I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 474

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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 474
The “Teaching a Street Dog Manners” project had already been running for over ten days.
Jeon Tae-guk was frantically busy meeting with talented individuals he wanted to recruit.
Still, without fail, he came to our home every night to drink beer.
“Sung-guk, my diet weight came right back. The meeting place is the Samjeon Hotel, so I can’t skip the jjajangmyeon… and I can’t skip the mango shaved ice either…”
“Hyung, why don’t you change the meeting location?”
“I go to the Samjeon Hotel all the time, but those people can’t come there whenever they want. It’s hard to even make reservations. If they don’t meet me, it’s a place they’d have to go out of their way to reach, so when we meet like this, they’ll have a favorable impression of me. Whether they join our company or not.”
[Is the street dog finally gaining some sense?]
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Jeon Tae-guk gulped down his beer.
“But Sung-guk… I’m a bit worried about tomorrow.”
“Who are you meeting?”
“That investment specialist Lee Kyung-soo I mentioned before. Since he’s such a veteran and quite a bit older, I’m getting nervous. And honestly, he’s the person I most want to recruit… Maybe that’s why…”
“You’ve been doing well so far. Just do what you normally do.”
“Until now, it was actually the HR staff member that Father introduced who met with them. I just smiled and made small talk, and the HR staff member handled all the substantive details. But Lee Kyung-soo wants to meet just the two of us tomorrow.”
“Hmm…”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
Lee Kyung-soo was someone I had never met in either my past life or this one.
Based solely on the profile Jeon Tae-guk gave me, he seemed like a quite capable person in this field. But I couldn’t analyze his character.
From the fact that he wanted to meet Jeon Tae-guk alone, it seemed he wanted to get a sense of what kind of person Jeon Tae-guk really was.
“Sung-guk, I’m not sure if I should even ask this…”
“Hyung, you already have the intention to ask.”
“I guess so…”
Jeon Tae-guk scratched his head awkwardly and continued.
“Would you be able to come along tomorrow when I meet with Lee Kyung-soo?”
“But didn’t he say he wanted to meet only with you?”
“That’s true, but… Tomorrow we’re meeting at a French restaurant instead of a Chinese restaurant. It doesn’t have private rooms. Why don’t you come have lunch at a French restaurant for the first time in a while? If you eat at a nearby table and observe Lee Kyung-soo a bit for me.”
“Hyung, please make a reservation for a table for me as well.”
Lee Kyung-soo was an investment specialist in his early forties and was nearly top-tier domestically.
Rather than helping Jeon Tae-guk, I was actually curious about this person called Lee Kyung-soo.
“Sung-guk, you’re really coming?”
“I’m curious about this person Lee Kyung-soo.”
* * *
A phone call came in during the early morning hours.
I quickly picked up my phone to check the time.
It was five in the morning, and the call was from Jeon Tae-guk.
What could be happening at this hour?
“Hyung…”
Before I could even finish, Jeon Tae-guk burst out shouting.
– Sung-guk, something terrible has happened!
[Did a war break out? As far as I know, there’s no war supposed to happen in 2013…]
“What’s going on?”
– Samsung’s PR team called. You know Sevens is doing that phone commercial for us? They said the article will go live early this morning. They wanted me to give you a heads up….
“What kind of article?”
– I’ll send you the link.
A few moments later, the link Jeon Tae-guk sent arrived.
– Allegations of bulk buying as soon as Sevens, the group that Jeon Min-guk—younger brother of CEO Jeon Sung-guk—belongs to, releases their second album.
– Bulk buying allegations that are throwing music charts into chaos. This time it’s Sevens, the group Min-guk belongs to. Min-guk’s older brother is Jeon Sung-guk, CEO of ‘FaceNote,’ known worldwide as an entrepreneur and billionaire.
These articles were clearly targeting both Min-guk and me directly.
Jeon Tae-guk explained in an urgent voice.
– The outlet that published this usually gets paid by major talent agencies to write articles. Sevens’ second album is getting decent responses, right? It seems like they’re just stirring up trouble for no reason.
“Thank you, hyung. I’ll handle this myself.”
– Sung-guk… but you’re still coming to Samjeon Hotel for lunch today, right?
“Looks like I have someone I need to meet there too.”
I hung up with Jeon Tae-guk and immediately called Bang Mu-hyuk. I explained the current situation to him.
Bang Mu-hyuk let out a deep sigh.
– The entertainment industry is always full of gossip anyway. I think it’s better not to respond… Besides, Sevens isn’t the only group that gets attacked like this.
Bang Mu-hyuk understood the entertainment industry better than anyone.
Perhaps that’s why he was so quick to give up.
But I couldn’t let it go when my younger brother’s group was involved. And now I was being targeted too.
“Sir, I see it differently. Look at the article. My name is already front and center. They’re attacking both me and Min-guk simultaneously—I can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
– I’m worried it might backfire instead.
I understood Bang Mu-hyuk’s concerns, but I couldn’t agree with them.
“Sir, let’s meet for lunch and discuss this. We can enjoy some good food while we’re at it.”
Of course, Jeon Tae-guk would be paying.
– Alright, let’s meet and talk it over.
After ending the call with Bang Mu-hyuk, I reached out to Lawyer Kim Sung-taek for assistance.
This situation absolutely could not be left alone.
* * *
When I arrived at the French Restaurant in Samjeon Hotel, the manager personally guided me to my reserved table.
The view wasn’t particularly good, perhaps due to the light drizzle falling over Seoul today.
I had arrived about twenty minutes early on purpose, and there was still no sign of Bang Mu-hyuk or Lawyer Kim Sung-taek.
Just then, a familiar-looking man entered behind me.
It was Lee Kyung-soo, the investment specialist I’d seen in his resume.
I pretended not to notice and simply took a sip of the coffee I’d ordered in advance while looking out the window. But I could feel Lee Kyung-soo’s gaze flicker toward me as if he recognized me.
For anyone running a business in South Korea, it would be difficult not to know that I had a considerable relationship with Jeon Tae-guk.
Half of Jeon Tae-guk’s FaceNote posts featured photos of us together.
Lee Kyung-soo checked the time for a moment, then stood up and approached my table. He spoke to me first.
“You’re CEO Jeon Sung-guk of FaceNote, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Lee Kyung-soo, and I have an appointment with Executive Director Jeon Tae-guk here today. I currently work as an investment specialist at L&J.”
When the other person recognized me and greeted me, honesty was the best approach.
“Yes, I heard about it.”
Lee Kyung-soo smiled awkwardly and spoke again.
“To be honest, I’m a bit curious. Today’s interview isn’t just with Executive Director Jeon Tae-guk, is it?”
“That’s a misunderstanding. I had lunch scheduled today for another reason, and I asked Executive Director Jeon Tae-guk to reserve the venue, which is how this happened. Don’t worry about it.”
“Ah, I see. I misunderstood. My apologies.”
Lee Kyung-soo had the quality of cleanly acknowledging his own mistakes.
And he didn’t hide his doubts—he confirmed them directly.
In truth, I had harbored some suspicion about Lee Kyung-soo’s aggressive investment approach and various other aspects.
Most people who call themselves investment experts are half-swindlers. But based on his demeanor and speaking style, he seemed legitimate.
Just then, Bang Mu-hyuk entered with Lawyer Kim Sung-taek.
“My colleagues have arrived.”
“I apologize for taking your precious time. I hope you have a good rest of your day.”
Lee Kyung-soo bid farewell cleanly and returned to his table.
* * *
“Sung-guk, if we mishandle this, it could seriously backfire on Sevens’ image.”
Bang Mu-hyuk was voicing the same concern he’d had since dawn.
“Director Bang, there’s a saying I’ve come to understand through my work as a lawyer. You use a hoe to stop what should be stopped with a hoe, but you end up using a spade. Small issues left unchecked often lead to greater trouble later. I think this situation is similar. The major talent agencies are trying to nip Sevens in the bud—they’re still a mid-tier group, but with Representative Jeon Sung-guk behind them. They created these rumors to crush that potential. You need to respond appropriately.”
Lawyer Kim Sung-taek was someone who could view this situation more rationally than I could. His advice was sound.
Bang Mu-hyuk left half his main dish uneaten, unusual for him.
“I’ve lost my appetite. The first album did okay, and I was hoping for some reaction from the second… but what is all this nonsense?”
“Uncle, I think you should do as Lawyer Kim suggested. It’s best to handle this cleanly and move on.”
“But it’s already spread all over the media, Sung-guk. No matter how we resolve it legally or what conclusion we reach, people only remember the controversy, not the resolution.”
“We’ll see how it goes. And I won’t leave it at that. I’m going to sue those two newspapers for defamation and pursue this to the end. Then people will understand how dangerous baseless rumors are.”
Bang Mu-hyuk sighed anyway.
“Will that even work…?”
While we discussed the serious matter of Sevens, Jeon Tae-guk and Lee Kyung-soo were conversing amicably.
Jeon Tae-guk was skillfully leading the conversation with Lee Kyung-soo on his own.
They were even discussing their respective visions from time to time.
“Representative, may I take charge of this matter and proceed?”
“Yes. Please start right away.”
“Understood.”
Bang Mu-hyuk and Lawyer Kim Sung-taek left shortly after, and I stayed to finish my coffee.
I wanted to hear more of the conversation between Jeon Tae-guk and Lee Kyung-soo, partly because Jeon Tae-guk had asked me to come along.
Lee Kyung-soo noticed I was alone and said something to Jeon Tae-guk, then Jeon Tae-guk approached me and tapped my shoulder. He whispered quietly.
“Sung-guk, you’ve been caught. I asked you to come along with me.”
[I should have denied it!]
“Sung-guk, since we’re already here, want to go grab some mango shaved ice?”
“Hyung, aren’t you on a diet?”
“Eating and then getting mango shaved ice has become my routine. This is a problem.”
Left with no choice, I headed to the lounge to eat mango shaved ice—a dessert I didn’t particularly enjoy.
* * *
Lee Kyung-soo regarded me with an intrigued expression in the lounge.
Jeon Tae-guk had wolfed down his mango shaved ice in a hurry, and had stepped away briefly after his stomach began acting up.
“CEO, despite what you said, it seems you did come out with Jeon Tae-guk, the executive director?”
“I had two objectives. I didn’t mention one of them because I was worried it might burden you.”
“You’re young, but listening to you speak like this, you sound remarkably mature. You remind me of a seasoned entrepreneur. You’re used to this kind of reaction, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
I answered honestly and took a few spoonfuls of the mango shaved ice.
In my previous life, it was too sweet and I rarely ate it, but now that I was in my twenties, the mango shaved ice went down quite smoothly.
[I should pack some to take to my parents and Secretary Kim later…]
Then Lee Kyung-soo brought up an interesting topic.
“CEO, you seemed quite serious when you were talking about your younger sibling earlier.”
“Yes, the entertainment industry is a place where baseless rumors abound.”
“That’s why I searched for some articles earlier. They were attacking both Sevens and you simultaneously.”
“We’re planning to handle that part through legal measures.”
“Hmm… CEO, this is just my thought, but I contribute columns to newspapers. Various stock market discussions, and I always keep an eye on entertainment industry stocks as well. What if I covered this issue once?”
Lee Kyung-soo’s proposal was quite tempting.
“How so?”
“It seems like major talent agencies are destroying idols from smaller agencies to expand their own market share, possibly because they’re preparing for listings. Looking at this newspaper, there’s clearly a particular agency they mainly cover. That agency is also preparing for a listing.”
“The talent agency that attacked Sevens is preparing for a listing, and they’re trampling on idols from smaller agencies to expand their position and boost their performance. You’re saying you’d cover it that way?”
“Yes. Honestly, that’s how the incident seems to be unfolding.”
I met Lee Kyung-soo’s gaze. His small eyes behind his glasses sparkled.
“Are you perhaps thinking of joining E-Samjeon?”
“It’s an enticing offer, but… honestly, meeting CEO Jeon Sung-guk today was incredibly encouraging for me. I’m extremely interested in YouTube. There aren’t many YouTube channels that explain economic expertise in an easy and entertaining way.”
Then should I dangle the bait?
“I’ll help you set up a YouTube channel. In return, what do you think about working at E-Samjeon?”
Just then, Jeon Tae-guk returned from the restroom, having relieved himself.
And Jeon Tae-guk and I waited for Lee Kyung-soo’s answer.
“My current company has a non-compete clause. Would E-Samjeon allow dual employment?”
“I think that’s a question Executive Director Jeon Tae-guk should answer.”
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk’s voice rang out loudly across the lounge.
“Of course! Welcome to E-Samjeon, Lee Kyung-soo!”

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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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