I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 387

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 387
[An apology on a cushion…?]
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
But it was clear that these women had nothing to apologize for, and they certainly weren’t apologizing to the right person.
I regarded the mothers with a cold gaze.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t believe I’m the one who should be receiving your apology.”
At my words, the mothers exchanged quick glances with one another.
“What did we do wrong?”
“Oh no, we shouldn’t use a cushion!”
The mothers exchanged words before swiftly removing the cushions they’d placed beneath their knees.
[They truly don’t understand what this is about…]
The mothers, now kneeling on the cold floor, looked up at me with pleading eyes.
“Mothers, it’s not you who should be apologizing—it’s your children. And not to me, but to my sister Ji-hee.”
“Ah…”
Only then did the mothers seem to grasp what they’d misunderstood.
“My knees almost gave out…”
The mothers brushed off their knees and rose to their feet. Then the three of them huddled together, conferring in hushed tones.
Soon, Kim Yu-jeong’s mother turned back and spoke with a composed expression.
“Jeon Sung-guk, no matter how many times I think about it, this is clearly our children’s fault. We will do our utmost to ensure they offer genuine apologies and reflection. Could you give us some time?”
[They’re trying to slip through this somehow…]
“How much time would you need?”
“Well, that is…”
“I’ll give you one week. During that time, you must ensure your children offer genuine apologies and reflection. However, from what I can see, genuine apology and reflection aren’t things you can simply observe. The genuine apology must naturally go to my sister, and the reflection must be concluded through appropriate disciplinary action from the school.”
“But… Jeon Sung-guk, these children have futures ahead of them. Suspension could hurt their college prospects…”
“You worry about your own children’s futures, yet you don’t worry about the future of the child they bullied? One of the victims has already transferred schools, and that child will carry emotional scars for life.”
At my words, the mothers fell silent.
* * *
I got into the car.
Ji-hee had stayed at school, saying she wanted to enjoy what little remained of her school life.
“CEO, isn’t one week too long for those parents?” Kim Sung-taek, sitting in the passenger seat, asked with concern.
“I know these types of people well. They knelt before you just now, but once time is given, they’ll absolutely scheme behind the scenes. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect their children.”
I could easily predict what these mothers would do in the meantime.
Though they’d thrown down their cushions and knelt before me, once time was granted, they would, as Kim Sung-taek said, resort to any means necessary to orchestrate something.
I could easily predict what these mothers would do in the meantime.
“Lawyer Kim, since you handle the Samjeon Royal Family at LN Law, you should know this well.”
This was a method I’d frequently employed in my previous life.
Kim Sung-taek’s eyes widened at my words.
“Ah, that method?”
Then he looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“CEO, but how do you know that method?”
[In my previous life, I was part of the Samjeon Royal Family…]
“I heard it from Tae-guk hyung.”
I made a casual excuse.
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek nodded at last.
“Indeed, you two are quite close. Then I’ll proceed with this matter according to that method.”
“I appreciate it.”
* * *
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knocking sound came, and Lawyer Kim Sung-taek opened the door.
Three days had passed since I visited Ji-hee’s school.
“CEO, I stopped by to give you a progress report.”
[Just like before, it took exactly three days…]
I rose from my seat with a faint smile.
“I was just wondering about it.”
“I thought you might be.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek entered and closed the conference room door.
“This Alpha company has quite a unique organizational structure. You work in the conference room without even having your own CEO office.”
“Actually, I’d prefer to work outside, but I’m concerned the employees would feel more awkward if I did, so I work here.”
“The employees under a workaholic boss like you must have it rough too.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek flashed his characteristic warm smile, then handed over some documents.
“Since I’m old-fashioned, I feel more comfortable organizing things on paper. Here’s the current progress regarding Jeon Ji-hee.”
I skimmed through the file Lawyer Kim Sung-taek presented.
[Just as I expected…]
The Samjeon Royal Family easily became entangled in various lawsuits and disputes over personal matters.
To prepare for such situations, they conducted thorough background investigations on the other party, and when unsavory incidents occurred, they wielded their power based on the gathered information.
“I’ll provide an explanation as well.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek cleared his throat and began his explanation.
“First, the three mothers, just as the CEO and I anticipated, immediately met with the most experienced lawyer at Uiroun Law Firm the moment they received the one-week deadline. It was Park Tae-su, a former chief judge at Seoul Central District Court. Of course, I’ve already investigated all his weaknesses.”
I nodded.
“Regarding Lawyer Park Tae-su, I should mention that he’s not an easy opponent, given that after joining Uiroun Law Firm, he took on the investigation into illegal lobbying funds for Gangcheol Construction and used his connections to get the case dismissed as not guilty.”
“That level of skill is necessary to go up against Samjeon anyway.”
“Of course. However, Lawyer Park Tae-su is also a man with many personal problems. So we decided to attack Park Tae-su directly.”
“Rather than targeting the three mothers, you’re striking at their lawyer instead?”
“Yes, exactly. While Uiroun Law Firm doesn’t match LN Law in ranking, it’s still a top-tier firm, and if even Park Tae-su, one of their most skilled lawyers, withdraws from this case, there would essentially be no law firm willing to take it on.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek paused to catch his breath, then continued.
“CEO, take a look at the fifth page.”
The fifth page listed various misconduct by Lawyer Park Tae-su.
“As you can see, Lawyer Park Tae-su has been sponsoring a young female college student. Well, this sort of thing is so common it has virtually no impact.”
[He really does everything…]
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“First, I approached that young female college student directly. She turned out to be more cunning than expected, so she had multiple videos recorded. When she took our money and handed them over without hesitation, I realized she had no loyalty to Lawyer Park Tae-su whatsoever.”
“A relationship built entirely on money, then.”
“Yes, exactly. Relationships built on money fall apart the moment someone offers more. Using the videos we obtained, I approached Lawyer Park Tae-su and extracted everything about their situation up to this point.”
Now their full plan came to light.
“The mothers of the students, including Kim Yu-jeong, planned to open a School Violence Committee hearing on the grounds that Jeon Ji-hee was disrespecting her friends, drag it to the Education Office to buy time, and simultaneously harass Jeon Ji-hee while preparing all the students for overseas studies.”
“Hmm… they put quite a bit of thought into this.”
“And in exchange for handing over the videos to Lawyer Park Tae-su, we reached an agreement for him to withdraw from this case.”
“What if Lawyer Park Tae-su receives the videos and betrays you?”
“You’re as sharp as always, Chairman. If you look at the next page, you’ll see that Lawyer Park Tae-su once covered up a drug-related scandal involving his daughter. This family seems to have a hobby of recording videos—there’s even footage of his daughter using drugs. The timing is perfect since his daughter is currently in marriage talks with the Jaesung Group. We were able to approach him appropriately.”
Samjeon Group and LN Law were truly terrifying.
I recalled the words of Chairman Jeon Ju-shin, the founding chairman of Samjeon Group.
– Loyalty stems from weakness.
I nodded. Then I looked up at Lawyer Kim Sung-taek.
“Lawyer, I’m not the type to beat around the bush.”
“I’m well aware.”
“What weaknesses has Samjeon identified in me?”
“Ha ha ha. I knew you’d ask that.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek smiled faintly.
“Chairman, what do you think your weakness is?”
“Honestly, I don’t think I have any weaknesses worth exploiting.”
“That’s correct. As far as I can tell, you haven’t given them anything to exploit yet. But who knows what the future holds? Life is sometimes shorter than expected, but sometimes it’s longer than we think.”
“So you’re saying Samjeon will continue to monitor me?”
“I’m not saying I will—I’m saying Samjeon will. However, from what I understand, you yourself have gathered quite a few weaknesses on Jeon Tae-guk, haven’t you? From what I’ve heard in passing alone, there are several. I’ll also say that Samjeon won’t be able to make a move with just that.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek was a master of worldly wisdom.
His skill at playing people while laughing ambiguously was extraordinary.
As my eyes narrowed, Lawyer Kim Sung-taek quickly continued.
“Chairman, don’t worry too much. As long as you don’t turn your back on Samjeon, there won’t be any harm to you.”
“Or I could reach a position where Samjeon can’t touch me.”
“That’s also a valid point.”
I closed the documents and handed them to Lawyer Kim Sung-taek.
“One week from now, have him apologize directly to Ji-hee, and prepare for the school to issue a suspension order.”
“Since Lawyer Park Tae-su has withdrawn, they’ll understand the situation. Don’t worry. The school won’t want things to get messy either, so I’ll push for a swift resolution.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek left the conference room.
The way major corporations and law firms controlled individuals ultimately came down to exploiting their personal lives and secrets.
And the moment I turned my back on Samjeon, I had no idea what kind of attack I might face.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I heard a knock, and Jeon Tae-guk poked his head in.
“Sung-guk, let’s grab lunch.”
The one saving grace was that Jeon Tae-guk, Samjeon’s greatest risk, was in my hands.
“Let’s go, hyung.”
“I was the one who said I wanted salmon rice bowl today.”
“Hyung, that’s abuse of power.”
“You said you’d become a nutritionist.”
This incredible naivety would become my insurance against whatever lay ahead.
* * *
A week later, Ji-hee received apologies from the students.
Kim Yu-jeong, Lee Seo-yeon, and Jung Ha-ri bowed their heads and apologized to Ji-hee in front of the other students. They also handed her a lengthy letter.
Even if it was forced, what mattered was that the other students witnessed this moment and would now be cautious about bullying others or being bullied themselves.
And now we had one final task remaining.
Ji-hee and I exchanged resolute glances.
“Ji-hee, are you ready?”
“Yeah, oppa! If Mom and Dad find out I’m dropping out, they’ll beat my back, won’t they?”
“Of course. Ji-hee, how many layers are you wearing?”
“Two layers. I even stuffed a notebook in my back. What about you, oppa?”
“I put two notebooks in mine. So, should we go tell Mom and Dad now?”
“Yeah!”
I pushed open the door to the home where Mother and Father were waiting.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————