I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 80

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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 80
Two living creatures were plastered firmly against my body.
Min-guk had waited for Mother and Father, then fallen asleep clutching my waist, while Ji-hee spun around and planted her legs squarely across my stomach.
I could hear Grace and the babysitter watching TV outside.
[Pay the babysitter… But why are Mother and Father taking so long?]
I glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
It was past eleven at night.
[Why are they so late when they’re visiting New York for the first time!]
Click.
Just then, I heard the door open.
[Is it Mother?]
I tried to lift my head, but at that exact moment, Ji-hee spun around again and her foot smacked me directly in the face.
[I take back what I said about you being cute, Jeon Ji-hee.]
The door slid open, flooding the room with light.
Mother hurried in and finally peeled Ji-hee off my stomach.
“Mother…”
“My goodness, Sung-guk. You’re still awake?”
[I usually study until midnight and then sleep. Right now I’m wide awake. Mother, Father, we need to have a talk. What have you two been doing all this time?]
Mother quickly gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Ugh—you smell like alcohol.”
“Your mother and I had a drink together after so long. Sung-guk, I’ve never been to such a wonderful place in my entire life. It’s all thanks to you, really.”
[If you knew that, you should have come back early, early!]
Father came in and took off his shirt.
“So-young, should we all sleep together here tonight? We haven’t slept with Sung-guk for so long.”
Of course, the accommodation had plenty of rooms.
“Sung-guk, what do you think?”
I was absolutely in favor.
“I love it!”
I quickly removed Min-guk and transferred Ji-hee to her toddler bed, then threw a pillow next to Mother.
“Sung-guk, you rascal. That’s Father’s spot.”
[I can’t hear you.]
“Sigh—Father, I’m sleepy.”
I pretended not to hear and stretched out flat next to Mother.
Soon Mother came back from washing up and lay down beside me. Father, of course, lay on the left.
Between Mother and Father. It had been such a long time.
Before Min-guk was born, this spot was mine…
Mother patted my back gently.
“Sleep well, Sung-guk.”
“Okay. You too, Mother.”
“Sung-guk, what about Father?”
“Father will figure it out on his own.”
Father quickly grabbed my waist and tickled me.
“This kid, the older you get, the more you discriminate between Mother and Father. Father has been missing Sung-guk so much every single day….”
“Honey, stop it. Sung-guk needs to sleep.”
“Fine. Tch. I have no allies here.”
Father grumbled before soon falling asleep.
The low sound of his snoring echoed softly.
I quietly closed my eyes too. And with Father’s snoring as my lullaby, I drifted into slumber.
* * *
“Hyung, is this really Disneyland?”
“Min-guk, hold Hyung’s hand tight. There are so many people here—just follow me closely.”
“Okay, Hyung.”
I knew Disneyland inside and out from visiting it countless times in my previous life.
Because Koo Ye-jung had specially arranged a VIP tour with a guide through Hyojin Group, I didn’t need to lead the way myself.
Mother, Father, and Min-guk were too busy marveling at everything around them, while Ji-hee was fast asleep in her stroller.
[Yeah, sleeping is helping out.]
Min-guk darted excitedly from place to place.
“Hyung, look over there! Let’s ride that together!”
What Min-guk was pointing at was a roller coaster.
My legs froze in an instant.
The thing I feared most in this world—it was terrifying rides like roller coasters. I loved Disneyland because of the storytelling woven throughout, but those scary attractions? I absolutely despised them.
“Hyung, that one!”
Min-guk grabbed my hand and pulled.
I planted my feet firmly and refused to budge.
“Min-guk, let’s ride something else. We’ll do that one later.”
“Hyung, Min-guk wants that one!”
This was awkward.
Just then, the guide mentioned that Min-guk was too young to ride the roller coaster, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But then Father grabbed my hand.
“Sung-guk, Father really wants to ride that. Let’s go together.”
“Honey, I’ll stay here and watch Min-guk and Ji-hee.”
“Okay.”
Before Father even finished speaking, he grabbed my hand and headed toward the roller coaster. Since it was a VIP tour, we didn’t even have to wait in line—my turn came around quickly.
My heart pounded wildly. My legs trembled.
I tried to twist my body and escape, but one hand was firmly held by Father.
“Sung-guk, when Father was young, visiting an amusement park was a dream.”
[Father, wait! Father, when you talk about Mother’s childhood stories, my heart weakens.]
Father looked at me with a bright smile.
“But Father did go to Everland on a school trip in first year of middle school. Back then, we didn’t have much money, so I could only ride one attraction. Father rode this one back then.”
[Alright, Father, do everything you want.]
I gave up and boarded the roller coaster.
A roller coaster I had never ridden in my previous life either.
[God. Buddha. Allah! Please, please save me!]
Clank.
The roller coaster finally took off with a deafening roar.
* * *
“Sung-guk, Sung-guk, open your eyes.”
I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes.
Ever since the roller coaster plummeted downward at high speed and I’d squeezed my eyes shut, I couldn’t open them again.
I unbuckled the safety harness and, gripping my trembling legs, barely managed to stumble off the roller coaster.
Father gripped my hand firmly.
“Sung-guk, were you very frightened?”
“No.”
I tried to act brave, but I could already feel my face had gone deathly pale.
“Sung-guk! Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
I clenched both my fists tightly.
“Honey, Sung-guk doesn’t look fine.”
“Sung-guk, if you’re scared, tell me.”
[Father’s playing the sympathy card again!]
In that moment, my stomach churned.
“Oh my, honey! I think Sung-guk is about to be sick.”
“Where is the restroom?”
The guide quickly led Father and me to the restroom.
Father patted my back gently.
After I washed my face, I finally came to my senses.
“Sung-guk, if you don’t want to ride, just say so.”
“But you’d be disappointed.”
“Disappointed in what?”
“You want to ride with me, so if I ride alone, you’d hate it.”
Father fell silent for a moment. Then I saw his eyes grow red.
“Sung-guk, I was born alone. Meeting your mother and you all—I think that’s been the happiest thing in the world, not being alone anymore.”
My heart swelled.
I quickly embraced Father.
“Father, you’re not alone anymore.”
“Sung-guk isn’t alone either. I’ll protect you always, so tell me when you’re scared, alright?”
“Okay.”
I nodded while tears streamed down my face.
* * *
After the grueling schedule of traveling back and forth between New York and Los Angeles, I made no further plans.
Before the entrance ceremony, Mother and Father leisurely strolled through Central Park or sought out small neighborhood restaurants rather than exclusively dining at Michelin-starred establishments.
Today, they had chosen a quaint brunch café nearby.
While Korea had yet to embrace the concept of brunch, it was commonplace in New York.
A leisurely late breakfast of simple fare and beverages.
I drowned my pancakes in syrup before devouring them.
Having regressed to childhood, my palate had apparently regressed along with me.
“Sung-guk, Father will buy this for you too.”
“Yes. I’ll eat well!”
Father spent the money he had prepared for this trip without restraint.
“Sung-guk, Father is making good money now.”
[I know.]
Father had begun earning a respectable income after his collaboration with Hyojin Group on solo drinking snacks—braised pork feet and bossam lunch boxes—became a hit. Moreover, his bossam restaurant was thriving, and he was even considering expansion.
He was steadily moving closer to his dream of franchising Won Uncle’s Bossam.
[Father, don’t forget that all of this is thanks to me.]
I scooped a fluffy piece of pancake onto my fork and popped it into my mouth.
Mother, eating the same dish as me, suddenly pointed at someone with a look of surprise.
“My goodness, isn’t that Kim Na-yeon?”
Kim Na-yeon?
I turned my head to look where Mother was pointing.
[Ah, Kim Na-yeon.]
An actress I had briefly met when I was vice chairman of Samjeon Group.
She had appeared briefly before fading away, but I remembered her as being quite kind.
“Wow, how strange, Sung-guk. Seeing a celebrity here.”
[Mother, Korean celebrities are just ordinary people when they come to America.]
I crunched away at my pancakes.
“So-young, is my vision playing tricks on me?”
“What?”
“To my eyes, you’re prettier than that Kim Na-yeon.”
For a moment, I nearly dropped my fork.
Goosebumps crawled up my spine.
Father wiped the syrup from the corner of Mother’s mouth with his finger, then kissed it.
[Sigh, no wonder we have three children.]
I shook my head in disbelief.
Mother, embarrassed, gave Father’s shoulder a light tap.
Grace Choi appeared in the distance, walking toward us.
I quickly raised my hand and waved to dispel this awkwardness.
“Over here, Grace!”
* * *
Grace Choi began explaining the details of my entrance ceremony.
“Chairman Koo Soo-young and his wife will be attending as well. Both of his daughters will be coming too. We’ll have transportation arranged on our end, so please don’t worry.”
Only four days remained until the entrance ceremony.
In four days, I would have to move into the school dormitory, and I would have to say goodbye to my family once again.
[I’m feeling a bit melancholy.]
Mother gently stroked my cheek.
“Sung-guk, there’s not much time left now.”
[I know that too.]
“Sung-guk, is there anything you want to do with Mom and Dad? All this time, you’ve worked so hard to show us and Min-guk and Ji-hee around. You even gave us separate date time. So let’s do what you want to do during the time we have left.”
That was something I hadn’t considered.
Two weeks—such a short span of time. And with parents who had never set foot in New York or anywhere else in the United States, I didn’t want to waste a single moment that could be spent with family.
“What do you want to do?”
“Yes. While you’ve been in America, was there anything you wished you could have done with Mom and Dad?”
Well, there wasn’t really anything specific like that.
I just found myself often remembering the ordinary moments I’d spent with Mother, Father, and Min-guk.
How Father would come out after washing with soap in the morning and rub his rough chin against my face.
The moments sitting in Mother’s lap while she read to me.
The nights when Min-guk would grip my waist tightly as he fell asleep.
The brief time with Ji-hee, touching my face with her saliva-covered hands.
That’s what I missed.
“Sung-guk, is there nothing?”
Father asked.
“I just like right now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Eating meals, playing with Min-guk. Sleeping next to Mom and Dad.”
I answered honestly.
I could see Father’s and Mother’s eyes growing misty.
[Why are they like that? Did I say something so moving?]
Father stroked my head.
“How lonely this little one must have been in a foreign land.”
[Dad, I’m different from you. I was just remembering things sometimes.]
“Sung-guk, let’s stay close to Dad, Mom, Min-guk, and Ji-hee until the entrance ceremony.”
[The last two can be left out, Dad.]
* * *
“I’ve already prepared all the bedding and basic items you’ll need in the dormitory. They’re things I prepared when we sent students to boarding school before, so you can use them with confidence.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Today, go shopping with your parents at the department store for Sung-guk’s everyday clothes and necessities, and do some shopping for yourselves too. I’ll look after Min-guk and Ji-hee with the babysitter.”
Grace Choi stepped aside to make time for shopping.
Now Mother, Father, and I were at New York’s finest department store. And in my hand was a card that Chairman Koo Soo-young had specially given me.
[Well then, let me try swiping a card at the former chairman’s level!]

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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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