Chemistry - Chapter 81

11. Spring Countryside Chronicles(5)

After 15 minutes, Jeong-woo, who had almost climbed up the hill path, looked back toward the village entrance, catching his breath.

In the distance, he could see Song Boyeong and the laborers each taking care of their respective fields, engaging in soil collection work.

‘It seems like everything is going smoothly. I should also check on that black goat.’

If Song Boyeong happened to be nearby, he needed to give her a warning.

Jeong-woo checked his phone’s battery. It was about half full as he had been using it continuously. By now, he had become quite accustomed to pulling in sound waves through the phone’s energy.

He sprayed water on a handkerchief and wrapped the phone in it. This was much more durable and stable than just holding it with wet hands.

Consciously focusing on the sound, Jeong-woo looked around, and soon, the undulations of sound waves started to appear in his sight.

Transparent waves that floated through the air like water ripples.

He reached out to pull the ones that seemed to be animal sounds.

‘Where are you?’

Sound waves appeared in the field beyond the mountain ridge. This was the same sound he had heard earlier.

‘It should be safe for now.’

As Jeong-woo walked casually to Grandma Go Jin-sim’s house located a short distance away, he stopped in his tracks by a sudden thought.

If he concentrated on the sound waves, he could see them. He had been training this ability for a while now and had gained some control. It had been a coincidence earlier, but he had been able to pick out specific areas of waves to observe.

‘If this works like sound waves, can I consciously see this too?’

Contemplating what he should focus on, Jeong-woo began to think about things related to heat.

There was no response in his field of vision. Then, his thoughts went even further and recalled Song Boyeong’s figure, which had made him excited.

“Wow.”

The area of visible light distorted and shifted into the infrared range.

“It worked, but…”

Jeong-woo realized that the key to control was something different, ‘getting excited while thinking about Song Boyeong’s figure.’

Though he wasn’t being watched by anyone, he started looking around cautiously.

‘Can I utilize this by overlapping it with the battery’s energy?’

Earlier, he had observed waves in the near-infrared range, but now, he could distinguish a wider spectrum.

Jeong-woo concentrated on dust particles within the phone’s battery.

Unlike the sound waves he had been drawn to, the external dust particles all quivered and added heat to his hand.

‘Is it resonating along the infrared wavelength?’

As he waved his hand forward, the waves shot out accordingly. The heat intensified.

Jeong-woo stopped, realizing that if he continued, his phone, with just about a year left on its payment, might explode.

‘In any case, this is fascinating.’

The newly acquired ability of ‘AF-5’ seemed limitless, the more he learned.

‘This isn’t the way.’

Jeong-woo opened his phone’s notepad. Just like he had recorded the effects of ‘AF-12’, he also documented this one. He summarized the ability separately to make it as uncomplicated as possible.

「AF-12」

Molecular vision accompanied by chemical intuition.

Influence on free electrons.

Molecular transformation in the isomeric structure.

「AF-5」

Listening and transmission of sound waves within a radius of approximately 1 km.

Infrared detection and resonance.

After organizing it this way, it felt more like creating a walking human laboratory than just creating superpowers with a drug.

‘It’s not even Yujin Chemical’s Mobile Research Lab.’

Jeong-woo put his phone away, closed his eyes, and tilted his head. Perhaps because his nerves were in a stable state, his infrared vision subsided as quickly as his soundwave vision.

A little later, Jeong-woo stood in front of the small gate at Grandma Go Jin-sim’s house, about to knock, when he listened to the conversation coming from inside.

-Grandma, they say it’s a real mess because of Hong-chil. I wonder why the village head sent us.

Since the gate was low, the interior was fully visible.

Grandma, who was surrounded by two men, had fine skin and a slightly grayish head of hair.

Jeong-woo observed Grandma Go Jin-sim, who seemed to have been quite charming in her youth, and realized why Choi Soon-jae was attracted to her.

-Shouldn’t we tie him firmly to a post and raise it?

Go Jin-sim said to the men.

-If he’s tied up, he gets excited and run away. But he always comes back after that.

-The county governor is coming today. The village chief said we might have to call in a specialist to catch him.

-A specialist?

To Go Jin-sim’s surprised reaction, another man chuckled and muttered.

-Always being a headache, if you just catch him and feed him some alcohol…

The man coughed violently and shut his mouth when Go Jin-sim gave him a fierce look.

-In any case, we need to catch him. Do you know where he is?

-I don’t, must be somewhere in the mountains.

-You want us to search the whole mountain?

Jeong-woo pushed the already open gate and entered the small yard.

“Excuse me.”

The gazes of the three people turned to Jeong-woo. He lowered his head, trying to look as sincere and wholesome as possible.

“I came from KG Chemical.”

Seeing Jeong-woo speak, one of the men approached Go Jin-sim as if coaxing.

“We won’t eat him. We’ll just put him on a leash and keep it for half a day.”

“He’s supposed to be in the mountains.”

“Grandma!”

“I don’t know more than that!”

When Go Jin-sim turned around abruptly, the two men went outside, sticking their tongues out.

Because the two burly men had come through the narrow gate, Jeong-woo stepped aside for the moment.

“Just try catching him. My goat has sturdy legs.”

“Ah, if you mess with that granny, we’re all in trouble. Don’t you know the temperament of Mr. Choi?”

The two men conversed as they walked down the hill. Meanwhile, Go Jin-sim held a basin and headed toward the back door.

Jeong-woo quickly followed Go Jin-sim through the back door. Outside, there was a small vegetable garden surrounded by a fence and a livestock pen.

“Hello.”

He greeted, but Go Jin-sim looked at Jeong-woo with a ‘Who are you?’ expression without responding.

“I’m from KG Chemical.”

“KG Chemical? You’ve come from Seoul, it seems.”

Go Jin-sim walked towards the chicken coop, gathering a bunch of grass and placing it in a container. Jeong-woo cautiously opened his mouth while following Go Jin-sim.

“We are from the village, and we’re planning to supply fertilizer because this village has been selected as an agricultural pilot area.”

“With dung piles scattered all over the neighborhood, what kind of fertilizer is this?”

“It’s much more effective than manure. It can be used even on barren land that can’t grow crops. The vegetables from this vegetable garden will also grow very well.”

Go Jin-sim, seemingly disinterested, stacked the grass high for the rabbits, watered the vegetable garden, and continued her work.

‘I won’t get anywhere by explaining the chemical principles. How should I ask for her help?’

As Jeong-woo pondered, he saw the escaped black goat and asked out of curiosity.

“Grandma, it’s about Hong-chil. Why is he acting like that? I almost got attacked by him earlier.”

“He gets angry easily. He’s fierce-tempered, so he runs around all day.”

Go Jin-sim also seemed unsure of the cause. Jeong-woo scanned the goat closely with molecular vision and saw not only the goat’s fur but also pieces of stiff hair from a boar.

While following the traces of the boar with his gaze, Jeong-woo discovered that the ground had caved in near the fence surrounding the pen.

“Grandma, it looks like a boar came here.”

“A boar?”

“Hong-chil has been chasing a boar.”

Upon Jeong-woo’s words, Go Jin-sim’s face showed a slight hint of surprise.

“That’s not good. No matter how small it is, boars are dangerous.”

“Oh, it’s just a baby boar.”

“The mother boar is a problem. This is the breeding season, so they have a fierce temperament.”

Go Jin-sim suddenly took out a bag from a broken barrel next to the pen with an orange band.

With the bag full of grass like a backpack, she turned her head toward the mountains.

“Are you going to the mountains?”

“I have to bring him back before he gets in trouble with the boar. Hong-chil loves this, so if I throw it, he’ll come back.”

“Hong-chil is not in the mountains. He’s in the field over there.”

While Jeong-woo was talking about the information he had confirmed through soundwaves.

“Shall I bring him?”

“You, young man?”

“If he goes to another place in the field, we’ll have to look for him again.”

Jeong-woo showed Go Jin-sim a confident smile, even though she looked unimpressed.

“I have a very keen sense of smell. My hearing is also quite good.”

Jeong-woo glanced at the window of Grandma Go Jin-sim’s house as he spoke.

“Did you have kimchi stew for lunch? I can smell the oil molecules… No, I mean, I can smell the oil, so I guess you had something similar.”

“Huh? How did you know? Can you really smell it?”

While Go Jin-sim turned her nose towards her house to sniff the smell, Jeong-woo focused on the sounds.

With a still damp handkerchief, Jeong-woo held his phone and collected soundwaves, as he said.

“The laundry is all done. I heard the notification.”

“Is that so?”

Go Jin-sim, who had gone inside to confirm, came back with an amazed expression.

“It’s really done. The laundry is all finished.”

Jeong-woo, standing in the yard, pointed to the bag.

“Does he become gentle if you give him this food?”

“Yes, this is herbal medicine bought from a herbalist.”

Jeong-woo grabbed the strap of the bag and put it on his back like a backpack.

“If I bring Hong-chil back, will you use our company’s fertilizer on this vegetable garden?”

“Is it really that effective?”

“It’s fantastic.”

“In that case, it doesn’t matter.”

“Thank you, Grandma. And…”

Jeong-woo spoke of his purpose for coming here in a cautious tone.

“Can you make one phone call to Mr. Choi Soon-jae later? That you’ve decided to use our fertilizer.”

“Choi Soon-jae? Of course.”

Go Jin-sim nodded willingly.

‘Good.’

Leaving Grandma’s house, Jeong-woo walked down the lower path, using molecular vision to trace the black goat’s footsteps.

Due to the windy terrain, there were almost no traces of fur left.

He had to rely on soundwaves alone.

‘Come here, Hong-chil. There’s food you like.’

Holding the phone aloft and turning it like an antenna in various directions for about 20 minutes, he couldn’t locate the sound of the goat. His battery was down to just 5%.

“Ah, this is not good.”

Jeong-woo had no choice but to walk back down to the base camp with the van.

Various measuring instruments, resembling electronic thermometers, were lined up on a table, and a soil sample was placed on it. Five interns gathered around Song Boyeong, who was conducting the basic soil contamination experiments.

Jeong-woo spoke up to them, so engrossed in their work that they didn’t notice his approach.

“Is everything going well?”

At the sound of his voice, Song Boyeong turned her head.

“You’re here? Once this is done, we’ll be moving. And what about you, Mr. Jeong-woo?”

“It’s still in progress.”

Jeong-woo pointed to the bag he was carrying.

“What’s that?”

“It’s food for Hong-chil.”

“Food?”

Jeong-woo briefly explained his conversation with Go Jin-sim and asked.

“Seniors, do you have a spare battery or something?”

“We don’t…”

Before Song Boyeong could shake her head, Jin Mi-so hand suddenly raised.

“I have one, senior!”

“Oh. Can you lend it to me today?”

“Of course.”

Jin Mi-so retrieved her bag from the car, and along with the spare battery, she took out a canned coffee and offered it to Jeong-woo.

“I brought it on the way.”

“Thanks for the coffee, but I’m on caffeine restriction.”

After taking the battery, Jeong-woo smiled and approached Song Boyeong.

“If you happen to see the black goat while moving to the next location, please let me know.”

Upon hearing this, Song Boyeong quickly approached Jeong-woo and whispered in his ear.

“I haven’t told the interns about the embarrassing incident. Don’t even mention it as a joke.”

Jeong-woo nodded in agreement.

“What about us getting engaged today?”

“You’re crazy. I… I…”

“I?”

With her cheeks turning bright red, Song Boyeong hurriedly pushed Jeong-woo to find Hong-chil.

Jin Mi-so, who was holding a canned coffee, watched their behavior, and her face became gloomy.

‘Around here.’

After 30 minutes of searching, Jeong-woo finally arrived at a field with a small stream where a bit of water flowed. Far from the cement-paved road where cars were passing by, this place was an area filled with paddy fields, and there wasn’t a single sign of people around.

〈Hong-chil!〉

The call for the black goat turned into gentle sound waves, spreading across the field.

“You have to be careful. The villagers might catch you, break your legs, or…well, they might even take better care of you.”

From a blind spot near the stream, a dark figure jumped up.

“Surprise!”

It was Hong-chil. The black goat, with eyes as big as buttons, scrutinized Jeong-woo and seemed ready to charge at any moment.

“Stop!”

Jeong-woo reached out behind his back and grabbed a tuft of grass.

“Do you know what this is? You have to know. I’ve been dealing with this for an hour because of you.”

With a hopeful expression, he put the grass down on the ground. With no place to escape and a gravel field, Jeong-woo retreated, step by step.

The black goat let out a “baa” and began to approach the grass rather than Jeong-woo.

‘It works.’

The goat put the grass in his mouth and started chewing it.

The eyes of the black goat that ate the grass in an instant turned towards Jeong-woo.

“Good boy. If you follow me, I’ll give you more.”

Setting down the grass once more, the angry gleam in the goat’s eyes gradually faded.

Safely on his way to Go Jin-sim’s grandmother’s house, Jeong-woo walked with a sense of relief.

They crossed the field and moved on to the hillside road for about 15 minutes.

The black goat now only stared at Jeong-woo’s backside, following him.

Jeong-woo took a break and picked some grass, offering it to the goat.

The goat extended its tongue to grab the grass in Jeong-woo’s hand. Jeong-woo gently petted its head. No response, it continued chewing on the grass.

“Looking at it this way, it seems gentle, right? It was probably chasing out the wild boar. Its intentions are good, but it can’t control its anger.”

Thanks to the hot-tempered black goat, it was a day full of new experiences.

“Granny was really worried. If you run off again, take a phone with you. There’s nothing as frustrating as not being able to contact each other. Have you gotten married? I almost did today. If my wife finds out I can’t even hold hands with someone for ten months, what would she say?”

As they continued walking together, Jeong-woo had the leisure to make jokes.

Climbing the hill, panting, Jeong-woo surveyed his surroundings and tried to find out where the KG Chemical team was working. Their minivan was parked near the edge of the hill, right in front of the paddy fields.

“Oh, now that I think about it, I haven’t had lunch.”

While feeding the goat some grass from behind, Jeong-woo, who was giving it the grass again, clicked his tongue.

“Is it that delicious?”

Engaging in conversation driven by hunger, Jeong-woo was surprised when the black goat suddenly raised its head.

“What’s wrong? I didn’t steal it from you.”

The goat made a cute yet sharp “baa” sound. With its gaze turning aggressive again, Jeong-woo took a step back, feeling flustered.

The goat’s gaze was directed towards the hillside, so Jeong-woo also looked in that direction.

And there, he spotted a wild boar coming down the hillside, not dog-sized but as big as a cow.

“Huh?”

Nearby, there was a KG Chemical van.

Startled, Jeong-woo continued to walk while intermittently pressing the number of Boyeong’s phone. The call was going through, but there was no answer.

“Did you leave it in the car?”

The warning of Go Jin-sim’s grandmother about the mature wild boar being extremely dangerous came to Jeong-woo’s mind. He desperately considered his options.

‘That’s right.’

Holding the backup battery in his hand, he focused on the sound.

〈Senior!〉

His voice extending through his mouth, he swung his hand as if brushing off the dust particles that had gathered. The sound waves extended in Boyeong’s direction.

-Senior.

Boyeong, who was pouring soil into a cylinder with a pickaxe to a depth of 30 cm, raised her head in response to Jeong-woo’s voice coming from somewhere.

“Yes?”

-Senior, can you hear me?

Boyeong was startled and stood up.

“Mr. Jeong-woo, what kind of joke is this?”

-It seems like you can hear me from your reaction. I can’t hear what you’re saying right now. Could you turn your head and look towards the hillside leading to Mrs. Go Jin-sim’s house?

Boyeong, who had been looking around, turned her gaze to the distant hillside.

Jeong-woo, standing beside the black goat with his hand raised, looked tiny from this distance.

“Oh, how…?”

-I’m just curious if you can hear me. Do you see a special loudspeaker in my hand?

“Mr. Jeong-woo, your face is not very visible from here.”

-Oh, that’s not important. Look in the 11 o’clock direction.

Boyeong turned her head.

-Do you see the big wild boar over there?

“Um… yes.”

-Quietly call the new recruits and have them get on the van. Then call 119.

Seeing a single-story boar nearby, Boyeong dropped the pickaxe she was holding on the ground.

-Senior, don’t panic. Hong-chil has experience fighting boars.

“I, I…”

-Baa!

-Ouch. Hong-chil, he’s not after you. Stay still.

“My legs won’t move.”

Boyeong cursed the situation that had led to this bizarre day.

-If you keep standing like that, I’ll announce to the new recruits in the opposite field that we got engaged today. Come to think of it, I know Jin Mi-so’s number.

“Don’t do that!”

-Looks like you have some strength left. Let’s go quickly!

Seeing Boyeong start moving, Jeong-woo breathed a sigh of relief. However, the crisis was not over, so he remained cautious about the wild boar.

The black goat, which had been sniffing the earth and paying no attention to anything else, suddenly turned its gaze towards Jin Mi-so, who was running and screaming.

“Oh, no.”

With the animal looking like it might charge at any moment, Jeong-woo closed his eyes and concentrated, desperately recalling an image of Boyeong’s body.

His vision transformed into a world filled with heat, extending from the far-infrared to the near-infrared range. He pushed his nerves to expand, trespassing into different wavelengths.

‘I’m in no position to choose between cold and hot food.’

He hastily sprinkled bottled water on the auxiliary battery and gripped it in his hand. Concentrating his dust stars intensely, he promoted a quicker response and extended his sight to focus on the distant boar.

His heightened dust star wavelength, in resonance, intensely beamed out, like aiming a laser pointer, making it easy to target in a straight line.

When the vibrating dust star wavelength reached the boar’s hindquarters, the heat intensified, like focusing the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass.

Sizzling, the boar’s fur caught fire, and the creature, startled, jerked its body away.

‘Alright, focus on me instead. I have a hot-blooded black goat bodyguard with me.’

A few moments later, the new recruits had successfully boarded the van.

‘Phew.’

Jeong-woo, who had been concentrating the dust star on the boar, felt the auxiliary battery he was holding ignite and let out a groan as he dropped it.

“Ouch.”

His palm was slightly burnt, and he blew on it. Just as he was doing so, his phone rang. Because of his infrared vision, he couldn’t see the caller’s name clearly, so he quickly pressed the answer button.

“Hello.”

-Jeong-woo.

It was Soo-chan’s voice.

-Haven’t you seen the group chat? We’re discussing when and where to meet up…

“I’m busy.”

He immediately pressed the end call button, and then his phone rang again.

“Hey, I said I’m busy!”

-We’ve all boarded. Fortunately, the boar went in a different direction.

“Oh, senior. That’s right. I can still see it from here.”

Thanks to his infrared vision, he could detect the massive heat source even though it had disappeared behind the trees.

-Without your warning, we would have been in big trouble.

“What can I say? Senior’s body was doing all the hard work.”

-Excuse me?

“Did you report it to 119?”

-Yes, I did. They said they’d respond quickly since it’s a frequently visited area.

“But seriously, when do we get to have lunch? I have no energy to move right now.”

-You’re thinking about food at a time like this?

After ending the call, Jeong-woo slumped down.

Hong-chil took this opportunity to put his head into the backpack and start tasting the grass inside.

“Do you like it?”

Maa~