I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 207

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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 207
Jeon Tae-guk returned to the Suite Room in a state of utter bewilderment.
I had anticipated most of this.
“Sung-guk… Just as you said, Father didn’t scold me at all. On top of that, he said he’d invest in Bang Mu-hyuk’s company as a form of consolation money.”
“Hyung, Bang Mu-hyuk is coming here at 6 o’clock.”
“Really? I can audition?”
Jeon Tae-guk’s face lit up with delight.
How could he smile so brightly, having completely forgotten the mess he’d created until now?
I was at the point of engraving patience into my very bones.
“By the way, I’ll stop by home before 6 o’clock.”
“Sung-guk, I want to treat Bang Mu-hyuk to a proper meal… What does he like? I’ll order anything.”
“He’s quite the gourmet, hyung. You can order whatever you think is best. I’ll pick up some of Father’s bossam on my way back from home.”
“That’ll do perfectly!”
Jeon Tae-guk seemed to have forgotten that photos of him shirtless and passed out on the bed had already spread across the internet.
[Tsk tsk, he really is carefree….]
People have a curious ability to forget some incidents while clinging to others.
In any case, this would follow Jeon Tae-guk like a label for the rest of his life.
* * *
Ding.
The elevator came to a stop in the lobby.
As the doors opened, Secretary Yang was waiting for me.
Secretary Yang looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept a wink while cleaning up Jeon Tae-guk’s mess yesterday.
“You’ve had quite an ordeal, Sung-guk.”
“Secretary Yang, you’re the one who’s been through so much. Did you get any sleep?”
“I’m planning to leave after taking you to the Chairman.”
“Then, could I ask someone else to pick up some bossam from my father’s restaurant? I told Tae-guk I was going home, but I’m actually heading out.”
“Of course. You’ll be returning to the hotel, correct?”
“Yes, I have a meeting at 6 o’clock in the Suite Room with the representative of the talent agency that manages Na-hee Group.”
“You mean Bang Mu-hyuk?”
“Yes.”
Secretary Yang seemed to have investigated Bang Mu-hyuk’s company thoroughly while handling Jeon Tae-guk’s situation.
“Where is the Chairman right now?”
“He’s currently at the Four Seasons Hotel Suite Room.”
The Four Seasons Hotel Suite Room….
It was a place I also frequented when I couldn’t use the Samjeon Hotel. The view of Namsan from the Four Seasons Hotel always had a way of calming my mind.
“Let’s go. And could you brief me on the current situation?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
“Understood.”
Secretary Yang guided me as he had in the past, staying by my side.
* * *
Inside the car heading to the Four Seasons Hotel.
I’d deliberately kept the radio playing softly, so there was no awkward silence.
“Before the Chairman met with Jeon Tae-guk, the secretary of Lim Myung-baek, the opposition’s presidential candidate, came looking for us.”
It was exactly what I’d anticipated.
I nodded as if I knew nothing.
Secretary Yang continued speaking.
“Candidate Lim Myung-baek’s side is extremely grateful that we exposed the Shin Young-ah incident. Since Candidate Lim Myung-baek, a former salaryman from another company, had no connection to Samjeon, they were concerned. But thanks to this, a link has been established, and the Chairman is very satisfied.”
“I didn’t intend for it to happen this way.”
[About five percent was pure coincidence… always.]
“I understand. Let’s meet with the Chairman first.”
When you shoot an arrow, you always want it to hit a perfect ten, but depending on the wind, temperature, and humidity of the day, the arrow will inevitably curve.
Yet there are days, like today, when it strikes the bullseye perfectly.
* * *
The door to the Four Seasons Hotel Suite Room opened.
The lush green scenery of Namsan came into view directly ahead.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung stood right before it, holding a glass of wine in one hand.
In my previous life, the reason I had a particular fondness for wine was partly because of my father, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was a passionate wine connoisseur, and I grew up the same way, eventually purchasing a winery and pouring my affection into it.
At the sound of my arrival, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung turned and offered an ambiguous smile.
[That smile… I remember it well.]
Right now, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was deeply satisfied inside, but he was trying his best not to show it.
“Sung-guk, welcome. I wish you were old enough to drink wine with me.”
[Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, in this lifetime, we won’t be sharing wine and laughing together like that.]
I steadied myself and forced a smile.
“Just wait a few more years.”
“Of course. Come, sit here.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s voice was unusually calm and kind.
A person’s true intentions always revealed themselves in their voice and demeanor. He clearly wanted something from me.
I sat down and took a sip of water.
“Did Secretary Yang brief you on the way here?”
“Yes… I heard that Candidate Lim Myung-baek’s side visited.”
“They were grateful that Samjeon exposed the Shin Young-ah incident.”
[Of course they’d be grateful. This will completely shift public opinion in their favor.]
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung quietly took another sip of wine.
“I didn’t let them know you were behind it.”
“That’s fine. I did it to help Jeon Tae-guk, and honestly, while I suspected Shin Young-ah, Samjeon was the one who verified the facts.”
“Secretary Yang spoke very highly of you. He rarely praises people like that.”
“You’re too kind.”
[I’m Jeon Sung-guk, after all.]
I suppressed the slight lift of my shoulders.
“According to Secretary Yang, you became the control tower and orchestrated everything.”
“Secretary Yang is being modest. I merely raised some suspicions.”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case from what I’ve heard….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung sipped his wine with an enigmatic smile.
[Chairman, I know you know. I orchestrated every move.]
I drank my water slowly. Rushing water always causes indigestion, after all….
“To be honest, my wife views your presence beside Tae-guk quite unfavorably.”
“It seems she harbors embarrassingly significant misunderstandings, which has made things difficult for me as well.”
“The truth is, I instructed Tae-guk to observe and learn everything from you—from daily life to business.”
Without Samjeon Group’s tacit approval, Jeon Tae-guk could never have provided me with a room and supported my living situation. I understood that much.
“I’ve heard remarkable things about the FaceNote venture you launched in America, your network management in political and business circles, and your investments.”
“People in this industry tend to exaggerate whenever things go even slightly well.”
“And yet I know it’s not exaggeration.”
Samjeon would naturally have already conducted a thorough background investigation on me.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung continued praising me in that measured, almost recitative manner. Such occasions were extraordinarily rare.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was renowned for his stinginess with praise.
He believed the whip served business operations better than compliments—a philosophy that had proven effective during the 1980s and 1990s when Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung had propelled his enterprise to new heights.
“By the way, our connection runs quite deep in history.”
[Right, I was a child model for Samjeon Group. He witnessed everything, including my affair with Lim Sun-mi.]
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung took another sip of wine, his expression momentarily distant as he recalled the past.
“You probably don’t remember, but I still recall the first words you spoke to me when we met.”
[Surely not… Father? That’s my most catastrophic skeleton in the closet.]
My mouth fell open.
“Actually, the reason I wanted to meet with you today is to make you a proposal.”
I had a rough sense of what this proposal might be.
“While Tae-guk is indeed the successor to Samjeon Group, I’m well aware he falls short in many ways. Lacking drive, you might say. His academic aptitude is also somewhat limited. Still, I’m grateful that he doesn’t deviate too greatly and follows our wishes.”
[Doesn’t deviate greatly? The guy’s doing hip-hop and acting completely out of line, Chairman.]
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung exhaled softly, then fixed me with an unwavering gaze.
“Truthfully, I’ve long believed Tae-guk lacks the caliber to succeed me as heir. But I have no other sons, and as you well know, Mi-jin also lacks the vessel to assume succession.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung analyzed his own children as if conducting new employee interviews.
“Nevertheless, given the current structure, Tae-guk will inherit my position. Young Secretary Yang has also left Tae-guk’s side to forge his own path…. In short, there’s no one to support Tae-guk. Of course, I have no intention of burdening you with such trivial work as supporting our Tae-guk.”
[Why are you stating the obvious, Chairman?]
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung hesitated momentarily before speaking.
“My proposal is this: I’d like you to become the de facto owner of Samjeon Group.”
[In other words, you want me to rake in an enormous salary from Samjeon while becoming a slave to the company?]
Of course, my answer was already predetermined.
But I didn’t answer immediately.
I wanted to make Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung sweat a little longer.
“I understand this isn’t an easy decision. By de facto owner, I mean providing you with a corresponding stake in Samjeon and treating you with the industry’s finest compensation. And ‘industry’s finest’ also means world-class.”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
[So in the end, he’s telling me to become a salaried executive? The Chairman of Samjeon?]
“Of course, I’m not saying you need to decide right now. While you’re in America….”
“Chairman.”
I cut off Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s words.
It was something I’d never done in my previous life.
And it was something I’d truly wanted to do.
“Do you have a question?”
“If I’m to be the actual owner of the company, does that mean you’re giving Samjeon to me?”
I threw a fastball directly at him.
As expected, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was flustered.
His true intention was probably to hand over a well-trained slave at a premium price.
FaceNote wasn’t yet listed on the stock exchange, so I wasn’t richer than Samjeon yet, but the moment it went public, I would become a global billionaire. On top of that, I also held a 5% stake in YouTube, which I’d recently acquired.
The position of Samjeon’s owner was hardly something I needed to covet.
“Sung-guk… In other words, becoming the actual owner as you say means I’d be giving you all operational authority over Samjeon. However, Jeon Tae-guk would still need to maintain the position of chairman publicly.”
“Hmm… What I was asking wasn’t about such a position or authority. I was asking whether you could give me the same equity stake in Samjeon as my older brother Jeon Tae-guk has.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was even more flustered.
What I’d just said was that I wanted the same equity stake as Jeon Tae-guk, who was also the successor to the Samjeon Group.
“Heh heh. Is that how you’re declining?”
“Yes, Chairman. I helped with this matter because of my friendship with my older brother Jeon Tae-guk. There was no deeper meaning to it. Besides, the Samjeon Group is a bit too rigid for me to operate. In this life, I want to live pursuing challenges I’ve never attempted before.”
In my previous life, as the successor to the Samjeon Group, I’d conformed myself to the framework of Samjeon, prioritizing stability and maintenance over challenge. But in this life, I didn’t want to do that.
“In this life…”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung repeated my words.
“Life only happens once. I want to live without regrets.”
“You truly are too large a vessel for Samjeon to contain. My ambitions were excessive.”
“You’re too kind. Samjeon is a large enough group for me to manage.”
Of course, it was a blatant lie.
“Keep today’s meeting a lifelong secret. From Jeon Tae-guk as well.”
“That’s my intention. I believe my older brother Jeon Tae-guk will become a fine owner of the Samjeon Group.”
[That way, he’ll remain my fool forever.]
I finished drinking the water and stood up. Then I suddenly stopped and looked at Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.
“Chairman….”
“Do you have something else to say?”
“Would it be alright if I recommended someone as a secretary to support my older brother Jeon Tae-guk?”
“Is this someone trustworthy?”
“My older brother Jeon Tae-guk is quite free-spirited, isn’t he? I think he’d be well-suited to having a secretary with more of an advisory style.”
“Who would that be?”
“Look into Park Sung-hee, a secretary currently working at the Presidential Secretariat. She’s a Seoul National University graduate and a talented individual. Her work is sharp and decisive, and most importantly, she doesn’t tolerate even the slightest deviation. I think that’s exactly the kind of person my older brother Jeon Tae-guk needs.”
“I’ll look into it.”
I left the Four Seasons Suite Room as is.
Jeon Tae-guk and Park Sung-hee?
While she was also a rival through Jung-hee, Jeon Tae-guk seemed to need someone like Park Sung-hee as his secretary.
* * *
The moment I stepped into the Samjeon Hotel Suite Room, loud hip-hop music blared through the space.
Had Bang Mu-hyuk already arrived?
“Hyung, I brought the bossam.”
“Oh! Sung-guk, come over here!”
I headed toward the living room where Jeon Tae-guk’s voice was coming from, only to find Bang Mu-hyuk already thoroughly intoxicated, watching Jeon Tae-guk rap.
“Sir, when did you arrive?”
“About thirty minutes early. Na-hee’s been getting under my skin, and anyway, thanks to the drinks Tae-guk gave me, I’m finally getting in the mood.”
[He’s not in the mood—he’s already drunk.]
Jeon Tae-guk accepted the bossam with delight, chattering away excitedly.
“Sung-guk, Bang Mu-hyuk said my rap was really good. He said I could even debut as a hip-hop artist.”
I stared at the intoxicated Bang Mu-hyuk with an incredulous expression.
“Sir, are you serious?”
“Sung-guk, of course I’m serious!”

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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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