Chemistry

3. Old steel(6)

The color drained from Joo Hana’s face as she looked at the screen. She turned her serious gaze towards Yoon Jaegil and asked, “Could it be that the color looks different due to a simple spoofing?”

Yoon Jaegil was also paying attention and immediately responded, “It’s impossible for bolts used for this kind of bridge to have their surfaces peeled off due to external corrosion. And we did apply coating materials during the construction this year.”

“Right. So that means….”

Joo Hana and Yoon Jaegil spoke almost simultaneously.

“There might be a problem with the bolt manufacturing process….”

“It was because defective bolts with different levels of iron content were mixed in from the beginning.”

Joo Hana began typing on the keyboard to find the company that supplied the bolts, while Yoon Jaegil immediately picked up his phone and called the head of the railway construction technology department.

Watching the two busy individuals, Song Boyeong tapped Jeong-woo’s shoulder.

“Mr. Parachute.”

“What?”

“Have you found the cause?”

“I found it in the morning. And those two are now convinced.”

“Well, congratulations. Pat yourself on the back.”

Jeong-woo smiled contentedly, thinking that all he had to do now was calculate the consulting fee.

Song Boyeong, who had become very quiet since getting on the bus, stood quietly next to Jeong-woo and watched Joo Hana and Yoon Jaegil work.

Has it been about five minutes?

Jeong-woo, who had been waiting patiently, asked Song Boyeong.

“Senior, what do you usually do at the research institute?”

“Just this and that.”

“What do you mean by this and that?”

“I surprise the team leaders with innovative ideas at weekly meetings and work on various projects like a chief research scientist… Oh, if you’re curious, why don’t you share one secret too, Mr. Parachute?”

“I won’t ask.”

“But you’ve heard everything already!”

At that moment, Yoon Jaegil, who was on the phone, suddenly raised his voice.

“A press conference?”

Yoon Jaegil, who had a surprised look on his face, whispered into his phone, holding it with both hands.

“I’m trying to find the cause and analyze it. To conduct a full inspection, we need at least a week for the results. It’s impossible right now…”

Yoon Jaegil turned to Jeong-woo, who was standing still, and said,

“…Please wait. Mr. Han Jeong-woo, can you identify any problematic bolts on the site right away?”

“Probably.”

“How long will it take?”

“Just walking past it shouldn’t take more than 30 or 40 minutes.”

The movement of Joo Ha-na, who had been typing, froze. Someone was expecting a week and making hasty plans, but it was only 30 minutes. Yoon Jaegil also suppressed a groan and spoke into his phone.

“I’ll go there. I’ll see you at the entrance, sir.”

Yoon Jaegil, who ended the call, looked at Jeong-woo.

“Mr. Han Jeong-woo, could you accompany me to Yongsan Station?”

Jeong-woo turned to Song Boyeong. Boyeong realized that the situation had become even more serious with the mention of a press conference, and swallowed hard.

“It’s okay. I already reported it to Jeong-yeon.”

When Boyeong gave her approval, Jeong-woo asked Yoon Jaegil.

“But isn’t finding the problematic bolt irrelevant to the consulting work?”

“If the job is successful, I’ll give you 10% from the Total Care Team’s operating expenses.”

From consulting fees to operating expenses, negotiations are essential in any deal.

“A little more than that… it’s cold outside. We might catch a cold walking along the Han River with the cold wind blowing.”

“15%. This is the best we can offer for external contracts.”

It was hard to tell how much it was, but it seemed reasonable. Jeong-woo nodded. Since Boyeong was present, it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask “Exactly how much more are you going to give me?”

“Let’s go.”

“When you get to Yongsan Station, you’ll be guided by the KORAIL inspection team to enter the Han River Railway Bridge right away. There might be cable journalists out there, so they might ask for an interview.”

“An interview?”

At the main entrance of Yongsan Station, several reporters were standing in front of a makeshift podium installed above the stairs. The fact that cable broadcasting vehicles were parked there suggested that the accident was significant enough to make the news, even if it wasn’t breaking news.

As Jeong-woo looked out the window, he was startled by Song Boyeong’s sudden exclamation as she came up behind him.

“Wow, this is real. Mr. Parachute will be on TV. Even the seniors from the Research Room 1 haven’t been on TV yet.”

Jeong-woo tensed slightly as he asked Song Boyeong, who had been looking outside with him, “We shouldn’t do anything to harm KG Chemical’s image, right?”

“Of course not. Dr. Cheon has been on TV several times, and he was really impressive, you know? Just be confident and talk to the reporters!”

“Be confident?”

Here too, I am compared to Cheon Seung-guk.

“Jeong-woo, let’s get off.”

At the sound of Yoon Jaegil’s voice, Jeong-woo approached the bus door.

As soon as he got off, the officials who had gathered around them approached. He recognized some of them from the seminar, such as the city hall officials and railway employees.

Yoon Jaegil looked at Yang Gi-cheol with a disappointed expression. “Director Yang, we’re managing several bridges that are causing us losses, and now you’re putting pressure on us like this?”

“Well, the mayor is interested, so we couldn’t help it. Especially since it’s his first year in office, he’s sensitive to every accident. And I heard from the head office that you found a solution?”

“It’s not my doing. Here. It’s thanks to this guy.”

Yang Gi-cheol looked at Jeong-woo. He was surprised to realize that this was the same young man who had insulted Yoon Jaegil during the seminar.

“You’re Han Jeon-gwoo, from KG Chemical?”

“Yes.”

“Please take care of this for us.”

Yang Gi-cheol took Jeong-woo’s hand in both of his and shook it politely. Then he turned to the other officials and said, “If the operation of the Hangang Iron Bridge is suspended, public transportation in Seoul will be paralyzed. Please inspect it thoroughly to prevent another accident like today.”

It was a heavy burden for Yang Gi-cheol to ask this, but he had no choice.

After talking with the railway company’s director Kim, Song Boyeong approached Jeong-woo with a sparkling, expectant expression.

Jeong-woo scratched his chin nervously, thinking, ‘I’m a little intimidated. Did I do this for no reason?’

Sitting in research lab 1, Oh Seung-ju’s eyes widened as he listened to Gong Chae-bae’s story.

“Han River Bridge?”

“Yes, I heard he’s going to help with that problem.”

Coincidentally, related news was being broadcast on a flat-screen TV on one side, breaking news.

“Turn up the volume a bit!”

《News Channel JVN》

“Today, just before the weekend, two incidents of structure collapse occurred on the Han River Bridge. Although there were no casualties, there were subway delays in the morning, and in the afternoon, two cars were damaged while trying to avoid falling debris on Gangbyeonbuk-ro.”

As the anchor spoke, an interview with one of the victims appeared on the screen.

-After the subway passed, something suddenly fell in front of my car. I was startled and turned the steering wheel.

“Let’s connect with our reporter on the scene for more details. This is Reporter Son Seung-ho.”

[Yes, this is Son Seung-ho. I’m here at the site where the safety management team of Eugene Chemical, which has been delegated the maintenance work on the Han River Bridge from Korail and Seoul City, is stationed. Eugene Chemical is known to be managing a total of 20 bridges nationwide, including this one…]

As soon as Yu Jin Chemical was mentioned, other researchers also showed interest and gathered in front of the TV.

“That bridge repair was a major project. Was it Total Care?”

“Yes. The team leader there is quite famous. Even though she could have gone to the Chemical Research Institute, she chose Yu Jin Chemical.”

“Is it your junior colleague, Joo Hana? She’s a total drama queen.”

“But she was popular in college because she’s pretty.”

Osungju turned her head towards the noisy people.

“Can you guys be quiet? Our colleagues might be there.”

“What? Why would our colleagues be there?”

At that moment, a slender woman appeared on the screen.

“It’s Joo Hana.”

[The interview with the relevant personnel has started. Let’s listen to the live broadcast.]

-First of all, we apologize to the drivers who suffered from the unfortunate accident. In addition to the efforts of the local authorities and the railway company, Yujin Chemical will also compensate sincerely, and we plan to start inspections quickly to prevent such accidents from happening again.

[Citizens have great concerns about inadequate safety inspections. What measures do you have in place?]

-Fortunately, we expect that swift action can be taken with the help of experts.

[Who is the expert?]

-Let’s meet him in person. Mr. Han Jeong-woo.

-What? Me? Oh, okay. Can I speak into this microphone? Hello, I am Han Jeong-woo from KG Chemical.

“Hey, isn’t he our intern? We saw him at the weekly meeting.”

“Look, isn’t Boyeong also there?”

“What are they doing there?”

-The inspection process is simple. It’s just corrosion that occurred only in a specific rainwater collector, so you can tell right away after seeing it once.

[Is it true that Mr. Han Jeong-woo can find the places that even Yujin Chemical couldn’t find in their two-month thorough inspection?]

-Well, honestly, I’m not so sure about it myself.

[Are you saying that such accidents will happen again?]

-I’m confident that I can’t find them.

At that moment, the faces of all the researchers in Research Room 1 froze.