I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 284

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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 284
I washed my face and grabbed my outer jacket.
“Mother, I think I need to go see Mark.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Mark says he made a serious mistake with Mi-mi’s parents, but I have no idea what it is. It seems like there might have been some communication issues.”
“Mi-mi speaks English well, doesn’t she?”
“She does. But Mark has some unique quirks. I’m not sure if she explained those aspects well enough.”
As I tried to leave, Mother grabbed me by the nape of my neck.
“Son, you need to eat the hangover soup I made before you go. Mark’s problems are Mark’s problems, but I’m more worried about your empty stomach. Understand?”
[Well, understood!]
I drank down the hangover soup Mother had prepared and stood up from the table.
“Mother, I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t drink today and come home early. Got it?”
“Yes!”
* * *
After Sung-guk left, his mother went into the master bedroom to wake his father.
Sung-guk’s father was sleeping deeply—a sound sleep he hadn’t enjoyed in quite some time.
“Sung-guk’s father, wake up a bit.”
“Huh? Where’s Sung-guk?”
“He had breakfast and left because of Mark.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“Youth really is something. He drinks that much and is still fine.”
Sung-guk’s mother brought her hand down sharply across his father’s back. Smack—
“So-young, that hurts. Be gentler.”
“It should hurt! How can you keep drinking like that with Sung-guk for days on end? Sung-guk is one thing, but you have work every day too. You’re over forty now, not a young man anymore. Times have changed.”
“I know. But I wanted to teach Sung-guk by having him try all kinds of drinks. That way he won’t make mistakes anywhere.”
“You’re hopeless. Are you finally done?”
“No, we still have makgeolli and soju-beer left.”
Smack—Sung-guk’s mother hit his father’s back again.
“Stop it, will you?”
“This is what I raised a son for. But So-young… do you really believe Sung-guk is our son?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
Sung-guk’s father wrapped his arms tightly around his mother’s waist.
“How did such a brilliant, mature, and remarkable person come from us? Don’t you think?”
“Sung-guk’s father, the more Sung-guk grows, the more I see you in him.”
“Me? That’s nonsense. At my age, I was just resenting society… I wasn’t doing anything right. I’m completely different from Sung-guk now.”
“What are you talking about? When I saw you back then, Sung-guk’s father was truly impressive. Many friends fell into bad paths because they were frustrated by difficult circumstances. But you… you found what you wanted to do and tried to stand on your own feet no matter what. If Sung-guk’s father had been born into better circumstances, you probably would have achieved even more.”
“As much as Sung-guk?”
“Well, not quite. Our Sung-guk is a genius, after all.”
Sung-guk’s mother let out a soft chuckle, and Sung-guk’s father immediately wrapped his arms around her.
“So-young, if our fourth child is born… do you think they’ll be a genius like Sung-guk?”
“What are you saying? That’s creepy.”
Click.
Just then, the master bedroom door opened without a knock.
“Mom, Dad. What are you doing?”
It was Min-guk.
“Oh, nothing much.”
“Mom, Dad… I’m telling you now, one older brother is enough. One younger sibling is fine too. But being stuck in the middle between two show-offs is already overwhelming, so I’m hoping you’ll stay at least a meter apart from each other going forward.”
Bang—Min-guk shut the door loudly behind him as he left.
* * *
Lim Mi-mi’s parents lived in a small apartment near Shillim.
It was a home that Lim Mi-mi had carefully saved up to provide for them.
The moment I stepped out of the taxi, I spotted Mark crouching down.
If anyone saw Mark like this now, they would never believe he was the CEO of FaceNote and a future tycoon.
Mark sprang to his feet the instant he saw me.
“Sung-guk!”
“Mark, what on earth is going on? Why are you out here? Don’t tell me you got kicked out?”
“I wasn’t kicked out, but the atmosphere inside felt so awkward that I came out.”
“Mark, what mistake did you make?”
“Sung-guk, let’s walk for a bit first.”
“Sure.”
Mark hunched his narrow shoulders even more as he walked.
After walking in silence for a few minutes, he finally spoke.
“Sung-guk, listen to my story carefully and tell me what I did wrong.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“I greeted Mi-mi and the first day was fun, the second day was fun too, everything was fun. But yesterday, Mi-mi’s mother asked when the two of us would get married. So I told her that I promised you I’d get married once our company goes public. Then she got angry, saying how could we leave such an important decision in someone else’s hands.”
It was a reaction I could understand.
“Mark, you should have said something like that more tactfully depending on the mood.”
“Is that how it works? I didn’t know. Since Mi-mi and I are living together, I figured her parents would definitely bring up marriage. So I warned her to think of a good answer beforehand.”
“Lim Mi-mi should have told you the answer too.”
“That’s what I said… So I told Mi-mi, ‘You know I made that promise with Sung-guk, right? And you agreed to it too, didn’t you?’ But she said that was just something we said between us in America. I should have just answered that we’d do it once we settled down! And then she started yelling at me.”
“So that’s why you’ve been crouching out here since this morning?”
“Yeah. Sung-guk…”
I let out a sigh.
First Kim Yeo-na, now Mark.
“Mark, what am I supposed to do? If I go in there and try to talk right now, I feel like it’ll only make things worse. Don’t you think?”
“Sung-guk, isn’t there some kind of solution?”
“This is a tough one.”
Mark had already spilled the milk.
They were already living together, so Mi-mi’s parents probably wanted a definitive answer about marriage.
Promising to marry after the company’s IPO seemed far too uncertain from her parents’ perspective. And the fact that it wasn’t a decision made between Mi-mi and Mark alone, but rather something Mark had agreed to with me, was enough to justify their anger.
[In two years, when FaceNote goes public, Mark will be among the ten wealthiest people in the world.]
But I was the only one who knew this.
“Mark, let’s meet Mi-mi’s parents.”
“Do you have a solution?”
“Mark, I am the solution.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s no one among South Korea’s elders who dislikes me.”
Mark tilted his head in confusion.
That is, provided that Mi-mi’s parents had seen 【Five Men and a Baby Carriage】.
* * *
The doorbell rang, and as the door clicked open, Mi-mi poked her head out.
“Restaurant Owner?”
“Mi-mi, I’ve heard the whole story from Mark.”
“Mark even called you with an SOS?”
“From what I understand, it’s a complex issue—an uncertain future combined with a promise he made to me.”
“Anyway, please come in. My parents went to Yaksu Spring a while ago. They should be back soon.”
I stepped into Mi-mi’s parents’ home.
Mi-mi’s parents’ apartment was a 32-pyeong unit—the standard size known as South Korea’s national apartment.
There wasn’t a single piece of refined furniture; everything was modest and simple.
“So this is the home Mi-mi bought for them.”
“Yes, when I first got this place for them, my parents were overjoyed. And when they found out that the man I’m living with is the CEO of the company that employs me, they were thrilled. After all, it’s true that Mark helped make it possible for me to buy them this home.”
“But what exactly did Mark say to upset both your parents and you?”
“Hmm… how much did Mark tell you?”
“When they asked about marriage, he said he’d promised you he’d marry after the company goes public.”
“That’s all he said?”
It seemed Mark had left out some important details.
“Yes, that’s all I heard.”
Mi-mi stared at Mark, who was still standing awkwardly in the entryway, and let out a long sigh.
“Sigh…”
“Mi-mi, I’m sorry.”
“Mark, come here too.”
“Okay.”
Mark shuffled forward hesitantly.
“Mark, don’t you remember? When my parents heard that, they said it made no sense to promise something so important to a friend, even if he’s your business partner. They even asked if you were making excuses because you didn’t want to get married.”
“But Mi-mi explained all of that. We originally planned to marry once things settled down at work.”
“My parents weren’t just concerned about when we’d marry, Mark. They were anxious about me entrusting my life to a friend—especially something as important as marriage.”
This was the first time I’d seen the two of them argue so seriously.
“And when my parents asked you whether your friend or our daughter was more important, what did you say?”
“I was being completely honest when I said Sung-guk is just as precious to me as Mi-mi is.”
“What?!”
I was the one who felt startled instead.
Lim Mi-mi looked at me.
“Restaurant Owner, don’t you understand why our parents are upset?”
“Mark, why would you say something like that when meeting your girlfriend’s parents? You should have just told them that Mi-mi is the most important and precious person in the world to you.”
“I’m being honest—they’re both precious to me.”
[Should I be grateful for this?]
A dull ache was beginning to creep up the back of my head.
And just then, Lim Mi-mi’s parents, who had gone to Yaksu Spring, arrived.
Lim Mi-mi’s parents looked at me with guarded eyes.
I quickly greeted them.
“Hello, I’m Jeon Sung-guk, the CEO of Mi-mi’s company.”
At that moment, Mi-mi’s mother’s eyes, which had been studying me carefully, grew wider and wider.
“Mi-mi, why is this young man so handsome? He looks just like someone from television.”
“Mrs. Mi-mi’s mother, it’s not that I look like someone from television—I’m actually someone who appeared on television.”
“My goodness… what television show?”
“Have you perhaps heard of a program called ‘Five Men and a Baby Basket’? It was a massive hit in South Korea a very long time ago.”
I looked at Mi-mi’s mother with desperate hope.
[Please… just say you’ve seen it. They still rerun it on cable these days.]
In that moment, Mi-mi’s mother clapped her hands sharply.
“That’s right! That baby! That’s you, isn’t it?”
I finally allowed myself a relieved smile.
“Yes, that’s correct, ma’am. I am that baby!”
* * *
“I thought so. Your face looked familiar. We even managed to secretly watch ‘Five Men and a Baby Basket’ before we escaped from North Korea. My goodness, that child has grown so big?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Fortunately, the elderly from North Korea had also watched ‘Five Men and a Baby Basket’ that I appeared in.
The conversation became much easier to navigate.
“My husband used to sing all the time about wanting grandchildren like that. Back then, life in North Korea was so difficult that we never thought a day like this would come for us. But that baby is the one who gave us this house too, isn’t he, dear?”
“That’s right. Restaurant Owner—no, I mean, the Restaurant Owner’s parents must be so satisfied they don’t even need to eat.”
“You’re too kind. My parents have their own worries too.”
Mi-mi’s mother took my hand and patted it gently.
I was suddenly in danger of becoming the son-in-law of this household instead of Mark.
[That can’t happen.]
I carefully broached the subject.
“Ma’am, sir. I heard there was a misunderstanding with Mark.”
“Well… but what parent wouldn’t feel hurt hearing something like that? Especially when they’re already living together.”
“Ma’am, sir. Let me make you a promise on Mark’s behalf. Our company will go public within two years. And once it does, Mark will marry Mi-mi right away.”
At my words, the faces of Mi-mi’s mother and father lit up brightly.
[Mark, this fool can’t even do something this simple.]
The adults simply needed confirmation that Mark would marry Lim Mi-mi.
“Oh my, if our Restaurant Owner says so, then that’s what we’ll do. Mi-mi, you do that with Mark. And tell Mark to inherit at least half of the Restaurant Owner’s looks.”
“Father, and especially Mother. Even though Mark’s face is… well, he’s truly the man in this world who loves me most and understands me best. So please don’t compare Mark with the Restaurant Owner from now on!”
Lim Mi-mi had drawn her conclusion cleanly.
I patted Mark’s shoulder.
“Mark, you’re truly fortunate. You’ve found a woman like Lim Mi-mi.”

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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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