I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 292
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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 292
Naturally, it was my family who was taken aback by Jeon Tae-guk’s declaration.
He wanted to bring his confession to Kim Yeo-na to a family meeting?
Not just me, but everyone stared at Jeon Tae-guk with bewildered expressions. Clearly!
At that moment, Min-guk stepped forward.
“Tae-guk hyung!”
[That’s right, Jeon Min-guk. You’ve been incredibly cynical lately with all that puberty stuff, so go ahead and say whatever you want!]
“Why would you bring something like that to a family meeting?”
[Exactly. Jeon Tae-guk isn’t even part of our family.]
At Min-guk’s words, Jeon Tae-guk looked at us with a dejected expression.
“So you’re all saying that because I’m not family, I shouldn’t be calling for a family meeting?”
[Of course!]
Jeon Tae-guk continued in a thoroughly subdued voice.
“I… actually… I’ve always envied you having family meetings. As you all know, the only time our entire family gathers is on the day of Grandfather’s memorial service.”
In that instant, even the indignant Min-guk and the family members watching fell silent.
“On that day, the media comes to take photos, so we can’t help but gather. But before Grandfather passed away, we at least used to visit his home as an excuse to see each other occasionally… After Grandfather passed, even that stopped.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes grew red.
I knew all too well the circumstances of his family.
After Chairman Jeon Ju-shin passed away, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung and the Iron Lady had no reason to meet. Except at memorial services. In short, they were worse than strangers.
In my previous life, I naturally assumed all families were like that.
Company matters took priority over family affairs, and everything moved according to economic gain. That was my previous life.
At that moment, something felt familiar.
[Is Jeon Tae-guk seriously… playing the sympathy card right now? That’s something only people from poor families do!]
Then Jeon Tae-guk continued in an even more subdued tone.
“It’s just… you know? I wanted to experience being part of a family like the ones in dramas. In dramas, families gather together to make important decisions, give each other advice… I wanted to experience that too.”
At those words, everyone except me looked at Jeon Tae-guk with pitying eyes.
[Come on, everyone! That guy is the successor to the Samjeon Group and a chaebol! So what if he doesn’t see his family? He’s lived comfortably his whole life on money he could never spend, and he always will!]
Then Mother, who had been listening quietly to Jeon Tae-guk’s words, opened her mouth.
“Sung-guk, Tae-guk has been so good to our family all this time. Since Tae-guk is being so sincere, let’s have one family meeting.”
“Mother, one person’s unilateral sincerity in a romantic relationship can be a burden to the other person. It doesn’t make sense to bring something like that to a family meeting in the first place. If it’s decided in a family meeting, Tae-guk hyung confesses based on that? That would be a unilateral decision that ignores Kim Yeo-na’s feelings.”
At that moment, everyone’s attention turned to me.
At the same time, Min-guk asked.
“How do you know that so well, hyung? Are you a hopeless romantic? You don’t even have a girl you like!”
“Oh my, Sung-guk… you didn’t… have a girl you liked? Have you even confessed before?”
Mother even brightened up.
[Why is everyone like this? I’m Jeon Sung-guk. I dated a lot in my previous life! In my previous life…]
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk spoke up with a firm voice.
“Everyone, you all seem surprised by what Sung-guk just said. But based on my observations of Sung-guk throughout my time in the United States, Sung-guk has absolutely never had a girlfriend! So please don’t interrogate him further. Sung-guk learned all of that from books and articles floating around on the internet.”
Even Jeon Tae-guk was disrespecting me.
Mother patted my back.
“Sung-guk, even Tae-guk has someone he likes… please, I’m begging you, find a good person too….”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Min-guk chimed in from beside me.
[Ah, we’ve completely lost the thread of this discussion.]
I quickly steered us back on track.
“Everyone, please focus. The issue isn’t my love life—it’s that we’re bringing Tae-guk’s confession to Kim Yeo-na to a family meeting. No matter how much he’s the heir to Samjeon Group, he’s not part of our family.”
When I pressed the matter firmly, Jeon Tae-guk gestured to me with noticeably slumped shoulders.
“Sung-guk, let’s talk privately for a moment.”
* * *
Click.
The door closed.
In the same instant, Jeon Tae-guk grabbed my shoulder firmly.
“Sung-guk… are you determined to oppose the family meeting to the end?”
“Hyung, a family meeting is something family does together. You’re not part of our family.”
“Sung-guk, I have some information for you… wouldn’t you reconsider after hearing it?”
What is this?
[Is Jeon Tae-guk really trying to negotiate with me right now?]
“Hyung, are you trying to make a deal with me?”
“You could call it a deal of sorts. I give you information, and you hold the family meeting. How about it?”
“It depends on what kind of information.”
“Hmm… it’s probably information you’ll find satisfying.”
“Let’s hear it then.”
I crossed my arms and looked at Jeon Tae-guk.
“According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, Jack Dorsey of Twitter is still in Korea.”
“He could still be here. Jack Dorsey is a pretty free spirit, after all. It makes sense that you can’t predict where he’ll go.”
“Of course, the reason he’s still here is what matters, right?”
“You know the reason?”
Jeon Tae-guk smiled smugly.
“Jack Dorsey is going to work as the Asia regional director for Twitter. After hearing that you’re setting up the FaceNote Asia division… and that Twitter is looking for a new model. Can you guess who that is?”
“I’m not sure… is that model someone you know?”
“Exactly!”
This really did seem like important information.
“Who’s the model?”
“We’re still in negotiations, but it’s from 【Five Men and a Baby Basket】….”
“Just?”
“Yes. They’re bringing back the nostalgic Just. Since you were the baby in 【Five Men and a Baby Basket】 and grew up to run FaceNote, they’re planning to use Just for Twitter advertisements. How’s my information?”
It was surprising information, but I still wasn’t fully satisfied.
“Hyung, that’s still not enough.”
“What? Do you know how much I squeezed Samjeon’s intelligence team to get this….”
Jeon Tae-guk’s disappointment was evident.
The mere fact that Jack Dorsey was in contact with Just wasn’t enough yet.
“If you can find out even this much, I’ll call a family meeting tonight right away.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the condition Jack Dorsey presented to Just. Gathering all the members of a disbanded group would be quite difficult, so I’m curious what that condition is.”
“That would be enough?”
“Yes, if you get that, I’ll hold a family meeting immediately!”
Jeon Tae-guk extended his hand.
“Sung-guk, don’t go back on your word.”
“Brother, just give me accurate information.”
“The information I obtain is Samjeon’s information, isn’t it? It can’t be inaccurate. I’ll get the accurate details by tomorrow and hand them over.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s answer was satisfactory.
I quickly grasped Jeon Tae-guk’s hand.
“Let’s hold the family meeting, brother.”
* * *
That night, after Father came home from work.
The family meeting began with Ji-hee and Huin-dung-i in attendance as well.
Father tilted his head as he looked at the agenda for the family meeting.
“Jeon Tae-guk, the fact that you’re holding a family meeting to decide whether to confess to Kim Yeo-na seems like quite a difficult matter….”
“Father, just give me some objective advice from your perspective. If Sung-guk were to say he wanted to confess to Kim Yeo-na, what would you do?”
And Jeon Tae-guk swept his gaze across each family member with pleading eyes.
“Kim Yeo-na is truly remarkable. She’s loved by the entire nation. My feelings for her might just be the admiration of a fan… but I still want to confirm it once.”
Now I finally understood Jeon Tae-guk’s heart.
Jeon Tae-guk wanted to hear advice from Father and the family—advice he couldn’t normally get on such trivial matters. Even if they weren’t his real family….
Father pondered for a moment, then looked around at everyone.
“Honestly, Jeon Tae-guk, it doesn’t make sense to decide who likes whom and whether to confess by majority vote. If we told you not to confess, would you really give up? And if you did give up, was that truly love?”
[Father, that’s exactly what I was thinking!]
Father and I were truly on the same wavelength.
Jeon Tae-guk couldn’t say anything in response to Father’s sudden question. He’d been struck where it hurt.
Father looked at the dejected Jeon Tae-guk.
“I think it would be better if we used this opportunity for each of us in the family to offer a word of advice, as you suggested, Jeon Tae-guk. What does everyone think?”
Everyone agreed, and I raised my hand as well.
“I’m in favor!”
[Jeon Tae-guk, brace yourself. My advice is probably going to sting.]
At the same time, Ji-hee and Huin-dung-i raised their hands enthusiastically.
“Me too! Brother Tae-guk, last week in our class, Hee-sung confessed to me, and I rejected him. I’m fine with it, but ever since then, Hee-sung seems unable to look me in the eye. That’s why I hope you don’t confess to Sister Yeo-na.”
“Ji-hee, why are you jumping to the conclusion that I’ll be rejected?”
“Brother, Ji-hee loves Korean literature. The reason I love it is because I enjoy reading texts, grasping the theme, and reflecting on the meaning of the words.”
We all listened carefully to what Ji-hee was saying.
“If we think of what Brother Tae-guk did today as a novel spanning one day, you’re telling our family about your desire to confess to Kim Yeo-na, who is loved by the entire nation, and you’ve brought it to a family meeting.”
“Yeah….”
Jeon Tae-guk nodded seriously at Ji-hee’s words.
“Sung-guk and Min-guk initially opposed because you’re not part of our family, but eventually Father came to this meeting too… and we all agreed that a confession isn’t a matter of majority vote, so we’d offer advice instead.”
Ji-hee’s summary was precise.
[She really is my sister….]
Ji-hee’s throat seemed parched, so she took a quick gulp of water before continuing.
“So I spent the entire afternoon wondering why you suddenly wanted to bring your confession to a family meeting.”
“And did you reach a conclusion?”
“Yes!”
Ji-hee nodded.
“What is it, Ji-hee?”
Jeon Tae-guk asked very carefully.
“You don’t have confidence in confessing.”
“That… what do you mean?”
“If you truly liked someone and wanted to convey your sincere feelings, you’d just do it. But you don’t even have confidence in your own heart, and more importantly, you also think it’s more likely that Kim Yeo-na doesn’t like you.”
Mother, Father, Min-guk, and I all stared at Ji-hee with astonished eyes.
I knew Ji-hee was a genius, but I didn’t realize she was this perceptive.
She had grasped the core of the matter with perfect accuracy.
Jeon Tae-guk was so startled that he picked up his water glass, but his hands trembled.
I quickly urged Ji-hee on.
“Ji-hee, tell us more.”
“Right! You probably already knew that the family meeting would talk you out of confessing. Because Sung-guk would never allow it. If you confess to Kim Yeo-na right now while you’re working together, then Hee-sung—who confessed to me but can barely look me in the eye—becomes you. It’s awkward enough in the same class, but it would be the same at the company too.”
Jeon Tae-guk set down his water glass and looked at Ji-hee.
“Ji-hee… so what should this brother do?”
“What should you do? Brother, just don’t confess.”
“Really?”
“Kim Yeo-na isn’t interested in you anyway, and you’ll only get hurt.”
Ji-hee delivered a perfect conclusion.
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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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