Chemistry - Chapter 83

12. Dust Defenders(1)

“Women’s issue?”

Dr. Moon raised an eyebrow. Jeong-woo, who had been lying on a makeshift bed for an electrocardiogram, gave him a sheepish look and added.

“It happened before I heard an explanation about the mutant gene. It was a very personal matter that I didn’t think to talk about it.”

“Why do you feel the need to say it now?”

“Partly to keep my peace of mind. If there’s a problem, I’ll feel even more sorry for her.”

Dr. Moon, scrutinizing Jeong-woo and asked.

“Do you need medical advice or relationship advice?”

“If you can provide both, I’d appreciate it.”

“For one, you should see a psychiatrist. Describe the situation.”

Jeong-woo rambled about the incident involving Yoon Yi-seol and their lips touching.

“What do you think?”

Dr. Moon shifted her gaze to the ECG screen’s contraction curve and then turned her head.

“You were blindsided with your eyes closed, and it was a moment without any previous signs. I don’t really know. It seems both consultations should be with a psychiatrist.”

“Still, it happened.”

“I can’t tell just by your words. Bring her in. Let’s examine her.”

“What should I say? My genes are a bit peculiar, and you’re inhaling… Oh, that’ll get me slapped.”

“Handle that part yourself as the party involved.”

With her calm demeanor, Jeong-woo fell into deep contemplation.

Dr. Moon turned off the ECG monitor and said.

“Next, to the MRI room.”

Jeong-woo sat up, and as Dr. Moon removed the sensors from his body, she asked casually,

“It was inevitable what happened. Will you continue to stir up such ‘women’s issues’ in the future?”

“I don’t know. I’ll just remain still, and if the situation doesn’t help, there’s not much I can do.”

“If you keep your composure, there’s no reason to be shaken. Mr. Jeong-woo, are you a playboy?”

Jeong-woo widened his eyes and shook his head.

“What kind of unfounded misunderstanding is this? If I had to put a label on it, I’d say I’m a lifelong soloist. Between making a living and dating… Well, that’s the usual excuse soloists use, but that’s the truth.”

Dr. Moon stood up from her seat and calmly said without any change in expression.

“If you’re a lifelong soloist, it’s even more dangerous. When a woman just smiles at you, you might think she’s interested.”

At this remark, Jeong-woo chuckled and continued to stare at Dr. Moon silently.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m testing if you seem to like me right now.”

“That’s not what I meant. You can easily be swayed by small gestures of kindness. Well, never mind.”

“Even playboys get swayed, right?”

“That’s their own choice to be swayed. This is being passively swayed…”

As Dr. Moon spoke, she seemed to have an expression of not knowing why she was analyzing like this. Jeong-woo quietly said.

“I think Dr. Moon is similar to me in some ways. Let’s stop with this constructive conversation about the mechanisms of singles. We’ll just end up hurting each other.”

“What? Single?”

“Aren’t you?”

In response to Jeong-woo’s question, Dr. Moon coolly shut up and walked away.

Monday morning.

Jeong-woo stepped outside his house on his way to work and was surprised to see the heavily foggy sky.

“Is it going to rain?”

Perhaps due to a week of clear skies, he found himself looking forward to it. Come to think of it, the only time he had encountered rain this year was in distant Europe.

As he left his front gate, he saw his neighbor up ahead sweeping the road with a broom, holding an umbrella.

“Good morning.”

Just before the rain, Jeong-woo, who had been inhaling the fresh, damp air, turned to the neighbor, noticing he was wearing a mask.

“Have you caught a cold?”

“Didn’t you see the news? There’s a lot of fine dust today.”

Jeong-woo, who had been stretching his arms and taking a deep breath, immediately halted his breath. He realized that the sky, covered in mist, was not just fog but also likely contained dust. He coughed and forcefully exhaled the breath he had taken in.

“Is all that haze in the sky dust?”

“There’s probably yellow dust as well. You should wear a mask too. They say it’s going to last all week.”

“Wow, really? This early in the morning.”

Jeong-woo waved to his neighbor and then headed to the subway station. On the way, he stopped at a convenience store near the station to buy a mask.

It was a day with a new center assignment, and Jeong-woo’s heart burned with anticipation as he entered Research Lab 1.

As soon as he took his seat, he opened his laptop to check his work email. There was one message waiting for him today.

‘It’s from Director Cha.’

Cha Jin-seong from the Fragrance Center had been regularly sending updates on the trends of deodorant products that Jeong-woo had helped with.

Upon reading the message, Jeong-woo learned that Chaffrin was performing quite well.

They had promoted the product extensively due to their confidence in its performance, and there were positive predictions about the market share of deodorants, which, if approved at today’s meeting, would lead to them potentially sharing the monopoly position with a competing product called “DeZone Air.”

‘Oh, am I getting a bonus?’

The news that his wallet would swell by the end of the year lifted his spirits, which had been dampened by the morning’s dust. As Jeong-woo continued to read, his gaze stopped at the last paragraph, making him raise an eyebrow in surprise.

[…I heard from Manager Yoon and watched the rumored video. Chaffrin’s viral marketing seems to be quite effective. We’re planning to maintain this concept in the official commercial. If it’s approved in today’s meeting, we’re considering having you appear in it, Jeong-woo…]

He reread the message, wondering what it meant.

The deodorant in the video “Fragrance Neutral Zone” on the Chemistry Channel had a label that read “Modified Chaffrin 1st Sample.” It seemed that Manager Yoon Hyeong-seok had seen this video.

It wasn’t intentional, but the message implied that this video was helping with the product advertisement.

“So, are they asking me to shoot a similar commercial? Me?”

Jeong-woo was completely perplexed because he had no idea what this meant. He wanted to ask a big star who had filmed numerous commercials, but there was still no response to the message he had sent last week. It seemed like that person was really angry.

Thud.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Shim Junghee entered. She passed by Jeong-woo and said.

“Your assignment…”

“Yes, it’s today.”

“Where you’re go this time, will you be back at the end of March? Should we submit your project proposals for April then?”

“Please put it on hold for now. I might not make it by the end of the month.”

Knowing that she was aware of the situation that had led him to work for an extra month, Shim Junghee smiled faintly and took her seat.

“You’re quite popular.”

More senior colleagues started coming in and filling the seats. Eventually, Song Boyeong entered carrying a large box. It was so bulky that Jeong-woo got up to help her.

Jeong-woo, after placing the box on the desk, asked.

“What’s this?”

“These are samples for a project study.”

Jeong-woo attempted to open the top of the box but hesitated when Song Boyeong extended her hand to stop him.

“Why?”

“These are women’s exclusive samples, with high-absorption polymers.”

Jeong-woo suddenly had a thought.

“High-absorption? SAP, you mean? Are these by any chance… sanitary pads?”

Song Boyeong’s hand blocked Jeong-woo’s mouth this time.

“Be careful with your words. It’s a sensitive issue. Senior Seung-ju doesn’t even know that these samples were made.”

With his mouth covered, Jeong-woo nodded. He didn’t understand how they were planning to test polymer-embedded sanitary pads, but it seemed like they intended to make some progress in the project by trimming down its scope.

Jeong-woo held Song Boyeong’s hand gently to remove it and said.

“But, Senior, you shouldn’t touch my mouth carelessly.”

“Why? Does touching your lips wear them out or something?”

“This is a sensitive issue. You could get hurt doing that, Senior.”

“Touching your lips could hurt me…”

As Song Boyeong was talking, she inspected Jeong-woo’s lips, imagining how hard she would have to rub them to get hurt. Song Boyeong blushed, her face turning red from her neck to her ears.

“It’s not an adult-only matter, really.”

“Why are you saying that?”

“Senior’s face is really red.”

“Funny.”

Ignoring Jeong-woo’s suspicious gaze, Song Boyeong, who had turned away, stashed the box under the desk and got lost in thought for a while.

A while later.

Oh Seung-ju entered, and the briefing began.

As the usual instructions were being given, Oh Seung-ju held a document indicating Jeong-woo’s new assignment.

“The director’s orders have been given.”

Jeong-woo asked, a little nervously.

“Where am I going?”

“Materials Science. Center Director Noh Jong-seon has scheduled a meeting at 10 AM for you. Good luck, Jeong-woo.”

Finally, his second assignment had been decided. Jeong-woo picked up his bag and stood up.

Jeong-woo entered the Material Science Center, located on the fourth floor of the building, contemplating the information he had heard about the center director before his arrival.

Dr. Noh Jong-seon.

He was a former professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Chemistry, with a long history in academia. Five years ago, he was scouted as a senior researcher and steadily climbed the ranks to become the center director.

He preferred practical research over challenging ones, and his reputation within the research institute was neutral.

“Jeong-woo is here.”

“It’s open.”

When Jeong-woo opened the door to the center director’s office, he was somewhat surprised to find a spacious room with a long table instead of the typical guest sofa.

The interior design, combining a meeting room and a personal office, seemed to reflect Noh Jong-seon’s preferences.

“Finally, you’re here.”

A man with the appearance of an academic extended a full smile as he walked towards Jeong-woo.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it has. I’ve been looking forward to your arrival.”

Noh Jong-seon patted Jeong-woo’s shoulder vigorously as he exchanged greetings and pointed to a chair in front of the meeting table.

“Please have a seat. I have someone to introduce to you.”

Noh Jong-seon called out, “Secretary Yu!” The door opened, and the secretary appeared, nodding.

“Bring Team Leader Yoo. Jeong-woo, would you like some coffee?”

“No, water will be fine.”

As Jeong-woo took his seat at the conference table, Noh Jong-seon sat down as well and asked.

“Do you remember what I said during the planning evaluation?”

“The part about aiming for a 100-point project?”

“Yeah, about that. I’ve thought it over carefully since you’re coming. Your secondment period is only a short 3 weeks. Planning to carry out a new project within that time is like aiming for a 50-pointer, or a 30-pointer. I won’t put you to work as recklessly as Dr. Jang Taeseon did.”

As Jeong-woo listened, he felt relieved.

“Take a look at this document.”

A thick folder slid towards Jeong-woo. The thickness alone distinguished it from typical research proposals, making Jeong-woo slightly surprised. When he opened the first page, he found the project title, “Dust Management,” written in both Korean and English. As he flipped through the pages, he saw a summary with both languages present.

“Is this a joint project?”

“That’s right. The client is from China, so there are many researchers from the Beijing office. We are working on a comprehensive air pollution management system.”

Jeong-woo continued to read the document and commented.

“This is an air purification system, using high-efficiency filters similar to the one Yujin Chemicals…”

“Yes, you’re familiar with Total Care, right? Good systems should be benchmarked.”

Noh Jong-seon pointed out a paragraph within the document.

“I can say that the key component is the air purification system. The KG Electronics research team is also involved in the project, and they’re rather intrigued. Apparently, one of the ideas, proposed by Researcher Han Jeong-woo, is unique.”

“Oh?”

“That’s right. You’re already involved here. And as the most important proposer of this research project.”

Knock, knock.

The door opened, and a tall woman entered the room.

『Mei Mei, come over here.』

『You shouldn’t call me that, Professor.』

Watching the two people converse in English, Jeong-woo silently felt relieved that he had overcome his fear of foreign languages.

Noh Jong-seon turned to Jeong-woo.

『This is Liu Mei, the team leader of the Dust Project. You can just call her ‘Team Leader Yu’ or ‘Mei’ in Korean. Mei, this is Han Jeong-woo.』

Mei extended her hand to Jeong-woo.

『Pleased to meet you, Mr. Han Jeong-woo.』

Jeong-woo faced a slender beauty whose height differed from his by only a hand’s breadth. Her figure was Western, but her appearance was pure and soft, reminiscent of an Asian. This model-like woman was now regarding him with a businesslike smile.

『I’m pleased to meet you as well.』

After shaking hands, Jeong-woo and Mei took their seats with Noh Jong-seon in between them.

『Now that the two of you have met, let’s get to the main topic. This project is not only for Korea but also aimed at the Chinese market. However, from what I’ve seen, it’s currently only at an 80-point level. To break into a market where Dusf Corporation has a strong presence, we need a solid 100 points. In that sense…』

Noh Jong-seon looked at Jeong-woo.

『I hope that you can fill in the missing 20 points during your three-week assignment here. Work with Mei for that purpose.』

The task at the Material Science Center had become clear. Jeong-woo nodded in agreement.

『Mei, take him, explain the project’s progress, and make full use of his talents.』

『If he’s as skilled as you say, Professor, that’s what I intend to do. But if he becomes a stumbling block to the project…』

Mei left the rest unspoken, but Jeong-woo understood the meaning clearly.

Noh Jong-seon reassured Mei with a smile, and then he placed his hand on Jeong-woo’s shoulder.

“Even if you say that, I trust KG Electronics’ Air Purification Team. Aren’t you someone the team trusts?”

Listening, it seemed like some Chinese-style calculation.

“Please take good care of Mei. She’s a future candidate for the position of the Center Director for the China Center. I have high expectations as well.”

“Just in case you might have forgotten, I’m still a regular research fellow in my training period.”

“Haha. Jang Center Director bragged about it endlessly. Now it’s my turn to show off a bit, don’t you think?”

After the meeting with the center director, Jeong-woo followed Mei as they began to move towards the research building where the project was underway.

While walking through the hallway, Jeong-woo lost himself in thought.

‘Competing with Dusf Corporation? Didn’t Dr. Cheon say that they are a very financially powerful company? This project seems international in scale, but I can’t quite grasp it.’

Compared to the modest funding for the project conducted by Bae Ki-tae, Cho Sung-hwan, and others at the Fragrance Center, it was on a completely different level.

Failure here could jeopardize the Material Science Center. The burden was substantial, similar to what Jang Tae-seon had imposed on him before.

Ring, ring.

He received a call on his mobile phone and saw that it was Cha Jin-seong.

“Yes, Manager Cha.”

-Jeong-woo, I’m on my way out from a meeting. It’s confirmed.

“What is?”

-The Chaffrin CF.

“Huh? Is that for real?”

Jeong-woo was surprised by Cha Jin-seong’s unexpected news.

“I’m currently on an assignment at the Material Science Center.”

-This time it’s there? I’ll send the request to Director Noh Jong-seon, he’ll probably accept it.

Jeong-woo inquired about the crucial detail.

“What about the appearance fee…”

-It probably won’t be too high since it’s as an employee. But if it sells well due to a good advertising effect, your bonus will increase.

Jeong-woo nodded in relief. He was bewildered by the unexpected opportunity but realized that he needed to focus on the immediate task at hand.

“By the way…”

-Yes?

“Will the offer include my input?”

-Of course. They need to know the concept for the CF, so you’ll be part of the decision-making.

Jungwoo felt relieved. They parted ways awkwardly back then, but he couldn’t refuse this.

‘Let’s get ourselves together. I have another crucial task right now.’

After a nod, Jeong-woo stood in front of a door labeled “Research Building 1.”