I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 79

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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 79
Crunch, crunch.
Jeon Ji-hee had chewed through more than half the first page of my precious Harry the Magician. Of course, she’d spit it all out on the floor.
“Books are meant to be read, not eaten.”
I scolded Ji-hee with the dignified bearing of an older brother, hands planted firmly on my hips, but it had absolutely no effect.
“Waaaah. Waaaah. Waaaah.”
Ji-hee simply wailed and toddled toward Mother in the kitchen.
“Hyung, catch!”
At the same moment, Min-guk’s ball came flying at me, but my reflexes—normally sharp enough to snatch a ball one-handed with ease—were completely paralyzed by Ji-hee’s assault.
Yes, the ball hit me square in the face.
“Ow!”
Min-guk rushed over to check on me.
Fortunately, the ball had grazed my temple, but what weighed heavier than any physical pain was the ache in my heart.
[What do these kids eat to survive with absolutely no sense of awareness?]
“Sung-guk, are you alright?”
Mother quickly scooped up Ji-hee and hurried over.
“Mother, I threw the ball wrong.”
“Min-guk, I’ve told you not to play ball inside the house.”
Min-guk’s face crumpled with remorse, and I pressed my throbbing temple with my hand.
“I have my entrance ceremony coming up—what if I get a bruise?”
Just then, Ji-hee reached out her saliva-covered hand and pressed my temple.
“Ow-ee. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow.”
Ji-hee blew earnestly, drool dribbling from the corners of her mouth.
[She’s actually kind of cute. Jeon Ji-hee, when you’re older, let’s have some serious heart-to-heart talks, you and me.]
“So-young, bring the children to the table. Dinner’s ready.”
“Okay. Sung-guk, let’s go eat.”
Mother tugged me by the hand.
Behind me, Min-guk grabbed my waist and toddled along.
“Hyung, I’m sorry.”
[Alright, you little rascal.]
In my past life, I would have definitely lined up both Min-guk and Ji-hee and given them a proper scolding, but for some reason, whenever I looked at them, my heart softened.
* * *
Doenjang-jjigae and kimchi-jjigae. And Father’s signature bossam.
Father had even unwrapped the kimchi he’d brought carefully sealed in plastic and laid it on the table.
Grace thoughtfully pulled out a bottle of wine.
“I felt awkward coming empty-handed, so I brought a bottle of wine. You must be exhausted—have a glass and get some good rest.”
“You’ve taken such wonderful care of Sung-guk. We should really be the ones giving you something.”
[Mother, Father, make sure Grace gets paid well. Don’t worry about it.]
Grace settled into her seat with a satisfied smile.
“Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve had a meal like this.”
“You don’t spend much time in Korea, do you, ma’am?”
“No. I follow the children around—sometimes for a year, sometimes two or three years at a stretch. I only visit briefly during their school breaks or vacations. I don’t have any family there.”
This was the first time I’d heard this story.
In fact, I’d rarely heard Grace talk about her family at all.
“You don’t have any family?”
Father asked carefully.
“Well, I never married, and my parents passed away several years ago. I’m getting on in years, you see. I have no siblings either… I’m practically an orphan myself.”
[No, that can’t be!]
In that moment, I wanted to reach out my hand.
“Oh my, we’re real orphans too.”
[Mother… here comes another sob story.]
Grace’s eyes sparkled.
“I do know a little about Sung-guk’s situation.”
[Of course you do. Hyojin Group must have told you everything.]
Mother continued feeding Ji-hee her baby food as she spoke.
“My husband and I both came from the same orphanage.”
[If I hear that story one more time, it’ll be the thousandth.]
I shook my head slightly.
“After my parents passed, I still have a house in Seoul, but I found it better to stay in America with the children. Somehow, it makes me feel like a real parent.”
“That’s probably why you’ve taken such wonderful care of our Sung-guk.”
“It’s remarkable—Sung-guk really doesn’t seem like a ten-year-old at all. He handles everything so well on his own. Usually at that age, there’s so much I’d need to manage. Sometimes I even request a nanny, but Sung-guk is so capable that it’s never been necessary.”
[Is she praising me right now? Heh.]
I shrugged and took a generous spoonful of the white rice I hadn’t seen in ages.
“Sung-guk, try some perilla leaf.”
Father carefully peeled a perilla leaf and placed it gently on my spoon.
The delicate way he peeled each leaf one by one—yes, peeling perilla leaves for someone is truly an act of love.
Beside me, Min-guk struggled to peel his perilla leaf, so I quietly picked one up with my chopsticks and handed it to him. He then easily peeled it away.
“Hyung, you’re the best!”
“Min-guk, how’s school going?”
I was genuinely curious about how Min-guk was doing at school.
He was eight now, a first-grader at Elementary School.
“Good, hyung.”
[Is it just me that finds this optimistic answer ominous?]
Father chuckled softly beside me.
“Sung-guk, Min-guk doesn’t seem very interested in studying. Your mother had him try all sorts of things because of his high IQ, but he just runs off to play every time. He says he wants to be a singer like Just when he grows up.”
[As expected, studying isn’t something you can do with just brains.]
My shoulders lifted slightly with satisfaction.
Perseverance and concentration for studying—those were just as important as IQ.
“Hyung, I’m going to be a singer. Want to hear me sing?”
[Sure, go ahead. Just know that the future entertainment company CEO is watching.]
Min-guk stopped eating, stood up, grabbed a spoon, and began to sing.
He delivered a cartoon theme song beautifully, completely a cappella.
His legs swayed to the rhythm, and his dance moves were far from ordinary.
Not as talented as me, but he’d inherited decent looks from our family genes.
On top of that, an irrepressible charisma.
Most importantly, he showed no fear of receiving attention in front of real people.
He possessed every quality an idol should have.
I stroked my chin. I nearly reached out and suggested we build up our family together.
After finishing his song, Min-guk bowed respectfully, breathing heavily like an idol who’d just left the stage.
[This kid’s worth nurturing.]
“Hyung, how was it? How was it?”
“Sung-guk, Min-guk practiced for a whole week just to show you.”
“You did great, Jeon Min-guk.”
I reached up and patted Min-guk’s head.
Grace, watching from beside me, burst into laughter.
“When Sung-guk does things like that, he looks just like a conglomerate chairman. It’s like he’s praising a subordinate employee.”
[As expected… the habits of my past life can’t be hidden.]
“Mom, Dad. Let’s go eat steak tomorrow.”
I’d already made reservations at all the famous restaurants in New York.
“But what about Ji-hee? She eats baby food, so it’ll be hard to go to a restaurant….”
[Oh, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.]
Grace smiled and gently touched Ji-hee’s cheek.
“Ma’am, I’ll take care of Ji-hee. Please spend quality time with your family.”
“Teacher, you absolutely can’t watch Ji-hee alone.”
“I’ll request a nanny. I have someone I call regularly. I’ll have her come for two weeks, so don’t worry.”
I quietly took the baby food spoon from Mother’s hand.
Because of Jeon Ji-hee, Mother hadn’t managed to eat even a single spoonful of her own meal.
“Sung-guk, why?”
“Mom, eat. I’ll feed Ji-hee.”
“Can you handle it?”
[Well, it’s just scooping it up and putting it in her mouth, right?]
I brought the spoon over, scooped up a generous portion of baby food, and pushed it into Ji-hee’s mouth.
“Here, Ji-hee. Baby food.”
“Ho. Ho.”
[What is she saying?]
“Sung-guk, it’s hot, so blow on it gently first.”
[Ah, I see.]
Following Mother’s instructions, I blew gently on the baby food and pushed it into Ji-hee’s mouth.
Ji-hee ate the spoon clean, chewed a few times, and swallowed it down.
[What a cute little thing.]
Wait a second!
[Did I just call myself cute? No way, me, Jeon Sung-guk?]
I quickly suppressed the smile creeping across my face and fixed Ji-hee with a stern expression.
Ji-hee squirmed and fussed, demanding more baby food with her little sounds.
I spooned more baby food and fed it to Ji-hee.
Munch, munch. Gulp.
[Why is she so adorable?]
Mother took a sip of wine and gazed at me with satisfaction.
“Sung-guk, isn’t Ji-hee just precious?”
[I can’t exactly deny it.]
I nodded with the most expressionless face I could manage.
Tycoons weren’t supposed to show their emotions like that.
A single expression of mine could move stock prices. I planned to keep it that way.
I quietly offered Ji-hee another spoonful of baby food, then gently stroked her head.
[Ji-hee, remember this. The person feeding you is your older brother. Got it?]
Ji-hee stuck out her little rabbit-like front teeth and broke into a bright smile.
[Ah, she’s too cute.]
I covered my mouth with my fist to stifle the reaction.
* * *
“Sung-guk. Your mother and I didn’t come to America to sightsee—we came to see you. We’re happy just spending time with you.”
Mother and Father looked bewildered as they studied the itinerary I’d prepared.
[My MBTI is ENTJ, and the J in that is beyond imagination. I was going to schedule things down to the minute, but I compromised to thirty-minute blocks.]
Father shook his head with a laugh.
“Sung-guk, like your mother said, let’s just take it easy. We’ve seen the Statue of Liberty on TV plenty of times—we don’t need to go.”
“Dad, we have to show Min-guk and Ji-hee.”
“Ji-hee won’t even remember.”
“If we take photos, she’ll remember everything.”
Photographs are what endure.
“So Sung-guk, how about we just pick the essentials from this schedule and do them one by one?”
[I guess I have to give a little. I’ll compromise.]
Father studied the schedule with a thoughtful expression.
“Morning jog at Central Park starting at 7 AM. Sung-guk, let’s skip this one.”
“Okay!”
I raised my hand enthusiastically.
“Dad, but we have to do this one.”
“Bagels, then the Statue of Liberty tour. Yes, we should mark Min-guk and Ji-hee’s first time in America. Grab pizza for lunch and free time in Central Park. That sounds good. Dinner is steak.”
“Yeah. It’s a hundred-year-old restaurant, Dad. Absolutely delicious.”
“Great, I’m looking forward to this place too. As the owner of a bossam restaurant, I naturally have to check it out.”
I felt a little excited.
Father’s eyes widened as he continued scanning the schedule.
“Sung-guk, where is this place?”
“Mother, Father—I prepared this for you both.”
As Father looked at me with a puzzled expression, Grace, who had been reviewing the schedule with him, laughed and answered on my behalf.
“Sung-guk wanted to give you and your wife some time alone for a date, so he reserved this famous Sky Lounge Bar. After dinner, Sung-guk and the children will be with me and the nanny, so please go on your date and come back.”
“You didn’t have to go to such trouble. Besides, I get nervous passing by Americans, and it would be even scarier at night….”
“Don’t worry about that either. Sung-guk will take you there and bring you back—he’s arranged a car for everything.”
“Sung-guk, aren’t you spending too much money?”
[Father, this is former chaebol-class spending.]
I shrugged my shoulders.
* * *
Father was truly a blessed man.
Mother, dressed in the elegant gown Grace had prepared, didn’t look like a woman with three children—she remained beautiful.
And the most blessed part of all? That was because of me, Jeon Sung-guk.
I quickly slipped five hundred-dollar bills into Father’s pocket.
“Sung-guk, what is this?”
“Father, buy something delicious to eat with Mother.”
Father looked at me quickly, his eyes glistening with emotion.
[Father, you’re moved again?]
Father promptly returned five hundred dollars to me.
“Sung-guk, thanks to you we’re going somewhere nice—let your father buy something delicious for your mother.”
[That’s not how I saw this playing out.]
Click, click.
The sound of Mother’s high heels echoed from behind.
“Honey, let’s go. They’re waiting downstairs.”
“Okay.”
Mother quickly pressed her cheek against mine.
“Sung-guk, you need to take good care of your younger siblings.”
[I know. The shoulders of a South Korean eldest son are heavy.]

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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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