I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 234

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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 234
“Hyung, look at this photo. I really did take a picture with Michael Jackson, right?”
“I’m looking at it right now.”
“Even looking at it, I still can’t believe it.”
Min-guk grinned from ear to ear throughout the meal, repeatedly gazing at the photograph he’d taken with Michael Jackson.
In truth, meeting with Sony Music had been nothing more than a formality.
Howard Page, lagging behind the rapidly shifting music market with his investments, was the very figure driving Sony Music’s decline.
I’d naturally assumed he’d have no interest in something like YouTube.
Yet he’d conveniently shown up at Sony Music and orchestrated this meeting between Michael Jackson and Min-guk.
As for me, I needed to maintain the pretense of seeking out investors to deceive Google’s executives and Sergey Brin, so I proceeded with the meeting.
But my true objective lay elsewhere.
Just then, Peter called.
– Sung-guk, did you sort things out with Sony Music?
“You know how it is.”
– Howard still doesn’t understand this market. He’s far too conservative.
Peter knew Howard Page well.
“Peter, what about what I asked you to look into?”
– Should we meet for lunch tomorrow and talk about it?
“Sounds good. Peter, at least give me a hint beforehand.”
– The atmosphere is positive. But in this business, nothing’s certain until it’s finalized.
[Of course. In this world, nothing matters until the signature is on the contract.]
I exchanged pleasantries with Peter and hung up.
Min-guk continued beaming as he looked at the photograph of Michael Jackson.
“Hyung, doesn’t Michael look really thin to you?”
[Of course. He’s older now… and going through a difficult time.]
I knew Michael Jackson’s future far too well.
In my previous life, I was quite the fan of his—a date I remembered all too vividly.
Michael Jackson would die in June 2009.
Less than a year remained.
While speculation swirled endlessly around the circumstances leading to his death, the most crucial fact was that the eternal King of Pop would be gone.
“Hyung, what are you thinking so hard about?”
“Nothing much. Min-guk, did you hear a lot of good stories from meeting Michael Jackson?”
“Yeah… He told me everything about what it’s like to live as a singer, what kind of mindset you need to have.”
[Well, the money was worth spending.]
I sipped my coffee with satisfaction.
[So what do you think? Do you want to sing again?]
The question rose to my throat, but I held it back.
Bang Mu-hyuk had said that during times like these, I should maintain appropriate indifference.
I ate my smoked salmon bagel in silence.
Then my phone rang again. An unknown number. Who could it be?
“Hello?”
– Hi, this is Teddy, Michael Jackson’s manager. We met this afternoon. Is this Sung-guk’s phone?
“Yes, that’s correct.”
What does Teddy want?
“What can I help you with?”
– Michael was wondering if you’d be free for lunch tomorrow.
“Would evening work instead? I have a prior commitment for lunch.”
– Let me check with Michael and get back to you.
And soon enough, Teddy called again.
– Sung-guk, do you know a Korean restaurant called Keun-jip in Koreatown?
“Yes, I know it well.”
– Michael Jackson wants to eat bibimbap.
“Won’t it be crowded? Are you sure about that?”
– Hmm… let me coordinate and get back to you.
“Teddy, let’s meet at the hotel where Michael is staying. I’ll pick up bibimbap from Keun-jip and bring it there.”
– You can do that?
“Of course.”
– Then come to the Flamingo Hotel at 6 PM. Call this number and I’ll come right down.
“Understood.”
I hung up with Teddy and looked at Min-guk.
“Min-guk, it looks like I’ll be having dinner with Michael Jackson tomorrow. How does that sound?”
“Hyung, weren’t we supposed to fly back tomorrow evening?”
[Just know that I’m spending hundreds of millions of won right now to guide you to the land of dreams and love… Jeon Min-guk. You’ll have to pay it all back when you become Sevens later.]
Despite my true thoughts, I shrugged my shoulders.
“We’ll just extend the hotel for another night. If that’s what Min-guk wants.”
“Hyung! Hyung, there’s really no one like you!”
Min-guk threw his arms around me.
Whether in my past life or this one, there was only one way to make my younger brother love me.
Money!
* * *
I was giving Min-guk instructions.
“Min-guk, you absolutely cannot leave the hotel alone. Order lunch from room service, understand?”
“Yeah, I got it. When will you be back, hyung?”
“It’s just a lunch meeting, so two hours should be enough. Jeon Min-guk, you can stay in the hotel by yourself, right?”
“Of course, hyung! I’ll be in the hotel room listening to Michael Jackson’s music, so don’t worry and go ahead.”
As I prepared to leave Min-guk alone at the hotel, my feet felt heavy.
Worried, I called from the hotel lobby, and Min-guk got irritated.
– Hyung! I’m listening to music! Hyung, I’m going to high school soon! Just leave me alone, please!
“Alright, alright.”
[Tsk, and here I was being considerate.]
So this is how younger siblings grow up too….
I wrapped my padding tightly against the crisp New York cold and headed toward my meeting place with Peter.
* * *
Peter was already waiting at the restaurant we’d agreed on.
“Sung-guk, over here.”
“You came early.”
“Let’s order something first.”
Peter deflected slightly.
[What’s going on, Peter? Why are you dodging the subject?]
I sat down and perused the menu.
“Peter, I’ll have the steak.”
“Of course—a teenager with excellent digestion.”
Peter ordered steak as well and looked at me.
“I can’t keep a poker face like you do, you know.”
[Peter, I’m actually muttering like crazy inside just to maintain this poker face.]
I took a sip of water.
“Peter, just tell me already.”
“Sung-guk, now you can relax and hire FaceNote employees and expand. I found investors you can trust.”
Peter finally smiled with genuine relief.
“Sung-guk, aren’t you happy?”
[Of course I’m happy, but I already knew FaceNote was going to succeed!]
I shrugged.
“Peter, FaceNote is going to become the next big thing soon.”
“You’re unstoppable, I tell you. But Universe Music seems more interested in this sort of thing than Sony Music… should I look into connections at Universe Music?”
“Peter, that won’t be necessary.”
“Isn’t YouTube investment what you need right now, Sung-guk?”
“What I wanted was to make Sergey and Google give YouTube the worst possible evaluation.”
“What do you mean by that, Sung-guk?”
Peter looked at me with confusion.
The steaks arrived just then.
I cut into my steak and looked at Peter.
“Peter, I’ll explain while we eat.”
“Uh….”
“Peter, Howard Page’s rejection of YouTube investment has probably already reached Sergey’s ears.”
“It probably has.”
Howard Page’s brother was one of Google’s executives.
That was precisely why I’d made a point of meeting with Howard Page from Sony Music.
“Sergey and Google’s executives will likely think YouTube is a company beyond saving. After all, they were rejected by Sony Music too.”
“That’s possible.”
Peter nodded in agreement.
“I plan to contact Sergey Brin in a couple of days and tell him I want to inject FaceNote’s developers into YouTube to revive it. But to do that, I need justification, and I’ll argue that FaceNote needs to acquire a stake in YouTube to convince investors.”
Peter broke into a grin and even stopped eating his steak.
“Sung-guk, I understand you hold a considerable personal stake in YouTube… Are you saying you want FaceNote to acquire a stake in YouTube as well?”
“Yes.”
“Sung-guk, but I’m a bit concerned that you’re investing too heavily in YouTube.”
“Peter, in the future, photos and videos will dominate. And there’s no better platform than YouTube for that.”
Peter smiled knowingly.
“Sung-guk, what I think is….”
“….”
I waited for Peter’s next words.
“I have a feeling you’ll be leading the world in the era that’s about to come.”
Peter smiled warmly.
[Peter, thanks for saying that!]
* * *
As evening fell, the cold deepened.
Min-guk and I, bundled up in padded jackets, picked up the bibimbap we’d pre-ordered from Keun-jip in Koreatown and walked to the hotel where Michael Jackson was staying.
“Hyung, does Michael Jackson really like bibimbap?”
“Yeah. When he visited Korea before, he had bibimbap and loved it.”
“Hyung, sometimes the way you talk about things, it’s like you experienced them yourself.”
[Because I had a conversation with Michael Jackson while eating bibimbap at the Samjeon Hotel Korean Restaurant back then, so I know well!]
“But, hyung….”
“What?”
“On such a cold day, you’re going out of your way to get bibimbap packaged for him… It’s all because of me, isn’t it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Because I like Michael Jackson… You’re trying to make a good impression, aren’t you?”
[That’s the surface reason, but the real reason is that thanks to Michael Jackson, you’ll restart as a trainee and become Sevens, raking in money from around the world in the future. I can’t do it all alone and rebuild our family. You need to earn too, and so does Ji-hee. Right?]
When I said nothing, Min-guk shoved his hand deep into my padded jacket pocket and squeezed my hand tightly.
“Hyung, thank you.”
“Min-guk….”
“Yeah?”
“You ordered hamburgers, cola, and steak through room service earlier, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, you told me to order through room service.”
“Min-guk, I’m deducting that from your allowance. Remember that.”
Min-guk stared at me with an incredulous expression.
“Hyung, do you know what?”
“What?”
“You’re a real mood killer!”
* * *
“Sung-guk, you went all the way to Koreatown to buy this bibimbap for me?”
“I’ve heard many times that you like bibimbap.”
I hadn’t spent any money today, but I’d deliberately bought this to suggest having dinner together.
“Sung-guk, thank you so much.”
“But it was so cold on the way here that I’m worried the rice will have gotten hard.”
At that, Michael casually handed the rice to Teddy.
“Teddy, warm up the rice for us.”
Teddy quickly brought back the warmed rice, and we gathered around the table and began eating bibimbap.
“Bibimbap really does taste delicious no matter when you eat it.”
Michael wore a satisfied expression.
Min-guk paused mid-bite and suddenly looked at Michael.
“Michael, don’t you have any concert plans? I’d love to see you perform on stage yourself. I kept listening to your songs in the hotel room this afternoon. I want to see you sing those songs in person, Michael.”
Michael seemed slightly taken aback by Min-guk’s sudden suggestion.
Michael was now in his fifties.
On top of that, over the past few years, with various rumors and lawsuits, Michael had barely engaged in any musical activities.
Michael thought for a moment, then looked at Min-guk and smiled.
“You know, now that I think about it… I realize that young friends like you have never seen me perform live on stage. Right?”
“Yes, I’ve only ever seen old videos.”
“Alright, I’ll think about it, Min-guk.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But Min-guk, you also need to find something you’re truly good at. Understood?”
“Yes, Michael.”
Min-guk nodded his head with grand determination.
* * *
Early morning.
Min-guk suddenly sprang up from bed and drew back the hotel curtains.
I lifted myself up in bed and rubbed my puffy eyes.
“Jeon Min-guk, we still have plenty of time before heading to the airport.”
“Hyung…”
Min-guk looked at me as though he’d made some momentous decision.
“Tell me…”
“Hyung, I want to start training again. I want to sing and dance again and become like Michael Jackson!”
“Jeon Min-guk, if you change your mind again, I’m erasing you from the family register.”
“I’ll never change my mind. Never!”
I lay back down on the bed with a satisfied expression.
[Phew… finally removed one troublesome branch!]

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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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