Chemistry

9. A month in the life of a chemical company team leader(8)

Upon arriving at the corridor, there were unfamiliar people standing in front of the door. One was a bald man in his fifties and the other was a man in his early thirties with a polite demeanor.

“Enough!”

As the bald man shouted out with a sigh-like tone that was exactly like Chinese, causing Jeong-woo to immediately feel uneasy around foreigners and instinctively step back.

While waiting for the business room’s door to be opened, the two men continued their conversation in Chinese.

Thud.

The door opened, and Michèle’s assistant appeared in front of Jeong-woo.

“Please come in. Chairman Wang Liming would like you to come in as well.”

Upon hearing the assistant’s words, the man turned to the bald man and spoke as if interpreting for him.

‘Chairman?’

Jeong-woo was slightly surprised by the bald man’s distinguished status.

As he entered the room, he noticed three paintings, which he had seen earlier, placed on the table. In front of them stood Michèle and a well-dressed man in his mid-forties.

“Michèle!”

Before exchanging greetings, Chairman Wang hurriedly passed by Jeong-woo’s side and approached Michèle, saying apologetically.

“So sorry…”

He spoke in English, pouring out like a storm, and Jeong-woo tried to translate what he heard, recalling the time when he was studying hard to improve his TOEIC scores.

『I had no idea it was a forgery. Please do not misunderstand my intentions.』

『I didn’t misunderstand. You showed goodwill through this carelesness. If this had just gone to auction, Audrey’s reputation would have plummeted. We will verify everything you’ve sponsored, and we’ll paid accordingly. Our relationship ends here.』

『Please reconsider withdrawing from this contract. Audrey’s Chinese distribution rights are a matter of life or death for the company.』

Despite Chairman Wang repeatedly mentioning terms like ‘goodwill’ or ‘good friendship,’ Michèle’s demeanor conveyed the belief that once a relationship was strained, it was finished. Eventually, she swiftly forced Chairman Wang to withdraw with the words “Get out.”

Jeong-woo noticed that not only the paintings but also the pottery, books, and decorations that Chairman Wang seemed to have brought were all laid out on one side. Listening closely, it was a declaration that they would just buy all the sponsored items with money and end the relationship.

‘He’s ruthless.’

The stern CEO, Michèle, turned his head towards Jeong-woo.

“Mr. Han Jeong-woo.”

With a complete change in tone from when he was dealing with Chairman Wang, Jeong-woo approached nervously.

“Why did you call me?”

“We need cross-verification. It was you who initially discovered it. We will pay separately for the appraisal cost, so please verify the remaining art pieces. This is an important event with many invited figures from the art world. Professor Hong Suman, a renowned art appraiser, is here.”

As Michèle introduced, Professor Hong Suman greeted Jeong-woo. Michèle continued speaking.

“Please assist us in this work. The auction is underway, and time is short.”

Jeong-woo nodded his head, but he couldn’t help but feel stunned. A chemist conducting appraisals, really?

Professor Hong looked at Jeong-woo and asked, “You recognized it as a forgery right away? You have quite an eye for it. The level of forgery is exceptional, and this alone would have significant value in the market.”

“Oh… If this were an authentic piece, how much would it be worth?”

“It’s from the prime of Louis Shen’s career. It would be worth nearly 100 million. In my opinion, not only this painting but also the other artworks Chairman Wang gave are likely to be authentic. This forgery must have slipped in by accident.”

As Jeong-woo examined the paintings through a magnifying glass, he realized that most of the auction items seemed to have a base price of around 100 million.

‘How many of my annual salaries are sitting here?’

Professor Hong, holding a magnifying glass, spoke.

“Chairman wants a thorough verification, but it’s impossible given the time constraint. Just conducting proper carbon dating alone would take a day. Even if I call my assistant and activate the lab immediately, it would still take at least two days.”

“Radiocarbon dating?”

“Radiocarbon or thermoluminescence dating methods.”

“I’m not familiar with that field…”

Jeong-woo’s words surprised Professor Hong.

“Aren’t you a specialist in analytical chemistry? I heard you analyzed the composition of this painting earlier.”

“I majored in chemistry.”

“Ah, well. When you look closely, it’s a connected field.”

Professor Hong glanced at Chairman Wang and Michèle, who were once again in conflict, before speaking in a low voice.

“Without objective data from mass spectrometry or neutron activation analysis, it will inevitably come down to the subjective judgment of an appraiser. But that CEO is quite strict. I’ve mentioned it a few times, but she insisted on waiting for you. She seems to trust you a lot.”

After listening carefully, Jeong-woo felt even more burdened.

“Professor, you can quickly make subjective assessments, but providing objective data requires the tools and time of the laboratory, right?”

“Yes. But I believe the chance of my subjective judgment being wrong is almost non-existent.”

Professor Hong asserted confidently, as he was an expert in this field and came here to be precise.

“I thought about giving up while waiting for you, if his attitude hadn’t been so demanding. His requirements are too ‘FM.’”

“I understand. The CEO is a bit… obsessive, to the point of pursuing perfection.”

Having experienced it for a few weeks, Jeong-woo was more relaxed than Professor Hong. He focused his gaze on the carbon visible in the painting.

The principle of radiocarbon dating seemed to be vaguely familiar to him.

Radiocarbon, which makes up only 0.000001% of all carbon on Earth. Although it might be present in the paint of that painting, it was not easy to find, and calculating its half-life just from molecular perspective was even more difficult.

“Professor, what is thermoluminescence measurement?”

“The amount of light emitted when a mineral is heated varies with temperature. Collect the crystalline structure of minerals like quartz, feldspar, or flint…”

As Professor Hong explained, Jeong-woo quickly scanned the painting. Fortunately, he found some crystalline substances.

‘Heating, right? We just need to provide stimulation?’

Inducing the dust particles, Jeong-woo concentrated his efforts, and soon a group of elements began to emit light. By applying the criteria Professor Hong provided, he came up with a rough estimate.

“It seems to be around 200 years.”

“What? How did you figure that out?”

Jeong-woo grinned, claiming it was a chemist’s know-how.

“But more importantly, if this is an authentic piece, we just need evidence that Chairman will accept. We can handle the verification issue later in Professor Hong’s lab.”

“What can I do?”

“For now, I need you to trust my intuition and eyes. Luckily, we have a connection with the Chairman, so…”

Jeong-woo pointed to the pair of tweezers-like tools among the equipment that Professor Hong had brought.

“Can I borrow this for a moment?”

“Sure.”

After wandering around the living room, Jeong-woo went to the minibar and brought back two glass cups with some water in them. He carefully examined the painting identified as a forgery and used the tweezers to dip the outer edge of the paper into one of the glass cups, repeating the process. Then he did the same with the painting suspected to be authentic, dipping it into the other glass cup with water.

“Done.”

Professor Hong, curious about what Jeong-woo was up to, kept watching him.

Jeong-woo approached Michèle, who was in conversation with Chairman Wang, cautiously.

“Excuse me.”

Michèle waved his hand to get Chairman Wang’s attention. The chairman, who had stopped speaking, was sweating profusely, with his entire forehead glistening.

Seeing this, Jeong-woo couldn’t help but feel sorry, as it reminded him of “Super” – an old man who always got nagged by his wife. He looked so much like him.

“Could you smell the scents in these cups for me?”

“Why?”

“One of them contains the scent extracted from the forgery, and the other from the authentic piece.”

As the secretary standing next to Chairman Wang translated the words, the chairman’s gaze turned towards Jeong-woo.

Michèle accepted the two glass cups and sniffed the scents one by one. Then handed the cup in her right hand to Jeong-woo.

“Hmm, this is a heavily damaged fragrance. A failure in the maturation process, just trash.”

Upon hearing the word “trash,” Chairman Wang flinched.

Jungwoo spoke with a faint smile.

“The process where hemiacetal transforms into acetal. It’s a part of the chemical reaction that alters the fragrance. In this case, it’s gotten so severe that the original scent is practically gone. For the fragrance to be adulterated to this extent, it would take at least over 150 years. But what you’re holding in your left hand right now…”

Jeong-woo gestured, and Michèle smelled the scent again.

“The paper scent is still faintly alive. It’s not more than 10 years old.”

“I’m familiar with natural maturation scents. Are you saying this is the scent of the forgery?”

“Yes. Unless Mr. Louis Chen was still alive 15 years ago, then the items here need a thorough investigation. But for now, if you trust my eyes and nose, I can appraise them before the auction. The final verification will be done by Professor Hong within three days. What do you think?”

In response to Jeong-woo’s confident attitude, Michèle nodded, relieved.

Having received permission, Jeong-woo returned to Professor Hong.

“Let’s start the appraisal, and I’ll assist.”

With shining eyes, Professor Hong asked, “The period of scent alteration? This is an unexpected measurement method.”

Intrigued by Jeong-woo’s theory of dressing up chemistry with scents, Professor Hong continued to ask questions.

Jeong-woo explained while exploring the chemical world of the items, “Fragrances are mixtures of raw materials that do not chemically react with each other. Sometimes, when they come into contact with air, the unsaturated monoterpenes’ double bonds are deprived of oxygen, leading to the destruction of the scent. Also, the compounds of Schiff bases undergo condensation reactions…”

Engaging in a back-and-forth conversation, they spent over an hour appraising the remaining items. During this time, Jeong-woo had to send a text message to Song Boyeong, saying he couldn’t make it.

After each appraisal, the items were immediately taken down to the event hall on the third floor. When they finished appraising a book with Chinese calligraphy filled with characters, Professor Hong straightened his back, exhaled heavily, and said, “That’s it.”

“This was the last one.”

“You’ve worked hard, Professor.”

“Jeong-woo, you truly amazed me. Your precise analysis without sophisticated tools gave me goosebumps more than once.”

Professor Hong looked at Jeong-woo, who demonstrated remarkable analytical skills in art appraisal with only his chemical knowledge, and once again praised him.

He realized that the CEO, who seemed so hard to please, wasn’t sending unwarranted trust.

“If it’s not too intrusive, may I ask where you work?”

“I work at the KG Chemical Central Research Institute.”

As Jeong-woo answered, he glanced at the door where Michèle had disappeared, as she left first to see off the guests.

‘I did a good job, but what am I doing here on this golden weekend?’

It was 9 PM.

After being invited to the party by Michèle and ending up working all day instead, it wasn’t as fun as he expected.

‘Well, at least the banquet food was quite luxurious.’

Jeong-woo gave it some significance, thinking he probably earned a decent score for his work. However, that didn’t necessarily mean he wanted to engage in another project with Audrey. That was a problem he needed to think about a little more.

Suddenly thrown into a job that was not an ordinary part-time job but not exactly an ordinary part-time job either – from leaving the business room to the corridor, Jeong-woo encountered a man waiting there.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes? Are you talking to me?”

Seeing the face, Jeong-woo recognized him as Chairman Wang’s secretary whom he had briefly seen earlier.

“Chairman Wang wanted me to give this to you. Are you Han Jeong-woo?”

Jeong-woo accepted the access card with the number 3502 written on it and showed his curiosity.

“Fortunately, thanks to you, Michèle, the CEO’s mood improved, and the contract resolution went well. Chairman Wang wanted to thank you for your help. He has paid for all the room services, so feel free to use them.”

After finishing his words, Chairman Wang’s secretary politely bowed and disappeared.

‘What is this?’

The world of CEOs was full of surprises, even for someone who knew it.

Now, Jeong-woo’s steps, originally intending to go home, turned into a curious exploration as he headed to the 35th floor.

“Wow.”

The moment the door opened, Jeong-woo was taken aback by the opulent atmosphere that was instantly palpable, leading him to exclaim in awe.

He walked slowly towards the wooden interior decoration, where a faint scent of wood wafted through. Inside the living room, the breathtaking panoramic view of Seoul’s skyline through the large windows left Jeong-woo momentarily stunned.

“This is the height of luxury. Is this the suite room?”

It seemed to be at least 100 pyeong in size. So, it had everything one could imagine. The bathroom alone was probably the size of a fragrance center’s testing lab. (100 pyeong is around 330 m2)

Jeong-woo opened an unfamiliar bottle of whiskey on the minibar, poured it into a glass, and then comfortably sank into the plush sofa.

“Is this it? The leisure of the social elite.”

While enjoying the view, he sipped the whiskey in a sophisticated manner.

“Cough. Ugh, it’s so strong.”

The unfamiliar burning sensation of the liquid spread from his throat to his stomach. Looking at the name on the bottle, it was something called bourbon. It was a taste that didn’t suit Jeong-woo’s palate, as it was a strong alcoholic drink mixed with plenty of sweeteners.

“I can’t handle more than two sips of this.”

Sighing, he placed the glass on the table.

“When will I get to feel like this again? Let’s enjoy it to the fullest.”

Stretching his legs on the sofa, he lay down. Then, he opened a group chat with his friends and started typing.

[Do you guys know what it’s like in a luxury hotel suite room?]

Snap, snap. He uploaded two pictures, one of the living room and one of the Seoul skyline.

[Hey, don’t go searching for hotel photos and posting them. It’s annoying. Do we look like we’re rich or something?]

[And we don’t even have a girl to go with.]

One friend was job hunting, and the other was preparing for his father’s civil service exam. Jeong-woo chuckled and was about to take a selfie for another post, but hesitated.

‘Don’t bother these guys who are diligently preparing for their careers. Let’s save the bragging for Park Soo-chan.’

He immediately sent a private message with the certification shot to Park Soo-chan.

[Wow!!]

As expected, he received a surprised reaction. Jeong-woo chuckled and sent another message.

[I’m staying here tonight. Want to come over? It’s the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido.]

[Hey, are you crazy? I have a local event today! I’m in the middle of my performance.]

[Well, nothing I can do about that.]

[Let’s do it again tomorrow!]

[Are you insane? Why would I pay to do this again? It’s just a brief stay, and it’s free.]

Soo-chan complained through messages. He asked Jeong-woo to steal a towel as a souvenir, and then Jeong-woo closed his phone.

‘Tsk, that unlucky guy.’

Afterward, Jeong-woo lost himself in the living room and watched the large TV, flipping and turning around as if he were at home. He looked at the clock and realized it was only 10 o’clock. He wasn’t sleepy, and there was nothing much to do.

After indulging at the banquet, he didn’t even feel like ordering room service because he wasn’t hungry. He spent another 30 minutes playing mobile games on his phone.

It was his first night in such a luxurious suite room. The payment had already been taken care of, but there wasn’t much fun in doing things alone.

‘Are my social connections really this limited?’

But calling a girl he knew…

‘I’m at the hotel right now. Do you want to come?’

That would be the perfect way to get slapped.

He felt that it would be much more comfortable to receive snacks in the familiar living room of his home, where his mother occasionally gave me a pitiful expression, rather than wandering around. It felt much more soothing.

“Living life as if you were born wealthy, after all.”

He had rented a hotel suite, but being bored like this would be a waste of money.

He couldn’t ignore the Chairman’s goodwill. Thinking that this wasn’t the right way to enjoy it, he suddenly got up and went to find the bathroom.

“When you’re at a hotel, you should take a bubble bath.”

He filled the large bathtub with water and added bath salts. As he waited, his phone rang, and he picked it up.

“Senior Boyeong?”

Along with the sound of music playing in the background, he heard someone else’s voice on the phone.

-Is this Han Jeong-woo’s phone?

The number was Song Boyeong’s, but the voice belonged to another woman.

“Yes. Who is this?”

-I’m Boyeong’s friend, Seo Mi-hee. We met briefly earlier, remember?

She seemed to be the young woman who was surrounded by luxury goods and jewelry next to Song Boyeong.

-Boyeong keeps saying weird things, so I’m looking for Han eoung-woo. If you have some free time, could you come over here? When she gets drunk, she becomes stubborn…

-Hey, Boyeong. Don’t cling to me like that, I can’t breathe. Ah, that’s not allowed. I need to get new silicone… Oh dear. Anyway, we’re at the Conrad Sky Lounge, on the top floor.

“Oh… It’s nearby. I’ll come over.”

He thought that if it was just a short elevator ride away, he might as well go. There was also a slight sense of boredom that motivated him to go.