I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 208

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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 208
“I am the heir to Samjeon Group. But I’m a Peter Pan who dreams of tomorrow.”
[Sigh… how many times is this now?]
Jeon Tae-guk showed no signs of tiring, delivering the same rap with slightly different lyrics each time—proclaiming himself the heir to Samjeon Group yet a dreaming Peter Pan.
Bang Mu-hyuk, thoroughly intoxicated, applauded enthusiastically while listening to Jeon Tae-guk’s performance, and Jeon Tae-guk was riding high on the energy.
I quietly drained my water bottle and rose from my seat.
“Jeon Sung-guk, who came to save me. Where are you going?”
Jeon Tae-guk posed the question in rhythm as well.
[I didn’t come to save you. I came to ruin your life.]
“Hyung, I didn’t get any sleep last night. I’m going home to rest today. You two have fun.”
“Sung-guk, we need to discuss our business venture.”
Bang Mu-hyuk asked in a heavily slurred voice.
“Ahjussi, let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
I left the Suite Room without further delay.
* * *
Click.
As I opened the front door and stepped inside, I heard boisterous laughter and chatter echoing from within.
Among the family voices, I recognized one that was particularly familiar.
“Sung-guk, you’re home?”
It was Jung-woo. The one Ji-hee had been waiting for so eagerly.
“When did you arrive?”
“Why did you ask this morning which website we use frequently?”
“Oh, something came up. I couldn’t sleep… Jung-woo, spend plenty of time with Ji-hee before you go.”
I opened my bedroom door with a weary expression.
At that moment, Mother followed me into the room.
“Sung-guk, you must be exhausted?”
“Yeah… Mom.”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“Mom, sleep is more urgent than that right now.”
Mother asked nothing more.
With Jung-woo here, Mother surely already understood what had happened at Bang Mu-hyuk Entertainment and what had befallen Jeon Tae-guk today.
But for now, that was enough.
Despite possessing the stamina of a teenager, I simply could not keep my eyes open any longer.
* * *
My eyes snapped open at the loud ringing of my phone from early morning.
[Who on earth is calling this early?!]
I sat up and grabbed my phone.
It was Bang Mu-hyuk.
I answered the call immediately.
“Ahjussi….”
– Sung-guk, did you get some sleep?
“Have you sobered up, sir?”
– Of course. Would you mind talking with me in an hour? I’ll head over near your place.
“Yes, there’s a cafe nearby. Let’s meet there.”
I hung up and rubbed my eyes for a moment.
I really wanted just thirty more minutes of sleep.
[I won’t be late, will I?]
Just as I was about to close my eyes, the door burst open and Min-guk came in.
“Hyung… you’re awake?”
“Min-guk, just thirty more minutes for me…”
“Hyung… Jung-woo and I have been wanting to discuss something with you since last night. Wake up.”
I already knew what they wanted to discuss.
“Sigh… fine, let’s talk.”
I bolted upright from the bed.
Jung-woo, who had been standing outside, entered the room and quietly closed the door.
Both Min-guk and Jung-woo knelt before me and looked up.
“Hyung… this is really serious. So… you absolutely can’t scold us.”
“Understood. Tell me.”
“Hyung… Min-guk and I want to leave Bang Mu-hyuk’s company.”
“What?”
It was a declaration that jolted me fully awake.
Min-guk stared at me with a determined expression.
“Hyung, Jung-woo and I talked a lot through the night. While it’s one member leaving the girl group, I started to doubt the representative’s judgment for selecting a member with such poor character.”
“You too, Jung-woo?”
“A little…”
Jung-woo hung his head low before me.
It was I who had introduced Jung-woo to this talent agency in the first place, just as with Min-guk.
“Hyung, we really gave this a lot of thought. Whenever we passed Na-hee unnie in the hallway without greeting her, she’d look us up and down and scold us—it was terrifying.”
“You should greet people properly. You’re trainees, after all.”
“Hyung, we really did greet her properly.”
“He’s right, Sung-guk. Actually, once Na-hee found out Min-guk was your brother, she treated him incredibly kindly… which was honestly even stranger.”
“Exactly, hyung! She even asked him to introduce her when you came back for break.”
Na-hee was truly a shallow person, no matter how you looked at it.
But if these two left Bang Mu-hyuk’s company now, the Sevens I had envisioned could never be born. Well, Sevens would eventually be formed anyway, but it would be without Min-guk and Jung-woo.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
I had invested so much time and passion into building this!
I looked calmly between Jeon Min-guk and Choi Jung-woo in turn, then fixed my gaze on Jung-woo.
It was better to discuss this with Jung-woo, who was at least a year older.
“Jung-woo. Has Bang Mu-hyuk ever neglected your training?”
“That’s… no…”
Jung-woo shook his head.
“Then, didn’t Bang Mu-hyuk’s guidance help develop your skills?”
“That’s… not it either.”
“Was it a mismatch in musical style or direction?”
“I honestly like Bang’s music.”
“What about you, Min-guk?”
“Hyung… that’s not the problem, is it? The company picked group members without even checking their character. What are we supposed to trust and keep doing here? Plus, the image is already ruined, so everyone says not to trust any idols from this company.”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
No matter how much I told them about the future of Sevens that Bang Mu-hyuk would create, they wouldn’t understand. So I had no choice but to show them reality.
“Min-guk, Jung-woo.”
“Yeah, hyung.”
“Yeah, Sung-guk.”
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say. If you want to leave this agency, I won’t stop you. But you have to take full responsibility for that choice.”
The two of them nodded slowly at my words.
“Of course, Bang Mu-hyuk made a big mistake picking Na-hee. But I believe that after the rain, the ground hardens—only those who’ve failed can achieve greater success. Especially in the entertainment industry. You two want to do hip-hop music, right?”
Both nodded silently.
“But which other idol group is doing the kind of hip-hop music you want to do?”
There were hardly any idol groups properly doing hip-hop music yet.
“If you leave the agency now, you might get lucky and go to what people call top-tier agencies like JP or SW. But there’s no guarantee. If you go there, you’ll have to compete all over again with many other trainees.”
Min-guk and Jung-woo’s eyes wavered again.
I decided to push these two a bit harder.
“Can you really win in that competition?”
“That’s… hyung… I can’t guarantee something I haven’t tried.”
“Min-guk, well said. Then why can’t you think about staying with Bang Mu-hyuk’s company? One girl group failing doesn’t mean the company goes under.”
“Hyung, the SW trainees are completely different from us. We’re just middle schoolers, but those guys are already celebrities.”
“Min-guk, didn’t you want to become a rapper? If you want to be a celebrity, you should’ve done child acting from way back!”
I spoke firmly and stood up from my seat.
“Jung-woo, you should also look around at other agencies. With a little nose work and some jaw shaving, you could do well as an actor.”
“W-wait, Sung-guk.”
Jung-woo couldn’t even finish his words.
I left the room, leaving the two of them behind.
“I’m going to meet Bang Mu-hyuk. In the meantime, sort out your thoughts. You’re free to choose, but remember—freedom doesn’t come without responsibility.”
Bang!
I deliberately closed the door loudly.
[You guys, understand what I’m going through!]
* * *
As I opened the door and stepped in, Bang Mu-hyuk raised his hand.
Whether it was the alcohol or not, his face looked even larger today.
“Sung-guk, here…”
“Uncle, are you feeling alright?”
Bang Mu-hyuk smiled enigmatically at those words.
“Sung-guk, you don’t know my alcohol tolerance, do you?”
[What does he mean?]
“No, sir.”
“I can drink about three bottles of mixed liquor without getting drunk.”
“Really?”
I stared at Bang Mu-hyuk in astonishment.
Then what was that—Bang Mu-hyuk sprawled out drunk yesterday?
“I deliberately pretended to be drunk yesterday.”
“On purpose?”
“You said it yourself—that Samjeon wouldn’t just sit idle. You meant they’d invest, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
Bang Mu-hyuk certainly had the instincts of a businessman.
“But because of Jeon Tae-guk, the Samjeon heir or whatever, the girl group I built got destroyed. How do I put it… my mind was just in turmoil. I had to look good for the investor, but watching Jeon Tae-guk perform that ridiculous rap made my blood boil.”
[Bang Mu-hyuk hadn’t actually lost his mind after all….]
I felt somewhat relieved.
“Anyway, that’s why I pretended to be drunk yesterday. If I hadn’t pretended, I couldn’t have even clapped for that rap, and there’s the Na-hee situation too….”
“What will you do about the girl group?”
“Except for Na-hee, they’re all sincere kids. Since this happened because of Na-hee, I’m thinking of preparing the next album without her. The ground hardens after the rain, as they say.”
Bang Mu-hyuk had integrity too.
Most talent agencies would have dropped not just the member who caused the scandal, but the entire group. Especially a group with such faint recognition.
What was even more tragic was that from now on, this girl group would inevitably be called “the group that Na-hee was in” rather than by their own name.
“Sir, why not seriously prepare a boy idol group instead of a girl group? I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but Min-guk signed a contract with Jeon Tae-guk to become a Samjeon Electronics model right after debut.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He’ll appear as a Samjeon Electronics model upon debut. There’s no advertisement better than that. Plus, Jeon Tae-guk will make some level of investment to save face anyway. Of course, there are no conditions attached.”
“That’s what they’ve been saying….”
Bang Mu-hyuk seemed to have lost some confidence.
“Sir, please push forward with it. I really love your music.”
“Sung-guk, I’m really grateful.”
“Oh, sir.”
“Hmm?”
“Tae-guk didn’t pass the audition, did he?”
“Sung-guk, you heard it yesterday too. Was that even rap?”
Bang Mu-hyuk chuckled.
[Right, of course. I was worried for nothing!]
* * *
As I stepped into the home, Min-guk and Jung-woo came before me again and knelt down.
“Have you decided?”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Yes, Sung-guk.”
I deliberately let out a long sigh.
“All right, speak.”
Jung-woo opened his mouth first.
“Sung-guk, I’m sorry.”
[Are you saying you’re leaving, Jung-woo?]
“Sung-guk… I’m sorry for wavering, even for a moment. I’m going to focus on music again.”
“Hyung, after you left, I watched our Eminem perform and regained my resolve. We really have nothing but hip-hop! So I’ve decided I need to stay here!”
“Good… you made the right call. I told Bang Mu-hyuk to seriously push forward with a male idol group.”
Min-guk and Jung-woo brightened immediately.
“But since Bang Mu-hyuk has never produced a male idol group before, it’ll take time. I hope you two will build your skills during that period and become artists who are clearly differentiated from other idols.”
“Hyung, I’ll work really hard!”
“Sung-guk, I will too. Really, really hard.”
I had finally lifted one burden from my shoulders.
They say a tree with many branches never has a calm day, so why do my branches always face typhoons instead of mere breezes?
I just hope the wind stops soon.
* * *
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-ding-dong.
“Who is it?”
Jeon Tae-guk grabbed his throbbing head and rose from the sofa.
Bottles of whiskey and wine were scattered before him.
“Where did the representative go….”
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk recalled Bang Mu-hyuk’s words from this morning as he left the suite room.
– Jeon Tae-guk, I’m sorry, but I can’t evaluate your rap. To evaluate something, there needs to be at least some skill present, but right now I don’t see any skill at all. Calling this rap is an insult to music!
Those words echoed in Jeon Tae-guk’s mind, and he let out a scream.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
* * *
I arrived at the Samjeon Hotel Lobby.
I needed to finalize the details regarding Jeon Tae-guk and Bang Mu-hyuk Entertainment’s investment.
At that moment, a familiar face approached me.
Park Sung-hee?
“Young Master Sung-guk, it’s good to see you again.”
“Secretary Park, what brings you here?”
“Starting today, I’ve been assigned to attend to Young Master Jeon Tae-guk.”
As expected….
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was quick.
After hearing my advice, he immediately assigned Park Sung-hee, his advisor, to Jeon Tae-guk.
With Advisor Park Sung-hee by his side, it seemed I wouldn’t need to manage Jeon Tae-guk separately anymore.
I welcomed Secretary Park enthusiastically.
“Secretary Park, welcome. So you’ll be coming with us to San Francisco as well?”
“My duties begin from this very moment.”
I extended my hand to Park Sung-hee.
“Secretary Park, I look forward to working with you going forward.”
[One more loose end tied up neatly.]
Park Sung-hee grasped my hand.
“I look forward to it as well.”
And so, my people were gradually beginning to take root within the Samjeon Group, one by one.

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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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