The Shield of the State
Having accepted Limitless Inc.'s proposal, Chairman Koo Hoe-jin returned straight to Seoul.
The moment the performance analysis of the next-generation battery sample was complete, he moved without delay.
"Ha ha. Now, whatever could have prompted our Chairman Koo to request such a discreet meeting?"
Chief Presidential Secretary Park Tae-young — the President's closest confidant, whose purview spanned national defense, foreign affairs, and economic policy alike — greeted Koo Hoe-jin with an expression of keen interest.
A private dining room laid out with every manner of lavish dish. But the moment Chairman Koo took his seat, unable to suppress his curiosity even long enough to lift a bite of food, the Chief Secretary went straight to the point.
"So — this new technology you mentioned, the one tied directly to national security. What exactly is it?"
However formidable a figure he cut as head of KG Group, the country's third-largest conglomerate, Chairman Koo was still a newcomer to his post. The Chief Secretary, for his part, was the undisputed second-in-command of power and the administration's true power broker, and so his manner toward the young chairman was supremely relaxed.
"See for yourself. This is the technical documentation our group recently acquired."
Chairman Koo drew a single document envelope from inside his jacket and placed it on the table. The Chief Secretary opened it with a skeptical look and began leafing through the contents — and with every page turned, his expression shifted through a remarkable range.
Shock. Confusion. Disbelief. Wonder.
Every emotion and thought imaginable churned through the Chief Secretary's mind, and after a long silence, he spoke.
"...Is this real?"
"Yes. It's real."
"..."
"Yes. I understand it's hard to believe. But this is a report from tests run more than five times in KG's own laboratories, with cross-verification already completed."
To the Chief Secretary, who could only stare in silence, Chairman Koo nodded as if to say he understood the feeling perfectly. Only then was the man able to accept what the documents actually said.
"Now I understand why you requested this secret meeting..."
Nodding slowly, the Chief Secretary wore a grave expression and sank into thought. Then he let out a long breath, pressed his fingers hard against his temples, and said:
"If these performance figures are true... the entire world will be turned upside down, Chairman."
Without needing a word of explanation, the Chief Secretary grasped at once the destructive power this technology carried. He glanced up at Chairman Koo and asked, gravely:
"What is it you want from us?"
"Diplomatic mediation."
"...Mediation?"
"As I'm sure you've already surmised, this Veratian will become a strategic resource the whole world seeks after. At a level no single corporation could possibly manage on its own."
KG Group could never swallow this alone. No — if it even tried, there was a very high probability... no, a certainty, that it would burst its stomach and die. And Chairman Koo, who understood this better than anyone, laid out the cold reality for the Chief Secretary.
"Even if the government designates this new material as a strategic commodity and attempts to control it, a true technological monopoly is, in practice, impossible. The market disruption the Vera-tian Battery will unleash is nothing short of a nuclear detonation — far too great a spectacle to simply look away from."
Even with the government stepping in directly to protect and monopolize Veratian, it couldn't be done. The moment they tried, every nation on earth — allies and rivals alike — would rise up and come running to tear Korea apart.
"So... what exactly are you proposing?"
"KG Group intends to abandon the battery business."
"What on earth—!"
KG Energy was one of the five largest battery producers in the world.
Its margins were substantial, making it a cash cow that brought KG Group enormous profits, and it was interlinked with the group's other core industries — a business of national strategic importance. At the sudden announcement that it would be wound down, bewilderment spread across the Chief Secretary's face.
"In exchange, we intend to manufacture and sell Veratian in massive quantities, free of any special restrictions."
"..."
Park Tae-young fell silent for a long while. He neither raised his glass nor touched the food.
He simply looked back and forth between the technical documents spread across the table and Koo Hoe-jin's face.
"...Shed the batteries. Keep only the material."
At last, he murmured it slowly.
"The batteries would make us villains."
Chairman Koo said it flatly.
"If we take the raw material we produce ourselves, build batteries from it, and hurl them onto the market, we'll be branded the architects of technological monopoly, supply chain control, and the weaponization of resources. Sanctions would follow from every major power — the United States, Japan, China, Europe, all of them."
"But if we supply that raw material to companies around the world on equal terms, at published prices, through transparent methods — the story changes completely."
"Whoever holds the raw material ends up holding the power, in other words."
"Precisely."
Chairman Koo gave a short nod at the Chief Secretary's words.
"KG Group will do nothing but produce. We will not play politics. We will not lobby. Our entire effort will go toward expanding production capacity — so that everyone can have as much Veratian as they want."
He would step back from the existing battery business and concentrate solely on producing the raw material. From the documents he drew one more page and slid it in front of the Chief Secretary. On it, the words 'International Veratian Supply Agreement (Draft)' stood out clearly.
"Using this agreement as the foundation, we'd like the Korean government to take the lead in mediating the principles of Veratian distribution. KG Group will faithfully supply Veratian to the governments and corporations of every nation under the terms the government brokers. In return — should diplomatic conflict or pressure on KG Group arise — the government must serve as our buffer."
"...Hand over the negotiating initiative, and use the state as your shield. A curious arrangement."
"Without such an arrangement, we wouldn't survive."
At Chairman Koo's words, Chief Secretary Park Tae-young sank into careful thought. If the Korean government could position itself as the principal negotiator for the supply of Veratian, it would become an extraordinarily useful instrument of diplomacy. It would give Korea the leverage to demand whatever it wanted from other nations.
'This... would be a considerable boon for the President as well.'
Having run the numbers to his own satisfaction and reached a private conclusion, the Chief Secretary quietly laced his fingers and rested his chin upon them. The corners of his mouth lifted — very slightly, and quite against his will.
"...Chairman, you're a surprisingly capable politician."
"I can't do politics. But I do know how to survive."
"Very good."
Only now did the Chief Secretary lift his glass.
"I'll report this proposal to the President in a favorable light. There may be a few adjustments required down the line, of course."
"As long as they aren't excessive, we'll gladly comply."
With a working agreement in hand, the two men clinked their glasses and drained them — and only then, with the food long gone cold, could they finally settle into their meal with easy expressions.
"...If I'm being honest, when you first started talking about a new technology tied directly to national security, I was skeptical. I never imagined you'd bring something that would become a genuine national-level agenda item, not just a commercial product."
"Understandable."
Koo Hoe-jin smiled quietly.
"We keep a close eye on the battery side of things ourselves, but this... this was a truly unexpected discovery. KG Group has rendered a great service to the national interest this time. Ha ha."
The Chief Secretary asked, his face a mixture of admiration and curiosity:
"But a technology of this caliber... this wasn't some long-prepared project within KG Group? Developing a material this revolutionary must have taken enormous time and effort. Who on earth made this?"
"Well, the truth is..."
At the question, Chairman Koo held his tongue for a moment — then quietly set down his wine glass.
"The thing is... Veratian is not a technology developed by KG Group."
"...I beg your pardon?"
The Chief Secretary's chopsticks stopped mid-air.
"The owner of Veratian is Limitless."
"...I'm sorry?"
"This new material was developed by Limitless."
In that instant, the Chief Secretary dropped the chopsticks from his hand without realizing it.
"Hold on... Limitless? The same Limitless that played the pivotal role in developing the photonic semiconductor technology?"
"Yes. The very same."
"Good lord. Unbelievable. As if the photonic semiconductor weren't enough, now batteries too?"
The Chief Secretary swore under his breath, unable to hide his flustered state.
"That technology really did come out of that place as well?"
"It did."
Koo Hoe-jin nodded quietly.
"We merely received the technology from them, and agreed to handle production and distribution on their behalf."
At this utterly unforeseen answer — that it was not KG Group's own development — the Chief Secretary was momentarily at a loss for words. And then he thought:
'Is this even realistically possible?'
The photonic semiconductor. And now Veratian.
Both were revolutionary, disruptive new technologies capable of demolishing entire existing industries and seizing complete control of them. That all of it had flowed from a single person was, even to the Chief Secretary — a man who had spent decades rolling through the political world and met countless geniuses and talents along the way — an unreal story.
'No wonder the National Intelligence Service filed a report asking to place him under special management.'
It had come up during a recent NIS briefing on the sharp rise in foreign intelligence activity.
The NIS Director had reported a plan to add Limitless's CEO to a special watch list, monitor him closely, and establish a considerably large regional branch in Cheongju, where he was based. The Chief Secretary had thought at the time — isn't that going a bit far? He'd considered it excessive.
But only now did he begin to understand why the NIS had decided on such measures. If it came to light that Veratian, too, had come from Limitless, the situation would unquestionably become far graver than it already was.
"...Then let me offer you one more suggestion, Chairman."
"Yes?"
"The name Limitless. How about we refrain from mentioning it publicly for the time being?"
"What do you mean—"
"The photonic semiconductor alone has already set the whole country, and the world, abuzz. Foreign reactions to Limitless and its CEO are anything but ordinary. If it were revealed that Veratian was also their work... it could be perceived as a threat far more serious than it already is."
Technologies capable of toppling — or threatening — the existing world order. Chairman Koo understood immediately why the Chief Secretary was making this proposal, and found himself in full agreement.
"Announce it to the press as a joint development between KG Group and the government."
"That's..."
"Only that way will the government have proper grounds to step forward and mediate. If the state tried to arbitrarily control a technology developed independently by a private company, there'd be no end to the backlash."
"..."
The Chief Secretary's proposal was eminently reasonable. And if things went as he said, the government — as a co-developer with a powerful justification — could indeed involve itself in any number of negotiations without undue burden. The only problem was...
"We'll need to discuss this with Limitless's CEO before anything is settled."
That the final say belonged to neither of them.
With that, the two men wrapped up their talk, agreeing to coordinate the remaining details later, and rose from their seats. Before parting, the Chief Secretary tucked the document envelope — containing the detailed information on Veratian he'd received from Chairman Koo — securely inside his jacket, and got into his car.
"Thank you for your hard work, sir. I'll drive you home."
His aide started the car, intending to head straight for the Chief Secretary's residence. But at his words, the Chief Secretary shook his head.
"No. Take me to the Blue House."
"I'm... sorry? At this hour?"
It was 11:30 at night. Considering they were in Cheongdam, they wouldn't reach the Blue House until well past one in the morning. The aide asked with a puzzled look, but the Chief Secretary repeated himself firmly.
"An urgent matter has come up. Call the Blue House and tell them I have something that needs reporting immediately."
"Y-yes, sir."
The car turned and began moving toward the Blue House. And in the back seat, the Chief Secretary gazed out the window at the passing scenery, lost in thought —
Pondering exactly how he intended to skin the foreign governments of the world with this Veratian.