After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Got Divorced and Found a Thousand Bitcoins Episode 038

 

It was adding insult to injury.

 

[Global Stock Markets in Major Shock!]

 

[Black Monday, Global Stock Markets Plummet in Unison.]

 

[The Bomb President Goldwin Dropped Explodes Global Stock Markets.]

 

[Stock Markets Record Historic Crash Since COVID.]

 

Major global media outlets recorded Monday’s crash.

 

Literally a shocking and terrifying decline.

 

After dropping 15 percent due to the AI bubble issue, it fell another 15 percent from President Goldwin’s tariff bomb.

 

In less than two weeks, it had dropped 27.75 percent from its peak.

 

This was even after hitting bottom and recovering somewhat on the way up.

 

In this situation, an economic forum was held in Otemachi, Tokyo, Japan.

 

The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, People’s Bank of China, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, and others.

 

Since it was a gathering of major economic figures from around the world, media attention was focused on it.

 

“This is incredible.”

 

And Kang Hyeon attended this event together with Kim Ha-ryul.

 

“That’s Emily Carter over there. She’s the only Federal Reserve member who attended this forum in person. Oh, that’s Matthias Kreutzer from the European Central Bank, and that’s Liu Zheng from the People’s Bank. And over there is Tanaka Masayoshi from the Bank of Japan.”

 

She was like a walking GPT.

 

The difference was that you had to ask GPT questions, but names of people just flowed out of her automatically.

 

‘I knew her information network was beyond comparison, but was it to this extent?’

 

While running KH Capital, he had come to know her abilities well.

 

Not only was her information network excellent, but her collection abilities and memory were also outstanding.

 

Perhaps that’s why she was fluent in seven languages, the most in the company.

 

This was also the reason she accompanied him today.

 

Then a man with a familiar face approached.

 

“CEO!”

 

It was Manager Lee Jong-hyeok from JP Morgan’s Asia division.

 

“If you had contacted me before arriving, I would have come to meet you.”

 

“It’s fine. I’m grateful just for being invited to such a great event today.”

 

“Actually, this invitation wasn’t from me but an order that came down from above.”

 

“From above?”

 

“Yes. Richard Blake personally sent you the invitation.”

 

Richard Blake.

 

He was the executive Kang Hyeon had encountered most frequently since dealing with JP Morgan.

 

If it was his influence, it made sense that he had been invited.

 

“I see. I should meet him later and say hello.”

 

“Actually, we’re planning to arrange a meeting after this afternoon’s discussion.”

 

“Is Richard participating in the discussion?”

 

“Oh, our chairman will be participating in the discussion.”

 

“Chairman… you mean JP Morgan’s Halvorsen?”

 

“Yes. There’s a meeting arranged where you can talk with both of them after his discussion.”

 

This was unexpected.

 

But there was no reason to refuse.

 

“I’ll definitely attend.”

 

No one would refuse a chance to meet one of the people who leads the world economy.

 

* * *

 

There was a question.

 

‘My size isn’t really at the level where I can meet JP Morgan’s chairman.’

 

Over a trillion won.

 

For an individual, it was an enormous amount of money.

 

But it wasn’t an amount that warranted a private meeting with JP Morgan’s chairman.

 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Halvorsen.”

 

“I’m Choi Kang-hyeon.”

 

Still, there was no reason to be intimidated.

 

Always confident.

 

That was Kang Hyeon’s motto after his divorce.

 

Still, he couldn’t help but feel the man’s presence.

 

“Please, sit down.”

 

“Yes.”

 

He sat facing him.

 

Richard Blake and Kim Ha-ryul took seats on either side.

 

Ha-ryul also looked clearly flustered.

 

‘Where am I…? Who am I?’

 

Though he had worked with her for several months, this was the first time he could read her thoughts from her expression.

 

That’s how much the meeting with Halvorsen was something that didn’t fall under the category of “expected.”

 

“Thank you for taking the time today.”

 

“Not at all. I’m honored that you invited me to this important event and are meeting with me separately.”

 

“Haha, hearing you say that puts me a bit at ease.”

 

He took a sip of tea and got to the point.

 

“The reason I wanted to meet you today is because I want to hear your perspective.”

 

What was this about now?

 

“Before the Arkon incident broke out, you shorted Arkon. It was clearly a situation where there was nothing but positive news.”

 

“As you know, Arkon’s stock price was rising and the news was nothing but positive. But the credit market was different.”

 

“The value of CDS was rising?”

 

“Yes. I believe others made similar judgments, not just me.”

 

Actually, this answer was one he had prepared to give if the FBI or SEC launched an investigation.

 

With this level of answer, they wouldn’t be able to progress beyond the suspicion stage either.

 

But Halvorsen was different.

 

“Certainly, looking at just that one case, there’s nothing strange about it. But looking at your previous short sale of NextMove and your trading history attacking Dongbang Partners in the India Market, I became quite interested.”

 

JP Morgan was Kang Hyeon’s main trading partner.

 

Naturally, they had all his data.

 

Who would have thought the chairman would check all of that?

 

“Of course, there must have been grounds for all of those. I suspect NextMove was based on WSJ’s investigation, and entering the India Market was a way to pressure Eastern and acquire KH Construction’s shares at a low price. That was a rather unexpected trade.”

 

To think he had analyzed even Dongbang in such detail.

 

It felt like facing a seasoned FBI investigator.

 

But Halvorsen soon smiled and said,

 

“The conclusion from overlapping all this data is that you’re a trader with tremendous insight.”

 

Indeed, not just anyone could reach that position.

 

Despite being chairman, he had perfectly analyzed him.

 

“So you need my perspective?”

 

“Yes. Richard here also saw your trades and ordered the internal report team to check the entire market again.”

 

Ah, so that was it?

 

The reason JP Morgan issued a report saying caution was needed just before the decline, and then issued a sell report on Arkon after the market fell.

 

Well, JP Morgan’s report team would have been able to catch the risk factors sufficiently.

 

Anyway, now he understood.

 

The reason he was able to have this meeting with Halvorsen.

 

‘Richard has tremendous trust from Halvorsen.’

 

If someone else had mentioned him, Halvorsen wouldn’t have even remembered his name.

 

But because it was Richard, whom he trusted, who spoke, he not only kept it in mind but clearly investigated him separately and arranged this meeting.

 

‘I should stay close to Richard.’

 

If he was an executive trusted by the chairman, it wouldn’t hurt to deepen their friendship.

 

Thinking this way, Halvorsen also came up with an answer to give.

 

In fact, there was only one answer to this.

 

“The market appears to be recovering quickly.”

 

“Oh, even in this situation?”

 

“Yes. And with this decline, AI will ultimately grow in a healthier way.”

 

“But political issues remain, don’t they?”

 

“That part won’t be a major problem either. No matter how arrogant President Goldwin is, he can’t ignore the market’s reaction like this.”

 

Kang Hyeon spoke without hesitation.

 

To call the president of the world’s strongest nation, the United States, arrogant.

 

Whether it was audacity or courage.

 

Halvorsen thought it was the latter and smiled.

 

“I have similar thoughts.”

 

To think the same as JP Morgan’s chairman.

 

Kang Hyeon could gain even more confidence.

 

“I heard you run a company.”

 

“Yes. I operate a company called KH Capital.”

 

“I heard all the capital is your own money. Do you not accept investments by any chance? If you do, I’d like to invest personally.”

 

For the head of JP Morgan to propose a personal investment.

 

It was a proposal worth widening one’s eyes over, but Kang Hyeon politely shook his head.

 

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to operate personally for the time being.”

 

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate. If you’re ever willing to accept investment in the future, please contact me here.”

 

Kang Hyeon nodded as he received the business card Halvorsen handed him.

 

“I’ll definitely contact you.”

 

“It was pleasant meeting you today. I’d like to talk more, but I have another appointment, so let’s get up now.”

 

The meeting with JP Morgan’s head ended briefly.

 

But that alone was sufficient.

 

‘If I build connections like this, they’ll be helpful someday.’

 

Then Ha-ryul, who had been sitting blankly beside them, spoke up.

 

“Ah!”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I forgot to get an autograph! Ah…!!”

 

Her quirky appearance as she expressed deep regret made him laugh involuntarily.

 

* * *

 

Various discussions took place at the Otemachi Economic Forum.

 

“This decline was predicted since NextMove.”

 

“NextMove was about the CEO’s departure. It wasn’t the company’s problem, was it?”

 

“That’s exactly the problem. AI created such a massive bubble that enormous money flowed into companies with unverified CEOs.”

 

Starting from NextMove.

 

“I think Arkon’s collapse this time was actually fortunate. If it had taken longer, the bubble’s size would have grown unimaginably large.”

 

“I agree. This decline will actually make the market healthier.”

 

Even debates about Arkon and the AI bubble.

 

He could hear various opinions.

 

Meanwhile, Kang Hyeon could think of one thing.

 

‘What would have happened if the AI bubble had burst after more time passed?’

 

That would have been a disaster for the world.

 

So much so that this decline seemed fortunate in comparison.

 

‘Did I have some influence on this?’

 

Probably so.

 

He recalled what Richard had said after Halvorsen left.

 

-Your trade was a butterfly’s wing beat. A small wing beat that started in the East became a typhoon when it reached America.

 

The butterfly effect.

 

It meant a minor event changing into a major event over time.

 

Richard’s explanation was that this Arkon incident was ultimately a result that followed from NextMove.

 

-The NextMove incident planted distrust of AI companies in Wall Street. As a result, Arkon’s credibility was shaken.

 

If his words were true, it meant the bubble could have grown larger without this ability.

 

From that perspective, he felt fortunate to have gained this ability.

 

-Oh, and you’ll be quite busy at this forum. You might not know since you’ve only been in South Korea, but you’re already famous among Wall Street and global business people.

 

Richard’s parting words.

 

He didn’t understand what that meant.

 

Even now he was comfortably moving around the venue…

 

“Hello? You’re Mr. Choi from KH Capital, right?”

 

“Ah, yes. Who are you?”

 

“Oh, I’m late with introductions. I’m Jameson, senior reporter for the Wall Street Journal. If you have a moment, could we do an interview?”

 

As the reporter who identified himself as Jameson held out his business card.

 

“I’m Thomas from the Guardian in Britain. Please do an interview with us too.”

 

“I’m Raymond from Bloomberg. There are stories that you made enormous profits from Arkon following NextMove.”

 

“This is Financial Times. How do you view the current market atmosphere?”

 

Reporters swarmed in.

 

It was the moment he realized Richard Blake’s words were correct.

 

* * *

 

Kang Hyeon, who barely escaped from the reporters’ hands, caught his breath while drinking bottled water.

 

“Phew… That’s exhausting.”

 

“You worked hard, CEO.”

 

“You too, Ms. Ha-ryul.”

 

He had been caught by reporters and talked for an hour.

 

Thanks to that, he was in an exhausted state.

 

He wondered how people who do these interviews daily manage to live.

 

Then a woman who appeared to be of Indian descent approached.

 

“Mr. Choi?”

 

“Yes? Yes. If it’s for an interview, please make a separate appointment…”

 

“Oh, I’m the secretary to Deputy Governor Rahoshib Malhotra of the Reserve Bank of India.”

 

She held out her business card.

 

The business card with both English and Indian text had the RBI mark prominently displayed.

 

“Mr. Rahoshib has requested a meeting. Would you have time by any chance?”

 

A meeting request from the second-in-command of the Reserve Bank of India, which determines India’s financial policy.

 

Now it was certain.

 

‘Richard’s words about becoming famous were true.’

 

There was no reason to avoid it.

 

“Understood, let’s go.”

 

He was already looking forward to what the RBI’s second-in-command would have to say.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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