I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 308

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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 308
I stood with my arms crossed, watching the employees caught up in the festivities.
I was clearly the protagonist of this celebration, yet the employees were having far more fun than I was.
[This is my celebration party. Did they just want to have a good time?]
Mark, holding a beer glass, came over and tapped my shoulder.
“Sung-guk, the employees look genuinely happy for the first time in a while.”
“I suppose so….”
I answered listlessly.
“Sung-guk, why are you being so apathetic?”
“Well, it’s just… I’ve become the king of YouTube, but nothing really seems to have changed.”
[And I still can’t drink alcohol here in the United States.]
I watched Mark’s beer glass with longing.
“Sung-guk… honestly, the employees have been under a lot of stress because of YouTube, not just FaceNote. They worked so hard, and I could tell they all hated the idea of going back to Google. Anyway, congratulations on becoming the CEO and largest shareholder of YouTube!”
Mark shook me enthusiastically.
“Sung-guk, please enjoy yourself!”
“Alright.”
Mark, slightly tipsy, started dancing wildly and disappeared into the crowd of employees.
I could see Lim Mi-mi was utterly embarrassed.
[Mark, please stop dancing.]
Then I noticed Jeon Tae-guk staring blankly at Lim Jin-seo.
I understood well that human hearts don’t flip like the palm of a hand.
No matter how much Jeon Tae-guk tried to suppress his feelings, they couldn’t simply vanish in an instant.
[Unrequited love is truly painful….]
I tapped Mark, who had just finished dancing and come down.
“Mark, I’m going to take William and head out. I can’t drink anyway.”
“The guest of honor is leaving?”
“For some reason, I feel like everyone will have more fun without me here.”
I quietly excused myself from Mark and dragged Jeon Tae-guk away.
“Sung-guk, what’s wrong?”
“William, let’s go home now.”
“Already?”
“William, staring at Lim Jin-seo with those hungry eyes won’t solve anything.”
“You noticed?”
I nodded heavily. Then Jeon Tae-guk spoke in a hollow voice.
“Sung-guk, maybe I was born a chaebol for no reason.”
[Being a chaebol is something most people can’t become even if they wanted to, Jeon Tae-guk.]
“I can’t even love freely.”
[Listen to him complain about his privileged problems….]
“William, there’s something you’ve forgotten.”
“What did I forget?”
Jeon Tae-guk stared at me with a face that looked utterly defeated.
“I honestly don’t think Lim Jin-seo would accept William’s confession even if he made one. Isn’t it better to not be able to see each other because of your father’s past rather than because of a difference in feelings? That way, you’d be hurt less, wouldn’t you?”
[I was being considerate, William. So snap out of it already!]
“Sigh… I shouldn’t have said anything. What am I doing talking about love with someone who’s never experienced it?”
[I had quite the glamorous personal life in my previous life, thank you very much.]
I shrugged my shoulders and dragged Jeon Tae-guk along.
“William, let’s really go home now.”
In that instant, Jeon Tae-guk gulped down his beer and stared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“Sung-guk, don’t stop me. I can’t leave things like this. I need to settle this once and for all! Don’t stop me, got it?”
Then he disappeared smoothly into the crowd of people.
There were people who, no matter how much you told them otherwise, wouldn’t understand until they experienced the bottom themselves.
Jeon Tae-guk seemed to be one of those people.
[Karma from my past life… I did my best. Just remember that the embarrassment is his responsibility.]
I quietly slipped out of the office, leaving the excited employees behind.
I had learned in my previous life that the proper etiquette for a workplace superior was to hand over a card at the company dinner and then leave.
[I’m looking pretty cool today, if I do say so myself.]
I quietly started my Porsche.
* * *
Late at night, I heard the sound of Jeon Tae-guk coming in.
Even from a distance, his unsteady footsteps made it clear he was drunk.
And those footsteps were heading toward my room.
Knock. Knock.
“Sung-guk, you awake?”
[Sigh… This is definitely karma from my past life catching up with me… I told you not to confess in the first place!]
I covered the documents I was reading and opened the door.
There stood Jeon Tae-guk, completely plastered with alcohol.
His eyes were swollen, and his hair was disheveled.
“Hyung, are you alright?”
“Sung-guk… I didn’t confess.”
What did he just say?
“I didn’t confess, I’m telling you….”
“You didn’t drink too much and forget, did you?”
“Sung-guk… when I thought about it, my relationship with Lim Jin-seo is ultimately connected through work anyway. In that kind of situation, it didn’t feel right to just bulldoze forward thinking only about my own feelings.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, are you finally starting to think?]
Jeon Tae-guk let out a deep sigh.
“I’m not even good at my job… I can’t cause you trouble on top of that too…. Sung-guk, I did the right thing, didn’t I?”
“….”
Instead of answering, I patted Jeon Tae-guk’s shoulder.
“Yeah… you did the right thing. You definitely did. Sung-guk, my flight’s tomorrow afternoon. Let’s go back to Korea.”
“Hyung, get some good sleep.”
“Yeah….”
Jeon Tae-guk walked into the room with heavy steps.
Jeon Tae-guk, who always acted before thinking, was now actually thinking before taking action.
[Is Jeon Tae-guk growing little by little….]
* * *
When I returned to Korea, June 2010 was in the midst of the South Africa World Cup.
Every street was lined with World Cup advertisements, and everyone wore red clothing.
Of course, I knew all the results of the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
Our country advanced to the Round of 16 again after the 2002 World Cup, and people, as always, were enthusiastic about the World Cup.
Lim Jin-seo was one of those caught up in the fervor.
“Sung-guk, shouldn’t we do some kind of event tied to the World Cup? We beat Greece 2-0 in the first qualifying match, and the atmosphere right now is absolutely perfect.”
“Greece is pretty weak anyway. We’re playing Argentina today, right?”
“It looks like the Twitter team is doing some kind of event where everyone gathers to cheer together.”
“We’re bound to lose against Argentina….”
Lim Jin-seo bristled at my words.
“Sung-guk, what are you saying? Argentina may have the advantage in various records, but that doesn’t mean we can’t win! How can you judge that we’ll lose without even trying!”
During World Cup season, everyone became a passionate patriot.
“Lim Jin-seo, please calm down.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Sung-guk… I just think our country could win… and we really played well against Greece. But when you speak so definitively, it comes across that way.”
[When you know the future, you become like me…]
“Lim Jin-seo, I think for this Argentina match, we don’t have enough preparation time, and since Twitter’s event is already big, let’s aim for the next one.”
“The final match?”
“How about we set up a booth at the public square cheering event on that day, promoting FaceNote while distributing beer or drinks to FaceNote users?”
Lim Jin-seo’s eyes widened.
“Sung-guk, that’s a good idea. And I have one more suggestion!”
“What is it?”
“You wear a Red Devils shirt directly and distribute beer or drinks to FaceNote users.”
“Me?”
[Why should I do something so trivial?]
Lim Jin-seo looked at my face and smiled slyly.
“Sung-guk, you’ve probably never done part-time work like this before. But restaurants with handsome and pretty part-time workers always see sales explode.”
“In other words, you’re saying that if I, being handsome, serve directly, it’ll help FaceNote’s promotion more?”
“I hate to admit it, but you’re not wrong.”
Just then, Jeon Tae-guk came in right on cue.
“Sung-guk, we’re planning to set up a FaceNote booth distributing beer or drinks at the Nigeria versus South Korea match next Tuesday.”
“Sung-guk, are you telling me to get sponsorship?”
“You catch on immediately now.”
“But if we get completely crushed by Argentina today, the final match next week won’t be as exciting. That’s why Twitter is doing an event today too.”
“For some reason, I have a feeling our country will advance to the Round of 16 this time.”
Everyone’s attention focused on my words.
“Sung-guk, you said earlier that we’d lose to Argentina….”
“We’ll lose to Argentina… but if we draw with Nigeria, we might just make it to the Round of 16.”
Clap— Jeon Tae-guk brought his hands together sharply.
“Want to make a bet on today’s match?”
“What kind of bet, William?”
When Lim Jin-seo asked with curious eyes, Jeon Tae-guk’s face flushed red.
[Looks like he still hasn’t sorted out his feelings…. Tsk tsk….]
“Ah… well… should we make a bet between us for dinner?”
“Sounds good!”
Lim Jin-seo agreed readily.
“You two go ahead with your bet. I promised to watch the match with my family.”
“Aw, a bet between just two people isn’t fun.”
“Then let’s make a bet during the next match. Besides, I’ll have booth work then, so I’ll need to watch while working anyway.”
Jeon Tae-guk gave up surprisingly quickly.
* * *
Inside the elevator heading home.
Jeon Tae-guk reported on the sponsorship arrangements for Nigeria’s match next week.
“Hite agreed to sponsor beer, and we’re currently discussing coffee with Sam… but who am I?”
“You’re FaceNote’s Asia-wide manager and the heir to Samjeon Group.”
Jeon Tae-guk shrugged and made a V-sign.
“Sam was hesitant about it, so I mentioned it to Secretary Yang and pulled some strings. And just like that… they agreed to sponsor immediately.”
“Thank you, William.”
These days, Jeon Tae-guk was working hard to do everything he could from his position.
“By the way, William… why did you just end the bet with Lim Jin-seo like that earlier?”
“I told you. I’m keeping my feelings for Lim Jin-seo to myself. To do that, I need to draw an appropriate line. If we’re alone together and my heart starts acting up again, it won’t be good.”
“William, you look a bit lonely today… how about we go to my place and cheer together while having beer and my father’s bossam?”
[I really showed some generosity today!]
Jeon Tae-guk looked at me with an incredulous expression.
“Why, William?”
“I naturally assumed you’d come with me. I already had Park Secretary bring drinks and food to your place.”
“Really?”
“For a soccer match, it’s got to be chicken, right? Since it’s hard to order chicken on a day like this, I had Park Secretary arrange it—fried chicken made fresh by the Samjeon Hotel’s head chef. Let’s go eat it while it’s still hot.”
Ding.
The elevator stopped at my parents’ floor.
Jeon Tae-guk stepped out of the elevator as naturally as could be and walked ahead. Then he suddenly turned back to look at me.
“Sung-guk, come on. The chicken’s getting cold.”
At the same time, cheers were already echoing from inside the home.
“South Korea! Clap clap clap clap clap!”
* * *
Just as I’d predicted—or rather, just as I already knew—the match between Argentina and South Korea ended 4-1.
It was a complete defeat for South Korea.
And public opinion began to deteriorate rapidly.
Countless criticisms erupted—that beating Greece was mere luck, and that the team still exhibited the limitations of a peripheral football squad lacking organizational cohesion and attacking prowess.
Concerned about this backlash, even Twitter, which had already run an event for the Argentina match, reportedly saw many users abandon the platform after the fourth goal went in during the second half.
I shook my head as I reviewed the data.
“Well, one poor performance doesn’t define everything…”
But Lim Jin-seo and Jeon Tae-guk seemed worried.
“Sung-guk…. Nigeria is a powerhouse in Africa. After watching the Argentina match… I’m really anxious about playing Nigeria.”
“Seriously, it’s always scenarios and probabilities. Can’t our country just advance to the Round of 16 without all this stress?”
Jeon Tae-guk grumbled as well.
“Then, should we make a wager?”
“A wager? Elimination in the group stage is practically certain….”
Jeon Tae-guk had become almost cynical.
“If we draw or beat Nigeria, we could still advance to the Round of 16.”
“I don’t want to stake my life on such slim odds. I’ll just work hard that day instead.”
At that moment, Lim Jin-seo clenched both fists tightly.
“There’s no law saying it can’t happen the way Sung-guk said. I have a feeling our country will definitely advance to the Round of 16.”
“Then, you’re betting on Round of 16 advancement with me, Lim Jin-seo?”
“Of course, Sung-guk.”
Lim Jin-seo and I looked at William.
“What about you, William?”
“I’m betting the opposite.”
“Then, what should we wager on this bet?”
Jeon Tae-guk slammed his palm on the table with a cynical expression.
“I’m… betting my Samjeon stocks… on our country being eliminated in the group stage!”

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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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