I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 53

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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 53
Mother and Father arrived a full thirty minutes early.
Since Aunt was watching Min-guk, I was alone in the car Father was driving, savoring the rare moment of solitude.
Father had bought a used car years ago at a bargain price.
It was a domestic vehicle where ride comfort was beyond discussion—it was fortunate the thing moved at all. On top of that, dust rose from the fabric seats in clouds, and the stereo was so broken that the radio music sounded almost like noise.
Yet Mother and Father treasured this car dearly, having performed a blessing ceremony with rice wine and ceremonial cakes when they first bought it.
Finally, the entrance to Samjeon Hotel appeared in the distance.
Father glanced at me briefly in the rearview mirror.
“Sung-guk, are you hungry?”
I shook my head.
I shook my head.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung wouldn’t have summoned me without reason. What made me anxious was the conversation with Jason Lee.
There was only one reason I’d brought Father and Mother to Samjeon Hotel today.
I wanted Father to taste the delicious jjajangmyeon from Samjeon Hotel.
Mother and Kim Mi-young had come here frequently for work, but Father had only visited once, at my birthday party.
“Sung-guk, your father is starving. So-young, isn’t the food there incredibly expensive?”
“Honey, don’t worry. The Chairman will be there—surely he won’t ask us to pay for our meal.”
“It feels burdensome. We’re always eating for free.”
[Father, you seem to forget often that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung is the chairman of Samjeon Group. He’s someone you could live off indefinitely. Even then, he won’t spend all that money before he dies.]
I gazed out the window.
The hotel, which should have been brimming with year-end atmosphere, was decorated minimally due to the IMF crisis, unlike usual.
“So-young, where’s the parking lot?”
“Well, I always just ride with Sister Mi-young, so….”
I quickly directed Father to the parking lot.
“Father, over there!”
“Sung-guk’s memory really is incredible.”
[I could find Samjeon Hotel with my eyes closed, Father.]
Father turned the steering wheel and entered the parking lot.
The car stopped, and I bounced out onto the pavement.
I was happy to be able to eat jjajangmyeon from Samjeon Hotel.
“Sung-guk, hold Mother’s hand.”
“Mother, I’m eight years old now.”
“You can’t run in the parking lot.”
[Sigh, there’s no helping it. The world sees me as a child.]
I obediently took Mother’s hand.
Father approached and took my other hand.
“Sung-guk, Father too.”
“Here, I’ll hold it.”
“This kid…. I really can’t handle Sung-guk anymore.”
Father laughed continuously as he held my hand.
Happiness was truly a simple thing. With parents who got along well and a child as clever as me, I never knew it could be this blissful. In my past life, I was the man with the most possessions in South Korea, yet I was often unhappy.
“Hello.”
I bowed ninety degrees to the hotel staff standing at the entrance before stepping inside.
Everyone recognized me and greeted me warmly.
“Wow, you’re Sung-guk, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Mother answered bashfully.
“Sung-guk has grown so much! Sung-guk, how old are you?”
“I’m eight years old.”
“Happy New Year!”
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply again and entered further into the hotel.
Father patted my head with a look of pride.
“Sung-guk will be loved wherever he goes.”
[Of course.]
Even without wealth, people were kind if you greeted them well and smiled genuinely. It was a life skill I’d learned in this lifetime.
“Excuse me. One moment, please.”
Someone blocked our path.
Several men who appeared to be bodyguards stood in front of us.
[Who is this? Even Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung doesn’t have security this tight.]
Just then, a man with graying hair walked between the burly bodyguards.
[His face looks familiar. Ah, that’s right!]
The man walking past was none other than Koo Soo-young, chairman of Hyojin Group, Samjeon Group’s eternal rival.
Though they were rivals, since their areas of dominance differed, Chairman Koo Soo-young had given me much advice when I was younger.
Because his eldest son, whom he’d considered his successor, died in a traffic accident in the United States, he felt a particular fondness for me, being of a similar age.
He had only two daughters below that, and while they had good personalities, they lacked talent for business management.
“Uncle! Hello!”
I greeted him warmly.
For a moment, Koo Soo-young stopped in his tracks and looked at me. Then a gentle smile spread across his face.
I could see Mother and Father looked flustered.
Koo Soo-young dismissed his bodyguards and walked toward me.
[Oh, did I make a mistake?]
“Are you the child who modeled for Samjeon Electronics?”
Koo Soo-young asked Father carefully.
“Yes, I apologize. Our son bows to every adult he sees.”
Koo Soo-young looked at me with a gentle smile. Now that I thought about it, it hadn’t been long since Chairman Koo Soo-young’s son had died in that traffic accident.
I remembered when news of Chairman Koo Soo-young’s son’s death had reached the business and political circles during the IMF foreign exchange crisis.
Chairman Koo Soo-young knelt down to look at me.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Jeon Sung-guk! Tomorrow I’ll be eight years old!”
I answered as cheerfully and spiritedly as a child possibly could.
I noticed Koo Soo-young’s eyes reddening. He was thinking of his son. I remembered Koo Soo-young’s son clearly—he had been my elementary school classmate. He resembled Koo Soo-young perfectly and excelled academically with natural leadership qualities.
Unlike Samjeon Group, Hyojin Group had been an esteemed family for generations and favored early study abroad in the United States. After graduating elementary school, Koo Soo-young’s son had adapted well there.
Since we were friends, though not frequently in touch, whenever I asked how he was doing, he would nag me to come to the United States and study there too.
After confirming his admission to Harvard, Koo Soo-young gifted his son a car. It was to fulfill his son’s wish to cross America before starting university. But that gift became a tragedy.
Less than ten days into the cross-country journey, near Chicago on the highway, his car skidded and collided head-on with a large truck crossing the center line. He died on the spot.
Because he was my friend, I recalled having many thoughts during that period.
Koo Soo-young patted my head several times, then pulled out his wallet.
I quickly pushed Koo Soo-young’s wallet away.
“That’s all right, sir. I don’t need pocket money.”
“Heh heh.”
Koo Soo-young let out a low chuckle.
“So tomorrow you’ll be eight and starting elementary school?”
“Yes.”
Koo Soo-young straightened up with a faint smile.
Just then, Jeon Jae-hyung walked up from behind and greeted him respectfully.
“Chairman Koo.”
“Chairman Jeon, I see you’re here too.”
Jeon Jae-hyung was more than ten years younger than Koo Soo-young.
“What brings you here?”
“There’s a small year-end gathering. Staying home just makes me melancholy, so I came out.”
“Welcome. I’ll make sure you receive special care.”
“No need. Samjeon Hotel does everything well. Are you here for a gathering too?”
“Ah, I’m having dinner with this young man’s family here.”
“With this family?”
“Yes.”
Koo Soo-young looked at our family with a puzzled expression.
Even if he was a model for Samjeon Electronics, there was no particular reason for a company owner to share a year-end meal with them.
“He seems to be a child you care for greatly.”
“Yes, thanks to Sung-guk, our company’s image has improved, and our children attend kindergarten together. Since the year-end feels lonely, I thought I’d share a meal as well.”
“Indeed, both you and I are lonely. Let’s meet at a gathering early next year.”
“Please, come in.”
Koo Soo-young glanced at me once more, then moved on.
Jeon Jae-hyung greeted my father.
“Thank you for coming.”
People often harbor a misconception: that chaebol heirs would treat ordinary commoners rudely. Of course, such ruffians exist. But most of them have already been sidelined from corporate succession and merely spend money. A successor candidate for Samjeon Group is trained from childhood to show courtesy to everyone.
My father quickly waved his hand.
“We’re honored.”
“That’s too kind. Please come up to the restaurant with me.”
“That’s too kind of you to say. Why don’t we head up to the restaurant together?”
“Yes.”
Father’s tension was plainly visible.
I squeezed his hand firmly, then released it slightly.
“Father, relax.”
“Oh… Sung-guk.”
But Father remained tense nonetheless.
* * *
As expected, the jjajangmyeon at Samjeon Hotel was the finest in South Korea.
I inhaled the noodles with single-minded focus.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung gazed at me with a pleased expression.
“Sung-guk’s father must be delighted to have such a brilliant son like Sung-guk.”
“Sung-guk himself is a blessing to us.”
Father answered with a gentle smile.
I looked back and forth between my father from my previous life and my father in this one.
Of course, we shared no blood now, but Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s criteria for affection were unmistakable.
A brilliant son.
In my previous life too, the only metric by which he acknowledged me was grades or achievements. Anything that couldn’t be quantified wasn’t worthy of recognition.
But my father now said that I myself was a blessing.
People who would love me even if I weren’t exceptional.
My father and mother in this life.
My chest tightened.
My emotions surged again.
I quietly slurped my jjajangmyeon.
[When emotions strike, eating is truly the best remedy.]
Slurp. Slurp.
Meanwhile, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung took a bite of his preferred budae-jjim and observed Father eating rice with cold noodles.
“I keep hearing from people around me that Sung-guk is extraordinary.”
“He’s just a child. He watches the news and various other things.”
“It seems to be beyond that level. I felt it during the trip to the United States as well—there’s something different about this child’s sensibilities. He refused studying abroad, and said our sponsorship was becoming burdensome, so I arranged this meal because I was concerned.”
“Sung-guk’s wishes come first for us. As you mentioned, we do recognize that Sung-guk has something different about him, but our priority is letting him live the life he wants.”
“Those are wise words.”
[A lie.]
Inwardly, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was surely cursing the notion of an extraordinary child being raised by ordinary parents. Had it been him, he would have already sent me abroad and enrolled me in gifted education programs.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung concealed his true thoughts and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, is the jjajangmyeon delicious?”
“Yes!”
[Chairman, stop beating around the bush and show your true colors.]
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung smiled faintly at my response and dabbed his mouth with a napkin.
“Sung-guk, would you mind if I asked you a question?”
[Are you testing me now, Chairman?]
I nodded instead of answering.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung met my gaze directly. I didn’t look away either. This was a battle of wills, man to man.
“Sung-guk, my company happens to own an automobile manufacturer. It’s become quite a sore spot for us. I’ve been wrestling with what to do about it… What do you think?”
I glanced furtively at Mother and Father’s faces. They looked utterly bewildered by Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s difficult question.
If I’d been alone with Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, I would have shared my thoughts freely. But now, with Mother and Father present, I understood his true intent. He wanted to demonstrate to them how intelligent I was and how inadequate their education of me had been.
I paused to consider my response.
“Sung-guk, is that too difficult a question?”
[Chairman, are you really testing me right now?]
A surge of frustration welled up inside me.
I wiped my lips clean of black bean sauce with a napkin. Then I looked directly at Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.

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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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