I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 489

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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 489
I asked Barack Obama to do a TikTok challenge using Sevens’ song, and I made sure to emphasize that I wanted him to use their music.
After that, Barack Obama sent me messages every few days whenever he had a spare moment.
– I love all the Sevens songs so much that I don’t know which one to use for the challenge, Sung-guk!
– My daughters like this song even more, but I just can’t make a decision….
– Sung-guk, could you decide for me instead? Hmm?
I avoided answering until his final message arrived.
The President of the United States doing a challenge with a Sevens song—I couldn’t let such a golden opportunity slip away easily.
– Barack, let me consult with the Sevens members and get back to you.
Bang Mu-hyuk, the Sevens members, and I put our heads together and fell into deep contemplation.
“Sung-guk, my entire body is trembling—Barack Obama, the President of the United States, is going to do a challenge with our kids’ song. I never imagined something like this.”
“Sir, this is only the beginning.”
[We still have Billboard ahead of us, and the World Cup too!]
Just knowing the future that everyone else was unaware of brought me peace of mind.
But Sevens looked visibly tense.
Min-guk was more serious than ever before.
“Hyung, but… do you know when Barack Obama will upload the challenge?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Our third album is coming out this spring. I think it would be better if Barack Obama uploads his challenge around the same time we release ours.”
[Min-guk, that’s quite clever.]
Min-guk was planning to leverage Barack Obama, the President of the United States, to promote their new album.
Bang Mu-hyuk stroked his chin.
“Sung-guk, if we can adjust the schedule, I think it would be great to release the album in March as Min-guk suggested. Is that possible?”
“Let me make it possible.”
The Sevens members clapped their hands together in excitement at my words.
“Don’t celebrate yet. But if the songs and performances on the album coming out in March aren’t good, then this entire thing will be as if it never happened.”
“Yes!!!”
[They answer well.]
Everyone relaxed, and Bang Mu-hyuk picked up the meat tongs.
“Alright, we need to work hard on the third album back in Korea, so let’s eat plenty of meat here.”
“Yes!!!”
The Sevens members answered loudly and spent their last night in the United States.
* * *
Mark and I looked down at the vast plot of land where the FaceNote headquarters would be built.
It was a massive location, rarely seen even in Silicon Valley.
Brad Young had withdrawn from the board himself due to the Chu Shuru matter and was currently under investigation by the American FBI.
Brad Young’s career was essentially finished.
And my bet with Brad Young had come to an end.
There was no longer any possibility of me withdrawing from TikTok, and as various challenges began spreading across countries worldwide, TikTok’s user numbers were increasing globally.
Now, at last, the time had come to build the FaceNote headquarters building.
Mark stared at me and the land alternately, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“Sung-guk, the day has finally come when we build our own office building on this land….”
“It’s something I’ve been waiting for.”
[When I was Vice Chairman of Samsung, I’d overseen countless building projects, but this is my first time in this life… and on American soil, no less!]
My own chest swelled with emotion.
Mark gripped my hand firmly.
“Sung-guk, let’s do great things together from here on out.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll do well! Mark, you do your part too.”
“It’s this confidence of yours that brought us all the way here.”
“Mark, I’ve told you countless times—without you, there would be no me.”
Mark’s eyes reddened.
Ever since becoming a father to two daughters, Mark had grown more sentimental than before.
“For our two daughters’ sake, we need to build a magnificent headquarters.”
Just then, Daniel came running from a distance.
“CEO!!!”
What was this about?
Daniel sprinted over without pause, catching his breath several times.
“CEO, the Academy Committee just contacted us.”
[So it’s finally here….]
“The Whip has been nominated in five categories at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, including Best Picture. Of course, they’ve also invited you as the producer.”
Mark gripped my shoulder tightly.
“Sung-guk, now you’re going to the Academy Awards too?”
“It’s all thanks to Dennis.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Of course, it was I who had wielded both the whip and the carrot appropriately on that pathetic Dennis.
* * *
– Oppa, I’ll arrive at San Francisco Airport Saturday morning.
A message came from Ji-hee.
I stared at Ji-hee’s message with a less-than-enthusiastic expression.
“Sung-guk, I’ll go pick up Ji-hee.”
After the Sevens members returned to Korea, Jeon Tae-guk, a wealthy heir who had discovered the joys of barbecue, would come to our house every Friday night to have barbecue parties with Lee Kyung-soo.
“Did Ji-hee contact you too, hyung?”
“She figured if she contacted you, you’d just tell her to come on her own, so she contacted me as well.”
“Hyung, Ji-hee’s a college student now. She’ll be twenty soon. Of course she’s at an age where she can come to San Francisco Airport on her own.”
Jeon Tae-guk flipped the well-grilled lamb ribs and handed me a beer can.
“Drink this. When you think about it, she’s still just a baby not even twenty yet. Even though Ji-hee speaks bluntly, she’s scared, so she asked her oppa to pick her up.”
“When I was just Ji-hee’s age, I was running a business in America by myself.”
At that moment, Lee Kyung-soo, who was drinking beer, burst into hearty laughter.
“CEO, your standards are all based on yourself. CEO, the fact is there’s only one person in the world operating FaceNote, Instagrim, YouTube, and TikTok. And now you’re even walking the Academy Red Carpet. How many people in the world do you think are like that? As far as I know, exactly one.”
I took a long drink of my beer.
“Everyone should be grateful they weren’t born as my younger sibling. No matter what they do, they’ll never surpass me.”
At my words, Jeon Tae-guk and Lee Kyung-soo stared at me with dumbfounded expressions.
“Sung-guk, we all know it’s true, but every time I hear you say something like that out loud, I still can’t get used to it.”
“As far as I know, there’s no one quite as crazy as CEO Jeon Sung-guk except for Elon Musk. That’s probably why you two get along so well….”
Lee Kyung-soo tilted his head in confusion.
It had been several months since Jeon Tae-guk’s E-Samjeon closed its doors—one person demoted, one person unemployed.
“You mentioned you were thinking about starting an economics YouTube channel, Lee Kyung-soo. How much longer are you planning to loaf around?”
“CEO, I’m not even your younger sibling—just someone you happen to know. Are you really going to start nagging me too?”
Lee Kyung-soo’s small eyes behind his glasses widened.
“When I recruited you for E-Samjeon, I promised I’d help you with YouTube. You come to my house every day, waste time grilling barbecue and drinking beer—shouldn’t we at least have some productive conversations?”
“Sigh… CEO, I’ve lived a pretty grueling life in Korea’s Securities District myself. This level of rest is my way of recharging. And just so you know, if I ever become an economics YouTuber, you’ll probably be one of my primary targets.”
“How terrifying.”
I shrugged my shoulders dismissively.
“By the way, Sung-guk. What kind of food does Ji-hee like?”
“I’m not sure….”
I’d watched Min-guk from his crawling days through his runny-nosed kindergarten years before coming to America, but by the time Ji-hee was eating paper, I was already living in the States, so I didn’t know much about her personally.
Besides, my personal interest in Ji-hee was less about whether she preferred chicken or pork, and more about things like her grades.
Jeon Tae-guk gave me a pointed look.
“Sung-guk, before you start pestering your younger siblings to earn their keep, shouldn’t you at least know what they like? What they dislike? Things like that?”
“That’s just how it is between siblings—you don’t know those things. Besides, I heard Ji-hee was top of her class for both semesters of her first year. Isn’t that all I need to know?”
Lee Kyung-soo, who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly asked a question.
“But why is your younger sister coming?”
“Ji-hee works at the film company that produced 【The Whip】. She’s coming because of the Academy Awards….”
In that moment, I realized I had no idea why Ji-hee was actually coming.
Jeon Tae-guk stared at me intently.
“Looking at that face… you don’t even know why Ji-hee is coming to America…. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
* * *
I slipped into the study and called Mother.
Mother answered in a drowsy voice.
– Sung-guk… what’s wrong at this hour?
“Mother, Ji-hee’s coming this week. Why is she coming exactly? It’s because of the film festival, right?”
– Didn’t Ji-hee explain it to you separately?
An ominous feeling began to creep over me.
“She didn’t explain anything….”
– Sung-guk, I think you need to give your guest room to Ji-hee.
The more I heard from Mother, the more certain my ominous feeling became.
“Why would I give that room to Ji-hee?”
– Ji-hee decided to take classes at Stanford as an exchange student this semester.
I was left speechless for a long moment.
My hard-won independence—how could this happen!
“Mom… Seoul doesn’t feel like this place, so moving into the school dormitory is the best option. The transportation here isn’t even good….”
– Since Ji-hee rushed off as an exchange student, the first semester dormitory applications were already closed. She’ll apply for the second semester, so of course, you need to look after your sister. You’re not going to let your younger sister, who isn’t even twenty yet, live alone in the United States, are you? Sung-guk, you understand, right?
“Yes, Mom….”
I hung up the phone and slumped into the study chair with a dejected expression.
Living as the eldest son was exhausting.
There was no end to cleaning up after my younger siblings.
* * *
“Ji-hee, over here!!!”
Jeon Tae-guk waved brightly, and I raised my hand half-heartedly.
“Here!”
Ji-hee bowed politely and handed over a massive suitcase.
“Oppa, just carry this one for me.”
“I’ll take care of this.”
Tae-guk quickly grabbed the suitcase.
“Jeon Ji-hee, why didn’t you tell me you were coming as an exchange student to Stanford?”
“Didn’t I? I think I did? You probably just heard bits and pieces.”
[I definitely didn’t!]
“I was planning to focus more on my bar exam studies, but I thought that while I’m at the Academy, studying in the United States and broadening my horizons would help more later when I work in copyright law, so I applied in a rush and was pretty hectic.”
I knew Jeon Ji-hee better than anyone else.
Ji-hee, who resembled me most in our family, would never have made such a hasty decision.
Everything was clearly prepared meticulously and strategically.
“While you’re staying at my place for the first semester, there will be quite a few rules you’ll need to follow.”
“I know. I’ll move to the dormitory next semester, so don’t worry.”
Jeon Tae-guk, who had been listening to our conversation, quickly interjected.
“Ji-hee, if you have nowhere else to go, you can stay at my place too. My house has more rooms. Plenty to spare. I’ll even redesign whatever room you want however you like.”
“Tae-guk Oppa.”
Ji-hee called out to Jeon Tae-guk with a firm tone.
“You were demoted to the United States because E-Samjeon collapsed, and you’re just playing around without getting your act together?”
“Ah, well… I was planning to rest a bit and then get back to work.”
“Please just take care of yourself, Oppa. I’m going to move into the dormitory next semester anyway, so I only need to stay at my oldest brother’s place for the first semester. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay… Ji-hee.”
Jeon Tae-guk quickly backed down.
[Jeon Ji-hee, well done.]
At my glance, Ji-hee shrugged her shoulders.
At least it was fortunate that Ji-hee, who could handle Jeon Tae-guk, had come to the United States.

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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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