I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 417

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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 417
I rushed straight to Min-guk’s practice room in Nonhyeon-dong.
The atmosphere in the practice room was, in a word, devastated.
Everyone sat on the floor, their motivation completely drained.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the Sevens members barely managed to get up and greet me.
“Hello.”
“Sung-guk, you came?”
But their voices were already devoid of any enthusiasm.
Bang Mu-hyuk was no different.
“Sung-guk… you’re here…”
I had a feeling that bringing up the JM Entertainment idols would only make things worse. I quickly changed the subject.
“Sir, have you had dinner?”
“Just something light…”
The way he said “just something light” made it clear he hadn’t eaten at all.
With their debut coming up soon, all the Sevens members had become gaunt and skeletal.
“Min-guk, have you eaten dinner?”
“Us?”
“Yeah.”
“Not yet… When I saw the JM Entertainment idols’ photos, I thought I needed to lose more weight, hyung.”
Unlike usual, Min-guk’s shoulders drooped dejectedly.
It seemed like I’d have to treat them to a meal today.
“Sir, everyone looks pretty discouraged… How about we all go out and have something delicious today?”
Bang Mu-hyuk glanced at the kids.
“You want to eat well today and then work hard again starting tomorrow?”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, seeing them perk up at the mention of food, it seemed they hadn’t completely lost their fighting spirit.
“Alright, let’s go eat beef!”
* * *
The sound of beef sizzling on grills echoed from all around.
Soju was placed on the table in front of Bang Mu-hyuk and me.
“Sung-guk, have a drink.”
“Sir, cheer up. I’m certain that Sevens will do well.”
[This is truly 100% sincere, Bang Mu-hyuk.]
“If only that were true, I’d have nothing more to wish for.”
I quickly took the glass and refilled Bang Mu-hyuk’s empty one.
Looking over, Min-guk and the other members were relentlessly devouring the beef.
“You guys, cook it a bit more before eating.”
“Director, beef is meant to be eaten as soon as it touches the flame.”
Min-guk had already regained his spirits and shot back with his usual cheerful confidence.
With seven young men at the prime age for eating gathered together, the meat was disappearing in an instant.
“Sir, are the idols from JM Entertainment really that handsome? Honestly, our Sevens aren’t falling behind either.”
[Though they’re not as good-looking as me, of course.]
“Ah, want to see?”
Bang Mu-hyuk showed me photos of the male idols from JM Entertainment.
“All the members have been revealed, and they already have fan clubs even before their official debut.”
I examined each of the JM Entertainment idols that Bang Mu-hyuk presented to me carefully.
Some were handsome, and others had distinctive, striking features.
“To be honest, they have a refined feel, but… our Sevens definitely don’t fall short.”
I gave my honest assessment.
“Right. I think our kids are even better-looking too… But JM has such massive capital, you know. Starting with their costumes and all, it’s no joke.”
[Bang Mu-hyuk, raising them with that humble, struggling concept is our strategy. Just like how I was born into poverty and built up my family, Sevens is about a small, struggling company rising to success!]
While we were talking, Min-guk kept raising his hand and ordered more beef.
“Excuse me, seven more servings here.”
[Hmm… I wasn’t going to be petty about the bill, but… this is already the fifth time.]
On top of that, Bang Mu-hyuk was eating meat like a man who’d found water in the desert. He was already on his second bottle of soju…
And the faces of the Sevens members and Bang Mu-hyuk’s expression were completely different from when they were in the practice room.
At that moment, a strange thought began to form.
I looked at Bang Mu-hyuk again.
“Sir, the company’s been struggling a lot lately, hasn’t it?”
“You know it too. We don’t have money… I’m barely getting by on my royalty income… I think this is really the last straw.”
Even as he spoke, Bang Mu-hyuk’s chopsticks didn’t stop moving.
[Something smells fishy here…]
I reconstructed the events in my mind.
Min-guk whined to me over the phone about male idols coming out from JM Entertainment.
So I rushed to the practice room, and Bang Mu-hyuk was there looking depressed too.
The male idols from JM Entertainment were handsome, but Sevens had members with equally impressive visuals.
When I suggested eating beef today, now a sixth order of meat was coming in.
I clenched my fists under the table.
[Min-guk, you little brat!]
* * *
“The total comes to 3.8 million won.”
[3.8 million won right now? 3.8 million!]
Bang Mu-hyuk patted my shoulder from behind with an apologetic smile.
“Sung-guk, that was delicious… though quite a lot came out.”
“…No, sir.”
I answered through gritted teeth.
Min-guk and the Sevens members filed out with noticeably lighter expressions, bowing politely.
“Thank you for the meal!”
“Thanks for the food, Sung-guk!”
“It’s so great having a successful friend.”
Even Jung-woo, whom I trusted, was in on it together….
I grabbed Min-guk’s shoulder as he tried to flee.
“Jeon Min-guk.”
“Hyung, why are you calling me so scary with my full name….”
“Did you think your hyung wouldn’t find out?”
Min-guk’s eyes wavered.
“Hyung… No, seriously, JM’s kids aren’t joking around, right? When I saw their concept photos… I lost my appetite….”
“Min-guk, if you want beef, just tell me comfortably. I’ll buy it for you.”
At that moment, Min-guk’s eyes trembled even more noticeably.
“Hyung… Why are you like this… You’re scaring me.”
I clenched my teeth and grabbed Min-guk’s shoulder again.
“Min-guk, remember this. You have less than three months left until your debut. If you debut and fail, you won’t have any education from all those years of training since middle school, and you won’t be able to go to university. Then when you enter society, you’ll simply become unemployed. Do you understand?”
“Hyung… I’m going to get indigestion from this meal.”
“Do you want to hear that you’re not as good as your hyung after debuting as an idol?”
“I got it… Sigh….”
Min-guk kept nodding his head, and I patted his back firmly.
“Let’s do our best, Min-guk!”
* * *
The Iron Lady sat in the living room of the Hannam-dong mansion, sipping coffee.
Before her sat Manager Kang, the Iron Lady’s secretary.
Manager Kang glanced at the Iron Lady’s expression before speaking.
“Samjeon says you need to vacate this house by the end of next month.”
“Hmm….”
The Iron Lady sighed.
Finding a house wasn’t difficult. But the house wasn’t the only problem.
“Manager Kang, is there any possibility of reaching an agreement on divorce terms?”
“It’s true that because of the slush funds, it’s become difficult for us to receive alimony.”
“What about stocks instead of alimony?”
“Stocks seem even more difficult.”
The Iron Lady took a sip of coffee.
“Find out who leaked that information.”
“What’s certain is that there’s no one from our side. Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung leaked this situation to a lawyer in the United States, and from the circumstances, it seems someone he met in America leaked the information.”
“Among the people he met in America, is Jeon Sung-guk there?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How would Jeon Sung-guk know about this? Even Tae-guk doesn’t know….”
“We’re also very frustrated about that. We have no connection whatsoever with CEO Jeon Sung-guk on our side.”
Manager Kang also looked very bewildered.
“But… there is actually a rather strange transaction.”
“A strange transaction?”
“Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung is transferring his Alpha shares to CEO Jeon Sung-guk at the original investment amount. And right after he returned from America and found the slush funds in the Virgin Islands, at that.”
The Iron Lady let out a hollow laugh.
“TikTok or whatever—the response was apparently lackluster?”
“Well, that’s true, but… from what I’ve gathered, it seems Wall Street investors have been playing the media a bit too aggressively to acquire Alpha at a lower price.”
“Hmm… Among the people I met in the United States, there’s Jeon Sung-guk… and Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung contacted a Korean lawyer from the United States and uncovered my slush fund… So the moment Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung confirmed this fact, he transferred all his investment shares in TikTok or whatever to Jeon Sung-guk?”
“Yes. There’s no physical evidence, but there are strong suspicions.”
Manager Kang answered carefully.
“Jeon Sung-guk—I never liked him from the start. Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung has always valued Jeon Sung-guk more highly than his own son, and he’s even helped him with business. Now he’s even stabbed me in the back? A kid from a poor family acting all high and mighty just because he’s a bit clever…”
The Iron Lady sipped her coffee with considerable composure.
“I need to strike at Jeon Sung-guk’s weakness.”
“What’s his weakness?”
“Jeon Sung-guk’s greatest weakness is… his family. I hear his younger brother is debuting as an idol. Shall we lend a hand? You know what I mean, don’t you?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
* * *
Bang Mu-hyuk’s phone rang incessantly.
PDs who had promised broadcast stage slots were calling one after another to cancel.
“PD Jeon, our kids are debuting in June, but you’re saying it’s not possible now?”
– Ah, well… Representative Bang, but this is really strange, so I’m telling you this.
PD Jeon had at least some personal connection with Bang Mu-hyuk.
“What is it?”
– Did something go wrong somewhere? Honestly, Representative Bang, you’re too small-scale and you don’t do lobbying, so the PDs didn’t like giving you stage slots anyway. But I watched the Sevens video and saw potential, so I grabbed it… but the desk is in an uproar. The desk wouldn’t even know about a debut-less idol group. When the desk is in an uproar, it means something came down from above.
“I honestly don’t know what’s going on. Other broadcasting stations are canceling one after another right now.”
– I’ll put another team in for now. I’ll keep you on standby. These days, rookie groups sometimes flake out. That’s all I can do. I’m sorry, Representative Bang.
“I’m grateful for even that much, PD Jeon.”
PD Jeon also sighed.
– Just in case, try to find out the reason.
“Yes, PD…”
After hanging up, there was only one person Bang Mu-hyuk could turn to.
* * *
Bang Mu-hyuk’s face looked more anxious than ever.
“Sung-guk, something’s wrong. Even the PD who promised us a stage slot is saying the desk is throwing a fit about canceling Sevens. When the desk acts like this, it means orders came down from above… Our kids haven’t even debuted yet—there’s no reason they’d look bad. And it’s not like I made a bad impression on the PDs; I just couldn’t do lobbying because I don’t have money.”
“All the broadcasting stations canceled?”
“Yeah… If the kids can’t get their debut stage, they’ll disappear without ever seeing the light of day in an instant.”
Someone from above must have given the order…
In that moment, only one person came to mind.
The Iron Lady herself.
And coincidentally, a newspaper owned by the Iron Lady’s younger brother had just published a strange article.
– Idol group with Representative Jeon Sung-guk’s brother faces favoritism controversy before debut!
The reason the Iron Lady was doing this to me was obvious.
She must be suspecting that I had leaked the slush fund from the Virgin Islands paper company to Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.
“Uncle, I think this situation is because of me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When you run a business, there are often people who harbor resentment toward you. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
* * *
“Secretary Kim, you know Jin Sung-gyun, the CEO of Jaeseong Daily News, right?”
Jin Sung-gyun, the CEO of Jaeseong Daily News, was the Iron Lady’s younger brother.
I knew the relationship between those two better than anyone.
The Iron Lady was strict with her children, but she got along exceptionally well with her younger siblings.
“Yes, I’ve never met him in person, but I’m aware of him.”
“Try to recruit Jin Sung-gyun’s driver.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I need to find out what Jin Sung-gyun does inside his car.”
Of course, I knew well enough.
On the surface, Jin Sung-gyun was a second-generation chaebol with a harmonious family, but he was utterly disrespectful to his employees.
But there was something far more important.
[The Iron Lady—they dared to touch my family? No matter that she was my mother in my past life, I will never tolerate anyone laying a hand on my family in this life!]

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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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