I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 434

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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 434
I calmed my racing excitement and quickly dialed Peter.
Even before FaceNote’s IPO, my reputation had drawn countless scammers seeking to contact me.
I needed to verify whether this Joe Michael was genuinely a Time Magazine editor and whether they truly intended to feature us on their cover.
Peter picked up and listened to my explanation before responding promptly.
– Sung-guk, got it. I’ll look into it right away. The Time Magazine editor-in-chief is my college classmate, so it shouldn’t be difficult.
“Thank you, Peter.”
– Thank me? FaceNote is getting advertised here. I’m thrilled myself. Just wait a moment.
After hanging up, Mark stared at me with a slightly dejected expression.
“Sung-guk, you’re getting your hopes up for nothing.”
“Mark, I’m just being cautious. I looked up Time Magazine and Joe Michael is indeed listed as a contact. And since Peter says the editor-in-chief is his classmate, we’ll find out soon enough.”
Ten minutes later, Peter called back.
– Sung-guk, my friend confirmed it. You and Mark are indeed selected as this year’s Person of the Year. Joe Michael did contact you first via email. And Mark’s with you right now, yes?
“Yes, Peter.”
– Tell Mark congratulations from me. Both of you as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year… I’m so proud knowing you two.
“Thank you, Peter. And thank you for verifying.”
– Don’t mention it. My friend the editor says they’ll schedule a photo shoot around your schedules. Sung-guk, you’ll need to come back to the United States, won’t you?
“I was planning to visit in August anyway for Mark’s wedding. We can coordinate the shoot for then.”
– Sounds good. I’ll see you at Mark’s wedding.
Peter and I exchanged farewells and ended the call.
Mark’s face, which I’d heard listening to the conversation, flushed with excitement again.
“Sung-guk, we’re really this year’s Person of the Year?”
“Yeah, we really are!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Mark beamed with joy and suddenly embraced me.
“Mark, it’s wonderful to celebrate this with me, but now there’s someone you should tell this news to first.”
“Oh, right. Mi-mi… I need to call Mi-mi right away.”
“Go ahead.”
Mark rushed out of the office with an excited expression.
I quickly searched for previous Time Magazine Persons of the Year.
George Bush, Barack Obama, and Vladimir Putin—most were American presidents and internationally significant figures.
And now Mark and I were among them…
[This life really is entertaining.]
My shoulders rose involuntarily with pride.
* * *
Mark moved out of Samjeon Hotel and relocated to our home.
The reason was that Lim Mi-mi wanted to spend more time with her parents before the wedding, so she was staying at her parents’ home, and Mark found it tedious being alone at the hotel.
Fortunately, we had spare rooms.
With Mark staying at our house while in Korea, Sam and Adam frequently visited.
They came to discuss FaceNote and Instagrim business that they’d only been handling through video conferences.
When Sam and Adam arrived, Jeon Tae-guk naturally rushed over to my home right after work.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
The sound of the entrance code being entered echoed, and Jeon Tae-guk stepped inside still dressed in his suit.
Behind him, Secretary Park Sung-hee carried armfuls of something in both hands.
“How did you know our home’s password?”
“Mark told me.”
I pressed my forehead with my palm.
I’d given him the password so he could come and go freely while staying at my place, and it seemed he’d already shared it with Jeon Tae-guk.
[I need to change it as soon as Mark leaves!]
Mark grinned widely.
“Sung-guk, Tae-guk said he’d bring Thai food for dinner. You know how much I love Thai cuisine.”
Secretary Park Sung-hee spread Thai dishes across the table.
Tom yum goong, som tam, pad phed curry, and rice noodles.
The table was laden with an array of Thai specialties.
Jeon Tae-guk also placed a bottle of wine he’d brought on the table.
“I brought wine specially to celebrate you two. Our father left this at his Hannam-dong home and forgot about it, so I had Secretary Yang secretly bring it today.”
The wine Jeon Tae-guk brought was the renowned Romanée-Conti.
It was worth roughly ten million won, and what made it even more precious was how rarely it entered the domestic market.
Jeon Tae-guk expertly uncorked the wine and poured it into glasses.
[How long has it been since I’ve smelled Romanée-Conti?]
One glass of Romanée-Conti was enough to forgive the password breach.
Jeon Tae-guk handed me the poured wine.
“Here, Sung-guk.”
“Thank you, hyung.”
I first inhaled the aroma, then took a sip and savored it.
Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes narrowed as he watched me.
“Sung-guk, you know quite a bit about wine, don’t you?”
Oops.
[Damn, my habits from my past life are showing.]
I forced a smile and set the glass down.
“I saw it on YouTube. If you’re sneaking wine in, it must be expensive. I was just imitating what I saw.”
“Ah, I see. I thought you’d secretly mastered wine too. I need at least one thing I know better than you.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, I know wine better than you do.]
Mark saw the wine Jeon Tae-guk poured and gulped it down in one go.
“Mark, you can’t drink it like that!”
Without thinking, I gripped Mark’s shoulder tightly.
But Mark looked at Jeon Tae-guk with an innocent expression.
“Tae-guk, should we stock up on this wine for the wedding? It’s really delicious.”
“Hmm… wine might be cheaper in America than it is in Korea.”
“How much is one bottle of this?”
“Around ten million won…”
“Ten million won!!!”
Mark’s already large eyes widened even further.
“Mark, I’ll give you a bottle as a wedding gift. Save it for your honeymoon. Speaking of which, where are you two planning to go?”
“Well… we haven’t decided yet. We only finalized the wedding date a few days ago. Mi-mi watched this movie called ‘Roman Holiday’ and wants to visit Rome, so we’re thinking about going there.”
“Rome sounds nice. Sung-guk, you’ve never been to Rome either, right?”
“Jeon Tae-guk, are you planning to tag along on Mark’s honeymoon too?”
“I just… didn’t want Mark to get bored.”
I shook my head in exasperation.
I really needed to get Jeon Tae-guk into a relationship soon, or my own romantic prospects would look equally uncertain.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang at that moment.
Who could that be at this hour?
Secretary Kim Mi-so wouldn’t show up without calling after leaving work…
So why did I find myself hoping it was her?
I checked the intercom and hurriedly opened the front door in surprise.
“Ji-hee?”
Ji-hee stood there with a bag slung over her shoulder and a suitcase in one hand that was nearly as large as she was.
“Ji-hee, what’s going on?”
“Oppa, I need to study here until after the college entrance exam.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ever since Min-guk debuted, weird obsessed fans have been showing up at our house, and I can’t study at all.”
“Min-guk doesn’t even have that much popularity yet.”
“Exactly!”
Ji-hee shook her head and stepped inside.
“The apartment security is strict anyway—they can’t get in.”
“Well, they could be acquaintances of residents. If they really want to get in, they’ll find a way.”
Ji-hee was right—obsessed fans would stop at nothing.
“There aren’t that many, though. Just a few people ringing the doorbell in broad daylight… but it’s disruptive to studying. I can’t concentrate. You’re a workaholic who leaves in the morning and comes back at night, so this place seems perfect for studying. Plus, it’ll be easier to ask you about problems I don’t understand.”
Mark, Jeon Tae-guk, Sam, and Adam exchanged awkward greetings at Ji-hee’s arrival.
“Ji-hee, welcome.”
Ji-hee clicked her tongue.
“So grown adults gather here every evening just to drink?”
“That’s not it, Ji-hee. We’re celebrating something today. Your brother was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.”
Jeon Tae-guk made the excuse on my behalf.
“Sigh… Oppa, I think you should hold these private gatherings somewhere else from now on. The high school equivalency exam is in early August, and the college entrance exam is in November, remember?”
Since it was currently June, I’d need to live like a mouse for the next five months.
“Oppa, which room should I use?”
“Well… Mark is using the guest room right now.”
Mark quickly gathered his belongings.
“Sung-guk, don’t worry about it. I’ve heard plenty about South Korea’s high school seniors. They’re people you don’t mess with. I’ll stay at Tae-guk’s place instead. Tae-guk, you have a spare room, right?”
“Yeah, we have a guest room. Mark, you can stay there until you head back to the United States.”
“Perfect. I can talk freely with Sam and Adam too… Sung-guk, don’t worry about me. Tae-guk’s place will be more comfortable anyway.”
[This isn’t the real problem! Why do I have to live with a South Korean high school senior!]
I looked down at Ji-hee with a composed expression.
“Ji-hee, studying is important, but proper meals matter just as much during exam preparation. Wouldn’t it be better to eat the food Mother prepares for you?”
“Mother said she’d tidy up the house and come here in about a week.”
[She didn’t even contact me?]
I stared at Ji-hee in bewilderment.
“I didn’t receive any notification about this….”
“The decision came up suddenly, so Mother probably couldn’t reach you. She also said my older brother’s been eating poorly lately, so she’s planning to come here and take care of both of us until after the college entrance exam.”
“What about Father?”
“Father leaves early in the morning and comes home late anyway, so it doesn’t matter. He can eat at restaurants….”
“Why did you decide this without even discussing it with me?”
“Because we’re family, older brother.”
Ji-hee stared directly at me.
[This still isn’t right! It’s an invasion of privacy!]
As if reading my thoughts, Ji-hee continued.
“You’ve always made unilateral decisions about Min-guk’s future and mine, alternating between the whip and the carrot. The fact that I quit school, took the middle school equivalency exam, the high school equivalency exam, and am now preparing for the college entrance exam—your influence played a huge role in all of that.”
It was an undeniable truth.
“So… the time has come for you to take responsibility for what you’ve said and done. I’m taking the high school equivalency exam this summer, and then I’ll take the college entrance exam right after to get into Seoul National University.”
Jeon Tae-guk, who had been watching, began to clap.
“Ji-hee, you can do it! Since I live next door, just let me know if you need anything. For our Ji-hee, I’d even hire a top-tier Daechi-dong tutor.”
“Tae-guk, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline. I can get into Seoul National University without a private tutor.”
“Oh… I see….”
Jeon Tae-guk quickly backed down.
Then he gestured to everyone.
“Let’s take the rest of the party to my place, in honor of South Korea’s high school senior.”
“That sounds like a good idea, Tae-guk.”
Mark quickly pulled his suitcase from the guest room, while Sam, Adam, and Secretary Park Sung-hee gathered the food from the table.
I exhaled a long sigh.
Just then, Ji-hee patted my back.
“Older brother, just bear with it for a few months. And whenever you want to have fun, go play at Tae-guk’s place. I won’t mind.”
Then she pulled her suitcase into the guest room.
A South Korean exam student now lived in this house.
Which meant I couldn’t even breathe loudly in my own home from now on.
At the same time, it meant my romantic life this year was impossible.
Jeon Tae-guk gently pulled me aside and whispered.
“Sung-guk, let’s go to my place. I already told Secretary Park Sung-hee to order a guest bed. It should be installed tonight.”
“Hyung, I’m sleeping here. This is my home!”
“I know. I’m just preparing for any contingencies….”
I exhaled a long sigh.
At that moment, Jeon Ji-hee’s voice rang out from inside.
“I’m going to study now. Everyone, please be quiet!”
With tears welling in my eyes, I headed toward Jeon Tae-guk’s place.
My precious freedom had come to an end.

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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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