I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 490

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 490
Ji-hee opened the guest room door and tilted her head curiously.
“Ji-hee, don’t you like it?”
Jeon Tae-guk followed behind her.
“Whether I like it or not doesn’t matter. I’m only here for one semester, and I have no intention of redecorating it to your taste.”
I answered firmly.
“Actually, the modern aesthetic is more my style anyway….”
Ji-hee shrugged and stepped into the room.
Jeon Tae-guk suppressed a laugh and whispered.
“Sung-guk, Ji-hee seems to resemble you the most in your family.”
[I already know that without you telling me, Jeon Tae-guk.]
I crossed my arms and changed the subject.
“Hyung, you’ll be representing Samsung at the Academy Awards this time, right?”
“Yeah. Sun-hee is coming too, so we’ll have to catch up and party hard. She said not to worry about your hotel—her company will handle everything. Honestly, she said just having Dennis Chazelle and you treated by her company is already great publicity, so she told me to make sure you don’t go anywhere else.”
“Please let Representative Son know that Ji-hee is coming too.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes narrowed.
“Jeon Sung-guk, you really know how to use the Samjeon Family well. Since Sun-hee likes Ji-hee, you’re trying to get her to look after her, aren’t you?”
“Hyung, you use me well too. For example, your college graduation, the photo leak, and if I keep going, there’s way too much to list.”
“Alright, alright. If I don’t want to hear this story anymore, I’d better head back to Korea soon. Anyway, I’ll tell Sun-hee.”
“Thanks, hyung.”
Another deal between Jeon Tae-guk and me was settled just like that.
But having my youngest sibling, who thinks she’s so great living alone in the world, staying at our home….
The next six months looked bleak.
* * *
We didn’t leave our rooms until evening.
I handled the work I’d missed during the week in my study, while Ji-hee seemed busy unpacking her luggage.
Just then, a message arrived.
Looking at the time, evening was nearly upon us.
– Sung-guk, what are we eating for dinner?
The sender was none other than Jeon Tae-guk.
I ignored the message and refocused on my work.
The headquarters blueprints were finally starting to come through. I carefully reviewed them, checking for any sections that needed reinforcement or anything missing.
But something felt lacking.
The blueprints were all impressive, but they seemed to be missing a concept.
I called Mark.
Mark answered the phone shortly, and I could hear Olivia and Rose chattering in the background.
– Sung-guk, what’s up on a weekend? By the way, Ji-hee arrived safely, right?
“Yeah, she arrived safely. Mark, I’m going through the blueprints….”
– Sung-guk, it’s Saturday today. Please try to take it easy with work.
“If I put it off today, I’ll have more work tomorrow. It’s better to work even on weekends.”
At that moment, I heard Olivia’s cheerful chatter.
– Uncle, come play at our house!
“Whenever Olivia invites me, I’ll be there.”
– Yay! Dad, invite Uncle!!!
I could hear Olivia whining at Mark, followed by the sound of Lim Mi-mi scolding her.
– Sung-guk, sorry about that.
“That’s how it is with kids around, no big deal.”
– Right, were we talking about our design plans?
“Yeah. But… I think our design is lacking something.”
– What? Mi-mi and I looked at it, and it looked great….
“It looks great, but… it lacks our own character, I guess.”
– Hmm… you might be right.
“It feels like a building you could see anywhere in Silicon Valley?”
– Hmm….
I kept hearing Mark’s contemplative murmurs.
And behind him, Olivia and Rose were teasing Mark again.
It seemed like I should wrap up this call here.
“Mark, I’ll organize my thoughts about the design and send them to you. Let’s meet on Monday and discuss this again.”
– Sorry, Sung-guk. Oh, come to our place next week with Ji-hee for dinner. Mi-mi says she’ll make something delicious.
“Thanks, Mark.”
I hung up and reviewed the design plans again.
What I wanted wasn’t just a building that looked impressive to others. I wanted a building that embodied the spirit of FaceNote.
Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong!
The doorbell rang loudly.
Why do I have a feeling I know exactly who this is without even looking?
When I went to the living room, Ji-hee was already opening the door.
Jeon Tae-guk and Lee Kyung-soo came in with their hands full of shopping bags.
“Ji-hee, I bet you don’t even care what your brother wants for dinner?”
“Probably not.”
“That’s why I came shopping with Lee Kyung-soo here. When Min-guk came, we grilled so much meat. He had a rough time coming from Korea, so let’s have some meat and get some good rest today.”
Jeon Tae-guk eagerly pulled out the meat he’d bought.
Lee Kyung-soo skillfully fired up our barbecue grill.
I stood with my arms crossed, looking down at them, and Ji-hee had already come to my side.
“Older brother, I was hoping for a light dinner.”
“Me too.”
“But do those two always come here and grill like this?”
“Not every day at our place, but on days we don’t grill here, they grill at their place. So basically, it’s every day.”
Jeon Tae-guk waved at me and Ji-hee standing side by side with our arms crossed.
“Just wait a bit. The meat will be ready soon.”
At that, both Ji-hee and I shook our heads simultaneously.
“Hyung, I’d really appreciate it if you could keep Jeon Tae-guk from coming to our house from now on. Even though he’s an exchange student, he’s going to be studying for the bar exam too.”
“That’s what I want anyway. I’ll come up with an excuse for you.”
“But there’s a condition.”
[She really does take after me when I see her like this.]
I looked at Ji-hee.
“What’s the condition?”
“I want to get my driver’s license, and according to California state law, I need consent from an adult guardian. You’ll do it for me, right?”
“Hmm… I can do that much.”
Ji-hee extended her hand.
“Deal?”
I grasped Ji-hee’s hand firmly.
“Deal!”
* * *
Monday morning, Mark walked in with tousled hair, holding a large tumbler.
“Sung-guk, isn’t scheduling a meeting at 6 AM a bit much? I’ve got Monday blues.”
“I’m sorry, but I need to get some work done before attending the Academy Awards ceremony next week. I’ve been thinking about the architectural blueprints all weekend.”
“I’ve thought about it too, but honestly, I’m not sure what’s lacking.”
“It’s too ordinary. It doesn’t matter whether this building is in Silicon Valley or Los Angeles. The FaceNote headquarters needs to reflect our identity.”
Mark nodded.
“It would be nice to show that. But we can’t build it in a spaceship shape like Apple does.”
“Mark, what is our identity?”
“Sung-guk… are we playing twenty questions?”
I looked at Mark with a serious expression.
“Not twenty questions. We met in high school and created FaceNote, an SNS! And we’re high school and college alumni together.”
“Hmm… we started it as a joke in school, but now it’s become a massive company….”
In that moment, Mark’s eyes and mine locked perfectly.
“Sung-guk, don’t tell me?”
“Campus!”
“I was thinking the same thing. Not a company, but a school campus!”
Mark’s eyes began to light up.
“That’s right, Mark. The concept for our FaceNote headquarters building will be a campus. Just like how we created FaceNote in the Phillips Academy dormitory and grew it while walking through the Harvard Campus.”
“So we’re making a company that feels like a university campus?”
“Exactly!”
Mark began pacing around the office with excitement.
“On a vast plot of land, multiple company buildings are constructed like a university campus, with each department divided separately. People can go wherever and whenever they want to work and hold meetings. When they want to rest, they can walk through the campus gardens. They can grab a meal at the cafeteria or have coffee.”
“FaceNote Campus. That’s the concept for FaceNote’s new headquarters that I envisioned.”
“Sung-guk, let’s contact them right away and change the blueprints.”
Mark downed his coffee and was leaving the office when he suddenly turned back.
“Sung-guk, but please refrain from scheduling 6 AM meetings on Monday mornings from now on. Schools don’t have 6 AM classes on Monday!”
“Got it.”
After Mark left, I smiled faintly to myself.
At this pace, the true nature of the new FaceNote headquarters campus would be revealed before the year was out.
* * *
Daniel lifted Ji-hee’s suitcase with ease.
“Miss Ji-hee, let me take that for you.”
Ji-hee waved her hand dismissively.
“I can manage it myself. That’s not why my older brother hired you.”
“True, but… the way you speak, it’s almost as if you’re the CEO yourself.”
I picked up a small suitcase and glanced at Daniel.
“Daniel, we’re running late. Let’s get going.”
“Sir, I couldn’t sleep last night just thinking about walking the Academy red carpet with you.”
“You can tell me more on the way.”
Ji-hee, Daniel, and I climbed into Jeon Tae-guk’s waiting car.
Lee Kyung-soo, who had been living a simple life in America, greeted us looking freshly shaved and presentable after a long time.
Daniel and Lee Kyung-soo were quite excited, as it was their first time attending the Academy Awards, while I—having attended many times in my previous life—reviewed the new blueprints for FaceNote.
Throughout the drive to the airport, Ji-hee studied for her driver’s license exam in the car.
“Ji-hee, are you getting your driver’s license?”
At Jeon Tae-guk’s question, Ji-hee nodded.
“They said international students can get one, so I figured I’d take the test. I’m not old enough to get one in Korea yet.”
“Ji-hee, once you pass, how about I buy you a car?”
“Sigh… Tae-guk, I know you’re a chaebol, but you shouldn’t spend money so recklessly. Besides, I have an even wealthier older brother.”
Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of buying her a car.
Ji-hee stared intently at me as I studied the blueprints, then shook her head in disapproval.
“You hear everything but pretend not to.”
“Ji-hee, as you said, even if you have plenty of money, you shouldn’t squander it. And even if you take the driver’s license test, you can only take the practical exam six months after passing the written one. By then, you’ll be back in Korea anyway. Just focus on taking the test itself.”
“I don’t know how you always manage to be exactly as I expect.”
As the tension in the car grew cold from my exchange with Ji-hee, Daniel spoke up.
“Miss Ji-hee, you’re a Stanford exchange student, right? As a senior, would you like me to show you around campus before classes start?”
“That would be wonderful. I still don’t know my way around campus very well.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll show you everything—from the route to campus to all the hidden gems and restaurants around school.”
“Thank you, Daniel.”
As Ji-hee and Daniel chatted warmly, Jeon Tae-guk watched them with envy.
“I should have studied harder. Then I would’ve gone to Stanford.”
“Brother, even if you had studied hard, you wouldn’t have gotten into Stanford.”
“Sigh… I guess I’ll just have to go to the Academy party and drink.”
Jeon Tae-guk grumbled for no reason.
“By the way, sir. ‘The Whip’—do you think it will win an award at the Academy?”
“I’m certain of one thing… the supporting actor award is definitely ours.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, it’s not so much certainty as necessity. I made a promise with J.J. Simmons.”
I answered with a touch of modesty.
To J.J. Simmons, who was torn between the Marvel film and The Whip, I had promised to give him ten times his acting fee if he didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor with this film.
When I mentioned my promise with J.J. Simmons, everyone’s eyes widened.
“Director, if he doesn’t win, you’re really going to pay ten times his acting fee?”
“Of course.”
But this year’s Best Supporting Actor award is absolutely J.J. Simmons’!

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————