A Request from Across the Sea (4)
At the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, Secretary of Defense Mark Milley was reading Dr. Catherine Hamilton’s report with meticulous care.
Spread across his desk were DARPA’s analysis of the Dualtex fabric and the results of its tests.
He said to Michael Rivers, the DARPA director standing beside him, “This is unbelievable. Even when we sent the sample request to Korea, I thought there was no way, but... am I reading this correctly?”
“Yes, sir. Every test was conducted under strict procedures. The Dualtex fabric is 32.4 percent lighter than the current U.S. military combat uniform, and it outperforms it in both breathability and durability. Its performance in high-temperature environments is especially exceptional.”
The secretary read the conclusion on the final page once more.
“It says that in operations in environments like Afghanistan or Iraq, it can reduce soldiers’ physical fatigue by 22 percent... 22 percent... This figure is actually written correctly, right?”
“It is, sir. Dr. Hamilton’s team expects this fabric to greatly improve the U.S. military’s operational efficiency.”
The secretary fell into thought for a moment, then made up his mind.
“Good. I officially approve the introduction of this combat uniform material.”
“Thank you, sir.”
After Michael Rivers, the DARPA director, withdrew, Secretary of Defense Mark Milley called in the deputy secretary.
He had the deputy look over the report submitted by Michael Rivers, then said, “We’ll proceed as part of the Army equipment modernization program. Instruct the Army to establish the detailed requirements for quantity, specifications, performance conditions, and so on. And have the Defense Acquisition Program Administration visit Korea in person to conduct the negotiations.”
Deputy Secretary Mulkins, who had been unable to hide his astonishment after reading the report, asked, “How should we approach the Korean government?”
“Notify the Korean Ministry of National Defense of our intentions through the official diplomatic channels. This is more than simple technical cooperation; it also carries the meaning of strengthening the alliance, so they’ll probably welcome it.”
“But since it’s a Korean company, how will procurement work...?”
“First, let’s officially import a small pilot quantity, deploy it in the field, and verify the performance. After that, we can request negotiations for licensed production or technology transfer.”
Deputy Secretary Mulkins nodded as though that much would pose no problem.
“Understood, sir. I’ll notify the Korean Ministry of National Defense immediately.”
*
President’s office at Haesol Textile.
Seung-hyun was still struggling with sleep, his eyes red-rimmed, as he threw himself into developing specialized hotel bedding.
All around him lay dozens of fabric samples and test reports.
He did make a point of going in, sleeping, washing up, and coming back out, but there had not been a single day when he had slept more than four hours.
That was because people were waiting on him in Japan, and he wanted to finish the development as quickly as possible, no matter what it took.
Looking down at the first completed fabric, Seung-hyun muttered, “Durability’s improved a lot with the long-staple compact cotton, but...”
He checked the test results again.
The fabric with added long-staple compact cotton had definitely become more durable, but there was still something about it that made it feel inadequate for sending to Okura Tokyo.
What concerned him most was the GyeolBit embroidery and quilting.
He was worried about how well those parts would stand up to high-temperature washing and constant friction.
“The embroidery and quilting are the problem...”
Seung-hyun started digging through papers and specialized books again.
While reading dozens of academic papers, one fiber caught his eye.
“A functional low-melting polyester fiber that melts at a lower temperature than ordinary polyester... What if I combine this?”
He read the paper in detail.
Low-melting polyester was a fiber that melted at a lower temperature than ordinary polyester, and the paper explained that during heat treatment it bonded with the surrounding fibers, greatly improving durability and shape retention.
It was a material Haesol Textile had never used before.
Seung-hyun immediately went to find Park Han-soo, the factory manager.
“Manager Park, could we get our hands on some low-melting polyester yarn?”
“Low-melting polyester? I’ll check. What do you need it for?”
“I’d like to add a little to the hotel bedding fabric.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll start by asking the nearby factories, and if they don’t have it, I’ll contact suppliers. There’s bound to be some somewhere.”
As he said, low-melting polyester was not particularly hard to obtain.
Fortunately, there was a mattress manufacturer near the second plant, and apparently they had quite a lot of it there.
Seung-hyun managed to secure the low-melting polyester in just three hours and immediately modified the weaving program and adjusted the equipment.
He then produced the first test fabric with a perfectly ordinary ratio of 50 percent French linen, 30 percent modal, 15 percent long-staple compact cotton, and 5 percent low-melting polyester.
“This time it should come out well.”
Factory Manager Park Han-soo encouraged Seung-hyun.
“Ha... I hope so.”
“Yes. Then you can finally get some sleep, sir.”
“I can sleep later, but Japan’s waiting for this for now...”
Seung-hyun set the weaving machine’s temperature five degrees higher than usual.
At first, he thought it was obvious that it would not come out right, and sure enough, it did not.
The fabric’s grain was uneven and partially bunched up, leaving it wrinkled, but Seung-hyun wasn’t all that disappointed.
“Hm... maybe I should try adjusting the ratio a little this time?”
He did not give up. Instead, he changed the yarn ratio and produced three more test fabrics.
Each had been made under a different temperature and humidity, with slightly different yarn ratios.
Seung-hyun took the four test fabrics into his office, let out a short breath, and picked them all up at once.
Then,
【Structure arrangement = High-density plain weave】
【Ideal optimized ratio = French linen 44.9 percent, modal 33.6 percent, long-staple compact cotton 17.8 percent, low-melting polyester 3.7 percent】
【Temperature = 30.2°C】
【Humidity = 60%】
New information appeared.
“High Thread Count Plain Weave?”
The weaving structure had changed entirely.
“Is it because of the long-staple fiber?”
Seung-hyun’s head began to ache, but he still used that information to start revising the weaving program again.
The good news was that the weaving structure itself was not very difficult.
It was a method woven at a higher thread count than ordinary plain weave, somewhere in the 300 to 600 TC range, making it denser while still achieving both softness and resilience.
It paired especially well with Egyptian cotton, so Seung-hyun felt a flicker of anticipation as he adjusted the program and immediately ran the machine.
Whirrrr.
This time, perhaps because he looked considerably tense, Factory Manager Park Han-soo said nothing and simply stared at the machine.
And then,
“It’s out!”
The fabric, pure white and carrying a faint sheen, was enough at a glance to tell that a proper result had finally come out.
“Ohh-”
“What is this now?”
The staff who had been watching from the side also exclaimed in admiration at the fabric that had come out in the test.
Everyone could tell that a new fabric had emerged, one with a different feel that did not lose out to the luxury of the existing French linen blend.
Seung-hyun swallowed and ran his hand over the newly made fabric.
Its grain certainly seemed uniform, soft, and yet firm.
It preserved the softness and warmth of the original French linen while adding a subtle sheen and a clean sensation against the skin that gave off a completely different impression, one that was hard to put into words.
“Should we test it first?”
Just because it turned out well did not mean they should be satisfied immediately.
The real question was how good the results would be in the durability test that had made all this necessary in the first place.
“Yes, understood. Since everyone’s seen it, go back to work!”
Factory Manager Park Han-soo laughed, dispersing the gathered staff, then took the still-warm fabric and began testing it.
Two days later, when he returned with the completed tests, Factory Manager Park’s face was full of astonishment.
“Take a look at this.”
He handed over the test report, and after reading it, Seung-hyun was surprised despite the fact that he himself had made it.
“Wow... haha. It came out really well.”
In the abrasion wear test, where the specially built friction device repeatedly rubbed the surface of the fabric, the test fabric showed no pilling and remained smooth even after more than 30,000 rubs.
In the washing test, shrinkage remained under 1 percent even after 200 washes, and in the tensile strength test, it withstood up to 700 N, more than twice the average strength for hotel bedding.
“At this level, it’s practically a revolution in the hotel bedding industry.”
In truth, Factory Manager Park Han-soo had only been to a five-star hotel a few times, but even so, he knew very well what kind of goods were supplied to luxury hotels.
To him, this was no different from the real thing.
“I’m glad it turned out well.”
“Since this is a newly developed fabric, please give it a name.”
Seung-hyun thought for a moment, then said, “How about Solinen Prestige, combining the Sol from Haesol Textile and the main material, linen?”
“Ohh— Solinen Prestige... that’s a great name. Then I’ll get started on the patent filing with Director Hwang.”
“Yes. I’ll finally be able to get some sleep too.”
After nearly a full month, the specialized hotel bedding development was finally complete.
He felt proud, but at the same time, he also wanted nothing more than to rest for a while.
Then, all at once, he became curious.
What will Mr. Okada think when he sees this?
It would feel a little different from the existing French linen blend, so Seung-hyun found himself wondering how Okada would react.
In any case, if he responded well to it, Haesol Textile would be making a fresh start in the hotel bedding market.
“Head home early today. Get some rest.”
“Yes. I really need to rest today.”
Seung-hyun cleared his mind of all other thoughts and headed home.
For now, it seemed like he needed to spend one day doing absolutely nothing but sleeping.
*
At the Ministry of National Defense.
Minister Kim Pilyeon was reading a document that had just been delivered to him.
“The U.S. Department of Defense officially approved the adoption of our combat uniform fabric?”
The chief secretary nodded.
“Yes, sir. The U.S. Defense Acquisition Program Administration has expressed its intention to visit Korea in person to carry out the negotiations.”
Leaning back deeply in his chair, Minister Kim thought it over, then soon broke into a satisfied smile.
When the Americans first requested the sample, he had half-suspected it was merely for reference or some formal gesture, so he had been uncertain. But now that it had actually turned out this way, it felt almost unbelievable.
“This is huge. Isn’t this the definition of huge? Our combat uniform fabric might be supplied to the U.S. military.”
“That’s right. Since DARPA conducted thorough tests and recognized its performance, it’s a national cause for celebration.”
Minister Kim rose from his seat and began pacing through the office before stopping abruptly and saying, “This is a major achievement for our ministry. Who would have thought the combat uniform improvement project would develop this far?”
“Your decisive leadership in pushing the project forward certainly played a major role.”
The chief secretary immediately wagged his tail toward the minister.
Minister Kim fell into thought for a moment, then said as if making a decision, “Pass the details on to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and you do know a reporter, don’t you?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, I do.”
“Leak it a little. That our allied combat uniform improvement project is, like a butterfly effect, connecting all the way to supplying combat uniforms to the U.S. military... you know what I mean, right?”
“Understood. I’ll shape the story nicely and pass it along.”
“Good, good.”
As a minister, he had always hated and resented the annual National Assembly audit that came around every year, but now he was beginning to look forward to it a little, wondering when it would arrive.
*
A similar atmosphere was spreading through the Defense Acquisition Program Administration as well.
Administrator Oh Sangdeuk reviewed the American request in the conference room with the senior officials and said happily, “This is a major achievement for our agency. When we first started the combat uniform improvement project, I doubt anyone thought it would develop this far, but look where we are now.”
Brigadier General Won Cheong-gyu chimed in at once.
“Yes, Administrator. If it hadn’t been for your insight in actively pushing the combat uniform improvement project, we never would have reached this result.”
The same thing that had happened at the Ministry of National Defense was happening here too.
Still, Administrator Oh Sangdeuk did not forget Mok Jae-gyun, the lieutenant colonel who had started this whole snowball rolling, and gave him some praise.
“Our Lieutenant Colonel Mok also worked hard finding such a good company.”
“Thank you.”
“Nothing’s fully decided yet, and there’ll probably be an evaluation period after selecting a few units first, so let’s support Haesol Textile as much as we can to make sure there are no problems. Think of it as helping a domestic company grow.”
“Yes, understood.”
While Seung-hyun was stretched out at home from exhaustion, one more task targeting Haesol Textile had just been added to the pile.
---