A Brand-New Porter
Director Park Min-soo approached the vacuum chamber with careful, almost reverent steps and peered inside.
What the hell… He actually repaired this in two days…!?
It was hard to believe. Never mind the cost of the repair—even the original manufacturer had said the job would take three months at the absolute minimum. And yet here it was, finished in a mere two days. He stood there, utterly dumbfounded by the scene in front of him.
Unbelievable as it was, the finished product sat right before his eyes, perfect in every way.
The micro-cracks are gone… and the support struts look just like they did when we first bought it…
The flange balance would need actual testing to confirm, but at least the other two problem areas looked as though they'd been repaired to perfection.
Professor Park asked the question carefully, almost afraid of the answer.
"Um, Manager… how on earth did you manage the support struts…?"
"The supports? Ah, there was a spec sheet, so I worked from that. I did change up the alloy mix from the original, though. The new ones I made this time will last a lot longer, of course."
He remade them from scratch in just two days…?
Even requesting a support replacement from the vacuum chamber's original manufacturer would take at least two weeks. And this man had built them from nothing but a spec sheet in two days? It was like watching a magician at work.
Director Park stood there in a daze for a moment, then walked over to Cheolwoo and bowed his head again and again, overflowing with gratitude.
"I… I truly can't thank you enough! Thank you so much, Manager. You saved us. If you hadn't been here, I don't even want to think about what would have happened. Just imagining it is terrifying."
"Hahaha…"
Well, at least pulling those all-nighters was worth it.
Two sleepless nights that ended up making a real difference in someone's life. That was something to be glad about, wasn't it?
Whatever reward comes with it is just a bonus.
Park rummaged through his pockets, then looked thoroughly flustered.
"Ah, I… I really ought to give you something in return… I just rushed over here so quickly…"
I told him it was fine, waving it off.
"It's all right, Professor. More importantly, you should call a truck and get this back to the lab. You'll need to reinstall it and run your tests, won't you?"
"Ah, no… but you repaired this in two days. I can't just leave like this…"
"That can wait. Handle the urgent stuff first."
I could already picture the graduate students back at the lab, unable to sleep, waiting on nothing but the results.
Professor Park seemed to take my meaning. He nodded.
"……All right. I'll contact you as soon as the tests are done."
After wrapping everything up, I went home and slept a solid fourteen hours without waking once.
"Nnngh… Guess I really was exhausted."
I'd been so focused while I was working that I hadn't noticed, but I must have been pretty worn out. I stepped out into the living room and looked outside. I'd fallen asleep in the morning, but it was already the middle of the night.
Mom was watching TV in the living room. She turned to me with a worried look.
"Cheolwoo. You're up. How are you feeling? You weren't even breathing, you were sleeping so hard. Are you sure you're okay?"
I scratched my head, a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I was just tired."
"Aigoo. Don't push yourself too hard. Health always comes first, no matter what. You hear me? There's some red ginseng tea in the fridge—drink that."
I left Mom's worries behind, went to the fridge, drank a glass of barley tea and a glass of the ginseng water, and was about to head back to my room when she stopped me.
"Oh, right. Cheolwoo. Come to think of it, your phone rang a few times earlier."
"My phone?"
"Yeah. It was registered as some Professor Park. Is that a professor from school?"
Professor Park?
The only person I had saved under that name was Director Park Min-soo. I went to my room and checked my phone. There were several missed calls from him.
What, did something go wrong?
There was zero chance of a problem with the parts I'd repaired. Something else could have gone wrong in a place I hadn't touched, though. It was a bit late, but not so late that people would be asleep. I called Professor Park.
"Professor. This is Kang Cheolwoo. I was asleep, so I missed your calls."
Director Park Min-soo's voice came through the receiver. But it wasn't the voice of someone in a hurry, or someone with a problem. If anything, it was a voice overflowing with joy.
"Manager! Ah, it seems I interrupted your sleep."
"Not at all. It's fine. What did you need, Professor?"
"I called to thank you—you repaired it so perfectly!"
"Is that right?"
The voice on the other end rang with the kind of joy that left no room for doubt.
"Yes! We ran the experiment several times the moment we got it back today, and every single run went through perfectly—not a hint of error! Honestly, it feels like it's working even more precisely than it did before the repair!"
Did the Soul manifest in that direction?
I'd definitely felt a Soul take hold around the time the repair was finished. How it actually expressed itself, though—that was something only the user could find out by putting it to the test. This time, it seemed the Soul had applied itself toward raising the success rate of the experiments.
Director Park thanked me over and over.
"I truly cannot thank you enough! Without you, Manager, I don't know what would have become of our institute. Thanks to you, myself included, every student in this lab is deeply in your debt. Thank you so much!"
"I'm glad I could help. Makes the effort feel worthwhile."
The boss is going to be over the moon.
If Park followed through on even half of that, what landed in my pocket would be considerable. After a few months at Seil Tech, I knew one thing for certain about the man who ran it: whatever else you could say about him, Boss Han was never stingy when it came to money.
"The boss is going to love that. Thank you."
"And… if you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to call. I'll do everything in my power to assist you."
This kind of connection is nice to have, too.
Park Min-soo wasn't just a tenured university professor—he was the director of an entire university research institute. Beyond the title itself, a man in his position would have connections all over the place.
It'd be useful for requesting specialty materials I might need personally, too.
"Yes, I understand."
"I truly mean it. If you ever need help, please call. Ah, or if you happen to have any interest in graduate school, you could join our institute and still keep working…"
I answered a little more firmly than before.
"I don't think that's quite the right idea, Professor."
Professor Park seemed to realize he'd misspoken. He apologized at once.
"Ah… I'm sorry. I was so happy I got a little carried away."
What is he, some American colonist?
I almost got angry for a second there. I do the man a favor and he tries to put me in chains. For a moment, I was reminded of some old American settler.
Professor Park recovered as best he could and wrapped up the call.
"Manager Kang. Thank you so much! The next time I'm up in Seoul, I'll treat you to a proper meal."
And then the following week. A workday. The moment I walked in, Boss Han came out to greet me.
"There's our Cheolwoo! Come on, you should've taken another day off. What are you doing here already?"
"I rested plenty. Don't worry."
Boss Han led me into the office, then praised me for a job well done.
"Cheolwoo. You really outdid yourself this time. Thanks to you, we landed a major client. Turns out Director Park sits as an outside director at a few other places besides that institute, and we picked up a few jobs from those companies too."
Oh-ho…
I'd overheard that the repair fee alone was in the tens of millions of won, but it wasn't just that. Director Park had apparently made good on every last word of his promise.
The smile wouldn't leave Boss Han's face.
"The money—the amount we agreed on, plus a special bonus on top—I'll put it all in with your next paycheck. You won't feel shortchanged."
A special bonus?
I had no idea how much it would be, but at this rate I'd be able to bring some new tools into the workshop.
"Well, the special bonus is one thing, but is there anything you need? You pulled off something this big. Feels like I ought to do something for you."
Boss Han meant it. Anything at all, he said. Just name it.
Anything I need… anything I need…
I was turning it over when the rumble of an engine drifted in through the window. Vroom. Vroom.
Wait a second…
This company happened to have a few of them, and there was one thing I needed more than anything else. I looked at him with a perfectly serious face.
"Boss. In that case, could I have one of the company trucks?"
It was a fairly bold request, but by my estimate, if he'd picked up extra work from a few places besides the university, we were looking at hundreds of millions of won in new jobs coming in at the very least.
Boss Han looked startled for a moment at the word truck, then asked again.
"A truck? Hmm… We were going to switch over to electric trucks anyway for a big corporate delivery, so we've got one left over… Wait. Cheolwoo, you don't even have a license."
"I can get a license in no time."
Even with a license, a Porter like that would still cost at least ten million won. I had a little saved up, but it was a real stretch any way you looked at it.
Boss Han thought it over for a moment, then stood up from his chair.
"Okay! Fine. The money we made off your work this time isn't pocket change. I'll give you the damn truck. Can you wait about a week, though?"
"A week?"
Boss Han picked up the truck keys and headed for the door as he spoke.
"It's a gift. Feels a little cheap to hand it over in the condition it's in. Give me a week. I'll get it fully serviced before I give it to you."
Oh… See, I knew he wasn't stingy when it came to money.
There was a reason people stuck around at a small company like this for as long as they did.
"Yes, you passed."
With those words, the road test was over. In the week I spent waiting for my truck, I got my driver's license. I'd heard the test had gotten a bit harder lately, so I'd been a little nervous, but it was easier than I expected. Almost disappointing, honestly.
The day after I got my license, I was at work when Boss Han called me over.
"Cheolwoo. Come outside for a second."
I stepped out of the factory, and sitting there was a brand-new Porter.
"Boss. Isn't this a new car?"
I asked, a little stunned. The boss rubbed his nose like it was nothing.
"Well, I looked into the repair costs plus the used market price, and it came out to about the same. Not much difference from just buying a new one. So I went ahead and got a new one. The work you brought in this time wasn't exactly pocket change. I was always going to do at least this much."
Oh…
A brand-new Porter. That had to have run him at least twenty million won. Wasn't this a little excessive?
Did Director Park really send that much work our way…?
I bowed my head deeply and thanked him.
"Thank you, Boss. Would it be all right if I took it for a drive?"
"Of course. It's your car now. Ah—Cheolwoo. Did you get your license?"
I showed him the temporary license I'd received the day before and climbed into the driver's seat.
Oh man… this is nice.
Being a new car, the ride was surprisingly smooth for a truck. The boss called to me through the window.
"It's a new car. Take it for a spin."
"Are you sure that's all right?"
"I'm the boss. Who's going to say anything?"
I eased off the clutch with my left foot, started the engine, and said,
"Then I'll just take it around the block."