I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 267

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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 267
Jeon Tae-guk tugged at my arm.
“Sung-guk, don’t make that face… Please go see Father and tell him with a smile. Tell him I graduated… that your older brother can now dedicate himself to working hard for Samjeon.”
“Hyung… I can’t lie.”
“Sung-guk, please… I have monthly rent in Bugakro! Plus, there’s my military service exemption.”
“Hyung, what happens to my military service exemption? If you ask like this, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung might start questioning my special recruitment.”
“Sung-guk… Father has always been thinking of bringing you into Samjeon one way or another. Why would he stop you when you’re walking in on your own two feet?”
….
[I have no intention of becoming a subject in the kingdom of Samjeon. I just want to see the Samjeon I knew.]
Just then, Chairman Koo Soo-young of Hyojin Group greeted me warmly.
“Sung-guk….”
“Chairman, it’s good to see you.”
“You rascal, if you were coming as a special envoy, you could’ve given me a heads-up.”
“I apologize. I was so busy with work that I ended up coming without notice. I’ll do a great job interpreting today.”
“You’re interpreting today?”
“Yes… it’s a gathering with business leaders, and they said they needed someone who understands both Korean and American culture. Everyone will have their own interpreters, but I’ll be handling the main interpretation.”
Chairman Koo Soo-young gripped my shoulder firmly, looking at me with the pride of a parent gazing upon their accomplished son.
“Sung-guk… I’m truly proud of you.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Chairman.”
It was only natural that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s mood seemed uncomfortable hearing this exchange.
After all, I had received help from Samjeon Group during my early years of growth.
Chairman Koo Soo-young seemed aware of this, and asked pointedly.
“Is the car to your liking?”
“It was truly the car of my dreams, Chairman.”
“Good, don’t forget to drive safely.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Then came an awkward cough, and Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, who had been watching from the side, approached.
I could feel Jeon Tae-guk standing beside me tense up.
“Sung-guk, you’ve grown up so admirably.”
“Thank you, Chairman.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, who had been my father in my previous life, was now in his late fifties.
The boldness of his younger years had faded somewhat, but he still showed no sign of weakness.
In my previous life, people said that as I aged, I resembled Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung more and more.
Of course, I prefer my appearance in this life.
Just then, Jeon Tae-guk nudged my side.
“Sung-guk… remember what I asked you to say?”
[Sigh… really… I’m doing this because of Bugakro. Fine!]
I smiled and spoke to Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.
“Chairman, congratulations on Hyung’s graduation.”
Only then did Jeon Tae-guk seem relieved.
“What, not Harvard or anything… why is graduating from university such a big deal?”
[It’s worth celebrating that Jeon Tae-guk graduated with his abilities, Chairman.]
Jeon Tae-guk kept winking at me from beside him.
“Chairman, still, now my brother is ready to establish himself as a proper member of society, not just a student. Of course it’s worth celebrating.”
At these words, Jeon Tae-guk even gave a thumbs up.
But Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung deliberately changed the subject.
“By the way… what are you planning to do about military service?”
In that moment, I felt everyone’s gaze turn toward me.
“I’m thinking of going as an industrial technician at a military service alternative company.”
Just then, word arrived that Barack Obama had finished the summit, and the business leaders lined up in their designated order.
Leading with Samjeon Group’s Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, it was the turn of Chairman Koo Soo-young and Chairman Hyun Sung-ho.
Barack Obama entered with his characteristic gentle smile.
I quickly approached him.
“Barack, how did the summit go?”
“He’s not someone who’s completely unreasonable. What we need most right now is in the economic sector… and he seemed open-minded about that.”
[Then again, he’s the type who’d sell out his own country for personal gain….]
Behind Barack Obama, South Korea’s President Lim Myung-baek also entered.
The business leaders took turns greeting Barack Obama.
I stood beside them, offering Barack Obama some guidance about each business leader.
“Chairman Hyun Sung-ho is the representative of Hyunsung Automotive. He’s been working to continuously expand Hyunsung Automotive’s market share in the United States. If you discuss that with him, you’ll be able to have a conversation that aligns with the growth of America’s currently struggling automotive industry.”
“Sung-guk, what do we have to offer?”
“You’ll need to apply automotive tariffs in the United States more flexibly.”
“That’s right….”
Fundamentally, American diplomacy followed the logic of capital strictly. Give one, get one.
“Samjeon Group is competing with Apple in the United States. I believe they’re currently in a patent dispute.”
I quietly explained the sectors where these companies could contribute to American industry and the issues they were currently creating in the American market.
The brief dinner with the business leaders ended like that.
That was all I could do here.
* * *
After the dinner with the business leaders, President Lim Myung-baek’s secretary found me.
“The President would like to see you for a moment.”
“Yes.”
I straightened my suit collar.
In my previous life, I’d met Lim Myung-baek several times and had conversations with him.
As someone from a salaried background, he understood corporate structures better than most and knew how to handle them.
But the companies he knew were limited to the 1980s style.
Conglomerates had changed a lot as times evolved, and there was a frustrating aspect to his ignorance of that.
Soon the door opened, revealing a small reception room at Cheong Wa Dae.
There, not only President Lim Myung-baek but also several ministers with familiar faces were present.
President Lim Myung-baek quickly extended his hand.
“Sung-guk, it’s good to see your face like this.”
“Hello, I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“FaceNote, YouTube, and the industrialist moving the world is Korean… Every time I see you, I see my own twenties. You remind me of myself back then.”
I nearly pulled my hand away at those words, but I held back.
[How is that even possible? I look nothing like you in your twenties! Please, look in a mirror sometime….]
The ministers standing behind him were clearly biting their teeth to suppress their laughter.
“Come, sit here and have some water first. You can’t drink alcohol since you’re a minor, right?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
I quickly took a sip of water.
Lim Myung-baek blinked his small eyes a few times, then subtly probed for information.
“Sung-guk, but I’m genuinely curious about something. What’s really on Barack Obama’s mind? Does he want Korea and Japan to join hands?”
[Isn’t that what you want?]
Conversations between politicians always required careful handling.
I needed to remain neutral and never leak any information. You never knew when a careless word might come back to haunt you.
“Well… I’m just serving as an interpreter. Regarding relations with Japan, I think it would be better to consider public sentiment rather than just the American perspective.”
At my response, Lim Myung-baek’s expression showed slight dissatisfaction before he smiled.
“Right. The most important thing is public sentiment. Public sentiment… So you’ll have to serve in the military, won’t you?”
[Is this a threat because I didn’t give the answer he wanted?]
But I already had the right answer prepared.
“Yes… I’m planning to apply as an industrial functional soldier for military service exemption. I want to use my strengths to contribute to the country.”
“Ha, that’s an excellent idea, Sung-guk.”
As Lim Myung-baek laughed, the ministers laughed along emptily.
* * *
After finishing the meeting with President Lim Myung-baek, Jeon Tae-guk and Gary Oldman were waiting outside.
“Sung-guk, aren’t you going to visit your parents?”
[Oh, that’s right!]
The schedule had been so hectic that I hadn’t even thought about visiting my parents.
I quickly checked my schedule with Gary Oldman.
“Gary, do I have anything else scheduled for tomorrow?”
“There’s a visit to US Forces Korea, so you don’t have any separate schedule. You’re free until dinner.”
“Alright, then… I’ll head home for a bit.”
I loosened the tie that had been constraining me slightly.
Seeing this, Jeon Tae-guk tilted his head.
“You know, the way you loosen your tie like that is incredibly similar to our father.”
“Hyung, I look completely different from your father.”
[I’m actually quite proud of this face in this life, Jeon Tae-guk.]
“Your face is different, but your mannerisms seem similar. You have that same sharp personality too.”
“That’s just how all businesspeople are. But hyung, why aren’t you going home? I’m heading there now.”
“Could I impose on your family for one night? I’d like to eat your father’s braised beef, and be a good life mentor to Min-guk and a good older brother to Ji-hee.”
Jeon Tae-guk asked with remarkable shamelessness.
“You have the Hannam-dong estate and the Samjeon Hotel, hyung.”
“Sung-guk… I’m… lonely.”
Jeon Tae-guk clung to me, speaking of the weight that came with being a third-generation chaebol heir.
“Sung-guk, you know this. Our mother wouldn’t bleed a drop even if you pricked her with a needle. Father’s probably too busy these days to even grab a coffee with me. I’ll just be stuck ordering room service in some lonely hotel room.”
“Hyung, you love room service anyway. And it’s not like you don’t have a place to stay.”
I put up my defenses immediately.
“Sung-guk… Actually, I already called your parents ahead of time. I told them I was coming with you….”
“What?!”
“Your father and mother both welcomed me so warmly.”
[I just want to spend some quiet time with our family… Jeon Tae-guk thought.]
“And… since I figured you’d say you don’t have a room again, I told your parents I’d booked a room at the Samjeon Hotel and that we’d meet there.”
“Hyung….”
“Don’t thank me. Just think of it as me inviting you to our home.”
[That’s not something to be grateful for…]
“Hyung, please just go home. Your home isn’t the Samjeon Hotel—it’s Hannam-dong!”
“Sung-guk, the hotel just feels like home to me. Don’t you think I’m pitiful?”
“Hyung, if ordinary people in South Korea heard you say that, they’d grab the back of their necks and collapse. Please stop.”
“People really don’t understand the anguish and hardship of the wealthy.”
Jeon Tae-guk walked ahead with the most forlorn expression, then suddenly turned back to me.
“Sung-guk, let’s hurry. We need to eat the bossam while it’s still warm. Father just texted that he packed it and arrived at the hotel.”
I reluctantly climbed into Jeon Tae-guk’s official vehicle waiting in front of Cheong Wa Dae.
* * *
The Samjeon Hotel came into view in the distance.
Jeon Tae-guk gazed out the window with an excited expression.
“Sung-guk, Father mentioned earlier that I should work in the Corporate Planning and Development Division for a while, and once you get assigned to a military service alternative company, I should transfer there immediately.”
“Hyung… why don’t you try working in a field of business you actually want to pursue while you’re young?”
“Sung-guk, I still actually want to be a rapper… But Father says Samjeon Group will absolutely never enter the entertainment business. I guess it’s because Uncle’s company does it. I’ll just have to inherit Samjeon Group.”
“Hyung… what you’re inheriting is Samjeon Group. Even to inherit a neighborhood restaurant, you’d have to work so hard to implement recipes passed down through generations, and you’re talking about it so carelessly?!”
I was genuinely angry.
At least in my previous life, I studied and worked with bone-grinding pain to inherit Samjeon Group.
“Father told me something. Honestly, Father knows me best. He said I just need to master one thing.”
“….”
I had an idea what it was, but I waited silently for Jeon Tae-guk to continue.
“How to pick and employ good people. Then those people will dedicate their lives to serving Samjeon for salaries that seem absurd even to me.”
“Hyung, to pick and employ good people, you need discernment in the person doing the picking.”
“Of course, Father added that too. He said if I can’t develop that discernment, he’ll just pay the highest salary in South Korea. Then all those smart kids will do everything they can to get into Samjeon.”
I laughed bitterly.
Everything Jeon Tae-guk said was true.

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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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