[Starting Over (2)]
He was reasonably good at English, and since he often toyed with the idea of studying abroad, reading this level of English wasn't a problem. However, the terms and conditions were quite specific:
British scholarship, from BP (British Petroleum plc.)
Annual scholarship of $11,000 and research support funds of up to $7,000 provided quarterly.
Scholar's living expenses: $2,000.
Must satisfy the following conditions:
- Write at least 2 academic journal papers related to organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, or petroleum chemistry while enrolled: Requires review by an advisor.
- Write 3 essays of 5,200 words each, in addition to the above papers, and obtain approval from BP's scholarship officer.
- Submit an annual report on BP plc.'s development direction and business improvement proposals.
- Participate in the annual petroleum chemistry research camp held in London.
"This doesn't seem like something a college student could actually pull off..."
"Right? That's why neither the General Manager nor I knew it existed."
"...This is chemistry. If I had been a chemistry major..."
"You couldn't do it. How could anyone? Have you ever written a research paper?"
I hadn't. I just scraped by with my credits and graduated. Isn't that what everyone does? Anyway, while I couldn't take my eyes off the monitor, Eunbyul spoke up.
"Honestly, if someone manages to do all this... I mean, our company's entrance exam isn't even this hard,"
"What are you talking about? When I took the entrance exam, I almost chased down the person who wrote question number 32."
I asked her what the question was—
"'80g of salt was added to a 10% concentration saltwater solution, resulting in a 14% concentration solution. Then, 500ml of water was added, resulting in an 11% concentration solution. What was the initial amount of the 10% saltwater solution?'"
"..."
"I barely managed to solve it."
I don't think I could solve that either. Well, maybe if I tried... so that's the kind of stuff they put on the test. It’s not overwhelmingly difficult, but having to solve 80 questions like that in 50 minutes...
"Right. You did well. Anyway, does this person work at BP?"
"No, they work at DW Chemical."
"Why?"
I mean, they offered a scholarship like that—why wouldn't they join BP?
"That’s exactly why we need to recruit this person."
"Recruit... uh, anyway... why did they come to our company?"
Of course, Doowon was bigger than BP, but compared to one of its subsidiaries, DW Chemical, they were on par. It was strange that someone would turn down a foreign company that even provided a scholarship to go somewhere else.
"BP was pushing for biodiesel, but this employee submitted a thesis on alternative gasoline. I guess that's why they failed the interview."
"Ah... so you can fail an interview even with a scholarship...?"
Why does she know so much about this?
"Eun, are you close with this person? You seem to know everything..."
"Of course. I'm quite well-connected..." She tried to joke, but when I gave her a look telling her to be honest, she continued, "...We absolutely hate each other. I think they're the same age as you, Senior. We were in the same Chemical Engineering department at our school."
"I had someone like that in my school days..."
That aside, wait a second. You hate each other?
"Why do you hate each other?"
"...My father fired their father."
"What?"
I have a bad feeling about this.
"How do you know about their father?"
"This person... they hate me so much. I joined a club in college and ran into them. They started yelling at me, saying they’d kill me... I was genuinely scared, and that's how I found out the story."
Eunbyul kept talking. Apparently, Chairman Eun Seongmin, Eunbyul's father, hadn't even known he was firing them; he had just signed off on a restructuring plan because there were too many employees. It was a time when the company was struggling, so it was understandable, but I could still empathize with the other side.
"...Okay. They became poor because their father was fired. I understand that, but why do they hate you, Eun?"
"..."
"Tell me everything, don't hide anything."
Then she said, "...Actually, you and this person could have met..."
"...?"
"I just... told a little lie to hide it. I saw this woman trying to apply for the club that started the GPL project... I mean, what kind of help could a girl with such a nasty temper provide there! Well, now... it's a different story, but anyway!"
Wait, another woman? And she's an engineering major?
...It's a prejudice, but still.
So, according to Eunbyul: The 'woman' recognized Eunbyul while trying to apply for the club and started cursing at her. Then, Eunbyul swapped the club signs between the other club room and the 'Water Energy' room—one of the clubs at Seoul National University where the GPL project began—so the woman couldn't apply to the right place. Because of the school rule that you had to withdraw from a club and wait a semester before joining another, the 'woman' had to spend a semester in a weird chess club. By the time the next semester started, the project had turned into GPL and disappeared from the school.
"She kept blabbering about how she was going to write a thesis on this, and I just hated listening to it..."
"Why would you send someone who wanted to join to a different place?"
"I didn't like her! That place is where my love, the Senior I must marry someday, is!"
She sounds like a fanatic. I never said I would marry her...
"...Are you not planning to marry me?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Just put your face on the news, fighting for management rights over Seongjeong, okay?"
Ugh... this crazy girl.
"If you're sitting right next to me, do you think she'll come?"
"She's worth bringing in. Look at you, Senior. Her chemical knowledge is... almost at a PhD level."
That is true.
"And... she probably won't want to come anyway."
"...?"
"I don't know if it's because of me or what, but she just hates chaebols, chaebol companies, and chaebol families."
...? But you said she was at DW Chemical earlier...
"I don't know. Maybe she still wants to make money."
"What kind of person is she?"
"Exactly. Isn't it strange? I sent her away well, didn't I? Right?"
Seeing Eunbyul leaning in, I pushed her forehead away with my palm and said,
"That may be, but she's someone I'd like to have. Honestly, I don't think one person will be enough. I'll have to look for several people, but..."
"..."
"That's what I felt while building the in-house venture. One person worth a hundred. Venture companies need people who are worth a hundred. Imagine having just 10 people like that. Then the company has a thousand employees from the start. That's the kind of person I need."
And then,
"I think this person is promising. I need to make contact first. I need to check... just how much knowledge she has."
"...I shouldn't have told you."
"I mean, with this level of knowledge, she should be working at ISG. Why is this woman here—"
I stopped mid-sentence. Right. A woman who hates chaebols would feel disgusted working at a chaebol subsidiary every single day, so she would hate going to a department that professionally manages chaebol groups even more than death.
However,
"As far as I know, everything else is fine, but she's an experienced hire, right?"
"Ah?" So it wasn't an open recruitment?
"I heard she went to Total after failing at BP."
"Ah... Total, I see. But why did she leave there?"
"Maybe she couldn't speak English either. As far as I know, she went there and... about 6 months later? I went to the central library and saw her studying with a DSAT book."
I think I'll have to ask her myself when I meet her to see if she really can't speak English. And honestly, not being able to speak English wasn't that big of a problem. It's not like GPL is a company that does anything other than mix reagents and put them into cars. ...Thinking about that, I felt a little better. The expectation that I might be able to go back to the way things were.
The flame of passion that had burned out in my heart a year ago, leaving behind nothing but smoke and soot; the confidence that I could do it; the certainty; the expectation of success; the feeling that I could finally be recognized on my own, away from the shadow of being a 'golden spoon'—could I feel that again?
"...But Senior, she really doesn't like chaebols."
"Well, considering her father was fired from a chaebol company, that's understandable."
"No, it's just... it's not to that extent. She just loathes them. Quite a lot..."
"Hey. I'm a stranger to her. I'm not the one who caused her any ill will. Wouldn't I be fine?"
Why is she trying to scare me so much?
"Where is DW Chemical again..."
"It's in Incheon."
"Ah. Right. It must be in that Free Economic Zone."
As I searched for DW Chemical on my phone, I finally found the address of the place listed simply as DW Chemical among the countless local branches and factories.
"Hmm... 1, Jungbong-daero 402beon-gil, Seo-gu, Incheon. It's a bit far...?"
"You have to go find her if you want to meet her."
"No, I'll just call her. Tell her to come to the headquarters for a moment."
"...?"
Eunbyul looked at me with an expression that said it wouldn't work, and I asked her,
"This is when I use my Executive Director power."
"You'll get hurt if you do that. That woman curses really well."
"...Did she curse at you too?"
"Oh, you have no idea. She called me all sorts of things..."
It sounded like she was no ordinary person.