I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 310

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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 310
Jeon Tae-guk’s face was, in a word, blank.
So startled that no thought whatsoever registered on his features.
That was precisely the state Jeon Tae-guk was in now.
I narrowed my eyes and studied Lim Jin-seo.
[Lim Jin-seo, more ambitious than I expected? Did you just ask the heir to the Samjeon Group on a date? Sigh… So that’s why you turned down stocks, turned down League of Legends. You said it was a wish with no financial value? Me… a former tycoon.]
Living in a chaebol family, even simple affection was difficult to view without prejudice.
Just then, Kim Yeo-na began clapping and welcomed Lim Jin-seo’s proposal.
“Oh my! Unnie! Are you finally going on a date?”
[What’s with this reaction?]
Kim Yeo-na’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed Lim Jin-seo’s hand.
“Unnie, you said you’d buy me pretty clothes if you went on a date.”
“Yeo-na, William hasn’t said he’ll grant my wish yet.”
“Oh, right….”
Kim Yeo-na and Lim Jin-seo both looked at the frozen Jeon Tae-guk.
[Jeon Tae-guk, go on the date since you wanted it. Besides, once Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung finds out you’re dating Lim Jin-seo, who’s Lim Sun-mi’s niece, you’ll be dragged into solitary confinement anyway.]
Jeon Tae-guk hesitated before nodding with determination.
“Lim Jin-seo. I’ll accept your date invitation! Let’s go on a date!”
“Awesome! Unnie, congratulations!”
I quickly stopped Kim Yeo-na.
“Yeo-na, we won the bet too. We should make a wish to William.”
“Oh right… My wish is for unnie to have a good time dating William. Please buy our unnie lots of delicious food, William.”
[What kind of wish is that!]
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Yeo-na, don’t worry. Who am I? I’m the heir to the Samjeon Group… I must know plenty of delicious and wonderful places. I’ll definitely plan an amazing date course for you!”
Jeon Tae-guk had already reverted to his usual smooth self.
“William, I haven’t told you my wish yet….”
“Sung-guk, just tell me anything. I can really grant anything!”
Jeon Tae-guk was utterly elated.
“Sung-guk. I’ll really do anything for you.”
Then I would state my wish.
“William, please extend your work at FaceNote Korea for another six months.”
“What?”
In that instant, Jeon Tae-guk’s face went blank.
Originally, Jeon Tae-guk had planned to work with me at FaceNote until Yang Chul-soo, Secretary Yang’s son, finished his degree in the United States and returned.
After that, he was supposed to work at Samjeon Group’s San Francisco branch according to the original plan.
“Sung-guk… that’s…”
“You said you’d grant any wish. My wish is for William to work at FaceNote Korea for another six months.”
I drove the point home once more, firmly.
Of course, this was clearly a difficult request for Jeon Tae-guk.
The problem was that Young Secretary Yang, who had been Jeon Tae-guk’s secretary, was becoming his superior.
Having one’s own secretary become one’s boss was arguably the worst situation for any office worker.
But looking at today’s situation, if the date went well, I would be working at the same company with Lim Jin-seo for another six months.
Conversely, if the date went poorly, the remaining six months would unfold into another kind of hell.
“Sung-guk… that’s… I also made a promise to Father….”
“William, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung will probably be more impressed that you’ve earned recognition for your work at FaceNote and extended your contract.”
What Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung most wanted right now was for Jeon Tae-guk to demonstrate the qualities of a successor. Thanks to his recent work at FaceNote, Jeon Tae-guk was gradually overcoming the damaged image he’d accumulated over time.
And what I truly wanted was for Jeon Tae-guk and the Samjeon Group to provide a bit more support for FaceNote’s establishment.
“Sung-guk… could you give me some time to think about this before answering?”
“Of course, William. I’m not that ruthless of an employer.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
* * *
It was morning by the time Jeon Tae-guk and I stepped into the house.
Neither of us had slept a wink, so we were bound to be exhausted.
Jeon Tae-guk grabbed my shoulder with a heavy expression.
“Sung-guk, let’s talk for a bit. Want a glass of wine?”
“I think whiskey would be better than wine today.”
“All right… I’ll get it.”
Jeon Tae-guk was unusually serious.
[Is it because of my wish….]
Soon Jeon Tae-guk handed me a glass filled with whiskey.
I took a sip of the whiskey. On an empty stomach, it felt like warmth spreading all the way up.
“Hyung, about the wish I mentioned….”
In that moment, Jeon Tae-guk looked at me with desperate eyes.
“Sung-guk, help me out.”
Help him with what?
Was he asking me to cancel the wish?
“Sung-guk, I have no idea how to go on a date with Lim Jin-seo this weekend….”
“Hyung, you were just talking so confidently about how you’d handle everything, and now you’re saying this!”
[Didn’t he just say he’d prepare everything like a proper heir to the Samjeon Group?]
Jeon Tae-guk drank the whiskey like water, gulping it down desperately.
“Sung-guk, you know as well as I do that I’ve never had a proper romantic relationship. I got caught up with some scammer aspiring actress and ended up with weird photos….”
“Hyung, after you filmed The Intern in the United States, you became popular as a villain and dated a lot of women!”
“That was… American women are better at leading than I am, so I just followed along. All I did was hold the credit card….”
Jeon Tae-guk poured whiskey into his empty glass again.
“Hyung, stop drinking.”
“Sung-guk, please help me. I’m begging you….”
Jeon Tae-guk grasped my hand tightly with pleading eyes.
[I’ve only ever dated in my previous life too. And that was already years ago….]
And back then, I’d only ever had relationships where I held all the power, just like Jeon Tae-guk, so I had no real dating skills to speak of.
There wasn’t a single woman I set my sights on who didn’t fall for me, and I was drowning in the constant attention of countless women wherever I went.
“Sung-guk… you’re smart. And you’re popular with women too….”
“Hyung, there’s something you occasionally forget.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m a total virgin!”
I’d just blurted out words I never wanted to say aloud.
[Jeon Tae-guk, are you really asking me this now—someone who’s only ever held hands with Mother and Ji-hee in this lifetime?!]
“Sigh… right, I suppose. Still, I thought you’d be different since you’re smart. Everyone around me is just chaebols like me. We’re all the same. All we do is throw money at our relationships….”
At that moment, I suddenly thought of someone who’d conducted a relationship without throwing money at it.
“Hyung, I know who you should ask about this.”
“Who?”
“My father!”
* * *
That evening, Jeon Tae-guk arrived at my parents’ home carrying a bottle of whisky that was difficult to find on the market.
Father, who had just returned from work, looked at Jeon Tae-guk and me with surprised eyes.
“What kind of favor are you asking for that you want to see me at this hour, Sung-guk?”
“It’s not my favor, sir. It’s actually Hyung’s favor.”
“Tae-guk’s favor?”
“Yes, sir. First, let’s have a drink and talk man to man.”
Father accepted the bottle without understanding what this was about.
“But… what kind of man-to-man talk could this be, Tae-guk?”
“Sir, how did you manage to win over someone as beautiful as Sung-guk’s mother? How did you court her, and what kind of dates did you go on? Please, I’m begging you to tell me.”
“Well, that’s… it was such a long time ago….”
Father was equally flustered.
Come to think of it, I didn’t know the details of my parents’ romance either.
All I knew was that they’d grown up together in the same orphanage as older and younger siblings, and after graduating high school, they’d become passionate and had me.
“Sir, please! I’ve been born a chaebol and lived as a chaebol my whole life, so I’ve never even heard of or seen an ordinary romance.”
Jeon Tae-guk was more earnest than anyone at that moment, and his sincerity reached Father.
Father nodded as if making a resolution.
“Alright then. It’s nothing special, but just listen comfortably.”
“Sir, I’m truly grateful!”
Jeon Tae-guk looked ready to bow deeply.
* * *
Late into the night, three men sat at the table drinking whiskey.
The side dish was Father’s Uncle Won’s Bossam.
Father sipped his whiskey slowly while waiting for Jeon Tae-guk’s question.
“Sir, how did you meet Sung-guk’s mother?”
“We didn’t really meet so much as… we already lived in the same house.”
“The same house?”
“We’re both from the same orphanage.”
Father smiled faintly and continued.
“It used to be so difficult to tell people I came from an orphanage, but it seems that wound has healed considerably now. I met Sung-guk’s mother at the orphanage. She was two years younger than me, and even back then she was so pretty that many of the boys secretly had crushes on her.”
“Of course. Sung-guk’s mother’s beauty is beyond words. So, did you ask her out first, Father?”
“Hmm… When we were at the orphanage, we were just close as an older brother and younger sister.”
[Dad, you’re a player. The whole “close older brother” routine around a popular girl is way too classic.]
Jeon Tae-guk quickly refilled Father’s empty glass.
“So, Father, did you ask Mother out right after she graduated high school?”
“We didn’t have things like that back then… So-young was working as an accountant at a small company at the time, and since it was close to the restaurant where I worked, I’d pick her up every day when she finished.”
Father smiled warmly as he recalled those days.
This was the first time I’d heard my parents’ sweet love story.
Jeon Tae-guk asked eagerly.
“Father, my situation is quite similar to yours right now. We work at the same company too. We’ve known each other since the same orphanage. We’ve gotten to know each other at the same company. It’s really like fate, isn’t it?”
[Please stop forcing connections everywhere, Jeon Tae-guk.]
Father took a sip of whiskey and continued.
“I really liked So-young, but since I had nothing, honestly it was hard to approach her first. So-young was capable and beautiful, so I thought even if she was an orphan, she could meet a decent man.”
“Sigh… Father, I have so much that it’s hard to approach her… It’s strange how even that’s similar between us.”
I couldn’t stop Jeon Tae-guk anymore.
“Father, so how exactly did you ask her out?”
“While driving her home one day, I suddenly just said, ‘Do you want to watch a movie on my day off?’ Something like that. I said I wanted to see a movie but didn’t want to watch it alone. Then So-young said she’d like to.”
[Mother had feelings for him too….]
Father recalled those days and shared the rest of their love story.
Fortunately, his day off was the day after payday, so he bought the movie tickets himself, and after they ate pork cutlet, which So-young had always liked, he confessed in front of her one-room apartment.
“Father, so you watched a movie, ate, and confessed while taking her home, right?”
“Yes, Tae-guk.”
“So ordinary people go on dates like that. Father, that’s so romantic.”
“Tae-guk… I only did that because I had no money, so don’t try to copy me too much. I think the most important thing is showing sincerity to that person.”
“Father, I’ll keep that in mind!”
* * *
Jeon Tae-guk stepped into the elevator with an enchanted expression.
“Sung-guk, I think I can really pull off this date.”
“I hope it goes well.”
“I should try a simple date like Father said—just watching a movie and eating.”
[Well, that’s not so bad either.]
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk pulled out his phone and called someone.
Was he calling Lim Jin-seo?
But Secretary Park Sung-hee’s voice came through the phone.
“Secretary Park, it’s me… Find out what movies are playing at Cheongdam CGJ this weekend, and rent the entire VIP theater! And… have the French restaurant at Samjeon Hotel clear out completely that evening. I have a date to go on.”
I stared at Jeon Tae-guk in disbelief.
“Brother, you said you were going on a simple, ordinary date watching movies and eating?”
“I booked the theater and the restaurant. If things were normal, I would’ve gone to France for French cuisine… This is practically working-class level.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s lips curved upward in a slight smirk.
[Jeon Tae-guk, where on earth did you hear our father’s advice!]
I began to feel deeply concerned about how this date would unfold.

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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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