Chemistry

9. A month in the life of a chemical company team leader(5)

「Day 8」 – Fragrance Room

It’s been two weeks since I took charge of the project.

I wasn’t filled with great enthusiasm as I set out for work. It’s just a job, after all. The number ‘0’ in my bank account, where my paycheck from a few days ago was deposited, automatically led my footsteps to the company.

‘It’s the charm of a salary-earning worker, relying on that ‘0’ at the end. Rain or snow, you still have somewhere to go.’

As I swiped my card at the entrance of the fragrance room, I entered without much thought and saw Cho Sung-hwan sitting upright in front of a neatly organized table. I paused for a moment.

“You came early?”

Jang Sung-hwan turned her head and greeted me with a warm smile.

“It’s become a habit, so I end up punching in before 8 o’clock. I’m curious about what we’ll be doing today.”

It’s currently 8:55 AM. Seeing Cho Seong-hwan, the only team member and also had come early and already prepared, made me feel a twinge of emotion in my heart.

It was as if the passion for being a team leader, which had been buried, had come alive again, worth three digits of ‘0.’

“Let’s get to work!”

[Solvent-Based Synthetic Fragrance – Currently 94.5% Similar to Natural Extracts]

[Production: Audrey Project Han Jeong-woo]

Jeong-woo felt a sense of pride as he skimmed through the project records in the central research institute’s material library.

The significance of having the name of the creator who secured the original technology recorded.

Once registered, this synthetic fragrance can be used by any company, including other departments, subsidiaries, and even by paying royalties if necessary.

Audrey Corp, which funded all the development costs, would practically provide it for free. However, now that Jeong-woo had gained some knowledge about the fragrance industry, he also knew that the expected added value from this was substantial.

Considering that a company producing a natural jasmine fragrance called Hedion generates annual sales of over 100 million dollars.

If Audrey Corp gains popularity with this fragrance, it will become an advertisement in itself.

While it might not bring money directly into his pocket, just imagining the number of zeros in the revenue made Jeong-woo hum a little tune. Call him materialistic, but with so many ‘0’s involved, it felt exciting.

“Team leader, this reagent is showing no reaction at all.”

At the sound of Jeong-woo’s co-worker, Cho Seong-hwan, he turned his head.

The newly added aromatic molecules to the synthetic fragrance, which showed a 94.5% similarity, were not bonding properly.

As Jeong-woo was analyzing the original fragrance, he wiped his eyes and looked at Seong-hwan’s test tube.

The reagent was deficient in free electrons, and it was filled with [+]-charged cations, making it difficult for the reagent to accommodate the new molecules.

Using a molecular perspective to infer which reagent should be used, Jeong-woo had not explained the approach to save time, which seemed to be causing Seong-hwan some trouble.

“We should consider a substitution reaction rather than an addition reaction. Substituting the benzene ring itself. Let’s try adding a derivative with two methyl groups attached to benzene.”

“Xylene?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

As Seong-hwan swiftly rearranged the reagents, Jeong-woo began jotting down the new molecular structure to try.

Analysis – Experiment – Trial and error – Retesting – Drawing conclusions.

This research process continued with each addition of new molecular structures to increase the similarity.

Whether to synthesize it using petrochemical substances, transform it through microbial enzyme reactions, or blend it with extracts from alternative plants, various improvement methods for finding the simplest process were added. The final touch to complete the synthetic fragrance would be the preparation for mass production.

After immersing himself in the research for a few days, Jeong-woo had a clear picture of the entire process in his mind.

With another ten days like this, the first synthetic fragrance would be completed.

“Got it!”

Seong-hwan exclaimed as he looked at Jeong-woo.

“How did you determine the structure of this reagent among all those possibilities?”

“Well… It started with the analysis. If you remove a few carbon and hydrogen atoms from acetophenone, which is in the solvent, it becomes benzaldehyde. So, I chose benzaldehyde as the base reagent. We just needed to find a way to add carbon and hydrogen back.”

The story about this chemical deduction continued for about 15 minutes. Seong-hwan kept nodding along, occasionally asking for clarification and taking notes to understand it better.

By the end of the afternoon, the similarity rate increased by 0.7%, reaching 95.2%. As it approached 100, the speed could only decrease, as there were difficulties in perfectly replicating a single natural compound artificially.

Just like human DNA varies, the hundreds of flowers contained in the extracts also showed subtle differences in aromatic molecules. The extract was a collection of all of them.

Jeong-woo speculated that once it reached around 98%, the work speed would significantly slow down.

Feeling sluggish after lunch, he was stretching his body when the door to the fragrance room opened.

Thump.

Three members of the fragrance center’s microbial management team entered the fragrance room.

“Hello.”

After a brief greeting, the three individuals picked up fragrance samples displayed on the wall and gathered around the analyzer, engaging in conversation.

Recently, the fragrance center had been extremely busy with research on a new deodorant series based on chaffrine, so everyone was deeply engrossed in their research.

-Mr. Lee. We’re causing the scents to clump together and become rather repulsive. The fragrance team is under immense pressure.

-So what are we supposed to do? Release it without the suppressor? Then tell people to use the old one?

-If the smell isn’t good, they’ll blame us and complain to the department head.

-Who?

-Mr. Yoon Hyeong-seok.

-Mr. Yoon, that guy.

Even though Jeong-woo disliked hearing their conversation, he couldn’t help but overhear.

They were experimenting with fragrance by adding microbial suppressors.

From a molecular perspective, the microbial suppressors and fragrance molecules were not compatible; they seemed to be engaged in a chaotic battle. Especially in some molecular systems, the fragrance molecules were either powerless, getting consumed or evaporated.

It was fine for them to kill mold and bacteria, but when it affected the scent itself like this, Jeong-woo could understand the concerns of the Fragrance Design Team.

‘That analyzer, Seong-hwan, need to use it soon.’

Jeong-woo didn’t need it, but Seong-hwan needed a chemical sense and knowledge of the molecular world to understand it. It was crucial, as the more Seong-hwan understood, the faster their work would progress.

“Excuse me.”

Feeling that it was his duty as a team leader, Jeong-woo approached them.

“It’s benzylisothiazolinone, right? The suppressor?”

A temporary worker named Lee Bong-chan turned his head slightly, giving Jeong-woo a questioning look.

The curious look asking, “Why?” caught Jungwoo’s attention. He was reminded of Shin Ki-joon’s guarded demeanor.

‘I won’t be able to work with this center in this life anyway.’

Jeong-woo disregarded any surprise or remarks from others about his chemically induced sense, triggered by ‘AF-12,’ that would made fun of him.

“This is a lily extract fragrance, you know. Benzyl salicylate from olives would be much more compatible than this. Try mixing it as a base with olive fragrance at a 13:1 ratio. The current lily fragrance with a ratio of 20:1 won’t hold up for long.”

After finishing his explanation, Jeong-woo turned and walked away. He could hear grumbling behind him, but soon, he saw them taking out the olive fragrance from the cabinet.

A while later.

-Huh?

-The scent seems fine.

-Yes, indeed.

The three people’s gazes turned to Jeong-woo. With a look that said, ‘How did you do that?’ Jeong-woo calmly smiled and pointed to his nose.

Thump.

While they rushed towards the Fragrance Team’s research lab, Jeong-woo was joined by Seong-hwan.

“Did you enjoy your lunch?”

“Yes, it’s the first time since the public exam period that I’ve had such a relaxing lunch.”

As Seong-hwan sat down next to him, Jeong-woo spoke carefully.

“To reach 96%, we need to work overtime today…”

“What now? We can still get a good night’s sleep.”

「Day 10」 – Fragrance Room

On Wednesday morning, Jeong-woo opened the door to the fragrance room and was surprised to see someone unexpected sitting with Cho Seong-hwan.

“Bae Ki-tae?”

Bae Ki-tae, the top recruit, stood up abruptly and walked towards Jeong-woo.

“I sent you an email yesterday, but you didn’t see it, so I came in person.”

“An email?”

“It’s about applying for the project. It changed to permanent recruitment.”

“Well, that’s true…”

Seeing Jeong-woo’s sudden change of mood, Bae Ki-tae gestured towards Cho Seong-hwan.

“Seong-hwan keeps boasting too much. Saying there’s so much to learn.”

Cho Seong-hwan scratched his head. Bae Ki-tae sighed as he spoke to Jeong-woo.

“When I finished the public exam and came to the center, I thought I’d be doing something significant. But all I’ve been doing for the past six months is following the supervisor around, trying to get used to the center’s atmosphere. When I see it, you’re much more skilled than that supervisor. So, the answer is obvious.”

Bae Ki-tae held Jeong-woo’s hands together and pleaded.

“Please accept it, Team Leader Han Jeong-woo. Even if it’s just running errands, I’ll be grateful to participate.”

Moved by Bae Ki-tae’s request, who was exhausted from running errands for an incompetent supervisor, Jeong-woo nodded willingly.

“It was already challenging to find enough people for reconsideration.”

“I’ll work hard!”

[Synthetic Fragrance – 96.3% Similarity]

After updating the fragrance records in the material library, Jeong-woo turned his gaze to the two people working.

Although it was a bit judgmental, unlike Cho Seong-hwan, Bae Ki-tae, as the top recruit, had a fast understanding speed and worked well in his assigned tasks.

He managed to show respect to his seniors without being overly submissive, and because of that, he often praised Jeong-woo with encouraging words.

“Seriously, these fragrance center researchers are something else. Yesterday, they even asked me to recombine deodorant ingredients.”

“They kept chattering next to me.”

“They should get recognized by the New Product Development Team, right? ‘Chaffrin’ was the name, I think. It’s quite catchy.”

“Enough already.”

As Jeong-woo turned his head back to the monitor, the fragrance room door opened, and Park Jung-ho, the assistant of the Fragrance Center’s Container Design Team, entered.

“Are you Team Leader Han Jeong-woo?”

“Yes?”

Park Jung-ho rushed to Jeong-woo and said, “I contacted KG Industries regarding the improvement of the air propulsion agent, and they said Assistant Director Gong Kyung-ho told me that you would know much better.”

“Assistant Director Gong?”

“He said that during the fire bid, Assistant Director Gong combined some chemicals on the spot and blew away the propulsion agent.”

It seemed like Assistant Director Gong, who they occasionally kept in touch with, had praised them a bit.

“It’s fine to ask for help, but it would be inconvenient if it takes up too much time.”

“This is a complicated issue, so it might take some time.”

“Alright then. How about the Design Team temporarily assigns us two people to support us for today? Someone who’s good at what they do.”

“That wouldn’t be difficult.”

Jeong-woo said to Bae Ki-tae, “We have some pending experiments on compound combinations, right? If they come to support, let’s start with that.”

“Understood.”

The two of them brightened up at the thought that they might not have to work overtime today.

“Assistant Park, what inquiry do you have?”

“Here it is.”

Jeong-woo looked at the data regarding the diffusion rate problem of the ‘Nitrogen Synthesis Injection’ that Assistant Park handed over.

At first glance, it was evident that the issue arose because it did not integrate well with other compounds developed by other teams for the new product. The same goes for the previous suppressor and yesterday’s deodorant. They were all the same.

“The Fragrance Center is good at division of labor, but they are lacking in overall management.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, I was just talking to myself. This is one of the deodorant ingredients. It contains cyclodextrin, right? Extracted from corn. It seems like it sticks too much, causing this problem. If we use castor oil, it might help it spread better.”

「Day 11」- KG Life Health Planning Headquarters

Team Leader Cha Jin-seong was surprised when he looked at the ‘Chaffrin Project’ report that Assistant Yoon Hyeong-seok submitted.

“How did the evaluation test jump from 70 to 87 in just 3 days? Did the research team collectively bribe the reviewers?”

“That’s what it may seem like.”

Assistant Yoon quoted the reports he heard from each team leader.

“Microbes, deodorants, and design teams have all improved, and the surfactant dedicated team didn’t mention if they received it or not, but they suddenly requested a change in ingredients to hydrogenated castor oil.”

Cha Jin-seong let out a sigh of disbelief.

“That’s definitely Han Jeong-woo’s doing, right? It came from the Fragrance Room.”

“That’s correct.”

He had been contemplating not making any personnel decisions regarding the Audrey Project, but in reality, he concluded that it was all because of Jang Tae-sun’s stubbornness.

However, Han Jeong-woo’s capabilities in the Fragrance Center, particularly regarding the new fragrance product, surpassed any other researcher that Cha Jin-seong had encountered during his time at the company.

“Oh, there was one person.”

“What?”

“Never mind, just talking to myself. Don’t mind.”

Three years ago, during the development of Chaffrin, the problematic Dr. Cheon Seung-guk, who had been invited as a quality inspector, amazed the entire center with his skills.

“Is Team Leader Han Jeong-woo in the Fragrance Room right now?”

“He should be. They practically live there day and night.”

Cha Jin-seong walked down the hallway and arrived at the door of the Fragrance Room. Before opening the door, he glanced inside through a transparent window.

-Seong-hwan, the percentage is still stuck at 97.

-Just wait. Team Leader is contemplating it.

-The closer it gets to the margin of error, the more the match rate fluctuates with just one drop of additive. No matter how unique Mr. Jeong-woo’s intuition is, will it work?

The two individuals engrossed in conversation seemed to be new team members.

Glancing at Han Jeong-woo in the corner, Cha Jin-seong quietly observed him as he scattered dozens of fragrance bottles and pondered incessantly.

He judged that he shouldn’t disturb him when he was so focused on his research. There would be time to express gratitude for the help later.

-I found it!

-Really?

-How did you do it?

-For now, Ki-tae, set up the cumulation reaction experiment, and Seong-hwan, come with me to the material library. We need to search through all the hexanol derivatives.

-Yes!

With a click, the door opened, and Cha Jin-seong took a step back.

“Oh? Team Leader, hello.”

Han Jeong-woo greeted with a slight bow and hurriedly left the hallway with Seong-hwan.

Cha Jin-seong’s eyes lit up as he smiled at the cheerfulness of the two as they ran.