I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 346
Leaving behind all the attendants who had arrived with us on the AV, I descended into the facility with Baekseol alone.
Everything was automated, which gave the factory an eerily surreal atmosphere.
There wasn’t a single person in sight, yet the sounds of machines working echoed endlessly, and somewhere in the distance, the conveyor belts kept rustling along.
You could almost call it... creepy.
It really made me realize how much a human presence changes everything.
“The liquefaction of RK-99 is currently in experimental stages, but it keeps failing.”
“Is it that difficult?”
“Liquefying it while maintaining superconductivity isn’t inherently hard. The issue is temperature.”
I listened to Baekseol’s report while watching the RK-99 emerge from the automated furnace, glowing hot as it rose onto the conveyor.
Though she’s always close to me, the Pyongyang Megafactory my grandfather handed down can be remotely operated as long as I hold the authority. Which means conducting experiments on liquid RK-99 is entirely feasible.
This is also part of maintaining security.
It’s not like I’m constantly holed up at Muyeol Land estate—I can’t just run sensitive experiments there. Who knows what could happen and when?
So it’s only logical to carry out the work at the factory where RK-99 is produced anyway.
“For practical use, its melting point needs to be at least 50 degrees. And even that’s quite high—we’d ideally want it to be around 10 degrees, considering room temperature.”
“Think it’s doable?”
“Honestly... I haven’t the slightest clue.”
“Hmm.”
“The fact that mixing copper, sulfur, and lead results in a superconductor hasn’t even been scientifically explained yet. And now we’re trying to tweak the recipe to keep it liquid at room temperature and preserve its superconductivity...”
Even I had to admit—it sounded like a stretch.
If there were a recipe somewhere in the RK-series, maybe. But I’ve checked everything from RK-11 to RK-99, and nothing like that exists.
But I can’t give up.
According to Min-young, a liquid, room-temperature superconductive material would be an entirely different kind of revolution compared to conventional room-temp/pressure superconductors.
And despite this being a game universe, it still follows a decent amount of physical laws.
But it also has its fair share of cheat-like loopholes.
That’s why even after being heated and melted, RK-99 retains its superconductivity without a single flicker.
So wouldn’t it make sense that there might exist some specific state or alternate recipe of RK-99 that allows it to remain liquid and superconductive below 50°C?
I believe there is.
A room-temp, room-pressure liquid superconductor...!
“Even if we don’t see any obvious success, it’s worth trying. Keep experimenting—change the material composition, firing temps, ratios. Try increasing the density too.”
“Understood.”
“You still have the recipes I gave you, right? From 11 through 99. Use every material listed in all of them.”
“Yes.”
Baekseol gave a small nod.
We’re already importing every material listed in the RK-11 to RK-99 recipes—plus extras—for the sake of discretion. And the experiments pretty much run themselves with a simple change to the machine settings.
Still, managing all this remotely can’t be easy.
It would be wise to bring in additional trustworthy personnel soon.
“Once I form my own knight order, I’ll bolster your team. We’ll need security here anyway.”
That day wasn’t too far off.
“A knight order... come to think of it, you said thirteen more would be joining in July, right?”
“Yeah. Technically July to August.”
“I see...”
Baekseol lowered her head slightly.
She looked... maybe dejected? Or perhaps disappointed?
“What, don’t like the idea of me getting more knights?”
“N-no, not at all.”
“Or... is it jealousy?”
“That’s not...”
Her cheeks flushed red.
It was such a rare expression that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘She’s like an older sister jealous of a new baby sibling.’
You know, when someone grows up soaking up all the parents’ love, and then a younger sibling is born and starts getting all the attention.
Baekseol had been my first and only personal knight. But with Eunhwa’s arrival, that number became two. And in a few more months, it’d be up by another thirteen.
That makes a full-fledged personal knight order.
Naturally, that changes the weight of things compared to when she was the only one...
“J-jealous of my lord... that’s unthinkable. I merely...”
“Merely?”
“Just... I...”
She avoided my gaze.
As a knight, she couldn’t bring herself to lie, but it embarrassed her too much to tell the truth.
Something like that.
Even after spending all this time with me, there were still plenty of parts of her she hadn’t fully opened up.
And I liked that about her.
That balance of pride and modesty, seriousness and shyness—that’s what made Baekseol so endearing.
Her strength, too.
“Baekseol.”
“Y-yes?”
“Even if I gain more knights, your worth won’t change.”
“!”
I pulled her into a gentle embrace.
Her soft body melted against mine, and her familiar scent instantly filled my senses.
“M-my lord...!”
“People never forget their firsts. You’re my first knight, my first exclusive retainer, and the first person I entrusted everything to. No amount of new knights could ever change that.”
Watching her dazed expression, I leaned in and pressed my lips to her forehead.
She moaned softly—“Mmh”—and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.
‘...Damn, she’s strong.’
It kind of hurt, but hey—call it an expression of affection.
“Still feeling insecure...? Want to confirm it here, right now? Just how much I favor you?”
“My lord...”
As the mood shifted, Baekseol was the first to kiss me.
With the distant hum of machines echoing softly in the background, I savored every bit of her warmth.
++++
— I see. It’s unfortunate you haven’t found anything yet.
— But it’s too early to be disappointed.
— It’s only been a few days.
— And the fact that we’re even getting results with just vitamins is already absurd.
After sharing a passionate moment with Baekseol, I took a walk around the factory and contacted Go Min-young.
She’s the one with the most vested interest in the liquid superconductor—more than me, honestly—so I figured she ought to be updated.
For the record, “vitamin” is a codeword.
We couldn’t exactly refer to RK-99 or superconductors over comms, so we had no choice but to mask the terms.
Naturally, anything related to "liquid" was also reported using coded language.
— I’m planning to start mixing various recipes.
— And once we bring in additional personnel around July or August,
— I’ll increase the effort.
— Alright.
— Keep at it.
We continued chatting after that.
Talks turned to my position on the Militaris board, some shareholding issues, and even my recent appointment as director at Koryo Credit.
— I’m sure you’ve made a sound judgment, Muyeol,
— but that woman is vile and underhanded by nature.
— You need to be careful around her,
— understand?
— Around that bitch—no, that woman—
— always mind your words.
— R-right...
Seems like she hates Go Hayoung even more than I expected.
Honestly, if Grandpa weren’t around, this so-called harmonious family might’ve already imploded and gone full-on chaebol drama mode—straight out of a TV show.
‘That’d be fucked, huh? Absolutely cannot let that happen.’
I want every Go woman.
To do that, keeping the family harmony intact is non-negotiable.
And there’s no way I can manage that on my own anytime soon. Which means: Grandpa needs to stay alive.
Please live a long, long life, Grandpa.
Your grandson is praying for your eternal health.
Play Go for the rest of your life, please.
I beg you...!!
— Still, the fact that it’s Koryo Credit you’re directing does bother me.
— If it were the holding company’s financial board,
— I’d understand.
— But Koryo Credit?
— Tsk tsk.
— Actually...
— I was offered the branch director position at the Incheon office.
— ...
— Really?
— A branch director?
— Yes.
— They said Incheon would be ideal to trial a new financial credit framework.
— Of course.
— That woman wouldn’t make such a generous offer
— without an ulterior motive.
— She’s clearly scheming something.
— That’s the only reason she’s clinging to you.
Uh...
Aren’t you kind of doing the same thing, though?
— But if you were offered a branch director role,
— why did you settle for being a director?
— I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) felt it was too much,
— so I turned it down.
— I see...
— You haven’t changed.
— Huh?
— You’re the kind of person
— who doesn’t like things handed to you,
— and I love that about you.
...Excuse me?
Who doesn’t like what now??
— That’s how people should be.
— To grow, one must feel the pain of effort,
— the thrill of achievement, 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
— the dizzying joy of overcoming walls.
— If all you do is take what’s given,
— how are you any different from some larval bottom-feeder?
— R-right...
— That’s what I like about you, Muyeol.
— You steer clear of handouts
— and value your own accomplishments.
— That’s so admirable. ♥
No, fuck's sake...
When is that goddamn image going to disappear!?
I like handouts, okay?!
But I can’t just come out and say it, can I?
— I-I see...?
— Still, don’t you think maybe...
— I’m a bit too rigid sometimes?
— Shouldn’t I at least make use of what’s available...
— as a person?
— Not at all.
— I like seeing you work hard.
— The way you stubbornly push forward...
— Watching you struggle all alone is kind of adorable.
— And it makes me proud.
— Ah...
