I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 73

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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 73
Click.
The Conference Room door swung open as the members of Just filed in.
Tae-hyung, the leader and still as charismatic as ever, walked in alongside Lucas, the muscular one, and Jae-hyun, the pretty boy.
“Sung-guk! Is that really you?”
“Yes! I’m Jeon Sung-guk. Nice to meet you.”
I greeted them with an unfamiliar expression and a respectful bow.
It would be an exaggeration to remember idols I’d seen around my second birthday.
“Wow, Sung-guk! Do you remember us?”
“Not really.”
[Not really, my foot. I remember everything. But where’s Beom-seon?]
Click.
As the saying goes, speak of the devil—Beom-seon appeared with his long hair.
“It’s been a while.”
Tae-hyung greeted Beom-seon.
Lucas and Jae-hyun barely acknowledged Beom-seon’s presence.
Since the group’s disbandment, Beom-seon had signed with a different Talent Agency alone, and everyone seemed hurt by it. Honestly, a significant portion of Just’s popularity had been driven by Beom-seon.
I quickly greeted Beom-seon with proper respect and a deep bow.
“Hello. I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Sung-guk, wow—how did you grow so much? How old are you now?”
“I’m nine years old.”
“Wow—”
Beom-seon kept uttering exclamations.
“Sung-guk’s nine already. That means we’re all that much older, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all. You all look very young.”
The members burst into laughter at my words.
The atmosphere gradually warmed.
Beom-seon greeted the other members and talked about the film he was preparing.
“Still, when the four of us worked together, I wasn’t scared or anything, but trying to do everything alone is harder. It’s lonely too…”
“Hyung, that’s why you’re bringing trouble on yourself by insisting on acting.”
Lucas grumbled good-naturedly.
“Oh right, is Michael coming today?”
Tae-hyung’s words brought a brief silence.
“Yes, he should be coming. He contacted me earlier saying he’d be a bit late because he needs to check on the restaurant first.”
The Screenwriter answered quickly.
“Michael runs a restaurant?”
“He runs a handmade burger shop in Itaewon.”
“I really had no idea about Michael at all.”
Tae-hyung looked quite apologetic.
“Sung-guk, do you remember Michael hyung? You two used to fight all the time.”
[Of course I remember. I haven’t forgotten a single thing Michael did to torment me.]
I shook my head, contrary to my true feelings.
“I don’t remember much, actually.”
“That’s fine—forgetting might be better. Sung-guk, but how do you keep getting more handsome as you grow up?”
Jae-hyun, with his flower-boy visuals, spoke with a playful smile in his eyes.
“Screenwriter, is Sung-guk still active as a child actor or something like that?”
“That’s actually what I wanted to discuss today. To give you a preview—Sung-guk will be studying abroad in the United States next month.”
“Jeon Sung-guk, you’re really making it big.”
Lucas, the muscular one, patted my shoulder.
“Sung-guk has become the first scholarship recipient of the Junho Foundation under the Hyojin Group.”
Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at me.
[Doesn’t everyone become a scholarship recipient at some point in their lives? Did they all do poorly in school?]
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Screenwriter, if Sung-guk was selected as a scholarship recipient, doesn’t that mean he’s incredibly smart?”
“Yes. Sung-guk speaks English and French almost like native languages. His other academic achievements are also outstanding. I heard even the Samjeon Group was very interested in him.”
Everyone stared at me again.
[You all don’t need to stare like that. My IQ is only 121. That’s pretty average.]
“Sung-guk, what do you want to become later? A doctor? A professor?”
[That’s too boring for me.]
I shook my head.
“I want to start an Entertainment Company.”
At those words, everyone looked at me in surprise.
“Sung-guk, you really are different.”
While Beom-seon was still reacting in shock, the door clicked open.
Michael entered with a thick, unkempt beard.
Michael had his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his face still full of discontent.
“Oh, Michael!”
Tae-hyung, acting as the leader, greeted Michael first.
“Uh… hyung.”
Michael returned the greeting awkwardly with a stern expression.
[This guy. He’s still holding a grudge.]
Michael looked at me and then gently ruffled my hair with his thick hand.
“So you’re Sung-guk. You’ve grown a lot.”
[Who are you to say that, Michael? Have you become a better person?]
The door opened and Kim Mi-young entered carrying coffee and simple snacks.
“Now everyone’s here. The Director actually wanted you all to greet each other first and chat for a bit, so he’s coming slowly. He should be here within thirty minutes though. Please have some coffee. Sung-guk gets milk.”
[I want to drink a strong shot of espresso too.]
But my hand was holding the milk.
Michael took my milk, opened the top with his hand, and inserted a straw.
“Drink it.”
[Michael, are you just pretending to be a good guy so you can get on broadcast?]
“Thank you.”
I bowed respectfully and drained my milk in one long gulp.
“Michael, how have you been all this time? You opened a homemade burger shop in Itaewon, right?”
Tae-hyung, our leader, asked Michael on behalf of the group.
“Yes, it’s been about six months now. Business is doing okay. I’ve seen the other members’ news occasionally in entertainment reports.”
Michael spoke about himself with surprising composure.
“After leaving the team… well, I was basically kicked out, but back then I was really angry and fired up, so I did some bad things too….”
After leaving Just, Michael had formed another group, but it disbanded when he was caught smoking marijuana.
“Anyway, I went back to the United States and tried this and that, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. In the meantime, I worked part-time at a neighborhood burger shop, and I found cooking interesting, so I tried various things and eventually ended up on this path.”
“You found your own way well.”
Tae-hyung patted Michael on the shoulder.
“We had our share of ups and downs too. When things were going well, we were all too busy to think straight, and before we disbanded, we had disagreements and fought a lot… I’m not sure if I should be saying this with Sung-guk here.”
I playfully covered my ears with my palms.
“This guy’s a complete fox.”
Tae-hyung laughed cheerfully and continued.
“Lucas, Jae-hyun, and I are staying with our agency and will probably do solo albums and activities. Beom-seon is going into a film.”
“Everyone’s going their own way. Sung-guk, you’re still in elementary school, right?”
“Sung-guk got sponsored by the Hyojin Group scholarship foundation and went to study abroad in the United States. Turns out Sung-guk was a genius.”
“So you’re the one who got me kicked out?”
Michael stared directly at me.
The conference room suddenly fell silent.
Anyone who remembered what happened back then would know that Michael’s words weren’t wrong.
Michael and I, set up as rivals, had been quite a popular combination.
The viewers’ reactions were good, and the director and screenwriter kept highlighting us.
But back then, Michael’s rudeness was incomparable to anything in my past life, and I hated the sight of him, so I highlighted his mistakes and got him eliminated outright.
Beom-seon stopped Michael.
“Hey, what would a two-year-old know? Stop it.”
“No. I’m telling you, he didn’t seem like a two-year-old at all—he seemed like a forty-year-old man. Anyway, that’s how it was.”
“You’re just bitter because you couldn’t get over it. What would the kid know?”
“Anyway, I’ve forgotten all about it.”
I pretended not to know anything and finished my milk.
* * *
The first shoot began.
The camera followed me around, filming my entire day.
I woke up at 7 a.m. as usual, washed my face, took the milk Mother prepared for me to my room, and searched for stock market conditions and world news on my laptop.
The screenwriter next to me asked a question.
“Sung-guk, it’s all in English and occasionally French and German—can you interpret all of it?”
“Yes.”
I clicked on a few articles and gave him a general overview of the content.
Throughout the morning, the camera captured me receiving gifted education provided by Hyojin Group, and interviews with the instructors in charge were filmed.
Most of them spoke about how this was an exceptionally special talent for a child my age, and that the reason Sung-guk couldn’t adapt in regular school was because of this.
At the end, the camera focused on me as the main subject.
The question was simple.
“Sung-guk, what do you want to become after studying in the United States?”
“I want to lead the South Korea entertainment industry.”
“Are you thinking of becoming an actor again?”
“No. I want to nurture good singers and actors.”
I smiled bashfully.
“Cut!”
The Director’s call rang out loudly.
* * *
[So this is the hamburger restaurant Michael runs.]
Michael’s restaurant was smaller than I expected.
A large griddle occupied the front, and there were only four seats for dining in. Most customers seemed to be takeout orders.
I handed Michael a money tree plant I had bought for him.
“It’s a tree that makes lots of money.”
“You bought this, Sung-guk?”
“Yes!”
Michael smiled warmly.
I imagined the subtitles would read something like “The two former rivals are now becoming friends.”
Soon after, the Just members arrived.
They all seemed to have brought a gift each.
“Michael, should we get you to sign our bromide and hang it up?”
Lucas pulled out a large bromide from their first album that included Michael.
“Hey, we’re already past our prime.”
Jae-hyun said jokingly.
“Past our prime or not, Just is still Just. Everyone sign it.”
When Michael readily agreed, everyone began signing the bromide.
“Sung-guk needs to sign too.”
The Screenwriter quietly produced a bromide of “Five Men and a Baby Basket” that had once hung at the Broadcasting Station.
“Wow, this is completely ancient.”
Tae-hyung picked up the bromide happily.
“Hey, everyone sign this one too. Sung-guk, you need to sign it as well.”
“Yes!”
I quickly picked up a pen and wrote three characters neatly across my face.
-Jeon Sung-guk. January 23, 1999.
The two large signed bromides were hung in Michael’s handmade burger restaurant.
Michael brought out the handmade burgers he had carefully grilled.
“Here, these are the handmade burgers I learned the secret recipe for while working part-time in the United States for three years. Try them.”
I sank my teeth into a hefty handmade burger, devouring it in one bite.
In that instant, the succulent juices rushed into my mouth with wild abandon.
[Wow, this is actually delicious.]
Michael caught the expression on my face and quickly jabbed me in the ribs with a whisper.
“Sung-guk, you ruined me before, so you’re the one who has to save me now.”

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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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