I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 303

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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 303
“Alright, break time is over!”
At my words, Mark jumped up in surprise, a slice of pizza halfway to his mouth.
“Sung-guk, I was just about to take a bite!”
“Mark, you can eat after the meeting! Susan just came up with an absolutely brilliant idea!”
Everyone’s attention immediately shifted to Susan.
I turned my gaze toward her.
“Susan, tell everyone here about that idea you mentioned to me earlier.”
“Oh, that….”
Susan’s nervousness was plainly evident.
She clearly found it difficult to speak in front of a crowd.
But if she kept avoiding things out of embarrassment and anxiety, Susan would remain forever invisible—just another unremarkable employee.
Worse, if any of my colleagues harbored ill intentions, they could easily steal her brilliant ideas and claim them as their own.
“Susan, there’s no need to be nervous. Just tell them what you told me earlier.”
I encouraged her as gently as possible.
Susan nodded, then looked at everyone with newfound resolve.
“I think famous politicians, celebrities, and influencers all work well….”
Susan paused to collect herself.
“But I’d like to feature this person’s FaceNote instead.”
With trembling hands, Susan held up her phone and showed everyone the FaceNote profile of the child from the pediatric ward that she’d shown me earlier.
“His name is Lucas Dudley. He’s eleven years old and is currently battling pediatric cancer. He hasn’t been able to attend school and has spent years in the hospital, but through FaceNote he stays connected with his friends… and he’s been documenting his own story here. It’s like a bedside diary….”
Susan introduced Lucas calmly, her voice trembling slightly.
Most of the employees looked receptive.
Then one employee raised their hand.
“Susan, that’s a wonderful idea. But you haven’t gotten Lucas’s permission yet, have you?”
“No, not yet….”
“Shouldn’t we recruit another person as a backup in case Lucas refuses?”
Lucas could indeed refuse.
I crossed my arms and nodded slowly. Then I opened my mouth.
“Of course Lucas could refuse. If he does, then I’ll have no choice but….”
Everyone’s eyes fixed on me.
“…I’ll have no choice but to use my own FaceNote instead!”
“What? Sung-guk!!!”
Mark nearly spit out his cola, and the employees burst into laughter.
“Honestly, aren’t I better than Barack Obama?”
At my question, half the employees remained silent, while the rest shook their heads vigorously.
I shrugged.
“Anyway, I’m going to recruit Lucas tomorrow. Susan, compile all the information about Lucas and send it to me by tomorrow morning. Then set up a meeting with Lucas for the afternoon.”
“Yes, Sung-guk.”
“And Susan, you’ll be coming with me to that meeting.”
“M-me?”
Susan looked quite taken aback.
“The person who came up with the idea should see it through to the end!”
“Oh, yes… Sung-guk.”
Susan nodded almost unconsciously.
* * *
Late at night, Mark tapped my shoulder.
“Sung-guk, let’s go to bed now.”
“Everyone’s gone?”
“Of course. You dragged out the meeting like that—did you expect everyone to keep working?”
“Either way, we got what we needed.”
While Susan organized information about Lucas, I was reviewing Lucas’s FaceNote profile.
Reading through his hospital diary even made me choke up.
Pediatric cancer that developed at age eight.
And a long battle with illness. Yet he never abandoned hope, and there were glimpses of possibility scattered throughout—I found myself wiping my chest as I read.
“Mark, whether Lucas opens his FaceNote profile or not, I want the company to help him in every way we can. What do you think?”
“Let’s do it. I cried the whole time I was reading too.”
[So that’s why Mark’s eyes are so red….]
I stood up and looked around.
Outside the window was dark, and aside from Sam and Adam—whether they were working late or living here, I couldn’t tell—no one was visible.
I checked the time.
It was already past 1 a.m.
“It’s already 1 a.m. Mark, what about Lim Mi-mi?”
“She went in earlier. Oh, and my Mi-mi can drive now.”
“Don’t tell me you bought her a used car?”
“What are you talking about? I spend when I spend. I bought Mi-mi a new car. She insisted on getting a Hanseong automobile, so we argued a bit, but it has good fuel efficiency and it’s not bad.”
I stretched languidly.
“Mark, let’s go home now.”
“Yeah….”
“But Mark….”
“What?”
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Obvious?
[I’m a full-fledged twenty-year-old adult now.]
Mark smiled and continued.
“Sung-guk, you think you’re all grown up, but I’ve known you since you couldn’t even wear a backpack properly and had a runny nose.”
“I had a runny nose back then. And Mark, you had terrible acne back then too.”
“Still, I was much bigger than you. You think you protected me… but I’ve always been protecting you. Don’t forget that.”
“I guess….”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Mark forced his arm around my shoulder, which had grown noticeably taller than his own.
“When did that little kid get so big?”
“Mark, that’s my line.”
“Sung-guk, let’s make sure we pull off this job well too.”
“Of course.”
We laughed together after seeing each other for the first time in a long while.
Today, I felt anew the profound gratitude of having someone by my side who always supported and protected me.
[Mark, I’m sorry for being so anxious when we first met, worried you might stab me in the back.]
I patted Mark’s back reassuringly.
* * *
Lucas was admitted to the General Hospital Pediatric Cancer Ward in San Francisco.
However, he was currently in a sterile isolation room, making visits impossible.
Charlie Jobs’s Apple phone demonstration was now just four days away.
At this rate, I’d seriously have to post a body profile on my FaceNote.
Susan tapped her foot anxiously.
“Sung-guk, let’s meet his parents first.”
But this was more about Lucas’s feelings than his parents’ concerns.
“Susan, can you check if we can video call with Lucas?”
“Oh, yes… I’ll find out right away.”
Susan hurried toward the hospital desk.
Jeon Tae-guk and Lim Jin-seo, who had come with us, also seemed anxious.
“Sung-guk, wouldn’t it be faster to persuade Lucas’s parents? With pediatric cancer, the medical costs must be substantial… If it’s a money issue, I can handle everything.”
“Hyung, this isn’t about money. He’s a sick child, and it’s a sensitive matter. The most important thing right now is winning Lucas’s heart.”
I pressed my lips together firmly.
Chairman Jeon Ju-shin, the founding chairman of the Samjeon Group and my grandfather in my previous life, used to say this often.
“Sung-guk… Do you know what the most difficult thing in this world is? It’s winning people’s hearts. Once you win someone’s heart, money becomes irrelevant….”
Soon I heard Susan’s footsteps rushing back.
“Sung-guk, Lucas says he’ll do a video call.”
I turned to Jeon Tae-guk and Lim Jin-seo.
“Please set up the video call.”
* * *
The hospital lounge.
I rubbed my hands together briefly before pressing the video call button.
Perhaps because I’d just heard that Lucas’s condition hadn’t been very good lately, I felt more nervous than usual.
Soon the dial tone rang, and Lucas’s face filled the screen.
Lucas rubbed his completely bald head self-consciously, then broke into a bright smile.
– Hey… mister!
[I’m not a mister, but since it’s you Lucas, I’ll let it slide.]
“Lucas, hi!”
– Hello! Sung-guk! I’m a huge fan of yours, sir.
“Really?”
– Yes! We’re friends on FaceNote, aren’t we!
“That’s right. So, should we drop the formalities and just call each other by name?”
– Seriously?
“Of course. Hey Lucas!”
– Sung-guk… hi!
Lucas offered a shy smile.
We chatted for a while about what we’d been up to lately.
– The doctor told me that this treatment needs to hurt my body a lot to be effective. Once I get through this pain, my body will gradually start getting better.
“Lucas, that’s really impressive.”
– But Sung-guk… I… have something I’m curious about.
“Sure, ask me anything.”
– Sung-guk, do you really not have a girlfriend?
“Hmm… well…”
Behind us, I could hear Jeon Tae-guk, Lim Jin-seo, and Susan laughing as they watched our call.
– Why doesn’t a cool guy like Sung-guk have a girlfriend?
“Lucas, a cool guy like you doesn’t have one either… so how could I?”
At my words, Lucas burst into delighted laughter.
“Lucas, are you feeling better now?”
– Yes!
Lucas answered with more energy than before.
“The reason I’m doing this video call with you is because a new Apple phone model is coming out next week.”
– I saw that article too!
“Right. When Charlie Jobs demonstrates the new Apple phone, he’s going to show our FaceNote app to everyone at the event through the Apple phone.”
Lucas listened carefully to my words.
“At that time… I was hoping your FaceNote profile would be featured. But if you don’t want to, you can say no.”
Lucas’s expression grew quite serious.
– Sung-guk, so my hospital diary and this bald appearance of mine will be shown too?
“Probably…”
Lucas seemed embarrassed at the thought of so many people seeing him without a single hair on his head.
Then Lucas smiled with a wink and looked at me.
– Sung-guk, this is a request from a friend.
“Of course. We’re friends, after all.”
– How could I refuse a request from a friend? Sung-guk, but I have one condition.
[This kid isn’t as easy as I thought.]
“What’s the condition, Lucas?”
– Can I choose which photos appear in the demonstration?
“Of course! Is that all?”
– Yes, Sung-guk.
Lucas smiled more brightly than ever before.
* * *
I promised Lucas’s parents that I would cover his treatment expenses until he made a full recovery, and we agreed to draw up a contract.
Fortunately, Lucas’s attending physician added that the new treatment method was showing good results, and his prognosis was positive.
As I made my way to the company, my chest felt heavy with emotion.
In my previous life, I had sponsored many sick and struggling children through the Samjeon Group, but I had never invested such personal attention in any of them.
But Lucas was different.
Even in difficult and harsh circumstances, he never abandoned hope.
Just then, Charlie Jobs called me.
“Charlie… did you see the proposal I sent you?”
– Yeah… I saw it. I even checked out that kid Lucas’s FaceNote profile….
Charlie Jobs’s voice sounded heavy.
It was obvious that Lucas’s story would resonate differently with Charlie Jobs, who was battling pancreatic cancer.
– Sung-guk, can you tell me about Lucas’s condition?
“The doctor said the current treatment is progressing well, and if all goes smoothly, he should be able to attend school like other children within a few years.”
– Really?
“Yes….”
Charlie Jobs fell silent for a moment.
– I really hope that hope becomes a reality….
It sounded almost like he was speaking to himself.
“Charlie, it will definitely happen.”
– You’ll already be sponsoring him, but I’d like to sponsor Lucas and the other children in the Pediatric Cancer Ward as well….
“I’ll have Susan, one of my employees, contact you about that.”
– Yes, thank you… Sung-guk. And you know… I think I saw hope today because of you.
Charlie Jobs laughed and continued.
– I was being too serious. Anyway, Sung-guk, sometimes you know… you seem even more of a genius than me. I mean that sincerely.
[Of course, Charlie!]

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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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