I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 287

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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 287
Min-guk posted a photo of the white puppy I’d brought home on FaceNote and attached a poll.
– We finally have a youngest member in our family. Our third child Ji-hee submitted three name options to our family meeting, but we’re all divided. Please vote for us!
1. Cloud. 2. Love. 3. Huin-dung-i.
Comments began pouring in immediately.
– For a white puppy, Huin-dung-i is the only truth.
– Oh my, the youngest puppy is so adorable too. So cute! How does this family’s genes work that even the puppy is blessed with them. I love any of them.
– Tell us your opinion! I vote for Cloud.
Why am I so worried about someone else’s dog’s name at their home? lol
Min-guk waited with bated breath for someone’s comment.
He had some hope that Sujin would comment since he knew she liked puppies, but as always, the greater the expectation, the more agonizing the wait became.
How much time had passed?
Finally, the comment he’d been waiting for appeared from Sujin.
– Oh my, a white puppy. That’s absolutely adorable. I vote for Huin-dung-i! Dung-i, dung-i. Just saying the name makes me feel happy.
Now the poll results no longer mattered.
Min-guk’s decision had already been made.
Min-guk dashed into the living room, scooped up the white puppy, and shouted.
“From now on, your name is Huin-dung-i! Huin-dung-i!”
* * *
That night, everything was peaceful.
Min-guk, who had been despondent over his first love’s heartbreak, messaged Sujin to tell her that the name had been decided as Huin-dung-i, using it as an opening to continue their conversation.
Constantly holding his phone and exchanging messages didn’t seem like a bad situation for the time being.
Meanwhile, in one corner of the living room, Ji-hee had begun earnestly caring for her new sibling.
“Huin-dung-i, paw!”
Though the young Huin-dung-i couldn’t possibly understand Ji-hee’s words, she had begun Huin-dung-i’s education.
[That’s my sister for you. Early education matters for both people and dogs, right!]
I stroked Huin-dung-i’s head and spoke with my eyes.
[Huin-dung-i, let me tell you about our family. As the eldest son, I’m the one holding this household together, and both my second and third siblings have been trained since childhood to earn their keep. We’re not a family with deep roots, but we’re a thick one. So… don’t even think about being a puppy and just consuming our family’s food from the start.]
Huin-dung-i blinked his dark eyes.
[This pup understands words well.]
Ding dong.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Who could it be at this hour?
Of course, there was only one person who would come at this time.
Jeon Tae-guk opened the door and stepped inside, looking at me with a disappointed expression.
“Sung-guk…”
“Hyung, are you staying at our place again tonight?”
“Of course.”
[That’s not obvious at all!]
Jeon Tae-guk took off his shoes and entered so naturally, then approached Huin-dung-i as if enchanted.
“Sung-guk, I’m hurt. I really am.”
“What’s wrong, hyung?”
“When you were deciding on Huin-dung-i’s name, you should have called me too. I could have given my opinion… but I had to find out through Min-guk’s FaceNote?”
“Hyung, you’re not family.”
Thump.
I watched Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes waver.
“I… I’ve been… in this household….”
“A guest.”
I drew a clear line between myself and Jeon Tae-guk.
Jeon Tae-guk was nothing more than a guest in our home. Nothing less, nothing more.
[Jeon Tae-guk, I’m sorry, but this is my territory. My perfectly crafted family. What are you trying to intrude on?!]
Jeon Tae-guk’s face flushed, and tears began to glisten in his eyes.
“I… still… even without a drop of shared blood, I thought of everyone as family… when deciding things like this… if you’d just ask me….”
That was when it happened.
Ji-hee quickly grabbed the sniffling Jeon Tae-guk’s hand.
“Oppa, I was about to ask you anyway.”
“Ji-hee, really?”
Jeon Tae-guk wiped his tears away with the back of his hand at Ji-hee’s words.
“Yeah. Oppa. But where did you just come from?”
“Well… when I got to Seoul, I met up with friends and things got hectic. Sorry, oppa came late, so Ji-hee couldn’t ask me.”
“Right. If it gets any later, our Huin-dung-i will have been without a name for too long.”
“Oh, that’s right! Oppa messed up. This pretty Huin-dung-i shouldn’t go without a name for so long. I really didn’t think that far ahead, Ji-hee. Oppa’s sorry.”
The situation was shifting in an odd way.
“Oppa, isn’t Huin-dung-i’s name pretty?”
“Of course. I voted for Huin-dung-i too!”
“Oppa, hold him. He’s my little brother, but let me let you hold him once.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Ji-hee picked up Huin-dung-i and handed him to Jeon Tae-guk.
Jeon Tae-guk grinned widely as he took Huin-dung-i in his arms and even gave him a kiss.
“Huin-dung-i, from now on you’ve got a rich hyung too. We need to take our Huin-dung-i shopping tomorrow right away. Ji-hee, our Huin-dung-i needs food, a stroller… oh right, and some clothes too. Let’s go to the Department Store with this rich hyung tomorrow. Oppa will get you everything top-quality.”
Then Ji-hee came over to me and whispered quietly.
“Oppa… why do you keep drawing lines with Tae-guk oppa?”
“Because Tae-guk hyung is literally just a guest, Ji-hee.”
“But… that guest has a lot of money. Look. Right now our Huin-dung-i is going to be completely spoiled.”
In that moment, I looked at Ji-hee again.
[Ji-hee, you had a plan all along?!]
Ji-hee stood with her arms crossed, watching with a satisfied expression as Jeon Tae-guk held Huin-dung-i and beamed with joy.
I stood beside Ji-hee with my arms crossed too, letting a slight smile play at my lips.
[A guest with money always has his uses.]
* * *
“Sung-guk, we should enroll Huin-dung-i in a kindergarten run by that famous dog trainer for early education.”
Jeon Tae-guk chattered about Huin-dung-i until late into the night.
“I had Secretary Park Sung-hee look into it, and there’s this really famous dog trainer named Kang Hyung-ung. He says there’s no such thing as a bad dog in the world—he even transforms the most incorrigible mutts into well-behaved animals.”
“If they become people, then they’re not dogs anymore.”
“That’s just a figure of speech. Anyway, I’ll look into it and get him registered.”
I kept my mouth shut, just as Ji-hee had advised.
After all, there was no point arguing with my wealthy older brother about how he spent his money.
Besides, I had something important to tell him.
“Brother, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“I’m planning to stay in Korea for the next six months and seriously lay the groundwork for FaceNote and YouTube’s expansion into Asia.”
“What?”
Thud.
Jeon Tae-guk collapsed into his seat with the expression of someone who’d lost a kingdom.
“Sung-guk, what are you talking about? How can you tell me this now?!”
“I met with David Oh, but I don’t trust him. Mark feels the same way. This year is really crucial for FaceNote. If we successfully expand into Asia, our user base will grow, and we’ll start having serious IPO discussions. But I just can’t trust the people being recommended to me. I think I need to personally finalize the arrangements before heading back to the States.”
“So you’re telling me to stay in San Francisco alone?”
“Mark and Lim Mi-mi live right next door.”
“They’re a couple.”
“Secretary Park Sung-hee is always with you.”
“Secretary Park Sung-hee and I have a purely business relationship. I need a friend like you.”
[Hmm… I’ve never once thought of him as a friend. At best, he’s karmic debt from my past life—or maybe a stray dog at a village school…]
In any case, this was a golden opportunity to finally get some distance from Jeon Tae-guk.
“Brother, there’s no way around it. You need to report to the Samjeon San Francisco Branch. You’ve already postponed work to come to Korea, and if you keep doing this, it’ll only hurt your reputation at the company.”
“But… I stayed at the San Francisco Branch because I wanted to be with you!”
[Anyone watching would think we’re dating, Jeon Tae-guk.]
“Brother, it’s time for you to learn to stand on your own two feet.”
“Tch… Fine. Whatever. Just know that I’m really disappointed in you today, Jeon Sung-guk.”
Then Jeon Tae-guk flopped onto my bed and pulled the blanket up over his forehead.
In that moment, another way to use Jeon Tae-guk occurred to me.
“Brother… would you help me with something?”
Jeon Tae-guk immediately kicked off the blanket and sat up straight.
“Sung-guk, what?”
“FaceNote is a foreign company, after all. No matter that I’m the CEO, I’ll need various kinds of support to do business in Korea.”
“Support from Samjeon?”
“Well… that would be your support, wouldn’t it?”
“Exactly! I am Samjeon, and Samjeon is me! It’s in the future, but still…”
“Brother, how about you work at FaceNote’s Asia division for the next six months? Of course, I’ll pay you a proper salary and give you a title.”
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Sung-guk, yes! Absolutely yes!”
I peeled Jeon Tae-guk’s hands away one by one.
“Brother, please… no physical contact.”
“Sung-guk, don’t worry. I’ll do my absolute best for the future of FaceNote and YouTube!”
* * *
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung studied Jeon Tae-guk intently.
Jeon Tae-guk stood before him looking utterly dejected, like a scolded child.
“So you’re refusing the Samjeon San Francisco posting… and instead want to work at the FaceNote Asia branch that Sung-guk runs?”
“Yes, Father. I’ve been thinking about it, and I believe gaining external experience before joining Samjeon would be beneficial. Besides, the position Sung-guk offered me is Asia Regional Manager.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung had already seen through Jeon Sung-guk’s strategy.
“Jeon Tae-guk, do you understand why Sung-guk is giving you that position?”
“Father… I understand that much. If we’re expanding business in Korea and Asia… what could be better than having Samjeon backing us? But Father, I failed miserably at the FaceNote interview before.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung nodded.
“But now Sung-guk is the one extending his hand to me first. Father, doesn’t that mean I’m not completely useless? That’s why I really want to give this a try.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung paused in thought before speaking.
“Very well. Gaining experience at another company isn’t a bad thing. Go ahead.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”
Jeon Tae-guk rose from his seat with a radiant expression.
“By the way, where will you stay in Korea?”
“I was planning to look for a place today.”
“I’ll have Secretary Yang arrange it.”
“Yes, Father. Also… could I ask for a car as well?”
“Secretary Yang will take care of that too.”
“Thank you! Father, I’ll visit often to pay my respects!”
Jeon Tae-guk left the room brighter than ever before.
Secretary Yang, standing beside the Chairman, gazed at him with a satisfied expression.
“Chairman, your son has become much more cheerful. It seems having Jeon Sung-guk nearby is giving him great strength.”
“Secretary Yang, why do you think Jeon Sung-guk wants to stay close to our Tae-guk?”
“Well…”
Before Secretary Yang could answer, Chairman Jeon spoke.
“Because we still have much to offer him. But in the future, that may reverse. When it does, make sure you look after our Tae-guk so that Jeon Sung-guk won’t abandon him.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
* * *
The penthouse atop Samjeon Palace.
I gazed down at Seoul from its highest point.
Secretary Yang explained the residence to Jeon Tae-guk and me.
“This is a property owned by Samjeon. With some minor remodeling, it will be quite comfortable for the two of you. It’s also close to Sung-guk’s home.”
Jeon Tae-guk surveyed the space with satisfaction.
“It’s bigger than the San Francisco place… and the view is incredible… Sung-guk, I’ve been hearing from friends that Seoul is really a great place to live these days.”
[Seoul is always the best place to live if you have money.]
“We’ll start the remodeling next week, and it should take about two weeks. I’m mobilizing as much manpower as possible to finish it quickly.”
“Secretary Yang.”
I called out to Secretary Yang quietly.
“Yes, Sung-guk.”
“Could you look into another property on this line for us?”
“Why is that?”
“It seems like it’s time for our family to move as well.”
No matter how comfortable the place you lived in or how delicious the food you ate, family always came to mind first. That was the inescapable destiny of being Korea’s eldest son.

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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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