Chemistry

「Berlin, 07:34 PM」 – CIA Mobile Outpost

Inside a food truck adorned with images of Germany’s famous currywurst, the space was filled not with food but with communication equipment and monitors.

-Unidentified individual entering the 6th floor. Please confirm.

A radio crackled, and one of the monitors switched to a hacked CCTV feed of a hotel hallway. As the man passing through the corridor was scanned, the adjacent monitor displayed information: ‘Aziz’, Hamas weapons supply operative.

CIA Europe Division Chief Nathan watched Aziz’s face and asked.

『Have we tapped room 603 yet?』

『Millis signaled it will take one minute.』

David, who was operating the communication devices, connected another CCTV feed. An agent disguised as a hotel staff member pushing a room service cart was shown walking down the hallway. The agent knocked on the door of room 603, and the door opened to let in the cart.

-Delivery complete.

Through the tiny camera on the end of the cart, the scene inside the room began transmitting to the monitor.

Ssshhh.

-Welcome. Was your flight comfortable?

-The goods?

The man approaching Aziz was a sleek-looking white male in his forties. The analysis monitor automatically scanned his face and displayed information: ‘Robert Ofron’, arms dealer.

-In a hurry, are we? Well, let me ask quickly. Is the money ready?

-Swiss account. Three million.

Aziz waved his phone displaying the transfer screen, and Robert smiled, nodding to his subordinate. The subordinate placed a black box on the table.

-This is a unique new material. It wasn’t easy to smuggle out.

The box, made of thick metal, opened to reveal a sophisticated sealed container, about the size of two fingers.

『Zoom in.』

Nathan adjusted his glasses and scrutinized the sealed container as it appeared larger on the screen.

『Let’s see. What material are you selling this time? Your finances must be tight if you’re dealing with the notoriously dirty Hamas.』

『Does Robert know he’s a famous CIA intelligence-gathering tool? We’ve uncovered several arms deals thanks to him. Maybe we should draft a contract for him.』

『Don’t joke. If we shove a contract in his face, he’ll disappear. This level of distance is just right…』

At that moment.

A loud crash and the sound of shattering glass came from the surveillance camera in room 603. Nathan and David flinched.

-Intruders! Who the hell are…!

Robert’s scream echoed as the cart with the surveillance device toppled over, sending the screen into a dizzying spin before settling on the wall.

Loud bangs and flashes followed, and then the room went dark.

『Millis!』

The agent disguised as a hotel employee was seen running urgently down the hallway on the CCTV. Pressing his ear against the door of room 603, he listened intently.

-I hear nothing.

『Hold on. External cameras?』

Adjusting the screen, Nathan switched to a CCTV feed from a building across the street, showing the window of room 603.

Two shadowy figures were lowering an unconscious Robert down the window with a rope.

『What the hell is that?』

Another CCTV caught a waiting vehicle. People jumped out to receive Robert and the two shadows rappelled down.

Screech—!

The vehicle sped into the darkness.

『Send a pursuit team. Millis, check inside.』

The agent entered room 603 and immediately radioed back.

-Everyone’s unconscious. This looks like the work of professionals. The goods are gone too.

『What?』

An unknown group had intervened in the weapons deal between the arms dealer and the terrorist, skillfully evading CIA surveillance. They were not ordinary operatives.

『Why did they kidnap Robert?』

A moment later, the operations team pursuing the vehicle reported back.

-We found the car, but no one was inside.

『They executed the escape perfectly. Report the discovery of an illegal arms deal to the German authorities. Millis, clean up the scene and get out.』

The video signal from the surveillance device in room 603 cut out.

Nathan turned his attention to the central screen displaying the sealed container.

『David, what do you think that is?』

『Not sure. Biological weapon? Poison? Nuclear?』

『Send this video to the analysis team.』

David followed the order but asked quietly.

『With all due respect to the team, can they accurately identify the substance just from the video?』

Nathan shared the concern, his expression heavy.

『That chemist…』

『Sir?』

『A year ago, a doctor participated as a consultant in the ‘Mass Destruction Nerve Agents’ discussion at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He might be able to.』

『Just by looking?』

『He humiliated two of our experts in that session. Find the records and track him down.』

David, quickly gathering information, looked up in surprise.

『Chief, Dr. Cheon Seung-guk is currently in a hospital in Genoa. He’s in critical condition on a ventilator.』

『What?』

「Seoul, 03:05 AM」 – A Chemist’s Private Laboratory

Jeong-woo’s hands paused over the keyboard. He had just finished typing the final period of the last paragraph for the materials to be sent to Dr. Moon. Stretching, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, it’s done.”

It was already early Monday morning. While he could have taken his time, he had sacrificed his entire weekend to finish early, hoping to have a more relaxed week ahead.

In addition…

Jeong-woo picked up his phone and opened his message inbox.

[I’m super free after finishing my solo activity interview. Have you done a lot of that ?research? you talked about?]

[Not yet.]

[Che.]

[I think I’ll be free next week too. I can take a day off during the week. If Yi-seol says to continue with that research, I’ll just do it.]

[!!!]

The date had been set for Wednesday. Feeling excited about his upcoming meeting with Yoon Yi-seol, Jeong-woo closed his laptop.

He debated whether to sleep in the chair or in the on-call room until morning, deciding the latter for its spaciousness. Just as he stood up, his phone vibrated suddenly.

‘Hmm?’

Seeing a familiar name, he quickly answered the call.

“Dr. Moon, I just sent you the materials via email.”

-You’re not busy right now, are you?

“Uh, no.”

-Who was it? ISTC?

-Yes, we are.

An English conversation could be heard over the phone.

-Jeong-woo, the International Science and Technology Council? They need some consulting.

“From me?”

-They came to see Dr. Cheon Seung-guk, but he’s not in a condition to talk.

“Dr. Moon, were you with Dr. Cheon?”

-I’ll explain in detail when I return. For now, about the consulting. What do you want to do?

“What kind of consulting? If I can help, I will.”

-They’ll send you a video via email. They want to know if you can identify what’s in it.

Jeong-woo reopened his laptop. A few seconds later, an email arrived. Clicking it, a high-resolution video began playing. It showed a meticulously sealed container with a glowing red liquid compound inside.

‘Hold on.’

Jeong-woo narrowed his eyes and focused on the molecular structure in the video. The interior of the container revealed a vast network of glowing molecules, forming a complex web. However, due to the video’s limitations, much of it was obscured, appearing foggy.

“The bonds are very strong, especially in terms of heat resistance. It seems like a compound designed to maintain its form even in molten lava.”

Dr. Moon’s voice could be heard translating Jeong-woo’s explanation over the phone.

-Jeong-woo.

“Yes?”

-They’re asking if it has any explosive or toxic properties.

Peering through the foggy molecular network, Jeong-woo identified a circular molecular structure within. The molecules appeared hollow, like a ball.

“I don’t see any explosive or toxic properties. It looks like a structure that could bond with something inside the liquid. In a way, it seems incomplete. Hold on a moment.”

He input the partial data into KG Chemical’s material library database. After adjusting the parameters, he narrowed down the similar compounds to about ten.

“It’s in the nano-structure materials category. It’s different from what we have in our library, but there’s a similar compound developed by the chemical engineering team at MIT. The identification number is…”

Dr. Moon continued translating for a while before asking.

-They want to know if you’re sure it’s not a dangerous substance.

“Defining ‘dangerous’ is subjective, but tell them it would be more effective to hit someone with a stick than to use this to harm them. Anyway, that’s all I can tell from what I see.”

-Thanks for your help, especially so late.

“I’m planning to stop working night shifts after tonight. Dr. Moon, are you coming back this week?”

-Not sure yet. I’ll keep you posted.

After the call ended, Jeong-woo turned his attention back to his laptop.

“Huh?”

The video had disappeared. Clicking through his email, Jeong-woo was puzzled. The email itself was also gone.

‘Auto-delete?’

He yawned widely and, deciding it didn’t matter much, closed his laptop.

「Seoul, Two Days Later」 – Gangnam KG Photo Studio

QBS Entertainment reporter Kim Rina stood in front of the camera.

“Returning from a delicate girl to a musician who recites evocative lyrics, Yoon Yi-seol.”

Under a parasol on the rooftop of a building, bathed in the warm afternoon sunlight, Yoon Yi-seol, dressed in a fresh fruit-patterned dress, took her seat.

“Today, we’ll talk with her about her life as a singer in her third year since debut, as she wraps up her first-half activities. Hello, Yi-seol!”

As Kim Rina greeted her, all cameras focused on Yoon Yi-seol.

“Hello.”

Yoon Yi-seol, waving her hand, wore a beaming smile. After Kim Rina sat down across the table, the interview officially began.

“Yoon Yi-seol is a hard-to-meet star. You’re known for your mystique, right? Don’t you hear a lot of complaints from fans who wish to see you more often?”

“Everyone, a new video was recently uploaded to Yi-seol TV.”

After addressing the camera, Yoon Yi-seol answered with a serious expression.

“Offstage, I have many shortcomings. I rarely do variety shows and focus only on music shows and radio because of that.”

“Shortcomings?”

“If you saw how tired and picky I am during song production, Reporter Kim, you’d shake your head too. When I’m stuck on a melody, our staff usually avoids talking to me.”

“Oh my. Yi-seol’s staff, is that true?”

At Kim Rina’s question, Manager Ji, standing to the side, nodded vigorously.

“You’re known for always smiling brightly while singing. One media outlet commented that you seem like someone who transcends trivial emotions. Soft and gentle on the outside, and probably the same on the inside. What do you have to say about that?”

“I’m a person too, so how could I only smile all the time? But on stage, I feel like a fool. Just holding the guitar and sitting there makes me happy without any thoughts. If you want to see me frown, I can try.”

Yoon Yi-seol forced a serious expression, but it still looked bright, causing the cameramen to smile.

“‘In a Dream,’ hailed as the best song of the first half of the year, also made waves as the first love song you’ve sung in two years. Did you write it thinking of someone in particular?”

At the question, Yoon Yi-seol glanced at a new staff member next to Manager Ji, her temporal manager, Han Jeong-woo. Shaking hands with Manager Ji and exchanging greetings, Jeong-woo turned his eyes to Yoon Yi-seol with a warm smile.

With a faint smile, Yoon Yi-seol answered.

“I tend to include a lot of personal experiences in my lyrics. You know, if you think about someone right before falling asleep, it means you really like them.”

“It sounds like you have someone like that.”

“Who knows~”

At this, Jeong-woo paused and took a deep breath. Yoon Yi-seol, amused by his reaction, continued the interview.

“I thought I had someone like that until I realized it was a dream. That’s why it’s ‘In a Dream.’ Now, I think I need to find someone I miss and think about even when I’m awake.”

“Viewers, Yoon Yi-seol is looking for that person. Now, the next question is about fans’ curiosity regarding you as a singer-songwriter. When writing such emotional lyrics…”

The interview, which lasted an hour, ended, and Jeong-woo opened the waiting room door. Yoon Yi-seol, who had been cooling her sun-warmed skin, waved at him.

“If I had known you’d be here so soon, I would have skipped the photo shoot schedule.”

Jeong-woo quickly closed the door, worried someone might overhear, and handed her a cold bottle of water.

“Was it okay to be so candid during the interview?”

“What part?”

“You’re a celebrity with an image to maintain. Saying things that could be misunderstood like that…”

After taking a sip of water, Yoon Yi-seol pouted.

“Since when did you start thinking like that? If you were so worried about my entertainment career, you shouldn’t have confessed.”

“You confessed first.”

“Anyway, I’ll take care of my image, so just make sure to keep showing up on time like today.”

“That’s why I came early.”

Unable to hide her happiness, Yoon Yi-seol’s lips trembled slightly as she stood up to face Jeong-woo. She looked him up and down.

“You’re all dressed up.” 𝚏𝗿𝗲ew𝐞b𝐧o𝚟𝚎𝗹.com

“Just trying to look nice.”

“For whom?”

“Hmm, let me think about that.”

Expecting him to say “you,” Yoon Yi-seol shot him a gentle yet sharp look. Jeong-woo chuckled and asked.

“How have you been?”

“Good.”

“What should we do today?”

“Well, since you said your research failed, unfortunately, let’s start with this.”

She reached out and gently hugged Jeong-woo around his waist, looking up at him. Her bold move took him by surprise.

“I think about you every day, why is it so hard to meet you? Are you playing hard to get?”

Yoon Yi-seol’s eyes, filled with a moist shine, made Jeong-woo’s heart race.

Although he had dressed up, he couldn’t compare to her professional polish. Even up close, her face radiated as if sprinkled with ground jewels.

Looking at her as if mesmerized, Jeong-woo asked.

“Shall we spend the night together?”

He felt her flinch at his words as she held him.

“Remember, we didn’t complete our all-night talk checklist last time.”

“Oh…”

“What were you thinking?”

“That too.”

“Ah. Like hugging without permission?”

“Yes, like that…”

Yoon Yi-seol, who seemed to have been caught off guard, burst into a smile and pointed to her lips.

“Then let’s do this too.”

“To do that, I need to go back to my research.”

“Forget it. You’re not going anywhere today.”

Yoon Yi-seol hugged him tighter, making it clear she wasn’t letting go.

“Yi-seol, it’ll be hard to explain if someone comes in. Let go of my arm first.”

“Be quiet. The only one who might come in at this moment is Manager Ji…”

At that moment, the door clicked open.

“Jeong-woo, there’s someone… Oh, I’m sorry!”

Yoon Yi-seol quickly let go and sat down, muttering, “So hot” while Jeong-woo awkwardly lifted his phone, pretending to struggle with the Wi-Fi.

Manager Ji chuckled at the sight before speaking.

“Jeong-woo, you have a visitor.”

“What? A visitor for me?”

“They’re from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with a foreigner.”

Jeong-woo looked puzzled, wondering how they knew he was here. He glanced back at Yoon Yi-seol.

“I’ll be right back.”

Yoon Yi-seol nodded slightly, her head down.