I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 414

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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 414
Mark and I, dressed in a hoodie and checkered shirt respectively, walked into the department store.
It was an upscale department store in New York.
And there we stood before the most dazzling jewelry boutique in the entire store.
“Sung-guk… Isn’t this the place where Audrey used to drink coffee in front of this boutique?”
“Yeah. It’s an engagement ring, so we should buy from a place like this, right?”
“I guess, but… Mi-mi’s probably going to nag about it. Say I wasted money for no reason.”
I shook my head firmly.
“Mark, I’ve never met a woman who didn’t like a ring.”
“Sung-guk, have you given rings to that many women? You’ve only had one public relationship.”
[In my previous life, I mean.)]
I gave Mark’s back a light push.
“Let’s go in, Mark.”
“Okay…”
* * *
As we entered the boutique, a rigidly postured female employee watched us. Then she approached with her chin slightly raised.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. Is there something I can help you find?”
“My friend here is going to propose to his girlfriend. We’d like to see some engagement rings.”
The employee quickly assessed us, then guided us to the right.
“This section should be suitable for you.”
The area she indicated displayed the brand’s lowest-tier collection.
Mark whispered to me with a disinterested expression.
“Sung-guk, why are the rings here so cheap? I really thought they’d be incredibly expensive.”
[That’s because she showed us the lowest tier line.)]
I let out a small sigh.
That’s when it happened.
An older man who had been glancing at the female employee guiding us came striding toward us with a warm smile.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Tom White, the manager of Tiffany & Co. I understand you’re looking for an engagement ring.”
“Yes.”
“Our employee made a mistake. Since you both look so young, she apparently assumed you were looking for casual couple rings.”
“That seems to be the case.”
I nodded.
I could sense the female manager who had guided us looking at Tom with an anxious expression.
Tom White gave the female manager a kind instruction.
“I’ll take care of these customers from now on. You can step aside.”
“Oh, yes… Manager.”
“And Susan.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“Don’t you use social media?”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“That’ll be all.”
Susan, still bewildered, moved to another section of the store.
Tom White then guided us forward and spoke quietly.
“I’m a FaceNote user myself, so I recognize both of your faces well. You’re Sung-guk and Mark, correct?”
“Sung-guk is famous, but you know me too?”
Mark asked with a flushed face.
“Of course. I follow both of your FaceNote accounts. Are you proposing to your girlfriend from North Korea, the one you’ve been living with for so long?”
“Oh, yes… You really do follow my FaceNote. There’s not much on it, though.”
“I enjoy the little everyday moments and stories you share. Since this ring is for a proposal to a girlfriend you’ve been with for years, let me show you something truly special.”
Tom White guided us to the deepest corner of the store.
“This is our Tiffany & Co.’s pride—our wedding line.”
Mark’s eyes began to widen.
“Sung-guk, the prices here are….”
Hearing that, Tom White smiled knowingly.
“It will be in a different league from the lines you saw earlier. But when you’re proposing to someone you’ll spend your life with, shouldn’t you go this far?”
“Ah… yes….”
Mark was in a daze.
I gently poked Mark’s ribs from beside him.
“Mark, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You’ve been working hard all this time to spend money on this moment.”
“That’s true, but… I’ve never spent this much money before….”
Even the smallest wedding rings exceeded $8,000. In Korean won, that was over ten million.
Seeing Mark’s distress, Tom White introduced several appropriate wedding rings.
“These are our best sellers. I’m showing you options at different price points, so take your time deciding.”
Mark whispered to me again.
“Sung-guk, I really can’t choose. But you have a better eye than me, don’t you?”
[Of course. I’m a former tycoon, after all.]
I smiled and pointed to the ring in the middle.
“This one looks the best to me. What do you think, Mark?”
“Uh… it’s beautiful.”
Tom White smiled knowingly.
“You certainly have an eye for it. The price point is a bit higher, but women who see this product never choose another ring.”
I poked Mark’s ribs one more time.
“Mark, what do you think?”
That’s when it happened.
I heard hurried footsteps approaching from behind, followed by a familiar voice.
“Manager, about the order I placed last time….”
When I turned around, Trevor Milton was standing there. Upon spotting me, Trevor Milton fell silent.
Tom White greeted Trevor Milton warmly.
“Actually, the item you ordered last time just arrived, and I was about to contact you.”
Trevor Milton alternated his gaze between me and Tom White, his lips twitching nervously.
[Something troublesome must have happened, Trevor?]
Trevor Milton let out an audible sigh and turned back several times before stopping. Then Tom White smiled and asked him.
“Trevor, did you perhaps break up with your girlfriend?”
Only then did Trevor Milton compose himself, pressing his forehead with his hand as he began to act.
“Ah, yes. Tom… that ring no longer means anything to me now. Just looking at it seems like it would break my heart.”
[Trevor, please don’t act.]
“Very well, then I’ll cancel the deposit for you. It’s such a beautiful ring—what a shame.”
“I feel the same way, Tom.”
Tom White accepted the card Trevor Milton offered.
“If you’re planning to give that ring to your next girlfriend, we can keep it in storage at our store.”
“Please do exactly that. I’m definitely planning to give that ring to my next girlfriend.”
Trevor Milton canceled the deposit and quickly exited the store.
“Sung-guk, it looks like Trevor Milton broke up with his girlfriend because his business failed.”
“More likely, his business failed first, and then he lost the ability to pay the balance.”
Tom White chuckled.
“Wall Street is such a volatile place, after all. Several stockbrokers reserved engagement rings at our store just months before the Lehman Brothers collapse that CEO Jeon Sung-guk predicted. The ring Trevor Milton reserved is truly a special one… what a shame.”
Tom White seemed to already know that Trevor Milton had failed.
In that case, why not take a look at that special ring?
“Could I see the ring Trevor Milton reserved?”
As if waiting for my question, Tom White brought out the ring.
And his words were not empty.
The ring set with a yellow square diamond was truly special.
“Sung-guk, this is really beautiful.”
But it also looked expensive.
“Manager, what’s the price of this?”
“Just under thirty thousand dollars.”
That was over thirty million won in Korean currency.
“Although Mr. Trevor Milton did reserve it, it’s a product we sell at our store… and this yellow diamond ring takes quite a long time if ordered. Since there’s a waiting list, it will likely find a new owner soon.”
At that moment, I reached for my wallet.
And I looked at Tom White.
“Manager, I’ll buy this ring!”
* * *
Mark and I both carried Tiffany & Co.’s signature blue shopping bags in our hands.
Mark was carrying a ring worth about ten thousand dollars that he would use when proposing to Lim Mi-mi, while I was carrying a ring set with a mesmerizing yellow diamond.
On the way back to the hotel, we were so worried about meeting a robber that we took a taxi right in front of the department store and got off right in front of the hotel.
And we both rushed up to the hotel room without saying a word.
* * *
The moment Mark put the ring in the safe, he let out a sigh.
“Sung-guk, I did the right thing, didn’t I?”
“Hmm… I think I’m the one with the bigger problem.”
“Sung-guk, but really… why did you buy a ring? Did you get a new girlfriend? Or are you trying to develop something more serious with Anne Hathaway?”
Mark, finally catching his breath, asked the reason.
“I have someone to give this ring to.”
I placed the ring in the safe as well.
In truth, this ring was the one I had given to Jung-hee, my first love in my previous life.
Just as Tom White had said, it was from Tiffany & Co.’s premium line, and the waiting list had been long.
It was rare to encounter such a perfect and beautiful yellow diamond.
The moment I saw this ring, I knew I had to give it to someone.
“Sung-guk, who are you giving it to?”
“Someone in Korea.”
[I’ll probably get hit in the back for this….]
I simply smiled faintly.
* * *
My schedule in the United States was nearly complete.
In New York, I finished the final meeting about the NASDAQ listing with Mark and Peter.
FaceNote was scheduled to go public on May 18th, with an offering price of thirty-eight dollars.
Of course, this information remained strictly confidential until the listing.
Once FaceNote went public, Mark and I, as the largest shareholders of FaceNote, would become among the wealthiest people in the world.
In my previous life, I was born wealthy, so becoming rich held little excitement for me.
But in this life, thinking of how I struggled from a tiny studio apartment to reach this point, my heart swelled with grandeur.
Of course, at this moment, both Mark and I were on an airplane heading to San Francisco, clutching Tiffany & Co. shopping bags.
[Sigh… Jeon Sung-guk! When did you become so common-minded!]
Mark was trembling even more than I was.
“Sung-guk, won’t Lim Mi-mi hit me in the back?”
“Mark, don’t worry. There’s not a single woman who would dislike that ring.”
“Really?”
“Trust my taste.”
“Right, I told Lim Mi-mi to come pick me up. Just in case the ring gets stolen on the way home.”
“Mark!”
I stared at Mark with an incredulous expression.
“What, Sung-guk?”
“You’re going to meet Lim Mi-mi while hugging that shopping bag like that? You’re going to blow your cover that you bought an engagement ring.”
“Oh… you’re right…. What should I do, Sung-guk?”
Mark was already breaking out in cold sweat.
“If you hide it in a backpack, she might not notice…. But… if someone opens the zipper from behind while you’re carrying it and takes it, that would be a problem….”
Mark fretted anxiously over the ring.
“Mark, then… there’s only one way.”
“Sung-guk, please teach me that method.”
Mark pleaded earnestly.
* * *
“Mi-mi… Will you marry me?”
Mark dropped to one knee in front of Lim Mi-mi and extended the ring.
Lim Mi-mi stared down at Mark with a stunned expression, then quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him up.
“Mark, what are you doing? You’re embarrassing me! Everyone’s staring!”
“Mi-mi… So please, answer me! Will you marry me?”
Mark was proposing to Lim Mi-mi right in the middle of the airport.
“Go ahead, miss. We’ll keep watch for you, so please answer his proposal.”
Even the airport security officer came over to cheer on Mark’s proposal.
Lim Mi-mi, flustered, quickly grabbed the ring from Mark’s hand and answered without hesitation.
“Mark, let’s do it! Yes! Let’s get married!”
“Really, Mi-mi?”
“Of course!”
Mark immediately jumped to his feet and swept Lim Mi-mi into his arms.
In the process, the ring slipped from Lim Mi-mi’s hand and rolled across the floor among the crowd.
“Mark, the ring! The ring fell!”
“No! Do you know how much that cost?! It’s from Tiffany & Co.!”
In that instant, everyone standing in the airport gathered around and began searching for the ring Lim Mi-mi had dropped.
The airport security officer shouted to the crowd.
“If you find the ring, absolutely do not take it! Please find it for this couple and let us know right away!”
That was when it happened.
“Here! The ring is here!”
Mark rushed over at the sound and retrieved the ring, then took Lim Mi-mi’s hand.
“Mi-mi, you can never take this ring off from now on!”
“I understand, Mark.”
And the two of them kissed, just like in a romantic movie.
The people in the airport cheered, and I captured the entire scene on my phone and posted it to my FaceNote.
– My eternal roommate and business partner Mark is finally going to get married. Congratulations, Mark!

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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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