I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 418

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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 418
Jin Sung-gyun’s Secret.
I knew it all too well.
I could feel Secretary Kim Mi-so’s gaze fixed on me.
“CEO, do you happen to know anything about CEO Jin Sung-gyun?”
“We start by learning about his closest associates. I don’t know anything specific. Secretary Kim, use whatever means necessary to recruit the driver first.”
I said nothing more.
[In my past life… if people knew how I took down Jin Sung-gyun, they’d all faint.]
In my past life, Jin Sung-gyun attacked me exactly once, backed by the Iron Lady.
The reason was predictable.
Stories began circulating online about how Jin Sung-gyun’s family had mistreated their housemaid and driver. It was only a matter of time before it exploded.
Unlike the Iron Lady, Jin Sung-gyun appeared refined on the surface but was far more vulgar behind closed doors than anyone else.
Considering Samjeon’s image and public opinion, I moderately halted advertising with the Jaeseong Daily News.
Even with family connections, there were times when maintaining distance was necessary.
But Jin Sung-gyun questioned how his nephew could cut ads from his uncle’s company and launched aggressive articles attacking Samjeon while investigating my background.
Of course, he was quickly exposed, and I discovered that what happened in the car wasn’t just mistreatment of the driver.
I didn’t leak it to the media.
I found a reasonable compromise using Jin Sung-gyun’s weakness, and the Jaeseong Daily News never published another aggressive article about Samjeon after that.
[Jin Sung-gyun, in this life, prepare yourself for something far bigger than workplace abuse to blow up.]
* * *
I needed to bring up the topic of relocating the company to my employees.
For those who had worked while receiving the same benefits as Samjeon employees at Samjeon Headquarters, it could be disappointing news.
During the meeting, I could sense everyone was slightly on edge.
They couldn’t possibly be unaware of the news that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was transferring all of Alpha’s shares to me.
“I believe you’ve all already heard about this through rumors or official news. To be honest, TikTok didn’t receive much attention at the San Francisco IT Expo. Rather, it was evaluated as premature. But I quite liked that assessment of being premature.”
The employees listened quietly, like mice frozen in place.
“Premature. It means the timing isn’t right yet, and it suggests that when you wait, the right time will come. The environment simply isn’t ready to naturally operate TikTok yet, but I believe that time will come soon. So through this opportunity, I actually feel I’ve received validation for TikTok. However, there is unfortunate news.”
At those words, the employees’ faces shifted from their quiet, frozen state into tension mode.
“First, let me clarify that this isn’t about layoffs or anything like that. I want to make it clear that we’ll maintain our current workforce as is. Since Samjeon, who has been investing in us, is stepping back, it seems we’ll need to relocate to a different office building.”
The employees actually seemed relieved at this news.
“CEO, so… there are no other changes?”
“We won’t be able to provide the meals we’ve been getting from Samjeon Headquarters going forward. That’s what I regret the most.”
I could see the relieved employees relaxing their tension.
“CEO, has the new office building been decided?”
“Not yet. But it should be decided soon.”
I didn’t mention Chairman Koo Soo-young’s proposal.
This was a time when I needed to consider even the position of outside director at Hyojin Group.
“I know everyone worked hard because of the San Francisco Expo. Just continue working as usual going forward. I’m planning to give Adam a card today, so let’s have a company dinner.”
“Uh… aren’t you coming, CEO?”
“I’ll skip it just today. It’s a family matter.”
My top priority right now was Min-guk’s debut!
* * *
Secretary Kim Mi-so approached me discreetly and whispered quietly.
“CEO, I’ve successfully recruited the driver.”
“Secretary Kim Mi-so, there’s only the two of us in this conference room. I don’t think you need to whisper so secretively.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so laughed sheepishly and took a step back.
“The driver was easier to recruit than expected. Turns out CEO Jin Sung-gyun changes drivers almost every six months. Even though the benefits and pay are quite good. That kind of thing makes it clear there’s definitely a problem.”
“It’s obvious without even looking.”
“I promised the current driver a different job opportunity later and asked him to gather evidence. From what he told me, crude language is the bare minimum—on days when his mood is bad, he’s even taken off his shoes and hit people on the head with them.”
[This guy really does all sorts of ridiculous things.]
“I suspect there’s more than just that?”
“I asked him to collect everything he can find. And he mentioned there’s something strange.”
“What is it?”
“Apparently, he often asks to park the car at a quiet Hangang Park Parking Lot on Thursday nights. He says he wants to be alone, and he tells the driver to go grab food for about an hour.”
[So even in this life, Jin Sung-gyun hasn’t broken his old habits.]
Then.
“Can we set up a hidden camera?”
“I’ve already asked him to set up both recording and hidden camera equipment.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so seemed to have quite a talent for intelligence work.
[I’ll have to remember this going forward.]
“On Thursday nights, if the hidden camera captures anything, have him send it to me immediately. I’ll compensate him generously.”
“Yes, CEO.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so left the conference room with a slightly excited step.
For some reason, it seemed like Secretary Kim Mi-so was enjoying this situation too.
* * *
CEO Bang Mu-hyuk looked dispirited, with the album release now less than three months away but still unable to secure a debut stage.
I understood his feelings, but we couldn’t just sit idle like this.
“Uncle, let’s actively utilize YouTube.”
“YouTube? Min-guk and the kids have already become known through YouTube videos, but they don’t have much recognition among Korean people. Honestly, for male idols, album sales matter more than digital sales, and with domestic recognition at rock bottom….”
[Bang Mu-hyuk, what are you saying! This is an opportunity heaven has given us! Abandon the idea that Sevens’ album will only sell domestically!]
It was frustrating, but telling him would be pointless given what I knew of the future.
“Uncle, we have to do something. I’ll secure a debut stage soon.”
“We’re still contacting broadcasting stations. The problem is nothing’s working out.”
It seemed the Iron Lady’s influence was still quite powerful.
[Iron Lady, enjoy this moment while you can.]
“Uncle, keep filming and uploading practice videos of Min-guk and the kids doing choreography. Upload singing videos occasionally too.”
“Yeah… there’s nothing else we can do right now. I haven’t even told the kids we couldn’t secure a debut stage. I need to do something like this first so they don’t get discouraged.”
Bang Mu-hyuk stood up with slightly drooping shoulders.
I watched his retreating figure as he headed toward the practice room.
The deeper the valley, the higher the mountain—or so the saying goes.
Perhaps that’s what they meant when they spoke of Sevens….
[Min-guk will probably milk this hardship for sympathy someday too, won’t he?]
Maybe our family was simply destined from birth to endure hardship and turn it into a sob story.
* * *
Friday’s lunch menu was unusual.
It was eel rice bowl—my favorite.
I glanced at Jeon Tae-guk standing beside me.
“Hyung, did you say you wanted eel rice bowl?”
“Yeah.”
“But this is way too expensive per serving.”
“That’s why there’s only yours and mine.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, isn’t that an abuse of authority?]
Jeon Tae-guk continued in a dejected voice.
“We don’t have many days left to eat together like this. If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me.”
“Hyung, I’ll just eat whatever you give me.”
“Sigh… then who am I supposed to eat with?”
“Get closer with the executives. Create communication opportunities with the staff—eat together and talk. You’re Samjeon’s successor, after all. Time with ordinary employees matters too.”
“You’re right. A communication opportunity… let me try that.”
“Hyung, once you become Vice Chairman soon, you’ll be traveling so much you probably won’t eat at headquarters very often.”
Whether this was comforting or not, the schedule of a Samjeon Vice Chairman was absolutely brutal.
Just then, Secretary Kim Mi-so called.
The moment I answered, Secretary Kim Mi-so’s low voice came through.
– CEO, we finally caught him! Apparently he went to Hangang Park Parking Lot again yesterday. The hidden camera captured it perfectly, and the driver didn’t go eat lunch yesterday—he staked out the area nearby and filmed the footage.
[Finally caught him!]
“Did you get everything?”
– But there’s a problem….
The problem was obvious without even hearing it.
Since we’d caught a big fish, the asking price had gone up.
“Don’t worry. Pay whatever they ask for and bring it to me.”
This wasn’t the time to be stingy about money when it came to family matters.
– Yes, CEO. I’ll still try to negotiate it down as much as possible!
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk looked at me and asked.
“Sung-guk, what’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
[Your mother won’t be able to move against me anymore! How am I supposed to tell you that, Jeon Tae-guk.]
* * *
The reason Jin Sung-gyun visited Hangang Park Parking Lot every Thursday was drugs.
During his time studying abroad in the United States, Jin Sung-gyun had tried every drug imaginable, and he couldn’t quit even after returning to Korea. So every Thursday, he’d go to Hangang Park Parking Lot alone to indulge, and he’d throw the syringes into the Han River.
The driver had captured all of this on the hidden camera installed in the car, and had even perfectly caught the moment when Jin Sung-gyun threw the syringes into the river.
“The angle is perfect. Anyone can tell it’s Jin Sung-gyun.”
“And we have countless recordings and videos of him abusing his power as usual.”
“Did the driver quietly resign?”
“Yes, after filming the video, he submitted his resignation. But the owner’s family threatened to sue if he exposed their private affairs, so he hasn’t signed the severance agreement yet. That’s why he’s demanding an excessive amount from us.”
“How much?”
“Three hundred million won.”
[Three hundred million? Did he say three hundred million?]
I was shocked, but I forced myself to remain composed.
Secretary Kim studied my face and whispered discreetly again.
“CEO, I managed to negotiate fifty million won off. I convinced him that his severance should be small given his short tenure, and that he was asking too much from us.”
“Well done, Secretary Kim.”
Now all that remained was to meet with the Iron Lady.
“Secretary Kim, please arrange a meeting with Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s wife at Samjeon Hotel.”
“Yes, CEO.”
* * *
The Iron Lady was in the middle of divorce proceedings.
With the slush funds in the Virgin Islands exposed, the situation was now unfavorable for her.
Public opinion wasn’t helping either—there were suspicions that she had deliberately leaked videos of her husband’s infidelity while he was incapacitated, on top of the charges of hiding slush funds.
If she had nowhere else to turn but her family, and Jin Sung-gyun was now under investigation for drug charges, the Iron Lady could end up fighting her divorce alone.
I sat in a private room at the French Restaurant in Samjeon, waiting for the Iron Lady.
[I remember when I was five years old… how she excluded our mother with that French of hers….]
The door slid open, and the Iron Lady walked in.
Her face was rigid with tension.
I had arranged the meeting place and time, and the moment she left her Hannam-dong home, I sent the video of Jin Sung-gyun to her phone.
To shorten the negotiation time.
The Iron Lady sat down and stared at me coldly.
[Iron Lady, I… I was your son in my previous life. And you’re looking at me like that?]
I smiled faintly.
“It’s been a while, ma’am.”
“Jeon Sung-guk, what exactly do you want?”
“It seems there’s something you don’t understand, ma’am.”
The Iron Lady’s brow furrowed.
“What don’t I understand?”
“Once you’re divorced, you won’t be the mistress of Samjeon anymore. You’ll just be the daughter of a wealthy family.”
“What? How dare you speak to me like—”
“Ma’am, you shouldn’t interrupt me right now.”
At those words, the Iron Lady clamped her mouth shut. Her face was burning with suppressed rage.
Now it was time for me to state my business.
And to show her what happens when someone touches my family.
“Ma’am, if you want a family to return to after the divorce, I suggest you clean up that petty scheme you pulled on Min-guk.”

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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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