I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 373

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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 373
Dennis drained his beer with a deflated expression.
“An idiot… He called me an idiot…”
Had Dennis, a Harvard graduate, ever been called an idiot in his life?
Shaken by the insult, he lost himself in his beer, drinking glass after glass.
“Dennis, you haven’t touched mathematics since high school graduation. So this is the natural result.”
[Of course, you didn’t study the night before either, just like me!]
“Still… how can someone call another person an idiot? And in front of everyone… with such an indifferent expression.”
Dennis shook his head in shock.
“Dennis, calm down… What if you cast Kim Ju-young as the conductor in your screenplay? She’s overflowing with charisma, but beneath it all, she shows no respect for anyone’s character and speaks harshly. Plus, she has only one goal—by any means necessary, to send as many students as possible to Seoul National University.”
“Sigh… Sung-guk, you’re truly remarkable.”
Dennis took another sip of beer.
“How can you think about the screenplay even in this situation?”
[Dennis, how can you not think about the screenplay in such a perfect situation!]
Dennis had always been indecisive, even back at Harvard.
I drained my beer and stared at Dennis coldly.
“Dennis, you came to Korea for a reason. Have you already forgotten?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Dennis, you came to Korea to finish your screenplay. And I’m the one investing in it. So now you’re going to sit here leisurely drowning yourself in beer over one insult?”
At my prodding, Dennis stuck out his tongue.
“Sung-guk, I just remembered something.”
“What?”
“Kim Ju-young is one thing, but there’s you around me. I’ve never met a character in my entire life who pushes people the way you do. Sung-guk, let’s just drink tonight. I’ll start writing tomorrow.”
I refilled Dennis’s empty glass with beer.
“Dennis, rest today. For tomorrow.”
Dennis reluctantly nodded.
* * *
– Samsung Lions fans cheering at the humble appearance of Jeon Tae-guk, head of Samsung’s Strategic Planning Team.
– Jeon Tae-guk, who studied long in the United States, explaining the Korean Series situation to his foreign friends.
– Is Jeon Tae-guk, who watched today’s Korean Series in person, truly the goddess of victory? Samsung Lions’ three-game winning streak!
I scanned the internet articles as I headed toward the company cafeteria.
Jeon Tae-guk, who had been burdened with a negative image from various controversies, suddenly gained the image of a capable successor fluent in English from a single photograph explaining the Korean Series to Sam and Adam.
[The public is indeed susceptible to image.]
With Samsung Lions’ winning streak improving the atmosphere, Jeon Tae-guk’s image rose even higher.
“Sung-guk!”
I heard Jeon Tae-guk calling me.
I turned around to see Jeon Tae-guk holding a Samsung cheering baton.
“Director Jeon, isn’t bringing a cheering baton to the office a bit much?”
“What are you talking about? Our company’s atmosphere has been so good because of Samsung’s Korean Series run… Sung-guk, I’m planning to go to Game 4 today with Sam and Adam too.”
“Hmm…”
It was time to apply the brakes to Jeon Tae-guk’s momentum.
“Team Leader Jeon, don’t you think it would be better to rest for the fourth game?”
“Why? If we win today, Samsung will get their revenge for last year’s loss to ST….”
“It seems Samsung has been pushing too hard trying to avenge last year’s defeat. The pitching rotation has been overworked, so fatigue has accumulated. I think we’ll be at a disadvantage today.”
I offered my analysis.
But even without this analysis, it was certain that the Samsung Lions would lose the fourth game.
“Really?”
“Team Leader Jeon, let’s rest today and prepare for the fifth game in Jamsil instead.”
“Sigh… image management is exhausting. I really want to watch baseball.”
“Why don’t you watch it at home with Sam and Adam while having chicken and beer?”
“That sounds good. By the way, Sung-guk, are you going to math academy with Dennis again today?”
“Yes. My competition with Ji-hee isn’t over yet.”
[After studying all night yesterday!]
* * *
Thirty minutes before class started.
The Drill Sergeant came in and handed out the test papers.
By now, the test had naturally become an extension of the lesson itself.
Ji-hee and I started solving problems as soon as we received our papers, while Dennis let out a deep sigh.
[I told you to study instead of drinking beer….]
And Kim Ju-young called a few students who had received the lowest scores idiots.
“Please, you idiots, study before coming here! If you can only solve this much while attending my class, you’re wasting your money. Remember that giving up on studying early is also an option. You idiots!”
The students were thoroughly intimidated.
In fact, anyone who entered this class was clearly a student who performed well at school.
But Kim Ju-young showed no mercy in crushing even those students’ pride.
“This test has two perfect scores again. Jeon Sung-guk and Jeon Ji-hee.”
And my friendly competition with Ji-hee continued.
* * *
After class ended, Kim Ju-young called me over.
“Jeon Sung-guk, would you mind stopping by for a moment?”
What’s this about?
I followed Kim Ju-young into her private office.
The walls were completely covered with mathematics materials and entrance exam resources.
Kim Ju-young placed some documents on her desk and looked at me coldly.
“Is it alright if I call you Jeon Sung-guk?”
“Yes, this is an academy after all. I’m a student attending your class.”
“The reason I called you here isn’t anything else—it’s because of student Jeon Ji-hee.”
“Because of Ji-hee?”
“Yes.”
Kim Ju-young spoke as crisply as she did in class.
“You’re already an established and promising figure in society, are you not.”
It wasn’t an unfounded concern.
“Jeon Ji-hee is the only middle school student attending my classes. As you can see from the other students around her.”
I nodded.
Aside from Ji-hee, all the students were high schoolers, and most of them attended prestigious science and foreign language high schools that were household names.
“Even in high school, among students who are constantly competing for first and second place, Jeon Ji-hee is achieving the top grades.”
“What’s the problem with that?”
“It’s becoming somewhat of a problem.”
What was she getting at?
“My classes have no age or grade restrictions, but this is the first time a middle school student has attended.”
[Our Ji-hee is smart. Is this the first genius of this caliber you’ve seen?]
“When there’s only a one or two-year difference in high school, even if there are outstanding students, they view them as competitors—they don’t get upset or lose motivation.”
My brow furrowed slightly.
[Is she saying that because our Ji-hee is a middle schooler and excelling, the others are upset?]
Kim Ju-young brushed back her neatly tied hair and continued.
“Not only is the middle school student Jeon Ji-hee consistently getting first place, but now her older brother who graduated from Harvard is also getting first place, and the other students are raising questions about it.”
“Questions? Ji-hee’s perfect scores are purely a result of her own abilities.”
“I think so too, but it seems the other students don’t see it that way.”
“Are you suggesting that Ji-hee is cheating?”
“Of course that’s not my opinion. The students are just speculating.”
Kim Ju-young distanced herself from the accusation, but a subtle undertone lingered suggesting she harbored the same suspicion.
I stared at Kim Ju-young with my arms crossed.
[You’re just another Daechi-dong teacher after all….]
“Kim Ju-young, Ji-hee and I are currently engaged in a friendly competition. We’ve made a personal wager, which may have sparked her competitive spirit, but the notion that she would cheat off my exam is absurd—and that’s the proof.”
Kim Ju-young listened to me without flinching.
“To be honest, I’ve been frustrated with your teaching style. It’s more like cram school tutoring that prioritizes finding answers by any means necessary rather than understanding mathematical principles. It’s mathematics for the sake of exams, not genuine mathematical interest. Even in the highest-level classes, that’s all it amounts to.”
At my sharp criticism, Kim Ju-young’s eyes wavered.
“That’s why I don’t have much faith in South Korea’s education system. I even recommended studying abroad in America to Ji-hee, but she said there was no point in studying in America if she couldn’t even rank first in South Korea through her own efforts. So I had her study here in Korea, and it’s become clear that Korean education falls far short of what our Ji-hee needs.”
Kim Ju-young looked at me again with a cold expression.
“Are you insulting South Korea’s private education sector, Jeon Sung-guk?”
“I’m not insulting South Korea’s private education—I’m explaining how absurd this situation is. And I’ll prove it to you going forward, so don’t worry.”
I stormed out of the room.
From behind Kim Ju-young’s closed door came the sound of hysterical screaming.
* * *
I explained today’s consultation with Kim Ju-young to Ji-hee at a cafe in front of the school.
“Jeon Ji-hee, listen to your brother carefully from now on.”
“Okay.”
“I had a consultation with Kim Ju-young. It seems everyone finds it suspicious that you, a middle schooler, keep getting perfect scores.”
“What?”
Ji-hee was equally incredulous.
“I told her we’re in a wager and that this would never happen, but honestly, she doesn’t seem to believe me.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“It is ridiculous. That’s exactly why I’m saying this—tomorrow, you sit as far away from me as possible during the test. I think all these rumors started because we keep sitting in front and behind each other, Jeon Ji-hee.”
“Got it, oppa.”
“Let’s show Kim Ju-young and all these students what we’re really made of tomorrow. Understand?”
“Of course!”
Ji-hee clenched both her fists tightly.
Dennis, who had been listening to our conversation from the side, asked worriedly.
“Sung-guk, but… wasn’t the whole reason you enrolled in this academy to get inspiration for completing my screenplay?”
“Dennis, original purposes can change!”
“Dennis oppa, you should study too!”
At Ji-hee’s sharp remark, Dennis shook his head helplessly.
“I’m genuinely afraid of this family.”
* * *
Ji-hee and I opened the classroom door with solemn expressions.
I took a seat at the very back, while Ji-hee sat at the very front.
The other students exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.
[Today, we’ll prove our abilities to you idiots!]
Soon the Drill Sergeant entered as usual and distributed the test papers. We worked through the problems in complete silence for fifteen minutes.
Perhaps because of what I’d said yesterday, the problems were slightly more difficult than usual.
Between solving problems, I could hear the students sighing all around me.
[Kim Ju-young, you’re being too obvious…]
After fifteen minutes had passed, Kim Ju-young distributed the graded test papers before class as she always did.
Now only Ji-hee and I hadn’t received our papers yet.
When Kim Ju-young saw our test papers, her eyebrows trembled slightly.
“Today’s perfect scores belong to Jeon Sung-guk and Jeon Ji-hee.”
At that moment, I stood up from my seat.
Ji-hee also deliberately made a loud scraping sound as she stood up.
Dennis, completely bewildered, hastily gathered his bag.
“Jeon Sung-guk, Jeon Ji-hee. What are you doing right now?”
Kim Ju-young asked us sharply.
“We’ve just proven that there’s nothing more for us to learn even in Daechi-dong’s highest-level classes, Kim Ju-young. My sister Jeon Ji-hee and I have no intention of continuing to attend classes with students who suspect our abilities of being the result of cheating. Let’s go, Ji-hee.”
“Yes, oppa.”
Unable to contain her anger, Kim Ju-young shouted at us.
“If you walk out of my class now, you’ll never be allowed back in!”
I replied calmly.
“Kim Ju-young, I don’t know if test questions copied from Japanese entrance exams decades ago might be difficult for today’s students, but to me, they simply lack creativity. Perhaps you should put in more effort as well. Before your true level is exposed.”
“What did you just…?”
Kim Ju-young trembled and couldn’t speak further.
[I’m Jeon Sung-guk. In my previous life, I solved practically every math problem through intensive tutoring…]
I never expected my memories from my past life would prove useful in a moment like this.
“Ji-hee, don’t you have anything to say?”
“Hmm….”
Ji-hee scanned the students briefly before speaking.
“If we happen to meet again next time, I hope you’ll all have improved your skills. Study hard, everyone!”
“Ji-hee, let’s go.”
“Sure, oppa!”
I grasped Ji-hee’s hand firmly and glided out of the classroom with unhurried grace.
Behind us, Dennis let out a whistle.
“I’m telling you, you don’t mess with this family….”

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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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