"So this is Hanyang University."
I buttoned up my coat against the biting winter wind and entered the campus.
"It's winter break, but it's deserted."
Only a few students were scattered around, making the campus feel empty.
The memory of not being able to go to college due to my family's financial situation flashed through my mind. I felt a pang of nostalgia just stepping onto the campus.
"I never imagined I would come here like this. Well, it doesn't matter. I'm successful enough."
Most students here were probably studying hard to get a good job and earn money, weren't they?
Thinking about it that way, I had already achieved what most of them dreamed of.
I walked briskly, asking students for directions to the chemistry department.
"Welcome. I'm Professor Kang Dong-woo from the chemistry department."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Sol from Chunha Trading."
Professor Kang Dong-woo was a thin man with horn-rimmed glasses. He looked exactly like the stereotypical image of a professor I had in mind.
"Shall we go to the lab? I'll explain everything in detail on the way."
I followed Professor Kang and listened to his explanation as we walked down the hallway.
"The first phase of the gold recovery method involves incinerating the boards, turning them into powder, and then adding chemicals in sequence to solidify each material, leaving only gold in the end."
"I see."
"But the problem is that during the solidification process of certain materials with specific chemicals, some of the gold solidifies along with them, resulting in a recovery rate of only 70%."
"Is it expensive?"
"Based on the samples you provided, the cost of chemicals for 1 ton would be about 4 million won. We need hazardous materials like sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, as well as some specialized chemicals."
4 million won per ton and a recovery rate of only 70%? It would be better to just pay the transportation cost and deliver the boards to the Japanese smelter.
But it was still a useful technology for sampling.
The purpose of the research project was to determine the gold content of specific products, and we had achieved that goal.
"That's good enough. It's valuable as a sampling technology."
"But that's not all. I'm confident that with a little more research, we can develop a more efficient and cost-effective method. Here's the lab. Please come in."
Seeing my satisfaction, Professor Kang seemed eager and led me into the lab.
The lab was filled with flasks, beakers, and the pungent smell of chemicals.
"Now, I'll demonstrate the technology."
Professor Kang took out the shredded board I had provided, weighed it, and said,
"I'll incinerate this now."
From then on, he bombarded me with words that sounded like an alien language.
"We use sulfuric acid to incinerate the impurities in the first stage. As you can see, the sulfuric acid is reacting with the material, creating bubbles."
"Ah, yes."
"Then we remove the incinerated impurities…"
My head was spinning. The smell of sulfuric acid was nauseating, and I couldn't understand what the professor was saying.
"Now, we usually need to wait for the water to drain, but I already removed the water from the crystals, anticipating your visit. Then we use zinc powder to…"
After a long process of heating, mixing, and filtering, the professor finally used an oxy-fuel torch to apply intense heat, added some powder, and said,
"It's done. This is the final gold product."
After an hour-long demonstration, Professor Kang presented me with a tiny speck of gold.
"It's really gold! But the color doesn't look very good."
It was small, but it was undeniably gold, with a shimmering yellow luster. However, some parts were tarnished black.
"Those are impurities. I'm a chemist, so I was able to extract the gold through chemical reactions, but I'm not a gold specialist, so the purity is a bit low. It's about 90% pure gold."
I took the gold and examined it from all angles.
"At least we can now estimate the gold content of the boards. Thank you for your hard work. And you remember our agreement, right?"
From the beginning, we had agreed to pay a bonus of 20 million won in exchange for the professor not disclosing the research results in any form, such as academic papers.
"Of course. But with a little more research, we might be able to achieve even higher efficiency. It would be a shame to stop here, wouldn't it?"
I replied indifferently,
"It takes this long to process just 1 kg of samples. Even if we increase the recovery rate, it wouldn't be very profitable."
"Please hear me out."
Professor Kang tried to persuade me, but all I saw was his greed for more research funding.
I had provided him with about 100 kg of samples.
He had said it would cost 4 million won per ton, which included failed experiments. I was sure he hadn't even used half of the 100 million won research funding.
I regretted offering him so much money, knowing that it would be completed so quickly. But I had made a promise, and I wasn't interested in funding further research.
Seeing my lack of interest, Professor Kang said hurriedly,
"Wait, I have a student I want to introduce you to. She's very bright and can explain things better than I can. Please wait."
He left the lab.
"He must have made a hefty profit already. Isn't he being too greedy?"
A moment later, Professor Kang returned with a woman wearing glasses and a ponytail.
"This is Lee Ju-hee. She's a master's student. Ju-hee, please explain."
"Uh, explain what?"
Professor Kang's forehead creased in frustration.
"I told you to explain the gold recovery technology on the way here!"
"Gold recovery? Nice to meet you, I'm Lee Ju-hee."
I shook her outstretched hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Park Sol from Chunha Trading."
Lee Ju-hee said in a nonchalant voice,
"With more research time, we could improve the efficiency of the first-phase sampling technology."
And then she fell silent.
"…Is that it?"
"That's it."
Professor Kang gritted his teeth.
"Ju-hee, you need to explain it in more detail so we can continue the research."
"What else is there to say? It's obvious that the technology will improve with more research."
"No, that's not the point. You need to explain specifically how you're going to improve it."
"That's all there is to it. There's nothing more to say. Besides, I just kind of…"
Professor Kang hurriedly covered her mouth as she was about to continue.
"Hahaha, Ju-hee must be tired. CEO Park, better technology requires more investment, right?"
He then whispered to Lee Ju-hee,
"If you keep acting like this, you'll be in trouble, Ju-hee. Do you want to drop out of school?"
Professor Kang continued explaining about further research, but I had stopped listening the moment Lee Ju-hee entered the lab.
She looked familiar, as if I had seen her somewhere before.
"Excuse me, Ju-hee, have we met before? You look familiar."
Lee Ju-hee, who had removed Professor Kang's hand from her mouth, looked at me closely and said,
"Now that you mention it, you do look familiar."
We stared at each other in confusion and then exclaimed simultaneously,
"That's right, Japan!"
"That's right, Japan!"
It was the woman I had met at the hotel bar in Naoshima, Japan.
"The guy who hit on me!"
"No… I wasn't hitting on you."
I told Professor Kang, who was chattering non-stop beside me, that I knew Lee Ju-hee and wanted to talk to her privately. He tried to follow us, but I said I would leave without funding further research if he kept interrupting. He looked at Lee Ju-hee with an anxious expression and asked her to explain everything to me.
It was impossible to have a proper conversation in the lab with Professor Kang hovering over us, so I took Lee Ju-hee to a coffee shop near the university.
We ordered coffee, sat down, and introduced ourselves again.
"Hahaha, what a coincidence. It's nice to meet you again. I'm Lee Ju-hee."
"I'm Park Sol. I thought you were a career woman when I saw you in Japan, but you're a student."
"Yes, I went to Japan for a change of pace during summer break."
"I see. And just to be clear, I wasn't hitting on you. I just wanted to buy you a drink because I was happy to meet another Korean in Japan."
"Really?"
After clearing up the misunderstanding, Lee Ju-hee took a sip of coffee and said,
"Anyway, the professor keeps asking me to explain something. Tell me what you're curious about."
"To put it simply, I'm satisfied with the research results, but the professor wants to continue the research. But can the recovery rate and efficiency really be improved with further research?"
"What level of improvement are you expecting?"
I thought for a moment and said,
"Based on the samples I provided, I want the cost to be 1 million won per ton, with a 98% recovery rate for gold, silver, and copper. Well, it doesn't have to be that high."
Lee Ju-hee immediately shook her head.
"It's impossible with just chemistry. Even if we improve it, the recovery rate won't exceed 80%. Cost reduction is also difficult."
"Then why is Professor Kang so insistent on continuing the research?"
Lee Ju-hee scoffed.
"What else? He wants more research funding. That sampling method, I just whipped it up in a day because I was bored. It's something any chemistry student can do with their eyes closed."
"One day? And you made it, not the professor? Is it really that simple?"
"Yes, very simple. You invested 100 million won in research funding, right? You got completely ripped off. It probably didn't even cost 20 million won."
I was shocked to hear that I had been ripped off even more than I had imagined. I stared blankly into space, and then a thought struck me.
"Wait, are you saying that any chemistry graduate can achieve a 70% recovery rate at a cost of 4 million won per ton?"
"Not everyone, but it's just a matter of time with a little research. I'm amazing, so I whipped it up in a day."
Her words made my face turn pale.
I had initially assumed it was a technology that the professor had developed over a month, but if it was that easy to create, it was a completely different story.
"And that level of technology is useless to me, but for others…"
We were making a profit of about 18 million won per ton of motherboards delivered to the smelter.
But if someone used this crude technology, they could still make a profit of nearly 10 million won per ton, considering the recovery rate.
Turning a 200,000 won item into 10 million won, a 50-fold profit, was an offer anyone would find tempting.
And if this simple gold recovery technology spread…
Seeing my pale face, Lee Ju-hee asked with a concerned expression,
"Are you okay? You look unwell."
"I'm fine. I'm fine."
I was lost in thought, my mind racing. Lee Ju-hee looked at her watch and said,
"If you're done asking questions, can I leave? I have a lot of research to do."
As she was about to stand up, I hurriedly stopped her.
"Wait, can I have your contact information?"
Lee Ju-hee tilted her head.
"You said you weren't hitting on me. Are you interested?"
"No, no, it's not that. I wanted to contact you if I have any questions about the sampling technology. It seems like you developed it yourself, right?"
Lee Ju-hee thought for a moment and said,
"Alright, I'll give it to you. But you're really not hitting on me?"
"I'm not!"
"That hurts my pride. Okay."