by Will Roberts
“Homework, Stella?” Joe asked, somewhat stating the obvious, but trying to make conversation.
“Yes, Joe. Mathematics – not my favourite!” Stella answered.
“Nor mine. What are your favourites?” Joe asked.
“History, Geography and English literature – I like to read a lot.”
Just then Jen and Gareth walked into the lounge and greeted the babysitter.
“Hi Stella, sorry for the short notice,” Jen said.
“No problem, Jen. I have to do this revision, so I may as well do it here. Both your angels rarely wake once they’ve been put to bed,” Stella replied.
“Okay, we’ll be in the Wheatsheaf if you need us – the number’s on the board in the kitchen,” Jen added. “Come on you two! Let’s go, shall we? Oh, Stella, Sian’s in our bed. Joe will be sleeping in Sian’s room.”
“Okay Jen, no problem!” Stella answered.
“Bye, Stella! See you later,” Joe said.
“Yes, bye Joe! You three have a nice evening,” Stella added as she closed the front door.
Before the door closed, Jen rushed back into the house. “Sorry, Stella, almost forgot this,” she said as she picked up the Kodak Brownie from the hall table and put it in her handbag.
“Not often we get to see Joe. Must make a record of it!” Jen said.
Snow was beginning to fall as they walked the short distance to The Wheatsheaf; the pub was almost full when they arrived but they managed to find a free table in the lounge.
“What will you have, you two?” Joe asked.
“Pint of dark for me, please, Joe,” Gareth answered.
“Gin and tonic for me, Joe,” Jen added.
“Okay, and I’ll join you with a pint of dark,” Joe said as he turned and headed for the bar.
Joe returned from the bar with the drinks and asked Gareth what work he was doing. He told Joe that he was working for a real estate company in Cardiff. He recently had a promotion, he said, which meant entertaining the clients, which was why he was late home from work today.
“I had a letter just the other week,” he continued, “from the Ministry of Defence. They were asking if I was interested in signing up again, to serve in Korea. They even offered me a promotion to the rank of Captain.”
Gareth had served as a second lieutenant in The Welsh Regiment and fought in Italy during the war and had returned well decorated.
“Were you tempted, Gar?” Joe asked as he lit up one of his woodbines and exhaled the smoke into the room; the air was already thick with smoke in the crowded lounge area, where virtually everybody was smoking. He offered one to Gareth and Jen but both declined. Gareth lit up one of his own preferred brands.
“No – not really, Joe! With Jen and the girls and the promotion at work. Why would I?” Gareth answered, as he turned to Jen and gave his wife a smile and a peck on the cheek.
Joe understood but continued.
“Some, I’m told, would not hesitate to re-enlist because they miss the camaraderie and thrill of the fight if that’s the right way to put it,” Joe stated.
“Yes, Joe, I understand entirely, and if it wasn’t for Jen and the girls, I dare say I would have accepted the MOD’s invitation,” Gareth added.
The door to the lounge suddenly flew open and Joe immediately looked towards the door. In fact, Jen had noticed that every time the lounge door opened Joe looked to see who was entering. This time it was only a young couple looking for a free table of which, at this time of the evening, there were none. They promptly left to try and find some seats in the public bar.
The evening continued with the conversation about various subjects, including Jen and Joe’s parents, who were still in London and getting on in years. Joe informed Jen that they were okay at the moment, while Dad was still working, but in a couple of years, he would be retiring. Maybe they would come to Wales to be near their grandchildren.
It was close to eleven o’clock and last orders, and Gareth had excused himself to go to the toilet. Jen grabbed her chance.
“What’s the matter, Joe? You seem wound up like a top. What have you done, Joe? Is someone after you?” she asked.
“No, no it’s nothing like that, but I may have to disappear for a while. But don’t worry Jen, I’ll be alright,” Joe lied.
“What do you mean, don’t worry? You say you will have to disappear, but don’t worry! What’s happening, Joe?” Jen pleaded.
Joe had noticed Gareth returning from the toilet. “Tomorrow, Jen, we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Joe whispered to his sister.
“Last orders,” the landlord called, as he rang the big brass bell on the bar. “Last orders, let’s be having you,” he called again.
“One more then, you two?” Joe asked
“Oh, I don’t know, Joe. I think I’ve had enough,” Jen answered.
“Go on Jen. One for the road,” Joe insisted.
“And you Gar? One for the road?” Joe asked his brother in law.
“Okay, Joe. One for the road, it is,” Gareth eagerly replied, though looking a little worse for wear, and failing to notice his wife’s sudden upset state.
Joe returned with the round of drinks.
“Now why don’t we take a few photographs? There should be enough light but if not, I’ve got the flash,” Jen said, having recovered from her sudden bout of sadness out of concern for her brother.
She then asked a fellow drinker at a neighbouring table to take a photograph with the brownie and flash. Jen sat between her brother and husband while the eager photographer snapped away from different angles.
“Thanks very much,” Jen said to the photographer, when at last he’d felt he had taken enough.
It was then that the bell rang again and the landlord called: “Time, ladies and gentlemen. Empty your glasses if you please!”
Joe, Jen and Gareth finished their drinks and left the pub and went out into the night air, where the snow was now falling heavily. Joe pulled his coat tight as he felt the chill air. Gareth was seen to be a little unsteady on his feet but Jen put her arm in her husband’s and helped support him on the short walk home, stopping him from slipping on the snow-covered pavement.
When they arrived at the fish and chip shop, Joe bought everybody cod and chips, including a portion for Stella, which they ate at the kitchen table in Jen and Gareth’s home.
After they finished, Jen reached into one of the cupboards and took down an old tin tea caddy, where she kept her housekeeping money. She took out a shilling, which she gave to Stella.
“Thank you, Stella, you’re a gem,” Jen said.
“You’re welcome, Jen. Goodnight Gareth! Goodnight Joe! It was nice to meet you,” Stella said.
“Goodnight Stella, nice to meet you too,” Joe replied.
“Night, Stella,” Gareth managed. “Now time for bed,” as he began to take the stairs up to his bedroom.
Jen showed Stella to the front door, “Be careful in the snow, Stella!” Jen added as she closed and locked the front door after her.
“I’m going to bed now, Joe. Goodnight! It’s been great to see you but don’t forget, tomorrow we must talk!” Then she kissed him on the cheek.
That was the last time Jen saw her brother Joe.
The next morning, Jen was woken by Rachel crying. She got out of bed and put on her dressing gown while Gareth and Sian still slept. She went to Rachel’s room to take her youngest daughter downstairs for her breakfast.
She noticed that the door of Sian’s room was slightly ajar. Looking in, Jen saw the bed was empty. Joe had gone.
“Bloody hell, Joe, you could have said goodbye,” she burst out.
Later that morning, Jen had a second big surprise when she took down the old tea caddy to pay the milkman; inside she found a wad of ten-pound notes totalling five hundred pounds.
Seoul, South Korea
November 1999
Adam had followed in the press and on television the industrial growth that South Korea had made over the la
st twenty years or more and had been amazed by it. This was his first visit to South Korea or The Asian Tiger as it had been described.
The Korean economy was one of the most flourishing and stable in the world. Its rise had been phenomenal, with annual growth consistently around ten per cent.
South Korea had a huge car manufacturing industry: Hyundai-Kia, for instance, were exporting all over the world, the massive Samsung electronics company made everything from mobiles phones to televisions and there was LG in electronics and home appliances, not to mention the shipbuilding. All these companies required steel for their products, and this was the reason for Adam’s trip to South Korea.
Now he was viewing the sprawling capital of nearly ten million people from the window seat of his Korean flight KL908 from Heathrow, as it began its final approach into Incheon International Airport, Seoul’s main airport.
Adam’s visit to South Korea was for business; he was a metallurgist and had come to assist with the starting of a new steel mill, near the city of Busan, South Korea’s second city.
He had studied at Sheffield University where he obtained his degree in metallurgy and had worked at a small steel mill in South Wales, as the works metallurgist, but with the closure of this steelmaking facility, Adam had found himself without a job.
At the same time, Adam was also going through a divorce. Fortunately, he and his wife, Helen, who he had met at university and was also from south Wales and had qualified as an accountant, had come to an amicable agreement and the divorce went through smoothly, with Helen allowing Adam unlimited access to their son, Paul. In fact, Helen and Adam had remained on good terms.
After his redundancy, Adam had heard that there was good money to be earned abroad giving technical assistance and training to new steel plants throughout the world and also giving metallurgical assistance for new furnace start-ups.
He was a freelancer who had worked for Europe’s leading engineering companies in this field; the company he was working for on this particular project was new to him, but the contract was good and at the end of the day that was all that mattered.
Adam collected his hand luggage from the overhead bins, made his way off the plane and headed towards immigration and baggage collection.
After passing through immigration without any problems, he collected his suitcase and took a taxi to Seoul railway station, or ‘Seoul Station’, as it is known. Here, he bought a ticket for the high-speed train – the KTX, Korea Train Express, from Seoul to Busan.
He was extremely impressed with the comfort and service that this train service offered. He preferred to travel by train when on business trips and this was far better than any rail service he had used up to now.
As the train moved slowly away from the station, Adam made himself comfortable in his reclining seat. He could feel the train slowly picking up speed as it moved into the countryside; he watched the speed indicator that was displayed in the compartment: Three hundred and five kilometres per hour, which means we should be in Busan in around two and half hours. That’s not bad, he thought.
Adam slept for most of the journey and when he arrived at Busan station, he took a taxi for the one-hour drive to the Changwon Hotel. After checking in, and unpacking, he decided to take a walk. After all, it was still early evening, and he thought he would take the opportunity to get to know the neighbourhood.
During his walk he saw lots of westerners, particularly frequenting the numerous bars that he passed. He found a bar that served food and after sampling some of the local South Korean beers and eating a cheeseburger at the bar, he decided to return to the hotel for an early night, for he had an early start in the morning.
The next morning, after a good night’s sleep, Adam dressed and made his way to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, where he met some of his new work colleagues, easily recognisable in their distinct work clothes, with the company’s name and logo clearly visible on their jackets and work shirts.
After introductions, Adam enjoyed a nice breakfast of coffee, fruit juice, toast and boiled eggs. He then travelled with one of his colleagues by car, to the site, where he was introduced to the rest of his new colleagues. Those who had been working on the project for a long time were staying in apartments, he discovered.
The commissioning team consisted of Russians and Croatians, who were generally the automation specialists, while it was Austrians, Germans and Italians who were electrical and mechanical engineers.
Adam was the only metallurgical or process expert and also the only British representative in the team.
After a brief site safety induction, Adam was shown around the site by the site manager, who explained the progress in each area in so far as cold commissioning was concerned. He told Adam that hot commissioning was scheduled to begin in two weeks. Adam was then taken to the furnace, which was the main area that he would be working. As the only metallurgist, he was also responsible for the operations at the next process – the ladle furnace.
The furnace control room was a hive of activity. With the hot commissioning due to start in just two weeks, the cold commissioning needed to be completed, so all movements had to be confirmed, then checked and re-checked, limit switches to set, water flows and pressures set. There were still many things to do in such a relatively short time.
Oxygen and gas flow needed to be set for the oxygen lances and oxygen/fuel burners, which assisted the melting of the scrap, which was charged into the furnace and melted, primarily using electrical energy.
Adam helped where he could and familiarised himself with the controls of the furnace. All the companies he had worked for had different control systems, though the end result was the same.
During this time in the control room, he was introduced to the operator from the client company, who Adam would be training in the operation of the furnace. His name was Jin Soo Lim. Mr Lim was in his late twenties, Adam estimated, though he found it difficult to judge the age of the South Koreans; he soon discovered that the majority were in fact much older than they looked, and Jin Soo Lim was, in fact, thirty-six and had considerable experience operating a furnace at another steel plant, something extremely useful for Adam.
Mr Lim was very keen and eager to learn about this new furnace and new technology and his English was excellent. He had learnt English in school and his grandfather had also taught him, he told Adam.
Adam detected a slight accent, but couldn’t put his finger on where it originated.
Adam gave Mr Lim an operational manual he had compiled of steelmaking, which he thought would be helpful to Mr Lim. Mr Lim was very grateful.
The day passed very quickly and before he knew it, it was time to return to the hotel.
Some of his new colleagues were meeting for dinner and a few beers. Adam was also invited and after showering and changing, he left the hotel and met them in a small bar that was close to the hotel.
Ban’s Bar was just a few minutes’ walk from the Changwon Hotel, and Adam immediately understood why his colleagues preferred this bar to the other bigger, more popular bars, such as the Irish bar and other themed bars that he had passed on his walk the previous evening.
Ban’s Bar was cosy and comfortable with a covered area just outside for those who wanted to smoke and was used by several of his new colleagues.
He also discovered that the food was very good.
Adam found his new companions extremely friendly and sociable and soon struck up a rapport with more than one of his new drinking buddies.
After sampling a few of the local Korean beers, and favouring one, in particular, Adam suddenly felt very tired. His body clock had not yet adjusted to the new time zone; he was about to leave but his new friends tried to persuade him to stay for another beer.
“Okay, okay!” he said, “One for the Road.”
It was obvious none of those present had heard this phrase before but immediately understood its meaning and repeated it in unison.
“Yes, ‘One for the Road’,” they
said.
As it happened, it turned out it was more than one and Adam slept well that night.
The two weeks to the cold commissioned passed quickly: all the outstanding tests were completed and the day of the first melting, or first ‘heat’ as it is known, arrived.
Adam still got a little nervous just before the starting of the first melting; so many things could go wrong, and often did, and the repercussions could be serious. If there was a water leakage in the furnace, for example, an explosion could be the result. Fortunately, on this occasion, everything went well, and apart from a few minor issues, the melting was completed and the furnace was ‘tapped’ and sent to the next treatment, which Adam also supervised and which also went relatively smoothly; the melt was then sent for casting into its semi-finished form.
After this, there was a lot of backslapping, handshaking and congratulating by both Adam’s colleagues and the client company’s employees. Then it was time to celebrate – this time at the company’s expense.
It was late evening when the group eventually left the site and, after a quick shower and change of clothes at the hotel, the whole group reassembled in Ban’s Bar which, considering the limited size of the bar, was quite a squeeze.
There were also some people from the client’s company, including Mr Lim, and it was he that managed to find a seat alongside Adam’s. Considering his slight frame, Mr Lim’s capacity for the relatively light Korean beer was quite impressive and Adam was surprised at the number of beers Mr Lim was able to drink.
Adam discovered that Mr Lim lived just a few minutes from Ban’s Bar but although he lived so close, he had never used this bar, using instead one of the older Korean bars that his father and grandfather had used.
The night passed pleasantly and Adam enjoyed Mr Lim’s company. He was bright and seemed well educated; also, his English was extremely good and at no time did Adam have any trouble understanding him. He had a passion for football and followed Manchester United, while Adam preferred Liverpool though, coming from Wales, Adam’s first sporting love was for rugby, a game that is becoming increasingly popular in South Korea – the South Korea sevens rugby team competing competitively in the rugby sevens world cup tournament.
