I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 97

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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 97
Mother stopped me.
“Sung-guk, why the bag?”
“Mom, you don’t have a bag either. I’ll buy one. You’ve worked hard putting me through school.”
“Oh my, what a filial son you are. That bag is our most popular item right now. It’s so convenient and comfortable to carry anywhere. I have one myself.”
The Manager chimed in.
Mother looked at me with a disapproving expression.
“Sung-guk, we came to look for clothes for you to wear at school… you don’t need to buy me a bag.”
“Mom, I can just use that bag when I go to my school entrance ceremony.”
“But… it’s hard to tell your age. You still look so young—are you entering high school?”
“I’m entering university this time. How should I put it… he’s skipped grades many times, so he’s entering at a much younger age than his peers.”
“Oh my, which university?”
“Harvard.”
Game cleared.
Final boss defeated.
In South Korea, Harvard felt like that.
The Manager was left speechless.
“Harvard? That Harvard in America?”
“Yes… that’s why I wanted to buy him some nice clothes and brought him here.”
“Congratulations, truly.”
The Manager offered continuous congratulations, and Mother accepted them warmly.
And I bought the bag.
“Then, could you recommend a wallet suitable for a young man? Sung-guk, you should have at least one wallet.”
I didn’t refuse the wallet.
“Sure. Mom, I’ll take this one.”
“Oh my, that’s our most expensive item in the store. You have a good eye.”
[Well, I was a tycoon in my previous life, after all.]
* * *
“Sung-guk, did you know you bought five pairs of jeans and five gray hoodies?”
“Mom, I think that’ll be enough for me.”
“We’re going to see Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung. What are you going to wear?”
“I’ll wear what I bought today. We’re just going to eat noodles anyway.”
As always, our meeting was at the Chinese restaurant in the Samjeon Hotel.
* * *
[How many years has it been.]
It would be a lie to say my heart wasn’t racing.
I was sitting in a suite at the Samjeon Hotel, where my father and younger brother from my previous life would arrive in a few seconds.
Jeon Tae-guk was six years older than me, so he was the same age as Mark.
[Jeon Tae-guk must have entered university too….]
There was absolutely no chance Jeon Tae-guk would ever be admitted to Harvard.
Ding.
The elevator came to a stop on the top floor where the suite rooms were located.
And finally, the door to the suite opened.
It was Secretary Yang who greeted me.
“Sung-guk….”
Secretary Yang was clearly marveling at how much I had grown.
“Sung-guk, my goodness, you’ve really grown so tall….”
“Hello. I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Do you remember me?”
“Yes.”
I answered briefly.
Secretary Yang’s face brightened as he ushered me inside.
“Come in. He’s waiting for you.”
“Yes.”
This place felt far too familiar.
It was exactly where I had died.
* * *
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was also marveling at my appearance.
I was deliberately wearing a hoodie over the jeans I had bought with Mother.
Thanks to that, I looked somewhat more like a college student, but I was only thirteen years old.
“Sung-guk, you’ve grown so much.”
“Hello. It’s been a long time since we’ve met.”
I bowed respectfully.
On Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s left sat Jeon Tae-guk with a smug expression on his face. He didn’t even stand up.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung quickly introduced his son.
“My son, Tae-guk—you probably don’t remember him, do you?”
“Hello. I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
[Of course I remember. Look at that arrogant face and attitude. Still the same….]
But I pretended not to know him and greeted him politely.
“Ah, so you’re Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Tae-guk, you should greet him properly.”
Only then did Jeon Tae-guk stand up and offer a reluctant greeting.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jeon Tae-guk.”
“Come now, Sung-guk. Make yourself comfortable.”
I sat down facing the two of them. It felt like I was being interviewed.
“Do you still like our hotel’s jjajangmyeon?”
“Yes… I love it very much.”
“Sung-guk, how old are you this year?”
“I’m thirteen years old in Korean age.”
“How tall are you exactly?”
“I’m not entirely sure since I haven’t measured precisely, but it seems like I’m over 170 centimeters.”
Jeon Tae-guk still regarded me with a displeased expression.
At nineteen, growth should have stopped by now, yet he appeared slightly taller than me. And as for his appearance, I’ll say no more.
Jeon Tae-guk had inherited only the shortcomings of Jeon Jae-hyung and the Iron Lady.
“Sung-guk, congratulations on your Harvard admission, though it’s a bit late.”
I saw Jeon Tae-guk’s brow furrow at those words.
“Thank you.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung smiled at Jeon Tae-guk with visible effort.
“Tae-guk, Sung-guk has become a university student this time too. You know Phillips Academy, right? He graduated with excellent grades there and was admitted to Harvard. You’re now both university students.”
“What? A university student? That little squirt?”
[I’m not a squirt. Our height difference isn’t that big, Jeon Tae-guk.]
It seemed none of my information had registered with Jeon Tae-guk.
“That’s right. Sung-guk is a scholarship student sponsored by Hyojin Group. I heard he entered Phillips Academy with excellent grades, and to think he got into Harvard in one go—Chairman Koo Soo-young truly has an eye for talent.”
“There’s still much for me to learn.”
I made a show of being as humble as possible.
Vice Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung continued introducing Jeon Tae-guk.
“Tae-guk is entering a university in Utah this time. It’s far, but stay in touch with each other. Since Tae-guk has lived in America for a long time, he’ll be able to help Sung-guk a lot.”
“I look forward to it. By the way, I developed an SNS platform. Would you like to sign up?”
It was time to introduce Face Paper.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung likely already knew about this as well.
“Is that the SNS Bill Gates tried to buy?”
“Yes. A private equity fund in New York also showed interest, but the terms were unfavorable, so I declined. I plan to activate it more after entering university, then proceed with commercialization.”
“Can I sign up too?”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung showed clear interest.
“Chairman, please sign up when we launch the beta service to the general public later. If the chairman of Samjeon Group signs up, it would generate tremendous publicity in Korea.”
“I see. Tae-guk, you sign up too. Secretary Yang, bring me a laptop.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Secretary Yang soon returned with a laptop.
I pulled up the Face Paper website and walked Jeon Tae-guk through the registration process.
At that moment, Jeon Tae-guk’s face brightened slightly.
“Oh, this. Some kids at our school have signed up for this too.”
Face Paper had attracted quite a few students from eastern boarding schools, centered around Phillips Academy.
“Tae-guk, you’ve heard of it?”
“Kids at our school use it. But… did you really develop this?”
“My roommate Mark and I developed it together. I came up with the idea, and Mark wrote the code. Tae-guk, just follow the registration steps here and sign up.”
Jeon Tae-guk signed up for Face Paper and immediately sent me a friend request.
“You really have a lot of friends.”
“I’m the developer, after all.”
“Wow. Were you prom king?”
“Yes.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s attitude gradually became more favorable.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung observed us both with keen interest.
“So Sung-guk was quite popular in America too.”
“I only focused on my studies, so I’m not sure. I think I was just fortunate.”
“Wow, this girl is really beautiful. Sung-guk, is she your friend?”
Jeon Tae-guk pointed at Jessie.
“Yes.”
“Could you introduce me to her?”
[What a pathetic fool. What on earth is occupying that mind of his?]
I clenched my teeth and smiled.
“I’ll ask her.”
“What school does she attend?”
“Harvard, same as me.”
“Does her family have money?”
“Her father is a renowned Private Equity Fund CEO.”
[Do I really have to answer such pedestrian questions?]
Exhaustion washed over me.
“Dinner is ready.”
“Tae-guk, you’ve signed up, right?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Look at it carefully when you get home, and let’s talk about various things with Sung-guk today.”
Jeon Tae-guk reluctantly closed the laptop.
“Sung-guk, are you planning to start Face Paper yourself? Or are you thinking of growing it and selling it?”
“I’m planning to start it myself.”
I answered with confidence.
Face Paper will become a company that transcends the Samjeon Group.
The Samjeon Group is a conglomerate of South Korea, but Face Paper will be a conglomerate of the world.
“Starting a company will be difficult….”
“I was born poor anyway. When people are born rich, even a small deprivation becomes difficult, but I was well-trained from childhood.”
“Poverty isn’t something to be proud of, is it?”
Jeon Tae-guk asked mockingly.
“It’s not something to be proud of, but I don’t think it’s something to be ashamed of either.”
“Poor people are poor because they’re lazy.”
“Conglomerate owners didn’t become conglomerate owners because they’re diligent. They were simply born into it.”
At my words, Jeon Tae-guk pouted his lips. His expression showed he had nothing more to say.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung changed the subject.
“Sung-guk, when will you start accepting investments for that company?”
“I’ll develop it a bit more first.”
“If it becomes difficult, contact me. I’d like to help if I can be of assistance.”
[Trying to place a spoon on a table already laden with food.]
I forced a smile, pretending it was nothing.
“I’ll contact you if needed.”
“Father, let’s develop an SNS like that too. Sung-guk did it, so there’s no way Samjeon can’t.”
[They probably can’t… I should just eat some jjajangmyeon.]
Jeon Tae-guk continued whining like a child.
It seemed he wanted whatever I had.
Just then, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung called to Jeon Tae-guk in a calm voice.
“Tae-guk… You don’t need to study well, and you don’t need to go to a good school.”
What?
I tensed up while eating my jjajangmyeon.
“Father, what do you mean?”
“All you need to know is how to manage people well. The company and wealth you possess cannot be coveted by anyone. Samjeon Group will be eternal. So all you need to do is protect what you have and skillfully employ intelligent people who will grow that wealth. You possess capital that those people can never have…”
A brief silence fell.
I understood why Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung had invited me today.
He was training his son, Jeon Tae-guk.
He studied worse than me, had an uglier face, and a worse personality. Yet he was the successor to Samjeon Group.
According to Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s words, since Jeon Tae-guk was born with everything, he just needed to use that capital to recruit and employ intelligent people like me.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung seemed to be looking at me, but I lowered my head and inhaled my jjajangmyeon.
Then I wiped my mouth.
“Sung-guk, are you finished?”
“Yes.”
“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
“Yes, the Samjeon Hotel jjajangmyeon is truly the best.”
“That’s right. There’s nothing as delicious as Samjeon Hotel jjajangmyeon. Even if the head chef leaves, Samjeon Hotel jjajangmyeon will always taste the same.”
I pondered Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s words carefully.
The head chef here always receives the highest salary in South Korea. Most head chefs don’t even consider opening their own restaurant after leaving. Why? Because the salary here is higher than what they’d earn running their own business.
But when a young sous chef working beside the head chef becomes capable of producing similar flavors, the head chef is fired overnight and replaced by the younger chef.
Only then does the head chef think about opening his own restaurant, but by that point, he’s already too old.
This was how Samjeon used and discarded people.
And it was also the reason I left Samjeon in this life.
Rather than become a tool, I’ll become the blade itself!
“Sung-guk, I sincerely congratulate you on Harvard.”
“Thank you.”
I quietly stood up from my seat.
Jeon Tae-guk looked at me and gave an arrogant greeting.
“Sung-guk, work hard at school. The world keeps turning because kids like you study hard and work hard.”
I clenched my teeth.
[Jeon Tae-guk, let’s meet again on the day when the assets I build exceed what you inherit. Exactly ten years. Just wait and see. In this life, who will become the greater tycoon!]

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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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