I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 38

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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 38
Min-guk, having even let out a satisfied burp, flashed me a grin with his refreshed face.
I stared at the little rascal with piercing intensity.
“Big brother.”
“Min-guk. From now on, you need to listen carefully to what big brother says.”
“Okay!”
He answered well enough.
“You’re three years old now, so you need to understand our family’s situation. Do you understand?”
He tilted his head.
Min-guk tilted his head in confusion.
I grabbed his head firmly and held it in place.
“Brother, pay attention.”
“Okay!”
He answered well again.
“Min-guk. Our mom and dad are orphans in this world. That means both you and I need to keep our wits about us to survive in South Korea.”
“Okay!”
[Does that little guy even understand what I’m saying?]
Anyway, I finished my speech.
“Big brother started earning his keep just after turning one, so at three years old, you’re already at an age where you can earn your keep and then some. Got it?”
“Yes! Big brother. Earn. Earn. Min-guk. Will.”
“That’s right. From now on, you’re going to earn your keep too.”
“Yes!”
Min-guk clenched both his fists tightly.
That night, I began devising a meticulous plan for Min-guk’s debut into a world he knew nothing about.
Since Min-guk’s face was a bit lacking, he’d have to compete on childlike expressions. That meant I needed to start giving him acting lessons starting tomorrow.
I, who had conquered South Korea’s child actor industry, was going to be his teacher—Min-guk was truly fortunate.
“Sung-guk, why aren’t you sleeping?”
Father, freshly showered, peered into the room.
[Dad, you can’t just do this without knocking. I have privacy too.]
I quickly ran over and gave him a respectful bow.
“Good night.”
“Sung-guk, it’s past nine. Time for bed. Should Dad tuck you in?”
[I’ll have to pass on that one. I’d rather sleep hugging a pillow.]
I quickly grabbed my pillow and jumped into bed.
Father smiled warmly at the sight and turned off the light.
“Sleep well, Sung-guk.”
I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, but my mind was still working through the plan for Min-guk’s debut.
* * *
The moment I threw down my kindergarten bag, I rushed toward Min-guk.
My Aunt, who was watching Min-guk, had just gone to the kitchen to prepare my snack.
I pulled Min-guk over and sat him down in front of the TV, then switched it on. It was the commercial break before TV Kindergarten started.
Considering the viewers, a series of commercials featuring child actors aired one after another.
“Min-gu, look at that.”
“Hehe.”
Min-guk simply stared at the commercials with his mouth hanging open.
“Min-gu, open your mouth wider and smile.”
“Hehehehe.”
Min-guk followed my instructions better than I expected.
“Sung-guk, what are you doing with Min-guk?”
My Aunt’s arrival cut my acting lesson short before it could even properly begin.
“Sung-guk, let’s have some milk and banana.”
[I suppose there’s no helping it.]
I ate the milk and banana my Aunt offered while deliberately showing Min-guk only commercials featuring child actors.
[For now, watching more is a form of study.]
Min-guk stared at the TV with a vacant expression.
“Mom’s home.”
The door opened and Mother came in with Kim Mi-young.
Kim Mi-young now lived in a different building of the same apartment complex as us.
I heard she had sold the building in Suyu, purchased a 24-pyeong apartment in Jamsil, and bought a couple of small commercial properties nearby with the remaining funds.
[Kim Mi-young’s real estate instincts are truly exceptional.]
Honestly, living as a chaebol heir, real estate transactions had little to do with me.
Since birth, I’d owned several homes on Seoul’s most expensive land, and if I wished, I could buy property anywhere—not just Seoul, but in New York or Paris as well.
Occasionally land was purchased for factory sites or headquarters relocations, but such matters were handled by specialized experts within the company.
No matter how cheap the land was, the moment a Samjeon Group subsidiary moved in, cities would develop and land values would skyrocket. Rather than following the real estate market, we essentially created the real estate market itself.
[I should have a deeper conversation with Kim Mi-young soon.]
I hurried over to Kim Mi-young and greeted her.
“Hello.”
“Sung-guk, you’ve grown even taller since I last saw you. You’re Sung-guk’s mother, right?”
“Yes, unni. Look at Sung-guk’s thermal underwear. I bought it three months ago and his ankles are already showing.”
“Really? Sung-guk’s going to be quite tall.”
[Of course.]
Father was roughly 180 centimeters tall, and Mother was over 165 centimeters. With such genes, my height would likely surpass Father’s.
Since I was 178 centimeters in my previous life, I might finally exceed 180 centimeters in this one.
[Oh, I almost forgot.]
I took Kim Mi-young’s hand and pulled her toward the TV.
Min-guk was sitting in front of the TV.
“Sung-guk, what’s wrong?”
“Min-gu.”
I pointed at Min-guk with my finger.
“What about Min-guk?”
“Min-guk watches that commercial all day long.”
It happened to be a commercial featuring child actors.
Of course, I already knew this commercial would air at this time.
Kim Mi-young observed Min-guk with sharp eyes. Thanks to my coaching, Min-guk mimicked the expressions of the commercial model.
A seasoned talent agency director like Kim Mi-young wouldn’t miss this.
“Min-guk, did you just copy that expression?”
“Yes!”
“Min-guk, do you want to do that too?”
Min-guk glanced at me cautiously.
I blinked my eyes rapidly—a signal to answer yes.
“Yes!”
“Sister, what is Min-guk saying?”
“Sung-guk’s mother, Min-guk mimics the TV commercials he watches, and he’s quite good at it.”
“He’s copying what Sung-guk does…”
“Sung-guk’s mother, I was already planning to have lunch with Director Kwak next week anyway. It’s about Lim Sun-mi’s commercial. Should I look into some commercials that might be a good fit for Min-guk to audition for?”
“For Min-guk…”
Mother seemed hesitant.
I quickly ran over to Mother and clung to her leg.
[Mother, Min-guk needs to earn his keep now too. How long are you going to let him play around at home like this? Given how poor we are.]
“Sung-guk, wait a moment.”
Mother picked me up and went over to Min-guk.
“Min-guk, look at Mother.”
“Mo-ther!”
Min-guk grinned widely and looked at Mother.
“Min-guk, do you want to be on TV too? Like your older brother?”
I quickly sent Min-guk a look of encouragement.
Min-guk nodded enthusiastically with a bright face.
I secretly gave a thumbs up.
[Jeon Min-guk, well done.]
* * *
As soon as kindergarten ended, I held Mother’s hand and headed to the audition venue with Min-guk.
Director Kwak had contacted us saying he needed a child actor for a new detergent commercial he was filming.
The audition venue was Director Kwak’s advertising company.
Located near Hakdong Station, Director Kwak’s advertising company was housed in a converted single-family home, and a tortoise wandered around the yard.
As I entered holding Min-guk’s hand, an assistant director who recognized me greeted me warmly.
“Sung-guk, do you remember me? I’m Jin-hee.”
[Of course I remember. Jin-hee, you were always complaining in the background about Director Kwak’s strange personality. But you’re still working here.]
“Wow, so you’re Sung-guk’s younger brother. Your brother is really handsome too.”
[I’ll forgive that comment just for today. Today is Min-guk’s audition after all.]
The assistant director led us to the waiting room.
“We’re holding auditions for children ages three to five. Mother, what do you think about Sung-guk auditioning? You have no idea how much people miss him since he left the advertising world.”
“Sung-guk is too busy with his studies these days.”
“What a shame.”
The waiting area set up inside the Advertising Company already had over a dozen children.
Just as the Assistant Director had said, they all appeared to be between three and five years old.
The moment I stepped into the waiting room, I could see tension wash over everyone’s faces.
Even though it had been a while since I’d left this industry, they all remembered me.
At that moment, one child’s mother spotted me and began muttering complaints.
“Is Sung-guk auditioning too?”
“No. Sung-guk just came along today because of his younger brother.”
The Assistant Director quickly offered an explanation, but the atmosphere in the waiting room remained cold.
“You’re not giving special treatment just because he’s someone’s older brother, are you?”
The woman’s grumbling voice sounded familiar.
[Where have I heard that voice before?]
I looked at the woman and the boy sitting beside her.
The boy, who appeared to be my age, had round eyes and an otherwise unremarkable face. And the woman who seemed to be his mother was—
[That’s it! Deokpung Paper Company!]
The boy’s name was Lee Jae-hee.
He was the one who showed me my first taste of disappointment at my very first audition.
He’d been cast as an advertising model simply because he was the grandson of Deokpung Paper Company, but the spoiled boy, ignorant of how the world worked, had caused countless NGs during filming and ended up getting cut from the shoot.
Despite having no talent whatsoever, he was still lurking around the advertising industry.
The woman who’d just been complaining about favoritism was the daughter-in-law of Deokpung Paper Company—the one who’d used her son’s desire for memories as an excuse to have the entire company back her and make him an advertising model.
But something about the woman’s appearance seemed a bit shabby now.
The Chanel bag she’d been carrying back then had frayed edges, and the tweed jacket and skirt she seemed to be wearing now—the same ones from back then—looked worn.
They were luxury items, but they definitely had an outdated feel.
I looked up at Mother.
Four years ago, Mother had taken me on a bus to Samjeon Entertainment in Itaewon for an audition when I’d just turned one. Back then, she’d felt a bit embarrassed about her only going-out outfit—a black one-piece dress.
But now, Mother was wearing a neat jacket paired with jeans, and while not a luxury brand, it was put together well. She was also carrying a handbag from a domestic brand that Father had given her as a birthday gift last year. And whether then or now, Mother was still beautiful.
I walked over to Lee Jae-hee with confident strides.
“Hello.”
When I smiled brightly first, Lee Jae-hee, not understanding what was happening, grinned bashfully and returned the greeting.
“Hello.”
Lee Jae-hee’s mother looked at me with displeasure.
“Sung-guk, do you remember me?”
[Of course I remember. The daughter-in-law of a small company.]
But this was a time that ordinary children could never remember.
I pretended not to know and greeted her politely.
“Hello. I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“My son was your stand-in for that commercial, and you became a huge success because of it. So really, everything you achieved in advertising was thanks to us.”
[I have plenty to say, but I won’t say it. Daughter-in-law of a small company.]
I clamped my mouth shut.
“Sung-guk, sign this for me.”
Lee Jae-hee seemed a bit sensitive before, but he didn’t have as bad a temperament as his mother.
I wrote the name Jeon Sung-guk clearly on the paper Lee Jae-hee handed me.
“Thanks, Sung-guk.”
“Jae-hee.”
“Hmm?”
“Always smile in front of the camera.”
This was an acting tip I was giving to Lee Jae-hee.
After all, I was here because this guy had listened to me back then and punched Lim Sun-mi’s surgically enhanced nose for me.
Lee Jae-hee nodded slightly with an ambiguous expression.
“Jae-hee, let’s fix your hair again.”
The Deokpung Paper Company daughter-in-law irritably separated Jae-hee and me.
I returned to Min-guk’s side.
Several bold mothers were already approaching me asking for autographs.
Just then, a voice calling Lee Jae-hee came from inside.
“Jae-hee, let’s go.”
Lee Jae-hee glanced at me as he entered the audition room, unable to resist his mother’s urging.
I winked at him.
“But I keep running into that woman.”
The woman who had received my autograph muttered.
“Do you know her?”
Mother asked carefully. In fact, Mother had recognized the Deokpung Paper Company daughter-in-law at first glance but was pretending not to know.
“She’s the former Deokpung Paper Company daughter-in-law. But the Deokpung Paper Company chairman fell for a younger woman and transferred all his assets to her, so none of his sons got anything. They all went broke overnight and became wrecks, and now she’s running around trying to make one of her sons into a celebrity and succeed. From what I can see, the son has no talent at all.”
“I see.”
Mother’s expression became slightly gloomy. Then she took my hand.
“Sung-guk, you competed with the child you greeted at your first commercial audition. You won’t remember since you’d just turned one.”
[Mom, what are you talking about? I remember everything.]
Kim Mi-young also clicked her tongue softly.
“Ah, so that’s the Deokpung Paper family.”
“You know about them too?”
“That family’s reputation was notorious. The daughter-in-law paid money to push one commercial through Samjeon Entertainment back then, but it lost to Sung-guk. There was a lot of talk about it at the company.”
Click.
The audition room door opened and Lee Jae-hee came out with his mother. He had quite a bright expression.
The Assistant Director waved with a smile.
“It’s Min-guk’s turn.”
“I’ll go with him. Please watch Sung-guk.”
I grasped Min-guk’s hand firmly and met his eyes.
[Jeon Min-guk. You’re three years old now. You understand what your hyung is saying, right?]
Min-guk nodded firmly and answered with vigor.
“Bah-ap-gap!”

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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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