I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 464

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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 464
Adam Neumann pulled out the chair for Jeon Mi-jin with the courtesy of a gentleman.
Jeon Mi-jin kept smiling, uncertain whether the light in Adam Neumann’s eyes reflected sincerity or deception.
“Adam, sit here.”
She even pointed to the chair beside her.
Adam Neumann sat down with an awkward expression.
Jeon Tae-guk and I took our seats across from them, keeping our true thoughts concealed.
“Adam, now that you’ve stepped out of the hotel and seen Seoul, what do you think?”
At my question, Adam Neumann adopted a serious expression. He seemed intent on projecting the demeanor of a businessman.
“Sung-guk, seeing Seoul in person, I can see infinite possibilities. Look around you. Just like New York, these old, dilapidated residential neighborhoods have been reborn as thriving commercial districts.”
Adam Neumann spoke enthusiastically about his observations.
We were already on the second bottle of champagne.
And Adam Neumann began to focus his attention on Jeon Tae-guk.
After all, Jeon Mi-jin was still a student, and Jeon Tae-guk was Samjeon’s official heir.
“Is it alright if I call you Tae-guk?”
“Sure, let’s speak comfortably. Adam. We’re about the same age anyway.”
“I’ll do that, Tae-guk.”
As Jeon Tae-guk seemed to lower his guard, Adam quickly seized the opening.
I watched the two of them with ease.
I was curious to see how much Jeon Tae-guk had developed his ability to handle people over this time.
“Tae-guk, I was just having an animated conversation with Mi-jin earlier. She mentioned she has a private office at iWork in New York. These days, among young people in New York, having an office at iWork is seen as incredibly hip.”
“Is that so? A few of my friends mentioned they’re starting startups at iWork in New York too.”
Jeon Tae-guk responded appropriately.
And Adam Neumann began to carefully reveal the desire he had been harboring.
“Tae-guk, now that I’ve come to Seoul and seen it firsthand, I realize it shares so many similarities with New York. It’s a place where young people want to live, full of talented individuals. Yet because of the high rental costs, they struggle to pursue their dreams. I think Seoul desperately needs iWork too.”
Adam Neumann rubbed his dry hands together. Like a fly circling its prey.
“Tae-guk, Samjeon is a company that’s well-known throughout South Korea.”
“Not just well-known.”
Adam Neumann paused slightly at Jeon Tae-guk’s words.
“Not just well-known—Samjeon is South Korea’s greatest company. Adam.”
“I misspoke.”
Adam Neumann’s throat felt parched, and he gulped down his champagne.
Jeon Mi-jin watched Adam Neumann with satisfaction from beside him, her arms crossed.
“Adam seems nervous, oppa.”
Jeon Mi-jin’s voice carried a sweetness unlike her usual tone.
“Mi-jin, I was a bit nervous meeting such impressive people.”
“Relax. My oppa isn’t as scary as all that. He’s just putting on this serious demeanor because of work lately, but he’s actually quite funny.”
“Hmm….”
Jeon Tae-guk let out an awkward cough.
At that, Jeon Mi-jin stuck her tongue out where Adam Neumann couldn’t see.
[Siblings are siblings, after all.]
The relationship between Jeon Tae-guk and Jeon Mi-jin remained strained.
Adam Neumann observed the situation before speaking directly.
“Tae-guk, I think you probably know why I wanted to meet. Let me be straightforward. What do you think about investing in iWork?”
“Hmm….”
Jeon Tae-guk paused thoughtfully.
In that moment, Adam Neumann turned his gaze toward me.
“Sung-guk, you’re already interested in this, aren’t you? I trust Representative Son’s judgment at Hard Bank….”
“Of course. I trust Representative Son’s eye for opportunity.”
Except when it comes to iWork.
“But since I’m currently serving in the military, I can’t move easily on this.”
The South Korean military made for a remarkably convenient excuse at times like these.
Adam Neumann barely understood the concept of military service, but he nodded in agreement.
“I see…. What about you, Tae-guk?”
“I know iWork is trendy these days, but I haven’t fully grasped the company’s condition or vision. Could you send me the materials through my secretary?”
“Of course. I came fully prepared from the States. I’ll send everything to both you and Sung-guk.”
“Adam, me too!”
Jeon Mi-jin interjected from beside him.
“Mi-jin, naturally. By the way, champagne’s on me tonight. Meeting like this is fate, so let’s drink until we’re dizzy.”
Adam Neumann raised his champagne glass high.
* * *
Adam Neumann, thoroughly intoxicated, climbed into the car driven by Secretary Park Sung-hee.
Secretary Park Sung-hee had picked up Adam Neumann instead of Jeon Tae-guk purely because of Jeon Mi-jin.
“Oppa, I’ll take this car too. Drop off Adam, then take me home… right?”
The drunk Jeon Mi-jin made a desperate effort to climb into Adam Neumann’s car.
But there was the reliable Secretary Kim Mi-so.
“Miss, it’s Secretary Kim Mi-so. I was assigned to you when I first joined Samjeon. You remember, don’t you?”
“Oh! Mi-so! It’s been forever.”
“Thank you for remembering me. I’ll escort you home, Miss. The Chairman specifically instructed you to call him once you’re home.”
“Sigh… there’s really no freedom, whether in Seoul or New York.”
Jeon Mi-jin, without protest, climbed into the car driven by Secretary Kim Mi-so at the Chairman’s command.
“Secretary Kim, please take good care of Mi-jin on the way.”
“Yes, Representative.”
In that moment, I felt the intoxicated Jeon Mi-jin’s gaze on me.
“Sung-guk, are you worried about me?”
[It’s not you I’m worried about—it’s Secretary Kim Mi-so.]
But to send Jeon Mi-jin home safely, a small lie seemed necessary.
“Mi-jin, be careful getting home.”
“Yeah, Sung-guk. I’ll call you once I’m inside.”
Jeon Tae-guk quickly pushed Jeon Mi-jin into the back seat of the car.
“Contact Father right now!”
* * *
The moment Jeon Tae-guk arrived at the Pangyo house, he grabbed a beer and punched in our home’s security code.
“Sung-guk, let’s have just one more beer.”
It seemed he needed conversation more than alcohol.
“Brother, is this because of Adam Neumann?”
“Yeah. And because of Jeon Mi-jin too….”
Jeon Tae-guk exhaled a deep sigh.
Though I’d used Jeon Mi-jin as a fraud detector, it was still difficult to serve blood relatives as bait to a con artist.
“Brother, didn’t Secretary Park Sung-hee already start investigating Adam Neumann?”
“You act more like a Samjeon Family member than I do these days.”
[Well, that’s because I actually am one….]
Jeon Tae-guk scratched his brow.
“Sung-guk, think about this for me. Mi-jin seems completely smitten with Adam Neumann right now. In my opinion, whether I help or not, that bastard will get investment from Mi-jin. At this rate… no matter how much Samjeon Family analysis we throw at her, Mi-jin will just talk about how popular iWork is in New York and treat us like frogs in a well.”
[Not bad for a student of the classics.]
Jeon Tae-guk had completely figured out Jeon Mi-jin.
“Isn’t that what you wanted, Brother? For Jeon Mi-jin to fall for Adam Neumann despite Samjeon’s opposition, invest in him, and lose money. For this incident to mark her in the Samjeon Family’s eyes and completely fall out of favor with Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s pupils trembled as he listened to my words.
“Sung-guk… how do you think exactly like our father?”
[What is he talking about? Why is Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung coming up here?]
A strong suspicion washed over me.
“Brother, could it be… that all of this is under Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s orders?”
“Not all of it….”
Jeon Tae-guk took a sip of beer.
“Actually, the moment you mentioned Adam Neumann, I had the Secretariat look into him. Of course, I reported it to Father too…. The truth is, bringing Jeon Mi-jin back to Korea was Father’s idea.”
I listened quietly to Jeon Tae-guk’s explanation.
It seemed something had happened in that family that I didn’t know about.
“Mother and Father got divorced.”
“That’s something everyone in South Korea knows.”
“Right. And Father protected Samjeon intact, but Mother couldn’t…. I think Mother approached Jeon Mi-jin.”
It was roughly what I’d expected.
In my past life, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung and the Iron Lady never divorced, so I only had to suppress my incompetent siblings. But in this life, divorce became a variable.
“As for me, I judged that I wouldn’t move since you and Father are backing me. Mother, on the other hand, tried to manipulate the indecisive Jeon Mi-jin from behind. The iWork office was probably something Mother told her to get as well. She needs a position in Samjeon, so she told her to start working from now on…. But you know Mi-jin.”
[I know her well!]
“Mi-jin always falls short of Mother’s expectations… and Father understood this situation. So he actually told me to let Mi-jin make a wrong investment in Adam Neumann, thereby reducing her standing to participate as a manager in Samjeon.”
It was quintessentially Samjeon style—not even trusting family, just using them.
“But why are you hesitating?”
“Sung-guk, if it were you, you wouldn’t hesitate, would you?”
[If it were me, I’d make sure Jeon Mi-jin never even got her hands on management rights. Same with the Iron Lady.]
I nodded slightly.
“You really do take after Father quite a bit.”
“Did you suddenly develop a conscience, hyung?”
“That’s not it… I’m just thinking things through. This plan is Father’s, after all. And if I just follow Father’s wishes, I’m nothing but his puppet, aren’t I?”
Jeon Tae-guk was serious.
And it seemed as though he was slowly revealing claws he’d been hiding all along.
“So what is it that you really want to do, hyung?”
“Sigh… The truth is…”
Jeon Tae-guk gulped down his beer.
“Sung-guk, I have a feeling iWork is going to do really well. What if Mi-jin invests and it doesn’t lose money but actually succeeds? Should I just invest too?”
There’s a saying about the back of your head tingling with dread.
Jeon Tae-guk had actually fallen for Adam Neumann’s words.
“Hyung… Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung is against it, and Samsung’s analysis isn’t favorable either.”
“I have a few friends in New York working at iWork. They say it’s really thriving. They get this feeling that working there would lead to huge success.”
“That’s just a feeling. Hyung, are you afraid that Jeon Mi-jin’s investment in Adam Neumann might actually pay off big?”
“Actually, that’s part of it… Father says that Adam Neumann’s iWork doesn’t even seem to understand the fundamentals of real estate.”
“I feel the same way.”
What I needed moving forward was Jeon Tae-guk.
So I had to eliminate Jeon Mi-jin’s clumsy attempts to get her hands on Samsung in this opportunity.
I calmly explained why iWork was destined to fail.
“Hyung, the American real estate market is in terrible shape right now.”
The same was true for Korea.
Ever since the Lehman Brothers crisis, the real estate market had entered a slump.
“There’s an oversupply of vacant spaces, and rental rates have plummeted. According to Adam’s logic, you rent vacant spaces cheaply and share office space. But there’s something Adam overlooked. Real estate is a volatile asset. It’s cheap now, but if the economy improves, rental rates could rise. And shared office spaces are essentially just monthly rentals. If tenants decrease, it becomes impossible to even sustain the monthly payments. The attractive concept Adam presents only works if money keeps flowing.”
And there’s one thing no one knows in 2013.
In just a few years, a pandemic will engulf the entire world.
For years, people won’t be able to speak freely even in cafes, and when remote work becomes the norm even in offices, shared office spaces lose their entire purpose.
With iWork already suffering from owner risk, when the pandemic hits on top of that, iWork plummets into the abyss.
Jeon Tae-guk scratched his brow.
“Sung-guk, I’ve decided.”
I stared at Jeon Tae-guk.
“After hearing what you said, it seems way too risky. I won’t get involved with Adam Neumann in any way. I won’t invest… but!”
[Why do I feel uneasy?]
“I’ll make sure Jeon Mi-jin doesn’t invest in Adam Neumann either! Because if it turns out to be a huge success later, that would be bad!”
I shook my head slowly.
[Jeon Tae-guk, you just threw away in one shot the chance to uproot Jeon Mi-jin completely.]

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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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