I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 98

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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 98
“Mark! Jessie!”
Mark and Jessie emerged through the airport exit.
“Sung-guk!”
Jessie rushed over and embraced me.
“Was the flight exhausting?”
“This is the farthest I’ve ever traveled in my life.”
“Sung-guk, Korea really is far away….”
The flight from New York to Korea alone took nearly fifteen hours.
“Are you tired?”
“Sung-guk, I researched Korea a lot before coming, and there’s so much more food than I expected. I want to try street food, and chicken and bulgogi too.”
Mark seemed particularly interested in food.
“Sung-guk, I want to visit the palace. We don’t have anything like that in America.”
“Got it. Let’s head home first.”
Mother and I made our way home with them.
Mark and Jessie’s eyes widened at the sights of Korea.
“Wow, Korea is really a big country. So many cars on the roads….”
“There’s plenty to see.”
Mark and Jessie planned to stay in Korea for two weeks.
A week after Mark and Jessie returned to the United States, I would head back to America with my family. To enroll at Harvard.
* * *
“Mark will share a room with me… and Jessie will use Ji-hee’s room. Ji-hee is still young, so she sleeps with our parents.”
“Really? At five years old, she still sleeps with your parents?”
“Yeah. I slept with my parents when I was young too.”
Jessie found this fascinating.
“Until what age?”
“I’m not sure. I think it was around seven years old….”
Of course, after that, Min-guk and I had fought over Mother’s affection, but I didn’t mention that.
Min-guk and Ji-hee were initially shy around Mark and Jessie, but they quickly warmed up to them, lightening both my body and spirit.
“Tonight we’re having boiled pork wraps that Father prepared at his restaurant. Try some. You’ll love it.”
“Great!”
* * *
Father could barely speak a few words of English, but he did his best to explain the boiled pork wraps to Mark and Jessie.
“We boil the pork using our family’s secret method. Koreans usually eat it with kimchi, but since that might be too spicy, you can wrap it with pickled radish instead—it’s delicious.”
I explained Father’s dish in detail.
Father had also prepared bulgogi, and Mark and Jessie enjoyed Korean food far more than expected.
Mark was satisfied with both the boiled pork wraps and the bulgogi.
Jessie especially loved the boiled pork wraps.
“Sung-guk, where are you taking your friends tomorrow?”
“Hmm… I’m thinking of visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace.”
“Sure, there’s a great samgyetang restaurant nearby. We could grab some from there.”
“I’ll do that.”
I answered quickly.
“Sung-guk, your father’s cooking is really delicious. You’re telling me they sell this kind of thing at convenience stores in Korea?”
“Yeah….”
I nodded.
“Sung-guk, I want to check out a convenience store later tonight.”
“Sure.”
I nodded at Jessie’s request.
* * *
We headed to the convenience store in casual clothes once the sun had set.
Jessie asked with an anxious expression.
“Sung-guk, is it okay to go out at this hour?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Korea is a safe country even at night. Of course, there are dangerous back alleys and it’s risky if you’re drunk out of your mind, but most places are safe.”
Mark also scanned the surroundings with curious eyes.
“People really do walk around here even at night.”
“That’s why 24-hour convenience stores do so well here. If you get hungry late at night, you can just come out and grab something to eat….”
“Korea really is a great country.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
In my previous life, there wasn’t a country I hadn’t visited on business, and I’d studied abroad for long periods in the United States and Japan.
But for a Korean, Korea was still the best.
The only caveat was that for wealthy people, there was no better country to live in than Korea.
That aspect felt somewhat bittersweet.
Mark eagerly picked up various items.
“Sung-guk, there’s so much food here.”
I grabbed a bottle of banana milk.
“I like this milk.”
“Can I try some?”
Jessie and Mark followed my lead and grabbed bottles too.
We bought bread and milk, then sat under a parasol set up in front of the convenience store.
Though it was summer, a cool breeze blew gently once night fell.
“Sung-guk, this feels like we’re really on vacation.”
Mark began eating his bread with a happy expression.
“I think I’m going to gain weight in Korea.”
“You’d still be pretty even if you gained weight.”
I offered her a compliment in response to her concern.
At those words, Jessie’s cheeks flushed red, and she simply sucked on her banana milk.
Mark whispered quietly.
“Sung-guk, I thought you were a Confucian boy, but you’re a total flirt.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
In my previous life, I simply encountered quite a few women.
“Wow, the breeze feels nice.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
Mark felt a pang of jealousy for no reason.
* * *
While Mark tossed and turned in bed, I sat at my desk and checked my emails.
That’s when I spotted a familiar name.
It was Bang Mu-hyuk.
Bang Mu-hyuk’s email was straightforward.
It contained casual inquiries about how I was doing and when I’d be returning to Korea.
I quickly replied that I was currently in Korea and left my phone number.
Contact after several years.
Bang Mu-hyuk was not the type of person to reach out carelessly.
[Are you preparing for independence soon?]
Mark tossed around and called out to me.
“Sung-guk, why are you so busy even when it comes to Korea?”
“A Korean friend sent me an email….”
“But Sung-guk, about our Face Paper. Are you really going to start a business after Harvard?”
Mark’s voice trembled slightly.
He seemed anxious.
We had rejected both Microsoft’s investment offer and Jessie’s Father’s private equity fund.
While it sounded like a rejection, the truth was we simply hadn’t found an appropriate investor yet.
“When Dad heard about Face Paper, he said the future was too uncertain. He suggested I reach out to Microsoft again.”
For that to happen, he’d have to convince me….
“This isn’t a company I founded alone. Besides, our contract stipulates that neither of us can transfer our shares without mutual agreement.”
This clause would haunt him for life, though Mark probably couldn’t imagine it now.
“Mark, what do you think?”
“Honestly, I’m anxious. I’ve become a college student, but I’m not happy at all. Even if I get into Harvard, I’ll have to study and then enter society. With how I feel now, I just want to live comfortably.”
“Mark, even if we meet with Microsoft now, there’s no guarantee they’ll buy Face Paper again.”
“That’s true, but….”
“Mark, I’m ready. Starting a business is difficult anyway. We might not earn money for months or even years. Mark, if you’re anxious, just transfer all your shares to me.”
“What?”
Mark looked at me in shock.
I had just offered to buy all of Mark’s shares.
If I sold all the land and stocks in Pangyo, I’d have 5 billion won in assets.
Of course, I couldn’t know exactly how much Microsoft intended to offer. It’s possible that 5 billion won is far short of what I estimated they’d propose. But 5 billion won was enough to change one person’s life.
“Honestly, we don’t know how much Microsoft was thinking of offering us. Mark, how much do you want to sell your shares to me for?”
“That’s… I’ve never thought about it… Maybe… 2 million dollars?”
That came to about 2.5 billion won.
“Will you sell your shares to me for two million dollars?”
I studied Mark carefully.
Honestly, acquiring Mark’s shares was a double-edged sword.
It was difficult to find another developer like Mark who understood Face Paper as thoroughly as I did, and Mark certainly possessed genius-level programming abilities.
Though admittedly, not quite at my level.
If Mark transferred all his shares to me, I would become the absolute owner of Face Paper. In ten years, Face Paper would become a global enterprise that even the Samjeon Group couldn’t rival. The owner of that enterprise.
I would become the sole proprietor of capital itself, as Jeon Jae-hyung and Jeon Tae-guk had spoken of.
[This is a difficult decision.]
Honestly, it was difficult for me too.
I could see Mark was conflicted as well.
“Sung-guk… if you start a company, what will you do? You know I’m not good at meeting people or being in the spotlight.”
“Mark, leave that to me.”
“If it fails, we won’t recover a single dollar.”
“I’m prepared for that. Poverty is just inconvenient, Mark.”
Mark fell silent for a while.
“Sung-guk, okay. Let’s start this together.”
“All right….”
[A bit of a shame though….]
But without Mark by my side, Face Paper could never be completed exactly as I envisioned it.
* * *
“This place is called Apgujeong. I didn’t know much about it when I was younger, but it’s where wealthy young people come.”
After visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace, we made our way to Apgujeong and walked through its streets.
Though it still couldn’t quite match the streets of New York, Apgujeong had plenty of diverse cafés and people with a free-spirited atmosphere.
“Sung-guk, didn’t you say you were meeting someone here?”
“Yeah, Mark. Why don’t you and Jessie have coffee together? I have an appointment.”
“Sung-guk really does have people seeking him out wherever he goes.”
Jessie spoke with a hint of displeasure.
She seemed unhappy about being left alone with Mark.
“Sorry, after I’m done, let’s go to the best tteokbokki restaurant here for dinner.”
I took Mark and Jessie to a café, then headed to meet Bang Mu-hyuk at our designated location.
Bang Mu-hyuk was active as a member of a major entertainment agency that had also produced Just.
As I approached the café near the entertainment agency, I noticed quite a few fans gathered to catch sight of the agency’s artists.
When Bang Mu-hyuk saw me, he was so startled he forgot to greet me properly.
“How have you been?”
“Sung-guk… that little Sung-guk?”
“Yes.”
Bang Mu-hyuk examined my face with an astonished expression.
“How tall are you exactly?”
“Just over 170 centimeters.”
“At thirteen?”
“Yes.”
These days, many children had excellent growth and development, so there were quite a few thirteen-year-olds my size among my peers.
“Sung-guk, what would you like to drink?”
I wanted to shout for coffee, but I was thirteen years old by Korean age.
“A strawberry smoothie, please.”
“Sure, just a moment….”
As Bang Mu-hyuk ordered the strawberry smoothie, I heard murmuring from the surrounding area.
“Hey, is that a trainee that composer Bang Mu-hyuk is training?”
“Incredible face. Must be a trainee from JP, right?”
“But he looks familiar somehow. Isn’t he already famous among the trainees?”
“No way. I know all the JP trainees… I’ve never seen him before.”
“They must be recruiting him this time.”
Bang Mu-hyuk handed me the strawberry smoothie.
“Sung-guk, is it true you graduated high school this time?”
“Yes.”
“I saw a small article about it. It said Jeon Sung-guk, a Hyojin Group scholarship student, was admitted to Harvard this time….”
It seemed an article had been published.
“That’s why I wrote you that email. Sung-guk, I really don’t know what to say about this… Honestly, you’re so smart that I can’t tell you to study or not study, but it’s such a waste for you to only study with that face. This isn’t flattery, but JP is recruiting trainees right now. Why don’t you apply?”
[As if entertainment celebrities make that much money.]
I shook my head.
“I want to study more right now. I want to attend university too.”
“Sure, sure. It’s Harvard anyway—it would be stranger not to attend. Still, if you change your mind, reach out. Diverse experience is always better, you know.”
[For the entertainment business, then… should I try being a trainee once?]
I sipped the strawberry smoothie and looked at Bang Mu-hyuk.
“Teacher, could I try a trainee experience during the next school break?”

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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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