I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 457
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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 457
Mark held his daughter—a child who resembled both him and Mi-mi equally—with an expression of overwhelming joy, beaming with radiance.
“Sung-guk, since she’s a girl, I don’t think I can use your name. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
In fact, I was relieved.
Sung-guk Zuckerberg… just hearing that name made me imagine how difficult that child’s life would be.
“Mark, have you decided on a name for your daughter?”
“Yeah. Mi-mi and I already decided on it last month and have been calling her by that name.”
“Mark, what did you name her?”
Jeon Tae-guk asked eagerly from behind, unable to contain his curiosity.
Mark grinned sheepishly and looked at us. But whenever Mark smiled like that, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me.
“Actually… when Mi-mi was pregnant, she ate a tremendous amount of apples. She loves apples so much… so I was thinking of naming her Apple. Apple Zuckerberg. What do you think?”
“….”
At Mark’s words, we all fell silent, at a loss for words.
Apple Zuckerberg?!
“Mark….”
“What, Sung-guk?”
“If you’re okay with your daughter being teased about her name when she enters elementary school, then I suppose that name is fine. But I’m telling you this as a genuine friend.”
I spoke with complete sincerity and gravity.
Jeon Tae-guk beside me nodded in agreement.
“I really want to talk you out of this. Mark, if Mi-mi craves bananas during her next pregnancy, are you going to name the child Banana?”
“Mark, Apple’s siblings could be Pineapple, Kiwi, and Orange too, then.”
Dennis spoke with utter deadpan sincerity.
Mark smiled awkwardly.
“Since my name Mark is so common, I wanted to give my children something more unique. Apple Zuckerberg—isn’t it nice?”
Mark refused to back down.
“Mark, I understand your sentiment… but think about how your daughter would feel when she goes to the supermarket and hears some woman saying, ‘The apples this year are tasteless,’ or ‘Why do the apples look so ugly this year?’ She’ll hear people say things like that every time she goes to the supermarket. Please consider that.”
At my words, Mark sighed.
“I’ll discuss this with Mi-mi again. Hearing that, I think I should probably change it to something safer like Olivia.”
Only then did we relax, and we all smiled broadly at Mark’s daughter.
“Whether it’s Apple or anything else, I’ll do everything I can to support our beautiful niece so she walks only a path of flowers.”
I gently grabbed Jeon Tae-guk’s shoulder—he was even more excited than Mark.
“Brother, don’t forget that Mark is a billionaire too.”
“Oh right! Mark is richer than me!”
Everyone burst into laughter at that.
* * *
After calming down, Mark fortunately decided to name his daughter Olivia instead of Apple.
We had already become Olivia’s foolish uncles standing in front of the newborn nursery.
“Olivia, this is your Uncle Dennis Chazelle, who will become a world-renowned director someday. He’s a bit indecisive in personality, but he’s really talented at making films. You could even call him a genius.”
I introduced Dennis Chazelle. Then Dennis—
“Olivia, this is your Uncle Jeon Sung-guk—if you’d been born a boy, you would’ve had the same name. He’s a genius who entered Harvard at the youngest age possible, though he’s had quite a bit of bad luck. He’s your father’s business partner, so you’ll be seeing him your whole life. Olivia, prepare yourself! But he’s not a bad person!”
Jeon Tae-guk chimed in from beside me.
“Let me introduce myself, Olivia. I’m Jeon Tae-guk, the successor to the global corporation Samjeon! Olivia, I’ll take responsibility for your phone for life.”
Younger siblings had always felt like karmic debts of life, but with Olivia, even a yawn naturally drew a smile from me.
Perhaps that was because Mark would have to take responsibility for Olivia’s entire life?
I gazed at Olivia with a contented smile.
Mark, his face exhausted, patted our shoulders as we pressed our noses against the newborn nursery window.
“Uncles, Olivia’s face will wear out from all this looking. So please stop!”
Only then did we reluctantly turn away.
At that moment, my phone vibrated with an incoming call.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Who could it be?
I tilted my head in confusion and answered.
A cheerful, bouncy voice came through the receiver.
– CEO Jeon Sung-guk, it’s Emma Stone!
I recalled giving Emma Stone my phone number at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Emma, what’s the occasion?”
– I… came to San Francisco to eat pizza. CEO, do you have time?
I glanced around awkwardly for a moment.
Dennis Chazelle and Jeon Tae-guk were staring at me intently.
“Ah… Emma, let’s meet at the pizza restaurant first.”
I quickly hung up, and Dennis Chazelle grabbed my shoulder firmly.
“Sung-guk, when did you exchange contact information with Emma Stone at the Sundance Film Festival?”
“Ah, well… while you were talking to other people… Anyway, I’m going to go meet Emma.”
Just then, Jeon Tae-guk grabbed me and pulled me up.
“Sung-guk, you’re not seriously going to meet Emma Stone looking like that, are you?”
Now that I thought about it, I’d rushed over right after the Sundance Film Festival party ended, so I looked a mess.
“I’m not going on a date, so please don’t make a big deal out of this.”
I quickly reassured both of them and rushed to the hotel.
* * *
“Emma!”
I hurried over to Emma Stone, who was sitting by the window of the pizza restaurant.
Emma Stone greeted me with a bright smile.
“I showed up so suddenly, didn’t I?”
“A bit. Since I’m quite late, let me treat you to unlimited pizza here today.”
“Then, shall we enjoy some pizza after all this time?”
Emma Stone ordered several varieties of pizza with a cheerful face and drank beer one after another.
We continued our conversation comfortably, just like on the last day of the Sundance Film Festival.
“Emma, I’m not sure if Dennis mentioned it, but he’s preparing a musical film for his next project.”
“Really?”
Emma Stone’s large eyes grew even wider.
“Just a tip from me. I know you sing well, but do practice a bit.”
“Meeting someone of your caliber, I see you even share such valuable advice.”
“Oh, please.”
And there was a reason behind every tip I offered.
Emma Stone’s eyes, as if she’d already read my true intentions, narrowed with a mischievous smile.
“CEO, you’re drawing a line right now, aren’t you?”
“Pardon?”
I played dumb.
“Come on. Ever since we met, it feels like we’ve only talked about work. It’s been fun, sure, but I flew all the way here because I wanted to get to know you more personally.”
Emma Stone was as transparent as her straightforward face suggested.
I offered an awkward smile.
“Of course, I understand that someone as popular as you wouldn’t care much about an actress like me making a move. But I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed.”
“Emma, I’m sorry if I disappointed you. I really do admire you as an actress.”
This was sincere.
“So you like me as an actress, but not as a girlfriend? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Emma, I have to go back to Korea. I still have military service to complete there. I’ve tried long-distance relationships before, but they didn’t end well.”
Emma Stone couldn’t possibly be unaware of my relationship with Emma Watson.
“I understand, CEO! Thank you for drawing that line so clearly. Otherwise, I might have followed you all the way to Korea.”
Emma Stone laughed freely and took a long drink of her beer.
I drank my beer as well.
* * *
[I didn’t even give birth, so why am I this exhausted….]
I returned to the hotel completely drained.
Jeon Tae-guk and Dennis were drinking beer in the hotel room.
Both of them pretended to be casual, but they were watching my expression intently.
“If you two are curious about something, just ask. Don’t stare at me like that.”
“Sung-guk, Emma Stone is interested in you?”
Dennis threw a direct question at me.
“Sung-guk, I want to live your life for once. How do Hollywood actresses line up for you?”
Jeon Tae-guk expressed his envy without even waiting for my answer.
“Brother, Dennis. Both of you, calm down. I had a very delicious pizza with Emma Stone, and I advised her to audition for Dennis’s next film. That’s all there was to it. Emma Stone really did have business in San Francisco, so we just shared a pizza together. We made a promise at the Sundance Film Festival.”
“What… I thought you two were dating….”
Jeon Tae-guk buried himself in the sofa with a dejected expression.
“Sung-guk, is that really true?”
Dennis still harbored suspicion in his eyes.
“It’s true, Dennis. We hit it off at the Sundance Film Festival, so we decided to be friends.”
“Man, I’m really missing out.”
“If I dated Emma Stone and then broke up with her, it would be harder to cast both Emmas as important actresses in your film, wouldn’t it?”
“I’m grateful you’re leaving me at least one Emma!”
I shrugged and headed into the bathroom.
[Dennis, when Emma Stone gets cast in your next film, you’ll know it’s all thanks to me.]
* * *
The moment we arrived at the Airport, Secretary Kim Mi-so was waiting to greet us.
“Ji-hee, how was the Sundance Film Festival?”
“Unni, I think my brother and I are going to start a Production Company.”
“A Production Company? What kind of Production Company?”
“My brother bought the distribution rights to a film I recommended.”
“My goodness, a film that Ji-hee recommended?”
“Yes… He said he was interested too, but I’m pretty sure he bought it because of what I said.”
The moment Ji-hee got out of the car, she began recounting everything that had happened in the United States to Secretary Kim Mi-so in meticulous detail.
Secretary Kim Mi-so listened to Ji-hee’s entire story without losing her smile.
“Ji-hee, you should start preparing for School now.”
“I’m not preparing for School—I’m preparing for the bar exam. My brother said he’ll only let me work at that Production Company if I pass the bar exam. And I’d start as an entry-level employee at that.”
“As expected, the CEO doesn’t show any favoritism, even to family.”
“Exactly. In our family, you don’t receive special treatment from the moment you’re born—you have to earn your keep. That’s what our oldest brother taught us!”
Secretary Kim Mi-so didn’t lose her smile at Ji-hee’s complaint.
“Secretary Kim, you don’t have to indulge Ji-hee’s complaints.”
“I enjoy listening to them. By the way, CEO… did you see the articles?”
“What articles?”
Secretary Kim Mi-so handed me several news articles that had appeared in search results about me.
Attached to the articles were multiple photos of me eating pizza with Emma Stone. It seemed the paparazzi had captured me without my knowledge.
– Is CEO Jeon Sung-guk an “Emma” killer? After Emma Watson, now Emma Stone?
– Is CEO Jeon Sung-guk’s taste in women “Emma”?
I laughed weakly.
But why had Secretary Kim Mi-so searched for articles about me while I was away?
As if she’d read my expression, Secretary Kim Mi-so opened her mouth.
“CEO, after this article came out, the Office phones were jammed with calls. Even my friend who works as an entertainment reporter called me directly to ask.”
“Secretary Kim, what did you tell her?”
“I said it was a private matter and couldn’t be confirmed.”
It was a textbook answer, but it carried an oddly suggestive tone that seemed to acknowledge the scandal.
This was something I needed to correct immediately.
“Secretary Kim, call that friend and tell her that Emma Stone and I have no relationship whatsoever. We simply had a light pizza conversation because of work.”
“Yes, understood.”
Secretary Kim Mi-so responded immediately.
[Was it just my imagination that Secretary Kim Mi-so’s voice sounded noticeably more cheerful?]
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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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