I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 60

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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 60
There was no officiant.
Mother and Father read the marriage vows aloud, while Alex, a renowned photographer and friend of Lim Sun-mi, continuously snapped photographs.
Alex was an exceptionally famous photographer who had also handled the photography at my wedding in my previous life.
“Now, let’s take a family portrait.”
At Alex’s call, Min-guk and I stepped beside Mother and Father. I held Father’s hand while Min-guk held Mother’s.
“Wow, this house really has visual impact. Truly stunning.”
“Alex, close your mouth and just take good photographs.”
“Yes, yes, ma’am.”
Lim Sun-mi and Kim Mi-young laughed pleasantly together.
“Alright, I’m taking the photo now. Beautiful family, everyone smile!”
I smiled with practiced ease.
The cheerful sound of the camera shutter rang out repeatedly.
Father’s hand was growing moist.
I gently squeezed Father’s hand twice before releasing it.
“Father, don’t be nervous.”
Father looked at me and broke into a radiant smile.
“Sir, your expression is wonderful right now. Please keep that exact expression as you gaze at your bride.”
“Of course!”
Father exclaimed loudly.
Simultaneously, the small restaurant that served as Mother and Father’s wedding venue filled with laughter.
* * *
Our four-person family, Lim Sun-mi, Kim Mi-young, and Alex, who handled the photography, all gathered around one table.
The meal was an Italian course dinner.
I skillfully twirled the pasta onto my fork and drew it into my mouth with practiced grace.
“How does Sung-guk eat pasta so skillfully?”
Lim Sun-mi gazed at me with an impressed expression.
[Sister, it’s me, Jeon Sung-guk. I only dined at Michelin-starred restaurants.]
“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot.”
Lim Sun-mi rummaged through her bag and withdrew three envelopes.
“What is this?”
Mother, dressed in her wedding gown, asked. Still appearing to be in her twenties, Mother looked nothing like a mother of two children.
Lim Sun-mi smiled and distributed one envelope to Mother, one to Kim Mi-young, and the remaining one to Alex.
“Congratulations on the wedding. Please all come to my Hong Kong wedding as well. For Sung-guk’s family, I’ve included tickets for Sung-guk, Min-guk, and the groom too. The hotel is fully covered, so please come without worry. Really, I’m inviting you to enjoy your honeymoon while attending my wedding.”
Lim Sun-mi’s scale was truly exceptional.
I quickly glanced at Mother’s ticket. It was Saturday, March 21st.
[This seems to be during the Hong Kong Art Fair period….]
The Hong Kong Art Fair was an event where Asia’s major collectors gathered. It would be worthwhile to attend.
“Sun-mi, I’m already so grateful for this surprise wedding, and now a honeymoon too… I feel terrible about accepting all this.”
“What are you saying? You and our team leader and representative must absolutely come. You’ve helped me so much all this time. And Alex needs to come to take photographs.”
“That’s too much, sister.”
Father gazed at the tickets with a slightly worried expression. It was obvious he was concerned about closing the restaurant.
I quickly tugged at Father’s sleeve.
“Father, I want to go on a trip with you.”
“Well…”
“Mr. Jeon Sung-guk, where is there a honeymoon where only the groom comes alone? This isn’t just coming to see my wedding—this is your honeymoon together.”
Lim Sun-mi quickly silenced Father.
“Honey, you haven’t even taken a summer vacation in all this time. Let’s go, even if it’s short. We can make memories with the kids, and it’ll be nice.”
“Alright… I understand. I should announce it quickly.”
Father began eating his pasta with an embarrassed expression.
I quickly patted Father’s back.
[You did well, Father.]
Father glanced at me and smiled.
“Sung-guk, it feels like you’re training your father.”
[Hehe. You noticed, Father?]
I laughed innocently as if I knew nothing.
“Father, you look incredibly handsome today.”
“Alright, alright. I can’t handle this guy.”
After everyone had a glass of wine, Father quietly set down his fork and looked at everyone.
“I truly thank you all for celebrating with us today. I’ve always felt sorry for not being able to arrange such an occasion for my wife, but thanks to all of you, I finally got to see my wife in a wedding dress.”
Suddenly, the atmosphere became solemn.
[I don’t like this kind of mood. Father, we shouldn’t get sad on a good day.]
“We really were born with nothing.”
[Father, stop playing the sympathy card. The best days of life are just beginning.]
I stopped listening there and pinched Min-guk’s side, who was sitting next to me stuffing pasta into his mouth. Then I gave him a subtle wink. Min-guk was foolish, but he was quick to pick up on things.
“Father, stop… don’t say it like that.”
As I whispered quietly, Min-guk nodded boldly.
All those times I’d changed his diapers and coached him on acting finally paid off.
“To someone like me who doesn’t have a single won.”
“Father!”
As Min-guk raised his hand, the quiet atmosphere shattered in an instant.
“Huh, Min-guk, what is it?”
“Father, stop.”
The moment Min-guk finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.
Mother finally pulled Father toward her.
“Honey, everyone here knows our situation, so let’s stop.”
“Y-yes. I’m just so moved.”
[Father’s emotions are too rich—that’s his problem.]
Father scratched his head and sat down.
I quickly took Father’s hand to comfort him.
“Father, I love you.”
Then I turned to look at Mother.
“Mother, I love you.”
At that moment, Min-guk interjected.
“Hyung, what about Minggu?”
[Sigh, you don’t love me. But…]
“I love Min-guk too.”
“Hyung, you’re the best!”
Min-guk suddenly threw his arms around me.
[Min-guk, you’re getting pasta sauce all over my suit.]
But it was already too late.
Everyone laughed as they watched Min-guk and me.
While all eyes were on Min-guk and me, I caught Father firmly grasping Mother’s hand and their eyes meeting.
I smiled softly to myself.
[This is a good moment.]
* * *
My heart raced with anticipation.
There was only one reason my heart was pounding.
In three weeks, our entire family would depart for Hong Kong.
While reviewing the exhibition list for this Hong Kong Art Fair, I discovered a familiar name: Damien Hirst. He was just an emerging artist from England at the moment, but twenty years from now, Damien Hirst would become an artist that not just anyone could afford.
“Sung-guk, are you asleep?”
I heard Father’s voice.
I suppressed my racing heart and opened the door.
“Sung-guk isn’t asleep.”
“Sung-guk, are you nervous about going to school tomorrow?”
I wanted to say no, but such an answer wouldn’t be befitting of a child.
“Yes.”
“Sung-guk, elementary school is a place everyone attends. It’ll be different from kindergarten. You’ll meet all sorts of friends and neighborhood kids, and you’ll play together.”
“Father?”
“What is it?”
“Father, what was elementary school like for you?”
“….”
Father fell silent for a long moment.
I could tell without being told.
How other children must have viewed a child who grew up in an orphanage.
Father forced a smile and patted my shoulder.
“Sung-guk, you’re different from me. You have Mother and Father, and you have your little brother Min-guk too.”
“Father, I find studying fun.”
“That’s the only difference between us.”
“Father, I really want to study hard.”
“Sung-guk, let’s think about that slowly.”
Mother opened the door and came in.
“Honey, aren’t you nervous about sending Sung-guk to Elementary School?”
“Yeah. It’s completely different from when we sent him to Kindergarten. Now that he’s going to Elementary School, it feels like our Sung-guk has grown up so much.”
“Dad, I’m all grown up.”
I quickly appealed to Father.
But Father simply stroked my head with misty eyes.
[Dad, I’ve raised a child too. Your chest gets misty when they enter Elementary School. But after that, it’s just war. If they don’t study well, you get frustrated that they don’t study. If they do well, you’re worn down by their arrogance. Soon enough, when they close the door and pretend you don’t exist, you just get hurt. Dad, do you know that? A parent’s love for their child is an eternal unrequited love.]
I patted Father’s back.
“Sung-guk, sometimes it seems like you’re comforting your dad.”
“Dad, I’m happy about going to school.”
I left out the rest.
The unspoken part was that I was happy to go to school, take the GED exam, and go to university.
Father tapped my bottom playfully.
* * *
-Closed for 3 nights and 4 days for our honeymoon.
Father posted a sign he’d written himself on the restaurant door explaining the closure.
I felt a bit embarrassed, and Mother looked even more embarrassed.
“Honey, we have two children. Won’t people say something if we call it a honeymoon?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Father added the word “belated” before honeymoon.
This was even more mortifying, but we had no choice but to hurry if we were going to catch the Bus to the airport.
I tugged at Father’s arm.
“Dad, we’re late.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Kim Mi-young came out on time, pulling her suitcase.
The flight to Hong Kong was business class.
Lim Sun-mi certainly knew how to spend money.
I sat next to Min-guk and read an article about the Hong Kong Art Fair displayed in the business class cabin.
Lim Sun-mi’s wedding was on the 21st, and on the 22nd there was a docent tour led by Damien Hirst himself. We were departing the day after that.
We had to go there no matter what.
I glanced over at Mother, Father, and Kim Mi-young.
Among them, Kim Mi-young was the one who understood my intentions best.
I quickly showed Kim Mi-young the Hong Kong Art Fair article.
Kim Mi-young read through the article with interest.
“Sung-guk, do you want to go there?”
“Yes! I love the paintings. I really want to go see it.”
Kim Mi-young smiled and checked the schedule.
Min-guk also seemed interested, peering over my shoulder.
“Hyung, what is it?”
[Min-guk, you don’t need to understand this.]
Min-guk examined the various pictures in the article, then pointed his finger precisely at a work by Damien Hirst.
“Hyung, this one is pretty.”
I was somewhat taken aback. After settling my startled heart, I asked Min-guk carefully.
“Min-guk, why is this pretty?”
“The colors are pretty.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked at Min-guk.
Did this kid truly possess an eye for art?
Or was he simply viewing art through the eyes of a six-year-old?
Even Picasso had said that art was actually a world comprehensible when viewed through a child’s eyes, and that was the current theory in the art world. Could it be that Min-guk had talent in art?
I observed Min-guk intently.
Just then, a stewardess approached and asked if we wanted ice cream.
Min-guk and I exclaimed simultaneously.
“Ice cream!”
As I was eating my ice cream, Kim Mi-young examined the art fair article and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, do you want to go here?”
“Yes.”
“Then, should we really make a reservation?”
“I really want to see the paintings.”
“Alright, I don’t know much about it myself… but I’ve heard that wealthy people frequent these art fairs often.”
Kim Mi-young examined the art fair article with interest.
“Unni, let us come with you.”
Mother, who had been listening to our conversation from beside us, stepped forward, and Kim Mi-young waved her hand dismissively.
“You two are on your honeymoon. I’ll take responsibility for Sung-guk and Min-guk for half a day. You two go spend some quality time together.”
“How can you take responsibility for both Sung-guk and Min-guk? That won’t do. They’re both bundles of trouble.”
Mother was filled with worry.
[Mother, don’t worry about me. I think Min-guk is the one to worry about.]
Kim Mi-young answered with a smile.
“Min-guk is well-behaved.”
[Wait, that’s not the answer I expected. What about me?]
“Sung-guk is the one I’m more worried about because he does whatever he wants.”
[Hold on! Are you saying I’m worse than Min-guk, Manager Kim! Or should I say, CEO Kim!]
Kim Mi-young stroked my ruffled hair.
“Sung-guk, it’s because you’re so curious that it’s hard to keep up with you.”
I pressed my lips together, crossed my arms, and turned my body away sharply.
[Tch. I’m a difficult man!]

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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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