I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 328

'That won't work.'

There are plenty of expensive materials in the world, but those are usually sold in small quantities.

However, RK-99 is priced at twenty million won per gram, yet the expected transaction volume is massive.

And that's just limited to Militaris.

Something like this can't be hidden.

The Financial Supervisory Service would immediately sense that something was off, and various state and intelligence agencies would catch a whiff as well.

And by then, any decent intelligence organization would have noticed something unusual.

'And, of course, Prestige as well.'

Maybe it would be better to just tell Grandpa.

After all, he's the highest authority in the Koryo Group, so it might be best to handle it that way...

"No matter how long you try to hide it, the maximum you can keep it under wraps is one year. Keep that in mind."

"Should I tell Grandpa?"

"You could, but it wouldn't make much of a difference. Muyeol Chemicals is too small to handle the RK-99. No matter what you do, it's going to stand out. Unless you’re dealing exclusively in the black market, that is."

"Hmm..."

Dealing in the black market... that means tax evasion, right?

Avoiding financial reporting altogether—basically, smuggling.

'But wait a minute...'

Something clicked.

"...How about we just do it openly?"

"Huh?"

"Place massive orders, and pay the full twenty million won per gram in cash, right on the spot."

"...?"

She tilted her head.

Looks like she couldn't quite adjust to my sudden change in stance.

Well, it just occurred to me a moment ago, so I guess that's understandable.

"Think about it. Our goal is to keep the superconductor itself hidden, right?"

"Right...?"

"Muyeol Chemicals is supplying RK-99 paste, but the raw materials are copper, sulfur, and lead. If we say we're mixing these cheap materials and selling them for twenty million won per gram, who would take a second look at such worthless crap? People would just think it's some corrupt chaebol throwing money around."

"Hmm..."

Copper, sulfur, lead.

These aren't exactly worthless materials, but no one would think that combining them would produce something as groundbreaking as a superconductor worth twenty million won per gram.

Most people, including Go Min-young, would probably think that the aunt was using her company’s money to funnel a bit of pocket money (?) or a disguised gift to her nephew’s company.

Of course, this would technically be illegal. Using a product with no inherent value to transfer massive corporate assets would likely be considered embezzlement or misappropriation.

But that’s exactly why it could serve as the perfect cover.

It's human nature to be content with finding a treasure chest after digging through the ground, without thinking to dig even further below.

'There they go again. Damn chaebols.'

That's the kind of psychology I'm aiming for.

"After purchasing a ton of materials that aren't even necessary, we dispose of or consume the excess and use the rest to produce RK-99 paste. Then we deliver that to Militaris, and Min-young pays the exact price to Muyeol Chemicals. And I own one hundred percent of Muyeol Chemicals."

Technically, it's Koryo Enter that owns one hundred percent, but still.

"So you're disguising it as an aunt siphoning off corporate money to give her nephew a massive allowance?"

"Calling it an allowance is a bit much. Let's say it's a gift transfer."

"From an outsider’s perspective, they’ll think it was my dad who ordered me to do it. It's not a bad plan."

"Right? Plus, since I bought copper, sulfur, and lead along with a bunch of other junk, it will also serve to muddy the recipe."

No matter what else I buy, it's just worthless junk.

No one would ever imagine that these materials could produce something worth twenty million won per gram.

So, this is...

Just another case of chaebols laundering illegal money.

"And considering that I practically own Incheon now, it will even look plausible."

"True... you're right. There's no way anyone would suspect a superconductor. Even when I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe it."

Go Min-young let out a slightly hollow laugh and nodded.

As long as we can keep the superconductor itself under wraps, the rest doesn't really matter.

Embezzlement? Misappropriation? Those kinds of petty crimes will just get swept under the rug.

No one in their right mind would risk their life to go after the Koryo Group over that. But if it were a room-temperature superconductor? That would be a whole different story.

'I got spooked for no reason.'

Now that I've thought it through, I feel a lot calmer.

Damn.

Who would care about a mixture of copper, sulfur, lead, and other random junk?

This is what they call the "trap of knowledge," isn't it?

There was a term for it, something like that.

Knowing too much actually prevents you from making a rational decision.

The impact of a room-temperature superconductor was so overwhelming that I got fixated on it, wracking my brain over "How am I going to hide this?"

But from an outsider's perspective, it's just a dumb chaebol heir messing around and his rich aunt buying a bunch of worthless crap for an absurd price.

The same goes for Go Min-young.

She got too caught up in the idea of a room-temperature superconductor, making her overestimate the significance of the RK-99.

"Hehe. Giving Muyeol an allowance... That actually feels nice."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"It's been a while since anyone called me Auntie..."

The tension dissipated somewhat.

Ahh.

RK-99.

Even its components are perfect.

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat."

++++

Go Min-young and I talked about the RK-99 until it was almost evening.

Aside from the delivery and pricing discussions, there were still plenty of things to talk about.

"If we could somehow use it as a liquid at temperatures below 100 degrees, it would be much more versatile. Would you like me to proceed with research on that? Or do you want to handle it yourself?"

"Uh... I'll give it a shot first."

The RK series ranges from RK-11 to RK-99.

Every single one of them has absurdly overpowered properties, but the crown jewel is the RK-99.

However, none of them are "room-temperature liquid superconductors."

Even with RK-99, it needs to be heated to nearly 1,000 degrees to become a liquid.

'But somehow, it feels like if I tweak the recipe, I could make it work.'

The common feature of the RK series is that they all use similar materials.

The difference lies in the proportions, the baking temperature, and the baking time, which result in entirely different properties.

So, if I experiment with it in various ways, something might come of it.

Considering how inherently overpowered the material is, it feels like the answer might just pop up if I keep at it.

And if nothing else works, couldn't I just grind RK-99 into a fine powder and dissolve it in some liquid?

Wouldn't that produce something like a liquid superconductor?

'Come to think of it, what happens if I grind down RK-99? Would it turn into superconductive powder? And if I spray that powder at a high velocity while spinning it rapidly, could that create a superconductive field?'

There are so many things I haven't tried yet.

If I were a scientist who got off on this sort of thing, I'd probably be pissing myself in excitement right now.

There's just that much untapped potential.

"Alright. Let me know once you get some results."

"Sure thing."

Once we wrapped up the conversation, we finally stepped out of the lab.

We had finished discussing everything regarding the RK-99, so there was no reason to stay cooped up in there any longer.

'How long have we been in there...?'

Starting from Monday, the 26th, today is... Friday, the 30th.

We were basically holed up in there all week.

Suddenly, my body felt stiff and heavy.

A person should go outside periodically, get some exercise, move around.

"You said you have plans tomorrow?"

"Yes... unfortunately. When are you heading back up, Min-young?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I’d love to stay longer, but... I have a ton of tasks to handle tomorrow as well."

"That’s a shame."

"But... tonight..."

"..."

Our eyes met.

And we silently exchanged a promise.

Tonight, we would thoroughly indulge in each other.

"Ah...! Master!!"

As Go Min-young and I emerged, the busy secretaries all came to a standstill.

Soo-ah rushed toward me, her eyes brimming with tears like a puppy wagging its tail.

Looks like she had a lot more work to handle after yesterday.

I should probably give her some time off.

"You did well."

"Aghhh..."

"Nothing unusual to report?"

"Uh, nothing as bad as yesterday..."

"Yesterday..."

Yeah, nothing could really compare to almost standing up Go Hayan...

"You look exhausted. Go rest. You've prepared the briefing, right?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Alright. Eat, then go sleep. Take tomorrow off."

"Thank you!"

"And the rest of you too. Wrap up what you're working on and get some rest."

I granted Soo-ah and the rest of the secretaries a brief reprieve.

I didn’t specify an exact time, but... considering that tomorrow’s meeting with Hayan would be a low-key affair, they should have at least a full day to rest.

I have no idea how long the meeting with Hayan will go, though.

'I should probably throw in some bonuses too.'

If we’re talking about actual working hours, it probably wasn’t that different from their usual schedule.

After all, secretaries are expected to be on call 24/7.

But the workload was intense. Especially for Soo-ah, who must have been under tremendous mental stress.

'Should I... give Soo-ah some shares?'

I /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had originally intended to give her around 0.1% of Koryo Enter a while back, but it got put on hold due to everything that happened.

Now, she's been handling even more responsibilities, and there’s also the possibility of grooming her for a leadership position.

'I'm starting to expand into a real conglomerate, so I should start setting up a proper executive board and department heads.'

Most likely, either Im Soo-ah or Seo Aram would become the first "Auto 1."

If I give Soo-ah some more training, I could set her up as the head of a subsidiary or something.

Well... she's not exactly a corporate veteran, so there might be some initial stumbles.

But for me, loyalty is more important than competence. I can always teach her what she needs to know.

'Wow... President Im. You better stay on my good side. From a mere detective to... how high are you planning to climb?'

Not to toot my own horn, but...

I think I'm a pretty damn good master.