I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 33

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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 33
The Iron Lady’s lips curved upward in the faintest of sneers—subtle, yet unmistakable.
“Sung-guk’s mother is quite forthright, isn’t she?”
In other words, she lacked refinement and breeding.
The people of Samjeon Group never considered honesty a virtue.
[I would have been the same once. Quietly mocking and dismissing those beneath me from the shadows.]
“By the way, which university did Sung-guk’s mother attend?”
“I only finished high school. Seochon Girls’ Commercial High School.”
A stifled laugh.
Several mothers barely contained their derision.
The Iron Lady lowered her gaze quietly and sipped her coffee with an air of understanding. This was undoubtedly a signal.
The first to step forward was the Prosecutor General’s Daughter-in-law, a distant branch of the Samjeon Group and Kim Ju-sung’s mother.
“Isn’t this treatment a bit excessive for merely saving your cousin’s life?”
[Are you speaking French right now?]
It began in French.
Mother smiled innocently, oblivious, and studied the women’s faces.
A former singer joined in as well. Of course, in French.
“We’re simply on different levels. A commercial high school, really.”
[Ma’am, you got the article wrong with that school name!]
It seemed the singer had hastily crammed French to fit into this society. But only the Iron Lady and I noticed her grammatical error.
The women continued their French chatter.
The children were still too young for a second foreign language beyond English. Their conversation in French became increasingly brazen.
“I think I’ll have to tell the children not to play with him. Without friends, he’ll transfer on his own.”
“Mi-jin takes such good care of Sung-guk. I’m worried about that.”
“Mi-jin will be going to the United States next year. We’ll just endure until then.”
The Iron Lady responded in fluent French.
Mother and Manager Kim Mi-young understood that the women were deliberately excluding them, but since they couldn’t understand what was being said, they remained silent.
There was nothing two powerless people could do in this situation.
Should I intervene again?
But revealing my French would be problematic.
Mi-jin handed me the largest slice of cake.
“Sung-guk, eat this.”
“Thanks.”
At least she was leaving for the United States next year—a small mercy.
The women’s French gossip resumed behind me.
“That poor child has no sense of propriety. Coming here with just flowers, of all things.”
“That’s how poor families are. What do you expect from parents who make money off their child’s face? It’s obvious.”
At the Prosecutor General’s Daughter-in-law’s final remark, I reached my limit.
I could endure no longer.
I set down my fork with an audible clink.
Behind me, Lee Se-hee’s Mother chattered away.
“Clearly she hasn’t learned anything. She doesn’t even know what a dessert fork is.”
I marked Lee Se-hee’s Mother and Kim Ju-sung’s Mother as my targets.
I quietly pulled back my chair and stood, fixing both of them with a steady gaze.
“Oh my, I wonder if she knows whose birthday this is.”
“That mother can’t understand a word, so she just laughs along.”
“Excuse me, ladies.”
I cut them off in French.
Of course, my pronunciation was still a bit halting for a five-year-old, but it was clear they all understood what I was saying.
“She must have picked up that one word from somewhere.”
It was Kim Ju-sung’s Mother.
[Just wait until you see it’s far more than one word!]
I took a deep breath and began pouring out French.
“Ma’am, I believe you just insulted my parents. My parents were born into humble circumstances and didn’t receive much formal education, but I’ve inherited from them both the kind of face that gets me on television and the ability to teach myself French—something your children can’t do. So I’d appreciate it if you understood that.”
I paused to catch my breath.
The women exchanged bewildered glances.
“So I’d like you to know that my parents, who gave me such talents, are far more admirable than people like you who only have money.”
As I rattled off the long sentence in rapid-fire delivery, everyone fell silent.
Only the Iron Lady seemed to have fully understood.
The others grasped the general meaning, and only Lee Se-hee’s Mother, the former singer, darted her eyes around nervously, gauging the situation.
The Iron Lady quietly rose from her seat. Her expression was always controlled, but now it was noticeably harder.
The Iron Lady stared at me intently before beginning to speak in French.
“Sung-guk, where did you learn French?”
“From watching French lessons on television.”
“You didn’t make a single mistake with the French articles. Did you study it separately?”
“I’ve read quite a lot of books.”
I answered the Iron Lady’s questions readily.
The Iron Lady’s major was French. That’s why these women had chosen French for their gossip. And I could speak French without a single grammatical error thanks entirely to her. She’d drilled French into me relentlessly since I was young.
Mother and everyone else stared at me in astonishment.
The Iron Lady rose and spoke to me in French, her expression stern.
“Thank you for coming to Mi-jin’s birthday party. Now go play nicely with her.”
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
I stopped the Iron Lady in her tracks.
The Iron Lady regarded me with her thin lips pressed into a line.
“Please apologize to my mother.”
“How can I apologize for words she didn’t even understand?”
“Isn’t it shameful that you ladies ganged up on one person? I don’t think Mi-jin would be happy to know her mother acts this way.”
“….”
The Iron Lady exhaled quietly and looked at my mother.
“Your son is quite remarkable. Since I’m accustomed to French, it slipped out without my realizing it—I apologize. Please enjoy the rest of the time here.”
“No, that’s not it. I’m lacking in many ways, so I’m already grateful just to have been invited.”
Mother’s face had grown noticeably lighter.
Following the Iron Lady’s apology, the other mothers offered their own words of regret.
I took my seat beside Jeon Mi-jin again.
Jeon Mi-jin rested her chin on her clasped hands and gazed at me with enchanted eyes.
[This is overwhelming, little brother.]
Regardless, Jeon Mi-jin kept her eyes fixed solely on me.
“Sung-guk, do you speak French too?”
“A little.”
“Sung-guk, you’re a genius!”
[With an IQ of 121, I’m hardly a genius. I’ll have to decline that compliment.]
I picked up my fork again and continued eating the cake.
In any case, this cake truly was delicious.
* * *
“Sung-guk speaks English and French perfectly?”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung looked at Secretary Yang with an expression of surprise.
“Yes, Chairman. We were all quite astonished as well. What’s more, he apparently learned everything from educational broadcasts and books.”
“Is that even possible?”
“He took a gifted assessment test, and there’s something peculiar about the results. His IQ is honestly 121—just slightly above average—yet he scored in the top 0.1 percentile across every category. His reasoning and learning abilities in particular are truly exceptional. The instructor who administered the test suspects that Sung-guk may have deliberately held back during the IQ assessment. Apparently, gifted children sometimes do this intentionally.”
The corners of Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Keep monitoring Sung-guk. Sponsoring a single genius could actually benefit our corporate image. It might prove useful to our company down the line as well.”
“Understood.”
Just as Secretary Yang was about to leave, the Iron Lady entered.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was somewhat taken aback by the unexpected visit.
His relationship with the Iron Lady had deteriorated to its worst in recent years.
When Father Jeon Ju-shin was still alive, they had necessarily lived under the same roof, but since becoming chairman, Jeon Jae-hyung had been preparing for independence. It was convenient for both of them anyway.
“Please close the door on your way out.”
When the Iron Lady issued the command in a low voice, Secretary Yang quietly closed the door.
Jeon Jae-hyung glanced at the Iron Lady while skimming through the documents he hadn’t finished reading. She clearly had something important to say.
“What is it?”
“Is Sung-guk your son?”
It was an unexpected counterattack.
“You know that’s absurd, so why ask? You’ve already had him investigated thoroughly, haven’t you?”
“That’s exactly why I don’t understand.”
“You don’t understand how a child like that could come from parents who are orphans and only high school graduates, is that it?”
“No. That’s possible. Geniuses can emerge from any parents. How they’re raised is what matters more.”
The Iron Lady crossed her arms and fixed her gaze on Jeon Jae-hyung.
“What I’m curious about is whether you truly have no ulterior motives regarding that family.”
Jeon Jae-hyung shook his head firmly.
“Do you really think I’m some philanderer who would covet another man’s wife?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
The Iron Lady’s eyes sharpened.
“You’re already disappointed in Tae-guk, aren’t you?”
“….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung calmly finished organizing his documents.
The Iron Lady looked flustered before speaking again.
“You’re not hoping for something different from that child, are you?”
“Samjeon Group has consistently supported talented individuals. I have nothing more to say. By the way, I’m heading to Samseong-dong next week. I’d like to accelerate Tae-guk and Mi-jin’s study abroad plans in the United States. It would be ideal if you joined me as well. As you said, Tae-guk is already disappointing—we can’t have him become even more of a disappointment once he goes to America.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung opened his laptop, and soon the sound of the door slamming shut echoed through the room.
“Hmm….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung stroked his chin.
The truth was, I had begun to harbor genuine expectations for this child Sung-guk—but only as a talent for Samjeon Group.
Yet after hearing the Iron Lady’s words, a different thought crept into my mind.
Tae-guk, my eldest and only son, was already falling short as a successor.
His personality was narrow-minded, his emotions unstable, and his academic performance was poor. That was precisely why we were sending him abroad early.
There was no point in wasting money on domestic schools—the whispers of fraudulent admissions would only multiply. It seemed better to aim directly for American universities.
However, such an unconventional path would be difficult to gain approval from the executive team, which was filled with Seoul National University graduates.
They were all eager to find fault.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung reflected on his own past.
His past self, working frantically to become the best. This position he had earned.
But his son Tae-guk seemed incapable of such effort. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to select and nurture a successor to inherit his place sooner rather than later.
Choosing someone after they reached adulthood would be a difficult matter.
One had to raise them from childhood to be perfectly integrated into Samjeon Group in order to pass on his position.
‘But he’s only five years old….’
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung paused his thoughts.
It seemed he was moving too quickly.
But one thing was certain: my curiosity about the future of this child, Jeon Sung-guk, was growing stronger.
* * *
“Sung-guk speaks French too?”
Father looked at me with astonished eyes.
[Dad, first time seeing a genius? Oh right, I’m not a genius. IQ 121.]
Dejected.
I chewed on the boiled pork belly Father had brought with a gloomy expression.
Despite my melancholy mood, Father’s boiled pork belly was delicious.
Mother sat beside me cradling Min-guk, recounting to Father what had happened today.
“Mi-jin’s mother. In other words….”
[The Samjeon Group Chairman’s wife!]
“Anyway, she was incredibly surprised too. Secretary Yang told me later that Sung-guk’s French was absolutely flawless.”
“Really?”
Father stared intently at my face.
[Dad, my face is getting worn out. Stop looking at me.]
“Sung-guk.”
“What?”
I asked in the slightly exasperated tone of a five-year-old.
“Sung-guk, you really speak French too?”
“….”
Instead of answering, I nodded.
“Sung-guk, who’s your dad?”
“Dad? Here.”
I pointed at Father with my finger.
“Then, who’s your mom?”
“Mom? Here.”
I pointed at Mother with my finger.
Father soon broke into a pleased smile and rubbed my cheek with his palm.
[Dad, what on earth are you doing?]
“So-young, can you believe we gave birth to such a genius?”
“But honey, Sung-guk’s IQ is 121. It’s just a little above average—I wouldn’t say he’s a genius, would you?”
Smack!
I slammed my hand on the table.
A scratch on my pride.
[How is it possible! Me, Jeon Sung-guk! An IQ of 121?!]

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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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