I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 23

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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 23
Tap.
I struck my knee in frustration.
[If I were just a few years older, I’d be buying up defense stocks by the armful….]
I gazed down at my plump, helpless body.
How could even my toes be so small and adorable?
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
“Sung-guk, why do you look so sad?”
“Sung-guk. Sung-guk. Sad.”
I managed to squeeze out only a handful of words I could produce.
“Sung-guk, is working too hard for you? Should we stop working now?”
[No, not that, Mother. I love working. I was always an incredible workaholic.]
I quickly scanned my surroundings.
I spotted a teddy bear with a slightly torn neck and held it out to Mother.
“Bear. Ow. Ow. Fix—fix it.”
“So that’s why our Sung-guk was so sad. I’m sorry, sweetie. Let Mother fix the bear right away.”
Mother quickly retrieved needle and thread, stitching the bear’s neck closed.
[Dodged that one, phew.]
Stitch, stitch, stitch.
Then came an ominous sound.
Min-guk was crawling toward me across the floor with his entire body, his mouth dripping with saliva.
If that creature caught me, I’d be nothing but a puddle of drool.
I quickly began waddling away from Min-guk in desperation.
But Min-guk was no pushover either.
[The kid’s got good athleticism.]
I found myself cornered against the wall.
Seeing me trapped with nowhere to run, Min-guk’s mouth spread into a grin, drool and all.
[Please, go away. Go away!]
“Heh—.”
Unable to even properly say “brother,” Min-guk simply pounced on me.
Min-guk grabbed one of my feet and relentlessly smeared his saliva all over it.
[Get away while I’m being nice.]
Giggle.
[Hey, what’s so funny about this? You won’t be able to study later, and if you upset our parents, I won’t let it slide. I’ll have you removed from the family register. And you’re still happy?]
Giggle.
[Does this kid even understand what I’m saying?]
Min-guk’s saliva had now conquered my calves.
[Fine, go ahead and conquer everything with your drool!]
Giggle, giggle, giggle.
Clang.
The entrance door opened.
It was the sound of Min-guk’s aunt arriving to look after him.
“Min-guk, are you playing with your older brother?”
When Min-guk saw his aunt, he grinned and turned his body toward her.
Then he flashed that radiant smile at her—the same one he’d been showing me.
Grin. Grin.
All that remained on my leg was Min-guk’s dried saliva.
[This shameless kid. And here I thought we had something special… how disappointing.]
* * *
Samjeon Hotel lobby.
I’d seen it before when coming here for jjajangmyeon, but the 1990s interior design truly clashed with my sensibilities.
My brow furrowed involuntarily.
“Sung-guk, how have you been?”
Secretary Yang approached me with a warm smile upon seeing me.
[Secretary Yang, it’s been a while.]
“I hope your mother has been well too. Sung-guk has grown so much since we last met.”
“He’s in a growth spurt these days, it seems.”
Just then, a young boy peeked his head out from behind Secretary Yang.
“Is this your son, Secretary Yang?”
“Chul-soo, say hello.”
“Hello. I’m Yang Chul-soo.”
[Long time no see, Yang Chul-soo.]
I waved enthusiastically at him.
“Sung-guk really seems to like his older brother.”
I toddled over and firmly grasped young Yang Chul-soo’s hand.
Young Yang Chul-soo looked up at his father Secretary Yang with uncertain eyes.
“Dad, can I take Sung-guk around the lobby?”
“Don’t go anywhere dangerous.”
“Okay.”
Young Yang Chul-soo held my hand firmly and carefully began to walk.
Young Yang Chul-soo was indeed exceptional even from a young age.
Though younger than me, he had always possessed an innate consideration for others.
“Sung-guk, I’ll walk slowly. Let’s walk together, okay?”
“Yay!”
I responded eagerly.
Young Yang Chul-soo guided me around the entire lobby, skillfully navigating past the adults.
“Sung-guk, this is a hotel run by the Samjeon Group. My father told me that all the paintings in this lobby were personally purchased by Vice Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.”
[So Father and I really don’t share the same taste.]
Now I finally understood why I disliked this lobby’s interior design so much. Everything reflected Vice Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s aesthetic preferences.
“Well, it seems the stock market has already priced it in, but how long can the North Korean regime really last?”
I heard the voices of adults from beside me.
I perked up my ears.
Truth be told, I was only in my early teens at this time, so I wasn’t in a position to understand the political situation deeply.
“Kim Jong-il will become the successor, but if a coup were to happen in North Korea, wouldn’t it become a complete chaos?”
[Don’t worry, gentlemen. After Kim Jong-il, his son will inherit it too, generation after generation.]
“North Korea being around is actually beneficial for us. Even the politicians think so.”
“North Korea is truly a double-edged sword.”
Nod, nod.
[Right, right. A double-edged sword indeed. That guy will keep launching missiles whenever he gets bored.]
“Hey! Secretary Yang!”
That irritating voice disrupting my deep eavesdropping.
How could I forget it even after dying and being reborn?
“Secretary Yang. That’s Sung-guk, right?”
“Yes, young master. You said you wanted to see Sung-guk.”
“It’s not that I wanted to see him—my friends really wanted to see him, so I brought him. Well, he looks better on screen.”
[What did you just say?]
“Just big eyes. I don’t even think he’s that pretty.”
[Look at your own face before talking, Jeon Tae-guk.]
Jeon Tae-guk had inherited the exact face of his mother, the Iron Lady, before her plastic surgery.
His nose was flat, his eyes were narrow, and his jaw was blunt.
“Wow! It’s Sung-guk!”
Just then, a girl in a luxury brand children’s dress approached from behind.
[It’s Jung-hee.]
Thump.
My heart sank in an instant.
Jung-hee was my first love.
The girl who had skipped academy with me and gone to the amusement park.
Jeon Tae-guk quickly hid his spiteful expression and wore the mask of a gentle lamb as he looked at Jung-hee.
“Jung-hee, you said you wanted to see Sung-guk. I told Father and prepared it for you.”
[Prepared? Am I some object, you ignorant fool.]
Soon Jung-hee answered coolly.
“Oh, thanks.”
There was no way Jung-hee would like the ugly and foul-tempered Jeon Tae-guk. But me? That was different.
I looked at Jung-hee with a bright smile.
“Sung-guk, want to play with me?”
Young Secretary Yang blocked Jung-hee’s path.
“Miss, Sung-guk’s mother might be worried.”
“I didn’t think of that. Chul-soo, where is Sung-guk’s mother? Let’s go ask for permission.”
[Jung-hee really does have a pretty face, but her manners are impeccable too.]
Jung-hee took my hand.
Thump. Thump.
[Why is my heart racing like this?]
Jung-hee carried that same sweet fragrance I remembered from before.
Her thick, jet-black hair framed delicate brows, and her beauty—elegant as a white lily rather than a showy rose—had always been her trademark.
[Why did I break up with Jung-hee?]
I traced back through my memories.
Jung-hee was my first love, my first girlfriend.
Even through university, our relationship was the subject of gossip in financial circles.
Suddenly, Vice Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung came to mind.
Jung-hee’s family was also a well-known business household, but they fell far short of the Samjeon Group.
From Father’s perspective, they were merely a reasonably wealthy family.
Though not truly wealthy in any substantial sense.
They ran a construction company based in Busan and held considerable real estate.
[Ah, right. The IMF crisis.]
Jung-hee’s family went bankrupt during the IMF.
Of course, even when the wealthy fall, they have enough to live on for three generations—they had no trouble putting food on the table. But they could never become a family worthy of marrying into mine.
Vice Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung resolved one of Jung-hee’s family’s problems on the condition that she distance herself from me.
It was nothing to us, but a serious matter for them.
He gave Jung-hee’s father, who had lost his business in the IMF, a subcontracting opportunity to rebuild.
Like all first loves, the breakup was painful, but afterward, I never saw Jung-hee again.
She came to my apartment in New York, where I was studying abroad, several times, but I refused to see her.
At that time, the sense of betrayal was overwhelming.
It seemed nothing but a scheme to use me to restore her family’s fortune.
When you have much, it’s naturally difficult to trust others.
Later, I only heard that she had married a prosecutor, had children, and lived well.
I suddenly stopped and looked up at Jung-hee.
“Sung-guk, what’s wrong?”
“Sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Yes!”
I nodded.
“Sung-guk, you have nothing to apologize for.”
[I was sorry in my past life. Still, thanks to dating me, you lived well and ate well.]
I later heard that Jung-hee had attempted suicide after we broke up.
She was found early enough that there was no lasting harm, but I only then learned the truth of her feelings.
I tried to contact her then, but she wouldn’t answer.
“Miss, Sung-guk is quite fond of you.”
Secretary Yang approached us.
The party was about to begin.
“Sir, Sung-guk follows me so well. When might I see him again?”
“You’re Sung-guk’s mother, so I think you should ask for her permission rather than mine.”
Jung-hee bowed her head respectfully.
A stark contrast to someone behind her who kept his head held high and stiff.
“Mother, next time I want to take Sung-guk to the amusement park.”
“Sung-guk is still too young for the amusement park.”
“Then, when Sung-guk gets a bit older, would it be okay if I took him?”
“Of course.”
Mother smiled warmly.
It seemed Mother had taken a liking to Jung-hee as well.
In my previous life, Jung-hee was four years younger than me and two years younger than Jeon Tae-guk.
Which meant in this life, she was four years older than me.
[An older woman isn’t so bad. But a first love remains a first love, after all.]
Still, I held Jung-hee’s hand tightly, surrendering to the sentiments of my past self.
“Secretary Yang, why didn’t Father come?”
Jeon Tae-guk was complaining from behind.
The child who always threw a tantrum whenever he wasn’t the center of attention—his nature hadn’t changed one bit.
“Something urgent came up for him today. It seems we’ll have to proceed with the birthday party just among ourselves for now.”
It was painfully obvious.
Kim Il-sung had died in North Korea, so there was no way Vice Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung wouldn’t be busy. He’d undoubtedly been summoned to Cheong Wa Dae.
“Ugh, I hate this. No Father, and you want to have a birthday party? Cancel it! Cancel the party!”
Jeon Tae-guk whined.
“Tae-guk oppa.”
Jung-hee called out to Jeon Tae-guk in a soothing tone.
“What?”
Jeon Tae-guk answered sullenly.
“What if we just had a small birthday party among ourselves?”
“What are you talking about? It’s my birthday—it has to be the biggest and most spectacular in all of South Korea.”
“Your mother said she couldn’t come because she has business at her family home today. Wouldn’t it be more fun if we just had the party among ourselves without the adults?”
I understood well why the Iron Lady hadn’t shown up.
Choi Deuk-hyun, the Prime Minister and her father—once my maternal grandfather—was in poor health around this time.
From my memory, Kim Il-sung dies, and my maternal grandfather Choi Deuk-hyun passes away exactly one month later.
[So that’s why I remember Kim Il-sung’s death date so precisely.]
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
And I gazed at the sulking Jeon Tae-guk.
Perhaps that boy possessed everything right now, yet felt as though he had nothing at all.
Food prepared by the finest chefs in South Korea’s most prestigious hotel lay before him, and he’d invited every celebrity he wanted.
Countless political and business figures who needed to curry favor with a ten-year-old had come, placing birthday gifts beneath his feet that ordinary people could never even imagine.
Yet simultaneously, it was as if no one was there at all.
A birthday party without Mother and Father….
I gazed at Jeon Tae-guk with a bitter expression.
“I don’t want to! I’m not having a birthday party!”
Jeon Tae-guk bellowed and bolted out of the room.
Secretary Yang and the bodyguards hurried after him.
I shook my head slowly.
That habit of his—running away whenever things don’t go his way—never changes.
I noticed Jung-hee standing there hesitantly.
I walked over and caught her hand.
“Sung-guk, why?”
[Why? In this life, I’m not letting go of this hand.]
“Sung-guk, what are you muttering about?”
[Just… how about a man like this?]
I lifted my chin slightly.
“I don’t know what you mean, Sung-guk. But you’re so adorable.”
Jung-hee stroked my cheek.

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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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