I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 421
"Ah..."
I really went and said it.
But shouldn’t she have at least given me a heads-up before saying it out loud...?
Now I’ve got no idea how I’m supposed to react.
“...?”
Well, their reaction wasn’t anything special.
Go Hayoung just rolled her eyes and looked at me and Grandpa while sipping her water, but she didn’t really seem surprised.
Same with the others.
Go Min-young and Go Minji already knew about RK-99, so of course they reacted that way, but even Go Hayoung, Go Hayan, Go Seona, and Go Seonyul looked completely calm.
Slurp.
Clink.
Go Hayoung finished her water.
“Dad must really be struggling lately. He’s even showing signs of delirium.”
“What’d you just say, brat?”
“If you’re having a hard time, you could’ve just said so.”
“Chief Jeong, cancel today’s schedule.”
She didn’t believe a single word Grandpa said.
Go Hayoung was treating him like a patient, and Go Seona gave orders to Chief Jeong, standing beside Grandpa.
“What the hell do you kids think you’re doing right now?!”
“Dad, if we don’t treat this early, it turns into dementia. We have to fix it as soon as possible.”
Grandpa slammed the table with a thud!
It wasn’t that hard of a hit, but it made the dishes rattle and ring out with a noise that was honestly annoying.
“You’re telling me I’m spouting nonsense right now?!”
“Ugh! What’s with you all of a sudden? It really must be delirium. Or is it dementia already?”
“His symptoms are pretty severe.”
“The hell did you just say?!”
Grandpa let out a hollow laugh like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing—but he really couldn’t blame them.
RK-99, a room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductor—who the hell would believe that? Let alone the idea that I’m the one who developed it?
If someone instantly believed it, that person’s brain would have to be wired wrong.
“Muyeol developed a room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductor! Is that so damn hard to understand?”
“Chief Jeong, I think my dad’s starting to confuse dreams with reality. Were there any warning signs or anything?”
Chief Jeong gave an awkward smile.
“The Chairman is in perfect condition.”
“? That can’t be right. The guy’s saying stuff that makes no sense.”
“The Chairman is telling the absolute truth.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Hah...”
Go Hayoung let out a breath and shook her head.
“Chief Jeong’s not young anymore either, huh? Unni, say something, will you? Dad’s spouting crazy nonsense. This is serious. If this gets out of hand, we could all take the fall for it.”
Go Min-young didn’t answer. Instead, she looked straight at Go Hayoung and gave her a faint smile.
Almost like she was scoffing at her? That kind of look.
Go Hayoung frowned slightly at that, and Grandpa stepped in to answer instead.
“This girl still doesn’t believe me. Do I look like the kind of man who goes around making dumb jokes?”
“What is going on?! Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?!”
She still didn’t believe it.
But Go Seona... she was starting to catch on. Starting to realize RK-99 was real.
Her expression subtly changed.
“...Is it true?”
“You’ve really been living your whole life getting duped, huh?”
When Grandpa answered, she scrunched her face and shot me a look like she was about to stab me with her eyes.
I reflexively averted my gaze.
Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I’ve looked at Go Seona’s face head-on.
‘Damn... she really is pretty. Just like a true Go.’
That signature apathy and blank expression layered over it gives off a weird synergy.
Isn’t this what they call a "cool beauty"? That’s what it feels like.
‘Someday, even that face...!’
She was born a Go. That means she’s my wife too.
In the end, she’s going to end up panting beneath me!
“It’s true. Muyeol developed the room-temp, ambient-pressure superconductor, RK-99, and we’ve been manufacturing it in our Militaris division for months now.”
“...”
“...”
“Since it was such a sensitive issue, we didn’t even tell Father at the time. That’s also why we postponed the corporate audit.”
“...”
“...”
“But Father, why would you just blurt this out like that?”
“What, you thought I’d keep it secret forever?”
“You could’ve at least told us first. That was a shock.”
“And you. You were trying to keep it from me and got caught, and you’ve got the nerve to say that?”
“That was for confidentiality reasons.”
“Excuses.”
While Go Min-young and Grandpa were going back and forth, shock finally began to ripple out across the dinner table.
From the way things were going, there was no denying it anymore.
The birth of a room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductor!
“It’s... really real? A room-temperature superconductor??”
“Even theoretically, it’s still under debate whether it’s possible or not—and you’re saying it’s already been developed?”
The short question came from Go Hayoung, and the longer one from Go Seona.
Both of them were staring straight at me.
Not just them.
Their daughters too—Go Hayan and Go Seonyul. They didn’t dare speak casually given their position in the family, but they were clearly just as shocked.
“Isn’t this... some kind of misunderstanding? It doesn’t make sense. How could superconductivity persist at room temperature and pressure?”
“We’ve already run all the tests. You think I wouldn’t verify it?”
“I mean, even so...”
As expected.
It’s not something easy to believe.
Everyone who knows about RK-99 went through the same process.
They all start out reacting like they misheard. Then they deny it. Then they laugh it off like a joke. And finally, they end up shaking their heads in disbelief—mouths agape like they’re about to swallow a whole fly.
But the undeniable truth is: RK-99 is real.
“Min-young’s running experiments on it now. There are just too many possible applications, so I’ve been scrambling too. You all just keep it in mind—and if you see something it could be used for, speak up right away. And Hayoung, you—”
Grandpa began issuing instructions.
He practically drowned Go Hayoung and Go Seona in orders as he painted a grand vision for how RK-99 would reshape the future of the Group.
“Ugh, I have such a headache right now. That was way too much. A room-temp superconductor actually exists? And Muyeol developed it? That’s just absurd. Muyeol is... well, whatever.”
Excuse me?
What’s with that ellipsis?
“...It’s more accurate to say I discovered it rather than developed it. It was a fluke for me too.”
“That sounds more like it.”
“Yes.”
Go Hayoung let out a long sigh.
Then suddenly, her eyes snapped open.
“Hold on... you said it’s been in production at Militaris for months now, right?”
“Technically, the raw material—the paste—is produced at Muyeol Chemicals. Militaris completes the process by heating it.”
“I don’t even know how that base material is made. Only Muyeol knows.”
“Anyway. That means unni knew in advance. And Muyeol, you kept this huge secret from me for a long~ time?”
“Uh...”
W-well, that’s technically true...
But looking at me like that with a smile is honestly terrifying.
I’d really rather not see the Vice President’s eyes like that...
“So ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ what, he should’ve just run to tell you right away? Maybe you should try knowing your place for once.”
Go Min-young decided to provoke her.
“...What did you just say, unni?”
“If it’s a room-temp superconductor, then of course it falls under our Militaris division. You’ve got nothing to do with that, have you? And it’s not like we can just hand over something this important to someone unrelated. You understand that much, don’t you? You are the Vice President, after all.”
“...”
She wasn’t wrong.
Even though they’re both Vice Presidents, Go Hayoung is in charge of finance. RK-99 isn’t in her jurisdiction.
“Muyeol simply did what was necessary.”
“...”
An absolutely irrefutable argument.
Go Hayoung knows it too. She just doesn’t like it.
She’s pissed that Min-young knew something she didn’t—especially since it involves me.
She’s probably feeling hurt that I didn’t tell her, either.
“Would you two stop fighting already?! For God’s sake, you’re both Vice Presidents and you’re always going at each other in front of the kids! What the hell do you think your children are learning from you?! You should be uniting and putting your heads together to lead this damn company—not snarling at each other every chance you get!”
“You’re the one who told us to compete to the death!”
“And you dare talk back to me now?!”
The shouting match between Grandpa and Go Hayoung erupted.
It was the kind of fight that felt like it would rupture eardrums—neither one backing down.
But just like always, Grandpa was the first to yield.
Looking like he’d aged five years in the span of a few minutes, he slumped in his seat and let out a deep sigh.
He looked like he’d just run a marathon.
“There’s no point in having daughters! All they ever do is talk back. Goddamn...”
“Whatever. I still don’t believe it. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
“Same.”
Go Hayoung and Go Seona stood up.
With fire in their eyes, they marched out after getting directions from Chief Jeong—and dragged all of us along to go see RK-99.
“Clicking their tongues... Is this how Vice Presidents are supposed to act, not believing anything?”
“You’re the one who always said to doubt everything. Why are you being so contradictory, Dad?”
“Ugh~. I raised my kids all wrong. All they ever do is argue.”
While Grandpa grumbled, we finally arrived at the place where RK-99 was kept.
Though the way he hyped it up made it sound grand, it was really just a room.
A pretty big room, to be fair—done up with decor reminiscent of a museum that might house ancient relics.
At its center stood a large glass case.
Inside, floating in midair, was a stone-like lump.
RK-99. The room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor.
“Wow... it’s real...”
“It’s actually... a superconductor...”
As everyone murmured in awe, Chief Jeong pressed a button, lowering the glass around the containment pod.
Then he picked up RK-99 with his bare hands.
“As you can see, since it’s stable at room temperature, there’s no issue touching it with bare hands.”
“!”
“And when I put it back down...”
RK-99 floated above a magnet.
“It retains its properties. It’s undeniably a superconductor.”
“What’s the principle behind it?? How the hell does it work???”
“We’re still analyzing it. But no one’s figured it out. All anyone’s doing is throwing out speculative theories.”
“If we opened up Muyeol’s brain, wouldn’t we find out? I mean, he’s the one who made it.”
...Excuse me?
What the hell did you just say, Ms. Go Seona???
