After finishing the tasting, we gathered in the second-floor conference room of the school building and, for the time being, devoted ourselves to filling our stomachs around a large pizza.
“Mmm… This place is good, isn’t it?”
Armand, chewing on a slice, flipped the box around and spread out the thick stack of evaluation sheets with his oil-free left hand. The last time we’d looked through the sheets, we’d done it with the tense dread of watching a horror movie, but today Armand’s hands moved without hesitation.
And there was no tension on the faces of the friends watching him, either.
“It’s definitely different from yesterday. Everyone’s reacting well. This one’s asking when on earth we’re going to sell it.”
Jacob, who was eating pizza with us, asked me.
“You said earlier that before launching, we should get a patent first, right? What kind of patent are you talking about?”
“There are several possibilities. A stabilization process for light fruit soju, for example, or a hybrid distillation process that links a pot and a column.”
“I have no idea what any of that means.”
“It sounds complicated if you just hear it like this, but once you know the details, it’s not that hard. Well, it’s true it’s not something you can think up easily. We’ll file a provisional application first, then a non-provisional within twelve months.”
If the equipment supported it, we could have filed patents with even higher-level technology, but even this much would make it difficult for major liquor companies to jump in easily.
“Then the first thing we need to do is register the patent?”
“Yeah. And while doing that, we need to expand the equipment.”
As Jacob nodded, Chloe cut in.
“Then whose name is the patent going under?”
Jacob flinched, and Chloe spoke calmly and evenly.
“I know Brian owns thirty percent of Golden Grain Soju House, but I think patents are a little different. If we want to make things clear, Brian should file the patent, and Golden Grain Soju House should pay the patent fees and take exclusive rights to use it.”
“No…”
Personally, I didn’t think we needed to go that far. Any money coming to me as royalties would reduce profits by that amount, which would lower the dividends I received. Of course, it would be advantageous for me to receive separate royalties, but I was wondering whether there was any need to go this far when—
“Yeah, I think you’re right. My dad said something like that before, and Mom also told me that when friends do business together, they should put everything clearly into contracts. So no one’s feelings get hurt. Like Chloe said, you file the patent, and I use it to make the liquor. That seems perfect.”
Looking at things like this, the cultural difference between the U.S. and Korea really seemed to show.
“Well, if that’s how it is… I have no complaints. Then I’ll handle the patent application myself. You start working on the equipment expansion I tell you about.”
“Good. I’ll do that.”
I began explaining as I wrote on the whiteboard with a black marker.
“First, we need a mixing and blending tank. At least two hundred liters. We also need an RO unit that can purify five hundred to one thousand liters a day, a chiller, and a microfilter housing… You have a semi-automatic bottling machine, right?”
“Yeah. We have that.”
“With this much, I think we can get it done in about two weeks. Most decent equipment suppliers are gathered in Napa or Sacramento, so it won’t be hard to find.”
“If we ask the place that set up our brewery equipment, they’ll take care of it right away. But the recipe doesn’t go into the patent?”
“The recipe… It’s better not to write it down. We just keep that as our secret. Secrets are more certain than the law.”
I drew a line on the whiteboard.
“This side is the ‘process,’ meaning how it’s made. We lock this down with patents. And this side is the ‘ratio’ or ‘blend,’ meaning what goes in and how much. We deliberately don’t include that in the patent. The moment you file a patent, the ingredients used, ratios, process order, temperature, time—all of that gets disclosed. Once a certain period passes, anyone can use it.”
“Ah… I see. Then if someone imitates our process later?”
“We sue them immediately.”
At my words, Jacob began devouring the pizza with a satisfied smile.
After finishing things at school, I returned home and began preparing for the patent registration. Since I also had to handle Ceracia’s bottling and shipment at the same time, there was plenty to do, but I didn’t feel tired in the slightest.
Even though the workload was heavy, all of it was moving forward by my own will, so even when it was hard, it didn’t feel hard.
A few days later, I spoke with a patent attorney over the phone. The patent attorney’s voice coming through the speaker was quick and clear.
“Mr. Brian, hello. You’ll be filing the provisional application today, correct?”
“Yes, today if possible. Hybrid distillation, stabilization process, filtration method, apparatus structure, and aroma protection. Five applications should do it, right?”
“Good. Please include the figures and sequence in the specification. For example, ‘alcohol concentration of 38 to 43 percent,’ like that… You understand what I mean, yes? Those numbers are important.”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll be counting on you.”
After putting in the patent applications, I headed to Jacob’s brewery. The vast rice fields of Sacramento, with December just around the corner, were filled with a desolate air, but in my heart, it already felt as though spring had come.
“Welcome! I’ve been waiting.”
As soon as Jacob saw me, he brought out the steaks he’d prepared in advance. He’d been bragging not long ago about buying a new barbecue grill, and here he was putting it to use right away.
“Eat up, Brian.”
“This is Ceracia, which will be released soon. I’ll leave a case behind before I go.”
When I showed them this year’s first Ceracia, Aunt Maggie’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, I hear this has been all the rage lately?”
“Haha, it’s good for gifting to people around you, and it pairs well with seafood, meat—pretty much everything.”
“Why don’t you boys drink some now?”
“I have to drive when I leave, so it’s hard to have more than half a glass.”
Aunt Maggie’s cooking wasn’t bad, so after polishing off the steak she’d made, along with corn, potatoes, and other staple crops, I went up to Jacob’s room and placed a file folder on his desk.
On the cover of the folder, the words Redwood Lab Holdings LLC were written in bold letters.
“What’s this?”
“A new company I made. It’s a research corporation that I own one hundred percent of.”
I opened my notebook as I spoke.
“The fruit soju made by Golden Grain will take the form of using this research corporation’s technology.”
“Oh, I see. So you made a corporation instead of doing it as an individual.”
If I filed the patents under my personal name, all royalty income would be treated as personal income, leading to a high tax rate. But if it was registered under a corporation, intellectual property revenue could be treated as corporate income, making it possible to expense research costs, equipment purchases, consulting fees, and so on. In other words, the actual tax burden would be reduced and the flow of funds would become easier, so establishing a corporation could be considered essential.
“You already understand the structure, so I don’t need to explain more, right?”
“I’m not stupid. I know.”
“Heh, good. It’s a contract I prepared, so read through it.”
I took the contract I’d prepared from the folder and handed it to him.
“First, we can exclusively produce soju and soju-based fruit soju products ‘only in North America.’
Second, in return, we pay Redwood Lab a royalty of four percent of net sales.
Third, as a minimum guarantee, eighty thousand dollars for the first year, one hundred forty thousand for the second year, and two hundred thousand dollars from the third year onward. This is way too harsh, isn’t it?”
“Read further down. It says you don’t have to pay it if sales are insufficient.”
“Ah… You’re right.”
Jacob, who had placed a hand over his chest in relief, looked over the contract again. Calculations spun quickly through his head. Four percent wasn’t big. If anything, the terms were better than those of other distributors.
“Not bad.”
He judged that if we generated additional sales with fruit soju on top of the revenue already coming in from The One alone, these conditions would be more than manageable. In any case, even on the patent side, the royalty was only four percent, so it wasn’t that much of a burden.
“Are you really okay with it?”
“Yeah, I think we can handle it just fine. And to be honest, from the beginning until now, you’ve drawn up every business plan for us. You came up with ideas like fruit soju too. This much isn’t a waste.”
“If you think of it that way, I’m grateful.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. What are you talking about? I just sign here, right?”
And so Jacob confidently finished signing.
---
In mid-December, Redwood’s third product, Ceracia, was released, once again increasing the numbers in my bank account. At department stores for the end of the year, Ceracia sat on every display shelf, the golden ribbons hanging over the glass bottles glittering under the lights.
Chloe, Armand, Jacob, and I each enjoyed some shopping at the department store, then gathered at Redwood Winery.
Now that the year’s farming was over, we all had some free time and could have enjoyed a leisurely dinner, but Jacob and I had one more thing on our schedule.
“Brian! Your guest is here.”
Dad’s voice rang out, and soon after, a familiar voice entered the aging room.
“To think I get to see your friends once again—I couldn’t be more pleased. It feels like another gift at the end of the year. Hahaha!”
It was Malcolm Lee of Unity Spirits, which distributed Golden Grain Soju House’s vodka, The One.
“It’s been a while. Please, have a seat.”
Curious as to why the four of us had called him, yet with anticipation in his eyes, he sat down.
At the look in his eyes, we exchanged strange smiles, then took a transparent glass bottle out of a bag and set it down.
“We made a new kind of liquor.”
“Vodka?”
When he tilted his head at the clear bottle, I took out a soju glass, opened the bottle cap, and poured the drink.
“Rather than explaining, please try it first.”
In the United States, people generally don’t accept unknown alcohol from others. The U.S. is a country where drugs are common enough that people are warned to be careful about leaving their drinks unattended, but given the situation, and since this was a winery, he drank it down without hesitation.
“Mmm~”
The moment he drank it, his eyes widened. He emptied the rest of the liquor in his glass in one go, then savored the rich peach aroma in his mouth again.
“What is this? It’s not a beverage… but it’s really tasty?”
Seeing him enjoy it, my friends laughed as if they’d known this would happen. I poured more into his glass and said,
“What you just drank is fruit soju. We made it.”
“Fruit soju?”
“Yes. It’s a light drink made for people who don’t like liquor with a strong alcohol smell. But just because it tastes like fruit, you shouldn’t assume it’s weak. It’s a full thirteen percent alcohol.”
“Thirteen percent… People will sip away at it and suddenly get drunk, won’t they?”
“That’s right. There probably won’t be a better drink for making a move around college towns.”
He tried the liquor once more, and with a broad smile spreading across his lips, he said,
“Haha, this is driving me crazy. It feels like a prank, but if you ask whether it has no marketability, I absolutely can’t say no. Young people are going to go wild for this.”
“That’s right.”
I even took out the label we’d prepared in advance. The label, which read “The One – Peach Light Soju,” looked as refreshing as real peach juice.
“Peach-scented soju… This isn’t wine, and it isn’t vodka either.”
“To be precise, it’s somewhere in between. The alcohol content is thirteen percent, the aroma is light like a fruit wine, and it goes down smoothly.”
Malcolm opened the cap, sniffed the aroma, and wrinkled the tip of his nose.
“This is practically a beverage.”
“That’s the point. Liquor that’s like a beverage.”
He rubbed his palms together and even smacked his lips. I could immediately sense just how excited he was right now.
“If we were to give you the rights, how would you plan to distribute it?”
Instead of asking about contract terms first, I asked about distribution strategy. Malcolm, who did not want to miss this opportunity, did not answer right away. After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.
“This fruit soju is clearly a product that could catch on, but it’s hard to understand what it feels like before drinking it. I think we need to hold promotional events and first create the market.”
His opinion was already an idea I’d been considering for a while. That was why I thought handing the distribution rights over to his company this time wouldn’t be a bad choice.
“Good. Then I’ll give you three days. Put together contract terms and make us an offer.”
Only then did Malcolm realize that he couldn’t sign a contract right away. At the mention that there was still another round of competition left, he instead nodded.
It was because he thought an item this good couldn’t possibly have no competition.
“Good, let’s do that. I’ll come back in three days.”
He immediately stood up, tapped the clear fruit soju as if it were already his, and left.
“You’re going to make them compete?”
When Chloe asked, I chuckled.
“No… If I say it like this, I think he’ll come back with better terms. Since The One is distributed by them, it’s better for them to distribute the fruit soju too.”
“Ah…”
I became intensely curious to see how people would react after tasting fruit soju.