I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 385

"Ugh, this damn mouth of mine!"

No matter how important a woman's virginity might be, how could I ask about that in front of my grandfather?

“....”

“....”

“....”

“....”

Grandfather said nothing.

He just stared at me with that hopeless look in his eyes.

"Yeah. That’s the Go Muyeol I know. I was wondering when you'd start spouting nonsense."

“....”

I mean, well—virginity is important, right? For all kinds of reasons.

Like if you have a child and it turns out it’s someone else’s, or if she’s already got a history—those kinds of things would be a huge problem.

It’s not for any other reason. Really.

“Ahem... America—did something bad happen over there? All at once like this?”

I tried to gloss over it and change the subject, but Grandfather let out a heavy sigh and answered.

“That place is always in a Cold War state. They never went full-scale war, but there must’ve been a lot of conflict in the split. Still, probably better than Europe where they were literally pointing guns at each other. But those bastards aren’t exactly pushovers either.”

“Then... this latest marriage proposal—?”

“Probably trying to expand their influence somehow and gain the upper hand. That’s the play.”

“...Then if I were to marry into one of those families and get deeply involved, and something happened in their home country, would you actively step in to help them?”

“That would depend on the situation, wouldn’t it? Sure, we control Asia—but the world doesn’t end at Asia.”

As of last year, Asia’s total output was roughly 80 quadrillion won.

And the total global output sat at about 120 quadrillion won.

There are areas with unclear data, so the actual figure might even exceed 130 quadrillion.

In other words, even outside Asia, there’s still an economic bloc worth 40 to 50 quadrillion.

Roughly three “Americas” account for around 28 quadrillion, two “European Unions” for 7 quadrillion, and the remaining 5 or so is split among the rest of the planet.

So even though the Koryo Group has carved out Asia as its territory and holds the largest economic power in the world, there’s still plenty of ground left to conquer.

“Eventually... we’ll need to expand too. Satisfaction leads to stagnation. If there’s a chance to get involved, take it. And if there’s not, we make one.”

“So... when would that be?”

“Who knows. Min-young said she was thinking 20 to 30 years from now... but thanks to that weird thing you built, we might have to push the schedule way forward.”

“Huh.”

Twenty to thirty years from now?

So we’re talking 2100?

Goddamn.

At least thanks to RK-99, it’s been bumped up considerably.

‘That whole grand plan or whatever... it really might’ve been about world domination, huh.’

Not that they’re going to start an actual world war to conquer the globe physically—but more like threatening the entire world with overwhelming military force and extorting tribute.

Wasn’t that what happened with former Shanghai Economic Alliance Prime Minister Li Wei?

He arbitrarily held a Sino-Unity Summit, started shouting “One China,” and got absolutely wrecked for it.

Thanks to him, the 20 Chinese States are now forced to pay tribute—sorry, “reparations”—every year, and the economic dependency got way worse.

Honestly, they’ve probably lost any realistic hope of independence for the next hundred years.

Even if I don’t know the full details, I’d guess that’s how we’re going to swallow them—one by one.

“Well, even so, Asia will always be the priority. There was a time when the center of the world shifted west—but that’s long gone. From now on, and forever, the center of the world is Asia.”

“I think so too.”

“Secure Asia thoroughly first. Then aim for the next step. You know this? Our plans for Asia... are still just beginning.”

“Still just the beginning?”

But haven’t we already pretty much devoured everything?

What do you mean just beginning?

“We talk about being dominant and all, but in the end, we’re still just a company. There’s no telling when hegemony will swing back to the nation-state.”

“But wouldn’t that be difficult? I mean, just look at how many knights we have—we’re already overwhelming.”

“That kind of overconfidence leads to slow, piece-by-piece defeats... until one day, everything’s flipped. When you crush something, you crush it completely. Kill the sprouts. In Go, when you have momentum, you take control or risk losing it all. Just lurking in the shadows doesn’t give us full influence.”

“Wait... you’re saying go out in the open?”

“You’re already doing it. I was going to do it someday anyway. We’re just too big. And with that in ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) mind, what you did in Incheon was a major achievement.”

“Ah... thank you.”

So the final objective for Korea—and all of Asia—is to swallow everything clean, just like Incheon.

Ditch the whole democratic façade and reveal ourselves as a full-on corporate state? Or maybe he’s thinking of making himself president, or even king?

No, he said he’d retire and become a national Go champion.

‘Whatever it is, there’s no doubt it’s some enormous plan I couldn’t even handle right now.’

“Your Incheon? The whole world’s watching that. Especially those aligned with us... they’re watching with bated breath. You’ve set a major precedent.”

“!”

What the hell.

When did I become a model chaebol?

“Wrap up Incheon well. For now, don’t focus on external expansion—prioritize solidifying our internal structure. Once that’s in place, the next path will show itself.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Good. Take that with you, look it over—and make sure you attend the Victory Day ceremony.”

“Yes.”

With that, Grandfather dismissed me.

+++

Since I was already in Pyongyang, I decided to take a proper break.

I dropped my luggage off in my room at the Sun Palace and collapsed onto the bed.

“Haaah...”

I’d probably still end up handling emergency reports or doing some things remotely, but even so—it’s something.

Just being away from the battlefield can bring more peace than you’d expect.

“It’s true. Every leading family from each America has sent in a marriage proposal.”

“...Do they really want to marry off their granddaughters to me?”

“They wouldn’t oppose it if it were possible. But I think it’s more about appearances. Victory Day is coming up—our group’s biggest holiday—and they’re trying to create a reason to get close to you and the owner family.”

“Yeah, I guess if a prominent local family submits a marriage proposal, Grandfather would at least take a look. Meet with them. Talk.”

Then if things line up, he might really marry me off and forge a blood tie.

Who wouldn’t want to be bound by blood to Koryo Group, which holds Asia in its grip?

‘The problem is... Grandfather’s extremely sensitive about blood purity...’

Even if it’s a blood tie, a child born from such a marriage would likely be classified as a collateral branch.

At least in Grandfather’s eyes.

Would he really give the OK knowing that?

‘No idea. Guess I’ll find out when I meet them.’

“Hey, pull up the videos.”

“Yes.”

Seunghee projected three videos into the air.

They were from the three most promising candidates, handpicked from the flood of marriage proposals.

Their social media posts were pretty impressive.

— Zzzing.

And just then, a call came in.

— Go Min-young.

“...Oh.”

Go Min-young.

My first Go woman.

Hmm.

She probably called out of concern, right?

“Yes, Min-young.”

— Oh, you picked up? Is it over already?

“You didn’t know?”

— I had a hunch. Thought maybe if I called and the phone rang, that old man would finally stop tearing into you.

“Haha...”

As if Grandfather would let up just because of a phone call.

Still, Min-young must’ve been desperate.

Which means she really was worried about me.

— Well, I’m glad it ended quickly.

“Did yours not end quickly?”

She let out a deep sigh.

— Ugh. That old fart just wouldn't shut up. Like he couldn’t hide it even if he tried. It’s not like I was going to keep it a secret forever, but he just had to flap his gums like a damn pelican—

She clearly had a lot of complaints.

Still, from the way she’s grumbling, it probably wasn’t that serious.

Probably the same kind of emotional disappointment he threw at me.

— Anyway. I decided to go ahead and accept the audit. No reason to refuse at this point. Of course, I bumped the clearance level way up. No way I’m letting everyone in the group find out.

“So... what now? Are they all going to find out about RK-99?”

— At least the Vice Presidents will, yeah.

Vice Presidents, meaning...

Go Hayoung and Go Seonyul are going to find out.

‘Go Hayoung’s gonna have something to say about it. Like, “You couldn’t have just told me directly?”’

Too many women. It’s getting exhausting.

— Muyeol, you okay? That old man, he knows how to worm his way into your head. And he does it on purpose. Totally knows what he’s doing.

“I’m fine. Actually... he seemed more upset than anything. That I kept it from him.”

— What’s he got to be upset about? He dumped his only grandson with a mere hundred billion and kicked you out. If he wants to be treated like a grandfather, he better act like one.

“Haha... Well, he did give me shares this time. Prestige shares.”

— Oh? How much?

“One percent.”

— One percent? That’s the same as what Minji got. I thought you'd get more since you’ve got shares from the others, too.

“Apparently he was going to give me seven percent. Three from Dad, three from Mom, and one from himself.”

— Then why just one?

“...Said it was punishment for being insolent.”

— Ha!

Go Min-young laughed like she couldn’t believe it.

And yeah.

It really is unbelievable.

But what can you do...

— That old bastard, seriously.

“Anyway, it wasn’t that bad. I think he was more hurt than mad. That I kept it from him too.”

— As if he ever stops to think about how he makes others feel.

“...”

Wait, hold on.

Is it really okay to talk to Grandfather this casually?

Is it because they’re not just Chairman and Vice Chair, but father and daughter too?

— Well, still. I’m glad it wasn’t worse than that.

“Oh, and—one of the marriage proposals...”

— What? Marriage proposal?

Suddenly, Go Min-young’s voice turned cold.