I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 269

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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 269
Baek Tae-hwan, satisfied with himself, immediately posted a selfie to his FaceNote account.
– The honor of swimming at the same pool as the CEO of FaceNote, which I use!
After adding this caption, he soon glanced at me.
“Sung-guk, would you have time for a cup of coffee in the lobby? My treat.”
“I can’t freeload off an Olympic hero. I’ll pay.”
And I quietly added one more thing.
“Consider it payment for turning a blind eye.”
“Then I’ll gladly accept your generosity.”
I shook the water from my hair and exited the changing room.
At that moment, my family waiting outside the changing room saw Baek Tae-hwan and me, and their eyes went wide.
“Oh my, isn’t that Baek Tae-hwan?”
Mother couldn’t hide her excitement, and Min-guk and Ji-hee whispered to each other.
“Wow, no way. Baek Tae-hwan, Ji-hee.”
“Brother, I saw him too.”
[Wait, are they all looking at Baek Tae-hwan with hearts in their eyes while completely ignoring me, Jeon Sung-guk?]
I stared at my family with a bewildered expression.
Just then, Ji-hee approached and squeezed my hand tightly.
[So only our Ji-hee has eyes for her brother after all.]
“Brother, can you take a photo of me with Baek Tae-hwan?”
My brief moment of relief came crashing down.
Hearing this, Baek Tae-hwan smiled naturally and took Ji-hee’s other hand.
“Wow, all of Sung-guk’s siblings are so pretty. What’s your name?”
“Ji-hee. Jeon Ji-hee.”
“That’s a beautiful name too. Ji-hee, want to take a photo with me?”
“Yes! Brother!”
[Ji-hee, I’m your only brother along with Min-guk!]
Min-guk seized the opportunity and rushed over.
“Baek Tae-hwan, me too! I want to take a photo with you!”
“Then let’s all take one together.”
And Min-guk naturally handed me his phone.
“Brother, take it with this. I need to brag to my friends that I took a photo with an Olympic hero.”
[Jeon Min-guk, do you know who I am? The youngest Harvard student, CEO of FaceNote and YouTube, and….]
“Brother, why aren’t you taking it? Come on.”
[… In the end, I’m just the family photographer….]
I picked up the phone with a bitter expression and called out.
“One, two, three, cheese!”
* * *
Myung Hae-jin wore the elegant one-piece dress her mother had chosen and sipped the carefully brewed green tea.
She followed her mother’s advice to avoid coffee, which might stain her lips.
I arrived fifteen minutes early.
After all, Samjeon Group was the pinnacle of South Korea.
Myung Jin Group had a solid domestic market and was said to be a chaebol family without financial blemish, but in this world, it was the family’s assets that determined hierarchy, not the individual.
Mother’s request, born from decades of living as a member of a chaebol family, was to always bow respectfully when entering Samjeon Group’s sphere.
The finest education in South Korea from childhood. Top academic credentials meant nothing in the marriage market of chaebols.
In relationships between chaebols, background mattered far more than the individual.
Samjeon Group excelled at manufacturing electronics, but there was a running joke among chaebol circles that their heir was unremarkable—Jeon Tae-guk’s personal credentials were nothing special.
Yet no other chaebol heir in South Korea possessed what Jeon Tae-guk, the successor to Samjeon Group, had.
Soon I saw Jeon Tae-guk entering from the distance, dressed head to toe in Gucci.
Myung Hae-jin rose from her seat.
Jeon Tae-guk’s expression carried both a hint of arrogance and an oddly naive quality.
That was Myung Hae-jin’s first impression of him.
“Hello, I’m Myung Hae-jin.”
And she introduced herself.
Jeon Tae-guk found this first meeting somewhat refreshing.
Usually, the chaebol women he’d met before clearly knew who he was, yet never initiated greetings first.
Jeon Tae-guk straightened his collar and greeted her.
“Hello, I’m Jeon Tae-guk. I’m still a student.”
“What’s more important is that you’re the heir to Samjeon Group.”
A woman who fired back like this was a first for him.
Myung Hae-jin was a woman of firsts for Jeon Tae-guk.
Secretary Park Sung-hee nudged the dazed Jeon Tae-guk’s side gently.
“Then, have a wonderful time.”
Jeon Tae-guk finally came to his senses and sat down.
“Please, let’s sit.”
“Yes….”
Only after watching Myung Hae-jin sit did Jeon Tae-guk take his seat.
It was the first time in Jeon Tae-guk’s blind date history that this had happened.
* * *
The moment Baek Tae-hwan and I entered the Hotel Lobby, murmurs echoed from all directions.
In the United States, the spotlight would have been on me, but in South Korea, I couldn’t compete with an Olympic hero.
As soon as we sat in a corner booth, even the staff approached our table with excited faces.
“I’m a fan of Baek Tae-hwan. Would it be possible to take a photo?”
“Of course, we can take one when we leave.”
“Thank you so much.”
Soon our ordered beverages arrived along with a complimentary service cake.
“I bought this cake. Our hotel’s cake is really delicious. Baek Tae-hwan, please try it.”
“Oh… you really didn’t have to.”
“I’m a true fan. Oh, but… is the person with you also a swimmer? Wow, you’re so handsome. Birds of a feather really do flock together, don’t they?”
[I’m Jeon Sung-guk! CEO of FaceNote and YouTube, and you don’t know 【Five Men and a Baby Basket】?! And I’m better-looking than Baek Tae-hwan, objectively speaking!]
Baek Tae-hwan introduced me with a warm smile.
“This is the CEO of FaceNote. He’s far more famous globally than I am.”
“Oh my… I use FaceNote too.”
[So now the world is divided into those who use FaceNote and those who don’t.]
I shrugged my shoulders.
And I waited for the employee’s praise directed at me.
“I’ve been chattering away too long. Please let me know if you need anything. Have a wonderful time.”
[Wait, he’s just leaving?]
And so the employee returned to his seat without uttering a single word of praise about me.
South Korea felt like flat soda to me.
Just then, Jeon Tae-guk, who was on a blind date, entered my field of vision.
And today’s appearance of Jeon Tae-guk was something I’d never seen in this lifetime.
He looked like a ram hiding his rough horns, sitting there all meek and docile.
[Did he fall for Myung Hae-jin from the start in my previous life too…? And then he cheated on her, so clearly he had no conscience.]
I shifted my gaze to Myung Hae-jin.
She looked exactly as I remembered her.
She’d received elite education, possessed refined beauty, and her height exceeded South Korea’s standard.
I’d never had a deep conversation with her, but one thing was certain—she was far too good for Jeon Tae-guk in every way.
As I stared intently at Jeon Tae-guk, I felt Myung Hae-jin glance at me.
[Oh no, I can’t have her getting the wrong idea…]
I quickly turned my attention back and continued a pleasant conversation with Baek Tae-hwan. We exchanged phone numbers and promised to go swimming together next time.
* * *
[Maybe I should buy a cake.]
The cake the employee had given me was truly delicious, just as he’d said.
The fact that I thought of my family at times like this showed I was hopeless when it came to them.
“Um… could you wrap up one of those cakes you gave me earlier?”
“Of course.”
Just then, I heard Jeon Tae-guk and Myung Hae-jin approaching from behind.
Jeon Tae-guk called out to me in a slightly excited voice.
“Sung-guk…”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Are you buying a cake?”
“Yes, I’m planning to eat it with my family this evening.”
I felt Myung Hae-jin’s gaze studying me.
Jeon Tae-guk quickly introduced me with a proud tone.
“Hae-jin, this is Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Yes, I know. He’s the CEO of FaceNote and YouTube. In America, he holds the title of most promising minor in various magazines.”
Myung Hae-jin knew more about me than I’d expected.
“Nice to meet you. I shared an apartment with Tae-guk in America.”
“I didn’t know you two were that close.”
“I practically fed her, put her to bed, and raised her myself.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, it seems like the opposite to me… Anyway, he’s all swagger in front of a woman.]
But in any case, since Jeon Tae-guk’s marriage to Myung Hae-jin of Myung Jin Group was already a settled future, I simply kept my mouth shut.
“Brother, are the two of you going out for dinner?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Then please enjoy your meal. The family’s waiting for us.”
“Sung-guk, we’re eating with your parents too.”
“Pardon?”
[What is he talking about right now?]
“Your parents are waiting in the suite room with bossam. Hae-jin said she’s been curious about your family’s bossam for a while.”
“Our family has been famous for food for generations. I’ve always enjoyed exploring restaurants, but I haven’t had a chance to visit Uncle Won’s Bossam yet.”
Jeon Tae-guk even guided Myung Hae-jin.
“Then, shall we head this way, Hae-jin?”
I quickly grabbed Jeon Tae-guk’s shoulder as he followed Myung Hae-jin. Then I whispered.
“Brother, if you like her, you should eat separately.”
“Sung-guk, what do you know? You’ve never even dated. A domestic man who introduces family-like people. How’s that? That’s my concept for today.”
[Sigh, I’m a perpetual single in this life, but I wasn’t in my past one!]
Jeon Tae-guk patted my shoulder, then followed Myung Hae-jin with an arrogant expression.
Just then, an employee called me.
“Here’s the cake package.”
“Yes, thank you.”
And I inevitably headed to the suite room with the cake for my family.
* * *
“We also regularly use Myung Jin Group products. Since they’re seasonings with history and tradition, customers’ palates are already accustomed to Myung Jin Group products. Last time when I made sauce, I used a new competitor’s product… and customers immediately noticed the taste was different. They said the previous one was better.”
Father shared an anecdote from running Uncle Won’s Bossam with Myung Hae-jin, and she listened carefully.
And she didn’t spare praise for Father’s bossam either.
“This is truly the first time I’ve had bossam this tender and without any unpleasant smell. How exactly do you prepare it? That must be a trade secret, right?”
“You’re too kind. It’s not really a trade secret… there’s nothing special about it. The method for removing the gamey smell isn’t much different from other establishments.”
“So it all comes down to dedication?”
Myung Hae-jin even flattered Father appropriately.
“I believe that as single-person households increase, there will be growing demand for various food options, similar to a convenience store version of Uncle Won’s Bossam.”
Indeed, Myung Hae-jin was clearly smarter than Jeon Tae-guk and showed entrepreneurial qualities.
And Jeon Tae-guk, who was clearly smitten with Myung Hae-jin, just kept his mouth hanging open and nodding repeatedly as he watched her.
I gently tugged at Jeon Tae-guk’s collar.
“Brother, please close your mouth.”
“Sung-guk, Hae-jin really seems different from other women. Isn’t she amazing?”
“Doesn’t Samjeon Group have a family tradition of not supporting daughters-in-law’s external activities?”
“Uh…”
Suddenly, Jeon Tae-guk looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“Sung-guk… how do you know that?”
“Looking at your family tree, it’s all clear. No one is publicly involved in business ventures anyway.”
“Ah, that’s true… But Sung-guk, you think Myung Hae-jin and I are a good match too? Seeing you already talk about marriage makes me wonder.”
“Brother, that’s just how people talk. And marriage depends on your own efforts, doesn’t it?”
“Right, right. I really need to put in the work.”
So Jeon Tae-guk has finally found his match.
It seemed like the number of things that would cling to me in the future would only decrease.
“I’ve been sitting here quite a while during your family time. Thank you so much for letting me taste such delicious bossam. Next time, I’ll invite all of you to our hotel.”
“Oh, no need.”
Myung Hae-jin rose from her seat with a pleased expression.
[Yes… please, just take Jeon Tae-guk and disappear so we can have family time.]
I whispered as I helped Jeon Tae-guk up from his seat.
“Brother, you should take her home now.”
“Right, of course.”
Just as Jeon Tae-guk was about to stand, Myung Hae-jin held out her phone to me.
“Sung-guk… could I get your phone number?”
“My number?”
“Yes, I go to the United States often, so I’ll contact you.”
In that moment, my eyes and Jeon Tae-guk’s met.
This was perhaps the most bewildering moment I’d experienced in this lifetime.
[Sister-in-law, this isn’t right….]

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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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