Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 210

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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210. Looks like a nouveau riche throwing an extravagant champagne party.

A loud phone ring suddenly pierced the silence of dawn.

Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.

Seok-won, lying alone on the spacious bed, stirred for a moment before stretching one arm to grab his phone from the nightstand.
He answered the call with a voice still thick with sleep.

“Hello.”
[Mr. Park. It’s Baikel.]

Even through the phone, I could sense a heavy, grave atmosphere.
Detecting that something was amiss, I immediately sat upright and asked in fluent English.

“Has Jacqueline’s condition worsened?”

Baikel was the attending physician of Jacqueline, Amar Cuff’s mother, who had been diagnosed with terminal uterine cancer last year and was undergoing treatment.

[Yes. I apologize for having to tell you this, but I believe it would be best to prepare for the end.]
“I see.”

I had known for several days that Jacqueline’s condition was deteriorating.
But hearing that her time was running out, I couldn’t help but let a heavy sigh escape.

“Have you informed the family?”
[Of course. However, the patient has asked that we keep this confidential for now and not contact her son in Chicago.]

It was likely out of consideration for her son, who was currently campaigning for the Illinois State Senate election.

‘Even if he’s favored to win after overcoming the toughest primary battle, it’s not easy for a candidate to be absent for days during a campaign.’

Seeing her concern and consideration for her child, even at what might be the end, I was reminded once again of how remarkable a mother truly is.

“Understood. Please contact me immediately if there’s any change in her condition.”
[I will.]

After ending the call, I rubbed my face several times as if shaking off fatigue, then pressed a button on my phone to call Landon Shore.
After a brief ringtone, the other party answered, and I spoke immediately.

“It’s me.”
[Is something the matter at this hour?]
“Send the company’s private jet to Chicago right now.”
[The private jet? Has something happened?]

Landon Shore asked with evident confusion at the sudden directive.

“Amar Cuff’s mother’s condition appears to have deteriorated significantly.”

Since I had arranged not only hospital expenses but also a caregiver upon learning of her uterine cancer diagnosis, Landon Shore immediately grasped the situation.

[I’ll have it sent as quickly as possible.]
“I’ll need to go to Hawaii as well. Prepare my private jet too.”
[Will you be departing today?]
“Yes.”
[Understood. I’ll have everything ready so you can depart immediately upon arriving at the airport.]

Normally one would need to check flight schedules first, but with a private jet at my disposal, I could board whenever necessary and fly wherever I wished.
After ending the brief call, I searched for Amar Cuff’s number and hesitated before pressing the dial button.
While the patient herself didn’t wish for her son to know of her condition, the more pressing concern was the state senate election looming ahead—a pivotal turning point in Amar Cuff’s life.
Since the district he was running in was a Democratic stronghold, barring any major upset, Amar Cuff’s victory was virtually assured.

‘But as the saying goes, nothing in this world is predetermined. Unexpected variables could still reverse the outcome.’

One such variable could be his mother’s death.
Especially since his mother was the person Amar Cuff respected and loved most, the psychological shock and suffering would undoubtedly be immense.

“If my memory serves me correctly, he only receives word from his younger sister after falling into a coma and rushes to Hawaii, yet ultimately fails to be at his mother’s side at the end.”

I murmured softly, my expression troubled.
I recalled reading in his memoir from before the regression that he regretted this for the rest of his life and felt ashamed of it.
Such a small difference could trigger a butterfly effect that might ultimately transform Amar Cuff’s entire life.
Moreover, it could completely ruin the grand plan I had laid out, which made me hesitate all the more.
But my hesitation didn’t last long.

“Regardless of the consequences, I can’t claim ignorance. Knowing what’s to come, I cannot deprive him of witnessing his beloved family’s final moments.”

Seok-won’s expression turned bitter as he muttered to himself.
Even if unexpected variables arose, he could simply use his own power to set things right again.
Having made his decision, Seok-won no longer hesitated and found the number to call Amar Cuff.

“Hello?”

Amar Cuff answered the phone with his characteristic vibrant voice.
Seok-won felt his chest grow heavy as he slowly opened his mouth to speak.

“Cuff. It’s me.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have something to tell you.”

* * *

New York, Long Island Southampton.
In the study room of a mansion surrounded by high walls, George Hamilton, a titan of Wall Street, sipped his black tea while reading today’s Wall Street Journal.

“Second Federal Government Shutdown Occurs!”

Beneath the bold headline, detailed articles spanning several pages covered the unprecedented second federal government shutdown occurring this year alone, discussing its potential ramifications and future outlook.
As George Hamilton gazed at the black-and-white photograph of House Speaker Eric Sabitz leaving the Capitol Building with a stern expression, he clicked his tongue briefly.

“The way the White House and the Republican Party are fighting to the death suggests the presidential election is drawing near.”

Had it not been for next year’s presidential election, neither the White House nor the Republican Party would have engaged in such a brink-of-the-cliff standoff.

“For that reason, neither side will easily back down.”

The moment one side yielded, they would lose the initiative in the political landscape to their opponents, making it even more difficult to find common ground.
However, with the presidential election looming and public opinion impossible to ignore, he believed both sides would engage in a measured show of strength before reaching a compromise, just as they had before.

“If they push all the way through, mutual destruction is all that remains—so unless they’re complete fools, they’ll naturally do otherwise.”

As he muttered these thoughts to himself, he sensed a presence beside him.

“Have you found an interesting article, sir?”

When George Hamilton turned his head to look, Rodney approached with a smile, dressed in a formal suit with crisp navy blue vertical stripes.

“Come in.”

George Hamilton set down the newspaper in his hand and shook hands with him while remaining seated.
Rodney unfastened his jacket button and settled naturally onto the sofa across from him, glancing at the newspaper on the table before speaking.

“I see you were reading about the shutdown.”

George Hamilton shrugged in response.

“When the federal government shuts down and stops functioning, it’s hardly a trivial matter.”
“Well, that’s certainly true.”

Yet neither George Hamilton nor Rodney appeared genuinely concerned despite their words.

“The federal government has shut down, but all three major indices seem to be holding steady without significant impact. How does the mood seem on Wall Street?”
“Perhaps due to the effects from the last shutdown crisis, everyone seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach for now.”
“True enough—last time, everyone who expected the market to crash and placed short bets took a beating.”
“The internet boom was so powerful that no one predicted even safe-haven assets like gold would fall, let alone the stock market.”

George Hamilton’s expression turned bitter.

“When these reversals happen even once, even the most skilled traders get wiped out without fail.”
“That’s absolutely true.”

George Hamilton picked up the teacup before him, took a sip of black tea, set it down, and continued.

“I heard you placed a hundred million dollar short bet on S&P 500 futures.”
“That’s correct.”

George Hamilton narrowed his eyes and studied Rodney.

“Do you believe the shutdown will have an impact this time, unlike last time?”
“If I did, I would have bet a larger amount.”
“True—if your capacity were limited to just that much, I wouldn’t have recruited you for my fund. So why did you buy put options?”
“I saw the Eldorado Fund making aggressive short sales, so I decided to place a bet following their lead.”

It was an unexpected answer, and surprise flickered across George Hamilton’s face.
Then, recalling a report he had received recently, he murmured thoughtfully.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t you mention that Eldorado Fund is short-selling?”
“Yes. We can’t determine the exact amount, but our estimates suggest they’ve shorted at least ten billion dollars or more across the top ten S&P 500 stocks.”
“Hmm.”

A spark of intrigue flickered in George Hamilton’s eyes.

“A bet of that magnitude suggests they’re confident in a market decline, doesn’t it?”
“If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t have placed such a bet.”
“This is truly fascinating.”

George Hamilton stroked his cleanly shaven chin with one hand, letting out a thoughtful hum.
Then he looked up and fixed his gaze on Rodney before him, asking a question.

“Do you have any idea what Park Seok-won is seeing that prompted this move?”
“There is one possibility.”
“What is it?”

Seeing George Hamilton’s interest piqued, Rodney shared what he had finally concluded after much deliberation about Seok-won’s true intentions.

“It seems he’s anticipating that the confrontation between the White House and the Republican Party will intensify, potentially prolonging the government shutdown.”

Upon hearing this, George Hamilton paused to consider it seriously, then his brow furrowed.

“If that truly comes to pass, anxiety would surge and the market would inevitably be shaken.”
“However, the likelihood of that happening is slim. Despite their fierce confrontation, neither side is foolish enough to push the situation toward catastrophe.”

George Hamilton shared the same view, so he nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. Even if such a situation were to occur, once the alarmed political establishment reaches a budget agreement, the index would quickly recover. There won’t be a major crash.”
“That’s a fair point.”
“But still, if a severe market plunge does happen, Park Seok-won would pull off another spectacular contrarian victory.”

George Hamilton’s eyes gleamed with intrigue as a smile spread across his face.

“This will be interesting to watch.”

Witnessing this, Rodney felt a subtle discomfort as the conversation’s focus shifted once again to Seok-won.
The more George Hamilton—his fund’s representative and respected senior investor—showed interest in Seok-won, the deeper his dissatisfaction grew.
Rodney deliberately suppressed such feelings and intentionally changed the subject.

“But what did you want to discuss with me?”
“Ah, yes.”

George Hamilton’s smile faded instantly, and he posed his question in a grave tone.

“What’s your assessment of the Asian nations?”

Rodney’s expression shifted to one of bewilderment at the unexpected inquiry.

“I’m not certain what you mean, sir.”
“To be more precise, I’m asking how you view the economic situation of developing Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.”

Rodney sensed there was some deeper intention behind George Hamilton’s question, yet he couldn’t quite discern what it was. He studied George Hamilton’s expression cautiously before responding with care.

“Well, sir, all three are nations that have achieved rapid economic development over the past decade, aren’t they?”

At this, George Hamilton’s lips curved into a meaningful smile.

“I see. But to my eyes, they look like nouveau riche precariously perched on a cliff’s edge, recklessly popping champagne and throwing parties on borrowed money.”
“…!”

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