I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 241

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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 241
I asked calmly.
“Liam, this isn’t something I need to decide right now, is it?”
– Of course not, Sung-guk. But in South Korea, all men must serve in the military once they become adults. Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for you to decide before then? We’re always open to you, so feel free to contact us anytime.
“I see….”
I ended the call without committing to a decision.
Of course, as a South Korean citizen, I intended to serve in the military.
But the fact remained that Barack Obama respected me enough to grant me citizenship.
That meant I could navigate any problem that arose from a more favorable position than I’d anticipated.
* * *
The aroma of Father’s bossam simmering wafted from the kitchen, and the living room buzzed with activity.
Jeon Tae-guk and Secretary Park Sung-hee had gathered with Mark and Lim Mi-mi, and even Bang Mu-hyuk was present.
Everyone was eagerly anticipating Father’s cooking.
“Sung-guk, you’re truly blessed. You can eat food like this whenever you want.”
Jeon Tae-guk looked at me with envy.
The heir to Samjeon Group, South Korea’s greatest conglomerate, envying such things.
Truly, one sees remarkable things in this world.
I answered casually.
“Tae-guk, we’re both in the United States anyway. It’s not easy to find food like this there.”
“That may be true, but… Sung-guk, you were asking about military service earlier today. There are various ways to get a military exemption, you know. Should I mention it to Secretary Yang?”
At those words, everyone’s gaze turned toward me.
Jeon Tae-guk’s lack of tact was consistent across both my past and present lives.
[A conglomerate heir with no sense of discretion, I suppose….]
I clenched my teeth and stared at Jeon Tae-guk.
“Hyung… let’s discuss that another time, more carefully.”
“Why discuss it more carefully? You’ll be twenty years old next year by Korean age. At twenty, you take the physical exam and then you have to enlist. Do you want a herniated disc like me? Or a torn ACL like Daesung Group?”
At those words, Mother looked at me in shock.
“Sung-guk, what are you saying?”
“Mom, I’m not saying I would do that….”
In that moment. Smack!
Mother struck my back.
“Jeon Sung-guk! Are you saying you won’t serve in the military as a South Korean citizen?!”
“Mom… that’s not what I meant….”
Smack!
Mother’s sharp hand struck my back again.
Indeed, a mother who raised three children had a formidable touch.
And Father, who had just brought out the simmering bossam, joined in.
“Jeon Sung-guk, what are you saying? You won’t serve in the military?”
“Dad, that’s not it….”
At that moment. Smack—
Father’s smash shot flew across the table with a sharp crack.
“Your father was an orphan, so he was exempt from military service, but you have both parents and a younger brother… you can’t skip the military.”
Jeon Tae-guk immediately grabbed a piece of Father’s boiled pork and popped it into his mouth while looking at him.
“Sir, orphans don’t have to go to the military?”
“Yeah…”
Father answered heavily.
And Jeon Tae-guk replied without reading the room.
“Ah, if I’d been born an orphan, I wouldn’t have had to fake a herniated disc or waste money on it. My father sent a truckload of political funds just to keep me out of the military.”
[Sigh… Jeon Tae-guk really is something….]
Just then, Ji-hee came over to me and squeezed my hand tightly.
“Oppa, when you go to the military, you’re coming to Korea, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then go to the military. Once you come to Korea, I can see you every single day.”
“Ji-hee, when I’m in the military, I’ll see you even less than when I’m in America.”
“Really?”
That’s when Bang Mu-hyuk chimed in.
“You can do alternative service at a defense contractor instead of the military. With your talent, there’ll be plenty of places begging you to join. Then you could commute to work… and spend quality time with family again.”
“Yeah, Sung-guk. Let’s look into that option.”
Even Father joined in.
“Come on, why is everyone like this? Sung-guk, just go with the herniated disc excuse. I’ll introduce you to a good doctor.”
I set my chopsticks down with a sharp clack. Then I looked at everyone.
“I… have a two-year contract with YouTube, so I can’t go anywhere until that’s done. So please, can we stop talking about the military?”
* * *
Everyone left, and the night became quiet.
And the most dreaded moment arrived.
“Sung-guk, let’s talk for a moment.”
Perhaps because of the military talk, I began to feel anxious.
Mother went to put Ji-hee to sleep, and Min-guk was absorbed in listening to music with his headphones on.
“Father, what did you want to talk about?”
I felt worried for no reason, and formal speech slipped out—something I rarely used.
“Well…”
Father took a deep breath and continued.
“It’s about our bossam restaurant chain.”
Father’s bossam restaurant had expanded over time, starting with the first location in Gangnam and spreading to several major cities as direct-operated branches.
In each case, longtime employees from Father’s original restaurant took over the new locations.
The structure revolved around the main branch, where Father handled everything from sourcing ingredients to management.
From my perspective as someone with a large corporation mindset, it was an incredibly inefficient system.
It would be easier to quantify the recipe and roll out franchises nationwide—and we’d make more money—but Father’s stubbornness was immovable.
“Father, is there a problem with the chain?”
“I received a proposal recently… and I wanted to discuss it with you while I’m here in America. You know I’m not as knowledgeable about business as you are.”
[Dad, are you acknowledging me?]
Praise truly makes even whales dance—my shoulders lifted with pride. Still, I kept my composure.
“Dad, what offer did you receive?”
“Hyojin Food approached me about running a franchise operation from headquarters, just like we’re doing now…”
As expected, the conglomerate thought exactly like I did.
“But I’m a bit worried, son. If we start franchising, we’d need to standardize the recipes. Honestly, I don’t think it would taste the same as what you get at the main branch or our directly-operated locations.”
In my previous life, I would have been angry at Father without question.
A chance to make money—what did the means matter?
“So you’d rather continue expanding the directly-operated locations, Dad?”
“It’s not so much about expansion as it is about giving back to the people who’ve worked hard for our family all these years. That way, they learn the craft with genuine dedication, earn good money, and support their families—just like I was able to do thanks to the Suyu Main Branch Owner.”
“Dad, from a businessman’s perspective, I’d naturally want to tell you to partner with Hyojin Food and start franchising. But your heart is set against it, isn’t it?”
“That’s right….”
“Dad, if you don’t want to do it, then don’t. Why are you agonizing over it?”
“Because I sent you abroad to study at such a young age, and you got into Harvard, a school most people can’t reach… and now it feels like you left that wonderful school because of me.”
I looked at Father with a puzzled expression.
“Truth is… I wonder if you threw yourself into business because our family was poor. It weighs on my heart that you couldn’t graduate from Harvard.”
I crossed my arms.
Father wasn’t wrong.
I had joined FaceNote to lift this impoverished household out of poverty.
And regarding Harvard—I already knew that once FaceNote went public, they would naturally grant me an honorary diploma.
“Dad, I love working. There’s more to learn in society than at university. And even if you made a fortune in business, I wouldn’t go back to Harvard.”
“Hmm….”
Father nodded slowly.
“Dad, would you go somewhere with me tomorrow?”
“Where?”
“There’s something I want to show you. Once you see it, I think your mind will change.”
“Alright… It’s getting late today anyway. Let’s get some rest.”
Father walked into his room with heavy steps.
It seemed Father was still troubled by the fact that I had left Harvard to pursue business.
* * *
“Sung-guk, this is a hamburger restaurant.”
Father looked at me in surprise.
“Dad, the cheeseburgers here are delicious. Would you like to try one?”
“Uh… sure.”
I ordered two cheeseburger sets and we took our seats.
“Dad, try the burger here.”
Father took a bite of the cheeseburger and looked at me with a slightly impressed expression.
“Sung-guk, this burger is really delicious. The ingredients seem fresh too….”
“Dad, unlike McDonald’s, this burger chain only operates company-owned locations. That’s why they’re not on the East Coast—they’re concentrated on the West Coast.”
“Really? Isn’t America the land of franchises?”
“The United States is certainly the land of franchises, but places like this exist too. The founder’s philosophy here is to make burgers with fresh ingredients every day and sell them.”
“I see… so places like this do exist.”
Father looked around the interior of the restaurant while continuously eating cheeseburgers.
“Dad, I was wondering what you’d think if Uncle Won’s Bossam operated in this kind of format.”
“So you’re saying I should focus on company-owned locations like you mentioned, to maintain the quality of the food?”
“Yes.”
And truthfully, looking at this burger restaurant’s net profit alone, it’s not inferior to McDonald’s.
In other words, it meant the company had a solid foundation.
Father finally seemed to have found a solution for Uncle Won’s Bossam’s future.
“But this place really does have delicious food.”
“A restaurant’s success ultimately comes down to taste, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right, Sung-guk. A restaurant is ultimately about taste. I’ve seen many places that change their taste once they become a bit famous. And I’ve also seen many restaurants that try to expand through franchising and end up failing instead.”
“Dad, so your problem is solved then?”
“Well, actually….”
Was there another problem?
Father gulped down his cola and continued speaking.
“The thing is, operating company-owned locations requires more expenses than I thought. Right now everyone’s business is doing well so we’re managing, but if sales drop, it could become a real concern.”
[Why worry about that, Dad really is something.]
I shoved a burger into my mouth and swallowed.
“Dad… you might not like what I’m about to say, but please understand that this is all for maintaining the business you want to preserve.”
“Go ahead, Sung-guk. Speak freely.”
“Dad, I think that ultimately, to weather any crisis, you need to have substantial assets. Especially in operating company-owned locations like this. Usually, what restaurants struggle with most is monthly rent and maintenance costs like that.”
“That’s true.”
Currently, South Korea’s real estate prices had begun their downward trajectory following the Lehman Brothers crisis.
A string of bankruptcies was occurring due to reckless stock and real estate investments.
“Dad, what if you tried purchasing the real estate where the company-owned locations would be established?”
“All of them?”
“Yes….”
This was also McDonald’s strategy.
Few people realize that McDonald’s actually made more money from real estate investments than from selling hamburgers.
“Right now Korea isn’t in a good economic situation after the Lehman crisis. There will be plenty of prime buildings and land coming on the market.”
Over the next ten years, South Korean real estate will hit bottom and begin its rebound.
“The main branch is already purchased by you, but for the locations paying monthly rent, you might want to consider it.”
“Hmm… I should do that. If the restaurants can operate stably, the food quality can actually be maintained. When rent goes up and ingredient costs rise, honestly, the restaurant business naturally leads you to think about lowering unit costs.”
Father seemed to understand what I was saying.
“And Dad… next year I’ll be an adult.”
“Right, time really flies. You becoming an adult….”
Time’s passage was visible on Father’s face.
Father’s once-firm face had sagged a bit, and streaks of gray were beginning to show here and there.
“Sung-guk, in just a few more years, I’ll be the age I was when you were born.”
“Father… that’s why I’m bringing this up. Now that I’m becoming an adult, I think I’ll need a place to live when I move to Seoul.”
“Why… wouldn’t it be nice to live with us?”
I offered a different reason, sensing Father would object if I mentioned investment.
“Or I thought it would be good to buy a house now for when I get married and settle down.”
“Yes, it’s good to buy early. Father will buy you a house for when you get married, Sung-guk.”
This was an unexpected answer.
“Father, really?”
“Of course. Where should Father buy you a house?”
“Father… please buy me the Apgujeong Hyunsung Apartments!”

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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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