I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 480

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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 480
The house had fallen quiet once more.
The speaker that Jeon Tae-guk had gifted me had arrived.
[Hmm… not bad at all….]
As expected, Jeon Tae-guk possessed the refined taste of a true conglomerate heir.
I dangled my feet in the swimming pool and sipped wine while listening to classical pieces I’d forgotten I loved, enjoying a moment of solitude for the first time in ages.
This was truly the first time in my life that I was savoring such uninterrupted peace.
When I was a conglomerate heir, such moments came daily and I never appreciated their value, but now in this life, having earned this wealth through my own blood and sweat, I finally understood what it truly meant.
I took a sip of wine.
Then I fiddled with my phone.
There were no messages from anyone.
Even Secretary Kim Mi-so had taken leave due to moving.
Mark had gone on vacation nearby with Lim Mi-mi and the children, while Jeon Tae-guk and Lee Kyung-soo were both occupied with unpacking.
In short, on this weekend day, no one had reached out to me.
[So these days happen too….]
I had a premonition that there would be many more days like this ahead.
My younger siblings would become independent, and Jeon Tae-guk would return to Korea….
[Why am I already worrying about Jeon Tae-guk returning to Korea.]
I shook my head at myself.
Being alone made me miss my family.
How was Min-guk doing with his Sevens activities lately….
Was Ji-hee making progress with her bar exam studies.
Was Mother managing the Family Business well.
How was Father’s Bossam Restaurant doing these days….
All sorts of worries swam through my mind.
I sighed for a moment and set down my wine glass. Then I called home.
But neither Mother nor Father answered.
When I called Ji-hee, she picked up with a curt voice.
– Older brother, what’s wrong?
“Oh, just checking in. Ji-hee, you’re on winter break now anyway.”
– Yeah, I’m in a special lecture right now, so unless it’s urgent, hang up.
“Oh… okay, study hard.”
It felt awkward to ask my younger sister to talk longer when she was studying.
[Maybe I should try Min-guk instead.]
I picked up the phone again.
The allegations of stock manipulation against Sevens were being handled by lawyer Kim Sung-taek, and the lawsuit was still ongoing.
Though it was merely an allegation, we were pushing forward aggressively to uproot the matter from the beginning.
Soon Sevens should start getting responses from abroad….
But since Bang Mu-hyuk’s company was a small talent agency, they weren’t particularly aggressive about overseas expansion.
Min-guk’s ringtone was their own song.
Soon, Min-guk’s weary voice came through the phone.
– Hyung, what’s going on? You bought a house?
“Uh… where are you right now?”
– I’m heading back to Seoul after the event. I performed for ten minutes, but I’ve been stuck in the car for seven hours round trip.
That explained why Min-guk’s voice sounded so drained.
Just then, Bang Mu-hyuk’s voice came from beside him.
– Hyung, the old man wants to talk to you.
“Sure.”
Bang Mu-hyuk took the phone, and unlike Min-guk, his voice was brimming with excitement.
– Sung-guk, I actually had something to discuss with you as soon as I got to Seoul.
“Sir, do you follow the kids around to all their events?”
– Oh, that… One of our managers’ wives went into labor today. We were short-handed, so I tagged along. These days, the only work our company has is with these kids.
Bang Mu-hyuk’s bitter laugh echoed through the line.
“Sir, what did you want to discuss?”
– Sevens’ YouTube channel seems to be getting some attention overseas lately.
I nodded.
It wasn’t explosive popularity yet, but it was growing.
– So we got contacted from the US side about doing a tour or something like that… but with my current staff, I’m not even sure if it’s legitimate or a scam.
“I’ll look into it. Can you send me the email you received?”
– Sure, I’ll send it right away. The kids are wrapping up their second album soon and will have some downtime, so landing an overseas tour or anything like that would be great.
“I’ll confirm and get back to you.”
I hung up the phone.
Sevens was gradually gaining traction overseas as well.
* * *
Monday morning.
I finally returned to FaceNote headquarters after nearly three years away.
Many of the employees were still familiar faces, but there were plenty of new ones too.
The office was still bustling with activity.
With the YouTube and TikTok teams I managed now integrated, the company had more employees than most mid-sized corporations.
Mark waved a coffee cup in his hand.
“Sung-guk, coffee.”
“How was the camping trip?”
“Come with us next time. Olivia was looking for Uncle Sung-guk all weekend.”
“I’ll join you next time. But… Mark.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you think our company is getting too cramped?”
Mark looked around the office for the first time.
“I guess it does feel that way… our staff has been growing explosively lately.”
“Mark, I think it’s time we built our own office building.”
Mark blinked at my words.
“Mark, you know that land we’ve been holding onto for our office building? Let’s move FaceNote there now.”
Mark smiled broadly.
“Sung-guk, now that you’re back, FaceNote finally feels like it’s running properly. But you know our company isn’t just about the two of us anymore, right?”
“I know.”
I nodded in agreement.
FaceNote was a publicly listed company.
While Mark and I held the majority of the shares, we had a board of directors, and constructing an office building meant we had to go through rigorous verification starting with the budget.
“Mark, let’s push forward on this today.”
“Sounds good!”
Just then, Adam approached us with his phone in hand.
“Sung-guk, Mark! Could you wave your hands toward the camera?”
“Adam, what are you doing?”
“I’m filming a video to upload to TikTok.”
Sam and Adam were still working as developers for TikTok.
But TikTok hadn’t yet achieved any significant results.
It was a platform for uploading short videos, but Instagrim still held the advantage.
“Adam, is just waving our hands enough?”
When I asked, Adam scratched his head sheepishly.
“Honestly, I’m not sure what we should do either. I can’t think of anything worthwhile to capture in such a short time.”
TikTok’s biggest problem was that it still hadn’t found a concept for videos lasting only ten to fifteen seconds.
A short video of around ten seconds was barely a fleeting moment, and it seemed most current users were simply uploading meaningless fragments of their daily lives.
“Adam, let’s think about this more.”
“Sung-guk, at least today your video will go up, so we should get some views.”
Adam walked toward TikTok’s office space with a bitter expression on his face.
Mark looked at me with concern.
“Sung-guk, what do you think about moving Adam and Sam back to their original positions?”
“You mean shut down TikTok?”
“Honestly, you have too much on your plate right now. You’ve never failed at anything, but now you need to learn how to accept failure. In a couple of years, we’ll both be another year older anyway.”
When I said nothing, Mark squeezed my shoulder firmly and disappeared.
* * *
A few days later, Mark came to our home at night.
Mark’s face looked somewhat dark.
“Sung-guk, you have alcohol, right?”
“Yeah.”
Mark’s voice was dark as well.
I pulled out a beer and handed it to Mark. He preferred beer to wine and whiskey.
“Mark, what’s going on?”
“Actually, I met with Brad today.”
Brad Young was one of the board members with substantial decision-making power at FaceNote.
“Is it about the office building?”
“Yeah.”
“But Brad was expressing some concerns.”
“What kind of concerns?”
I poured myself a beer and took a sip.
FaceNote’s finances were in the best state in its history.
FaceNote users in the United States and Europe had already exploded exponentially, and in Asia, where we’d been struggling, FaceNote users were now growing at an exponential rate as well.
Mark took a sip of his beer and looked at me.
“It’s not about FaceNote’s finances. He’s worried about TikTok, which you’re running.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Right now, TikTok is literally like pouring water into a bottomless pit.”
I nodded.
I knew better than anyone that TikTok wasn’t generating revenue.
“Brad was saying that TikTok’s financial deterioration might negatively impact FaceNote as well, and that you seem to be running too many businesses in an octopus-like manner.”
What Brad Young was expressing wasn’t distrust in TikTok—it was distrust in me.
“Brad also thinks it’s unfair that all the businesses you’re currently running are sharing the office building with FaceNote.”
“Hmm….”
I drained my beer.
“Sung-guk, this is advice from a friend. Why don’t you focus on what matters most in this opportunity?”
“You mean I should abandon TikTok?”
“If there’s a company willing to buy it, selling it off now might not be a bad idea. Brad Young thinks you’re Korean and running FaceNote and other companies in a Korean conglomerate style—where failing businesses are propped up by successful ones.”
Brad Young’s assessment wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Mark, Brad’s right in some ways and wrong in others. TikTok currently shares FaceNote’s office space, but it doesn’t receive any financial support from FaceNote or any of my other companies. TikTok has been operating entirely on my personal stake and sponsorship from Hyojin Group.”
“I know… but Brad Young is incredibly meticulous. He’s expanding the office building and hiring more staff to grow FaceNote, and he’s worried that TikTok might create problems with operational soundness.”
I drained my beer.
“Mark, I’ll meet with Brad Young separately.”
“Sung-guk, the reason I’m telling you this first is…”
“I know—you’re rooting for me to win Brad over.”
* * *
Brad Young was a mid-forties Jewish man.
Though Jewish, he was an American born and raised in America.
Brad Young greeted me at his office in San Francisco.
“Sung-guk, it’s been a while. I heard you completed your military service in Korea and came back.”
“I thought I’d see you at the company’s year-end party soon, but here we are meeting early.”
We shook hands.
Brad Young already knew what I was going to say.
“You’ve already heard what I told Mark, haven’t you?”
“Yes, Brad.”
I nodded.
“Sung-guk, understand that as a board member of FaceNote, I have to constantly monitor the operator’s risks.”
“Of course. That’s your job.”
“Thank you for understanding, Sung-guk.”
Brad smiled, revealing his even teeth.
“But Brad.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s be honest. You’re planning to convey negative assessments about FaceNote’s new office building to the other board members unless I step back from managing TikTok, which still hasn’t turned a profit, aren’t you?”
“It’s less of a plan and more that I have to prepare an objective report. The truth is, TikTok’s current situation isn’t good by any measure. Yes, we’ve gotten advertising exposure, but we don’t have many users, and compared to YouTube and Instagrim, which I operate, we’re not generating revenue.”
I nodded and looked up at Brad.
“Brad, want to make a wager with me?”
“A wager?”
Brad tilted his head in confusion.
In the ruthless world of business, a wager was a word that rarely found currency.
“Brad, if I can turn TikTok profitable within six months, you won’t raise any concerns about my management abilities to the board ever again.”
“Sung-guk, and if you can’t turn it profitable within six months?”
“Then I’ll step back from managing FaceNote.”
I spoke with conviction, though truthfully, I wasn’t entirely confident—unlike my usual self.
But I knew better than anyone that in business, you can’t gain everything without risking everything.

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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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