I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 316

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 316
“Sung-guk, what’s wrong?”
Emma Watson studied my troubled expression with concern.
“My younger brother is in the United States right now. But it seems he’s gotten into some kind of trouble. I think I need to go see him… I’m so sorry about this.”
“Where is your brother right now?”
“He’s in the San Francisco area.”
Those words meant my historic first date had ended before it even began.
Younger brothers….
They were truly the karmic debts of my life.
“Is this something you need to handle right away?”
“I should at least contact Mark, my business partner, first. And I’ll book a flight and head over as soon as I can. Emma, I’m really sorry about this.”
At that moment, Emma’s large eyes sparkled.
“Sung-guk, can’t I come with you?”
“What?”
“I only came to New York to rest anyway, so I don’t have any other plans.”
“But….”
“Sung-guk, there’s no better place to read than on an airplane, right?”
Emma Watson held up the copy of Little Women I had given her.
“Then let’s go together!”
* * *
Mark, who came to pick us up at the airport, widened his eyes the moment he saw Emma Watson. He even stumbled over his words.
“S-Sung-guk… ah.”
I quickly introduced Emma Watson.
“That’s right. This is Emma Watson. And this is Mark Zuckerberg, my friend who co-founded FaceNote with me.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Y-You’ve heard about me?”
“Yes, Sung-guk and I talked the entire flight here.”
We talked throughout the entire flight.
Emma Watson knew far more about me than I expected, while I knew far less about Emma Watson than I thought.
I was hearing for the first time that she had almost quit the Harry Potter films because she found them so beautiful.
And we even connected each other on FaceNote.
In the end, Emma Watson hadn’t read a single line of Little Women that I had given her.
I quickly tapped Mark on the shoulder as he stood there awkwardly.
“Mark, what on earth happened to Min-guk?”
“Well… first of all, Min-guk isn’t really at fault. When I rushed to the police station, the first thing Min-guk said was that you must be angry, and he begged me to tell you that he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
“Mark, does Min-guk speak English that well already?”
“Of course, Mi-mi went with him.”
“Ah….”
Now everything made sense.
“Mark, what on earth did Min-guk do?”
“Well… the only real mistake Min-guk made was leaving the dormitory without permission.”
“What?”
“Sung-guk, calm down… He and a trainee friend just wanted to grab pizza, so they snuck out of the dormitory.”
“He bolted from the dormitory just for pizza?”
Mark quickly tried to calm me down.
“Sung-guk, take it easy. We all felt cooped up during our dormitory days too.”
“There’s barely enough time to study, so what’s there to feel cooped up about.”
Mark shook his head disapprovingly beside me.
Just then, Emma Watson gently placed her hand on my shoulder.
[What is this warm feeling…?]
My anger melted away the moment Emma Watson’s hand touched my shoulder.
“Sung-guk, don’t be so angry. Let’s hear the whole story first.”
“Okay, Emma.”
Mark glanced at me and I could see him suppressing a smile.
“Mark, you need to tell me the rest. That’s the more important part, isn’t it?”
“Anyway, after they snuck out to get pizza, it seems Min-guk heard some racist slurs from someone there. Min-guk asked the person to apologize, and things escalated into a confrontation. The restaurant employee called the police right away since a conflict broke out…”
“So what happened?”
“Min-guk’s English isn’t fluent enough, you know. The guy who made the racist remarks told the police that Min-guk and his friend started the confrontation with him first. He said he was alone while there were two of them. Anyway, let’s talk about this in the car.”
“Mark, is Min-guk still at the police station?”
“Yeah. Actually, I went there with Mi-mi and heard about the incident. It should’ve ended with just a warning, but Min-guk insists he was wronged. He’s refusing to leave the police station. Sung-guk, go talk to him and convince him to come out.”
“Convince him? Why?”
Mark looked at me with surprised eyes.
“Of course he needs to leave the police station.”
“Mark, after hearing your explanation, Min-guk’s only real mistake was leaving the dormitory without permission. The guy who made the racist remarks gets to walk free, while only our Min-guk takes the fall? If I were in his position, I’d be so furious I couldn’t take a single step out of that police station either.”
Mark shook his head in resignation.
“Really… like older brother, like younger brother.”
[Of course. Mark, blood runs thicker than water.]
* * *
As soon as I entered the police station, I spotted Min-guk sitting in a chair, along with Ji-hee and Dohyung, who was secretly in love with her.
The moment Min-guk saw me, he jumped up from his seat.
Then he rushed toward me frantically.
“Whoa… hyung, is that Emma Watson who just came in behind you?”
[Sigh… younger brothers…]
I stared coldly at Min-guk.
“Jeon Min-guk, are you in any position to be noticing Emma Watson right now?”
“Hyung, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Nothing wrong?”
“W-well, I did leave the dormitory without permission, but…”
“Exactly. If you hadn’t snuck out of the dormitory, none of this would’ve happened in the first place, right?”
At that moment, Dohyung, who had been following behind, interjected.
“Sir, Min-guk didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one who wanted to eat pizza. And even at the pizza restaurant, that American guy cursed at me, but since I didn’t understand and just kept grinning, Min-guk got angry on my behalf instead. He’s asking you to apologize.”
“I understand the situation now. Jeon Min-guk….”
“Yeah, hyung!”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to catch that American bastard who cursed at me and make him apologize. And the police need to apologize to us too. You just let him go because you believed his story, saying you don’t speak English well.”
“Alright, let’s talk about your unauthorized departure from the dormitory after this is settled.”
I rolled up my sleeves.
One of the police officers approached with an intimidating expression.
“Now that your brother’s here, just take him and go. This isn’t a daycare center.”
“What did you just say?”
“Take your brother and go.”
“My brother suffered an unfair injustice, and you’re telling me to just take him and leave? Arrest that bastard who cursed at him right now and make him apologize. And the officer who treated my brother unfairly should come over and apologize as well.”
Min-guk whispered from behind my back.
“Hyung, that police officer sitting over there yelled at me.”
The police officer’s expression became troubled.
“Well… we did misunderstand, but nothing actually happened, right?”
“What if something had happened? Isn’t crime prevention an important part of police work? You just let go someone who made racist remarks toward an Asian person. Maybe he let it slide today, but what’s to stop him from doing it again next time? Will he only come to his senses after making such remarks or committing violence against another Asian person?”
“That, well….”
The officer’s confusion was evident.
Behind me, Min-guk whispered quietly.
“Hyung, you’re doing great!”
The officer kept glancing back at the officer sitting quietly.
Only then did the officer who had mistreated Min-guk stand up.
“Tom, I’ll handle this. You guys are really annoying….”
The officer who had blocked us shook his head and returned to his seat.
Then a tall, noticeably older-looking police officer approached us.
“An apology is all you need, right?”
But his tone was anything but apologetic.
“I’m looking for a sincere apology. We came to this country to study, and we were treated unfairly.”
“Then… why don’t you go back to your own country.”
The officer muttered as if for everyone to hear.
Upon hearing this, Emma Watson suddenly stepped forward.
“What did you just say?”
“Uh….”
The officer seemed flustered upon seeing Emma Watson.
“You’re telling someone who came to study in America to go back to their country?”
“That, well….”
“I’m from England and currently studying in the United States. So if I’m treated unfairly in this country, the only option is to go back to my country?”
Emma Watson was as sharp as she looked.
“I… that’s not what I meant.”
“Today, I plan to post about the racial discrimination I witnessed in the United States on my personal social media. By the way, these two men standing here.”
Emma Watson pointed at Mark and me.
“They are the founders of FaceNote. They’re among the most influential people in the United States. A single post they make on their FaceNote can sway public opinion—are you confident you can withstand that kind of backlash?”
Mark’s jaw dropped as he looked at Emma Watson. Then he leaned over and whispered quietly to me.
“Sung-guk, does Emma Watson not realize I have zero influence?”
“Mark, be quiet.”
Mark closed his gaping mouth.
The flustered officer immediately shouted to his colleagues behind him.
“Did that bastard leave his contact information? Call him right now and tell him to get here immediately! If he doesn’t come, tell him we’ll personally escort him!”
* * *
Within thirty minutes, the man who had hurled racial slurs at Min-guk appeared.
He looked to be in his mid-twenties at most.
The man entered the police station with a bewildered expression and approached the officer who had been dealing with us.
“Isn’t… the matter from earlier already settled?”
“We didn’t fully understand the sequence of events. These students didn’t attack first—you were the one who used racial slurs first, correct?”
“That is….”
The man panicked.
He was a typical bully—tough on the weak, weak on the tough.
“Tell us the truth. This is a police station, you understand?”
Under the officer’s pressure, the man slowly nodded his head.
“It’s just… those two were being so loud and disruptive.”
The man continued making nonsensical excuses.
“Hyung, that guy’s lying. Dohyung and I were just picking out menu items.”
“Min-guk, let’s see how this plays out. But… you, that man has a very strong accent—you can understand all his English?”
“Uh… yeah… Hyung, I can hear it pretty well.”
Language truly was best learned where it was spoken.
The officer pressed the man again.
“Be honest with us. We’ve already reviewed the CCTV footage from the pizza restaurant.”
“That is… things haven’t been going well for me lately. I’m having trouble finding a job….”
“Does that give you the right to curse at young students?”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
The man hung his head low.
“Don’t apologize to me—apologize to those students. They were cursed at, and now they’ve been wrongly accused and brought to a police station.”
“Ah, yes….”
The man hesitantly walked toward Min-guk and Dohyung.
“I… about earlier….”
But then his eyes suddenly shifted toward Emma Watson.
“Wow! You’re Emma Watson, aren’t you?”
I quickly stepped in front of Emma Watson to block him.
He was the one who had cursed at Min-guk and Dohyung. I had no idea what he might do to Emma Watson.
“Excuse me. I think you should apologize to my younger brother first.”
“Ah… but, the person standing over there is Emma Watson, right? Just tell me that. Please….”
Emma Watson answered from behind.
“Yes, I’m Emma Watson. First, apologize to my friend’s younger brother.”
“Ah, yes….”
The man quickly approached Min-guk and Dohyung, then bowed his head deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
“I’m truly sorry about earlier! I’ve just been frustrated with life lately, and things haven’t been going well. I promise I won’t do it again!!!”
* * *
After apologizing, the man asked Emma Watson for her autograph.
“What’s your name?”
“Henry Pitt.”
“Henry, you can’t take out your frustrations on other people just because life isn’t going well for you.”
“I was really foolish today.”
“I’ve had plenty of times when life hasn’t gone my way either.”
“You have?”
“I’ve failed countless auditions. They said my image didn’t fit, that I needed to lose more weight. I heard all sorts of things like that.”
The man looked at Emma Watson in disbelief.
“If I had blamed others every time that happened, would I be who I am today? Henry, so don’t blame others when things aren’t working out. Instead, figure out what you need to do in your current situation. That will be far more helpful for your life.”
“Emma….”
Henry burst into tears at Emma Watson’s words.
And Min-guk sniffled beside him too.
“Hyung, Emma’s words are so moving.”
“Min-guk, she has a British accent, but you understood her well?”
“Hyung… are you really doing this even in such a touching moment?”
[Of course. I’m Jeon Sung-guk, after all….]

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————