Chemistry

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

Shortly after.

The lounge on the 37th floor wasn’t the scene of wild dancing that Jeong-woo had imagined. Instead, it was a pleasant space akin to a bar, where music flowed loudly.

“How did you get here?”

An employee standing in the corridor blocked Jeong-woo. Jeong-woo pointed inside.

“Is here Seo Mi-hee? She called me and told me to come here.”

“Director Seo? Please wait for a moment.”

Hearing that the woman on the phone was an executive, Jeong-woo suppressed a sigh. Could it be that she’s the executive of this hotel?

“Please come in. The verification is done.”

The employee, using an earpiece, gestured to Jeong-woo after hearing something.

Passing through the entrance, a luxurious bar with a similar ambiance to what he had seen in the suite was revealed. There were hardly any people around.

From the inside, he could hear the giggles of a few women, creating an atmosphere that seemed to restrict guest entry for some kind of private party.

‘Where could she be?’

Seated around an expansive table with partitions, there were five women. In the midst of the playful aura exuded by the older sisters, there sat Song Boyeong, whose appearance seemed rather youthful.

“I don’t want to! I said I’m going to study.”

“Boyeong, why study after drinking like that? Let’s just go to a second round of dancing.”

“Ugh!”

Snatching a drink from her friend, Song Boyeong gulped it down and spoke.

“Don’t be so stubborn. Can you recite the periodic table backwards in 10 seconds?”

“What are you saying?”

When Song Boyeong pouted, Seo Mi-hee, who was beside her, supported her head and said to their friends.

“Don’t provoke her, you guys. If Boyeong loses her focus, all of you will end up grabbing your heads together to study. When she says she wants to do something just before drinking, she always does it. And then she can’t remember.”

“Mi-hee~”

Song Boyeong pulled Seo Mi-hee into a hug and lightly slapped her cheek.

“Hey, you keep saying you’re envious of these and you keep touching them. Hey, touch yours. Yours aren’t small either.”

“Cut it out!”

Song Boyeong pouted and playfully flashed a baby-like innocent smile at Seo Mi-hee, as she tousled her hair.

“Mi-hee, your surgery went well, seriously.”

Seo Mi-hee made a resigned expression and shook her head.

“Yeah, it’s been six months since we met. Do whatever you want.”

“Studying?”

“Not that. What kind of studying are you going to do with someone of lower caliber like me?”

“Why not? Mi-hee, your car’s license plate is 5050. Do you know it’s the ratio of nitrous oxide and oxygen mixed to create anesthesia gas? You drink it every time you have plastic surgery.”

Seo Mi-hee was left speechless. Song Boyeong pointed her finger at the woman on her left.

“Your waist size is 66. Lanthanides series, double~”

“No, it’s 55!”

“55 means cesium. The cesium atomic clock is the world’s standard. It’s off by 1 second every 300,000 years. Your luxury watches are off by 1 second per year, right?”

“Can you stop saying weird things that ruin the taste of alcohol? Let’s talk about something simpler and more down-to-earth. Guys, alright? Guys. Mi-hee was talking about a good-looking guy she was with earlier.”

“I don’t want to! That’s a secret.”

Seeing Song Boyeong, who’s so tipsy like this, mumbling about chemistry all the time, the friend in the front burst into laughter and asked.

“Boyeong, my car’s license plate is 2260, what does it mean?”

“Nothing. You’re out.”

“Come on, seriously!”

“…If you subtract 1 from there and divide by 100, you get osmium’s density, 22.59.”

Upon hearing the response from outside the table, Song Boyeong turned her head.

“Right. You can see it that way too. Impressive~”

Her face lit up as she recognized the man who had just appeared.

“Wow. It’s Jeong-woo.”

“….”

You have to be careful when dealing with someone drunk. After nodding to Song Boyeong’s friends, Jeong-woo spoke.

“Senior, are you quite drunk?”

“I’m not drunk!”

Seeing her trying to take a friend’s glass from the side to drink, Seo Mi-hee hastily grabbed Song Boyeong’s hand.

“You should study. Jeong-woo is here.”

“Study? The papers are just too difficult for me to understand. But Jeong-woo can. Because he’s smarter than me.”

Suppressing the laughter that was about to burst from him at the cutest tone Song Boyeong had used so far, Jeong-woo leaned closer to Seo Mi-hee and whispered.

“Senior isn’t feeling well, right?”

“Well, that’s true. She might pass out in about 30 minutes. Just hold on until then.”

“I see.”

“What are you two whispering about?”

Seeing Song Boyeong glaring at him, Jeong-woo calmly smiled and asked.

“When I asked about the gene cloning technique in the paper, you didn’t seem to know. What’s the restriction enzyme that creates DNA fragments with sticky ends?”

With this question, Song Boyeong suddenly fell silent. As she became quiet, all her friends’ eyes narrowed.

“Why is Boyeong acting like that?”

“When she’s drunk, she’s uncontrollable.”

Seeing Song Boyeong start to ponder something, Seo Mi-hee smiled and then stood up, suggesting that she should sit next to Jeong-woo.

“Come sit here. Boyeong can be on the other side.”

“Thank you.”

Jeong-woo took Seo Mi-hee’s place, and Seo Mi-hee moved to the opposite side.

“Who’s this person?”

In response to a friend’s question, Seo Mi-hee spoke.

“Boyeong’s junior from work. The one we were looking for earlier.”

“Oh, is that Jeong-woo?”

The gazes of the women, who were likely to be Song Boyeong’s friends and heirs to conglomerates, all turned towards Jeong-woo. Under the weight of their intimidating stares, Jeong-woo cleared his throat and turned his head.

Lost in thought, Song Boyeong suddenly nudged Jeong-woo’s head.

“I know. ‘EcoRI’ cuts between the G and A in the sequence ‘5GAATTC3’.”

“Well done.”

“Great!”

Upon receiving praise, Song Boyeong smiled broadly. Jeong-woo immediately continued.

“However, what’s in the paper is a non-sticky end. Which enzyme should be used for that?”

“What? Hold on a sec.”

Song Boyeong started pondering again. As she transformed from being scattered to becoming a focused and diligent student, her friends were left in astonishment and turned their surprised gaze to Jeong-woo as she finally closed her mouth.

“It’s not even a foreign language, yet it seems like it.”

In response to Seo Mi-hee’s comment, Jeong-woo grinned.

“We’re talking about a doctoral thesis that we’re interested in.”

“Looks like you know Boyeong well.”

“I thought I knew her to some extent, but… now I’m not so sure.”

Jeong-woo was taken aback by the fact that Song Boyeong was so friendly with women who lived in an entirely different world.

As Song Boyeong finished her contemplation, she clapped her hands together.

“Pvu… 2!”

“Well, that’s possible too. To properly activate the enzyme that connects the DNA cutting sites, you need to use more complex recombinant molecules.”

“There are so many types of recombinant molecules!”

“Even with many types, you need to remember them all.”

As Jeong-woo calmly explained step by step, Song Boyeong’s expression turned focused, and she nodded along, engrossed in his explanation.

For about 20 minutes, Song Boyeong, who had been nodding off, eventually fell into a gentle slumber.

“Senior, are you asleep?”

There was no response from Song Boyeong. She seemed to be completely lost in dreamland. Jeong-woo turned his head towards Seo Mi-hee, who was still observing him.

“I didn’t expect this from Senior Boyeong’s drinking habits.”

“It’s a rare sight today. Last time, she got obsessed with painting when she was supposed to be doing some coating research. She left one abstract paint on this wall. The chief had a bit of trouble dealing with that.”

In response to Seo Mi-hee’s words, some of the friends chuckled as if remembering something. Jeong-woo wore a slightly awkward smile in this unfamiliar atmosphere and spoke.

“Seems like everyone is used to it.”

“Don’t be too surprised. She only lets loose with her drinking when we’re around. Would you like a drink?”

Jeong-woo shook his head.

“I’m going to be busy starting tomorrow.”

Seo Mi-hee gazed meaningfully at Jeong-woo, who declined, and then at Song Boyeong who was sleeping with her back leaned against him, snugly.

Jeong-woo glanced at the peacefully sleeping Song Boyeong.

“It seems like you’re close with Senior Boyeong.”

“We practically grew up like sisters. You’re aware that Boyeong is the heir to KG Group, right?”

“Uh…”

He had vaguely expected that her family background would be impressive, but for a moment, Jeong-woo was taken aback.

“You didn’t know? Well, if you’re close to the managing director of this hotel, you might have guessed, even if you’re not sure.”

“Should I have guessed?”

“No. Actually, I’m gonna ask you to pretend you don’t know. Jeong-woo, you might not understand, but being the heir who’s not first or second in line for succession, but on the twentieth place… it’s painful. It’s complex enough that I don’t want to dig into it if I don’t have to.”

At these words, Jeong-woo’s gaze involuntarily turned towards Song Boyeong. Her face portrayed a carefree expression while she lived her life in the research institute, but in contrast, there seemed to be some complexity to her family circumstances.

In the meantime, Seo Mi-hee raised her hand to call over a staff member.

“Prepare a room for me. A suite.”

“At the moment, all rooms of suite-level or higher are fully booked.”

“What? None available?”

“That’s correct.”

“Why is business so good today? But it’s not like we can let our Boyeong sleep in a business-class room.”

At this remark, Jeong-woo recalled the suite room that had been assigned to him.

“Use the room I’m staying in. I was about to leave anyway.”

“Jeong-woo’s room?”

“Was it 3502?”

“You booked a suite?”

“It’s not really a reservation… It just happened.”

Jeong-woo smiled warmly. As he extended the room card, Seo Mi-hee raised her eyebrows.

“Why don’t you personally take her and put her to sleep in the room? It’s less embarrassing than having our staff carry her. Being a senior, you can do that much, right? We’ll head to the club for a second round. Then we’ll be on our way.”

“Why do you trust me…?”

“Look at her. Does she look worried?”

Leaning on Jeong-woo’s shoulder, Song Boyeong was peacefully sleeping, completely unaware of the world around her.

Beep beep.

Room 3502’s door opened, and Jeong-woo entered carrying Song Boyeong. Despite it being just a few floors, carrying a person who had lost consciousness was quite a tricky task.

He struggled to find the nearby bedroom door, muttering as he opened it and laid her on the bed.

“Wow. Carrying a woman into a suite, how daring.”

A bitter laugh escaped him.

Using a fan, he cooled himself off from the sweat and looked at Song Boyeong. She was dressed in a dress that perfectly highlighted her body’s curves.

In addition to the already sweltering heat, the intense passion had him immediately lifting the blanket over her.

“I’ll wait in the living room until Seo Mi-hee arrives. Oh, right., the bathroom.”

Jeong-woo closed the door and headed to the bathroom. The bathtub was partially filled. Although the water was still warm to the touch, undressing and taking a half-bath in this situation was just asking for misunderstandings.

Regretfully, he let all the water drain out.

‘When will these people arrive?’

Returning to the living room, Jeong-woo sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Inside the bedroom, a desk clock displaying [AM 02:04] was placed.

“Mi-hee, I’m thirsty…”

With her eyes closed, Song Boyeong reached out her hand to the side and, upon feeling the texture of the pillow, lifted her head.

The room was illuminated by a soft mood light.

She vividly remembered entering the Sky Lounge, thanking Seo Mi-hee who had reserved all the lounge seats for her and raising her glass in gratitude.

“Ouch, my head.”

As she retraced her steps, a headache began to emerge. It was probably due to the detoxification process initiated by her liver.

Sitting up, Song Boyeong reflexively felt the wall and then opened the mini fridge. After gulping down water, she placed the bottle on the table and headed out of the room.

The living room was dimly lit, with only the glow of the TV visible.

“It seems like they left me here and went out to have fun.”

It was a scenario that had occurred before.

With her makeup still on and her clothes feeling uncomfortable, Song Boyeong headed to the bathroom first.

She turned on the water in the bathtub, removed the pin that was painfully holding her hair, and set it aside. Her hair, freed from the tightness, cascaded down, covering the back of her neck.

She took off her earrings and let her dress hang loosely.

She dipped her toes into the warm water that was filling the bathtub.

“Ah, it’s so warm.”

In the foamy tub, Song Boyeong indulged in the luxury of washing away her fatigue, the effects of alcohol, and a sense of melancholy that had accumulated over a while.

30 minutes later.

Wrapped in a long towel and with a towel turban on her head, Song Boyeong walked into the living room and headed to the window overlooking the city’s night view.

The city lights, always managing to calm her heart, caught her gaze.

In the distance, she could see the KG Chemical headquarters building. Looking at the time, it was somewhat uncertain whether I could make it home, and I likely had to head straight to work from here

“Um….”

At that moment.

A unfamiliar sound reached Song Boyeong from behind.

“…Se…nior?”

Then, a familiar voice. Song Boyeong froze in place, only turning her head to look back.

In the dimness, a figure rose from the sofa, where Jeong-woo had been sleeping hunched over.

“Je, Je, Jeong-woo?”

“Why are you…?”

Yawning and turning his gaze, Jeong-woo lost his words for a moment. Reflected in the light coming through the window, he saw Song Boyeong’s slender silhouette, covered only by a thin bath towel.

2.24 seconds.

A static moment spanning 0.1 moles of volume.

“Kyaa! Don’t look! I said don’t look!”

With a shriek, Song Boyeong dashed into the room.

The living room was lit up.

Jeong-woo was in the process of preparing coffee from the espresso machine, thinking that he needed to wake up his groggy mind.

“Unintentionally admiring senior Boyeong’s figure.”

He shook his head, determined to forget. His own face felt hot, so how would the other person be feeling?

Thud.

The door opened, and Song Boyeong emerged from the suite, wearing the pajamas provided. With her head lowered, she sat on the minibar stool where the coffee was being poured, and she turned to Jeong-woo and asked.

“Why are you here?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“If I remembered, I wouldn’t have been doing that earlier!”

Song Boyeong, who had been about to explode, realized that showing anger wouldn’t help and calmly, or rather, under a calm façade, turned her gaze towards Jeong-woo.

“What happened? And Seo Mi-hee? The others?”

“Well, they said they’d be here soon, but it seems like they’re still dancing at the club even though it’s 3 in the morning.”

“These guys…”

Clenching her fist, Song Boyeong cautiously asked Jeong-woo.

“I… didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”

“You didn’t do anything significant.”

“Huh? I didn’t do anything.”

Jeong-woo chuckled at Song Boyeong’s disbelief in her own actions. She was taken aback by his laughter.

“What? So I did it, something weird?”

“No, not really. You just kept saying, ‘Jeong-woo’ or ‘Hey!’ repeatedly. You mostly said things like ‘That’s right’ and your words became a bit shorter, like ‘Ya!’”

“Ugh.”

Song Boyeong clasped her hands together and apologized.

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“If senior Boyoung is older than me, that could be possible.”

“We’re the same age.”

“Senior Boyoung birthday is earlier than…”

“June.”

“May.”

Song Boyeong hesitated for a moment, then looked at Jeong-woo with an awkward smile. It seemed like she had made up her mind as she closed her eyes and said with determination.

“Jeong-woo oppa~”

“What, what is it?”

“Since you used casual speech. It’s returning the favor, oppa.”

Wiping off her makeup, Song Boyeong’s face looked more youthful, and as she continued to call him “oppa,” Jeong-woo couldn’t help but feel his heart race.

With a ding sound, the espresso machine came to a stop.

Jeong-woo placed a cup of coffee in front of Song Boyeong and shook his head.

“What is with the oppa? Still feeling the effects of the alcohol?”

“Oppa~”

“You’re still not awake, huh? It seems like your eyes won’t even open properly.”

Song Boyeong, who had been giving a mischievous grin with slightly puffy eyes, soon had a serious expression on her face as she looked at Jeong-woo.

“I think I have a rough idea now. About my situation. And about these friends.”

“I’m pretending not to know much. Seo Mi-hee seriously asked me to.”

“Mi-hee… She’s a friend who’s irreplaceable to me. She’s deeper than she appears, she has a serious side and understands me well.”

“A praise. Should I really introduce myself?”

Startled, Song Boyeong responded hastily.

“Even if she wanted to, her ideal type isn’t you, Jeong-woo. She has a very different style.”

“Wow. You called me oppa earlier, and now you’re teasing me for having a bad style.”

“No, it’s just that if it’s not a suite like this, she wouldn’t be able to sleep due to being extremely picky. It would be unbearable.”

“Huh? You didn’t know? I borrowed this.”

Song Boyeong’s eyes widened.

“Here? How much is this worth? Is this because of me? Oh my, oh my.”

“Why are you making such big assumptions?”

“If Jeong-woo borrowed it, then…”

Under her single-lidded eyes, her black pupils trembled uncontrollably. Seeing her reaction, Jeong-woo restrained his laughter and asked.

“You’re aware that I have two cards, yeah?”

“Are you crazy? If you use something like this improperly, you’ll be in debt.”

“Consider this a favor from your oppa. If you get caught, we’ll share the blame and write an explanation together. Fifty-fifty responsibility. I’ll be going now.”

Jeong-woo stood up from the mini-bar’s chair. Song Boyeong grabbed onto Jeong-woo’s arm.

“Cancel it right now! I’ll pay for it.”

“Wow, seems like you’re rich?”

“I am, really! So, give me your card. I’ll cancel it and make a new payment.”

“No can do. It’s a credit card payment with Chairman Wang’s kindness in it.”

“Chairman?”

Seeing Jeongwoo’s face, which looked like he was dying to tease, Song Boyoung exclaimed ‘Oh!’ and patted her chest. Having heard the rough explanation of the situation, she breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

“I’m surprised again. What a shock. I’m totally sober now.”

“I really need to go and change. I should drop by home to get ready for work. In this state, it’s just not doable.”

Pointing to his all-white attire, Jeong-woo bid farewell to Song Boyeong.

“Senior Boyeong, you can feel the chairman’s kindness and leave comfortably.”

“Jeong-woo.”

“Yes?”

After hesitating, Song Boyeong finally spoke.

“Thank you.”

“Why mention it. See you at the company.”

The gaze of Song Boyeong lingering on Jeong-woo’s back as he walked into the living room was very comforting. As if it had nothing to do with the commotion of the night.

「Day 15」 – Fragance center

After experiencing the world of the upper class over the weekend, Monday arrived, and it was time to focus on his team leader role again.

Having returned home in the early morning, Jeong-woo changed his clothes, and headed straight to work, his mind was too preoccupied to even think about Monday blues.

Beep.

Because of this, when Jeong-woo opened the door to the Fragrance Center early in the morning, he was taken aback by the scene that unfolded before him.

Even though it was 7:30 in the morning, almost all the employees had arrived early and were bustling around. Everyone looked serious, as if something significant had occurred.

Walking towards the Perfumery Room, Jeong-woo ran into Assistant Manager Park from the Design Team and asked.

“Why are you here so early?”

“Oh, Jeong-woo. We’re on high alert right now. A competing company unexpectedly launched a new product yesterday. It’s not only coinciding with our release date but also receiving positive reviews.”

“A competing company?”

“P&Z. Check it out.”

Assistant Manager Park hurriedly walked away down the hallway.

Jeong-woo entered the Perfumery Room, opened his laptop, and searched for the company ‘P&Z’.

【Air-like freshness. Perfume infused into fabric deodorizers. Innovative deodorizer ‘DeZone Air’.】

The interview with the CEO of ‘P&Z’ in the article revealed ambitious plans to increase their market share from the current 50% to 70% with this ‘DeZone Air’ in the line of deodorizers that already held more than 50% of the market.

‘At the final development stage, what could be going wrong? We should be more at ease here so that we can provide better support for our project.’

Thinking about this, Jeong-woo couldn’t help but sigh as he realized that the situation could complicate the promised addition of Fragrance Design Team’s Shin Ki-woo to their project.