I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 359

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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 359
Jeon Mi-jin wiped away the cold sweat trickling down her forehead.
But she wasn’t the type to back down so easily.
Not particularly bright, but stubborn as they come. That was Jeon Mi-jin.
She quickly plastered on a smile and moved closer to my mother.
“Oh, ma’am. I’m sorry. But since Sung-guk and I went to kindergarten together, would it be alright if we chatted a bit?”
“Of course. Feel free to talk. Just keep it appropriate.”
My mother kept her arm linked with mine, never straying from Jeon Mi-jin’s side.
Of course, Ji-hee stood beside me with her arm firmly linked through mine as well.
Even Jeon Tae-guk had his arm linked, glaring at Jeon Mi-jin.
“Jeon Mi-jin, if you’ve said hello to Sung-guk, go take care of your friends you pointlessly invited for this coming-of-age ceremony.”
Just then, a group of women who had studied abroad with Jeon Mi-jin approached from a distance.
They were adorned with money, dressed according to the “Gossip Girls” dress code.
“Mi-jin!”
And they were faces far too familiar to me.
Daemyung Group’s second daughter, Seo Jung-min.
Hansung Automobile’s youngest daughter, Han Sun-hwa.
Seoul Hospital’s youngest daughter, Lee Hye-ryeon.
Being close to Jeon Mi-jin essentially meant being daughters presented by their families.
Not particularly bright, but plenty of money. That sort of thing.
Lee Hye-ryeon from Seoul Hospital was barely accepted into their circle by serving as their maid, desperate to be included among the wealthy elite.
True to her hospital family background, she even supplied them with various psychoactive drugs.
And in my previous life, she had tried in every way to seduce me, but neither her appearance nor her personality matched my taste.
Seo Jung-min from Daemyung Group approached me with a sly smile and gave me a flirtatious look.
“Mi-jin, could that person be… the one you said went to kindergarten with you?”
“Jung-min, we’re all the same age. What do you mean ‘that person’? It’s Sung-guk.”
As her friends approached, Jeon Mi-jin’s spirits, which had been dampened, revived.
“Wow, amazing. He’s really handsome. Introduce us.”
Lee Hye-ryeon chimed in excitedly from the side.
“Well, sure. Lee Hye-ryeon, if it weren’t for me, you’d never have met a man like Sung-guk.”
Jeon Mi-jin subtly boasted to Lee Hye-ryeon, then turned to my mother with a bright smile.
“Ma’am, my friends asked me to introduce Sung-guk. I’ll introduce them while keeping appropriate boundaries.”
“Go ahead, then.”
Jeon Mi-jin introduced Seo Jung-min, Han Sun-hwa, and Lee Hye-ryeon to me, maintaining a proper distance.
“Sung-guk, let’s have some champagne with us.”
Seo Jung-min said with a smile, but I shook my head firmly.
“I came here for work. I won’t be drinking.”
“Work? What kind of work?”
“My younger brother is performing on stage soon.”
Jeon Mi-jin shrugged and told her friends about Min-guk.
“Sung-guk’s younger brother is going to debut as an idol group member soon.”
“Oh, right. You’re talking about that group you showed me last time?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow! I’m so excited! There were a few members with my style in that group.”
“Hye-ryeon, how many members match your taste?”
“Well, about that….”
[Still acting so childish, dividing up their crushes like that….]
I seized the moment when the conversation shifted to Min-guk and quietly slipped away.
Jeon Tae-guk followed me with a champagne glass in hand.
“Sung-guk, are you upset because the women’s attention has shifted to Min-guk now?”
[Sigh, Tae-guk. Do you really not know me at all?]
Those siblings from that family are truly hopeless.
I grabbed a water bottle and took a long drink.
“Hyung, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Doesn’t Mi-jin’s family have a predetermined match arranged for her?”
In my previous life, Jeon Mi-jin had entered into a political marriage with the Jungkuk Daily family.
It was fortunate she had that arranged marriage—otherwise she would have remained single for life.
I had gone to such lengths to make that marriage happen….
Even the notorious playboy son of Jungkuk Daily wouldn’t have her, so unpopular was Jeon Mi-jin.
Jeon Tae-guk scratched his head.
“Sung-guk… can I be honest with you?”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Originally, Father and the eldest son of Jungkuk Daily were pushing hard for it.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“But… it seems Father’s thinking has changed recently. This is fresh intel I got from Secretary Yang yesterday.”
[The eldest son of Jungkuk Daily being a playboy actually made them a decent match….]
I looked at Jeon Tae-guk while drinking my water.
“Is there another candidate?”
“Well… Sung-guk….”
What is this ominous feeling….
“It seems… Father is considering you as a potential husband for Mi-jin.”
In that instant, I gripped the water bottle tightly. Water spilled onto the floor.
“Sung-guk, I don’t think it’s right either. No, it’s absolutely impossible. No matter how much our family is the greatest conglomerate in South Korea, you’re not the type to be swayed by something like that.”
[Of course not! I’m going to become one of the richest people in the world soon! How dare Samsung even think of it!]
I clenched my teeth and suppressed my anger.
“I understand your feelings. You’re dating Emma Watson, and you’re the kind of man that women all over South Korea—no, the entire world—want. How could Mi-jin possibly seduce someone like you? Of course Mi-jin adores you. Father adores you too. But Sung-guk, I’m here for you.”
Jeon Tae-guk gripped my shoulder firmly.
“I’ll protect you.”
[Is there any more unreliable comfort than this….]
“Hyung, don’t worry. I’ll protect her.”
I grabbed a fresh water bottle and went looking for Jeon Mi-jin.
Jeon Mi-jin was heading toward the Powder Room with a group of wealthy friends from earlier.
[Jeon Mi-jin, old habits die hard, it seems….]
I was probably one of the few people in this world who knew all of Jeon Mi-jin’s weaknesses.
* * *
“Pharmacy, open your bag.”
Seo Jung-min pointed at Lee Hye-ryeon’s bag.
In their circle, Lee Hye-ryeon was known as the “Pharmacy.”
As the daughter of a hospital family, she supplied various psychotropic medications to the daughters of these wealthy families.
Thanks to this role, despite essentially serving as a maid, she managed to barely fit in and play with the wealthy girls.
Lee Hye-ryeon opened her bag and pulled out an envelope from deep inside.
“Girls, this isn’t illegal in America… but you know it’s something you can’t get in Korea without a psychiatric prescription, right?”
“I know…. It feels amazing when you mix it in champagne.”
Han Sun-hwa was the first to drop a pill into the champagne glass she held. The pill dissolved into the champagne with a fizz.
The others followed, dropping pills into their champagne glasses.
Once the pills dissolved, Jeon Mi-jin raised her glass high.
“Girls, Jeon Sung-guk is mine, so don’t you dare hover around him. Understood?”
“Anyway, you’re such a dictator, Jeon Mi-jin.”
“Of course. Samjeon is ranked number one in the business world this year. That means I’m number one in our group too.”
“Hansung has been number one before.”
“After the Prince’s Rebellion and the subsidiary separation, I haven’t seen Hansung take the top spot once since then.”
Han Sun-hwa was frustrated but held back.
What Jeon Mi-jin said was true, regardless.
“But… did your father really designate Jeon Sung-guk as a potential son-in-law? He was originally the Jungkuk Daily heir.”
“I laid on the charm with my father. Honestly, was the Jungkuk Daily heir as handsome as Sung-guk? As smart? I just kept saying that it’s Samjeon’s job to identify and nurture talented people.”
“From what I can see, Jeon Sung-guk seems to have done well even without Samjeon….”
Han Sun-hwa, slightly pouting, picked a fight.
“Han Sun-hwa, you take the Jungkuk Daily heir. You used to like him before anyway.”
“That’s enough.”
Seo Jung-min quickly smoothed things over.
“I’ve already claimed Min-guk, Sung-guk’s brother, since none of you are interested. Let’s have a drink before we watch the performance! That’ll get us in the mood.”
Jeon Mi-jin raised her glass the highest.
“To our friendship!”
“Cheers!”
Jeon Mi-jin and her friends all downed the champagne with the dissolved pills in one gulp.
Click.
At that moment, the Powder Room door opened.
* * *
Opening the powder room door without permission might not be proper etiquette.
But to capture the decisive moment, I had to pretend to make a mistake and open the Powder Room door.
The moment I opened it, Mi-jin and her friends’ eyes snapped toward me, their faces startled.
The champagne glasses were empty, and on the table sat an envelope containing remaining pills.
“Oh… sorry… I thought this was a storage closet.”
“No… come in, Sung-guk.”
Mi-jin, already feeling the drugs taking effect, pulled me inside.
[Mi-jin, this isn’t right….]
I brushed away Mi-jin’s hand and looked into her eyes.
They were already slightly glazed over.
“Mi-jin, did you take something? And….”
I scanned each of her friends with a sharp gaze.
“Did you all?”
“It’s not like that, Sung-guk….”
That’s when I saw Lee Hye-ryeon quickly trying to hide the pills on the table.
I grabbed her wrist immediately.
“What kind of drug is this?”
“Sung-guk, it’s just painkillers.”
“Why are you sharing painkillers?”
“Just for fun….”
[Idiots.]
I snatched the envelope from Lee Hye-ryeon’s hand and turned to Mi-jin.
“Mi-jin, should I call the police right now?”
Under the influence of the drugs, Mi-jin spoke with unusual boldness.
“Jeon Sung-guk, you’re calling the police? Do you know where you are?”
“Where? South Korea. Seoul. Samjeon Hotel.”
“Exactly. This is South Korea. Seoul. Samjeon Hotel. And my father owns this place. Samjeon is the number one company in South Korea.”
“What does that have to do with taking drugs?”
“What does it have to do with it? Jeon Sung-guk, no matter how much you report this to the police, Samjeon will handle everything and make sure not a single article comes out. That’s what I’m saying!”
Mi-jin swayed as she spoke, unable to maintain her balance.
“And here… Hansung Automobile. And Daemyung… this girl’s family runs a hospital. In short, South Korea can’t function without us.”
“Mi-jin, let’s be clear. What moves South Korea is the people who work hard there. Not people like you who inherited money from your parents, went to study abroad in the United States, couldn’t study properly, and only learned bad things.”
“Sung-guk, I know you’re smart and talented… but in South Korea, Samjeon is everything.”
“That’s exactly why I didn’t start a business in South Korea.”
Then I heard Tae-guk’s voice.
“Sung-guk, what are you doing here?”
Tae-guk confirmed his swaying sister and her friends, then let out a heavy sigh.
I handed the envelope of pills that Lee Hye-ryeon had brought to Tae-guk.
Tae-guk seemed to recognize the drug immediately.
“Hey, if you mess with this stuff, you’ll get a terrible headache and it’s no joke… and you’re doing this? You guys have so much money….”
Before meeting me and becoming a better person, Tae-guk had also gone through a period in the United States where he dabbled with drugs.
“Sung-guk, just pretend you didn’t see what my sister did. I did plenty of stupid things when I was younger too, but I became a better person after meeting you.”
“I’ll let it slide for your sake, hyung.”
I quietly exited the powder room.
* * *
Min-guk and the trainees.
In a year’s time, the stage for seven members who would debut as Sevens was beginning.
Though it was a cover song performance, both the dancing and singing were powerful.
There were still rough edges visible, but each member possessed undeniable star quality.
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk handed me a glass of champagne.
“Sung-guk, it’s okay for you to have a drink now, right?”
“Thank you for handling the situation earlier, hyung.”
“Don’t mention it… Honestly, I’m not thrilled about you becoming my brother-in-law either. If someone as smart and capable as you joins the family, I might end up getting pushed aside.”
I glanced sideways at Jeon Tae-guk.
[So the fool finally learned how to protect his own interests?]
Jeon Tae-guk calmly sipped his champagne.
It was I who had asked Jeon Tae-guk to handle the situation earlier.
I never intended to escalate things by calling the police; I simply wanted to give Jeon Tae-guk leverage against Jeon Mi-jin.
In a chaebol family, siblings were nothing more than rivals fighting over percentage points of shares.
“Hyung, I’m sending you a video as a token of my gratitude. Keep it safe. It’ll be very useful later.”
“Thanks, Sung-guk….”
I sent Jeon Tae-guk a video I had secretly recorded on my phone of what had just transpired in the powder room.
“Wow, Jeon Mi-jin has great diction. Anyone would recognize it as her voice….”
And I also sent this video to Jeon Mi-jin. Along with a message.
– Jeon Mi-jin, I’ll keep this video to myself, so I hope you’ll tell Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung to remove me from the list of suitable sons-in-law. Your kindergarten classmate, Jeon Sung-guk.

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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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