I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 398

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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 398
I woke up in the morning and drank some warm water.
After running on the treadmill for a reasonable amount of time and working up a sweat, I applied the expensive men’s skincare line that Jeon Tae-guk uses.
“Sung-guk, I’ve also made you a dermatology appointment.”
“Thank you.”
“Sung-guk, you
take such good care of yourself that your face really does change?”
“Before and after skincare, it’s probably the same, right? That’s what people call the immutable law of one’s natural face.”
Jeon Tae-guk stuck his tongue out.
“People say that’s bad luck when they hear it….”
“There’s nothing I can do about it.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
[What can you do about what you’re born with!]
* * *
With only a few days left before the shoot with Min-guk, I visited a dermatology clinic nearby during lunch.
It was a place that Jeon Tae-guk had enthusiastically recommended.
The Dermatologist spared no praise the moment he saw me.
“It’s an honor to meet CEO Jeon Sung-guk in person like this.”
[Everyone says that….]
I smiled warmly.
“I have a shoot in a few days. It’s nothing major, but I haven’t been able to manage my skin properly because of work, so it seems to have deteriorated quite a bit.”
“My goodness… if that face is deteriorated, then I should be dead.”
I was beginning to understand why Jeon Tae-guk liked this dermatologist.
He was probably the type to flatter Jeon Tae-guk just the same way.
“Doctor, I only want your honest opinion. Even though I’m only twenty-two, my skin has probably suffered quite a bit from excessive studying and work.”
“Hmm… it does seem like a typical case of dehydration.”
“Please don’t hide anything and tell me everything. I’ll spend whatever it takes.”
“Don’t worry. CEO Jeon Sung-guk’s face looks flawless to the naked eye, but when a specialist like me examines it, I can pinpoint exactly what needs attention.”
The Dermatologist carefully examined my face.
“Dehydration, enlarged pores beginning to sag… and because you furrow your brow so much, I can see signs of wrinkles forming between your eyebrows.”
[Did he really have to be that brutal about listing everything?]
“CEO, in my opinion, you should get laser treatment to tighten pores and improve elasticity, then get Botox injections between your eyebrows and on your chin, followed by intensive moisturizing care.”
“Is it possible today?”
“Team Leader Jeon Tae-guk asked me to keep my lunch hour free. Shall we get started?”
“Yes, let’s do it!”
* * *
An hour later, I left the dermatology building with my face tingling.
Even with just sunscreen applied, my face was still tingling.
In my previous life, I’d often undergone dermatological procedures, but in this life, I’d relied so much on my natural face that receiving treatment after such a long time felt a bit tight and uncomfortable.
I quickly checked the time.
At 2 PM, I had a TikTok meeting with Sam and Adam.
I walked to the company with my coat collar turned up high.
Just then, two women approached me from ahead.
They were women with neatly tied hair and glasses.
At that moment, the Black Padding Woman spoke with admiration.
“My, you have such a pleasant impression about you.”
[I hear that often enough… though what I hear more is that I’m handsome….]
I answered as calmly as possible.
“I hear that quite often.”
The Black Padding Woman seemed slightly taken aback.
[Is this just my imagination….]
The Black Padding Woman quickly smiled and spoke again.
“You really do seem to have so much fortune and blessing written all over your face.”
“I hear that often too.”
Both women seemed slightly flustered at my response.
[I say I’ve heard these common remarks often, so why are these two women so taken aback?]
“If there’s nothing else, I have work to attend to.”
“Pardon me, but are you busy?”
The Black Padding Woman looked at me with pitiful eyes.
“Why do you ask?”
“The truth is, we’re people who study at a temple.”
Study at a temple?
[Hmm… I feel like I’ve heard stories like this before from somewhere….]
The White Coat Woman standing beside the Black Padding Woman seized the moment and interjected.
“That’s how our studies work. When we occasionally see people with such pleasant impressions, they often carry worries and troubles.”
“Worries? I don’t have anything like that….”
“Perhaps your family….”
“What about my family?”
I asked seriously.
“We’ve studied in that field for a long time, so we can tell at a glance the anxieties and concerns people carry. If someone with such a pleasant impression like yourself could just resolve that, it would be perfect.”
I decided to listen to what the two women had to say.
In all my years, not a single person had ever stopped me and said such things.
“You really did accumulate much fortune and blessing in your past life.”
“How did you know that?”
“My, do you remember your past life?”
“Ah… well, I’ve actually seen it a few times in dreams.”
I brushed it off vaguely.
“My, to meet someone with such keen spiritual sensitivity… we’re truly fortunate today.”
“We really are, sister.”
The two women clasped hands tightly and bounced on their feet excitedly.
While the two women’s words were intriguing, I couldn’t afford to be swayed by them and arrive late to the conference.
“I’m afraid I’m quite busy today. If we happen to cross paths again, we can exchange greetings then.”
At that moment, one of the women stopped me in my tracks.
“I… I’m hesitant to mention this, but our family has been going through a very difficult time this year.”
Family troubles and misfortune.
Hearing such words, I found my feet unwilling to move away.
Based on the women’s behavior, they seemed like the type of people comparable to Teacher Lee of Samcheong-dong.
[It’s been a while since I’ve had a fortune reading…]
“Then, shall we meet here again at seven?”
I bid the women farewell and turned to leave.
* * *
The moment it hit 6:40, I shot up from my seat.
“Well then, let’s wrap up today’s meeting here.”
Sam and Adam looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“Sung-guk, the meeting is over already?”
“I have an important appointment at seven.”
“Ah, I see… Then we’ll do the rest of the presentation tomorrow.”
Adam began packing up his laptop.
Sam even started whistling unconsciously.
[Why do they both look so cheerful all of a sudden?]
“Sam, want to grab some fried chicken and beer, just the two of us?”
“Sounds good, Adam.”
I left the two of them in their pleasant mood and exited the Conference Room.
Just then, my phone rang loudly.
[It’s Min-guk.]
I had no choice but to answer.
– Hyung, are you ready for the shoot the day after tomorrow?
“Of course. What’s up?”
– Hyung, shouldn’t you come home this evening to do a rehearsal? Tomorrow I’ll be busy all day with photo shoots for my debut album.
“I have to meet someone very important today for you and the family.”
– For the family? Who are these people?
“I ran into them by chance on the street, and they immediately sensed that our family was facing misfortune. They seem like people similar to Teacher Lee of Samcheong-dong, so I felt uneasy and wanted to meet them once.”
“Hyung, who is Teacher Lee of Samcheong-dong?”
“He’s one of the most renowned fortune tellers in Korea. You probably don’t remember since you were young.”
At my words, Min-guk burst out laughing.
“Hyung, don’t tell me… Could it be… two women approached you saying you look like you have good fortune or blessings?”
[How did Min-guk figure that out?]
As I remained silent, Min-guk quickly added more.
– Hyung, those people are from a Cult Religious Group. What family doesn’t have misfortune! They’ll probably tell you to perform ancestral rites, saying you need to make offerings.
“Perform ancestral rites?”
– Yeah, and while doing that, I’d extort money. I’ll even give you the exact script. “Isn’t a single chicken from a poor household more precious than a cow from a wealthy one?” Then I’d tell them to hand over all their money.
I tilted my head.
“Min-guk, how do you know all that in such detail?”
– Hyung, there are tons of people getting caught by that scam these days.
If this was 2012, it was right when this Cult Religious Group’s methods were starting to spread widely.
[No wonder those women’s lines sounded so familiar….]
In my previous life, I never walked the streets, so I’d never experienced it and didn’t know about it.
While I was lost in serious thought, I heard Min-guk’s voice.
– Hyung, whatever you do, don’t follow those women! Got it?
“Yeah, I got it….”
I hung up the phone and watched Sam and Adam, who were just packing their bags to leave.
“Sam, Adam. Want to come somewhere with me?”
“Where to, Sung-guk?”
“We’re going to a two-on-two meeting.”
At my words, Sam and Adam blushed and nodded.
* * *
On the way to the meeting place, I searched for information about the Cult Religious Group just as Min-guk had told me, and testimonies from people who had fallen for the same scam as me poured in.
– Be careful of women with glasses and tied-up hair who approach you at the Subway Station. Especially if there are two or more of them. Then it’s definitely that religion.
– My mom was perfectly fine, but they told her she was sick and needed a memorial service. When I said my mom wasn’t sick, they screamed, “She will be in the future!” If that logic worked, wouldn’t everyone avoid being sick and dying in the future?
– They said a poor household’s chicken is more precious than a wealthy household’s cow, and demanded I hand over my minimum wage part-time job earnings. It’s absolutely infuriating.
– You guys didn’t even do a memorial service, but I did one. And I gave them all my salary from my poor household. But… the memorial service food was really delicious, and I’m actually thinking about meeting them again because I miss that food.
There was even someone who had experienced the exact script Min-guk had recited to me.
These were scammers who would extract the liver from a flea!
Then I had to get proper revenge!
I quietly turned on my phone.
I needed to upload this scam method properly to YouTube so many people would know about it.
* * *
When I arrived at the meeting place at seven o’clock, I could see the two women I’d met during the day standing there.
When I brought Sam and Adam along, the two women’s faces lit up.
“Oh my, you brought two more people?”
“Yes, they were curious too.”
The Black Padding Woman recited to Sam and Adam exactly what she had said to me during the day.
“Oh my, you both have such wonderful faces.”
When Sam and Adam, who still didn’t speak Korean well, looked confused, the Black Padding Woman’s embarrassment became obvious.
“You don’t speak Korean well?”
“No, we just arrived from the United States not long ago. You said both of them were students, right? They can do simple English conversation, can’t they?”
“Ah, well….”
The two women looked flustered and started poking each other in the ribs.
And Sam and Adam also sensed something was off.
“Sung-guk, you said this was a blind date. But those women don’t look like they came for a blind date at all.”
“Adam, I’m sorry. The truth is, those two women are part of a Cult Religious Group. They stopped me on the street, saying I had a good impression and plenty of blessings on my face, then tried to steal my precious time so they could film their tactics on YouTube and post them. That way, other people won’t fall for it.”
“Really? They both looked so kind….”
“It happens all the time on the streets of South Korea. Take this as a learning opportunity for you and Sam. And after we’re done, let’s go grab some chicken and beer together.”
“Sounds great!”
Sam and Adam gazed at the two women with broad smiles on their faces.
And I pretended not to know them as I explained the situation to the two women.
“These two friends don’t have girlfriends. I saw you two earlier today and thought you both had such wonderful impressions. I wanted to introduce you to them. These guys have been lonely for years, you see.”
At that, the Black Padding Woman began backing away.
“There’s no need for that. We’re too busy with our studies.”
The White Coat Woman also waved her hand dismissively and backed away.
“We were going to offer prayers for the misfortunes written all over your faces, but we’ll have to do it another time. Well then….”
The two women didn’t even properly say goodbye before they abruptly turned and left.
“Wait!!! These two are really good people!”
I called out for courtesy’s sake, but the two women didn’t even look back as they disappeared into a quiet alley.
[Handled that smoothly!]
Adam grinned and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, it’s over, right?”
“Absolutely refreshing! Now let’s go grab some chicken and beer.”
That’s when it happened.
Three young-looking female university students approached us with questionnaires in hand.
“Hello! We’re psychology students from the Nearby University. We’re currently conducting research. You three all have such wonderful impressions. Would you mind filling out our survey?”
Before I could even explain the situation, Adam readily accepted the questionnaire.
“Sung-guk, let’s do this. These college students are working hard in this cold weather.”
“I suppose….”
Sam and I also began filling out the questionnaire shortly after.
That’s when it happened.
Someone tapped my back sharply.
“Who is it?”
When I turned around, there stood the Black Padding Woman and the White Coat Woman from before.
“Uh… you two… what are you doing here?”
“These three are cultists! Run away!”
At the Black Padding Woman’s words, the three female students holding the questionnaires looked flustered.
“You’re the cultists! Who are you calling cultists!”
“Hey, did you think I wouldn’t know your tactic of luring people in with questionnaires?”
“You tell people they have good impressions, then take them to perform rituals for ancestral spirits! We’re far more scientific!”
Soon the two women and the three women began shouting at each other and fighting.
I recorded the video while explaining the situation to Adam and Sam.
“Both groups seem to be Cult Religious Groups.”
“South Korea really is a sacred place.”
We all nodded in agreement.

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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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