I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 330

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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 330
– Emma Watson ultimately left Korea without seeing Jeon Sung-guk.
– Emma Watson’s final moment, tears hidden behind sunglasses.
– Emma Watson: Korea is a country filled with beautiful memories… but I will never return.
– Emma Watson spotted eating bossam at a Korean restaurant near Brown University. Has Emma Watson still not forgotten Jeon Sung-guk?
Jeon Tae-guk briefed me on Emma Watson’s articles from morning.
“Sung-guk, Emma Watson went to a Korean restaurant and ordered bossam. You really can’t forget her, can you?”
“Brother… please stop reading those tabloid articles. I’m begging you. And there’s no way I’ll see Emma Watson again.”
“Sung-guk, Emma Watson came all the way to Korea despite her busy schedule just to see you on the day you left the military training center… that kind of dedication deserves forgiveness at least once.”
“Brother… if we reach a point in a relationship where the word ‘forgiveness’ comes up, something has already gone wrong. Once you forgive someone, do you really think people can forget the feelings they had before that forgiveness?”
“Well…”
“People don’t easily forget emotions once they’re imprinted. The moment someone forgives someone else, that relationship ceases to be equal—it becomes one of superior and subordinate.”
Jeon Tae-guk shrugged.
“Fine, fine.”
I sipped my coffee and looked at Jeon Tae-guk.
“But… brother, isn’t your place at Samjeon Palace?”
Ever since I moved to Apgujeong Hyunsung Apartments, Jeon Tae-guk had been living here full-time.
Click.
Another door opened as Adam stretched and emerged.
“Sung-guk, that coffee smells amazing.”
I had promised Adam room and board as a condition of his employment at Alpha.
Of course, I had originally planned to get him an officetel near the company, but Adam said he’d never lived alone in Korea and was scared, so he preferred our place near the Han River. I gave him a room. Besides, I wasn’t going to be dating anymore anyway…
But now Jeon Tae-guk had also claimed a room.
Jeon Tae-guk didn’t answer my question and handed coffee to Adam.
“Adam, here’s your coffee. I also ordered sandwiches from the shopping center nearby. They should arrive soon.”
“William really seems like a very considerate person.”
[That’s all because I molded him that way. When I first met Jeon Tae-guk, he was a spoiled rich kid drowning in melancholy!]
I gulped down my coffee on an empty stomach.
My father certainly didn’t buy this place for me to share with these men…
But there were advantages.
“Adam, William. Let’s have a meeting over breakfast. Especially about Han Myung-seok.”
“Hmm… isn’t that overtime work, Sung-guk?”
“William, if you don’t want to work overtime, how about you sleep at your own place from now on? And Adam can stay alone in the officetel I’m getting for him?”
Adam shook his head vigorously.
“I didn’t say anything, Sung-guk.”
“Then I’ll assume everyone agrees and start the morning meeting!”
A life where work and daily life don’t separate!
That’s exactly the life I want!
* * *
The sandwiches Jeon Tae-guk ordered were quite delicious.
We discussed company matters over sandwiches and coffee.
“Adam, you’ve finished the new employee training now, right?”
“Yes… but honestly, I still see many areas that need improvement.”
Adam was just as much of a perfectionist about work as I was.
“Do you think more training is necessary?”
“Take a look at this list first. These are the people I think need additional training.”
Adam had recorded detailed evaluations not only of the programmers but also of the general office staff.
“Lee Sun-hwa, for example, is in marketing, but she studied coding in college. She’s fluent in English and can understand both marketing and programming simultaneously… I thought it would be worth training her more in the programming direction.”
“Adam, I understand your thinking… but let’s coordinate with Lee Sun-hwa’s opinion as well.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
After exchanging general pleasantries, we finally moved on to the topic of Han Myung-seok.
Jeon Tae-guk was the first to share the new information.
“First, I investigated the officetel where he’s staying in Korea, and it turns out he’s renting it. The owner is a Chinese person—Cho Hae-yun, and she’s Joseonjok.”
“Joseonjok?”
“You know what guanxi is, right?”
“Yes, hyung.”
Anyone doing business with China couldn’t help but know about guanxi.
It was a uniquely Chinese culture of connecting people through personal relationships.
That’s why companies trying to enter China had to work hard to secure guanxi with important connections.
“Cho Hae-yun’s husband is Wang Meng, a Chinese man… he’s the guanxi who connects Korean venture companies with China.”
“Hmm… just as I suspected with Samsung. Is there anything else?”
“There was an incident last year in Pangyo where technology was allegedly stolen, and we’re suspecting Wang Meng was involved in that too. In that case, a Joseonjok person worked at the company for a long time, gained the trust of the CEO and employees, and then stole the design blueprints outright to sell them to China… it looks like Wang Meng played the role of intermediary.”
“Hmm… they’re really terrible people!”
After hearing the story, Adam uttered the strongest curse he could manage.
“Think about how much effort and time it takes for so many people to complete a single program or technology… and they just sell it away in an instant! Industrial spies like that should all burn in hell!”
Adam was right.
Time and effort.
And the money invested in it.
What made industrial espionage even worse wasn’t just the disregard for such things, but the fact that it could collapse an entire nation’s industry.
That’s why in this life, I’m planning to develop TikTok—originally a Chinese SNS—first and release it overseas!
“Sung-guk, what should we do about Han Myung-seok?”
“Based on Adam’s advice as well… I’ll extend the new employee training for another two weeks. Given Han Myung-seok’s current situation, this probably isn’t a long-term operation.”
“Then?”
“In the case of an SNS company like ours, the initial idea is crucial, so Han Myung-seok’s plan is probably to recognize that idea and immediately sell it to China. Since I’m the one who developed FaceNote and Instagrim and is starting this company instead of military service in Korea, China is definitely paying close attention.”
I took a sip of coffee and continued.
“Their goal is to steal the new item I’m developing and release it to the world first with their own money and manpower. Han Myung-seok will think that since I’ve assembled a team with a new item, I’ll immediately reveal it and start work. That’s probably why he even bought an apartment in Beijing. But as the training period keeps getting longer… and if the item doesn’t get revealed, he’ll get anxious.”
“Sung-guk, even when the time is up, I don’t think Han Myung-seok will give up…”
Jeon Tae-guk’s observation was accurate.
“That’s right. From now on, we need to deceive all our employees except the three of us.”
“Deceive them?”
“A scam?!”
Both Adam and Jeon Tae-guk were taken aback by my words.
“Yes, a scam. First, extend the new employee training by two more weeks. During this period, we’ll also decide who will be eliminated. Then, on the day we reach two weeks, everyone will sign formal employment contracts. Those contracts will include a clause stating that any unauthorized disclosure of Alpha’s work will result in astronomical penalties.”
“Do you think Han Myung-seok will be scared of that? He can just flee to China and be done with it.”
“Han Myung-seok certainly won’t be frightened. First, this is a message that we’ll continue to exclude such possibilities going forward. At the same time, we’re dangling bait to Han Myung-seok and the Chinese side—that we’re developing a new SNS.”
“Sung-guk, so… what comes next?”
“That’s when the real game begins. I’ll create a fake SNS before I completely eliminate Han Myung-seok.”
“But Han Myung-seok worked at Google. Won’t he realize it’s fake?”
“He absolutely won’t.”
[Because it will be something China is secretly developing.]
I stated it with certainty, and Jeon Tae-guk and Adam exchanged puzzled glances.
“Just trust me!”
* * *
Ten missed calls.
All of them from Emma Watton.
And there were even more messages.
– Sung-guk, please give me just one more chance.
– When I went to Starbucks, I remembered those days we studied and worked on assignments together, Sung-guk.
– Sung-guk, was our love meant to end this quickly?
– I’m eating bossam today thinking about you again.
Emma Watton was far less cool-headed than I’d expected.
[She can’t forget me like this… Well, it’s not easy to meet a man like me.]
I shrugged my shoulders and closed my phone.
Thanks to Han Myung-seok, I honestly hadn’t even had time to think about Emma lately.
The new employee training had been extended by two more weeks, and today was the final day of that training.
Fortunately, there were hardly any objections from other new employees or experienced staff regarding the extended training. After all, they clocked in and out on time, and their salaries were paid normally.
Only Han Myung-seok occasionally threw out comments like this.
“Sung-guk, I’d really like to start working. I worked at Google for three years, you know. Before that, I built my career at various companies in Silicon Valley. This training is honestly a bit too easy for someone with my practical experience.”
“I understand. But our company is still in its early stages, so many things aren’t organized yet. We’re working on those internal issues, which is why it’s taking time. Please think of this as a refresher period for you, Han Myung-seok.”
“Ah, yes….”
Han Myung-seok always backed down after my response.
Adam emerged from the classroom, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
“Adam, you worked hard.”
“I’m not sure if I’m teaching well.”
“Adam is doing great. By the way, your plants are all doing fine, right?”
“Mark said he’s been watering them at the scheduled times. He’s even created a whole category called ‘Adam’s Plants’ on FaceNote and posts photos of them every day.”
“That’s a relief. Oh, did you see the announcement about the dinner gathering to celebrate the end of today’s new employee training?”
“Of course, Sung-guk. It’s a grilled pork belly place nearby, right?”
Adam, who had recently developed a taste for grilled pork belly, sparkled with excitement.
“I prepared it for you. Enjoy yourself to your heart’s content today.”
“Sounds good!”
* * *
At a Korean barbecue dinner, the most critical question was always: who would grill the meat?
Of course, I had never grilled meat in my life.
In my previous life, I’d never attended a greasy barbecue gathering like this, and it was no different in this one.
Simply put, I had no idea how to grill meat.
There was one other person sitting in the exact same posture as me. It was Jeon Tae-guk.
“I’ve never actually seen pork belly being grilled. Usually, I only see it after it’s already cooked.”
At Jeon Tae-guk’s words, Han Myung-seok quickly grabbed the tongs.
He exuded the aura of someone who’d reached max level in corporate life. Though his motives were different.
“Since I have the most work experience here, I must have grilled meat the longest, right?”
“But Han Myung-seok, you worked in the United States.”
“And didn’t we do barbecues there? I grilled countless times during university.”
I grabbed the tongs myself, unwilling to lose to Han Myung-seok, and began grilling.
I was grilling meat for the first time in my life.
But soon, complaints began pouring in from my table, in stark contrast to Han Myung-seok’s table where everyone was enjoying perfectly cooked meat.
“Sung-guk, the meat is charred on the outside but raw inside.”
Eventually, another employee quickly took the tongs from my hands.
Han Myung-seok, looking sympathetic, handed me a few pieces of meat.
“Sung-guk, please eat these while you wait.”
[Let me give this a try….]
The meat Han Myung-seok grilled was, in a word, perfect.
The perfect level of doneness with meat that retained all its juices.
“Han Myung-seok, you really know how to grill meat.”
“Actually, my dream is to open a pork belly restaurant.”
“A pork belly restaurant?”
My brow furrowed slightly.
[Han Myung-seok, what kind of smokescreen are you laying down now?]
Han Myung-seok continued speaking as he grilled meat.
“My family was very poor when I was young. My father was injured in the military and has limited use of his hands. He did his best to improve our lives, but no company would hire him. So my mother has done every job imaginable just to put food on the table.”
“That must have been incredibly difficult….”
Jeon Tae-guk was already entranced by Han Myung-seok’s sob story.
Looking around, the other employees were the same.
[Unbelievable… they’re actually falling for such a pathetic story?]
I was the only person at the gathering who hadn’t fallen for Han Myung-seok’s sob story.
Having listened to Father’s sob stories for twenty years, Han Myung-seok’s attempts seemed laughable to 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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