Chapter 28: Prodigal Son Returns
“Welcome back, prodigal son.”
“Jason, you’re not actually welcoming the alcohol with open arms, are you?”
“Then why are you just fiddling with the cigar?”
“I’m just savoring the scent.”
“Should I pour myself a glass and savor it too?”
“Take it easy, you crazy bastards!”
Ted’s company was just as it had always been.
And Ted’s group hadn’t changed either.
By the time I finished my long conversation with Lyndon, the sun had already set.
Even though a hotel room was booked, I refused the suggestion to rest and came straight here.
Before Mark even decided on the investment, these guys treated me—almost like one of their own soldiers—without any discomfort.
Because I was Ted’s friend?
Because the additive I brought was remarkable?
No, none of that. It was the engineers’ typical sense of camaraderie, and these guys never had the nature to push anyone away.
During the month I stayed, guided by Eli, I was introduced to their research for the first time.
Even though they showed caution and tried to keep me at bay, I couldn’t blame them.
Honestly, who shows their secondary battery research to outsiders?
These crazy bastards didn’t push me away because they were interested, which is how the USB I handed to Ted came to be.
But they weren’t boastful about it; they just admired it. If friendship among engineers can transcend even racial barriers, then maybe it’s a bit over the top?
Anyway, I didn’t die from being tired after a day of jet lag, so I came running to have dinner with these guys.
“Let’s go out and have dinner while we talk. I’m starving.”
But those simple engineers were so blinded by the gifts they brought that I had to step in and put a stop to it.
Then Eli, who had quietly slipped aside playing with her perfume, stuck close to me.
“Jay, are you hungry?”
“Yeah. Try to stop them.”
“Okay. Wait a moment.”
Eli’s light kick really worked.
Along with Ted stepping in to subdue the other three, we finally set off for the restaurant. But while we were waiting after ordering, Ted dropped a shocking statement.
“Jay, we found a clue.”
He lowered his voice as if worried someone might overhear.
This lunatic. If it’s that serious, shouldn’t you think about telling me after dinner instead of whispering?
But I’m the same kind of lunatic.
I couldn’t wait once I heard it.
“Really?”
“Yeah. You were right about the material choice.”
“…Then graphite?”
A battery is mainly composed of a cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator.
Among them, the anode’s performance greatly impacts the battery’s capacity, so research on anode materials is active—and currently, graphite is the most attractive option.
Its excellent reversible capacity, superior conductivity and potential difference, and finally, its price—no other material really compares favorably.
If there’s a drawback, it’s that natural graphite can’t meet demand, so synthetic graphite must be produced. But chasing high performance pushes manufacturing costs through the roof.
Anyway, graphite remains the most appealing anode material.
Recently, I tried to find a way to use graphite for the cathode as well. Of course, you can’t use graphite as is for the cathode, which requires metal oxides. So, I tried bonding various metals, but I hit the eight-hour barrier and couldn’t progress further.
I told these guys about it too and suggested we find a solution together, but I never heard of any breakthroughs.
And now, they say they found a clue?
“Take a look at this.”
Ted pulled out a tablet—one I’d wondered why he brought all the way here—powered it on, and slid it toward me.
On the home screen was a video playing. The person on screen was Eli, calmly explaining a shocking theory that even changes the existing battery structure, as if it were the most natural thing.
For a brief moment, I laughed at Eli trying to look dignified, but after a few minutes, I couldn’t laugh anymore.
“We succeeded up to eight hours using the method you told us. But after that, no progress. Then Eli completely changed her approach. She suggested, what if we replace the electrolyte entirely with a graphite composite? Everyone was stunned. Honestly, it was a genius-level shift in thinking. With this method, instead of stacking electrode plates, the electrolyte itself acts as the electrode. That would drastically reduce production costs.”
“…”
“As you know, the idea of coating silicon and carbon on graphite to make a composite has existed from the start. But no one thought to replace the electrolyte with that composite. Now that we’ve found a direction, it won’t take long.”
“…”
“When it’s complete, you and Eli get to name it. Don’t leave it to Jason again. By the way, isn’t it a great idea?”
“…”
“Why so quiet?”
“Don’t you think it’s lame?”
“Totally impossible?”
I kept my mouth shut as Ted, Mark, and Eli asked in turn, but I was too overwhelmed to answer.
Thoughts poured into my head like a waterfall.
Now I understand why EP kept signaling that I was on the wrong track.
If EP had eyes watching me, how frustrating that must have been.
I bet it called me an idiot wandering down the wrong path when it was trying to guide me to the right answer.
If EP had a body, maybe it would’ve kicked me just like Eli did earlier.
No, it would’ve been lucky if it stopped at a kick.
“Jay!”
“Yeah?”
“What do you think?”
“You guys owe Eli a big bow.”
Everyone stifled cheers at my positive reply.
But why do I feel like a professor handing out grades?
Why are they seeking my approval?
Anyway, even after I got involved, there was no progress for six months, but now a path has opened.
When EP signaled, I recalled the sixty-hour mark. When we hit the eight-hour wall, it seemed hopeless.
“Ted, are you drunk? Crazy?”
After dinner, he came back with snacks and started a drinking party.
A modest celebration and welcome-back party.
It looked like they’d done plenty of modest celebrations already.
Anyway, it was a fun gathering.
But as time passed and people trickled away, only Ted and Mark remained. Then Ted started spouting nonsense.
“Why would I hand you my company?”
What was all that celebratory drinking about just moments ago?
“You’re drunk. Don’t you know drunk drivers say dumb things and cause accidents?”
“I know. That’s why instead of driving, I’m talking.”
“…”
Am I supposed to be convinced here?
Is it okay to get drunk if we’re just talking instead of driving?
“Although Mark’s investment started this, the research had already shown its limits when you came along. We just never showed it.”
“…”
I had no idea.
They all seemed so spirited.
“If we’d kept it short, we were planning to try just six months or at most a year before giving up. That’s when you gave us the USB.”
“…”
“I started it, but you and Eli found the answer. I can’t just take the credit. Also, we need more budget until results come out, so don’t tell me to go hand the company over to someone else now that we’re here. I went through hell with dirty investors before meeting Mark.”
“…Hah!”
What am I supposed to do?
I know how stubborn Ted is.
He’s been milking the trauma of a busted project for years now.
He probably endured a lot of humiliations looking for investors, and he vowed never to seek another one after remembering those times.
They don’t even have the budget to continue the research?
Mark already funneled all remaining funds to me, so there’s no money left.
“I heard STA received a lot of investment. Do whatever you want—take it as a subsidiary or bring it under your company’s research lab—but make sure Mark’s share is safe.”
“And you?”
No sooner had I asked than he shouted.
“Of course, you and the others go with it. We’re crazy bastards who don’t worry about budgets! Let’s go all in. Now that we’ve found a clue, our useless project will finish faster.”
“…”
Drunk to the point they couldn’t even make it upstairs, Jason and Dave were crumpled on one side of the sofa—probably dead. If they were still fine, they’d be up by now grabbing Ted by the collar.
“No other choice.”
“…”
This can’t go into the mouths of pigs who only care about money.
“…I’ll think about it.”
That’s all I can say for now.
What response could I give if someone suddenly tells me to take over their company and be responsible after I just visited their headquarters for the first time?
Life at the Wonju Research Center was heaven.
The moment I left, I met the Minister at the graduation ceremony, then Helena on the flight abroad—both pretty stressful.
And from the very first day here, Ted has dumped an enormous task on me. The last two days have been a series of events I couldn’t have imagined a year ago.
Maybe I was just too stressed.
Suddenly, a wave of intoxication hit me.
“What am I thinking about…………”
Ted said something, but I couldn’t hear.
Instead of holding on, I let go mentally.
“…I’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Should we all move to the bedrooms?”
With Jason collapsing too, the number of dead bodies increased to three.
At least Eli went upstairs first, which was a relief. Holding tightly to a can of beer, she sipped and swayed with a flushed face before quietly disappearing.
“Just let those two sleep there. Let’s move Jay.”
“Yeah. Moving all three is impossible.”
Jason and Dave were used to sofa naps.
Leaving them be, I dragged Jay to the bedroom.
Even that made me sweat and feel half-sober from the alcohol. Now they probably needed sleep too, but Ted and Mark came back downstairs instead of going upstairs.
Because they hadn’t gotten an answer from Jay.
“What if Jay refuses until the end?”
Mark lit the cigar he got as a gift and asked.
“I’ll persuade him.”
“Do you regret it? If I hadn’t invested the remaining five million dollars in Jay, we wouldn’t have been stuck for budget at this critical time.”
It was Ted who recommended meeting Jay.
The problem was that Mark’s remaining five million was promised for additional investment if Ted’s research needed more funding.
Yet Ted was the only good guy, insisting a Korean friend was looking for investors and telling Mark to at least hear about the business idea.
Thanks to that, Mark made a fortune.
Five million dollars for 5% of STA?
The Supermajors 3 each invested 120 million dollars for an 8% stake.
Plus, they had to handle everything from establishing production complexes to controlling oil-producing countries and other refineries worldwide.
When I told my brother Lyndon this, he realized just how huge my win was.
Although dividends hadn’t started yet and we didn’t know if Jay would even take the company public, the first dividend alone would easily surpass five million dollars.
If it goes public, I might even take the lead in the Cutler Family successor competition.
I profited, but what about Ted?
“If I wanted to regret it, I wouldn’t have brought it up to you.”
“You trusted Jay before even meeting Victor? Or just because he’s a friend?”
“…You played games with Jay too.”
Suddenly, what games?
The one we played together online.
Meeting Jay for the first time was during that game, and we talked about it when we actually met. Of course, I remember.
“One game. I got killed in less than a minute. But what does that game have to do with our current situation?”
I stuck my head out once and got headshotted.
It was a cool play, but what does that have to do with handing over a company?
“Seong-ha, or rather Jay, doesn’t start talking unless he’s confident—whether in games or reality. Back then, it was a team match, but he tried to solo us. What do you call that courage? Confidence in his skills. Similarly, he told me he was looking for investors because he was confident in his item.”
“…”
“Of course, recommending it to you without knowing the product was a kind of insurance. When research wasn’t progressing and only money was being burned, if Jay succeeded, he wouldn’t pretend he didn’t know who helped him.”
“…”
“That guy never abandons his team in team play. Though faster than expected, we actually got help.”
“…”
“Mark, you might see me giving up my share and easily handing over the company just because I’m an old friend, but I’m doing this because I trust Jay and want to take it easy.”
“…”
I get it.
Ted is tired of business, not research.
He had a good concept and started with investment, but management was probably overwhelming for someone who lived as a researcher.
That’s why he envies Jay.
Jay delegates management and focuses on research.
I can’t stop him now.
Mark has no choice but to step in and convince Jay himself.