!]
“Oppa… that’s sad too.”
[Sad too?]
My arms fell limply to the ground.
“Oppa, Ji-hee is sleepy. I’m going to bed. Pack your things well.”
“….”
Without saying a word, I curled myself up tightly in the room after Ji-hee left.
I never imagined Ji-hee would grow up so quickly.
Ji-hee was bright and deeply interested in her studies—I had planned to bring her to America in her upper elementary school years.
I intended to enroll her in the best schools in America and let her study whatever she wanted.
Since she was interested in mathematics, I planned to have her pursue medical school first, and then introduce her to outstanding young men through the connections I’d cultivated—men with excellent family backgrounds, character, and integrity. But my plans fell apart because of Choi Jung-woo.
Of all people, it had to be Choi Jung-woo….
And an idol destined to be loved by millions at that….
[Ji-hee, I absolutely oppose this relationship!]
Ding.
Just then, a message arrived without my knowledge.
I picked up my phone listlessly. It was from Jeon Tae-guk.
What on earth was happening? At this hour?
– Sung-guk, I think I’m in serious trouble. I’m sending someone right now. Can you come to the Samjeon Hotel Suite Room?
[Jeon Tae-guk, what kind of mess did you make this time?]
I had no energy to clean up after my previous life’s younger brother at the Samjeon Hotel when I’d just been abandoned by Ji-hee.
– Hyung, I’m going back to America in three days anyway. I’ll send you from home.
The moment I sent my refusal, Jeon Tae-guk called me urgently.
– Sung-guk, please come. It’s a matter of someone’s life.
Could it be?
“Hyung… I heard you were meeting a girl group member. What happened?”
– Sung-guk, how do you know all this without even seeing it…?
Jeon Tae-guk was nearly on the verge of tears.
“Hyung, what exactly have you done? Did you send some kind of strange photos?”
– Sung-guk… do you perhaps have divine powers? Sung-guk, please, I’m begging you. Just save one person’s life.
Jeon Tae-guk was pleading.
“Hyung, but I have a condition.”
– Just tell me anything.
“Let me go there first and explain.”
* * *
The Suite Room at Samjeon Hotel.
The very place where I had died.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, Jeon Tae-guk stood at the spot where I had once stood drinking wine before my death, now anxiously gulping down whiskey.
[Causing trouble and drowning your sorrows in alcohol?]
“Sung-guk…”
“Hyung, tell me exactly what you’ve done. Leave nothing out.”
“That’s…”
Jeon Tae-guk hesitated.
[Just how embarrassing is this situation?!]
“Hyung, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung will probably hit you again if he finds out. But more important than getting hit is cleaning up the mess cleanly. You’re the successor to Samjeon Group. I can’t guarantee there won’t be more situations like this involving women in the future. Even if you do nothing, just the fact that you’re the heir to Samjeon Group in South Korea makes you irresistibly charming, as you yourself said.”
“Sung-guk…”
Jeon Tae-guk continued to sip his whiskey.
“Hyung, knowing how to clean up a mess properly is also a virtue a chaebol heir must possess. Depending on how you handle this situation, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s perception of you could change.”
This was the truth.
In my previous life, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, who was my father, always spoke of such things without hesitation.
– What matters more than the accident is how you handle it. A person’s class is determined right there, Sung-guk.
Jeon Tae-guk drained his whiskey in one go, then looked at me with determination.
“It’s… Na-hee suddenly showed up.”
“The girl group member’s name is Na-hee?”
“Yeah. Na-hee. I don’t know her last name. Even within the group, they just call her Na-hee.”
“Keep going.”
Jeon Tae-guk continued.
“Actually, when I went to the club that day, I hung out with Na-hee too. After that, she kept introducing me to her friends, saying they were all beauties and asking if we could hang out together.”
That was a typical story.
[Come on, get to the main point, Jeon Tae-guk.]
Even I, impatient, took a swig of water.
“Then suddenly today she asked me if we could come here and have fun at a Samjeon Hotel Suite Room.”
So that’s why he came here today.
Of course, the fool Jeon Tae-guk.
“I obviously said yes, and honestly, I was looking forward to it too…”
[What were you looking forward to?!]
My grip tightened around the water bottle.
“So… I was waiting at the hotel, and suddenly Na-hee showed up with her friends. Not alone—there were quite a few of them. You’ll see everything if you check the CCTV.”
“Hyung, we can check that later. So they came with several people?”
“They came, drank all the alcohol from the minibar here… played games, laughed and made noise together. You know me, Sung-guk. I can handle my liquor.”
Jeon Tae-guk didn’t have a weak tolerance for alcohol.
“But strangely, the moment I started drinking, I became overwhelmingly drowsy. And then I have no memory of anything.”
It seemed like someone had spiked his drink.
“When I opened my eyes, I was naked on the bed. I panicked and contacted Na-hee asking what happened, and she sent me this to my phone.”
Jeon Tae-guk handed me his phone.
It contained text messages exchanged with a woman named Na-hee, along with photographs—all of it intact.
And there was that infamous message too.
– Na-hee, my mind is filled with only you. And tonight’s romance. Success. That’s all I can think about.
And Jeon Tae-guk’s nude photographs were… something I couldn’t bear to look at with open eyes.
I exhaled heavily.
“Sung-guk, I’m sorry.”
“Hyung… what are their demands?”
“5 billion won. If I don’t give them 5 billion won within 24 hours, they’ll post all these photos and messages on FaceNote.”
“Hmm… Hyung, how far are you willing to go?”
“What do you mean?”
“These people have nothing to lose, so if you drag this out, they’ll actually post it on FaceNote.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s face grew increasingly pale.
“R-really? Then… couldn’t I just give them the 5 billion won? I can manage that amount. I’ll just take some criticism from Father.”
I shook my head.
“Hyung, I think it’s better to handle this the right way.”
“The right way? What are you talking about?”
“Report it to the police.”
“What?”
Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes widened.
“I don’t want this getting out to the world! That’s why I called you!”
“Hyung, so you’ll give them 5 billion won? If you do, will they really stay quiet? Will they delete the original photos? If you handle this poorly this time, they’ll think they’ve found a cash cow and will blackmail you every time they need money.”
“Is that so…?”
Given Jeon Tae-guk’s personality, that was more than likely.
“Even if they say it’s the original, they’ve definitely copied it somewhere.”
“Is reporting to the police really the only way?”
Of course, I had another plan.
“Hyung… I’ll help you. But I have a condition.”
“W-what is it?”
“Bang Mu-hyuk’s company is a K-pop group, right? If we report this, that group will be completely disbanded. Bang Mu-hyuk must have invested considerable money into that group… it’s practically ruined. And besides, Bang Mu-hyuk’s company is where my younger brother and his friend are trainees.”
Jeon Tae-guk nodded.
“Hyung, once this is resolved, please invest in Bang Mu-hyuk’s company. So it doesn’t collapse. It’ll cost much less than 5 billion won. But with no conditions attached.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Then, from now on, do exactly as I say. First, please call Secretary Yang.”
“So, Father knows about this too?”
“Once the story breaks, he’ll find out anyway. We need Secretary Yang’s influence.”
“Alright, got it.”
* * *
Secretary Yang arrived at the Suite Room in less than an hour.
I explained the situation as objectively as possible.
Secretary Yang’s expression grew grave.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung had his share of romantic entanglements, but nothing like this had ever happened before.
“Are you suggesting we prepare 5 billion won, Sung-guk?”
“No. First, contact the Samjeon Legal Team and position trustworthy people who can resolve this matter. Then have Tae-guk contact Na-hee and tell her it takes time to prepare the money. Appease her by explaining that conglomerates don’t just have 5 billion won lying around.”
“Yes. And what’s next?”
“Report to the police and have them investigate these people as extortionists. Conduct an immediate search and seizure to secure the original files. That way we can cleanly obtain the originals, and they’ll be branded criminals for life—they won’t dare breathe a word about Tae-guk. We’ll block the story as much as possible, but there will likely be limits.”
“We’ll ensure the article is written as favorably to us as possible.”
“Since the extortion is a fact, we emphasize that as well. And mention the drugged drink. Then… if the story starts gaining traction, release this.”
I pointed to a FaceNote profile on my laptop for Secretary Yang to see.
“Who is this person?”
“Her name is Shin Young-ah. She’s known as skilled in the art world, but there’s considerable deception involved. Use this to bury Tae-guk’s case.”
“Sung-guk, wouldn’t a celebrity scandal be better than digging into someone so obscure?”
“Once you investigate her, you won’t say that.”
I spoke with conviction.

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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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