I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 415

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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 415
The entire world congratulated Mark on his engagement to Mi-mi.
To be precise, it wasn’t a marriage—it was a proposal.
Mark’s proposal video posted on FaceNote was beloved by countless people, and the comments poured in endlessly.
– Our Mark is finally getting married!
– Mark, be happy!
– When is Sung-guk going to propose and get married? His friend just did.
– They’re friends, but he’s still so young. Sung-guk, I mean.
Of course, there was plenty of talk about me as well.
[I’m only twenty-one, and I was born under a fate where I can’t do anything until I’ve dealt with all the troublemakers in my family….]
I closed my laptop and waited for Jeon Tae-guk.
Jeon Tae-guk had insisted that we not eat dinner and hadn’t contacted us since.
As a result, Mark, Mi-mi, Sam, Adam, and I were all starving.
“Sung-guk, when is Tae-guk coming?”
“I haven’t heard from him either.”
Ding dong!
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
Of course, it was Jeon Tae-guk.
Mark shook his head and stood up.
“I guess I’ll never become a gentleman. Sung-guk, that’s the Korean saying for this situation, right?”
“Yeah. There’s a similar one: ‘Even a tiger comes when you speak of it.'”
When Mark opened the door, Jeon Tae-guk entered with Secretary Park Sung-hee, both carrying armfuls of something.
“Hyung, why are you so late? And what is all that?”
“Sung-guk, take this. Mark proposed to Mi-mi today—I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.”
[Then just reserve a Michelin restaurant, problem solved….]
What is this?
I unwrapped the package. It was filled with fried chicken.
“Hyung, this is fried chicken.”
“You know the saying—when a son-in-law comes, you slaughter a hen. I couldn’t find a hen here in America, but I figured I could get some hearty fried chicken made from a bird just as plump.”
[But Mark isn’t even your son-in-law.]
In any case, Jeon Tae-guk seemed eager to feed Mark well before his impending marriage.
Secretary Park Sung-hee also offered beer.
“And here’s some cold beer.”
“Tae-guk, this is exactly what I wanted!”
Mark smiled brightly and brought a piece of fried chicken to his mouth before offering it to Mi-mi.
“Mi-mi, you first.”
“Mark, just eat like you normally do.”
Mi-mi laughed and pushed the chicken back.
“What are you saying, Mi-mi? From now on, I’m going to think of you first for the rest of my life.”
“We’ll see how long that lasts.”
Mark and Lim Mi-mi bickered back and forth, but it was their way of expressing affection.
Jeon Tae-guk suddenly thrust a chicken leg toward me.
“Sung-guk, Koreans love chicken legs, right?”
“Of course.”
“Sam and Adam are here too, so I was a bit late frying up two chicken legs per person.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
“But Sung-guk, why did you buy that ring?”
[How does Jeon Tae-guk know I bought a ring?]
Jeon Tae-guk hadn’t come to the airport, and I’d rushed straight to the hotel upon arrival, locking the ring in the safe. There was no way he could have known I’d purchased it.
“Hyung, how did you know I bought a ring?”
“Everyone on the internet knows you and Mark bought rings. You bought them yesterday.”
“But how did you find out?”
I asked in astonishment.
“Sung-guk, you really do seem to forget sometimes just how famous you are.”
Jeon Tae-guk held out a photograph on his phone.
It showed Mark and me emerging from Tiffany & Co. with shopping bags, getting into a taxi.
“Is this a paparazzi photo?”
“Yeah, the photo of you and Mark coming out of Tiffany & Co. spread everywhere immediately. Everyone assumed Mark was buying it for his girlfriend, but who are you buying it for?”
“Well, that’s…”
[If I say it’s for Mother, people will call me a mama’s boy.]
“Are things going well with Anne Hathaway?”
“Absolutely not. But hyung, is this just circulating on SNS, or…”
“Of course there are articles all over the internet. Want to see?”
– The Kings of SNS with Tiffany & Co. shopping bags!
– Who will receive this ring from CEO Jeon Sung-guk?
– Mark Zuckerberg, co-CEO of FaceNote ahead of next month’s IPO, and Jeon Sung-guk are seen leaving Tiffany & Co. after shopping. Are they popping champagne early?
At that moment, Mark interjected, asking urgently.
“Wait! Tae-guk, this photo started circulating yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
Mark gulped down his beer and stared at Lim Mi-mi.
“Mi-mi, did you see this article?”
Lim Mi-mi shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Yeah, I saw it, Mark.”
“What?!”
Mark was so shocked he nearly shouted.
“Then why didn’t you say anything? You knew I bought the ring.”
“You didn’t give me time to ask. You proposed the moment we bolted from the airport…”
Lim Mi-mi still wore an unbothered expression.
“Sung-guk and I planned this surprise gift so carefully! So when I proposed at the airport, you already knew I’d propose with a Tiffany & Co. ring?”
“More or less.”
Lim Mi-mi nodded.
Mark and I were simultaneously deflated.
“Sung-guk, what on earth did we do?”
“I know… Mark.”
Lim Mi-mi approached us with a gentle smile.
“Mark, so you proposed the moment you got out of the airport?”
“I’ve never bought such an expensive ring in my life, so I’ve been carrying the Tiffany & Co. shopping bag from New York. But it felt wrong to hide it, so Sung-guk and I put our heads together and tried to figure out how to handle it… and then we botched it. I really wanted to surprise you….”
Mark grumbled.
Then Lim Mi-mi patted Mark’s shoulder.
“Mark, it was still wonderful.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The airport was the first place I saw when I arrived in the United States for the first time. Back then, I was so mesmerized, just scanning the airport over and over. ‘So this is America,’ I kept thinking. Getting a proposal from you in that place was embarrassing, but it was also beautiful.”
Only then did Mark’s expression soften.
“Hehe. It was worth putting our heads together with Sung-guk.”
“Wait, but Mark.”
Lim Mi-mi called out to Mark in a stern voice.
“What, Mi-mi?”
“You said it earlier. That it’s the most expensive ring you’ve ever bought. How much is this ring exactly?”
“Mi-mi, let’s not reduce our romance to money.”
Mark came up with a reasonably convincing excuse.
[Mark, not bad at all?]
I gave him a thumbs up.
But there was one person here who couldn’t read the room.
“I’ve bought a lot of women’s rings at Tiffany & Co. Mi-mi, that one easily goes over ten thousand dollars.”
Jeon Tae-guk said casually while tearing into his chicken.
In that instant, a chilling smile crossed Lim Mi-mi’s face.
“Mark, finish your chicken and we’ll talk about this later.”
“Mi-mi, FaceNote goes public in May anyway.”
“Mark, stocks aren’t money. They only become money when you sell them.”
“I haven’t bought clothes all this time and I’ve been saving my salary diligently. This is a once-in-a-lifetime proposal. I wanted to spend at least this much. Because you’re that precious to me.”
Was Mark unusually talkative today?
I could see Lim Mi-mi’s expression soften a little at his words.
“Fine, just eat your chicken.”
And then Jeon Tae-guk whispered to me.
“Sung-guk, can I talk to you for a moment?”
What was this about?
* * *
Jeon Tae-guk and I stepped out onto the terrace and drank beer.
The night air was still a bit crisp.
“Hyung, is there something you wanted to say?”
“Sung-guk, can you answer my question honestly?”
Tae-guk’s expression turned serious.
[It’s strange when Tae-guk gets serious like this….]
“What’s the question?”
“Did you happen to tell Father about Mother’s weaknesses?”
Was he talking about the Virgin Islands shell company?
But I couldn’t pretend to know anything right now.
I couldn’t claim to know about slush funds based on information from my past life, and Tae-guk didn’t need to know that I’d obtained TikTok’s Samsung shares by exploiting their divorce proceedings.
“Hyung, how would I possibly know about your mother’s weaknesses? But why are you asking?”
I responded with feigned innocence.
“I don’t know the details myself, but from what I hear, Mother seems to be losing ground in the divorce lawsuit. She’s ruthless, but she’s still my mother. Honestly, Father’s infidelities over the years have left Mother lonely her whole life.”
[Is he thinking about his mother as a son? That’s unlike the Jeon family….]
Tae-guk let out a low sigh and took a long drink of beer.
“I heard Mother demanded Samsung shares as a condition of the divorce settlement. If Father passes away before the inheritance is settled, Mother would legally be entitled to the largest share.”
Tae-guk spoke slowly and deliberately.
“If Mother and Father divorce like this… and she doesn’t receive the shares, then Mi-jin and I would split everything one-to-one…. That means I’d have to compete with Mi-jin.”
Tae-guk was worried about his succession.
After Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s death.
[After all, Tae-guk is still a Jeon through and through….]
“Hyung, I want to ask you something. If your parents divorce, what worries you the most?”
“The pain.”
What?
[Did I mishear him?]
“We all get hurt, don’t we? Father, Mother. Me and Mi-jin too. The family is being torn apart.”
“Hyung, a divorce lawsuit is a long battle. Just wait and see. And your parents aren’t as weak as you think they are.”
Tae-guk said nothing and just drank more beer.
Now the divorce between Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung and the Iron Lady was irreversible.
[Of course you’ll get hurt in the process of the divorce. But that’s how we all grow up, Tae-guk.]
I patted Tae-guk’s shoulder.
* * *
“Sung-guk, let’s meet in New York in May.”
“Sure, Mark.”
Mark and I embraced warmly at the airport.
FaceNote’s NASDAQ listing was finally just two months away.
All the effort from high school dormitory days—dangling carrots and wielding the whip with freckle-faced Mark—was finally about to bear fruit right before my eyes.
And Mother was waiting for me in South Korea.
– Sung-guk, you bought an expensive ring for a girl? Come straight home when you get back to Korea.
Mother’s message was concise, with much of her anger left unspoken.
It seemed Mother thought I was some lovesick fool who casually bought expensive rings without thinking.
I needed to get back to Korea soon and give Mother the ring.
* * *
The moment I stepped out of the airport, Tae-guk called me.
After hanging up, Tae-guk gently pulled me aside.
“Sung-guk, our mother wants to see you. She’s waiting at the Chinese Restaurant in Hannam-dong Namsan Hotel.”
“Brother, our mother is waiting at home, and she’s furious. I think I need to go see her right away. It would be better to reschedule with your mother.”
“You’re right. Our mother shouldn’t have made such sudden plans anyway.”
Tae-guk walked ahead with slumped shoulders.
“Sung-guk, I’ll go see our mother. I’ll explain your situation to her.”
[Is Tae-guk really clueless?]
“Thank you, brother.”
“By the way, Sung-guk, I’m really curious… who are you really giving that ring to?”
“My first love.”
“Emma Watson again?”
*
I shook my head.
[Tae-guk, you really don’t know? Every man’s first love is his mother!]
* * *
“You rascal! How could you buy something this expensive for your mother!”
My back stung.
Mother struck my back exactly ten times.
“Mother, if I don’t buy something this expensive for you, who else would I buy it for?”
“You really need to meet a proper woman now. Mark is getting married to Mi-mi, isn’t he? Don’t you feel anything watching Mark propose to Mi-mi? Aren’t you envious?”
“Mother, I’m still far from that. I’m younger than Mark anyway.”
Just then, Min-guk rushed over and stopped her.
“Mother, stop!”
[What’s gotten into Min-guk? Stopping Mother?]
Min-guk quickly took Mother’s hand.
“Mother, let me just look at it once. I searched online and apparently the ring my brother bought costs over thirty thousand dollars.”
[Well, of course it does….]
Min-guk gazed at the ring in wonder.
“Wow, this is thirty thousand dollars….”
“Give it here, I’m returning this.”
Mother tried to snatch the ring from Min-guk’s hand, but it slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor.
And in that instant.
As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Huin-dung-i came bounding over and swallowed the yellow diamond ring whole.
We all screamed together.
“Huin-dung-i, no!!!”

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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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