Chemistry

3. Old steel(5)

After walking out in front of the Seosomun Government Complex, Yun Jaegil gave a detailed account of the accident he just heard from his secretary.

Jeong-woo was surprised to hear that the rain collector he saw in the morning had fallen down.

“Can you come with me? I have something urgent to ask.”

Jeong-woo looked embarrassed.

“Well…”

Looking at Song Boyeong and Bae Ki-tae, who were curious about what they were talking about from a distance, Jeong-woo shook his head.

“It’s still working hours, and I’m on a business trip.”

“If it hinders your work, we’ll compensate you accordingly. Our research center vehicle will arrive soon.”

He couldn’t help but be suspicious of those words.

“Compensation?”

“We’ll pay you the equivalent of a research consulting fee. Since we have a good relationship with the director of KG Chemical, we can get your understanding.”

The fact that someone who seemed so strict suddenly changed his attitude meant that the situation of this accident was serious.

Jeong-woo didn’t know exactly what “research consulting” meant, but he thought he could help for a while and earn some money like a part-time job.

‘My wallet is not exactly overflowing. But wait, how much do they pay for consulting fees?’

After getting permission from Yun Jaegil, Jeong-woo walked towards Song Boyeong. With a curious expression, Song Boyeong asked him right away.

“What did you talk about?”

“He asked me for help.”

“Now? What is it?”

“He seems to want advice from me about an accident that happened on the Han River Bridge.”

Bae Ki-tae, who was listening from the side, had to doubt his ears.

“You? Jeong-woo?”

The fact that a key employee of Yujin Chemical was asking for advice from an intern at KG Chemical was a big deal.

Upon seeing Yoon Jaegil standing still on one side, Bae Ki-tae lost his words. But seeing how serious Jeong-woo’s expression was, Bae Ki-tae felt chills down his spine.

Jeong-woo asked Song Boyeong, “How long do we have to stay until we can go back?”

“Until before the end of work.”

“Can we accept? I told Yoon Jaegil that we would let him know. We’ll have a car too.”

“Of course, we have to. The Han River Bridge is an important facility for KG Chemicals as well. If we want to smoothly continue with the railway construction and next year’s business, we should help with related issues in good faith.”

At the same time, Song Boyeong stuck close to Jeong-woo.

“And I have to stay close to escort Mr. Parachute, right?”

“It’s okay. I’m not a three-year-old child.”

“Oh, you’ve only been here for five days. Seniors should take care of their interns.”

Jeong-woo laughed at Song Boyeong’s subtle desire to follow him, pretending to be considerate.

“Since when have you been taking care of me like this? Why didn’t I know anything about it?”

Song Boyeong poked his side and whispered, “Stop talking and let’s go.” She seemed embarrassed.

Meanwhile, a large white bus equipped with communication equipment arrived in front of the Seosomun Court. It looked like a special purpose vehicle even at first glance.

Bae Ki-tae’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that the Yujin Chemical Mobile Research Center? Looks like things went well.”

Since it was not common to see advanced equipment from other companies, Bae Ki-tae approached Jeong-woo and said, “Jeong-woo, is there any space in that car by any chance…?”

When Yoon Jaegil shouted, “Let’s go!” in front of the bus, Jeong-woo didn’t even listen to Bae Ki-tae’s words and ran towards the bus.

“Ah, Bae Ki-tae.”

Song Boyeong called Bae Ki-tae, “You go first and tell Senior Oh that the seminar went well. I’ll come back later and tell her the details.”

“Shouldn’t I also come with you, senior?”

“Mr. Parachute, let’s go together!” She followed Jeong-woo without waiting for a response, and Bae Ki-tae’s shoulders slumped.

Chi-iik –

The door of the large bus opened and Yoon Jaegil, who had gotten on first, beckoned Jeong-woo, and Song Boyeong.

“Come in.”

Jeong-woo couldn’t help but admire the special equipment vehicle where even the external door was sealed off.

‘Wow, there’s even a car like this in the world.’

The inside was filled with experimental equipment and machinery, creating an atmosphere of a makeshift research lab. Jeong-woo walked inside the bus, admiring the expensive equipment tightly arranged all around. Then, his eyes met with a woman in her mid-thirties who was already standing in her place.

“Hello.”

He reflexively greeted her, but her returning gaze was chilly.

“Who are these outsiders, Director?”

“Oh, team leader. They are the people who will help us deal with this accident. They’re from KG Chemicals.”

“KG Chemicals?”

The woman looked surprised as she looked at Yoon Jaegil. Her gaze conveyed that she couldn’t understand why rival company employees were here, especially when the incident was severe enough to cause serious damage to Yujin Chemical’s reputation.

“Mr. Han Jeong-woo. This is Joo Hana, the team leader of Yujin Chemical’s Total Care.”

Even Song Boyeong, who was standing behind Jeong-woo, nodded her head, but Joo Hana seemed to be listening while also turning her gaze to the monitor.

“Team Leader, since you’re busy, shall I pulling up the data for the Han River Bridge?”

The results of the safety inspection of the Han River Bridge conducted in October last year appeared on the monitor. Joo Hana raised the structure near the accident site taken with X-rays.

“At around 1:40 pm this afternoon, a rainwater collector whose bolt had loosened fell toward Gangbyeon North Road. The length is about 10 meters, and it seems that the loosened bolt could not withstand the weight, causing it to come off.”

Yoon Jaegil, who was examining the results of the metal fatigue and durability tests, looked at Jeong-woo.

“Is this the place you discovered this morning?”

“I’m not sure. Are there any ordinary photos available? Preferably ones that are clear.”

Jeong-woo asked, and Joo Hana turned her head.

“You can see something with the naked eye?”

“I think I would know if I saw it.”

Joo Hana looked at Yoon Jaegil with an expression that questioned who he was.

“Trust me. He’s not an ordinary guy.”

Finally, a high-resolution picture appeared on the screen.

Jeong-woo watched the screen and nodded as he discovered a bolt amidst the rampant free electrons.

“Right here. I’m not sure when this photo was taken, but the corrosion seems to be less progressed than in the morning.”

“Corrosion? The rain gutter fell off because it couldn’t withstand the shock accompanying the increase in railroad logistics.”

“Is that so? It wasn’t like that in this photo, but the bolt was quite damaged.”

“Hey, take a look at the durability test data.”

Seeing Joo Hana’s sharp gaze, Jeong-woo thought it was not necessary to fight and took a step back.

“Are you a bridge expert?”

“Just as you see. And what about you?”

“Well, I can’t really say I’m an expert.”

Joo Hana had an air of not believing anything he said. Yoon Jaegil, who was standing silently, seemed to be urging Joo Hana to be persuaded, but he didn’t say anything.

‘As expected. Chemical communication is the biggest problem in times like this.’

Jeong-woo glanced briefly at Yoon Jaegil and recalled what had been effective in the seminar. He was gaining a little more confidence now.

‘Let me give it a try.’

Thinly opening his eyes, Jeong-woo scanned the face of Joo Hana. He could see traces of typical makeup ingredients, food, bread crumbs, and coffee. And a peculiar molecular structure that she discovered, it was someone’s saliva.

“It seems like you like kisses.”

“What did you say?”

In Jeong-woo’s eyes, a cute molecule with legs and a tail like a cat appeared. Watching the creature lick its front paws, Jeong-woo spoke.

“Your mouth and cheeks are covered in cat saliva.”

Joo Hana’s complexion changed as she covered her cheeks with her hands. But then she remembered that the man couldn’t have known about her kissing Kiki, Toto, and Bubi just before leaving for work.

“Don’t hit other people’s affairs like that.”

Joo Hana’s gaze sharpened since the man who claimed that there was a hole in their total care system made this guess.

“It seems like there are two of them. The enzyme, lysozyme, is subtly different between the two. One of them shows more active behavior. Is their personality also like that?”

“That’s…”

Joo Hana looked at Jeong-woo with a gaze that said, “How on earth?”

“Chemical inference. Something like that.”

As Joo Hana seemed to acknowledge this endless inference, Yoon Jae-kil smirked. Suddenly, he wondered if there was any chemist who could resist Jeong-woo’s brilliant chemical knowledge.

“Team Leader Joo, living alone, huh?”

Yoon Jae-kil looked at Joo Hana as if pitying a 33-year-old spinster who kisses her cat every day.

“Don’t misunderstand, Center Director.”

“No misunderstanding. It’s just unexpected that Team Leader Joo has a cat.”

Joo Hana sighed. She had only been living like this because she loved her job more than meeting men, but she felt unfairly defensive and wanted to keep justifying herself.

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

“Oh, sorry, sorry.”

Joo Hana’s face turned red as she felt embarrassed about her personal preference that she didn’t want to reveal in front of her boss. She looked at Jeong-woo and asked, “How could you tell?”

“I don’t think there’s a need to tell the rival company’s team leader about my own chemical expertise. Let’s go back to talking about that bridge…”

Taking advantage of Joo Hana’s brief distraction, Jeong-woo quickly spoke up, “It’s not that the research data from Yujin Chemical is wrong. There is a plausible explanation for the phenomenon that has already occurred.”

Jeong-woo filtered his chemical knowledge that came to mind and expressed his opinion in a language suitable for this world rather than intuitive logic through eyes that peer into the molecular world.

“Just because you use good ingredients doesn’t guarantee that you will make delicious food. The timing of processing and cooking the ingredients varies from person to person, so you can’t necessarily say that the data or chemical formulas are a perfect structure. Wait a minute, can I have the mouse?”

Jeong-woo took the mouse from Joo Hana and began to freely examine the screen.

“As far as I saw this morning, there are significant differences in the metal materials of some bolts and rainwater gutters. Bolts with a high potential difference and bolts without. Of course, the side with the larger bolts will corrode more.”

The bolts looked the same on the surface.

“There may be variations that even ordinary people can easily find… “

Jeong-woo scanned the picture for a while and then flicked his finger. After enlarging a certain part as much as possible, he pointed to it with his mouse pointer.

“This is the chemical reaction I detected. Not all bolts have the same metal composition.”

Two bolts with slightly different colors appeared on the screen.

“See?”