I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 497

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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 497
Jessie and Adam seemed to lose track of time as they talked about K-pop throughout the party.
How much time had passed?
Adam wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurried away from Jessie toward me.
“Sung-guk… I’m not sure if I said the right things.”
“Adam, I’m sure you did fine. When did you schedule the formal interview?”
“Jessie said she’d be staying a bit longer for work, so we decided to have dinner together tomorrow evening.”
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk rushed over.
“Adam, isn’t that a date proposal?”
“Tae-guk, it probably isn’t. Jessie only asked me about K-pop in a genuine way.”
Adam waved his hand dismissively.
“Adam, you should go for it. You’re now a developer in Silicon Valley earning a salary that puts you in the top tier.”
Jeon Tae-guk built Adam up enthusiastically.
“Hyung, while Adam’s salary is high, considering the scale of Jessie’s Father’s private equity fund, I don’t think Jessie was giving Adam the eye because of his salary.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I know well.”
At that moment, Adam scratched his head.
“Everyone seems to be trying to set me up with Jessie because I’m single, but she’s not my type.”
A moment of silence fell over us.
Jessie was objectively beautiful by anyone’s standards.
Adam was clearly a nerd from Silicon Valley.
For him to confidently say she wasn’t his type…
Jeon Tae-guk looked puzzled too.
“Adam, don’t back out by saying she’s not your type before you even try.”
“I’m serious. Jessie really isn’t my type. I’d prefer a woman who communicates well with me. Someone who likes girl groups and gaming like I do. But Jessie isn’t that kind of person.”
Hearing those words, Jeon Tae-guk and I shook our heads.
I sighed briefly and looked at Adam.
“Adam, what you’re saying is that you want Adam but female, right?”
“Sung-guk… that’s just my ideal type. Everyone has an ideal type, don’t they?”
Then, in our field of vision, we saw Sam talking with a woman.
Sam at least had more dating experience than Adam.
He’d come to the Korean branch after falling into despair from a workplace romance with Susan at FaceNote that had ended.
“Sung-guk, I have a feeling Sam is going to drop out of our group after today’s party.”
“Hyung, I’ve never been part of any group with you, Adam, and Sam.”
“You’ll deny it, but we’re the group that gets together on weekends for barbecue. The single group…”
Jeon Tae-guk drank his champagne with a bitter expression.
* * *
As soon as the party ended, Jeon Mi-jin cheered.
“Sung-guk! My follower count went over 30,000! Should we throw another party next week?”
“Mi-jin, think of a different idea instead of building a party girl image.”
“By the way, Sung-guk. Ji-hee mentioned earlier that you’re looking for a manager for her?”
“Yeah. Ji-hee’s planning to work as an influencer, so I decided to find her a manager myself. It’s tough to balance studying and work.”
Mi-jin’s eyes sparkled. More than ever before.
Could it be?
“Sung-guk, would it be okay if I made a suggestion?”
[Please don’t suggest what I think you’re about to suggest.]
Before she even spoke, I already knew what Mi-jin was going to propose.
“What suggestion?”
“What if I became Ji-hee’s manager?”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re the Samjeon Family’s daughter, and you’re attending university in New York right now. Ji-hee is studying here at Stanford. The distance is too far, and if the Chairman found out you were working as Ji-hee’s secretary, he wouldn’t stand for it.”
“Don’t worry about school. I was planning to take a leave of absence this year anyway. If I want to stay in America as long as possible, this is the only way.”
“There’s always graduate school, you know.”
“Sung-guk, I’m someone who gets bored with studying. And like you said, I’m the Samjeon Family’s daughter—why would academic credentials matter that much?”
Fair point.
I smiled bitterly.
It seemed like rejecting Mi-jin would be the right call.
“Mi-jin. Ji-hee will definitely object, and so do I.”
“Ji-hee said she’d conduct her own interviews for her manager. So if the school issue and living situation are resolved, and if Ji-hee approves, then I can be her manager, right?”
“I’m opposed to it first. And Ji-hee will be too.”
“But applying is still a free choice, isn’t it?”
“Go ahead and apply. It won’t happen anyway.”
Mi-jin called Kim Mi-so, who was nearby.
“Secretary Kim.”
“Shouldn’t you be calling me something else by now, Mi-jin?”
“Hmm… Ms. Kim Mi-so, contact Secretary Kang in New York and tell him to come here right away. I have something I need to take care of.”
Kim Mi-so looked at Mi-jin with a slightly bewildered expression.
“Miss, Secretary Kang is busy with wedding preparations. Is this urgent?”
“It’s urgent. And Secretary Kang is getting married?”
“Yes. The fourth Saturday of next month. You should have already received the schedule briefing.”
“Did I…?”
This wasn’t the Mi-jin who cared about even her subordinates’ personal matters.
“See, Mi-jin? You don’t even know your secretary’s wedding date, and you want to be Ji-hee’s manager?”
“Now I know. Anyway, Ms. Kim Mi-so, have Secretary Kang send another secretary or someone who can assist. Either way.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Mi-jin turned to leave but stopped, then looked back at Kim Mi-so.
“Ms. Kim Mi-so, can you find me a hotel to stay at for a week? I only booked for tonight, but it looks like I’ll need to stay at least another week.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Then Mi-jin walked away without looking back.
“Ms. Kim Mi-so must be having a hard time.”
“This is nothing. Besides, the young lady has been generous with weekend part-time work bonuses.”
Kim Mi-so, as always, never did anything half-heartedly.
“By the way, CEO. That Jessie you saw at the White House before—I was talking with Adam earlier, and she mentioned wanting to have dinner tomorrow evening to continue the K-pop interview with Adam. She asked if I could join them. Do you think it would be appropriate for me to attend?”
It was an unexpected question.
Why would Jessie invite Kim Mi-so to a dinner like that?
Just then, I spotted Jessie, who hadn’t yet left the party venue.
“Kim Mi-so, let me ask her directly about her reasons.”
“Yes, understood.”
* * *
“Jessie, did you book a hotel nearby?”
“Yeah, of course. There’s such a great party here—I wanted to enjoy it late into the night.”
“You said you’re having dinner with Adam tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
Then Jessie glanced around cautiously.
“Sung-guk, I asked your secretary from back at the White House to join us too.”
“She’s not my secretary anymore. She’s a full-time FaceNote employee now.”
Jessie looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“I know you so well from back then that I thought there might be something between you two. But it seems there’s nothing?”
[What is she up to?]
I subtly distanced myself from Jessie.
“That’s just how we arranged to work.”
“I see….”
Jessie nodded vigorously and glanced around again.
“Actually, Adam seems pretty smitten with me, so I felt a bit uncomfortable. That’s why I suggested we have dinner together.”
[Hmm… people really don’t change, do they?]
Jessie is objectively attractive, capable, and beautiful. But her confidence often became a problem.
“Jessie, I’m sorry, but Adam simply enjoyed having someone listen to him talk about K-pop. From what I know, Adam doesn’t like flashy styles like yours.”
But Jessie scoffed.
“All men say that—that I’m too impressive and it’s burdensome. But whenever I decide I like someone, there’s never been anyone who refused me.”
“Adam will be different. He’s the kind of person whose inside matches his outside.”
“Then, should we make a bet?”
“What would we bet?”
The moment I said that, I realized from the sparkle in Jessie’s eyes that I’d given her the answer she wanted.
“If Adam falls for me, how about you let me work at FaceNote?”
“That seems like something that would happen through a formal application. With your background, you might even be overqualified for FaceNote. But if the application includes personal motives, that would be problematic.”
“It’s definitely an application with personal motives. I’m getting older now, and I want to test one last lingering attachment in my life.”
[People really don’t change….]
But I was confident about this bet.
Just as Jessie hadn’t changed, Adam wasn’t someone who changed either.
“Fine. But in exchange, exclude Kim Mi-so from tomorrow’s plans, and if I win the bet, I hope you’ll give up on both FaceNote and me forever.”
“Deal.”
Jessie answered coolly and left the table.
* * *
Five hours before Adam and Jessie’s evening appointment.
My anxiety began to creep in.
I was confident I knew Adam better than anyone, but as Jessie had said, he could become hopelessly weak when a beautiful blonde approached him.
Jessie and I had already agreed not to contact Adam in any way until our evening appointment.
Just then, Ji-hee emerged from the Guest Room with a tablet in hand.
“Oppa, a new manager resume came in today. I was hoping you could review it.”
“Who is it?”
“Someone you know well.”
“Don’t tell me—Jeon Mi-jin?”
“Yeah.”
Ji-hee nodded matter-of-factly.
She had mentioned last night that she would apply to be Ji-hee’s manager, but I never expected her to send a resume this quickly.
[There’s no way those two siblings could be this diligent….]
“Did Mi-jin write this resume herself?”
“That’s not what matters. What matters is how she’ll support me.”
Ji-hee handed me Mi-jin’s resume.
It contained a brief summary of Mi-jin’s background.
“She paid her way through school.”
“Oppa, don’t look at this with prejudice. Mi-jin is officially applying to be my manager.”
I read through Mi-jin’s resume again.
One section caught my eye—a concrete plan for how she would support Ji-hee.
– As you know, I am a daughter of the Samjeon Family. My application means that numerous Samjeon personnel will support me from behind, and this support will directly benefit Miss Jeon Ji-hee.
Ji-hee tapped this section with her finger.
“Oppa, I like this part the most. I can’t trust Mi-jin’s abilities—she has no real achievements to speak of. But if Mi-jin becomes my manager, I’d effectively have Samjeon’s people backing me. The manager salary isn’t even that high.”
I had to admit, it was tempting.
It was the same reason I kept those two siblings by my side.
“Still, let’s not rush into a decision. It would be better to see more resumes before deciding.”
“Or, what if we let Mi-jin try being my manager for a day? Honestly, if Mi-jin turns out to be a complete mess, even if Samjeon people are training her, I’d still be worried….”
“That’s actually a great idea. Let me contact her right now and set up a date.”
“Okay!”
* * *
It was past 7 PM.
Adam and Jessie were probably well into dinner by now, deep in conversation.
I found myself pacing aimlessly near the Swimming Pool.
My trust in Adam was unwavering, but he was still a man, after all….
I didn’t mind Jessie working at FaceNote, but I worried it might create awkwardness between her and Adam.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Jessie.
“Hello?”
– Sung-guk, there’s something strange I want to ask you about.
“What is it?”
– Adam just went to the restroom, and when I suggested we grab a drink after dinner, he said he couldn’t because he needs to watch a Girl Group Showcase live stream. Isn’t he just blowing me off? Am I making him uncomfortable?
Jessie’s voice carried a note of frustration.
“Unfortunately, Jessie, Adam is the kind of person whose inside matches his outside. He genuinely wants to watch that Girl Group Showcase live. But don’t worry—Adam will still do a great job with the K-pop interview. Trust me.”
– That doesn’t make sense!!! I’m going to try again!
“Jessie, by all means. For now, consider me the winner of our bet.”
I hung up the phone and smiled contentedly.
My faith in Adam had not been misplaced.

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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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