I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 365

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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 365
Father fell silent for a moment.
Looking for my grandfather after turning forty!
I was completely caught up in the excitement of it all.
Jeon Tae-guk relayed the situation to Adam and Sam in English from beside me.
Adam and Sam’s faces lit up with anticipation as well.
But unlike all of us in our excitement, Father took a deep breath and continued speaking calmly into the phone.
“You’re saying he’s truly my father?”
Father listened to what came through the phone, nodding his head several times.
“Yes, I’ll meet with him. After the holiday break. Sunday evening would be best. Yes… I’ll see him Sunday evening at the Samjeon Hotel.”
But there was something odd about Father’s voice. It carried more weight than surprise or joy—like someone who already knew how the story would end.
Father hung up and returned to his seat.
“Dad, is he really our grandfather?”
Min-guk asked quickly.
Father offered a bitter smile and shook his head.
“No….”
No?
Father dropped the bitter smile and looked at Mother.
“Honey, would it be alright if I had a glass of soju?”
“Of course. I’ll prepare some sea snails too.”
Mother, who would normally scold me for drinking this early in the day, was actually preparing sea snails….
I stood up and followed Mother. I tried my best to act as though nothing was wrong.
“Mom, where are the soju glasses? Sam, Adam, and Tae-guk are practically drooling at the mention of soju right now.”
“Do Sam and Adam drink soju well?”
“Yeah. Their hobby is drinking soju with grilled pork belly in the evenings.”
“They’ve become true Koreans. It’s been so long since I’ve had a drink with my son. Grab a glass for me too. Open the cabinet at the far end of the sink and you’ll find the soju glasses.”
“Okay, Mom.”
I opened the cabinet at the far end of the sink that Mother pointed out, retrieved the soju glasses, and returned to my seat.
Father soon offered glasses to Adam and Sam.
“You’re visitors from the United States—is soju alright with you?”
When I relayed Father’s words, Adam and Sam nodded enthusiastically.
“We can’t drink if we don’t have it, sir!”
Father smiled warmly at that and poured cold soju into their glasses.
“Dad, you just said he wasn’t your father. What do you mean by that?”
I asked Father casually.
“Sung-guk, have a drink too.”
“I drove here….”
“My son, today is Chuseok. Stay home and rest a bit.”
“Alright.”
I quickly accepted Father’s glass.
Today, the atmosphere was one where I couldn’t refuse anything.
I downed soju alongside Father.
“Father… what was that phone call earlier? It really could be your biological father, couldn’t it?”
Father shook his head.
“No… the truth is… this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”
Father’s voice carried a hint of sadness.
And this wasn’t the first time? That meant it had happened before, multiple times….
Jeon Tae-guk quietly explained the situation in English to Sam and Adam beside him, chattering away.
“Sam, Adam… it seems Sung-guk’s father is quite distressed right now.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, I can hear everything!]
It was fortunate that Father didn’t speak English well in moments like these.
“Father, if this isn’t the first time, did it happen before?”
….
Instead of answering, Father let out a small sigh and looked at Min-guk, Ji-hee, and Huin-dung-i. Then he pulled out several ten-thousand-won bills from his wallet and handed them to Min-guk.
“Min-guk, take Ji-hee and Huin-dung-i for a walk. Buy something delicious on the way back….”
“Father….”
Min-guk’s words trailed off as he stood up, cradling Huin-dung-i in his arms.
Today, somehow, none of us could bring ourselves to go against Father’s wishes.
* * *
Father drank three glasses of soju in silence before slowly opening his mouth.
“The truth is… after you became somewhat famous, I received a call like that.”
“When was that?”
“About ten years ago…. When you were studying in the United States, articles appeared in Korean newspapers about the child actor from ‘Five Men and a Baby Basket’ becoming a Hyojin Group scholarship student studying abroad. Articles came out about how Uncle Won’s Bossam was becoming popular as a convenient meal at convenience stores. When our family’s stories started appearing little by little….”
Father slowly drank another glass of soju.
“In a way, I’m grateful this happened when I had gained some notoriety.”
As Father said, ten years ago I was less famous than now, and we had no money.
“Honestly, when I heard that my biological father was alive and had found me after seeing an article about me, I was truly overjoyed. I had parents! And if someone reached out after seeing an article like that, didn’t that mean they’d been looking for me all along? Then I wasn’t abandoned—I just happened to grow up in an orphanage… I had all sorts of thoughts like that.”
“Honey, eat some side dishes too.”
“Okay.”
At Mother’s words, Father managed to put a single pancake in his mouth.
“Sung-guk, your father was truly happy back then. I was so overjoyed too. Our children finally had a grandfather—I was so grateful for that. But….”
Mother paused and looked at Father.
I could sense what came next without hearing it.
“Just as your mother said, our children would have a grandfather and a grandmother. Excited by that thought, I even invited him directly to our restaurant. But… no matter how much I looked at him, I couldn’t find a single resemblance to me. I wondered if I took after my mother… so I asked him about her, but he said she had died long ago and changed the subject. That’s when I realized—this man isn’t my father.”
Mother patted Father’s back.
“Father, so that person was a con artist?”
“In the end, yes. He didn’t know what year I was born, didn’t know which orphanage I was placed in… but my desire to believe was so strong that part of me hoped until the very end that he was my father. But when we finally did a paternity test, it came back 99.9% non-match.”
When Jeon Tae-guk relayed this situation to Adam and Sam, their eyes widened.
“Father, so what did you do with that person? In the end, it was about money, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I didn’t think reporting it to the police would accomplish anything, so I just gave him some spending money, told him I knew the truth, and sent him away. After that, there was no contact.”
Father took another sip of soju.
“Back then, your father really went through a lot of heartache. But since our son turned out so well, I had a feeling this kind of thing would happen more often in the future. So your mother hired someone to investigate our entire family background.”
“Mother, did you find Father’s parents?”
“Yes. We found them all. We looked for my parents too.”
Mother finished speaking and took a swig of soju.
“Phew— the soju tastes bitter today. Sung-guk, the truth is both my parents and your father’s parents had already passed away.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The reason we were placed in the orphanage was because our parents had all passed away. That’s true for me, and it’s true for your father too. When I see how much you two are alike even in this, don’t you think your mother and father were destined for each other?”
[Mother, this doesn’t seem like the right mood for jokes….]
Mother forced a laugh.
“Both your mother and father suffered heartache over that, but we did find our roots eventually. Thanks to that, whenever articles came out about Sung-guk becoming famous afterward, we handled those situations smoothly. Still, your father seems troubled every time he gets those calls. I’m fine with it now….”
I understood Father’s feelings.
Even though we know our parents have passed away, sometimes people need something like hope.
“Father, if this call that came in is definitely fake, you don’t need to meet them.”
“I’m curious about what those people look like. If I handle it carelessly, they might leave strange posts online and cause trouble for you. Now that Min-guk is debuting as an idol, we’ll have two celebrities in this house.”
Is this what parental love looks like?
From my perspective, it seemed Father deliberately met with them and handled it properly, thinking about our future, rather than just cutting ties cleanly.
Jeon Tae-guk, who had been listening to this conversation beside me, downed his soju in one go.
“Father! I’ll go to that meeting too!”
“Hyung, are you drunk? Why would you go to that meeting?”
“Sung-guk, this kind of thing needs to be handled cleanly from the root. I grew up as a chaebol and know this well—if you don’t deal with people like that cleanly and legally and scare them, they really will keep coming back. Let’s just mobilize Samjeon’s lawyers.”
I had also been thinking about this aspect.
“Father, I’ll hire a lawyer myself this time. Whenever this kind of problem comes up in the future, consult with the lawyer and handle it. And.”
I looked at Jeon Tae-guk.
“Hyung, this is our family matter. I appreciate your kindness, but I’ll handle this myself.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes grew red.
“Sung-guk, if we spend the holidays together, aren’t we family? Huh? Do you have to share blood to be family? We eat together, so we’re called family, right?”
[Jeon Tae-guk, where did you pick up lines like that.]
Jeon Tae-guk cried out with tears in his eyes.
“I’m family in this house too!”
* * *
While comforting the wailing Jeon Tae-guk, Father, Adam, and Sam drank more soju afterward.
In the end, Father collapsed in the master bedroom, while Jeon Tae-guk, Adam, and Sam passed out in Min-guk’s room.
I shook my head and opened the living room window slightly. The crisp autumn breeze drifted in.
“Sung-guk, drink some warm honey water.”
“I don’t drink much, so I’m fine. Mother, you drink it.”
“I have some for myself too.”
I took a sip of the honey water Mother offered me.
It was a holiday, but today felt heavier than other holidays.
Mother glanced at my face and gently patted my back.
[It’s been so long since I felt Mother’s touch like this….]
The memory of Mother’s gentle hands soothing me when I was a sulking child came flooding back, and my heart softened considerably.
“Sung-guk, honestly, I’m relieved that we don’t have biological parents.”
“Mother, what are you saying?”
“You’ve turned out so well. What if your real parents had been strange people? Someone who abandoned a child at an orphanage might have done so out of hardship, but they could also be irresponsible people. If we had grandparents like that and they went around selling your name, it would be a burden on your future… Truthfully, it puts my mind at ease.”
“But Mother and Father are such wonderful parents… Mother and Father’s parents must have been good people too.”
“Yes, they probably were….”
Mother couldn’t bring herself to say the rest.
I squeezed Mother’s hand tightly.
“Mother, what if we created a charitable foundation in your and Father’s names?”
“A charitable foundation?”
“A foundation that supports children who’ve become orphans like you and Father, and adults who are becoming independent after leaving the orphanage.”
“Sung-guk, that’s such a wonderful idea. Your mother and father really struggled when we became adults and had to leave the orphanage.”
Mother welcomed my suggestion warmly.
[I could get some tax benefits too… and later when Min-guk becomes an idol, I could exercise some positive influence one way or another…]
One way or another, I was planning to donate or establish a charitable foundation.
“Mother, I’d like you to take charge of that work. No one understands those people’s hearts the way you do.”
“But Sung-guk, there’s a condition.”
[Mother, a condition for doing good work?]
Mother looked at me with playful eyes.
“While I’m running that foundation, I know our son is always busy, but you must spend the holidays at home. Understood?”
“Mother, that’s….”
[Mother, I’m a global talent. It’s hard to promise I’ll come back for the holidays when I’m working abroad.]
As I hesitated, Mother suddenly looked at me with a pitiful expression.
“Did you forget that Mother and Father are orphans? If you don’t come home for the holidays, how lonely would Mother and Father be? Hmm?”
[Sigh… I can smell Father’s story-selling charm coming from Mother.]
At that moment, Mother’s hand, which had been stroking my back, suddenly came down sharply.
“Raising a son is useless, I tell you!”
“Alright, alright. Mother, I’ll make sure to be in Korea for the holidays as much as possible. Is that enough?”
“You’re making me beg for scraps. Sung-guk, Mother is already imagining you getting married and bringing your children. Then during the holidays, three generations will truly gather, and this house will be full of laughter and joy. Right?”
Mother was delighted imagining something that hadn’t even happened yet.
[Mother, that’s impossible. Teacher Lee of Samcheong-dong said I can’t marry until Min-guk and Ji-hee are settled.]
But I didn’t say this aloud.
People always need hope, after all….

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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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