I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 313

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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 313
I hurriedly searched for information about the movie.
Upon checking, it turned out the film wasn’t exactly ideal for a first date.
But that didn’t justify his anger like this….
[Jeon Tae-guk, that’s not what matters right now!]
I tried to calm Jeon Tae-guk down.
“Hyung, that was the only movie with a time slot that worked. Lim Jin-seo will understand. Besides, she might even think you’re innocent for a third-generation chaebol heir.”
“Really?”
[He’s not innocent—he’s just simple-minded….]
I shook my head slowly.
“What did Lim Jin-seo say about the movie?”
“Uh… she said it was fun.”
“See? She even suggested watching another one, didn’t she?”
“Do I have to be the one to suggest it?”
“The thirsty one finds the well. Who’s the one in need right now?”
“Well, obviously… me….”
“Did you send Lim Jin-seo a message saying sorry about today’s movie choice, that you want to see another one next time, and that you’ll book it properly next time?”
Jeon Tae-guk shook his head in confusion.
“No, uh… I was too flustered after the movie to think of anything.”
“Alright then. Now we send the message! Get ready!”
“Wait!!!”
Jeon Tae-guk quickly grabbed his phone and moved closer to me.
“Sung-guk, what should I write?”
“I already told you everything.”
“You know I’m not smart.”
[Sigh… at least that’s a relief.]
I spelled it out for him, word by word, carefully.
“Lim Jin-seo, did you get home safely? I was in a rush today and had to book whatever movie had an available time slot, so I didn’t even check the plot. I’ll make a proper reservation next time.”
Jeon Tae-guk sent the message exactly as I dictated and then waited anxiously for a reply.
“Sung-guk, why is she taking so long to respond? The movie must have been terrible. What do I do….”
“Hyung, it hasn’t even been a minute. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Just then, the message notification chimed.
“Sung-guk, she replied! She replied!”
“Hyung, take three deep breaths before reading it.”
“Uh… one. Two, three!”
Jeon Tae-guk’s face brightened as he read the message.
“What did she say, hyung?”
“Jin-seo said she wants to watch another movie next week. This time a horror film! This is a good sign, right?”
“Hmm… it seems like it.”
“Sung-guk, thank you!!!”
Jeon Tae-guk embraced me, and I seized the moment to whisper into his ear.
“Hyung, instead of Yang Chul-soo, I’ll be staying in Korea for another six months. How about you stay at the FaceNote Asia branch for another six months too?”
“Sung-guk, if you say so, I’ll listen to anything from now on!”
[Sigh… the heir to the Samjeon Group is this malleable….]
Either way, it worked in my favor.
“Hyung, keep that promise.”
“Of course!”
* * *
That night, late in the evening, a familiar voice called me.
It was Elon Musk.
– Sung-guk, how are you doing? I saw you went to Apple’s new product launch last time… I’ve been swamped lately and haven’t had time to breathe.
“Elon, Tesla’s going public this week, right?”
– Yeah. You’re still quick with the news.
“Of course. You know I’m always keeping an eye on things.”
– That’s why… I remembered the promise we made.
I hadn’t forgotten either.
Back when I invested early in Tesla and SpaceZ, nearly going bankrupt in the process, I gave Elon unlimited trust—investing money and listening to all his complaints.
Every time Elon leaned on me back then, I asked for Tesla stock in return, and he gladly gave it to me.
– Sung-guk, you know I’m a man of my word.
“I know.”
– Tesla’s going public on NASDAQ at seventeen dollars this time. Whether you buy after the IPO is up to you… but before that, I want to give you a thousand shares as a SpaceZ investor and as someone who’s been my spiritual anchor. What do you say?
[A thousand shares….]
A thousand shares at seventeen dollars each came to seventeen thousand dollars—barely twenty million won in Korean currency—but it was clearly a significant gesture from Elon.
“Elon, thank you for thinking of me.”
– I’d like to give you more… you know how it is. Running a business doesn’t always go the way you want.
“I understand, Elon.”
– By the way, when are you finally coming to the United States? After the IPO this time, I should have some free time in the summer….”
“Hmm… I’m thinking of going to the United States for summer vacation.”
Of course, I had plenty of work waiting for me at the US headquarters.
– You’re not coming for vacation—you’re coming to work, aren’t you?
“Elon, I’m just as much of a workaholic as you are.”
– I know. Still, since it’s vacation, I’ll prepare plenty of fun things for you, so make sure to contact me as soon as you arrive!
“Of course.”
After hanging up, I checked how much liquid capital I could mobilize. Because of YouTube, I’d liquidated my assets all at once, so honestly, my financial situation wasn’t great.
What was encouraging, though, was that Tesla stock was only seventeen dollars.
Tesla stock that started at seventeen dollars would exceed three hundred dollars within ten years and approach four hundred. Of course, Elon’s blunders would sometimes cut it in half….
[The money I can mobilize right now….]
I emptied every account I had.
Excluding the investment funds I’d exhausted going all-in on YouTube, I’d accumulated my salary as CEO of FaceNote over the years, and after selling off the remaining stocks, I had three hundred million won in liquid funds.
In these times, when no proper commercial electric vehicles had even been released yet, people would call it reckless to invest all this money into an electric car company—to put such a large sum into a single stock.
But if I knew the future, I certainly wouldn’t say such things.
A mere seventeen dollars in stock would exceed three hundred dollars within ten years!
And Elon Musk would become the wealthiest man in the world.
Without hesitation, I resolved to go all-in with three hundred million won into Tesla!
* * *
June 29th, 2010.
Tesla finally listed on the NASDAQ.
Seventeen dollars!
I invested all three hundred million won into Tesla.
Then I closed the laptop.
I would reopen this stock window precisely ten years later.
Lim Jin-seo looked at me and tilted her head curiously.
“Sung-guk, did something good happen?”
[Well, yes. I just bought Tesla stock! At seventeen dollars, it’ll be over three hundred dollars exactly ten years from now. Earning money while sitting still—how could that not be good? Lim Jin-seo.]
“It’s nothing. Summer’s finally here.”
I deflected with a different topic.
“Sung-guk, Jack Dorsey from Twitter is leaving for the United States.”
“It seems he’s lost interest in working in Korea.”
“That appears to be the case.”
When I went to the United States this time, I would need to actively recommend to Elon that he acquire Twitter.
“Lim Jin-seo, please analyze the growth rate of FaceNote subscribers across Asia, including Korea. I’d also like you to analyze the subscriber numbers based on the effectiveness of our advertising and campaigns so far.”
“Yes, I was planning to have that organized for you by today anyway.”
Lim Jin-seo truly excelled at her work.
If Lim Jin-seo and Jeon Tae-guk worked out together?
Could the Samjeon Group develop in unexpected ways?
But Jeon Tae-guk’s future in this life remained unpredictable. His life was something I could only watch unfold—there was nothing I could do about it.
Still, I had other younger brothers I needed to be responsible for.
[Sigh… The life of Korea’s eldest son…]
* * *
I visited Bang Mu-hyuk’s office after a long time.
Bang Mu-hyuk’s office showed no signs of improvement.
Though he received sponsorship from the Samjeon Group, raising trainees required considerable investment. Moreover, he still hadn’t produced any idol groups with meaningful success.
Bang Mu-hyuk greeted me with a noticeably heavier appearance.
“Sung-guk, welcome.”
“Uncle, it’s been a while. Where’s Christie?”
“Oh, she’s on vacation right now… She went to the house in the United States for a bit.”
“She’s not gone for good, is she?”
Bang Mu-hyuk chuckled at my remark.
“You’re still as sharp-tongued as ever. Christie’s been showing such dedication in the United States promoting Korean idols… Honestly, we don’t have the capability to employ such high-caliber talent, but thanks to Christie, Min-guk and the trainees are working hard too.”
Bang Mu-hyuk showed me Christie’s FaceNote and YouTube.
“Christie’s been promoting Min-guk like crazy to K-pop fans across America through all sorts of social media. She’s translating everything diligently too… and she’s been teaching Min-guk English incredibly hard.”
Min-guk was eighteen now. A high school sophomore.
Considering all the years he’d spent as a trainee, debuting as an idol right now wouldn’t even be considered early.
“Uncle, when are you thinking of debuting Min-guk and the other trainees?”
“The member lineup is still ambiguous.”
“Why is that?”
“We’ve narrowed it down to six members now… but I think we need to add one Chinese member for the last spot.”
[What are you talking about, Bang Mu-hyuk?]
My brow furrowed.
But at this time, before the Korean Wave restrictions took effect, every production company in the country naturally assumed they should include one or two Chinese members to target the Chinese market.
Bang Mu-hyuk seemed to be wrestling with this point quite a bit.
“But… bringing in foreign members isn’t something a small agency like ours does lightly. We have to handle visas, living expenses, all that. We don’t even know how long it’ll take until debut… and there’s no guarantee they’ll come to a foreign country trusting only our small agency. Honestly, the decent ones have already been picked up by the major agencies….”
“Uncle, honestly, we can never know when China will cut off or resume trade with us based on their own interests. Right now it’s favorable winds, but China is still a socialist country. Once the government imposes strong sanctions, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“China is pursuing an open-door policy, so surely… they won’t close it again….”
[I know all this already, Bang Mu-hyuk.]
“Why not form a team composed entirely of Korean members instead? If you just pick Japanese or Chinese members, every time a social issue erupts, they’ll just become targets for criticism without providing much actual benefit.”
“You’re right…. You know that group a major agency debuted last year? It was a huge hit, but the moment it took off, the Chinese member just fled straight back to China.”
[Exactly, Bang Mu-hyuk. Continental people aren’t meant to be trusted in the first place.]
“But… for Korean male idols, there’s the military service issue hanging over them….”
“Uncle Mu-hyuk, the initial group contract is seven years anyway. Military service is something we can think about after things go well, I think.”
“You’re right, I’ll take your advice to heart. You’re leading global enterprises, so you’d have a broader perspective than me. But what brings you here today?”
“I wanted to discuss something with you.”
“What is it?”
I studied Bang Mu-hyuk quietly.
“I’m planning to take a vacation to America next month.”
Vacation in name, but really a headquarters visit.
“I was hoping to take Min-guk and all the debut-track trainees with me to the States for an English language program.”
“What?”
Bang Mu-hyuk looked quite surprised.
“Min-guk mentioned that there’s not a single member who’s lived in America. I thought it would be good to pick out kids with a natural sense for languages during this program and train them for English interviews and such going forward.”
Bang Mu-hyuk laughed and waved his hand dismissively.
“Sung-guk, these kids haven’t even debuted in Korea yet, and we don’t even know if they will… aren’t you investing too much just because Min-guk’s your brother?”
“As an investor in this company, I feel obligated to do my part. And it’s the right timing to start looking at the North American market instead of just China or Japan.”
“That sounds like a dream. American expansion… but you’re serious about what you just said, right?”
“Of course. I’ll tell Min-guk about it when I get home.”
* * *
Of course, Min-guk vehemently opposed it, drawing an X with his hands.
“Hyung, I’m absolutely not going to America! Your language programs are called language programs, but they’re basically Spartan academies!”
“Min-guk, I’ve already discussed everything with Bang Mu-hyuk. We need to think about not just the Korean market but the global market going forward. Since I’m investing in all of this, you absolutely have to go.”
“I don’t want to! Why do you always make me study!”
“Hmm… I figured you’d say that, so this time Ji-hee is coming with us too.”
Ji-hee, who had been innocently eating ice cream beside me, dropped her spoon.
“Oppa, me too?”
“Ji-hee, you’re thirteen now. You’ll be in middle school next year—English is a must!”
[You two really don’t have a brother like me!!!]

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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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