I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 43

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 43
I gazed at the brochures for Google and T.com with a contented smile, studying them again and again as the plane carried me back to Los Angeles.
It was remarkable that both companies were still in their infancy.
Samjeon Group had built itself into a global enterprise through generations of accumulated wealth, but these companies were different. They were creating something from nothing.
I found this aspect deeply appealing.
When I lived as the heir to Samjeon Group, I devoted myself more to maintaining what Samjeon already was rather than pursuing such creative endeavors.
Perhaps because they were born with nothing, they could pursue their ambitions without hesitation.
Through the airplane window, the dim lights of Los Angeles glowed in the darkness.
I felt Secretary Yang’s gaze from the seat beside me.
“Sung-guk, what’s so fascinating?”
“These companies.”
“Sung-guk, I’m genuinely curious—have you thought about studying abroad in the United States?”
“I miss Mom and Dad.”
“I understand.”
Secretary Yang smiled warmly, gently stroking my head with a wistful expression.
If I had no parents, I would have chosen to study abroad in the United States as Secretary Yang suggested. But now I had a family to protect, and a younger brother who had only just begun earning his own way.
They had taught me what family truly meant.
That family wasn’t about competing with one another, but about understanding and guiding each other.
I clutched the brochures tightly.
[Mom, Dad. Just wait a few more years. I’m going to buy all the stock in these companies!]
I made one major decision in my heart.
* * *
“Hyung! Hyung!”
[Sigh, little brother. Get away. While I’m being nice.]
From the moment I returned to Korea, Min-guk clung to me like gum and wouldn’t let go.
“Sung-guk, you’re awake now?”
I quickly went to Mother and embraced her.
“Mom.”
“Hyung.”
Min-guk stuck right to my back.
[Go away, you brat.]
“Sung-guk, Min-guk didn’t eat a single one of the snacks I bought for him to eat with you when you came home.”
Min-guk dashed into the inner room, yanked open a drawer, and came running back with an unopened bag of snacks. In his haste, his small feet tangled together and he nearly fell.
I rushed over and caught Min-guk just as he was about to tumble.
“Jeon Min-guk. No running!”
I spoke firmly, as an older brother should.
“Hyung, snack.”
Min-guk held out his favorite shrimp-flavored snack to me.
“Hyung, let’s eat together. Snack.”
[This kid, does he really like me that much? All I ever did was nag him about earning his keep properly….]
My eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
[How embarrassing.]
I quickly pressed my eyes with my hands and swallowed hard through my nose.
“Sung-guk, Min-guk. You can’t eat snacks right now. We need to have breakfast first.”
“Hyung, let’s eat.”
“Let’s eat together, and we can have snacks together too.”
“Okay, hyung.”
Min-guk opened his mouth wide and beamed with a bright smile.
[I really didn’t want to give my snacks to my little brother….]
Before I knew it, I was gripping Min-guk’s hand tightly and heading toward the dining table.
Father, fresh from washing up, saw Min-guk and me, lifted us both up, and planted kisses all over our cheeks.
[Dad, you need to change your razor. It’s still rough.]
“Sung-guk, how was the United States? I’ve never even been to Jeju Island.”
“Honey, should we take the kids to Jeju Island next summer?”
“I need to work hard and earn more money.”
[Mom, Dad. Don’t you know I have over 300 million won in my account? And Min-guk is earning money now too.]
Father settled Min-guk and me into the dining chairs.
As for this dining table, we’d brought it straight from the previous house when we moved into the two-room apartment.
“Sung-guk, Secretary Yang called every single day asking how you were doing.”
[Of course. Other families sent nannies along too.]
“Sung-guk, what was the most fun part of the United States?”
[Dad wouldn’t understand even if I told him….]
“Sung-guk, Mom is curious too.”
“Disneyland.”
“Wow, honey! Let’s take Sung-guk and Min-guk to Everland on our day off.”
[Mom, it’s Everland now.]
Mother had prepared a perfect breakfast from early morning—seaweed soup and wrapped pork belly.
“Sung-guk, you missed Mom’s cooking, didn’t you?”
“Yes!”
I quickly grabbed my spoon and shoveled rice into my mouth.
[In my past life, I was someone who had croissants from the Samjeon Hotel bakery and coffee for breakfast, you know.]
In this life, Mother’s home cooking was the most delicious thing in the world. Along with Korea’s finest pork belly.
I quickly gave Mother and Father a thumbs up.
“The best!”
Happy smiles spread across Mother and Father’s faces.
I finally felt like I was home. And now it was time to share my decision.
“Mom, Dad. I have something to tell you.”
“Sung-guk, what is it?”
Father looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I swallowed the rice remaining in my mouth and looked back and forth between Mother and Father.
“Mother, Father. I don’t want to go to kindergarten anymore.”
A brief silence fell over the table.
Everyone looked startled when I announced I wouldn’t be attending kindergarten after having just returned from the United States on a special program trip.
I had originally intended to build a foundation for social skills at kindergarten. But those children in the advanced class were born with silver spoons in their mouths and had erected invisible walls that separated us.
That wasn’t really the reason, though. Since I didn’t have to play with children who weren’t on my level, studying and reading books was actually convenient. Rather, my perspective had shifted after this trip to the United States.
Father set down his spoon and looked at me with concern.
“Sung-guk, did the other children bully you?”
I shook my head firmly.
My response was decisive.
“Then… did a teacher or someone else bully you?”
I shook my head firmly again.
This time too, my response was decisive.
“Then why do you suddenly not want to go to kindergarten?”
“Father, it’s not that I don’t want to go.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t need to go.”
My answer was clear.
After witnessing world-class companies in the United States, everything became crystal clear. That I couldn’t succeed by living exactly like everyone else.
And I realized I had to completely break free from the shadow of the Samjeon Group.
If I continued receiving support from the Samjeon Group like this, I could never move the world the way they did—creating something from nothing. I would merely become one of their accessories.
Now was the time to sever my ties with the Samjeon Group completely.
“Father, I want to earn money.”
“Sung-guk, you just got back from the United States a day ago. Let’s get through the weekend, and next week you can go to kindergarten first. If you still feel this way after that, we can talk about it again.”
Father persuaded me calmly.
[I suppose there’s no choice.]
I nodded.
I had to at least pretend to listen to him to move forward with my plans.
Father exhaled a heavy sigh with a stern expression.
“I’ll contact Secretary Yang separately. Something must have happened in the United States.”
[That’s not it at all….]
But I didn’t stop him.
Only when he understood that nothing had happened would he truly grasp how resolute my determination was.
“So-young, why don’t you go speak separately with Sung-guk’s kindergarten teacher?”
“I think that’s what we should do.”
[Did I make this too big of a deal….]
I scratched my head.
“Hyung, snack.”
“Yeah, let’s have a snack.”
I took Min-guk’s hand and escaped the heavy atmosphere of the kitchen. Seeing Mother and Father so serious was a first for me, and it weighed on my heart.
* * *
Secretary Yang opened the door to 【Won Uncle’s Bossam】 Jamsil Branch, carrying a fruit basket.
The restaurant was quiet, as business was winding down for the evening.
“Is bossam still available at this hour?”
“Secretary Yang! What brings you here so late?”
Sung-guk’s father poked his head out from the kitchen.
“Your call this afternoon has been weighing on my mind. I thought I should visit in person and hear directly why you said such things.”
That afternoon, Sung-guk’s father had called Secretary Yang to tell him that Sung-guk suddenly didn’t want to go to kindergarten anymore. He’d also cautiously asked whether there had been any bullying or harassment during the United States training program.
As far as Secretary Yang knew, there hadn’t been. Sung-guk had spent several days apart while going to the exhibition with Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, and when he rejoined the other children, Jeon Mi-jin had stuck close to his side, not letting anyone else near him.
“Just a moment. I was tidying up the kitchen, but I’ll prepare something simple.”
“And some soju, please.”
“Of course.”
Secretary Yang set the fruit basket on a chair.
When he reported this afternoon’s matter to Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung by phone, the chairman ordered him to look into Sung-guk’s situation. Secretary Yang had a rough idea of why Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was so fixated on Sung-guk.
It was clear that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung had sensed something extraordinary about Sung-guk after observing his behavior and demeanor at the venture business exhibition held in San Francisco.
While an ordinary child would have been bored, Sung-guk had personally visited the companies he’d chosen and asked questions about what interested him. Secretary Yang, who had been watching from beside him, was also greatly impressed by Sung-guk’s exceptional nature.
“I prepared something simple, as I assumed you’d already eaten dinner.”
Sung-guk’s father set down a tray with bossam, kimchi, and vegetables, along with soju.
“You don’t mind having a drink together, do you?”
“I’ll call the children’s mother first.”
Sung-guk’s father went to the counter and called home.
Secretary Yang watched him intently.
Sung-guk’s appearance was certainly excellent, having inherited only the best features from his mother and father, but occasionally his personality seemed more similar to Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung. And he’d noticed something peculiar on the airplane.
When he’d gone to cover Sung-guk with a blanket while he slept, the boy’s sleeping face was remarkably similar to Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung sitting beside him. The way he slept—head turned to the right, right arm tucked beneath him—was strikingly alike. Anyone seeing them would believe Sung-guk was Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s hidden son.
‘That’s absurd.’
Secretary Yang couldn’t understand why such a thought crossed his mind when he knew all the details of Sung-guk’s family circumstances.
“Sung-guk and Min-guk are already asleep.”
Sung-guk’s father sat down across from him.
Secretary Yang poured soju into Sung-guk’s father’s glass.
“You must have your hands full raising Sung-guk, don’t you?”
“What hardship do we face? It’s Sung-guk who has it harder, being born to parents like us. Please, let me fill your glass.”
Sung-guk’s father filled Secretary Yang’s glass.
“Sung-guk’s father, about that call this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry for causing you unnecessary worry. Sung-guk suddenly said he wanted to quit kindergarten, and I became concerned whether something had happened during the training program in the United States.”
“As far as I know, nothing significant occurred during the training. The only thing was that Mi-jin was fond of Sung-guk and followed him around quite a bit.”
“Sung-guk isn’t the type of child to quit kindergarten over something like that….”
Sung-guk’s father took a swig of soju.
“Did he say anything else?”
“Well, he said he wanted to make money.”
“What? That boy really…. Ha ha.”
Secretary Yang couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected answer.
“Sometimes Sung-guk seems so childlike, and other times he’s far too mature for his age. We can’t quite figure him out.”
“I suppose that’s exactly why Sung-guk would say such things.”
“Is there something specific you have in mind?”
“I accompanied Sung-guk and Tae-guk, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s son, to a venture business expo in the United States. It was showcasing cutting-edge technologies, and Sung-guk showed remarkable interest in it.”
Sung-guk’s father still couldn’t fully grasp his son. Perhaps he never would, no matter how long he raised him.
“Secretary Yang, I’ll be honest with you. Sung-guk is such an exceptional child that my wife and I worry we can’t keep up with him. That’s why we were so grateful when Samjeon offered their sponsorship. I should discuss this with So-young, but I’m beginning to wonder if traditional institutional education is even the right fit for Sung-guk.”
“That’s precisely why I’ve come to make another proposal.”
In truth, Secretary Yang carried with him the intentions of Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————