I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 375

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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 375
Michael Sandel regarded me with a serious expression, his gaze penetrating as though he could see through everything—the look of a sage who understood all.
“Sung-guk, while I’m here in Korea, I’d like to study you. What do you say?”
“Study me?”
“Aren’t you the founder and operator of FaceNote, the world’s most renowned SNS platform? In the realm of the internet, when people speak of communication, aren’t you essentially the king of that kingdom of connection? Yet you struggle with communication offline… I find that fascinating.”
Michael Sandel’s proposal to study me gave me pause.
Everyone in the world knew who I was.
My FaceNote was among the most visited platforms in the world. But everything posted on my FaceNote came from my own hand.
Of course, there were articles I hadn’t written myself, but I selected and curated them, so my subjective judgment was always present.
Perhaps the version of me that the world knew was only what I wanted to show them—merely a fragment of who I truly was.
Michael Sandel fell silent for a moment before continuing.
“Sung-guk, does it trouble you? The idea of someone studying you?”
“Of course it does.”
I answered honestly.
There was no reason to lie to Michael Sandel.
“Sung-guk, you’re barely in your twenties. Isn’t it an error in itself to think you’re already perfect?”
I nodded.
To find answers about communication, accepting Michael Sandel’s proposal seemed the most advantageous path.
“Michael, we have a company dinner this evening. What if we start there?”
“Very well.”
Michael Sandel nodded with a satisfied expression.
* * *
As we walked toward Wonppul Galbi, Jeon Tae-guk questioned me about the situation.
“Michael’s going to observe you?”
“He’ll come straight to the dinner venue after his schedule ends.”
Jeon Tae-guk tilted his head quizzically.
“Sung-guk, this really doesn’t seem like you. You hate being evaluated by anyone.”
“I just wanted to understand why. If I really do struggle with communication… I want to know the reason. And if I’m going to be a better CEO, communication matters too.”
Kim Mi-so, my secretary standing beside me, interjected.
“So ultimately, you want to improve communication to run the company better?”
[Of course.]
But I couldn’t reveal my true thoughts so openly.
I smiled as naturally as I could manage.
“I simply want to understand how lacking I am. No one’s perfect, after all.”
At that moment, both Jeon Tae-guk and Kim Mi-so’s expressions hardened, and they shook their heads vigorously.
“No way….”
“Sung-guk, I don’t know about communication, but one thing’s for certain—humility absolutely doesn’t suit you!”
[Let them think what they want….]
I shrugged my shoulders.
* * *
The employees who had arrived early at Wonppul Galbi were grilling meat with somewhat stiff expressions on their faces.
At that moment, Kim Sung-hyun, the Marketing Team leader, asked Adam a question.
“Adam, is there some kind of major announcement from CEO Sung-guk today?”
“I haven’t heard anything like that. Why do you ask, Team Lead Kim?”
“The CEO doesn’t usually do things without purpose. Even William going to Samsung and then having a company dinner together—I can’t remember that happening before.”
The employees seemed somewhat anxious about the suddenly arranged dinner gathering.
Adam broke into his characteristic hearty laugh.
“It’s probably nothing special. Let’s just eat plenty of meat. Everyone’s been swamped with work lately anyway.”
Despite Adam’s words, the employees’ expressions remained tense.
At that moment, one employee shouted.
“CEO Sung-guk is here!”
And immediately, everyone stopped chatting in perfect unison and began grilling meat.
The restaurant filled with billowing smoke and the sizzle—sizzle—of meat cooking.
* * *
I looked at my seat in the center of the table, existing like an island unto itself.
It was a spot the employees had prepared for Jeon Tae-guk and me.
[Sitting here, I won’t be able to communicate with anyone—I’ll just have to listen to Jeon Tae-guk ramble….]
I stroked my chin and picked up a soju glass.
“Brother, I’ll go sit next to Adam and drink with the employees.”
“Oh… I’ll come with you, Sung-guk.”
“Brother, you sit next to Sam. A company dinner is where colleagues drink together the drinks we’ve missed and have conversations.”
“Oh… I understand.”
Jeon Tae-guk picked up his soju glass and moved next to Sam, while I naturally made my way to Adam’s side.
As I approached, Adam whispered quietly.
“Sung-guk, the employees are curious about why we suddenly had this dinner gathering.”
“It’s been a while since we last had one. That’s why we’re doing this. There’s nothing special.”
I spoke deliberately a bit louder so the employees could hear. I could see their faces relax considerably at my words.
[Hmm… they still seem intimidated by me….]
Adam filled my empty glass with soju.
“Sung-guk, here you go.”
“Thank you, Adam.”
At that moment, Michael Sandel walked into the restaurant with a flushed, excited face.
“Michael, over here!”
Michael Sandel sat down next to me, Adam, and Team Lead Kim Sung-hyun.
“Sung-guk, am I very late?”
“No. I just arrived too. By the way, let me introduce Michael to the employees.”
I stood up and introduced Michael Sandel to the employees.
“This is a professor of political science from Harvard who teaches about justice. He’s also my mentor. He came to Korea for a lecture, and he wanted to experience Korean company culture, so I invited him. Well then… everyone has worked hard, so please enjoy the dinner gathering!”
“Yes!”
Michael Sandel was observing South Korea’s company dinner culture with great interest.
“Sung-guk, do Korean people really drink together with their coworkers this often?”
“Not particularly often. But when we do gather like this, we can comfortably share things we couldn’t say otherwise.”
“Hmm… fascinating. The fact that you need alcohol as an excuse to speak freely suggests your organizational culture is quite closed off, doesn’t it?”
“I suppose that could be true….”
I glanced at Kim Sung-hyun, the team leader sitting across from us.
“Team Leader, if there’s anything you haven’t been able to say until now, please feel free to speak up tonight.”
“Well… the thing is, our company is actually the most open-minded workplace I’ve ever experienced. Yes, we have titles, but the structure encourages everyone to communicate freely regardless of rank.”
[Hmm… but then why does everyone seem so uncomfortable?]
I crossed my arms.
Kim Sung-hyun immediately scrambled to continue speaking.
“CEO, is something bothering you?”
“Team Leader Kim, this is a company dinner. There’s nothing here to like or dislike.”
With each word I spoke, Kim Sung-hyun’s face grew paler.
“CEO… was my comment displeasing to you?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
I shook my head firmly.
At that moment, Michael, who had been observing the scene, raised his glass.
“Would it be alright if I spoke in English?”
“Of course….”
Kim Sung-hyun nodded awkwardly.
Michael Sandel raised his glass and called out.
“Well then, let’s just drink!”
* * *
The gathering gradually warmed up.
The employees who had been tense at my arrival drank to Michael Sandel’s toast and seemed to relax bit by bit.
Michael Sandel moved about conversing with employees who spoke English, chatting like a true Korean would.
I too made the rounds with a glass of soju, but the employees only gave vague, evasive answers to my questions.
[I’m not a parrot, for heaven’s sake….]
I returned to my original seat and drained my glass of soju in one go.
Michael Sandel came over and refilled my empty glass.
“Sung-guk, Korean company dinners are quite fun. Everyone here is so genuinely kind….”
“Michael, how is it that you seem like you’ve worked at this company longer than I have?”
Michael Sandel smiled faintly and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, you still don’t understand why you can’t communicate properly?”
I nodded with a serious expression, my arms still crossed.
[I asked plenty of questions today, I really did!]
“Sung-guk, your questioning style is remarkably similar to how I lecture at Harvard.”
[Similar to how I lecture?]
As I furrowed my brow, Michael Sandel took a sip of soju.
“Sung-guk, when I lecture, what’s it like?”
“You keep asking questions. It’s to draw out the students’ thoughts.”
“Exactly. That’s what teaching is, isn’t it? A class has a set time and propositions to cover. So to share many ideas in a short period, I ask students directly….”
I nodded in agreement.
Michael Sandel was famous for asking aggressive questions in his lectures that struck at the heart of students’ convictions.
“But that’s a conversational style that only works in lectures. If I asked and answered the way I do in lectures during everyday conversation, who would want to talk to someone so demanding?”
“Michael, are you saying my conversation right now resembles the way you speak during lectures?”
“Precisely. You’re asking questions that demand answers even in casual conversation. Most people do that sometimes, but they spend far more time on trivial talk—what they did today, what they’ll do tomorrow, that sort of thing.”
[I don’t want to waste my life listening to such pointless drivel, Michael.]
I quietly sipped my soju.
Michael glanced at me sideways and continued.
“From the look in your eyes, it seems you don’t quite understand what I’m saying?”
“I don’t understand much of it. Small talk like that feels like a waste of life.”
“Sung-guk, think about it differently. You want to understand why you have communication problems, and you want to communicate naturally with your employees, don’t you?”
“That’s true.”
“But from what I’ve observed today, it seems you don’t actually have very active conversations with your employees normally. Am I right?”
“That’s also true, Michael.”
“Then the answer seems clear….”
I looked at Michael with a puzzled expression.
“Sung-guk, people never tell the truth to someone they’re not close with. And you’re especially the company’s CEO—who would dare speak truthfully to their CEO?”
“Hmm… I’ve never been anything but a CEO….”
“Good heavens!”
Michael Sandel slapped his forehead with his palm and laughed.
“Sung-guk, communication ultimately comes down to putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.”
Just then, Jeon Tae-guk stumbled over toward us.
He’d clearly had quite a bit to drink at someone else’s company dinner.
“Sung-guk! Why aren’t you talking with the employees at the dinner? What are you doing?”
“Ah… I had some things to discuss with Michael.”
“Hey, everyone finds you difficult because you’re always so serious like that!”
Jeon Tae-guk spoke loudly in his drunken state.
[Jeon Tae-guk, you’re really advertising this, aren’t you?!]
“Sung-guk, why don’t we try our night study time? Huh? We did it at our department dinner last time, and people loved it!”
“Sigh….”
[Night study time… that’s not really my style….]
The employees, somewhat tipsy, watched me with curious faces.
They all seemed eager to try it.
[Well, I suppose I have no choice.]
“Shall we start the night study time now?”
At the mention of night study time, the employees at first only exchanged glances with one another.
[Come on, say something. I’m very generous!]
Then Kim Sung-hyun, the team leader who’d been observing the atmosphere, opened his mouth.
“Sung-guk, you should create these kinds of gatherings more often. Don’t just work all the time, alright?”
“You’re right. But let’s make sure we work hard first, then we can enjoy ourselves together, Sung-hyun.”
The employees applauded enthusiastically at my response.
Then, one by one, people began to speak their minds freely.
“Jeon Sung-guk, I’m most jealous of your face!”
“I think about that every time I look in the mirror too.”
Laughter erupted from all around the table.
“Sung-guk, let’s go on a company workshop too!”
I glanced quickly at Jeon Tae-guk at that request.
This might be the only chance in this lifetime for me to speak to Jeon Tae-guk so casually.
“Tae-guk, Samsung will cover the workshop expenses, right?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Jeon Tae-guk answered somewhat bewilderedly, and riding this momentum, people began pouring out all the things they’d been holding back.
After a while, once the barrage of comments directed at me subsided, Michael grinned and grabbed my shoulder.
“Sung-guk, Tae-guk’s got it better than me.”
I approached Jeon Tae-guk, who had passed out drunk at the table. Then I whispered quietly into his ear.
“You did well, you fool.”

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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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