I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 419

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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 419
Nothing lasts forever.
That’s what they say.
No matter that she was my mother in my past life, our connection couldn’t continue in this one.
In this life, the Iron Lady and I were bound by ill fate, if anything.
The Iron Lady gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger.
The title of Samjeon’s wife would soon vanish, but she too was the daughter of a family with power and wealth.
She had never descended from the uppermost echelon of South Korean society.
Yet in this moment, the Iron Lady had to decide whether to bow her head to me—someone from a poor family with orphaned parents—all because of her younger brother.
[Iron Lady, it’s time to make your choice.]
I stared at her coldly.
“Madam, you need to give me an answer now.”
“….”
The Iron Lady rose from her seat without a word.
It was an unexpected reaction, though not entirely unforeseen.
I looked up at her as she stood.
Then the Iron Lady slowly opened her mouth.
“CEO Jeon Sung-guk, you’ve misjudged me. Blackmail and being blackmailed… that’s what lowborn people do. Isn’t it?”
“Didn’t you blackmail first, Madam? Banning my brother’s idol group from appearing. Isn’t that blackmail?”
“….”
The Iron Lady seemed to be searching for a response.
I continued immediately.
“Giving orders from behind while others do the blackmailing doesn’t mean you didn’t blackmail. And lowborn people? I was born in 1991. South Korea is a society where everyone is equal—did you perhaps emerge from the Joseon Dynasty?”
The Iron Lady’s breathing grew harsh.
“Even at Mi-jin’s fifth birthday, you ignored and disrespected our mother just because you knew a bit of French. And now that you’re older, nothing has changed.”
The Iron Lady’s lips trembled.
“This is why I don’t associate with people without breeding.”
“Don’t worry. I claim to have breeding too, but ultimately I don’t want to associate with people of poor character who do drugs.”
Jin Sung-gyun’s drug use was already known to the Iron Lady.
He’d caused numerous problems since university—she couldn’t possibly be unaware.
“Is all you want just your brother’s problem?”
The Iron Lady shot me a piercing look and asked.
“For now.”
“I knew it. You’re so young yet running a business, and all you’ve learned is pettiness.”
“I don’t attack first. I only defend. Madam, do you really want to continue this fight with me?”
I met her wavering gaze.
For the sake of her pride, the Iron Lady wouldn’t surrender easily.
“I’ll think about it.”
Then she opened the door and left.
[Hmm… the ordered course meal hasn’t even arrived yet… what now?]
Just then, the door opened and the dishes began to arrive.
The flustered staff member looked at me.
“Um… the dishes for two have arrived.”
“One of them left early, so it’s fine. Please serve them.”
“Ah, yes….”
“And could I get a bottle of wine as well?”
“I’ll show you the list.”
“That won’t be necessary. Do you have the 2011 Santia among your recommended wines?”
“Yes….”
“I’ll take that.”
It was the wine I’d drunk in my previous life when I died. And it came from the winery in Napa Valley that I’d owned.
Soon the staff member returned with the wine.
“This is the first time anyone has ordered this wine. It’s from the winery that Chairman Koo Soo-young purchased, and it only came out for the first time last year.”
“I like the history behind it.”
The staff member opened the wine and offered me a taste, but I shook my head.
I already knew what it tasted like.
“That’s fine. I’ll go with this wine today.”
Then, through the open door, a familiar face appeared. Not a particularly welcome one.
“Sung-guk? No… CEO Jeon Sung-guk?”
Jeon Tae-guk’s younger sister, my kindergarten classmate, and the daughter of the Iron Lady—Jeon Mi-jin.
Jeon Mi-jin walked in with a bright smile.
“Sung-guk, it’s been so long!”
“Weren’t you supposed to be in New York?”
[Isn’t this supposed to be when you’re studying hard, Jeon Mi-jin?]
Jeon Mi-jin smiled slyly.
“There’s been an issue between Mom and Dad. I think you probably already know about it?”
Jeon Mi-jin looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Your parents’ issues aren’t really my concern….”
Jeon Mi-jin naturally sat down across from me. Then she looked at the staff member.
“Could I get another glass, please?”
“Of course.”
Once the staff member left, Jeon Mi-jin looked at the wine on the table.
“This is from Dad’s winery, isn’t it? It’s not well-known in Korea and doesn’t sell much here…. Did you order this knowing that, Sung-guk?”
“Yeah. I’ve had it before….”
“Wait a second.”
Jeon Mi-jin stared at me intently.
“What?”
“Are you trying to take over Samjeon? By using our stupid brother Tae-guk?”
“Sigh….”
I let out a quiet sigh.
And I fixed my gaze on Jeon Mi-jin.
“Jeon Mi-jin, don’t you know that revealing your true feelings so easily is one of the stupidest things you can do? I see you’re coveting Samsung, but if you can’t read the situation and keep acting out like this, it’ll be difficult for you. This is advice I’m giving you as someone who runs a business, so take it to heart.”
[Though I know you don’t have the character to take any advice to heart, so I’m giving it anyway.]
Jeon Mi-jin seemed slightly flustered and shrugged her shoulders.
“I was just asking because Mother’s been so down lately. I’ve heard bits and pieces of the story here and there anyway. Mother’s slush fund in the Virgin Islands. Because of that, she was disadvantaged in the divorce proceedings, and Mother thinks you’re the one who leaked the Virgin Islands slush fund… well, that sort of thing….”
Jeon Mi-jin seemed considerably more cunning than when I last saw her.
She was cunning in my previous life too. It’s just that she lacked the ability….
A server soon arrived with a wine glass, and Jeon Mi-jin enjoyed wine and food at a table she hadn’t been invited to.
“Mother put so much care into this French Restaurant when she first opened it…. It’s a shame that Mother might not be able to come here again….”
“Jeon Mi-jin, I’m going to leave now.”
I had no desire to deal with the Iron Lady or Jeon Mi-jin any longer.
As I stood up from my seat, Jeon Mi-jin set down her wine glass and looked up at me.
“Sung-guk, let me give you one piece of advice as your kindergarten classmate… and as a friend who once had feelings for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Don’t touch our family. Even if our mother loses the title of Samsung’s wife through divorce, the fact that she’s the mother of Samsung’s successors doesn’t change.”
The Iron Lady and Jeon Mi-jin were still underestimating me.
The phrase “a frog in a well” fit these two women perfectly.
“Jeon Mi-jin, let me say one last thing too. There’s something you and your mother, and everyone in the Samsung family, often forget… I’m no longer Jeon Sung-guk, who made a living as Samsung’s model. I’m someone who runs a company that Samsung couldn’t even climb to. Jeon Mi-jin, let’s split the bill for today’s meal. By your own words, you’re a remarkable daughter of Samsung, and I’m now someone with enough money that I don’t need to freeload off your family.”
I left the French Restaurant immediately after finishing my words.
And I called Secretary Kim Mi-so.
– Yes, CEO.
“Let’s activate Plan B!”
* * *
Plan B.
A backup plan in case the original strategy didn’t work.
Did you think I wouldn’t prepare something like this?
I knew the Iron Lady better than anyone.
I anticipated that the Iron Lady wouldn’t accept my proposal outright out of pride.
She would probably drag things out for a while longer, or wait to see how I would respond.
In the meantime, she could even counter with a substantial offer.
If that were the case, I had no choice but to reduce the time the Iron Lady had to think.
“CEO!”
Secretary Kim Mi-so waved her hand from the lobby.
“You could have waited in the car.”
“I have a report too. Plan B is in motion. I sent all the drug videos to CEO Jin Sung-gyun using a burner phone with a blocked caller ID. And I added a brief message. That negotiations will be conducted with his older sister. CEO Jin Sung-gyun probably understood what I meant.”
“He’ll think his video was taken because of his older sister, who is Samsung’s wife. He won’t realize his own wrongdoing.”
“Yes, CEO.”
Kim Mi-so had quite an excited expression on her face.
“Secretary Kim, you seem to find this kind of work quite fun?”
“Did I get caught?”
“Of course. You seem to be putting in more effort than ever before.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so smiled, living up to her name.
“I’ve lived exemplarily my whole life, and since I’ve always been in the subordinate position, it’s quite fascinating to turn the tables on these powerful figures.”
“Then I shouldn’t count myself among those powerful figures?”
“Chairman, I told you already. I’m a model citizen. Absolute obedience to whoever I serve.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so opened the rear door of the car.
“Well then, Plan B. Let’s wait for their reaction.”
* * *
“Sister, what is this?”
Jin Sung-gyun held out his phone to the Iron Lady with a pleading voice.
The Iron Lady recognized the video immediately.
“Get it away from me.”
“Sister, look here. They’re telling me to talk to you. Sister, you’re not blackmailing me with this video because I won’t agree to a divorce settlement with the Samjeon family, are you?”
The Iron Lady didn’t answer.
“That’s it, isn’t it! Sister… what happens to me if this gets out? Won’t those vultures circling my position demand I step down? Sister, say something, anything.”
“Stop your whining! How is this my fault? You can’t even quit drugs, you can’t manage your own subordinates properly, and now this video is circulating? The real problem is you!”
“I’m doing better than most of us. I feed people who have nothing, so what if I throw my weight around a little? And drugs… half the kids who studied abroad in the United States do them. Everyone’s families cover it up and keep quiet about it, don’t they?”
“Is that something to brag about? Is it?”
“Sister, are you really going to do this? Huh?! Just agree to the divorce and protect my position at least. Honestly, my brother-in-law knows about the slush fund issue in the Virgin Islands, so the divorce lawsuit is already unfavorable. Even if I lose the divorce, shouldn’t our family at least remain intact?”
“Fine, fine!”
The Iron Lady wrapped her throbbing head in her hands.
Slush funds from a paper company in the Virgin Islands.
And her younger brother, Jin Sung-gyun, the chairman of Jaeseong Daily News, with his drug problem.
How did Jeon Sung-guk know about facts that only her closest circle knew? The Iron Lady grew even more curious about this.
“Sister, you’ll do what the Samjeon family wants, right?”
Jin Sung-gyun had no idea that Jeon Sung-guk was behind all of this.
The Iron Lady reluctantly answered.
“Don’t worry. It’s not a big problem, so I’ll take care of it….”
* * *
Chairman Koo Soo-young of Hyojin Group waited in front of my house early in the morning.
“Chairman, I could have picked you up.”
“Get in. There’s somewhere I want to show you.”
I quickly got into Chairman Koo Soo-young’s car.
Then Chairman Koo Soo-young handed me a takeout coffee.
“My stomach isn’t good anymore so I can’t drink it, but you’re fine with it, aren’t you?”
“I’ll enjoy it, Chairman. But… where are we going?”
“The Alpha Building. I’ve been thinking it over, and bringing it into Hyojin Group itself seems awkward… I heard all the IT companies these days are setting up shop there.”
Could it be…
“Are you referring to Pangyo?”
“Haha, you really do know everything. Pangyo, that’s right. Since all the IT companies are setting up there, I’d rather Alpha become a model company for South Korea’s IT industry than have the Hyojin Group name mixed in with it.”
Koo Soo-young, Chairman of Hyojin Group, possessed a depth of thought that was truly remarkable.
While pursuing corporate profits, he simultaneously considered how to give back to society.
“I hope Alpha grows in such a place, that infrastructure takes root, and that South Korea’s IT industry becomes even more vibrant.”
“I will do my best to make that happen.”
“Yes, that’s all I need to hear.”
Chairman Koo always nodded with such benevolent grace.
* * *
Pangyo’s Tech Valley.
Many companies had already moved in, but among them, Alpha occupied an entire floor.
“Do you like the place, Sung-guk?”
“Yes, Chairman. The location doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I’m working here.”
I smiled as I gazed across the expansive space.
Just then, my phone rang.
It was a message from the Iron Lady.
– I’m completely stepping back from your brother’s affairs. So, you’d better keep your promise.
The Iron Lady had finally declared her surrender!

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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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