I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 271

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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 271
I was gazing at Jeon Tae-guk’s Bugatti parked in the lot.
Jeon Tae-guk’s Bugatti was last year’s edition—the pinnacle of the Bugatti lineup.
In Korean won, it would be worth roughly ten billion.
A supercar among supercars.
It wasn’t a vehicle one could simply purchase with money alone.
The Bugatti was a car that demanded wealth, prestige, and power all at once.
Of these three, Jeon Tae-guk had earned not a single one himself.
Yet the moment he was born as the son of Samjeon Group, he had already possessed all of it.
Jeon Tae-guk emerged and tapped my shoulder as I stood in the parking lot.
“Sung-guk, are you admiring your future car?”
“Yes, hyung. The Bugatti really is magnificent.”
“Isn’t it? Once we’re back in Korea, I can’t drive something like this anyway—gotta consider public sentiment. I’d end up in some domestic car with a driver, worth a few billion won at best. Sung-guk, I have a feeling I’m going to miss this place terribly. The freedom here, you know?”
Jeon Tae-guk swept his gaze across Silicon Valley with a nostalgic longing, aware that his time here was nearly spent.
“Hyung, are you really sure about giving me this car?”
“Sung-guk, if you can just graduate, I’d have given you something even greater. So don’t worry about it. Besides, I can’t exactly take this car back to Korea with me anyway.”
“That’s a shame.”
“By the way, you’re all set for today’s lecture, right?”
“Hyung, I’m actually—”
“Jeon Sung-guk.”
Jeon Tae-guk cut off my words.
[Ugh. That’s something only I’m supposed to say. Jeon Tae-guk!]
“Hyung, would it be alright if I drove the Bugatti to school?”
“You want to?”
“Yes, I’d like to try.”
Jeon Tae-guk handed me the Bugatti’s keys.
* * *
The Bugatti’s distinctive engine note faded as I cut the ignition.
The moment I opened the door, every passing student’s gaze locked onto me.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
I quickly tossed the keys back to Jeon Tae-guk.
“Hyung, that was quite a drive.”
“Sung-guk, just keep the keys from now on. After today’s lecture, I graduate anyway.”
“Hyung, I could mess up the lecture. Which means there’s a possibility you won’t graduate.”
“Is there really such a possibility?”
“You never know what life will bring, hyung. And please—don’t give away anything until it’s all truly finished.”
“Tch, you sound just like our father. Fine, fine. Let’s go in.”
Jeon Tae-guk led the way.
[How does he expect to lead Samjeon when he’s so scatterbrained like that….]
I adjusted my usual hoodie and entered the lecture hall.
* * *
The lecture hall, which could accommodate up to three thousand students, had not a single empty seat.
Jeon Tae-guk introduced me to the Professor who had been waiting at the entrance of the lecture hall.
“This is Jeon Sung-guk, the founder and current CEO of FaceNote and YouTube.”
“Of course I know. You’re even more handsome in person.”
[As if my photographs aren’t already works of art.]
“Professor, I’ve heard much about you.”
“Really? That’s quite an honor.”
I hadn’t heard anything about him—merely small talk to break the awkward silence.
“Jeon Tae-guk should find a seat. There don’t seem to be any empty ones.”
“Yes, I’ll go in and prepare to listen to the lecture.”
After Jeon Tae-guk left, the Professor smiled knowingly and continued.
“I never expected Jeon Tae-guk would write such an answer on the exam.”
“Thanks to that, I get to give a lecture in front of such wonderful students. But… are you really going to let Jeon Tae-guk graduate based solely on this condition?”
The Professor flashed a sly smile, and I whispered quietly.
“Actually, his graduation credits were just barely sufficient. But I wanted to hear your lecture directly. This is a secret from Jeon Tae-guk.”
[What a cunning fox this professor is…]
In any case, giving a lecture wasn’t a bad thing.
All the spotlight would be on me. And I had long been a seasoned, capable speaker.
* * *
I displayed the presentation materials I had prepared on the lecture hall screen.
Today’s lecture topic was “The Future of SNS in Five Years.”
I swept my gaze across the lecture hall packed with three thousand students. The room fell silent as a tomb.
I relaxed my shoulders with ease, then offered a subtle smile.
Admiring voices of young women echoed from various corners of the hall.
Having warmed up the audience, I offered my greeting.
“Hello everyone. I’m Jeon Sung-guk, founder of FaceNote and current CEO of both YouTube and FaceNote.”
Thunderous applause erupted simultaneously.
I raised my hand to quiet the applause.
“Do you know why I came to give this lecture today?”
Most of the students looked clueless.
“Hmm… it seems you all don’t know. Then, would you all like to access my FaceNote or YouTube on your phones right now and find out the reason?”
At first they seemed bewildered, but soon a Curly-haired Male Student raised his hand eagerly.
“It’s because of Jeon Tae-guk from the Business Administration department!”
At the student’s words, the other students began to stir with excitement.
“What’s your reasoning?”
I asked calmly.
“Well… I thought maybe you have a connection with Jeon Tae-guk. Honestly, I’m a fan, so I’m subscribed to both FaceNote and YouTube, and Jeon Tae-guk appears quite often.”
I smiled knowingly and applauded.
“That’s correct.”
At the same time, all eyes turned toward Jeon Tae-guk as he took his seat.
Jeon Tae-guk shrugged his shoulders with an arrogant expression.
I resumed my lecture.
“Imagine you’re a freshman who just arrived at this school. You don’t know a single person here, and you have to attend most classes alone. When you walk into the lecture hall, everyone’s greeting each other like old friends, and it’s nearly impossible to break into those circles.”
The students were becoming increasingly absorbed in my words.
“What would this student’s university life have been like in a world without SNS?”
“I think they would have dropped out!”
“Maybe they would have just quietly gone through school?”
“No way. They’d need to find a girlfriend first!”
Various answers erupted from different corners of the hall.
“Exactly. In a world without SNS, we’d have to work hard to find what we want. Making friends would require spending considerable time getting to know people. But now, all of you have phones in your hands, and they’re filled with various SNS platforms. So if you were this student right now, what would you do?”
“I’d join clubs I’m interested in through SNS.”
“I’d go into the school network and find friends to have lunch with.”
These kinds of responses came pouring out.
“You now live in a world where through the various SNS platforms in this small phone, you can find people with similar interests to you, people who attend your school, or people to have lunch with. Of course, there are occasional downsides. There are people wearing masks. Or there might be people trying to deceive you. But these dangers didn’t originate exclusively from SNS.”
A female student raised her hand.
“Are you saying that because we’ve become accustomed to SNS, it will remain popular even five years from now?”
I nodded slightly.
“However! There will be no eternal SNS.”
The students murmured at my words.
Here I was, the founder of FaceNote, saying there would be no eternal SNS—they looked skeptical.
A hat-wearing male student raised his hand and asked.
“What do you mean there’s no eternal SNS? Are you saying FaceNote will collapse?”
“FaceNote has the advantage that you can write your thoughts and ideas as posts, and you can see your relationships at a glance. These relationships connect and extend, so everyone in the world could potentially become my friend. Until now… and for several more years, people will be enthusiastic about these relationships.”
I took a sip of water.
“But once people become accustomed to something, they quickly seek out what’s new. For example, some people might think FaceNote has too much content.”
“That’s right! Everyone writes such long posts!”
At one student’s comment, everyone burst into laughter.
“Exactly. There are already groups with complaints. But we’ve become so habituated to SNS that it’s woven into our daily lives—we can’t abandon it. Have any of you ever thought about what a San Francisco summer would be like without air conditioning?”
“That would be hell!”
“Right. SNS is the same way—it’s already become an essential commodity for our emotional well-being. But just as air conditioning advances, SNS will evolve according to our demands.”
“So what do you think the next SNS will be?”
“Well… that’s why I’m here today to unveil a new SNS that FaceNote has created.”
At those words, the students began murmuring again.
There was a reason I had taken on this lecture.
There was no more attractive venue for unveiling FaceNote’s new SNS than to early-twenties university students who use SNS the most.
In fact, reporters I had already contacted were strategically positioned throughout the student audience.
They had already recorded and photographed the situation.
“Now, SNS is something you can’t live without, like air conditioning on a summer day. Shall we take a look at our new air conditioner?”
“Yes!”
“Come on!”
Voices urged me from all directions.
I displayed Instagrim, the application I’d devoted myself to developing, on the screen.
It resembled a simple photo album where only photographs could be uploaded.
Of course, the reaction was as quiet as I’d anticipated.
“Isn’t that just a phone photo gallery?”
“Exactly! It’s a phone photo gallery. But the difference is that this photo gallery can be shared with an unspecified number of people and everyone I know!”
I began explaining Instagrim in detail.
The students tilted their heads, their expressions skeptical.
“I don’t want to look at other people’s photo galleries.”
“You don’t want to look at other people’s photo galleries, but haven’t there been moments when you do? You travel somewhere and witness a breathtakingly beautiful sunset… and you want to share it with people you know or multiple people. Don’t you have that desire?”
Some students nodded.
Others shook their heads vigorously, creating a mixed response.
“Perhaps you’re skeptical right now. But no social media platform lasts forever. Human desires continuously evolve and change. You may find this strange now, but I assure you that in five years, you’ll believe every word I’ve said.”
Applause erupted, though not as thunderous as before.
I found myself curious about what tomorrow’s articles from the reporters present today would say.
* * *
As I stood before Bugatti, Jeon Tae-guk handed me the keys.
“Sung-guk, I’m finally graduating! Now Bugatti is completely yours!”
“Thank you, hyung.”
“But Sung-guk… the response to Instagrim was lukewarm, wasn’t it?”
“It’ll probably struggle for a few years. People naturally fear change even as they crave it.”
“You always speak in difficult terms.”
I gestured toward Bugatti.
“Hyung, when will the ownership transfer be completed?”
“Sung-guk, sometimes you see me so sporadically. It’s already been completed at the San Francisco Samjeon Corporation. Insurance is all taken care of too….”
“Then it’s completely mine now.”
“Of course.”
Bugatti had finally fallen into my hands.
I smiled broadly.
“Sung-guk, you’re selling the Porsche, right?”
“No.”
“Right, driving Bugatti every day might be a bit much.”
“Hyung, I’m selling Bugatti.”
“Whaaaaaat?”
Jeon Tae-guk asked in shock.
“Hey! Then why did you ask for Bugatti?”
“To sell it…”
“To sell it?”
“To buy stocks.”
I shrugged my shoulders.

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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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