I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 331

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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 331
Han Myung-seok pushed another perfectly grilled piece of meat toward me.
“Sung-guk, please try this one too. It’s really well-cooked.”
“Han Myung-seok, you don’t need to be so formal with me, and you should eat the well-cooked meat yourself.”
As I spoke coldly, I felt everyone’s eyes boring into me.
Han Myung-seok was already the most senior person in the company, and after marveling at how diligently he was grilling the meat and hearing his sob story, it was understandable.
Jeon Tae-guk jabbed me in the ribs from beside me.
“Just eat some. At least consider the effort of the person grilling….”
[Jeon Tae-guk, when did you become so sentimental?]
For a moment, I regretted making Jeon Tae-guk so human.
“From now on, let’s hold company dinners not at meat restaurants where a few people sacrifice themselves grilling, but at places like Samjeon Hotel where everyone can order whatever they want to eat.”
Everyone’s faces lit up at the mention of Samjeon Hotel.
Han Myung-seok lowered his head slightly with a faint smile, then began grilling the meat again.
“Myung-seok, how is your father doing?”
Lee Sun-hwa, sitting beside me, asked.
It was a question I was curious about too.
At Lee Sun-hwa’s question, Han Myung-seok shook his head.
The scent of another sob story wafted strongly through the air.
“My father passed away quite early. He couldn’t hold down a proper job, and I think it was emotionally difficult for him seeing my mother earn money through hard labor. He died of cancer at a young age.”
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
Lee Sun-hwa, who had asked the question, looked visibly shocked.
“How is your mother doing?”
As I asked in succession, Han Myung-seok’s expression grew even more somber.
“My mother passed away suddenly while I was working in the United States. She was so happy when I got into Seoul National University and joined Google in the US… She collapsed from acute cerebral hemorrhage on her way to work early in the morning… I’m her only child. I have no relatives to rely on. Because it was discovered late….”
Han Myung-seok appropriately set down the meat tongs, then quickly picked them up again and forced a smile.
“I’ve ruined the mood because of me.”
[You did this on purpose.]
“It’s all in the past now. Let’s not dwell on it and have a drink together.”
Han Myung-seok now stepped forward and raised his glass.
Then everyone raised their glasses.
I only picked mine up after Jeon Tae-guk jabbed me in the ribs again.
“Sung-guk, would it be alright if I said a few words for the toast?”
“Of course.”
[Han Myung-seok, enjoy this moment. This glory won’t last long anyway.]
Han Myung-seok raised his glass high.
“Thank you to CEO Jeon Sung-guk for hiring us, and I promise to do my very best at work. Cheers!”
“Cheers!!!”
* * *
After handing the employees a card to go to a second round, Jeon Tae-guk, Adam, and I started a modest second round at home.
Of course, the new employee training evaluations from the past six weeks lay before me.
“Sung-guk, about Han Myung-seok… I don’t think he’s an industrial spy.”
“Why not? He had a difficult upbringing, and both his parents have passed away.”
“Doesn’t that story tug at your heartstrings at all?”
Jeon Tae-guk had begun defending Han Myung-seok without realizing it.
“Brother, let me break down Han Myung-seok’s story for you. His father passed away early. Even his mother passed away early. In Korea, family is the reason one puts down roots in society and works diligently.”
Like me.
“But Han Myung-seok has no family to put down roots with. On top of that, he’s never married and has no children. People like that are the easiest to betray.”
“Sung-guk, that’s jumping to conclusions.”
“And if he was earning a comfortable salary while working at Google, yet his mother in Korea had to wake up at dawn to go to work, that means Han Myung-seok never helped his mother financially while in America.”
Adam scratched his head.
“Now that I hear Sung-guk’s reasoning, I see his point. Even I send my parents spending money regularly. They both work, but I still do it.”
“If even Adam, an American, does that, then Han Myung-seok didn’t support the parents who struggled to raise him alone.”
“I suppose so….”
Jeon Tae-guk tilted his head thoughtfully.
“You’ve had a father who’s a tycoon, a grandfather who’s a tycoon, and a mother who’s a tycoon, so you don’t understand what it means to give parents money. In ordinary families, it’s natural instinct for children to help their parents once they start earning.”
“But what if Han Myung-seok did give her money, and she just chose to keep working anyway?”
“Brother, let’s investigate that point more carefully. Let’s verify exactly where Han Myung-seok’s story is true and where it’s false.”
[One sob story is more than enough with Father!]
I scanned through the new employee evaluation forms.
Then I looked at Adam.
“Adam, has Han Myung-seok been approaching Lee Sun-hwa by any chance?”
“Approaching?”
“Like pretending to be friendly, or always sitting close to her.”
At the company dinner earlier, Han Myung-seok had been sitting right next to Lee Sun-hwa.
Lee Sun-hwa would be handling marketing duties, and Adam had praised her for being exceptionally sharp.
I couldn’t know everything about Han Myung-seok, but if that were the case, he would definitely be trying to get close to Lee Sun-hwa. To obtain some kind of information.
“From what I see in class, Lee Sun-hwa always arrives first to prepare. When I come in early to set up lectures, she’s already there… but it does seem like Han Myung-seok always manages to sit near her somehow.”
“Adam, keep a close eye on those two.”
“So Sung-guk, are you going to start planning and development on that item you mentioned now?”
At Jeon Tae-guk’s question, I crossed my arms.
“While you’re investigating, I’m going to make Han Myung-seok even more anxious.”
“How?”
“For this next month, I want to spend time analyzing all the trending SNS platforms, understanding user trends, and identifying current problems.”
“Isn’t that just letting him slack off while paying such a high salary?”
“Tragedy must be nipped in the bud before it begins.”
I downed the bitter whiskey in front of me in one gulp.
* * *
Early in the morning, the Alpha office was buzzing with activity.
Out of the twenty new employees selected during the past six weeks of training, two had dropped out midway.
The reasons were either better offers from other companies or a decision to continue their studies instead of working.
The remaining eighteen employees each received a salary contract corresponding to their respective careers and positions, along with an attached agreement.
“By the way, please review the agreement carefully and submit it before we proceed with the contract. Anyone who doesn’t complete the agreement will be understood as having no intention to proceed, and we won’t move forward with contract negotiations.”
At Jeon Tae-guk’s announcement, everyone read through both the contract and the separately attached agreement.
The agreement contained the following:
– Any work developed at Alpha that is exposed externally will result in legal liability.
– In case of contract violation, the legal responsibility encompasses the entire estimated profit amount from the developed work.
This meant that violating the contract would require astronomical compensation.
At the same time, anyone caught in such a lawsuit would obviously face difficulties finding employment anywhere.
I could see Lee Sun-hwa looking flustered as she asked Adam about this clause.
“Adam, do clauses like this normally exist in Silicon Valley?”
“They do exist, but you could say this one is considerably stronger.”
At his words, employees murmured among themselves here and there.
Since the agreement’s contents were standard terms, it didn’t matter much if employees discussed them openly with each other.
The most composed among them was Han Myung-seok.
Having worked at Google’s headquarters, Han Myung-seok wouldn’t find such clauses unfamiliar. But no matter how much legal responsibility was imposed, in China one could easily circumvent such things.
Han Myung-seok scanned through the agreement and signed first.
“For reference, I worked at Google headquarters, so naturally the company had confidentiality clauses regarding ongoing development work. That’s standard. So if you have no objections to the salary and other incentive terms, just sign it.”
Then he handed me the agreement he’d signed without hesitation.
“Sung-guk, I look forward to working with you going forward.”
“The pleasure is mine. Then, let’s proceed with contract negotiations starting with Han Myung-seok, our most senior and experienced employee.”
I managed a smile.
Thanks to Han Myung-seok, the employees signed and submitted the agreements one after another.
* * *
Han Myung-seok and I sat facing each other in a conference room enclosed by frosted glass. Just the two of us.
This was the first time we’d been alone together in such a closed space.
“I heard you had a company dinner that went quite late yesterday. You must be tired today?”
“Not at all. Company dinners are part of the job.”
“You’re surprisingly tolerant of company dinner culture for someone who worked in America.”
“When in Korea, one must follow Korean customs.”
Han Myung-seok wasn’t the type to lose an argument easily.
“You’ve reviewed the contract terms, salary, and incentives, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Since we’re still in our early stages as a company, there will be many aspects where we can’t compare to places like Google.”
“I came back to Korea with all that in mind.”
Han Myung-seok signed the contract without hesitation.
“Han Myung-seok, I’m curious about something.”
“Feel free to ask, Sung-guk.”
“You’ve had quite a bit of family hardship. If I were in your position, I think I would have found America more comfortable than Korea, where my parents have passed away and I have no relatives. Google is a great company too. With your experience there, you could move anywhere in Silicon Valley. Why did you come back?”
Han Myung-seok smiled ambiguously.
“Well… I realized I’m Korean. To be honest, I left for America right after graduation, almost fleeing because of my difficult family circumstances. I wanted to live in America where no one knew about my family or what my parents did. But after my mother passed away and I came back to Korea, I realized I’m still Korean. Someone who loves grilled pork belly. Now I want to put down roots in Korea and start living again. Does that answer your question, Sung-guk?”
“Of course. We’re also delighted to be working with Han Myung-seok.”
We shook hands.
* * *
“He resettled in Korea just because of grilled pork belly?”
“Yeah, that’s what he said. After his mother passed away and he came back to Korea, he realized he was a Korean who loved grilled pork belly, so he chose Korea over the United States.”
After leaving the office, Adam, Jeon Tae-guk, and I gathered at my home for dinner and continued discussing company matters.
It was as if we’d simply changed locations while remaining at work.
“Well, I like grilled pork belly too… Of course, grilled pork belly cooked by someone else. Any Korean would feel the same way.”
Ever since Han Myung-seok’s emotional appeal, Jeon Tae-guk had become his staunch supporter.
This was precisely why emotional appeals were dangerous.
Adam set down his beer and looked at me with a serious expression.
“Sung-guk, I think Han Myung-seok is actually dangerous.”
“Even you, Adam?”
“William, think about it. He compared his reason for returning to his homeland—where his parents died tragically—to nothing more than grilled pork belly. He could easily buy that at any Korean restaurant in the United States. I read a book once.”
Both Jeon Tae-guk and I focused on Adam’s words.
“The book said that psychopaths are like that. They don’t care about other people’s deaths, but they react intensely to a splinter under their own fingernail. Isn’t Han Myung-seok exactly like that? His parents’ deaths don’t bother him, but grilled pork belly—something he wants to eat—matters to him!”
“If Adam’s right, then Han Myung-seok is a psychopath.”
Jeon Tae-guk responded dismissively, but then his phone suddenly rang.
“Geez, you scared me.”
Jeon Tae-guk answered in surprise.
It was Secretary Park Sung-hee.
He picked up and immediately raised his voice at her.
“Secretary Park, you startled me. What’s going on?”
– The additional investigation on Han Myung-seok came back. I wanted to give you a quick briefing over the phone.
“Go ahead.”
– About the family relationships he mentioned at the company dinner last time.
“Yeah.”
– It’s all false.

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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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