I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 160

I spent some time playing around with Dan-tto.

While I had plenty of complicated tasks to juggle—like inspections, drafting plans, and breaking ground on new projects—most of them were already set in motion. My role was largely to provide direction, leaving the execution to my secretaries. This left me with more free time than usual.

After a few days of idling, however, I found myself caught up in a serious dilemma.

Go Minji had been a huge help lately, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over how to properly repay her.

Sure, she said she’d be happy if I just dropped by and hung out, but it’s not that simple, is it? Showing up empty-handed just didn’t sit right with me.

It’s common courtesy to visit someone with gifts in both hands—especially when you owe them so much. I couldn’t imagine showing up without bringing anything.

“Not like I can just give her ‘Eternal Enchantment.’”

That flaming rose I gave Min-young—if I’d been ignorant of its meaning, maybe I could’ve pulled it off. But knowing what it symbolized? Giving the same gift to my cousin felt... wrong.

Even if I was keeping certain options open.

Besides, Min-young and Minji were mother and daughter. If they ever compared notes and realized I’d given them the same gift, it could lead to some awkward conversations.

“I’ve got nothing.”

I even considered weapons.

Since Minji enjoyed hunting humans, I thought something related to that hobby might work.

But then it hit me—she was a senior executive at Militaris, and her mother was the CEO. No matter what kind of weapon I got her, it’d probably be underwhelming.

Sigh. This was tough.

Whether it was Grandpa, Min-young, or Minji, their wealth and power made it impossible to figure out what they actually wanted.

At least the master-crafted Go board I gave Grandpa had been a hit. The rose for Min-young felt slightly off the mark, and I was completely stumped when it came to Minji.

“Ugh... Guess I’ll have to go with that.”

No choice. I’d have to pull out my trump card.

— What’s the matter? Calling so early... If you’re thinking of continuing what we started yesterday—

I called Min-young. Who better to ask about her daughter than her own mother?

For context, what Min-young was referring to as “yesterday” was our increasingly risqué phone sex sessions. Things had escalated to the point where we were watching each other on video calls, touching ourselves as if we were actually together.

The anticipation of meeting her in person was almost unbearable.

“I’m planning to visit Minji’s villa next week.”

— Ah.

“I wanted to bring a gift to thank her for all the help she’s given me, but I don’t really know her preferences. She doesn’t give me much to work with when I ask.”

— So you’re not sure what to get her?

“Exactly.”

— You’re already planning to ‘play’ with her, right? Just have fun together. That should be enough.

“Hmm. Is there really nothing she’s particularly fond of?”

— Hard to say. She’s a bit... eccentric.

“....”

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

Seriously? That’s what her own mom had to say?

— If you really want to impress her, maybe a new warship would do the trick.

“Wait, what? A warship?”

— Yeah. That thing I sent to Namdong... Min-young hasn’t even touched it yet.

“....”

I didn’t even need to ask—there was no way I could afford something that cost trillions.

Sensing my frustration, Min-young burst out laughing over the phone.

— I’m joking. Just show up looking healthy and masculine. That alone should be a gift.

“What’s that supposed to mean...?”

— Heh.

This felt familiar.

When I called Minji about what to get Min-young, I ended up with equally useless advice.

— Don’t overthink it. Minji’s not that complicated. She’s like a loner—just keeping her company will make her happy. She might act prickly, but she’ll appreciate it.

“Got it. Thanks.”

— Oh, and I’m free the second weekend of December—Saturday the 12th and ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Sunday the 13th. If you want to come by Friday night...

“I’ll be there Friday evening.”

— Heh. Good.

The way she said “good” was dripping with seduction.

Shit.

I was hard.

For a moment, I considered calling her back for another round of phone sex, but I clenched my teeth and hung up instead.

She was busy, and I didn’t want to keep using phone sex as an outlet for my frustration.

No matter how I tried to frame it, it was still just masturbation.

With our meeting set, it’d be better to save up my desire and unleash it all at once when we finally saw each other.

Of course, that didn’t mean I’d neglect my hard-on entirely. I called Soo-ah and the other team leaders over for a quick romp.

Their pussies were just as amazing as ever.

“Maybe I should just keep it simple and make her a necklace.”

Even after the hot sex, I kept mulling over Minji’s gift.

I settled on a necklace.

But not just any necklace.

I figured I could use the RK-99 formula to create a special material.

Naturally, I wouldn’t make the actual RK-99—that’d cause chaos. Instead, I’d tweak the recipe to produce something aesthetically pleasing but practically useless.

There were plenty of variants that looked beautiful without any industrial applications.

A necklace made from one of those materials seemed like a safe bet.

Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to start laying the groundwork for the future.

“I’ll just say I got interested in chemistry and decided to make it myself.”

That way, if I ever revealed the true RK-99, it wouldn’t seem out of nowhere.

Room-temperature superconductors were the kind of breakthrough that deserved a Nobel Prize—or, honestly, a whole new award named after me. Even I wouldn’t believe it without some prior hints.

With my excuse ready, the decision was final.

Thinking about it any longer wouldn’t lead to anything better.

“Soo-ah, I need a necklace made for my cousin. I’ll produce the material myself, and I need a jeweler to handle the design.”

— Wait... your cousin? You mean Minji?

“Yeah.”

— A necklace... for your cousin?

“Yeah.”

— ....

Soo-ah tilted her head slightly, clearly unsure about my choice.

I wasn’t completely confident either, but it wasn’t like I had better ideas.

Besides, giving her a ring was out of the question. Even I knew what that would imply.

"Honestly, I’ve always had a bit of an interest in chemistry. I figured I’d try making a few things."

"Ah...."

"Since this will need a lot of power, let’s just convert one of the rooms into a full-fledged chemistry lab. Rip out the wiring and reconfigure everything."

"Understood."

"I’ll give you a list of what I need."

Three days later, Soo-ah delivered everything I had requested.

The room was quickly transformed into a massive lab.

"Damn. Now this is what you call money."

For safety, I suited up in full protective gear—a suit and helmet straight from Militaris headquarters.

I dismissed the other secretaries, keeping only Baek-seol with me.

From now on, only Baek-seol and I would have access to this room.

Technically, the reason was safety, but honestly, it was more about security.

Baek-seol was absolutely loyal to me, but I couldn’t say the same about the others.

Besides, I felt at ease when it was just the two of us.

"Time to give RK-99 a shot."

RK-99—the room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor. Its potential impact was monumental, but the process to create it was deceptively simple. All it took was grinding and heating lead, copper, and sulfur.

The tricky part was timing and temperature.

I knew all the secrets.

I even knew how to tweak the recipe to produce different materials.

But first, RK-99.

I wanted to see a prototype with my own eyes.

"What exactly is this supposed to create...?"

Baek-seol, watching me grind sulfur, copper, and lead in my suit, finally spoke up. Her face said she had no idea what the hell I was doing.

Now that I thought about it, she might actually have some expertise in this field.

Her tech stat was well over 200, so she probably knew more about chemistry than most.

I let the silence linger for a moment before answering.

"This is for your ears only."

"Understood."

"A room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor."

"Excuse me?"

"A material that will change the course of human history."

"Ah... I see."

...The hell?

This bitch doesn’t believe me.

A knight, of all people.

Seriously?

Just wait. I’ll make her eyes pop out of her head.

Beep. Beep-beep.

I placed the sulfur, copper, and lead into the electric furnace, set the temperature, and started the timer.

From here on out, it was a test of patience.

Twelve hours, twenty-four hours—grinding, heating, cooling. Rinse and repeat.

"You’re going to be blown away when you see the results."

"I’m sure I will."

"...."