Chemistry

7. Frozen(9)

Jeong-woo, who was standing in front of a road blocked by a village bus, greeted Miles, as he was approaching during their phone call.

“Captain, what are you doing here?”

“Actually, I’m the one who should be saying that.”

Miles’ mouth dropped open at the sight unfolding on the path Jeong-woo had passed through.

“Oh, what is this?”

A road completely covered in snow. The asphalt, which seemed impossible to see tonight, could be seen in various places.

When Jeong-woo sprayed the de-icing agent but nothing came out, he took off a device from one side of the road.

“Mr. Pil-du.”

“Yes!”

At Jeong-woo’s call, Jeong Pil-du skillfully set down a steel box. The de-icing agent was newly filled into the almost empty tank of the sprayer.

Miles, who had been watching Jeong-woo with the sprayer on his back, burst into a wide smile.

“Han Jeong-woo, you’ve finally made up your mind. Come to the central area. I’ll write you a recommendation letter for the voluntary firefighter.”

“Um, well. Can you see the company logo here?”

Jeong-woo raised his glove, speaking quickly.

“It’s not about firefighting support or anything. We’re testing KG Chemical products.”

Click! Jeong-woo spread the de-icing agent on the road around the village bus, and he nodded in satisfaction as the ice surface quickly melted away.

Miles witnessed the scene of snow melting layer by layer and being destroyed, and was astonished.

“…What is this? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“It’s the power of chemistry. It’s chemistry over there too.”

Jeong-woo laughed and pointed to where Team Leader Park was spraying snow spray on a car without chains.

The liquid poured out like foam and stuck to the wheels.

“What’s that supposed to be?”

“It’s a remarkable product from Yujin Chemical. It’s a compound that enhances adhesion, allowing it to stick firmly to slippery surfaces.”

“Chain spray? I’ve heard of that too. I didn’t use it because it didn’t seem to have much effect.”

Team Leader Park looked at Miles and smiled.

“I thought the same, but this one is different. Do you know the name of this product?”

“What is it?”

“Megaton Snow Chain.”

“That’s quite a name.”

“Director Yoon said it needs to be bold to sell well.”

Miles turned his head and looked at Jeong-woo.

“I’m still more impressed by this than the spray. Jeong-woo, what’s the name of this product? Megaton De-icer?”

“We haven’t decided yet. I just made it.”

“Just now?”

Seeing Miles’ expression of not fully understanding, Jeong-woo felt it was a waste of time to explain in detail and continued walking forward.

“We’re chemists, not firefighters. Captain, once the snow is cleared, all the cars here can move, right?”

“That should be possible. But since we’re not sure, I’ll test it first. My car is conveniently in the front. Pil-du! Do you have a spare radio?”

Jeong Pil-du took out a radio from the bag he was carrying.

“Here it is! The Gotaengil Team is set on channel 4.”

“Okay. Contact me immediately once it’s cleared.”

As Jeong-woo started to clear the snow on the road and move forward, the students from the fire academy followed familiarly and shouted.

“We are conducting de-icing operations! There is an emergency tent 3 kilometers behind us. If you need medical attention, please let us know!”

“Hey, Sangmyeong, shout it out with this.”

Miles tapped a student’s shoulder and handed him the megaphone. Then he stood next to Team Leader Park, who was doing spray work on the village bus.

“Senior, something’s off about that guy.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just look at what he’s doing with the newbies he brought today. They’re doing it without even receiving instructions, but they’re working seamlessly. Like earlier, turning off the fire. Isn’t that the mark of a fire commander sent from the heavens?”

Team Leader Park finished spraying and spoke while following Jeong-woo.

“No, it’s not like that. I’ve seen him working in our mobile research lab. He’s a born chemist. A genius, even. Director Yoon was constantly amazed. He’s the kind of student who never blinks an eye in normal times.”

“Well, I, for one, wasn’t amazed.”

“I can’t tell if you were amazed or angry. You have such a fierce look.”

“And you have such a gentle appearance, senior.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Yes, take care!”

Watching the road being created in the blink of an eye until the rough path, Miles continued to be astonished. It was currently 8:45 PM. He chuckled at the thought that if things went well, he might even have time to have a glass of soju at home before 9 o’clock.

Jeong-woo, while spraying the deicer, noticed Song Boyeong sticking her head out of the window.

Kim Jong-chan and Won Jin-soo in the front seats also waved their hands happily outside the window, interrupting their phone calls.

Jeong-woo, who had walked closer, spoke to Song Boyeong, who was still looking at him.

“Your nose is red, why are you opening the window?”

“You make me keep staring at you.”

“I don’t have such a handsome face that it would make someone stare like that. Could it be?”

Song Boyeong let out a perplexed snort, but her lips curled into a smile at the familiar joke.

“What did you put in that container?”

“Handmade de-icer?”

“No way… Did you make it? Here?”

Song Boyeong’s face became amazed as he nodded his head nonchalantly.

As Jeong-woo melted the snow around Kim Jong-chan’s car, he spoke.

“My mother sprained her leg, so she’s at the hospital. I need to go quickly, so we need to clear the way fast. That’s why we made this. Don’t be too moved.”

“Tch, what’s with the sentimentality? But is your mother seriously injured?”

“I don’t know yet. Stupid Chan is taking her to the biggest hospital, and she’s still waiting there. The emergency room must be quite busy on a day like this, right?”

Nevertheless, since it was the car of someone he knew, he thoroughly sprayed the deicer all the way to the ground.

As he stood up, Jeong-woo found himself face to face with Song Boyeong, who had been sticking her head out as if she were curious, with only a sheet of paper between them.

An awkward second passed.

“Indeed. You’re good-looking, just as I thought.”

“S-Suffering from the c-cold?”

“It’s not about suffering from the heat or the cold. Close the window. I’m going.”

With a splat, as Jeong-woo sprayed the deicer, he gradually disappeared into the distance. Song Boyeong closed the window. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, she glanced at Oh Seung-ju in the adjacent seat and lowered her head in embarrassment.

30 minutes later.

At every 100 meters on the mountain road, a student from the Central Fire Academy stood holding a warning baton.

A SUV with its wheels removed received the signal and slowly ascended the mountain road.

Squelch.

“The first vehicle has departed.”

A response came through the student’s radio from the opposite side of the mountain road.

-Continuously instruct not to exceed 30 kilometers per hour.

“Yes, Captain.”

At 9:20 PM, on the opposite side of the road.

-Second and third vehicles have departed.

“Okay.”

Miles, who had arrived on the opposite side, finished his radio communication and turned his head to Jeong-woo, who was standing next to him.

“Hey, Mr. Jeong, I mean, Jeong-woo.”

“No, thank you. Even if I look like this, I’m the ace of KG Chemical. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Anyway, let’s have a real drink.”

“Well, in that case. Is it something the captain buys?”

With a wink, as if it were obvious, Miles nodded. Jung-woo hesitated and took a step back.

“If you suddenly say that, I’ll be startled.”

“Why? The kids under me like it.”

“If they see the captain’s biceps, they’ll even curse and still like it.”

Miles chuckled at Jeong-woo’s grumbling.

The first SUV passed through the road and descended to the entrance. The window opened, and the driver nodded respectfully to Miles.

“Safe travels. Don’t let your guard down until you reach the main road.”

“Thank you, firefighter.”

“You should thank this guy here. He cleared the way all by himself.”

When Miles pointed at Jeong-woo, the driver greeted him in the same manner. Jeong-woo received the greeting with a cool expression.

Subsequently, the vehicles that had been moving slowly crossed the road and continued to pass through.

“I thought I couldn’t go home today. Thank you!”

“Wow, I saw that snow melting while you were clearing the road.”

“Thank you, firefighter!”

Since Jeong-woo stood out in his noticeable orange firefighter suit, all the subsequent vehicles expressed their gratitude to him.

Not only did they greet him as they passed, but some even handed him snacks and drinks, leaving Jeong-woo with both hands full in no time.

“What should I do with these?”

“For now, put them in the back seat of my car. I’ll deliver them to your house later.”

“Just have them, Chief.”

While Jeong-woo loaded the items into Miles’ parked car on the side of the road and returned, Song Boyeong’s car also arrived.

“Han Jeong-woo! Because of you, I was so surprised today.”

Won Jin-soo, who was in the passenger seat, shouted with a bright laughter.

After parking to the side, Jeong-woo approached to greet them. Oh Seung-ju in the back seat gave him a playful wink, and Song Boyeong smiled brightly when she saw Jeong-woo.

“Oh, Senior Boyeong.”

“Yes?”

Jeong-woo pointed to the hand warmer in Song Boyeong’s hand.

“Can you give me that for just 10 seconds?”

Jeong-woo approached, and Song Boyeong handed him the hand warmer.

“When you shake it with affection like this~”

Jeong-woo pretended to shake it briskly, focusing on creating a reaction. He then handed the hand warmer back to Song Boyeong.

“Oh my.”

Song Boyeong’s eyes widened at the warm and cozy feeling of the hand warmer.

“How did you do it?”

“See you at work.”

After seeing off the senior employees as they boarded their vehicle, Miles approached closely.

“Are you two dating by any chance?”

“No, not at all.”

“Why not? If I were ten years younger, I would have made a move.”

Jeong-woo held his tongue, probably thinking that the other person might run away. It was a sparsely populated road in the middle of nowhere. If something happened here, they wouldn’t even be able to report it.

As they continued to send off cars, Jeong-woo eagerly waited for the KG Chemical bus. Meanwhile, Miles received a call and picked up his phone.

“Oh, Jongseok.”

A smile appeared on Miles’ face as he listened to the other person’s words.

“What’s up? Supporting the fireworks festival in Hwacheon? Ah, good luck with that. I survived because of a certain genius.”

He glanced at Jeong-woo as he spoke. Jeong-woo couldn’t bear the affectionate gaze from Miles and took a step back.

-All the vehicles that went to the festival are stuck. There are nearly 5,000 of them. Don’t you think it would be significant damage if all these people spend the night there? The temperature there is the lowest in the country right now.

“5,000 vehicles?”

Miles’ smile disappeared at this remark.

“Got it. I’ll climb up as soon as I can…”

Miles’ eyes fell on the fire extinguisher that Jeong-woo had on his back.

“But for now, I’ll hang up.”

Miles lowered his phone and asked Jeong-woo.

“Jeong-woo, by any chance, can you get more of those?”

“You mean this?”

Jeong-woo pointed towards the line of vehicles coming down the road from the KG Chemical bus, carrying chemical substances.

“Perhaps there might be spares in the Yujin Chemical’s Mobile Research Center vehicles. If we add only the protein compounds and manipulate them…”

Miles suddenly grabbed Jeong-woo’s hand, making him flinch.

“It’s not ‘perhaps,’ we need a definite answer. There are hundreds of vehicles here, but there are thousands of them stuck in Hwacheon. There’s a high possibility of casualties in this cold.”

“Hmm…”

As the KG Chemical bus parked on the side road and the trucks came to a halt one after another, Jeong-woo, who saw even the mobile research vehicles stopping, spoke up.

“I’ll ask right away. And if there’s none available, we can make them.”

“Make them?”

“It’s not that difficult.”

Miles felt an inexplicable sense of relief as he looked at Jeong-woo answering with a relaxed smile.

Inside the mobile research center.

Jeong-woo examined the deicing agent created by Yoon Jaegil and turned his head.

“You’ve put together quite an accurate combination.”

“Well, it’s nothing.”

“I mentioned 11 to 17, but apart from a slight deviation to 5 and 9… the difference isn’t significant. The melting time is only about 0.5 seconds?”

Upon Jeong-woo’s remark, Yoon Jaegil cleared his throat and turned his head. But as soon as Jeong-woo began mixing the protein compounds, Yoon Jaegil’s expression became full of curiosity, and he turned his head again.

“How on earth did you make it react properly?”

“Oh, this?”

Since no justifiable explanation came to mind, Jeong-woo spoke.

“I can’t disclose the most crucial formulation. KG Chemical secured the contract for this. You know that you shouldn’t casually use what you wrote down earlier, right?”

Jeong-woo looked back at Miles, who was standing behind him. Miles smiled and raised his thumb, showcasing his robust arm.

Yoon Jaegil smirked.

“Who would dare snatch it and use it to offend my pride? Since I personally wrote the production formula under Han Jeong-woo’s name, if it’s used, it will be compensated according to the commission procedure.”

“What’s the usual commission percentage in such cases?”

“It would vary depending on the value of the patent…”

Yoon Jaegil gave a knowing smile while watching Jeong-woo shake the tube vigorously with his hand on the cylinder.

“As much as you desire.”

“…”

Yoon Jaegil still held a lingering attachment to recruiting talented individuals.

10 PM, a cleared intersection on a narrow road.

Miles, carrying a steel storage box and a sprayer in the trunk of his car, turned around.

“I’ll make good use of these. We’ve already secured the contract with the Central Fire Station. Once the effectiveness is proven, we’ll be contacted by the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters. If things go well there, it will spread nationwide.”

“The production cost for these is expensive.”

“I know the Mayor of Seoul well. If he hears about this, he’ll buy them immediately, no matter the price.”

Jeong-woo nodded his head and spoke.

“You must have had a tough night, Captain.”

“Well, it’s part of the job. And today, Han Jeong-woo, you saved several lives. Who would have thought chemists could be like this?”

“It wasn’t just me. Drive safely to Hwacheon.”

Jeong-woo bid farewell and boarded the bus.

Miles watched the KG Chemical bus, trucks, mobile research center, and cargo vehicles gradually move away. Vehicles filled with chemists. Miles showed them a small gesture of respect by briefly bowing his head.

Finally, he looked at the treacherous road that had caused so much trouble for the past few hours.

When faced with an inevitable accident, people look up at the sky and hope for a miracle.

The same happened today.

For those trapped here on this narrow rural road, with nowhere to go for hours, this was nothing short of a miracle.

Warm consideration amidst the freezing mountain slopes.

Watching it all unfold, Miles couldn’t help but admire Han Jeong-woo, the young man who brought about this change.

One chemist can change the world.

How is such a thing possible?

Not only here, but also in Hwacheon, over 5,000 vehicles stranded in the cold had the opportunity to return to homes with warm blankets as quickly as possible.

As Miles raised a glass of soju, he couldn’t help but smile softly at the fact that another story of someone miraculously rescued from a crisis unfolded.

[This is the first news from News 24. We’ll start with a heartwarming story that unfolded near Cheonan amidst an unexpected heavy snowfall. Over 300 vehicles stranded on frozen mountain roads were able to safely return home using the miraculous solutions provided by KG Chemical and Yujin Chemical, who visited this area for a bidding competition….]

Sitting in a four-person hospital room, Han Jeong-chan absentmindedly turned to his mother as he saw a familiar company name on the news.

“Mom, isn’t that where Hyung works at KG Chemical?”

[…Based on the achievements of these exceptional chemists, the fire authorities have announced that they will assist the over 5,000 vehicles trapped on rural roads in Hwacheon using the same method.]

“Ah, he won’t be the genius chemist on the news, so what does that matter? Geez, Mom?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Turn off the TV and go home.”

Hong Ji-sook sat on the bed, closing her eyes, but she could sense the heat from her son, who had even put a temporary cast on her leg.

“I should stay here to take care of you. Your blood vessels and tendons were severely affected. You were hit.”

“I just need to rest for a few days.”

A young man suddenly entered from the direction of the ward door.

“Is Mom the doctor? Even getting a diagnosis is annoying.”

“Hyung!”

Jeong-woo appeared, and Jeong-chan stood up hesitantly.

After handing his younger brother a paper bag with steaming hot buns inside, Jeong-woo sat down lightly on the bed where Hong Ji-sook was sitting.

“You can have a detailed examination tomorrow and still be discharged on time.”

“But how much does it cost? Insurance won’t cover it.”

“Mom, let’s not worry about money when it comes to your health anymore. I have a job, and it won’t be a big burden. So from now on, never hold back. Even if you have to beg, just go to the hospital. Just trust your eldest son.”

When Jeong-woo’s said that she felt a sense of accomplishment of raising his son, Hong Ji-sook couldn’t help but smile.

“I get surprised working at the company. I’m going crazy, scouting people left and right.”

“Hyung, don’t exaggerate. You haven’t even worked at the company for a month.”

“You little rascal. Let’s talk when the time comes. It will be fun to watch both of you genuinely surprised.”

Jeong-woo opened a box of fruit drinks he had brought and took out an apple juice, offering it to Hong Ji-sook.

“Congratulations on your first day in the hospital, our dear Hong Ji-sook!”

“Are you crazy? Everyone is asleep.”

Rather than slapping him on the back of his neck, she swiftly accepted the drink, as if the anger towards him suddenly bringing them to the hospital had almost subsided.

“Hyung, this is really delicious.”

“Have plenty, and stay here with Mom. I have to go home tomorrow because of work.”

“Okay. Mom, do you want to eat too? Red bean buns? Vegetable buns?”

“Just eat them all. Don’t leave any. Don’t sulk later.”

Just before midnight.

As Jeong-woo faced his mother and younger brother, he felt a sense of exhaustion from the day dissipating without any particular thoughts. Was it because he felt like he had returned alive from a dangerous place?

“Ah.”

Jeong-woo looked at Jeong-chan.

“Hey, did you leave the tap running slightly?”

Jeong-chan, who was stuffing his cheeks with a mouthful of steamed buns, blinked his eyes and shook his head, “No.”

“Darn it. Mom, I’m leaving. See you tomorrow!”

Code: Molecular formula

Case: Anti-freezing Megaton De-icing Agent

Research: Developed during a heavy snowfall in January, it immediately emits a large amount of heat upon application, demonstrating excellent effectiveness in de-icing and thawing. However, the production cost ratio is extremely low.