The Spring of Wisdom (1)
Jason had started several businesses and failed at every one of them, but he said he was now preparing a new venture.
Fortunately, he was a fairly capable developer, and he could make ends meet by taking on contract work.
“I did think about joining a place like NS or Enple, but I’ve always wanted to build my own company.”
“That’s a wonderful dream. So what are you working on?”
“Ah! Well, it’s a cloud-based AI program for data management. It collects fragmented data in one place, extracts unstructured data, preprocesses it into structured data, and then keeps improving the algorithm through deep learning...”
“...”
He was so excited that he spent nearly an hour explaining it, but I didn’t understand a single word.
After rambling on for quite a while, Jason finally realized his mistake and scratched the back of his head.
“Sorry. Was that boring?”
“I actually don’t know much about computers. I’ve hardly ever touched one. But there’s one thing I think I do understand.”
“What’s that?”
“That you really love this work.”
“Haha...”
Jason usually looked dazed and a little clumsy, but when he was working, he was more passionate than anyone I’d ever met. And he was kinder than any man I’d ever known.
Before long, the two of them had fallen in love.
On their days off, they went on dates, and on the days he had to work, he always came to the restaurant.
A few months later, she found out she was pregnant.
Jason was shocked.
“I-I’m going to be a father?”
“Yes.”
“W-wait. That’s a huge shock. Wh-what do we do?”
“It’s twins.”
“What!?”
They registered their marriage and lived together in Jason’s studio apartment. It was the happiest time of their lives.
Jason stroked his wife’s swollen belly and said, Just wait a little longer. This time, it’s definitely going to be a huge success.
I named the program Mimir, after the guardian of the spring of wisdom in Norse mythology — the wisest being in the world. Doesn’t that fit?
I asked a college classmate who was famous for being a genius to review my program.
He offered to go into business with me. He said he’d put up the money, and that we should build the company together!
You’ll be shocked when you find out who it is. In the IT industry, he’s a famous name that everyone knows. I’ll tell you later.
We’re going to be rich.
Once I make money, I’ll build a house for you and our children right away.
I’m sorry for making you suffer. I’ll make you happy, no matter what.
I’ll make sure you never have to worry about money for the rest of your life.
I love you, Julia.
But that promise was never kept.
Jason died in a traffic accident before the company could even be founded. A drugged-up man had stolen someone else’s car and caused the crash, so there was no real compensation to be had.
Julia gave birth to the twins alone. They were healthy baby boys.
She raised them while working by herself, but no matter how hard she tried, life never seemed to get any better.
The rent slipped further and further behind, and whenever money came in, she had to wonder whether to buy groceries first or put gas in the car.
After checking her numbers, Julia let out a sigh.
I should leave the kids with my parents and work longer hours.
She’d have less time with them, but there was no helping it.
Julia went to work at A-Hope as usual.
“Welcome.”
The first customers were an East Asian man in his late twenties and a white man in his mid-thirties.
She poured them drip coffee and asked, “Can I take your order?”
The East Asian man looked over the menu and ordered something simple. Then he asked her, “Have you worked here long?”
“Yes. It’s already been four years.”
“What time do you get off?”
“At five in the evening. Why do you ask?”
“Could we talk for a moment after your shift?”
She was used to men getting a little too familiar when she was at work.
Julia answered firmly, “I have another job right after this one.”
“Just for a minute.”
She held up the ring on her left hand.
“Sorry, but I’m married.”
The East Asian man folded up the menu and said, “It has to do with your husband.”
That made Julia wary.
“What do you mean? My husband...”
“Yes. He’s dead now. I have something to tell you about Jason Kim, Kim Jae-hyun.”
David and I were sitting in a nearby café, waiting for Julia to finish her shift.
David asked me, “Are you really certain Jason developed Mimir, and that she has the materials?”
“We’ll find that out starting now.”
“And if it’s true? Are you planning to expose them?”
Exposing them would land a blow right away, but money could always buy a way around it. In fact, when the lawsuit came later, they simply paid a huge settlement and bought the rights outright.
So what I needed wasn’t exposure. It was...
“I’m going to buy the rights to Mimir.”
Jason Kim had come to the United States with his father when he was a child. He lost his father in college and got married after that, so his wife and children were his only heirs.
“We still can’t be certain, can we? We’d have to verify it before any purchase.”
“Do you think Cooloud would accept that?”
They’d dodge it with one excuse after another.
If I wasted too much time and Rolf caught wind of it, he’d buy the rights no matter what it cost him — even if he had to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the problem.
And if the story leaked through Ranjin Kumar, that would be a problem too. If he’d already bragged about it to me, there was a good chance he’d been spreading it around everywhere else as well.
In fact, someone had already smelled blood and come running because of what he’d said.
“Securing the rights comes first.”
“If it wasn’t stolen, you’ll just be throwing money away.”
I knew what would happen next. He didn’t.
It was only natural that he was worried.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle the negotiation. Just sit back and watch.”
David nodded.
“Understood.”
After that, time passed in a blur.
She came out the moment her shift ended, changing out of her work clothes after making mistake after mistake all day. She also asked the market to let her start tomorrow instead.
At the café across the street, the East Asian man and the white man I’d seen earlier were already seated.
“My name is Han Miru.”
“David Lockhart.”
Julia asked them right away, “So what is it you wanted to tell me about Jason?”
“Mr. Jason was working on a program before he died. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what kind of program it was?”
Julia shook her head.
“I don’t know much about computers.”
She was even hopeless with smartphones; she just wasn’t good with machines.
“Does Jason have a computer he used?”
“Yes. There’s a laptop at home. He used that until the day he died.”
I smiled as if I’d expected exactly that, and David looked surprised.
As she answered, Julia studied us with wary eyes.
“Why are you asking about that?”
So I answered at once.
“I’d like to buy that laptop.”
“Pardon?”
“More precisely, I want to buy the rights to the program Jason created.”
Julia didn’t quite understand.
It had already been more than three years since her husband died. So why would anyone want to buy it now?
She had no intention of selling, but curiosity got the better of her and she asked, “For how much?”
“I’ll give you one million dollars.”
“...”
For a moment, she wondered if she’d misheard him.
How much is one million dollars?
A little later, Julia’s eyes went wide.
“A million dollars?”
“Yes.”
“R-really? You’re really saying you’ll give me a million dollars?”
It was hard enough to make more than a hundred dollars a day after breaking your back. Even now, she’d been thinking of taking a part-time cashier job just to earn another thirty dollars.
And now he was offering a million?
But he still wasn’t finished.
“And every year, on Jason’s death anniversary, I’ll pay you another million dollars. If there’s ever a year when I can’t make that payment, I’ll return the rights I bought. Of course, in that case, you won’t have to return any of the money you’ve already received.”
Not only would he give her a million dollars, he’d pay another million every year? If she received that for just ten years, that was ten million dollars.
For a woman who was already behind on rent, it sounded like a dream.
David was just as shocked.
What on earth is he thinking, opening with a number that big?
Julia’s mind was in turmoil.
The amount was so enormous that it only made her more suspicious.
“What exactly is this program? What are you planning to do with it?”
I answered calmly.
“The truth is, someone stole Jason’s program and announced to the world that he’d made it himself.”
“What?”
She knew better than anyone how much time and passion her husband had poured into making that program.
And someone had stolen it?
“I-is that true?”
“Yes. If things stay as they are, that program will be remembered forever as something someone else created.”
“If it’s already out in the world, why does it need to be bought?”
“I’m buying the rights so I can set everything straight. Your husband was a genius. What Jason Kim accomplished deserves to be known and praised by the world.”
She had heard so much in such a short time that her head felt crowded and heavy.
What would Jason want me to do?
I pressed her gently.
“You may feel uncomfortable selling the program your husband created. But the longer you wait, the harder it will become to reclaim the rights.”
After thinking it over for a moment, Julia opened her mouth.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you say one million dollars? You could have named a smaller amount.”
“Do you want the honest answer?”
“Yes. Please be honest.”
“First, that’s the amount I can pay right now. Second, the program Jason created is worth hundreds, even thousands of times that.”
David was stunned inside.
So instead of lowballing her, he’s saying that?
How was anyone supposed to sell after hearing something like that?
Julia slowly nodded.
“I see.”
He could have started with a cheap offer and worked his way up, but he hadn’t. He had acknowledged the value of the program her husband created without hesitation.
She thought back to all the things Jason had said.
I thought he’d failed to keep his promise, but...
Julia let out a faint smile.
“He kept it, even after he died.”
Her husband had brought fortune to his family even from beyond the grave. Now she and the children would be rich, and they’d never have to worry about money again.
“It’s Mimir.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s the name of the program Jason was making before he died. Do you know what it means?”
I nodded.
“The guardian of the spring of wisdom in Norse mythology, and the wisest being in the world.”
That was how her husband had explained it to her too.
“Can you restore that name?”
“I promise.”
I handed her the documents I’d prepared in advance.
“Have you made your decision?”
“Yes. I’ll do it.”
As if she didn’t need to think about it any longer, Julia picked up the pen and signed the papers.