I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 383

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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 383
What in the world was I doing here right now?!
Jeon Min-guk had been shouting at me for the past hour.
“Hyung, what is this wave? Head, chest, belly! Why can’t you do this? Huh? Hyung, do you realize you’re moving like a worm right now? A worm!”
“Huff— huff— huff— huff—.”
I glared up at Min-guk while catching my breath in ragged gasps.
Sweat streamed down my forehead.
“Hyung, you’re already tired after just one hour and want to rest now?”
“….”
[Is this kid getting revenge on me….]
All the countless misdeeds I’d inflicted on Min-guk flashed through my mind.
I’d made him roll around on the floor, telling him to earn his keep when he could barely speak properly, and since childhood, I’d thrown him into a Spartan-style language academy, insisting he study English properly.
[Jeon Min-guk, I did all that for your own good….]
Min-guk stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at me as I gasped for breath.
“Hyung, this is your fan club founding ceremony—how can you dance like a worm crawling? Everything I’m shouting is for your own good.”
[Now he’s even stealing my lines….]
I barely straightened my back.
“I think I’m going to collapse, Jeon Min-guk? Let’s go again!”
“Let’s push through to the end today, hyung!”
* * *
Three days until the fan club founding ceremony.
In the Sevens’ semi-basement practice room.
After practice ended, only Min-guk and I remained in the studio.
Min-guk picked up a CD with a troubled expression.
“After observing your dancing and singing skills all this time, I’ve concluded that songs requiring highly difficult choreography won’t work. With three days left and you barely escaping worm-level status, what do you think about trying this song?”
“What song is it?”
“First, let me tell you why I selected this song.”
Min-guk had grown increasingly arrogant under the pretense of teaching me dance and singing.
“Alright, let me hear it.”
“The reason I chose this song is that I judged a boy idol group song would be too difficult for your current level of dancing and singing ability.”
“Are you saying it’s a girl group song?”
“If we lower the key a bit, it’ll work fine. Don’t worry—it’s not one of those overly cheerful songs. Most importantly, the reason I chose this song is because the lyrics are exactly your story.”
“My story?”
“What song is it?”
“It’s 2NE1’s ‘I’m the Best’!”
Min-guk immediately turned on the music.
I remembered hearing it a few times on the radio.
As I listened while absorbing the lyrics, everything Min-guk said was true—it was all about me.
I nodded.
“I like it. I’ll kill this performance. Especially that part really appeals to me.”
Min-guk shook his head vigorously.
“How did you predict this so perfectly? I knew you’d absolutely love this song.”
“You’re right about everything, sure. I do kill it, and I’ve never tried a duet before. We just need to swap the lyrics for this part—the women sing about me turning around, and the men follow suit.”
Min-guk suddenly thrust his palm forward.
“What’s this?”
“Starting today, the lesson difficulty went up, so the lesson fee went up too.”
[Jeon Min-guk, you’re really planning to squeeze me dry.]
“So how much?”
Min-guk’s eyes narrowed.
“Three hundred thousand won per hour!”
I hesitated for a moment.
Was paying Jeon Min-guk three hundred thousand won just to learn dance and singing while getting insulted really the best option?
I could ask Jung-woo or Jae-hee to teach me for free, but I was worried about revealing my current skill level.
Then I’d have to set conditions.
“Fine, but I have conditions.”
“What?”
“Stop using the word ‘worm’ from now on.”
“Hmm….”
Min-guk thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay!”
“There’s more.”
“How many conditions are there?”
“If you’re going to charge three hundred thousand won per hour, you need to be prepared for this much. Nothing’s free in this world, Min-guk.”
“Just tell me, hyung.”
“During lessons, you must speak in formal language.”
I could see Min-guk’s ears turning red.
Min-guk’s ears always turned red when he was annoyed.
I calmly stood up and looked for my jacket.
“If you don’t like it, forget it. At three hundred thousand won per hour, there are plenty of people willing to teach me.”
Min-guk stared at me without moving an inch.
[Come on, aren’t you going to stop me?]
I put on my jacket and began slowly zipping it up—slower than usual.
But Min-guk was still conflicted.
“I guess I’ll have to ask Jung-woo….”
“That’s not happening!”
“It’s not?”
“It’s… not happening, sir.”
“Then let’s start the lesson. Teacher.”
“Yes… of course, hyung.”
Min-guk reluctantly began speaking in formal language.
* * *
Two days until the fan club founding ceremony.
“What am I supposed to do if you keep singing like this? What do you think, hyung?”
“Teacher, teach me properly. Teacher, I’m a Harvard graduate genius, so if I can’t grasp this simple sheet music correctly, isn’t that a lack of your ability?”
“Hyung, I’ve already explained the sheet music five times.”
Min-guk clenched his teeth and retorted.
Using formal speech certainly made his anger seem less intense.
[Should I ask him to use formal speech all the time?]
I looked back down at the sheet music.
“Teacher, sing from here again. I’ll follow along.”
“Think of this as the last time and listen carefully, hyung.”
“Just sing already.”
Min-guk’s formal speech lesson continued after that.
“Hyung, you’re off-beat right now. Please match the rhythm. Please!!!”
* * *
Saturday, December 24th, 2011.
The founding day of ‘Se-Jil-Mi Sung-guk’ had finally arrived.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
[It must be Jeon Tae-guk again….]
But the voice coming from outside was Dennis.
“Sung-guk, I’m coming in.”
“Yeah.”
Dennis opened the door and stepped inside.
Dennis hadn’t returned to the United States yet because of the Sevens music video shoot.
“Dennis, what’s going on this early in the morning?”
“Min-guk was in a music video meeting yesterday and asked me to film you dancing and singing at today’s fan club founding ceremony.”
“Min-guk did?”
“Yeah. He was bragging that he transformed an earthworm into a human in just one week.”
[An earthworm again! I’ll show him what I’m really made of today!]
I clenched both my fists tightly.
“Dennis, film it well later. I’m going to show you something real!”
“Got it. Whether it becomes a dark history or a legend… I’m looking forward to it.”
[Of course it’ll be a legend!]
* * *
In the Samjeon Art Hall Waiting Room, I was warming up my body with some nervousness.
Lee Hyun-hee, who had quit running the cafe to become the inaugural president of the fan club, came in making a fuss.
“Representative Jeon, the Samjeon Art Hall Grand Theater is completely packed right now. When we were taking applications at the cafe, I thought many people wouldn’t come because it’s Christmas Eve, but there’s not a single empty seat.”
My heart began to flutter slightly at those words.
“Can we look forward to the song and dance you’ve prepared for today?”
“Of course.”
I answered confidently, but I could feel my heart fluttering beneath the surface.
[This has never happened before… I’m a natural performer on stage.]
“Chairman, I’m really counting on you! I’ll go out and greet everyone, then call you up to perform the dance and song you’ve prepared, and we’ll have a segment where I share all the details about you. And at the end, there will be a Q&A session, so please prepare yourself mentally!”
“Don’t worry.”
“As expected, you’re always so confident, Chairman. It’s really reassuring!”
Lee Hyun-hee glanced at her watch and hurried out of the Waiting Room.
But my heart showed no signs of settling down.
[This isn’t good….]
Just then, the Waiting Room door opened and Jeon Min-guk poked his head in.
“Jeon Min-guk, what brings you here?”
“I paid for your lessons, so I need to stick around and make sure you’re doing it right.”
“Don’t worry, I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
As I shrugged my shoulders, Jeon Min-guk shook his head and held something out to me.
“Stop acting so full of yourself. Hyung, eat this.”
“What is it?”
“Calming pills.”
“I’m Jeon Sung-guk, I don’t need something like this.”
“I know you’re the company chairman and doing well… but you’re not a singer. When you go on stage doing something that’s not your main job, you’re going to be incredibly nervous. Just eat it.”
[Hmm… maybe only a younger brother would do this.]
I took the calming pills Jeon Min-guk offered me.
“Hyung, Mom and Dad said that Christmas Eve should be spent with family, so after the fan club founding ceremony, I’ll pick up Ji-hee from the academy and head home.”
“Sounds good. I’ve been craving Father’s bossam for a while now.”
Jeon Min-guk lingered awkwardly around me.
“Jeon Min-guk, stop making a fuss and get going.”
“Hyung… I have one last thing to say….”
“What is it?”
In that moment, Jeon Min-guk clenched both fists and shouted.
“Hyung, fighting!”
* * *
Whether it was thanks to the calming pills or Jeon Min-guk’s encouragement, my “I’m the Best” performance was spectacular.
I didn’t miss a single move in the choreography, and I sang beautifully.
[My skills really haven’t gotten rusty.]
The week of lessons from Jeon Min-guk seemed to have brought back memories from my trainee days long ago.
The Sejelmiseonguk fan club founding ceremony also concluded successfully.
Media outlets even came to cover it, and articles started appearing online immediately after the ceremony ended.
– “I’m the Best!” Chairman Jeon Sung-guk’s perfect dance and singing!
The video Dennis filmed went live on YouTube in real time.
The unfortunate part was that most of the comments were mocking.
– When my son won’t listen and my husband won’t listen, I have a video to come watch. I’m literally dying of laughter right now.
– Let’s make sure he never dances again lol
– The singing and dancing are hopeless, but I’ll admit you’re the best in South Korea.
– South Korea is too small for Sung-guk. He’s the best in the world!
Before I could finish reading all the comments, Jeon Tae-guk, Adam, Sam, and Dennis came barging in.
“Sung-guk, stop dancing!”
“And no more singing, Sung-guk.”
I shook my head vigorously.
“You’re all coming to my fan club founding ceremony on Christmas Eve, right? You don’t have any other plans?”
“Sung-guk, don’t ask obvious things anymore. You’re going home afterward anyway. Your mother said we should all come over for some ssam….”
[Do I really have to spend Christmas Eve with these guys too?]
I couldn’t help but sigh.
“I’ll go with Min-guk and pick up Ji-hee, so just head home first.”
* * *
I parked the car in front of the academy where Ji-hee attended and waited with Min-guk for her to come out.
“When does Ji-hee’s academy end?”
“She said it ends at 6 PM since it’s Saturday….”
Min-guk kept replaying my video on his phone inside the car.
“I told you how many times to angle your legs like this, hyung! This part is wrong again.”
“It’s all over now!”
“Hyung, don’t even think about dancing again!”
That’s when it happened.
Ji-hee walked out with a tall man.
The tall man and Ji-hee weren’t holding hands, but they were chattering away while looking at each other.
Noticing us waiting, Ji-hee continued walking down the street with the man.
“Jeon Min-guk, who is that guy?”
“Hyung, I’ve never seen him before either….”
At this moment, Min-guk and I felt exactly the same way.
“Min-guk, call Ji-hee right now and ask where she is. Don’t tell her we came to pick her up.”
“Okay, hyung.”
Min-guk immediately called Ji-hee.
“Ji-hee, where are you? Sung-guk hyung is coming home today, so hurry back and have dinner with us.”
– Oppa, I promised to watch a movie with a friend today.
“Which friend?”
– Um… Mi-ra.
[Mi-ra? There’s no way a girl named Mi-ra is over 180 centimeters tall with a short sports haircut, right?]
“Okay, enjoy the movie and come home.”
After hanging up, Min-guk and I locked eyes.
And in that moment, we both understood what we had to do as older brothers.
“Min-guk, we’re watching a movie today too.”
“Yeah, hyung! If that bastard tries anything with Ji-hee, I’ll beat him half to death!”
I gently pressed down on the accelerator.
And Min-guk and I began chasing after Ji-hee and that guy Mi-ra, who walked together gazing affectionately at each other under Tae-guk’s name. On Christmas Eve….

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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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