I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 214

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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 214
Ding dong.
“Who is it?”
I heard Mark’s familiar voice from inside.
I was standing in front of Mark’s House.
“Mark, it’s me.”
“Sung-guk!!!”
Mark quickly swung the door open.
“You said something came up—what on earth happened?”
“Things got hectic. Mark, can I crash here tonight?”
“What’s wrong with the house?”
“My older brother Tae-guk is starting filming for The Intern next month.”
“That’s insane… Tae-guk’s really doing that? I can’t believe it.”
[I’m the one who made that impossible thing happen.]
I shrugged my shoulders.
“For the next few days, he’s probably going to drive me crazy about it… so I wanted to stay here for a while.”
“We’re always happy to have you. Your bed is still here just like you left it.”
Just then, Secretary Park Sung-hee greeted us from behind.
“Hello! I’m Secretary Park Sung-hee, the new secretary for Young Master Tae-guk. I look forward to seeing you often!”
“Sung-guk, did Tae-guk’s new secretary come from Korea too?”
“Yeah. Mark, she’ll be living with us from now on.”
I rubbed my sleepy eyes.
“Mark, I’m going to head in now.”
“Come on in.”
Lim Mi-mi came out from behind and waved her hand.
“Boss, you brought lots of delicious things from Korea, right?”
“They should be in my bag. Mi-mi, I’m going to get some sleep.”
I went straight into my room and collapsed onto my bed.
Then I picked up my phone to check the time.
August 2008 was almost over.
* * *
Knock. Knock.
I heard a knock on the door.
“Sung-guk, let’s eat breakfast… you need to get to the office.”
“Yeah….”
I stretched and opened the door.
“Mark, where’s Mi-mi?”
“Sung-guk, can you raise Mi-mi’s salary? She’s really pouring her body and soul into FaceNote.”
“Got it. Let’s talk about it after I see this quarter’s performance report.”
“You’re one cold CEO.”
Mark handed me a freshly made sandwich.
“Mark, you’re cooking these days?”
“Mi-mi’s been busier than me lately, so I’ve been doing the cooking instead. How is it? Edible?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Mark.”
I crunched through the sandwich, and suddenly Mark’s Nokia stock came to mind.
“By the way, Mark… what happened with your Nokia stock?”
Mark’s eyes lit up at the mention of Nokia stock.
“Sung-guk, Nokia stock finally rebounded last week. Just briefly, of course. It hasn’t recovered all my losses yet, but it seems promising. From here on, it should only go up.”
[The Lehman Brothers collapse happens next month.]
I hastily swallowed the sandwich with milk.
“Sung-guk, you’ll get indigestion eating like that!”
“Mark, I don’t think you’re in a position to worry about someone else right now….”
“What are you talking about?”
“The stock market’s going to crash next month. Please, sell your Nokia stock.”
“Sung-guk, you have plenty of stocks too. Did you sell yours?”
“I’ve already liquidated almost everything to acquire YouTube shares!”
The stocks I held were just two: Apple and Samjeon. I’d sold most of them to acquire YouTube shares, leaving me with only about $600,000, which I planned to sell off within this month anyway.
“Sung-guk, I trust my judgment. Nokia will definitely soar.”
“Mark, how much Nokia stock are you actually holding?”
Mark scratched his head and answered vaguely.
“Well, we haven’t made much money so far… and we only recently started receiving CEO salaries anyway.”
“So how much?”
“About… $80,000….”
$80,000 would be roughly 100 million won in Korean currency.
Soon enough, that $80,000 would plummet to one-hundredth of its value.
“Mark, I’m asking you as a friend. It’s not too late even now. Please, sell the Nokia stock!”
* * *
Of course, Mark didn’t listen to me.
Instead, like a stubborn mule, he posted on FaceNote that he’d bought even more stock after hearing my warning. The comments were divided.
– Mark, I think Nokia is only headed downhill. Apple reinvented the phone. Who’s going to use Nokia now?
– Apple looks good right now, but people will eventually return to the past. Simple is best. You don’t get that?
– But Mark’s stubbornness is impressive, and Sung-guk’s persistence in telling him to sell is too. I’m curious who’ll win.
– The two CEOs of FaceNote have such different personalities. It’s fun to watch.
Because Mark posted our argument on FaceNote, my statements became public.
[Since it’s come to this, why don’t I post something on FaceNote too?]
“Hmm….”
I stretched my fingers and loosely cracked them, then published a brief report about what would happen in September.
I called it the “Jeon Sung-guk Report.”
[Jeon Sung-guk Report #1]
There’s a Korean saying that goes like this.
A pretty apricot with no substance.
It refers to something that looks appetizing on the surface but tastes bland—a metaphor for things that appear glossy and impressive yet lack real value.
That’s precisely what the current American economy resembles.
After the 9/11 attacks, the United States implemented ultra-low interest rate policies to stimulate the sluggish economy, flooding the market with money.
Banks seized this opportunity to expand housing loans, and real estate prices skyrocketed.
As I wrote this, I realized South Korea had been exactly the same when I ended my previous life.
I smiled bitterly and resumed writing.
The American economy appears prosperous now, but all of this is merely a house of cards built on debt.
We were all caught in the illusion that the continuing economic boom and overflowing money would sustain the rising real estate market indefinitely.
Of course, this illusion is now reaching its end.
Since last year, as real estate prices stagnated, the real estate empire built on loans began showing cracks.
In a society where not buying real estate with low interest rates is treated as foolishness, those who took on debt beyond their means are now shackled by the heavy chains of interest.
Those who monitor the economy have likely been aware of this deteriorating situation since last year.
The fuse on the bomb has already been lit and is burning.
Everyone, don’t invest in stocks with no future like Mark. Take a moment to review the debts you currently carry and liquidate the assets you’ve built on borrowed money while you still can.
There’s a famous Korean saying: the higher the mountain, the deeper the valley.
If the rise was steep, the fall will be a cliff.
Fasten your seatbelts tightly!
– Jeon Sung-guk, go build a nation!
– Wow, it’s fun watching which post becomes the holy scripture…
– Why don’t you two bet on who becomes the CEO of FaceNote?
The moment I posted this, countless comments flooded in.
Most seemed to treat my post as a joke, though some took it quite seriously.
The majority were curious about which of Mark and me would win this game.
Soon, Mark left a comment.
– I declare that the Jeon Sung-guk Report will be the greatest stain on Jeon Sung-guk’s life!
* * *
The next morning, Peter called me early.
Peter was the first investor in FaceNote and also my Harvard senior.
“Peter, what’s the matter so early in the morning?”
– Sung-guk, what did you post on FaceNote?
“Oh, I just posted something about how the American economy will hit bottom soon.”
– Sung-guk, delete that post immediately!
Peter’s voice was seething with anger.
“Peter, what on earth is going on?”
– All the FaceNote investors are trying to pull their money out now. Because of your post, they’re tightening funding to investment firms. They’ve decided not to invest in companies like FaceNote whose future is still uncertain.
“What do you mean?”
– Your single post has triggered an emergency on Wall Street! There are rumors that Lehman Brothers, one of the largest investment firms, is going bankrupt. I heard South Korea’s national bank was supposed to acquire it, but then they backed out, and now everything’s in chaos.
The future truly doesn’t change. It may shift in small, detailed ways, but the trajectory remains the same.
Now people had dissected the aspects of the American economy they’d been ignoring, all because of my post.
Of course, the article I wrote yesterday will become sacred scripture. Just wait a month…
I tried to calm Peter down.
“Peter, I didn’t exaggerate in my article. This is how the American economy is actually moving right now. And soon you’ll see the end of it.”
– Sung-guk, he’s saying he wants to pull out the FaceNote investment right away. Is that okay?
I stood up from my seat and took another sip of water.
Before posting this article, I had nearly 800,000 dollars from selling the last stocks of Apple and Samjeon. Within just a few days, both stocks had risen further, making it possible.
FaceNote could survive two or three months with this money if things went well.
– Sung-guk, do you have a plan? Why aren’t you saying anything?
“Peter… Starting in September, we’ll begin filming The Intern.”
– Why are you suddenly bringing up The Intern with that crazy guy?
Peter often cursed Donald Trumpet as a crazy blonde.
He belittled him, saying he’d never succeeded properly at investing and only made a living from broadcasting.
As investors were pulling out their money and the mention of Donald Trumpet came up, Peter grew even more agitated.
“Peter, please calm down and listen to me. Next month, Lehman Brothers will go bankrupt. During that time, the American economy that rose on bubbles will experience that there’s a basement below the bottom. Of course, we’ll struggle too. But in The Intern, there’s an episode where FaceNote carries out a project to move to a new headquarters.”
– Sung-guk, if what you’re saying is true, the economy will hit rock bottom. And you’re moving to a new headquarters? Your investment funds will dry up too!
Peter pressed me with an even more agitated voice.
“To a larger, better place. Of course, we’ll hire more employees too.”
– Sung-guk, what on earth are you thinking?
I pulled back the curtain covering the window. Sunlight poured in dazzlingly.
“Peter, FaceNote will remain strong even in a recession. We’ll start service in countries where we haven’t launched yet. Then the investors will definitely come back.”
I stated it with certainty.
– Sung-guk, can we survive in the meantime? Without investors?
“Of course.”
[Maximum three months or so.]
I didn’t bother saying that part out loud.
* * *
From the day Jeon Tae-guk returned from Las Vegas, he hired a personal trainer and managed his exercise and diet so well that he lost over 5 kilograms.
His chubby face became sharp, and his body slimmed down.
Of course, his face was still… well…
“Sung-guk, pick out a suit for me to wear when I first appear. I brought the latest Gucci and luxury brands I like.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s fashion show began.
Secretary Park Sung-hee and I watched and recommended a few outfits, but Jeon Tae-guk, perhaps due to the confidence he gained from his diet, chose the suit that fit his body the best.
“Brother, if you were going to do this, why did you ask? The answer was already decided.”
“Just in case… Gucci is definitely the way to go for suits.”
“Brother, isn’t skill more important than appearance for that program? Aren’t you going to get eliminated in the first episode?”
At my words, Jeon Tae-guk stopped putting on his shirt and ran to the kitchen, opened the sink cabinet, grabbed salt, and sprinkled it all over me.
“Sung-guk, don’t say such unlucky things! Don’t you know words become reality?”
“I take it back. Stop sprinkling salt!”
Only then did Jeon Tae-guk stop sprinkling salt.
“Sung-guk… but what if I really do get eliminated in the first episode? I’d be so embarrassed?”
“Hyung, weren’t you embarrassed when your naked photos leaked?”
“Hey! Jeon Sung-guk, you little pest! Begone, evil spirit!”
Jeon Tae-guk began sprinkling salt again.
I quickly grabbed the salt shaker from him.
“Hyung… let me help you pass the first round.”
“Really?”
Jeon Tae-guk’s expression turned serious.
“Jeon Sung-guk, you’re not the type to do something like this without conditions.”
[Hmm… so you’re starting to understand me, Jeon Tae-guk?]
I shrugged and presented my condition to him.
“Hyung, if you help me pass at least the first round, I’ll only ask you to cover three months of rent for FaceNote’s new headquarters.”
“What? Jeon Sung-guk… don’t tell me… you’ve gone bankrupt? Is that why you posted such things on FaceNote, just creating unnecessary panic?”
“Hyung, don’t ask why. Just cover three months of rent for me.”
I had originally planned to let Jeon Tae-guk fail the first round. That was his true ability, after all.
But an unexpected crisis had come my way, and Jeon Tae-guk—the lifeline who could help me overcome it—had descended once more.
Then wasn’t I forced to grasp even a rotten rope?

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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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