Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 238

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

238. Surely you’re not going to shut down over something like this?

February 24th, 1996.
Though it was Saturday, the stock market wouldn’t implement weekend closures until December two years later, so the staff of Daehung Venture Capital’s Fund Management Department remained in the office even in the afternoon.

“Phew. Finally done.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, his necktie loosened around his neck, finished organizing all the transaction slips and picked up the mug sitting in the corner of his desk with an expression of utter exhaustion.
He brought the cup to his lips without thinking, only to discover it was already empty, and set it back down with a grumble.

“Everyone else leaves after morning hours, but here we are. This is exactly why I can’t get married.”

Someone behind him clicked their tongue disapprovingly.

“What does working on Saturday have to do with you not getting married?”
“Oh. Director.”

Jung Hwan-yeop turned around in his chair to find Choi Ho-geun, the department director, standing there—apparently he’d stepped away briefly and just returned.

“Well, think about it. How can I get married when I don’t have time to date!”
“What do you do on Sundays?”
“Sleep at home. I need at least one day of solid rest to survive coming back Monday.”
“Yet come Monday, you shuffle around like a sickly chicken.”

As Choi Ho-geun stood there with a crooked smile, offering his criticism, Jung Hwan-yeop laughed awkwardly and glanced away.

“Real couples rush to their girlfriend’s place the moment work ends, even if just to catch a glimpse of her face. Yet all you do is make excuses.”
“You’re always criticizing me. Isn’t that too much? You never even introduced me to a single woman.”

Choi Ho-geun looked at him with a pitying gaze.

“Why would I introduce you to someone just to hear complaints later?”
“What’s wrong with me!”

Jung Hwan-yeop protested with an aggrieved expression, and Choi Ho-geun placed his hands on his hips, exhaling a deep sigh.

“Sigh. Hwan-yeop, there’s a famous saying left behind by a great man named Socrates long ago.”
“What? ‘Know thyself’? That one?”
“Well, I do know myself.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, looking somewhat sullen, proceeded to enumerate his own strengths in his own way.

“Sure, I’ve developed a bit of a belly since I haven’t been exercising lately, but my face is decent enough wherever I go, and I make decent money. Isn’t that the mark of a first-rate husband material?”
“I really don’t know what gives you such high self-esteem.”

As Choi Ho-geun shook his head disapprovingly, Yu Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee in the same office burst into snickers and laughter.
Jung Hwan-yeop had meant it with surprising sincerity, but as everyone laughed, he pouted and grumbled.

“I just got promoted to section chief, and this is how you treat me?”
“Yeah. Since we’re on the subject, now that you’re a section chief, are you really going to set a bad example for your team members and keep showing up late every day? Huh?”
“…I apologize.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, conscious of his past transgressions, could offer no rebuttal and simply scratched the back of his head with one hand.

“Good grief. You’re making me age faster. Really, let’s do better.”
“Hehe. Understood, sir.”
“Don’t laugh. Get serious. Come on.”

Choi Ho-geun glared at Jung Hwan-yeop and rebuked him curtly.

“Once you’re done organizing the transaction slips, hand them over to Hong right away and get out of here. Whether you go on a date or drink, that’s your business—just don’t be late to the office. Please.”

Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun had also been promoted to deputy manager when they transferred to Daehung Venture Capital.

“Yessir.”
“Answer properly, won’t you?”
“Yes. Understood, sir!”

Jung Hwan-yeop answered in a loud, clear voice, quickly gathered the organized transaction slips, and handed them to Hong Jae-hee, who was sitting at her desk.
Just as Choi Ho-geun sighed once more at the sight, the phone rang.

“Yes. This is Yu Seok-hyun, Deputy Manager of the Fund Management Department.”

Yu Seok-hyun answered with a slightly smiling face, when suddenly a loud voice burst from the receiver.

“What? Is that really true!”

The sudden outburst drew the attention of everyone nearby, their heads turning in unison.

“Ah… yes, I understand. Thank you.”

As I set down the receiver, Choi Ho-geun regarded me with narrowed eyes.

“Yu Seok-hyun. Is something the matter?”

While Jung Hwan-yeop and Hong Jae-hee looked on with curiosity, I answered quickly.

“The Ministry of Finance and Economy just announced that starting April 1st, they’re raising the foreign investor stock investment limit from 15% to 18%, and they’re also completely liberalizing overseas securities investment for domestic retail investors.”

At this bombshell announcement from the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Jung Hwan-yeop and Hong Jae-hee’s eyes widened in shock.

“Is that really true!”
“My goodness. They’re doing that all of a sudden?”

Watching their reactions, I nodded.

“A journalist friend of mine passed along this information, so it should be reliable.”
“Hmm… this is huge news.”

Jung Hwan-yeop rested his chin in one hand, muttering to himself.
The man who had been slacking off just moments before now wore an expression of such gravity that it was hard to believe—his mind already calculating the shockwaves this announcement would send through the stock market.

‘But why is the manager so quiet about this.’

Realizing this suddenly, Jung Hwan-yeop turned to look at Choi Ho-geun.
Standing with his arms crossed, Choi Ho-geun wore a calm expression, showing no sign of great surprise, prompting Jung Hwan-yeop to ask with a puzzled look.

“Manager, did you perhaps already know the Ministry of Finance and Economy would make this announcement?”
“What? Surely not.”
“But my journalist friend just found out about it…”

Hong Jae-hee and I exchanged skeptical glances at Choi Ho-geun.
Then Choi Ho-geun nodded with an expression tinged with admiration.

“That’s right.”
“Pardon?”
“!”

I’d only thrown out the remark casually, but when I said he actually knew, Jung Hwan-yeop and the staff members’ eyes went wide as saucers.
Choi Ho-geun, taken aback by their astonished gazes, offered a wry smile and explained.

“It wasn’t me—it was the department head… no, the CEO who foresaw this would happen.”
“Is that really true?”

Jung Hwan-yeop let out a gasp and pressed further in disbelief.

“The CEO said that ahead of the general election, the Blue House and the ruling party would roll out strong stock market stimulus measures.”

As the realization struck him, Jung Hwan-yeop exclaimed with sudden understanding.

“So that’s why you ordered us to intensively accumulate Saechang Communications and two other stocks within a week.”
“Exactly. With the general election in April, they’d have to announce the stimulus package this month to avoid criticism about it being election-driven.”
“I see. The CEO would definitely be capable of that. I’m always amazed whenever I see it, but your foresight is truly remarkable.”

Jung Hwan-yeop clicked his tongue in admiration.

“Indeed. You’re truly the CEO.”
“I can’t fathom how you think that far ahead… I still have so much to learn.”

Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun chimed in with their own praise, chattering away.
As Choi Ho-geun nodded along with his subordinates’ words, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and fixed Jung Hwan-yeop with a sharp look.

“Jung. Something’s off about what you’re saying.”
“What do you mean?”
“A moment ago you were staring at me with suspicion. But the moment I said the CEO foresaw this, you immediately agreed. Why the sudden change?”
“Come on, sir. You’re the cautious type like me. You’re not the kind to trade several moves ahead like the CEO does.”

At that, Choi Ho-geun’s expression darkened and he rolled up his shirt sleeves.

“Cautious? You little bastard. Let me teach you a lesson today.”
“Why are you like this? I was just stating the facts!”

As Jung Hwan-yeop shuffled backward defensively, continuing to dodge, veins bulged visibly on Choi Ho-geun’s forehead.

“This is really! Fine. Sometimes you need to learn how to keep the truth hidden.”
“Ow! Your fist. Put your fist down and talk!”
“You stay right there!”
“You look like you’re about to kill me if I get caught—how am I supposed to just stand here!”

Jung Hwan-yeop bolted out of the office in a flash, and Choi Ho-geun chased after him, shouting from behind.

“Get back here!”
“Ahhh! Somebody help!”

Hong Jae-hee muttered matter-of-factly as she listened to the thunderous footsteps echoing through the hallway.

“Both of them have aged another year, yet nothing seems to change.”
“Ha ha.”

Yu Seok-hyun chuckled softly and nodded in agreement.

* * *

As a large Mercedes sedan passed through the Gangnam Station intersection, Seok-won sat comfortably in the back seat, speaking with Landon Shore in New York.

[We completed the liquidation of all Nikkei futures positions as of yesterday.]
“What’s the profit margin?”
[Just as you predicted, the Nikkei rose sharply, surpassing 20,000, allowing us to lock in an impressive profit margin of 43.65%.]

Landon’s voice was considerably excited from the substantial gains.

[Excluding expenses, we’ve generated a final total of 3.412 billion dollars.]

Upon hearing the figure, Seok-won held his phone with a satisfied smile.

“The results turned out quite well.”

Landon laughed heartily and responded.

[I’m sure that by now, Nomura Securities, Daiwa Securities, and the other major Japanese securities firms are probably in complete chaos with their earnings devastated because of us.]

If Seok-won had taken a long position in the futures market, there had to be someone betting short by selling that same amount of futures.
Ironically, it was Japanese securities firms like Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities that had recklessly dumped futures onto the market, driven by unstable exchange rates and a plummeting stock market.
They had sold futures trying to recoup even a fraction of their returns as the market collapsed, but it only inflicted greater losses upon them.

‘They never could have anticipated the yen weakening so suddenly and the Nikkei rebounding so sharply.’

By the time they belatedly grasped the situation and desperately tried to reverse their positions, it was already too late—no one was willing to sell futures anymore, and their holdings were locked in place.
Having inadvertently fleeced the Japanese securities firms, Seok-won spoke with a faint smile.

“Still, at least we haven’t collapsed like Barings Bank.”
[That doesn’t seem to be entirely the case.]
“What do you mean by that?”

Seok-won asked with a puzzled expression.

[You must know of Yamaichi Securities.]
“Of course.”

Yamaichi Securities, which had celebrated its 99th founding anniversary this year, was one of Japan’s four major securities firms, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nomura, Daiwa, and Nikko.

[They’ve suffered significant losses in this incident—not quite bankruptcy, but a considerable blow nonetheless.]
“How much did they lose?”
[I can’t say for certain, but it’s likely to exceed 900 million dollars.]

At the substantial sum, Seok-won raised his eyebrows slightly.

“That’s quite a figure.”
[Their quarterly earnings report will likely be quite grim.]
“Still, they’re the second-largest securities firm in Japan—surely they won’t close their doors over this?”
[Ha. That’s true, but the aftereffects won’t be insignificant.]
“True enough. Writing off all those losses won’t be easy.”

Seok-won adjusted his grip on the mobile phone in his hand as he spoke.

“Let’s wrap up the Nikkei futures investment like that, and from now on, concentrate on CDS contracts as we discussed before.”
[Understood.]

CDS was an abbreviation for Credit Default Swap, a derivative financial instrument that allowed the buying and selling of default risk itself for nations, corporations, or specific products.
Anticipating the financial crisis that would soon sweep across Asia, the plan was to purchase CDS on Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other nations that would suffer significant damage, along with Korea, and then rake in dollars once the premiums skyrocketed.
After finishing the call with Landon Shore, I was calmly organizing my thoughts when my phone rang again.
I pressed the call button and answered to hear the voice of my mother, Jo Deok-rye.

[Where are you now?]
“I’m just passing Seocho Station.”

I turned my head to gaze out the car window and replied.

[Then you’re almost here. I’ve already told security, so just come right in.]
“Yes. I’ll see you in a moment.”
[All right.]

I set down my phone and muttered to myself.

“I wonder what she wants to meet about outside.”

I was curious about the reason, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on.

“Well, I’ll find out when I get there.”

I leaned back against the plush seat and gazed out at the passing streetscape.

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