Starting Over Again (14)
"Don't be like that. Let's try to have a conversation."
As he spoke in a gentle tone, the woman grumbled a bit more, but soon, as if she had vented all her frustration, she withdrew her sharp, aggressive edge. "Fine. I made a mistake. I apologize."
"...I didn't bring you here to hear an apology."
"I get it. Let's hear about this case first. The report is well-written—did you write this yourself?"
First, he had to start with praise. It was better to build someone up before starting the real conversation. It was worth bowing his head just this once. Now that he knew this woman was the legendary Min Suyeon, he knew that swallowing his pride would surely pay off in the long run.
"...Well, just like I always do."
"Hmm... The cause of the accident is fuel residue in the tank..."
"There's no other reason for it. If it had exploded in the engine, maybe the mix of water and oil would be the issue, but..."
"If you use diesel in a gasoline engine, you might have to replace the entire fuel system. It's that dangerous, and I can't understand how someone could put this in and drive the car without a second thought..."
"Fermented methanol, oil extracted from algae... hydrocarbons. If you research it properly for a long time, you might get results, but honestly..."
As she spoke, he began to have questions about the things Min Suyeon had just mentioned. So, he asked, "Wait. Why extract oil from algae?"
"Because algae are excellent at absorbing oil from the sea. That alone makes it usable as fuel."
"...And the methanol?"
"To prevent abnormal combustion in the engine. You could call it preventing... knocking."
....? No, at this level, she could just go out and make it herself... Ah, he finally remembered why this woman had been kicked out of BP. They said she was rejected by BP while trying to create alternative energy. That meant...
"Then the hydrocarbons are..."
"Because they're flammable. They're also a major component of petroleum. They're essential."
"And water..."
"I added hydrocarbons with better explosive power than water, so it's better. However..."
Then why wasn't she making it?
"Obviously, it's difficult. It takes a lot of time. There are many types of hydrocarbons, too. Are you... hmm, did you major in chemistry?"
"No, I majored in industrial engineering."
"Then why do you know things like this... Hydrocarbons are divided into saturated and unsaturated, and you have to use unsaturated hydrocarbons to make eco-friendly alternative gasoline. They're usually called alkenes..."
"...Yes."
"It's stuff that comes up in college chemistry anyway; it's just that people there aren't interested in it..."
It had turned into a private tutoring session. Even so, Eunbyul was busy trying to revive the now-limp man with her mouth. It was a somewhat ridiculous situation, but well, he couldn't exactly stop it. If he moved his hand under the desk, it would look suspicious...
"Hydrocarbons with double bonds are called alkenes. Alkenes themselves aren't elements... anyway, they extract that from petroleum to make various things. Like plastic."
"..."
"To do this kind of work, you shouldn't just extract alkenes from petroleum; you have to create alkenes and then petrochemically process them. Since alkenes are very important in petrochemicals, if you succeed in this, you can make alcohol, aldehydes, epoxides, all sorts of things."
"But there's no case in human history where this has succeeded. It's a path no one has taken, and they say it's difficult. Hydrogen or electric vehicles are in the spotlight instead..."
That was when he said, "I haven't seen what kind of person you are in person, but I have looked into what you've done and what kind of work you've been involved in."
"....?"
"I read the papers you wrote while trying to create alternative energy. It seems you've done some related work as well."
"...It's over anyway. I'm not doing that kind of work anymore..."
He cut her off. "Just do it. Come here and do it."
"....?"
The woman, looking as if she had no idea what he was talking about, let out a deep sigh and a scoff. "I guess you don't know how the world works. I get it—you're just a rich person with too much money and nowhere to spend it, looking for a hobby."
"...."
"But I don't want to be a part of that, and I won't. I'm busy enough with my own work."
"Do you know how hard it is to synthesize alkenes directly? It's tens of thousands of times better to just extract them from petroleum, which is why we live in the world we do now. The core of alternative energy is synthesizing alkenes. But what materials are you going to use, and what ratio will you use to synthesize them? You have to keep experimenting, experimenting, and experimenting until you can't see the end. Do you think you can do that?"
"There are an incredible number of types of hydrocarbons. Since it's eco-friendly, whether you mix corn and sugarcane, or pumpkins and weeds, various hydrocarbons can be derived. You have to keep doing those experiments to make alkenes. Perhaps alkenes are a raw material that can't be created. If that's the case, this business itself is a non-starter."
"..."
It was a hopeless story. However, at that point, the woman suddenly became curious. Come to think of it, the person trying to push this forward was a *chaebol*. Someone who had so much money it was overflowing, someone who didn't necessarily have to take on any challenges. She wondered why this person, who unlike her could live comfortably for the rest of his life without doing a thing, was attempting something like this.
"Why are you doing this? It's a pathetic thing to do..."
"..."
"If it were me, I'd rather just run a gas station. Or research bacteria related to food waste... This isn't the kind of work you should be doing."
"But Min Suyeon, you could do it, couldn't you?"
The woman looked at him. As if asking what he meant.
"I saw that you actually reached the threshold of success through repeated research. I'll say it again: come work for our Alternative Energy Development Group."
"BP might hate that kind of work, but we need it. You must have been so angry because you were stuck doing unrelated work in other departments until now."
It was understandable. She must have envied those who could do the work they loved to their heart's content. But if she knew they were abandoning such strange, futile efforts, she would be dumbfounded. So, he said—
"If you want to do it yourself, you can. I'll give you the opportunity."
"...Giving me an opportunity? Your wording is really shitty, seriously."
"Rather than nitpicking my words, wouldn't it be better to do the work you want to do while getting paid for it?"
She pondered for a moment. "...If I say I don't want to, you're the one who loses out, right? Acting like you're bestowing charity..."
As she said that, he signaled to Eunbyul to take her mouth off for a moment, and Eunbyul complied. He zipped up his pants, glanced once at the crouching Eunbyul, and said, "I heard you were someone who was short on money."
"...Ah, how much did you look into me? What am I, some kind of object? Something that gets sold if you give it money? Ha, seriously..."
"No."
"I'll let you do the work you want to do, and I'll even raise your salary conditions higher than they were before."
"If it looks so pathetic to you, why don't you come and do it yourself?"
"The best way to ignore someone isn't with words, but by showing them through action. I don't think you like your current job very much. Anyway, that department is just working on improving bio-diesel, so... I don't think you'd be interested."
"With your level of scholarship, I expect you to stand out sufficiently. The report's content is excellent as well. Given that you identified the cause of the accident and even advised on your own solutions, I think your swearing is just a habit, and in reality, you might have had a great interest in the alternative gasoline business we were pursuing..."
"Expectations are high, so disappointments are deep. If that's why you were so angry, then... I can fully understand that."
In truth, the accident investigation report was well-written. It was a report that even he, who didn't know much about chemistry and had only focused on work related to GPL, could read comfortably despite the complex terminology. She had 3D-modeled the vehicle, explained in scientific terms which part the explosion occurred in and that the cause was gasoline residue, and added that if given more time, she would remodel the vehicle to match the same conditions and experiment to see if her predicted cause was correct or if there was another reason.
Before he figured out why this woman named Min Suyeon kept hating *chaebols*, why she showed hostility toward him, why she considered this explosion so pathetic and frustrating, and what the source of her anger was, he decided while reading the report that he had to bring her into his fold.
That, well, he could find out later.
"If I say I don't want to..."
"Yes."
"Doesn't it cause a problem if I say no? It's hopeless anyway..."
He stood up slowly, fiddling with the documents as he spoke.
"You'll have to take responsibility for the profanity and rudeness you've shown. Regardless of whether one is a *chaebol*, an executive, or a regular employee, there is a basic courtesy that must be kept between people. I'm sure the people at the Support Division outside heard Min Suyeon swearing. If I ask the lawyer I saw earlier, legal action is also possible."
He wouldn't just take a beating.
