I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 482

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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 482
“Hyung!”
Min-guk burst through the door and rushed into the house.
“Hyung? You’re all grown up now.”
“Well, you’re still my hyung. But hyung, this house is really amazing.”
Min-guk’s mouth fell open as he began exploring the house.
“There’s even a swimming pool! Wow! How many rooms are there?”
Min-guk’s question wasn’t really seeking an answer. He was too excited, darting around the house with wide eyes.
Bang Mu-hyuk followed him in with a smile.
“Sung-guk….”
“Thank you so much for bringing the kids all this way.”
“No trouble at all. Everyone was thrilled about the overseas tour. Plus, you booked business class seats for them, so they were over the moon. I ate my heart out on the plane too, thanks to you.”
Bang Mu-hyuk’s face was equally excited.
It was Sevens’ first overseas tour, so it was only natural.
Min-guk, who had been looking around the rooms, asked with a puzzled expression.
“Hyung, where are we sleeping? Are all seven of us supposed to lay blankets on the floor?”
“Jung-woo, you, and Bang Mu-hyuk will stay here at my place. The rest of the members can stay at the neighboring house. I mentioned to the owner that we needed more space.”
“Who lives in the neighboring house?”
“Tae-guk hyung.”
“Can’t I stay at Tae-guk hyung’s place too? He seems like he’d treat us way better than you.”
“You and Jung-woo need to discuss something with me.”
At my words, Min-guk let out a deep sigh.
“I knew it… That’s why he so readily offered his house. The CEO said you’d put us up, but I told him something felt off. You’re not the type to freely house us without getting something in return….”
[Jeon Min-guk, there’s no such thing as a free meal in this world. And especially not in our family!]
* * *
All the members except Jung-woo and Min-guk headed over to Jeon Tae-guk’s house.
Jeon Tae-guk had said he’d buy plenty of meat and throw a barbecue party for the members.
Min-guk seemed envious and kept grumbling about it.
“Hyung, can’t we just go to Tae-guk hyung’s place, eat some barbecue, and come back? We can work after dinner anyway.”
“Yeah, Sung-guk. We should eat first. I’m not sure what this is about, but….”
Bang Mu-hyuk also seemed somewhat envious of Jeon Tae-guk’s barbecue.
[I knew this would happen, so I prepared accordingly.]
I quietly picked up the car keys and stood up.
“We’ll discuss business over dinner.”
“Where are we going, hyung?”
Min-guk’s eyes sparkled instantly.
“Just follow me.”
* * *
The place I had reserved was a Michelin-starred French restaurant.
The moment Bang Mu-hyuk, Jung-woo, and Min-guk stepped inside, they all held their breath.
The modern interior and flowing music were all exquisitely refined.
Bang Mu-hyuk’s eyes widened in surprise, and he asked with concern.
“Sung-guk, aren’t you overextending yourself?”
“It’s just treating you and my brothers to a meal, sir. What’s the big deal?”
[Bang Mu-hyuk, I have more money now than the Samjeon tycoon living next door.]
But Min-guk continued to eye me with suspicion.
“Hyung, this is really weird. Why are you treating us to such a nice place? How much work are you planning to make us do?”
“It’s dinner time anyway. And we need to discuss work. It’s hard to talk business while grilling barbecue.”
“I’m telling you, this is seriously suspicious.”
Min-guk sat down, still eyeing me with doubt.
I ordered a course meal and a bottle of wine as well.
Bang Mu-hyuk glanced at the wine price and looked back at me.
“Sung-guk, you said you came to discuss work… Let’s drink the alcohol back at the house. This place is too expensive.”
Bang Mu-hyuk couldn’t possibly imagine that five years from now, he’d become the richest entertainment company CEO in South Korea.
“Sir, you should have a glass of wine with good food.”
Min-guk looked at me with a face full of distrust.
“Good food… and expensive wine too… I’m getting more anxious…”
“I’ll ease that anxiety for you.”
I smiled calmly and looked at Jung-woo, Bang Mu-hyuk, and Min-guk.
“The reason I invited just the three of you this evening is…”
“See, I told you he’s not the type to treat us for free.”
Min-guk muttered from the side.
“Min-guk, let’s hear what your hyung has to say first.”
Bang Mu-hyuk stopped Min-guk.
Min-guk clamped his mouth shut and looked at me with a face full of complaints.
“Sir, you know I’m running TikTok, the SNS platform where I upload short videos, right?”
“Yeah. I use it too. But there aren’t that many users yet.”
“Right, that’s why I wanted to meet with just the three of you today.”
“What kind of work could we do related to TikTok?”
Just then, the ordered food and wine arrived.
“Let’s talk while we have a glass of wine first.”
Alcohol has a way of making people more relaxed.
By the time we’d finished our first glass of wine, I slowly began to speak.
“TikTok is a platform for uploading short videos, but so far it seems to lack something that really captures the eyes of the younger generation…”
I took a sip of wine.
Regardless, Min-guk was already on his second glass of wine.
“What if the Sevens uploaded dance videos synchronized to music on these short videos?”
“The videos would be too short for a full dance. And we’re already uploading plenty of our dance videos on YouTube.”
“Instead of uploading from beginning to end like on YouTube, what if we upload just the key choreography points synchronized to the music? Then if we add a challenge hashtag, your fans could upload videos of themselves doing that choreography, right?”
Bang Mu-hyuk finished his wine and nodded in agreement.
“Now that I think about it, that doesn’t sound bad. I heard that dancing to K-pop songs has become trendy overseas lately. There are tons of dance videos popping up on YouTube.”
“Hyung! There are so many videos of people doing the Sevens choreography. And if you search for reaction videos on YouTube, there are tons of people reacting to our Sevens music videos and dance moves.”
Jung-woo chimed in as well.
“Sung-guk, that sounds fun. Our choreography is pretty difficult, so people can’t follow the whole thing. But if we pick out just the key moves that people can follow and upload 10 to 15 second clips, I think viewers would really enjoy it.”
“That’s exactly why I only called you three. Jung-woo is the team leader, and Min-guk is the main vocalist, so it should be easier to decide which choreography and songs to upload. Of course, we need your approval, sir.”
“What approval do I need to give? I’m all for it. When you were struggling to break into the broadcasting industry, you were the one who told me to upload original content on YouTube. Honestly, I never expected a small agency idol group that just released their second album to do an overseas tour, let alone in America. We got here because of YouTube. We should definitely do TikTok too.”
I cut into my perfectly cooked lamb steak and took a bite.
It seemed like my part was done.
I had thrown out the idea, and now Jung-woo and Min-guk were already discussing which song and choreography to use while sipping wine.
Bang Mu-hyuk poured more wine into my glass.
“Sung-guk, I’m so grateful for the suggestion… Do you really think it will help our kids on TikTok?”
I looked at the empty wine bottle and ordered another one.
Then Bang Mu-hyuk tried to stop me.
“Sung-guk, it’s too expensive. Let’s drink more when we get home.”
“Sir, you just asked me if Sevens would benefit from TikTok. This is my answer. I think today’s meal and wine will be worth it, at least.”
Of course, I thought today’s meal would be worth far more than just the bill.
Actually, when I was organizing the overseas tour schedule, I had Secretary Kim Mi-so research Sevens’ international popularity.
Since it was an overseas research firm rather than domestic research, they had no preconceptions about Sevens, making their findings more accurate.
The results showed that Sevens’ international response was overwhelming even among K-pop enthusiasts.
Especially as the music video for their second album’s title track gained popularity, not only the team but individual members were gaining fans too. The growth rate was faster than idols from major agencies.
Of course, YouTube subscribers and related content were growing exponentially as well.
If we added a TikTok challenge on top of this, Sevens’ popularity would skyrocket, but more importantly, it would definitely bring fresh energy to the stagnant TikTok content scene.
I took a long sip of wine.
Then Min-guk paused mid-sip and suddenly looked at me.
“Hyung… remember when you used to tell me to earn my meal money and then rolled around on the floor?”
[Sigh… Min-guk, that kid has an annoyingly good memory…]
“Now that you’re buying me wine… I have a feeling you’re going to ask me to earn the wine money too.”
Then he grinned and took another sip of wine.
[Min-guk, eat and drink plenty. You’ve got to earn both the meal and the wine. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and that’s life.]
* * *
From early morning, the swimming pool area was filled with commotion.
Min-guk, Jung-woo, and all the Sevens members had gathered together, moving back and forth with their phones in hand.
Bang Mu-hyuk was watching Sevens with a pleased expression.
“Sir, you’ve already started filming?”
“Jung-woo and Min-guk kept deliberating even after they came back last night, and this morning everyone gathered and started making videos. It looks like they’re all trying to figure out which background would look best.”
The Sevens members moved around the property, searching for the perfect background to film their challenge video.
Then they all lined up in front of the swimming pool. The house was visible in the background.
“Jung-woo hyung, what if we film the choreography here and then have everyone jump into the swimming pool at the end?”
As Min-guk suggested the idea, voices of agreement came from all around.
“Then, should Dohyung jump in first?”
“Alright! I’ll jump in first! But let’s edit out the puffiness, yeah? I ate way too much yesterday and my face is absolutely swollen right now.”
I shot my hand up and shouted.
“Min-guk, once you head outside, there’s a jogging course to the right. Everyone run one lap and come back.”
The moment I finished speaking, the Sevens members bolted out the door.
* * *
– K-pop group Sevens ignites TikTok challenge craze
– Challenge fever spreads as everyone joins in; TikTok’s popularity skyrockets
– Sevens’ US tour completely sold out before launch!
Just as I’d predicted, Sevens was driving TikTok’s meteoric rise.
Since most of Sevens’ core members belonged to a generation fluent in newer media like YouTube and Instagrim, the TikTok challenge phenomenon spread at breakneck speed.
I sent a message to Min-guk, who was currently preparing for performances in Chicago.
– Min-guk, how about uploading a choreography video for another song?
Min-guk’s reply came quickly.
– Hyung, after the US tour ends, can the members and I rest at your place for a few days?
– I’ll buy you delicious food and wine.
Min-guk responded to my message immediately.
– Food! Wine! I’ll do it right!!!
I chuckled and set my phone down.
Teaching him the value of a good meal from childhood really did pay off.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Mark entered, phone in hand, at the sound of the knocking.
“Mark, what’s up?”
“Sung-guk, people are going crazy asking you to film the Sevens challenge too. Check the FaceNote comments.”
“Already saw them.”
Once the Sevens challenge went live and the craze began building, comments exploded demanding that I—the CEO of TikTok and Min-guk’s older brother—participate in the Sevens challenge.
“Sung-guk, I’ll film it for you. Come on, let’s do the Sevens challenge.”
“Mark, I don’t have time for that.”
“Sung-guk, if you film the challenge too, I think TikTok’s subscriber count will absolutely explode. What do you say?”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
TikTok’s CEO Jeon Sung-guk joins the Sevens craze!
Yeah, I could already see a few headlines like that.
And I spotted fresh bait right in front of me.
“Mark, let’s do it together.”
“The challenge?”
“Yeah. If TikTok doesn’t turn profitable and I quit FaceNote, you’re quitting too anyway.”
“I’m fine, Sung-guk. My dream was always to be a housewife anyway.”
Mark tried to back away with a laugh, so I quickly grabbed the back of his neck.
“Mark, we’re in the same boat. Don’t forget that.”
And the next day, an article about Mark and my TikTok challenge went up.
– FaceNote co-CEOs Sung-guk and Mark’s participation in the TikTok challenge is undoubtedly the worst thing they’ve ever created together!

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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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