I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 431

—————

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

—————

Chapter 431
Sevens took the stage with Jung-woo opening the performance with rap.
His rap, delivered in a deep, resonant voice, carried undeniable appeal, and the other rappers followed suit with their own verses.
Finally, Min-guk stepped to the center, his eyes burning with fierce determination.
Mother and Father pressed their hands together in prayer-like reverence as they watched the stage.
The boy who’d spent every day scheming to mooch off his older brother now sang with genuine intensity, his gaze unwavering.
Mother and Father barely breathed, their faces etched with anxious anticipation as they followed Min-guk’s every move.
The synchronization was razor-sharp.
Despite being rookies, their live vocals never wavered.
And those eyes—burning with raw hunger.
As Min-guk, now the ending fairy, pierced through the camera with his gaze, Sevens’ historic debut stage finally came to an end.
The roar of the audience erupted from every corner without pause.
At that moment, Director General, who’d been watching, whispered something to Jeon Tae-guk. The audience’s cheers drowned out his words.
Jeon Tae-guk listened to what Director General said, then approached me.
“We can see the kids if we head to the waiting room now. Let’s bring Mother and Father along.”
“Okay.”
I squeezed Ji-hee’s hand firmly.
“Ji-hee, let’s go see your brother Min-guk.”
“Okay.”
“Ji-hee, what did you think of today’s performance?”
“Hmm…”
Ji-hee tapped her chin thoughtfully.
At her age, obsessed with idols as she was, Ji-hee seemed best positioned to offer the most accurate assessment of Sevens’ stage.
“Honestly… it felt like an unpolished gemstone, if you know what I mean.”
Ji-hee spoke with complete seriousness.
“They call themselves a hip-hop idol group, but everything still feels rough around the edges. The music, the choreography—all of it.”
“So you didn’t like it?”
“Not bad, exactly. Just raw potential. They’re rough now, but by their next album, I bet they’ll be much more polished.”
“My, Ji-hee certainly analyzes things with a cold eye.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so looked at Ji-hee with curiosity, and Ji-hee shrugged.
“People say I resemble my oldest brother the most in our family.”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense. The CEO is incredibly sharp in his criticism too—regardless of family or anything else.”
[Are they really talking about me right now?]
I quickly tugged Ji-hee’s hand.
“Ji-hee, let’s hurry and see Min-guk. Secretary Kim, you should come with us too. Otherwise, once we’re in the United States, you won’t see them for quite a while.”
“We can’t miss seeing Sevens’ faces! Let’s go right now, CEO!”
Secretary Kim Mi-so followed Director General with eager steps.
* * *
“Wahhh—waaah—I think I messed up. I think I made a mistake.”
The moment I opened the waiting room door, I heard crying.
Who is it?
I cracked the door open and found Min-guk sobbing uncontrollably.
Of course, the Director was capturing this moment on camera for the reality program.
None of the members blamed Min-guk; instead, they were comforting him.
“Min-guk, no one will know. I didn’t even notice you made a mistake.”
“That’s right, Min-guk. Since you were in the back, the camera probably didn’t catch it.”
“But we can’t just make mistakes because the camera isn’t watching, right? Wahhh— after all that practice…. My costume slipped down. I was so busy fixing it that I fell a beat behind in the choreography…. Sob—”
At that moment, Bang Mu-hyuk gripped Min-guk’s shoulder firmly.
“Min-guk, you didn’t make the mistake on purpose. Your costume just slipped. I was monitoring from the waiting room, and since you were in the back, the camera didn’t catch it clearly anyway. The audience probably didn’t see it either.”
“Wahhh— but still. But still….”
“Min-guk, I’ll make sure to pay closer attention to your costume from now on. So stop crying. You did so well on your debut stage—you can’t cry about it.”
At that moment, Mother unconsciously called out Min-guk’s name.
“Min-guk….”
Hearing that, Min-guk stopped crying and barely lifted his head.
The eyeliner on his made-up eyes had smudged so badly he looked almost like a panda.
“Mom….”
Min-guk saw Mother and started crying again.
“Wahhh— Mom! Mom, I made a mistake.”
“A mistake? Don’t be silly. You did great! I watched from the audience, and my son performed beautifully! Don’t worry!”
Mother quickly embraced Min-guk to comfort him.
At times like this, you really see how much a child needs their parent.
But why was it so quiet?
All the other members were watching Mother comfort Min-guk with obvious envy.
None of them had parents who came to watch their debut stage in person like we did.
[That Min-guk is really immature. I need to get him out of here soon.]
I approached Bang Mu-hyuk.
“Sir, it looks like you’ve pretty much finished filming the waiting room scenes. Shouldn’t we head to the United States soon?”
“Ah… you’re right. If we don’t leave now, we might miss our flight.”
Bang Mu-hyuk gestured to the Sevens members.
“Everyone, we’re heading to the United States! We wrapped up our Korean debut stage well, but our goal is global, right?”
“Yes!”
I pulled Min-guk up from Mother’s embrace where he was still crying.
“Jeon Min-guk, snap out of it.”
“Uh… hyung.”
Bang Mu-hyuk looked at each Sevens member one by one.
“You might feel regret about today’s performance, but we’ll have many more stages ahead of us. Let’s do even better next time! Understood?”
“Yes!”
Min-guk finally came to his senses and responded.
“Let’s go to the United States!”
The Sevens members each grabbed their belongings and hurried out of the waiting room.
Min-guk picked up his luggage and said goodbye to Mother and Father.
“Mom, Dad… I’ll see you when I get back from the United States.”
“Okay. Take care of yourself. Make sure you call us as soon as you get to the States. Got it?”
“I will!”
And so the members of Sevens hurriedly filed out of the waiting room.
* * *
An hour later, Min-guk called me.
– Hyung!
His voice was already brimming with frustration.
“Did you arrive at the airport safely?”
– Hyung, we’re really making two layovers to get to the United States, right?
“When Secretary Kim Mi-so handed over the plane tickets last time, didn’t you check?”
– I was busy with the commercial shoot back then, and I was just so excited hearing we were going to the States!
[I knew it, Jeon Min-guk.]
Before I could even respond, Jeon Min-guk’s voice came pouring out.
– Who knew we’d have to make two layovers to get to America! And on top of that, all the accommodations are hostels! Hyung, isn’t that a bit much even for an investor?
“Jeon Min-guk, as an investor, that’s still quite a substantial investment. You guys just debuted. You haven’t earned a single won yet. But since you’re a hip-hop idol group, you should be grateful I’m even sending you to the birthplace of hip-hop in America.”
– Hyung, you have plenty of money!
“I have plenty of money. You don’t. Jeon Min-guk, don’t get confused.”
I spoke coldly.
It was the truth.
And even if Jeon Min-guk became a world-class group like Sevens and raked in money, it wouldn’t compare to my wealth.
At that moment, I heard Jeon Min-guk’s voice, considerably deflated.
– Hyung… but when we get to New York, could you at least wire us some money so we can have a steak dinner?
“Don’t worry about that. Grace will treat you all to a proper feast.”
– Really?
[Such a simple guy.]
Min-guk immediately perked up.
“Min-guk, you guys just debuted. You endured all those years in the Nonhyeon-dong semi-basement practice room, and nothing changes just because you debuted. Our company still has no money, and you guys haven’t earned anything either. Remember that.”
– Hyung, is our concept supposed to be a hungry idol group from a struggling small entertainment company?
Min-guk was definitely not stupid.
[I sometimes forget that Jeon Min-guk’s IQ is over 160.]
“That’s right, Min-guk. This is all for your narrative. So don’t complain.”
– Got it, hyung! We’ll grit our teeth and make this group succeed no matter what!
[Yes, that’s the spirit I need.]
Soon after, Min-guk said he had to board the plane and hung up.
Secretary Kim Mi-so, who had been listening to the conversation, glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
“CEO, wasn’t two layovers a bit too harsh? It must be incredibly difficult for them to make even one layover right after their debut stage.”
“The broadcasting station adds a little MSG for the sake of reality, doesn’t it? Sevens needs this kind of MSG so their struggles shine even brighter later.”
I folded my arms.
It had been an unrelenting stretch of time, pushing forward for Min-guk’s debut.
Finally, Min-guk had debuted, and now everything hinged on the fate of Sevens.
[Maybe I should catch up on all that lost sleep.]
I leaned my head back against the rear seat.
In that moment, Secretary Kim Mi-so woke me.
“CEO, we’re heading to the airport right now, aren’t we?”
“The airport?”
“Mark said he’d look into his schedule coming to Korea with Lim Mi-mi and that we should pick them up.”
“Is that today?”
I quickly checked my phone.
– Sung-guk, I’m coming to Korea with Mi-mi to meet her parents. See you later.
There was also a message from Mark.
Because of Jeon Min-guk, I’d forgotten about another person’s life milestone.
Mark was coming to South Korea.
And it was to get married!
* * *
Mark descended with his hands full of things bundled up.
“Mark, Lim Mi-mi!”
“Sung-guk!”
Mark quickly thrust one of his bags into my hands.
“What is this?”
“Sung-guk, I… I really wanted to try this, so I studied it on YouTube back in the States.”
[Something about this is starting to feel ominous….]
Lim Mi-mi clicked her tongue beside me.
“CEO, Mark watched old Korean dramas and became obsessed with doing this, so he packed everything himself back in the States.”
“What on earth is it?”
“What do you think… Mark, explain it yourself.”
Mark grinned widely and looked at me.
“Ham.”
“Ham?”
“Buy ham~”
For a moment, both Secretary Kim Mi-so and I suppressed our laughter.
Mark’s Korean phrase sounded incredibly awkward.
“Mark, people don’t really do that in Korea anymore. That’s something from the old days.”
“Oh, really? The drama I watched recently had people doing it.”
“Well, it’s a drama, so they would. Besides, Lim Mi-mi’s parents live in an apartment. If we mess this up, we’ll get complaints.”
Mark looked at me with a dejected expression.
“Sung-guk, what if I do it quietly? I’ll speak as softly as possible. Actually, you should be the one to say it.”
“Why me?”
“Your closest friend should be the one to present the ham.”
The most terrifying person in this world was an intelligent foreigner.
Given Mark’s nature—once he latched onto something, he’d dig into it relentlessly—it was obvious he’d thoroughly researched all sorts of materials to understand the tradition of ham.
[He knows more about this than actual Koreans.]
I grabbed Mark and pulled him along.
“Mark, let’s not do this at the airport. Let’s head to the Samjeon Hotel first and finish this conversation there.”
I dragged both Mark and Lim Mi-mi along.
I had to stop this no matter what.
[The world is harsh enough these days… and now ham? This is ridiculous!]
* * *
“Mark, are you really going to buy ham for the tradition?”
“Yeah, Tae-guk. Sung-guk’s going to be the best man.”
I shook my head while eating jjajangmyeon.
“I’m not doing it. Absolutely not!”
“Sung-guk, you’re my best friend. The best man is supposed to do the ham tradition, right?”
“Mark, these days in South Korea, it’s just the groom’s family who brings ham and greets the bride’s family. We don’t make a big fuss about it anymore.”
Jeon Tae-guk stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Where do Mi-mi’s parents live?”
“Seorim-dong.”
“Hmm… how many units are in the apartment complex?”
“It’s a small single-family apartment building, so not that many.”
Jeon Tae-guk began to move. Anxiously….
Jeon Tae-guk stared at me intently.
“Sung-guk, I believe these traditional customs should be preserved.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, you’ve lived half your life in America—you shouldn’t be saying that.]
“So here’s what I’m thinking… if we distribute cakes made at the Samjeon Hotel’s bakery to everyone in Mi-mi’s apartment complex and ask them to forgive the ham tradition, wouldn’t they all let it slide? If not, I could always make a call to the Seorim-dong Police Station….”
It was Mark who brightened at those words.
“Tae-guk! Really?”
“Mark, think of it as a small wedding gift. In exchange, you’re letting me join in, right?”
“Of course!”
Mark spread his arms wide in welcome.

—————

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

—————