I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 42

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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 42
A brief silence fell over the room.
Jeon Jae-hyung looked back and forth between me and Jeon Tae-guk.
“Tae-guk was originally supposed to tour his new school starting tomorrow, but let’s push that to the day after. And Sung-guk, instead of going to Universal Studios tomorrow, come with me and his older brother Tae-guk to San Francisco for the Venture Expo Hall.”
[Really?]
“Sung-guk, you’re not disappointed about missing Universal Studios, are you?”
“I like this better.”
I grinned widely and took a big bite of my hamburger.
Forget Universal Studios—what I really wanted this time was a conversation with Elon Musk!
Elon Musk currently runs T.com, the predecessor to PayPal, but he’ll soon establish PayPal and become a billionaire. And he’ll turn electric vehicles and space travel into reality, just as we know them today.
One of my goals is to buy into all these companies the moment they go public.
* * *
The moment we arrived in San Francisco, Jeon Tae-guk’s and my schedule began.
Tae-guk was irritable from the morning—whether because he didn’t want to be with me, or because he was annoyed at having to come to a venture expo instead of playing, I couldn’t tell.
“Secretary Yang, do I really have to stay with this little runt all day?”
“Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung has a meeting scheduled this morning regarding semiconductors. You’ll head to the Venture Expo Hall together in the afternoon. You’re welcome to rest comfortably at the Hotel this morning.”
“Fine, I’ll stay in my room. I’m going to sleep—wake me up at 11.”
“Yes, young master.”
Jeon Tae-guk grumbled and headed to his room.
Secretary Yang turned to me, now alone with him.
“Is there anything you’d like to do, Sung-guk?”
“Do you have a list of participating companies at the venture expo?”
“Why do you ask?”
[Why? To check whether Elon Musk is coming or not, obviously.]
I hid my true intentions and smiled brightly, taking Secretary Yang’s hand.
“I’m just curious.”
“You really are something special, Sung-guk. Let me see what I can do.”
“Yes! Thank you so much, mister.”
I turned on the charm as much as a five-year-old could.
One of the perks of being a five-year-old child was that no one questioned the intentions behind my actions.
As an adult, every gesture carried meaning. Especially for someone in an important position. Sometimes people even tried to read meaning into actions I never intended.
But with a five-year-old, people rarely read anything deeper into what you do.
Jeon Jae-hyung was preoccupied with the succession problem, so that made sense. But Secretary Yang would simply think of me as a bright child.
Secretary Yang brought me the participant list within an hour.
And there it was—Elon Musk!
* * *
The car headed toward the Venture Expo Hall in San Francisco.
My heart raced.
I wore the nicest outfit from what I’d brought along.
A striped shirt, jeans, and sneakers. For a young child, it was quite a formal look. It was a brand I’d received as sponsorship before, one I couldn’t wear as I grew, but now I finally could.
I adjusted my shirt collar.
Secretary Yang quickly checked the rest of my appearance.
“Sung-guk, you look wonderful today.”
“Thank you.”
I placed both hands together at my navel and bowed respectfully.
Jeon Tae-guk, dressed in a luxury brand children’s suit that anyone could recognize, grumbled audibly.
“What is this? Cheap stuff.”
[Your character is what’s cheap.]
I clenched my fists tightly, barely containing my anger.
“Secretary Yang, when is Father arriving?”
“He’s scheduled to come directly from the conference. Please don’t worry too much.”
“Why did Father want to go to a place like this anyway?”
Jeon Tae-guk continued to complain.
It was pathetic how he didn’t understand what an incredible opportunity this was, but I knew for certain it would be a great opportunity for me.
When the car arrived, the Samjeon Group representatives stationed in San Francisco, who had prepared in advance, greeted us.
They seemed slightly taken aback when such young children as myself and Jeon Tae-guk stepped out, but they all maintained their composure well.
Secretary Yang took my hand and led me into the Venture Expo Hall.
“Sung-guk, you can’t let go of my hand.”
“Okay.”
[Then how am I supposed to meet Elon Musk?]
My mind was in turmoil.
If Secretary Yang kept following me around, meeting Elon Musk would be difficult.
I entered the Venture Expo Hall determined to somehow separate from Secretary Yang and meet Elon Musk.
All of America’s promising venture companies had mobilized for this expo.
This was their venue to showcase their technology and secure investment.
To them, Samjeon Group was still known primarily for home appliances, but it was an indispensable group in the IT industry, including semiconductors.
I gently released Secretary Yang’s hand.
“Sung-guk, there are too many people here. You can’t do that.”
Secretary Yang quickly grasped my hand again.
How could I get rid of Secretary Yang?
That was all my mind could focus on.
At least fortunately, Secretary Yang followed wherever I led him.
I scanned the surroundings and found T.com’s booth. Then I spotted the T.com booth right before my eyes. Several people were coming and going there. But Elon Musk was nowhere to be seen.
I pulled Secretary Yang’s hand and toddled toward the booth.
When we reached the booth, a tall Caucasian man standing guard looked down at me with a puzzled expression.
“Hello there, little one. What can I do for you?”
“Where is Elon Musk?”
“You’re looking for Elon Musk?”
The employee seemed somewhat surprised.
It was certainly astonishing that an Asian child would be searching for the CEO of a relatively unknown company.
I nodded eagerly.
“I really want to meet you.”
“One moment….”
The employee made a phone call to someone.
Being a child proved remarkably useful in moments like this. Adults were always eager to indulge a child’s curiosity.
While I wandered around the booth, the employee told me various stories not only about T.com but also about Elon Musk.
“Our boss is really something else. He’s a complete workaholic.”
I already knew this well.
Elon Musk had said that one cannot change the world by working just forty hours a week—one must work a hundred hours a week.
I myself had worked that way in the Samjeon Electronics group.
People who complained that conglomerates were inherited for free had surely never studied or worked as hard as I had.
The world changed because of people like me.
Just then, a man I could recognize at a glance walked toward us from a distance.
With his slightly receding hairline and dressed in a navy blazer over a white shirt, he was unmistakably Elon Musk.
I smiled slightly and waved toward him.
[So we meet this way in this life, Elon!]
Elon Musk greeted me with a bright smile.
“Is this the child from the East looking for me?”
Elon Musk asked the employee.
“Not just the East—South Korea, specifically.”
I answered in English, speaking clearly and deliberately.
“You speak English well. Do you live in the United States?”
“No. This is my first time coming to the United States.”
Elon Musk looked down at me with curiosity, then suddenly knelt down to meet my eyes at the same level.
“Did you learn English in Korea?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know about me?”
“I saw it on the economic news.”
No South Korean news outlet had ever covered Elon Musk, but I brushed past the question vaguely.
“Am I really known in South Korea already….”
Elon Musk seemed puzzled.
“You’ll become even more famous in the future.”
I spoke with absolute conviction.
“I hope so too. By the way, why were you looking for me?”
“I wanted to hear about your business.”
“T.com?”
“Yes.”
I nodded vigorously.
Elon Musk lifted me up and carried me toward the booth, explaining T.com as we walked.
“Everyone has computers in their homes now. And we’re already connected to the entire world through the internet. In the future, people will buy things and make payments through this internet.”
I nodded along.
I listened intently to Elon Musk’s words.
In 1996, what Elon Musk said might have seemed far-fetched to some. But this vision would become reality.
The dream of electric vehicles revolutionizing the world.
The audacity to believe that private enterprise could accomplish what only nations attempted in space exploration.
He would methodically transform all of it into reality.
Elon Musk finished his brief explanation and looked at me.
“You understand, kid?”
“I’m not a kid. I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Jeon what?”
Korean names were clearly difficult for him to pronounce.
“Jeon. Sung. Guk.”
I enunciated each syllable carefully, emphasizing every sound.
“Sung-guk? Is that right?”
“Yes. Jeon Sung-guk.”
Elon Musk flashed his characteristic smile.
“With talent like you in South Korea, the future of your country looks bright indeed.”
“With talent like you in the United States, your country’s future looks just as bright.”
My response made Elon Musk burst into laughter, giving me a thumbs up.
“You’re truly a genius.”
“Everyone says that, but I’m actually just hardworking.”
Elon Musk appreciated my answer, and we spent some time discussing various topics.
“If we continue like this, Earth will be destroyed. Just look at automobile emissions and power plants. We’re destroying the planet to obtain energy.”
“What if cars ran on electricity?”
I posed the question to Elon Musk. He paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Electric cars?”
“Yes. If cars ran on electricity, the emissions problem would disappear, wouldn’t it?”
“Many companies have already tried developing electric vehicles, but most of them failed.”
Elon Musk tilted his head.
I held up the Evian water bottle in my hand and showed it to him.
“Before Evian, countless companies probably tried selling bottled water, but people back then thought, why buy water when you can just draw it from a well? All the companies that made bottled water before Evian must have failed. But then came a moment when water became contaminated, when people started caring about their health, and they realized the importance of clean water. Evian understood that timing. That’s when they succeeded.”
“Are you saying the timing for electric cars is coming?”
“I believe so. Just like humanity’s plans to colonize Mars and our efforts to find eco-friendly energy sources.”
Elon Musk laughed several times, as if he’d made a great discovery.
“Sung-guk. That’s a really good idea. Really good. Electric cars and… space. That’s amazing!”
“In the future, that’s exactly what will happen.”
I nodded with absolute conviction.
Everyone believed it was impossible, but Elon Musk truly turned that impossibility into reality. And faster than anyone expected.
Elon Musk extended his hand first.
“I enjoyed our conversation today. When can we meet again?”
“Next time, I’ll become a major shareholder of your company. Could you sign this for me?”
I held out the brochure instead of my hand.
Elon Musk signed the brochure while muttering to himself.
“To Sung-guk, the future major shareholder. How’s that?”
“Perfect!”
I gave him a thumbs up.
“I’m looking forward to it, Sung-guk.”
“Of course.”
I answered confidently.
Exactly fifteen minutes.
Those fifteen minutes had connected my life with Elon Musk’s.
Later, as Elon Musk became a global billionaire, he might forget my difficult-to-pronounce name. But he would never forget the electric car that a small boy from South Korea had spoken about.
* * *
Jeon Jae-hyung watched intently as Sung-guk and Elon Musk conversed.
Jeon Jae-hyung had already completed a thorough investigation of T.com, one of the two companies Sung-guk had selected.
It was a realizable technology, and the company possessed core technology that would become indispensable in future internet commerce. Most assessments rated its growth potential as high. He had also heard that several major corporations within the United States were stepping forward to acquire it.
When Sung-guk had selected Google and T.com, Jeon Jae-hyung had thought it was a joke.
In fact, his son Tae-guk’s selected companies were practically random picks. From dozens of enterprises per page, he had simply chosen one or two according to his whim.
But Sung-guk had selected only two companies from all the participating enterprises at the expo.
At first, he had assumed Sung-guk, like his son Tae-guk, had chosen them for amusement. Yet it was remarkable that both companies were internet-based and represented an untapped field that was only just beginning to emerge.
It was a blind spot he had overlooked, and he felt genuinely bewildered at first.
Samjeon Group still operated primarily in secondary industry and was transitioning to tertiary industry centered on semiconductors. The companies Sung-guk had selected were fourth-industrial companies that transcended both these stages.
I watched as Sung-guk shook hands with Elon Musk and parted ways, then moved on to the next booth. This time, it was Google’s.
When the young boy from the East approached and asked questions skillfully in fluent English, the booth staff responded with friendly explanations.
One of Jeon Jae-hyung’s attendants approached him.
“Where is Tae-guk?”
“Well… he went to the Ice Cream Shop outside the Venture Expo Hall.”
Jeon Jae-hyung made no response to the attendant’s words. But a question formed in his mind.
Wouldn’t a child that age naturally pester someone to buy him ice cream instead of walking around the booths?

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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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