I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 344

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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 344
Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong.
The doorbell rang relentlessly from the moment morning arrived.
Who could it be?
Adam, who happened to be home, opened the door, and I heard angry footsteps following in quick succession.
Without even seeing who it was, I could tell instantly.
A harsh sound of the door bursting open without so much as a knock, and then Min-guk’s voice rang out.
“Jeon Sung-guk!!!”
[So now he won’t even call me hyung. He’s like a scary high schooler.]
I slowly opened my eyes.
Standing before me was a scary high schooler that no one could stop right now.
“Jeon Min-guk, I’m your older brother.”
“If you’re my older brother, you should have told me that minors can’t buy lottery tickets! That’s what an older brother is supposed to do!”
“If you’re a true younger brother, you shouldn’t even think about taking advantage of your older brother when he’s in crisis. Right?”
“If you’re a true older brother, you should let yourself be taken advantage of sometimes. Right?”
Min-guk didn’t back down either.
Now that my younger brother was growing up, he was becoming harder to handle.
[Well, then there’s no choice….]
“How much is that limited edition sneaker you wanted to buy yesterday?”
“That’s… why?”
Min-guk’s angry voice wavered slightly.
He’d immediately grasped my intention.
“Anyway, how much is it?”
“900,000 won.”
“What sneaker costs 900,000 won?”
“It’s a limited edition, so there’s a premium attached.”
“Do you really want to buy it?”
“Yeah!”
Min-guk nodded his head vigorously.
“Then help me with one thing I’m working on. I’ll buy it for you instead.”
“Really?”
“When have you ever seen me lie?”
“The lottery. You lied about that.”
“I gave you the lottery numbers. And it wasn’t a lie—I just informed you later that minors aren’t allowed to buy lottery tickets.”
“That’s true.”
At the mention of buying the limited edition sneakers, Min-guk’s anger had already completely melted away.
[What a simple kid….]
“Hyung, but you’re really going to buy it for me, right?”
Min-guk asked again to confirm.
Instead of answering, I pulled a credit card from my wallet and held it out to Min-guk.
“Here, this is your advance payment. Go buy it right after we’re done.”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!!!”
Min-guk practically bounced with joy, clutching the credit card to his chest as he looked at me.
“Hyung, what do I need to do?”
“Let’s head to your practice room first.”
* * *
Min-guk’s practice room was a basement near Bang Mu-hyuk’s Entertainment Company.
The moment I descended the stairs, the smell of mold wafted up.
“Min-guk, this is really the practice room?”
It seemed the practice room had changed since last time.
“Yeah, hyung. All the practice rooms are in basements because of the noise.”
“It seemed better than this before….”
“You know how our company is doing, hyung.”
Bang Mu-hyuk’s Entertainment Company was recording its worst losses yet.
After the female trainee who had taken nude photos of Jeon Tae-guk was expelled, they hadn’t been able to launch a new group.
They were receiving some sponsorship from Samsung after that incident, but nurturing trainees required far more funding than expected.
The male idol group that Min-guk was training with had constantly changing members and only recently managed to stabilize its roster.
When Min-guk opened the practice room door, a space with mirrors covering the entire front wall appeared.
“Today’s Sunday so everyone’s off. But what should I do, hyung?”
“You just need to dance to music for about 15 seconds… but you need to make it look impactful during those 15 seconds, so can you choreograph something?”
“Can I pick the music too?”
“Yeah.”
Min-guk unhesitatingly chose Michael Jackson’s music. Then he extracted the most impactful choreography from that section and practiced while watching himself in the mirror. He hummed the song between takes.
I stood with my arms crossed, watching him.
[All those training sessions have really paid off….]
Min-guk’s previously sloppy dance moves had become refined, and his vocals were quite impressive.
It wasn’t the trendy, bold high notes popular these days, but rather vocals that clung perfectly to the ear.
Just then, the door opened and Bang Mu-hyuk poked his head in.
“Oh… Sung-guk, what brings you here?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be off on Sundays?”
“I live in a one-room apartment nearby. I came out to grab some food and noticed the practice room door was open, so I came down. Did you come to see Min-guk?”
“I’m going to film a short video with Min-guk. I’ll use it for a personal presentation.”
“Then let’s film that and go grab some food together.”
“Sure, sir.”
After practicing the music and choreography a few times, Min-guk turned to me and suddenly raised his hand.
“Hyung, I’m ready!”
* * *
Exactly 15 seconds.
Min-guk executed the choreography beautifully to Michael Jackson’s music.
“You’re the best!”
As the choreography ended, Bang Mu-hyuk lifted Min-guk up in praise.
“Sung-guk, what do you think? Min-guk is amazing, isn’t he?”
“Well… he’s pretty good.”
“Pretty good isn’t the half of it. Looking at Min-guk, he seems like a child born to become an idol. He picks up choreography faster than others, and his vocals are really improving.”
“Sir, when are you thinking of debuting Min-guk and his friends?”
“That’s…”
Bang Mu-hyuk couldn’t quite find the words.
“Sir, let’s talk about the rest while we eat.”
“All right…”
“Hyung, can I go use the card?”
“Sure, good work.”
Min-guk clutched the credit card I’d given him and disappeared quickly.
* * *
Bang Mu-hyuk and I sat across from each other at a small neighborhood restaurant.
It was a humble little place that served doenjang jjigae, kimchi jjigae, and spicy stir-fried pork.
Bang Mu-hyuk kept drinking water, looking embarrassed.
“I wanted to take you somewhere nice. I’m treating you…”
[Bang Mu-hyuk, I know your situation.]
“I actually like this kind of food. Maybe because I lived in the United States for so long, simple meals like this appeal to me. And spicy stir-fried pork—everyone loves that.”
“Right, eat plenty.”
Bang Mu-hyuk generously pushed side dishes toward me.
“Sung-guk, about Min-guk earlier. What did you think? Tell me honestly.”
As someone who had once been an idol trainee myself,
“He’s really grown a lot.”
“You think so too?”
“Yes.”
“Min-guk works the hardest among all my trainees.”
“Hard work alone isn’t enough though.”
“You’re cold-blooded, I’ll give you that. But he’s talented too. So here’s the thing…”
Bang Mu-hyuk chewed his lips for a moment, then looked directly at me.
[Something feels ominous about this…]
“Sung-guk… I have a few things I want to ask you.”
[Is my bad premonition actually right?]
“Sir, could it be…”
Before I could finish, Bang Mu-hyuk fired off his question.
“Sung-guk, you predicted the earthquake in Japan correctly, didn’t you? Right now I’m torn between debuting our kids as a six-member group or a seven-member group. What do you think? And when should our kids debut to make it big? Huh? I’m really desperate, Sung-guk.”
[Sigh… this is really revealing heavenly secrets… but it’s about my brother, so I suppose I can break the rule.]
I set down my spoon and looked at Bang Mu-hyuk.
“I think seven members would be better…”
“Really?”
“Seven is a lucky number, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… that’s right. Seven is good. With six, if we fight, it splits evenly in half, so it’s hard to decide.”
Bang Mu-hyuk nodded as if my words were divine revelation.
“Then, Sung-guk… when would be a good time for the debut?”
[Since it’s 2011 this year….]
“How about next year?”
“Next year….”
Bang Mu-hyuk’s expression suddenly darkened.
“I want to get them debuted quickly too. But… getting songs, preparing the kids….”
“Don’t worry about that. I have a stake in this company anyway. I’m an investor too. I’ll invest.”
“Sung-guk, I know you have the Midas touch, but even so, the entertainment industry is unpredictable.”
“It’s my brother’s career. If there’s a loss, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
I answered as calmly as possible.
Bang Mu-hyuk perked up at my response and even pushed the soybean paste stew toward me.
“Our investor, please eat plenty.”
“I’ll send you a contract.”
“Yes, let’s create Min-guk’s group together!”
Bang Mu-hyuk began eating with a noticeably more relaxed expression.
That was when it happened.
A message alert rang. Ding.
It seemed Min-guk had used the card.
As expected, a 900,000 won charge appeared.
[So he finally bought it.]
And immediately after, another message alert rang.
This time it was a 50,000 won t-shirt.
[I knew Min-guk would be like this.]
I calmly ate the braised beef as well.
[It’s about time the call comes in….]
At that moment, my phone rang loudly. It was undoubtedly Jeon Min-guk.
I slowly answered the call.
– Hyung, why won’t the card work anymore?
“I set your limit to 1 million won because I knew you’d be like this.”
– If I receive the lottery winnings, I could get at least 2 million won, so you should have set the limit to 2 million!
Min-guk threw a tantrum, and I simply hung up the phone.
Bang Mu-hyuk, sitting across from me, watched our brothers and smiled softly.
“I’ll talk some sense into Min-guk. Tell him his hyung decided to invest to get you debuted.”
“Min-guk’s vessel is a bit small to understand my grand vision.”
“Anyway, you brothers are alike.”
[What are you talking about, Bang Mu-hyuk? Even if your mouth is crooked, your words should be straight. I’m better looking.]
* * *
– Jeon Sung-guk Donates 10 Million Won for Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery. Simultaneously Donates Another 10 Million Won for Fishermen Affected by the Disaster.
– Jeon Nostradamus Flooded with Broadcasting Offers. However, All Appearances Rejected Due to Military Service!
– “Please Stop Calling to Ask Me to Read Your Fortune.” A Plea from Alpha, Jeon Sung-guk’s Company.
My single remark about witnessing the Great East Japan Earthquake in a dream had set all of South Korea ablaze with speculation.
From morning onward, the office was in absolute chaos from the constant ringing of phones.
Every employee was so busy answering calls that no one could get any actual work done.
[This won’t do at all.]
I quickly unplugged all the phone lines from the office.
The ringing stopped immediately.
“For the next week, don’t answer any calls. After that, we’ll replace all our phone numbers.”
The employees let out sighs of relief.
“And from now on, we’re going to officially launch Alpha’s project, so everyone prepare yourselves thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
I pulled up the presentation I’d been preparing all this time.
The project I’d been dying to launch in Korea. It was TikTok!
All the employees’ eyes fixed on me.
I cleared my throat briefly and began the presentation.
“As you all know, the world today is practically drowning in all sorts of social media. FaceNote, Twitter, Instagrim. And nowadays, phones aren’t just for making calls anymore. With a single photo or video shot on a phone, anyone can become a creator.”
I played a short video I’d produced for the presentation.
It was a video I’d filmed together with Min-guk.
“From now on, we’ll experience the full spectrum of human emotion through these 15-second short videos.”
The employees stared mesmerized at Min-guk’s dance video. The female employees in particular couldn’t tear their eyes away.
[Hmm, is there potential for idol success here?]
As the 15 seconds ended, one female employee shot her hand up.
“CEO Sung-guk!”
“Yes, Kim Ye-rim.”
“Who is that man in the video?”
The employees burst into laughter at her question, though they were curious too.
“He’s my younger brother. I think he’ll debut as an idol around next year.”
“I’m quite the idol connoisseur, and he really looks like he’ll be a huge hit.”
“He better be. I’m investing in him.”
At that moment, murmurs rippled through the room.
“That group’s going to be another massive hit.”
“I should buy stock in that company.”
But then, Jeon Tae-guk raised his hand sharply.
“Sung-guk!”
“Yes, William.”
“But here’s the thing. The TikTok you just presented—uploading these 15-second short videos.”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t this something that already exists?”
“Pardon?”
My brow furrowed.
TikTok, which wouldn’t become trendy until the latter half of 2010, already existed in South Korea?

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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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