I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 30

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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 30
Once Secretary Yang intervened, my kindergarten enrollment progressed rapidly.
Admission from the fall semester was already decided, and my class had been assigned.
Secretary Yang mentioned Class A, and while my parents didn’t understand the significance, I did. Class A meant the special advanced class.
All of my connections actually began at Samjeon Kindergarten.
The children of the political and business elite grew up to move those same circles, and I would always need their assistance.
This was the perfect timing to focus on kindergarten. Besides, it was nearly time for me to retire from the entertainment industry.
Min-guk went to daycare while I followed Mother to the SKJ Planning office.
The SKJ Planning office was now located on Garosu-gil.
As Mother and I entered, Manager Kim Mi-young handed us cold water.
“It’s quite hot, isn’t it?”
“Unni, I think I need to get my driver’s license too. To take the kids around. I’m thinking of getting it once Sung-guk starts kindergarten.”
“I’ve heard friends bragging about how wonderful Samjeon Kindergarten is. Oh, and by the way, several new advertisement and program offers have come in for Sung-guk.”
Kim Mi-young organized the proposals and showed them to Mother.
“This broadcasting program seems promising. The concept is ‘Sung-guk Goes to Kindergarten’—they’d film him naturally interacting with children his age. What do you think?”
“Actually, I’ve been worried about this anyway. Your father and I decided that once Sung-guk’s exclusive contract with Samjeon Electronics ends, we won’t do this work anymore.”
“What if we just did advertisements if the schedule isn’t too demanding?”
[It’s time for me to step in.]
Smack!
I struck the table loudly.
“Sung-guk, what’s wrong?”
Mother asked, taking my hand.
“Mom!”
“Yes?”
“I… stop work.”
I stated my intention as clearly as I could.
Everyone looked startled.
I had never said I didn’t want to work before.
Of course, I was fundamentally a workaholic who couldn’t survive without showing off, so I had enjoyed working as baby Jeon Sung-guk.
But now I was a proper five-year-old.
Back in 1995, my past self was in the midst of adolescence. Naturally, I didn’t understand much about how society worked. I remembered the major events, but that alone wasn’t enough to succeed in this life.
Samjeon Group’s kindergarten Class A was where the children of the political and business elite attended.
Now was the time to build connections, resume my economic studies, and when elementary school age arrived—coinciding with the IMF crisis—I would seize that crisis as an opportunity to make my leap forward with more precise decision-making.
I shrugged my shoulders with a satisfied expression.
[That’s right, I’m Jeon Sung-guk. A perfect plan.]
Manager Kim Mi-young carefully gathered the proposals spread across the table. Then she stared at me intently.
“Sung-guk, you don’t want to work?”
“Yes! Sung-guk is going to kindergarten.”
Mother hugged me with a pitying expression.
“So Sung-guk wants to study too.”
[Mom, I’m not going to study—I’m going to build connections.]
“Sung-guk’s mother, given Sung-guk’s opinion and everything else, I’ll decline all these offers for now. He can always work again whenever he wants.”
“Sister, I’m sorry. I had no idea Sung-guk would suddenly decide to stop working like this.”
“Sorry for what? Thanks to Sung-guk, a high school graduate from the Accounting Department at Samjeon Electronics is now running SKJ Planning as its representative. Lim Sun-mi may not have as many appearances as before, but she’s maintaining steady regular roles. I was thinking—why don’t we use this opportunity to develop some new actors?”
“You’re going to scout new talent?”
“Sung-guk had so much work, but now that it’s decreasing, I think we’ll have the time for it.”
I had always been certain about my ability to read people.
Though Kim Mi-young was the representative of SKJ Planning, the real owners were my family and Kim Mi-young.
Kim Mi-young was far more ambitious than I had initially thought.
[I’m counting on you going forward, Kim Mi-young.]
I approached Kim Mi-young and patted her back twice with my hand.
Mother’s eyes sharpened as she watched.
“Sister, did you see that?”
“Yeah, it’s really true.”
[What do you mean it’s really true?]
“Sung-guk must have liked sister’s opinion.”
“This kid really is a genius. He understands everything we say.”
I quickly withdrew my hand and clasped them behind my back.
[Oh no, I’ve been caught.]
It seemed I would need to be more careful about using the back-patting technique in the future.
* * *
Dressed in a neat navy kindergarten uniform, I waited in front of the apartment building for the Samjeon Kindergarten bus to arrive.
So it had come to this after all.
I stood holding both Father’s and Mother’s hands.
“Sigh.”
I let out a breath.
Mother and Father were both beaming with excitement.
“Mi-young’s friend also works at Samjeon Group and sent her kids to Samjeon Kindergarten—she said she was completely satisfied. Let’s definitely go to the parent observation day next time.”
“Wow, our Sung-guk is finally attending a proper kindergarten. Father is even more excited. Father never even went to kindergarten.”
[The class I’ll be in probably isn’t the same one Manager Kim’s friend’s children attend. That’s the class where children from ordinary families go.]
In the distance, the yellow Samjeon Kindergarten school bus approached.
As the bus stopped, a young male teacher acknowledged me.
“You’re Sung-guk, right?”
“Wow, how do you even know his name?”
Father asked with wonder.
“Class A doesn’t have many students, so I know them all. Sung-guk, let’s go to kindergarten.”
The male teacher took my hand from Father.
I turned back to look at Mother and Father with a slightly sad expression before boarding the kindergarten bus.
The male teacher guided me to my seat and even fastened my seatbelt for me.
“Sung-guk, it’s only thirty more minutes. But seeing you in person, you’re even more handsome than I expected. I was a huge fan. Your classmates are going to love you so much.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I bowed deeply while seated.
Children from humble families needed to have good manners above all.
The car departed shortly after.
Through the window, Mother and Father continued waving their hands.
I waved back toward the window.
[Go inside now, Mother. Father. I’m heading to kindergarten registration.]
* * *
“Hello. I am Sung-guk Jeon.”
I pronounced each syllable of my name slowly and deliberately, then bowed respectfully.
Five children sitting cross-legged looked at me and applauded.
Two boys and three girls.
With my arrival, the gender ratio in the class was now balanced.
Lee Ji-eun, the teacher in charge of Class A, reintroduced me to the children.
“You all know Sung-guk, right?”
Only a few nodded their heads enthusiastically.
In another class, there would likely have been cheers.
But these children had no interest in celebrities whatsoever.
Lee Ji-eun smiled awkwardly and quickly moved on.
“Although Sung-guk transferred in mid-year, let’s all get along well. Then, after thirty minutes of free time, we’ll start our English lesson.”
The children responded indifferently.
These children had learned from an early age that they didn’t need to be kind to people they employed.
Even the kindergarten teacher was merely someone they employed.
Under Lee Ji-eun’s watchful eye, thirty minutes of free time was granted.
A boy holding an enormous robot in one hand deliberately bumped his shoulder hard against mine as he passed.
[Such is life at five years old.]
The boys had already begun their hierarchy struggles from age five.
[Should I teach him a lesson on my first day of transfer?]
The boy’s name tag read “Kang Ju-sung.”
[Kang Ju-sung. Kang Ju-sung. Whose son is he?]
The face of Prosecutor General Kang Hyun-woong, whom I’d seen on the news, flashed through my mind. He was probably the man’s grandson.
Kang Ju-sung approached me again and attempted to bump shoulders, so I quickly moved out of the way.
When I was the heir to Samjeon Group, I wouldn’t have feared even the President’s grandson, let alone a prosecutor general’s. But here in this special class, I was merely a socially disadvantaged child.
“Sung-guk.”
A girl with narrow, slanted eyes and a bright, clear face approached me.
In that moment, her name tag caught my eye.
[Jeon Mi-jin?]
Jeon Mi-jin was Jeon Tae-guk’s younger sister. In other words, she was my younger sister in my previous life.
I hadn’t recognized her because she was so young.
I stared at Jeon Mi-jin with a slightly dazed expression.
“Sung-guk, it’s me, Mi-jin.”
“Oh, hi.”
I greeted her awkwardly.
Jeon Mi-jin had always been fond of handsome men.
During school, she floundered over idols, and as she grew older, she dated actors she met in person on several occasions.
In other words, the sparkle in Jeon Mi-jin’s eyes meant she was quite taken with me.
“Sung-guk, want to come play at our house?”
“Thanks. I’ll come next time.”
I answered as vaguely as possible. There was nothing to gain by offending Jeon Mi-jin in this class right now.
Just then, a fresh-faced girl squeezed in beside us.
Her name was Lee Se-hee.
“What does your father do? My dad is a doctor.”
[Ah, so she’s the granddaughter of the Samjeon Hospital director.]
“My dad runs a restaurant.”
Lee Se-hee laughed brightly.
“How many restaurants? My sister’s friend runs a chicken place with over 100 locations. Do you know Kangchon Chicken?”
[So she’s calling a chicken franchise a restaurant.]
Kangchon Chicken was a chicken empire with numerous chains across the country.
“My dad has one!”
I laughed brightly.
In thirty minutes, I had assessed the composition of this special class.
Grandson of the Prosecutor General, Kang Ju-sung.
Grandson of the Samjeon Electronics CEO, Kim Hyun-joong.
The girls, too, were from distinguished families.
Granddaughter of the Samjeon Hospital director, Lee Se-hee.
Granddaughter of the former Minister of Defense, Seo Yeo-rim.
And Jeon Mi-jin, daughter of Samjeon Electronics Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.
And then there was me—the poorest of the poor.
Holding the lowest spoon among the lowest spoons, I was squeezed in among them.
Seo Yeo-rim, who observed me without saying a word, seemed to be running over to the teacher to report something.
My grandfather had always switched sides smoothly with each administration, and it seemed Seo Yeo-rim had inherited that same political instinct from her family.
The teacher smiled and sent Seo Yeo-rim back.
After that, Seo Yeo-rim continued to observe me intently.
[I’m surrounded by enemies.]
Life really was brutal from kindergarten onward.
“Now, let’s begin English class.”
At Lee Ji-eun’s words, the children sat in chairs sized to fit them.
Soon the door opened and a native English speaker entered, carrying premium cake and beverages.
The native speaker also wore a name tag, and his name was Thomas.
Thomas quickly cut the cake and distributed it to the children. Everything was conducted in English.
Kim Hyun-joong glanced at the cake and pretended to recognize it.
“This. It’s from Samjeon Hotel.”
[Merely the grandson of the Samjeon Electronics chairman, and he’s acting like he knows something. I’ve eaten this cake countless times.]
But in this lifetime, it was my first.
I scooped a strawberry cake from Samjeon Hotel with my fork and placed it in my mouth.
The chiffon cake melted away before it even touched my tongue.
I ate the cake with genuine delight.
Thomas looked at me and asked in English.
“Sung-guk, is it delicious?”
“Of course!”
I answered in English without thinking.
None of the other children paid any attention.
Most of these children had lived in English-speaking countries like the United States since early childhood, so some found English more comfortable than Korean.
It was Lee Ji-eun who was surprised.
But soon she concealed her expression, and I felt her watching me carefully.
She must have received a report about me.
Though I had risen to national baby status through the Samjeon Electronics commercial and “Five Men and a Baby Basket,” she had likely already grasped that my parents were orphans, and that I had never even crossed the boundaries of Seoul, let alone studied abroad.
Before age five, I had received virtually no formal education.
[Should I come clean about English? Well, if I say I learned it from watching TV, wouldn’t that seem too genius-like?]
In truth, during my time as the successor to Samjeon Group, I had obtained everything through blood, sweat, and tears, but the foundation had been an exceptional intellect.
[Since I was a Mensa member… this is child’s play.]
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile and decided to engage actively in Thomas’s conversation.
“What kind of cake do you like, Sung-guk?”
“I like Father’s bossam more than cake.”
This was genuine.
Jeon Mi-jin, watching me converse naturally with Thomas in English, seemed even more enchanted.
She continued to exclaim adorable and handsome remarks in English from beside me.
[Really, that fool.]
I clenched my teeth tightly.

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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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