The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 64

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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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The Fall of a Chaebol’s Third Generation, Regression – Episode 064
Late September 2008.
A five-star hotel in New York Manhattan.
It was the day of the KWFA annual gathering, a networking event for Koreans working on Wall Street.
……
Danny Kim paused at the entrance to the banquet hall.
It was the same place as last year, but then laughter had seeped through the doors even before you entered; today, all he heard were sighs.
What drifted through from beyond the threshold was nothing but voices laden with sighs.
“This doesn’t even feel like a funeral.”
He opened the door and stepped inside, taking in the scene of the banquet hall.
A year ago, over two hundred people had crowded this space; now there weren’t even half that many.
The small clusters of people gathered about wore dark expressions.
“Where did you apply?”
“Sending out résumés. But nobody’s calling back.”
“Same here. I applied to Citi and GS, but they rejected me in the initial screening.”
The conversations drifting from every corner made it clear—there was no party atmosphere here.
Since Lehman Brothers’ collapse, Wall Street had been swept by massive layoffs.
Layoff.
When a company fired employees en masse due to economic recession or restructuring, it was closest to what Koreans called a “coordinated dismissal.”
Twenty-six thousand from Lehman Brothers, ten thousand from Merrill Lynch, fifty thousand from Citigroup. Wall Street’s elite had poured onto the streets overnight.
A significant portion of those gathered here today were in the same boat.
People who’d lost their jobs had come hoping at least to network.
“Hey, there’s Danny Kim.”
“Didn’t he make a killing this time around?”
“He shorted Lehman, I heard. And Bear Stearns too.”
“No way, seriously?”
As Danny entered, eyes fixed on him.
Whispers rippled through the room—rumors about Danny were spreading rapidly across Wall Street.
That was because his counterparty had been Goldman Sachs, the world’s largest investment bank.
Once the traders there who’d sold him Credit Default Swaps started talking, the rumors exploded across the street.
‘I shouldn’t have come.’
Danny had come to gauge Wall Street’s mood, but as sharp eyes turned toward him, he pretended not to notice and headed for the bar.
As he picked up a drink, familiar faces approached.
“Hey, Danny. Long time.”
These were the friends who’d called him a short addict at this same event last year.
‘We don’t have money to throw at your fantasies.’
‘Stop the nonsense.’
The faces that had said such things now looked completely different.
Deflated expressions, slumped shoulders.
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
Danny replied tersely, and an awkward silence hung between them.
One of the friends spoke first.
“We were wrong back then. Honestly, we should’ve shorted when you said to.”
“What good does it do to say that now?”
Another friend exhaled a long sigh.
Danny said nothing, just sipped his drink. Then, nearby, he heard more talk about him.
“Hey, do you know how much Danny made this time?”
His friends’ eyes turned to Danny.
“……How much?”
“Hundreds of millions, supposedly. In dollars.”
His friends’ faces hardened in an instant, and Danny neither confirmed nor denied it.
He simply shrugged.
A moment later, one of his friends spoke up cautiously.
“Danny, could you help us out?”
……
“I’ve got nowhere to go these days. I’ve sent out a hundred résumés and nobody’s responding. You’re managing a fund now, right? Could you maybe find a spot for us……”
Danny studied his friends for a moment.
Those faces that had mocked him a year ago.
Now they looked up at him with desperate eyes.
“I’m sorry, but……”
Danny spoke slowly.
“Right now I’m affiliated with a house. I don’t have the bandwidth to save you guys.”
“A house? Where? Can you introduce us?”
“It’s in Seoul.”
A brief silence fell.
“……Seoul? Korea?”
Their expressions turned baffled.
To Wall Street’s elite, Seoul was a world away.
A small Asian nation. The financial periphery.
That Danny’s house was in such a place was unbelievable—though the look on their faces wasn’t unfamiliar. It was one he’d been receiving from them all along.
“You’ll never believe it. You didn’t believe me before.”
With that, Danny rose from his seat.
He set down the remainder of his drink on the table.
“Well, I’m off. I’ve got to get back to Seoul and file my returns.”
Danny said that and slipped out of the banquet hall.
He felt his friends’ gazes on his back.
Completely different from the mocking eyes of a year ago.

* * *
Early October 2008.
Seoul, Ribbon Capital’s office in Gwanak-gu.
News poured continuously across the TV screen.
[Wall Street Jobless Cross 100,000…… Worst Employment Crisis Since Great Depression]
[Three Weeks After Lehman Brothers Collapse, Global Stock Markets Plummet in Tandem]
[Dow Jones Breaches 8,000…… 40% Drop from Peak]
Han Jae-yi and I were absorbed in the flowing news. The screen changed, and now domestic market reports began airing.
[KOSPI Collapses Below 1,400…… Foreign Investor Selloffs Continue]
[Won/Dollar Rate Breaks 1,400…… Highest Since Foreign Exchange Crisis]
[Export Firms in Emergency…… Plea to Government: “Defend the Exchange Rate”]
Han Jae-yi stopped tapping her laptop and looked up at the TV.
“We’re in chaos too. KOSPI hit 2,000 last October, and it’s halved in a year. And that exchange rate—1,400 won? That doesn’t even make sense.”
I nodded.
“We saw this coming, remember?”
“I know we did, but……”
Han Jae-yi trailed off.
“Seeing it happen in real time, it doesn’t feel real. The world really is collapsing.”
The TV screen showed unemployed workers gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
People holding signs. Faces streaked with tears.
Until last year, these had been Wall Street’s elite, earning six figures annually.
“What about Danny?”
Han Jae-yi asked.
“I sent someone to pick him up. He should be at the office by now, having come straight from Incheon Airport.”
Han Jae-yi glanced at her watch.
From Incheon Airport to here would take about two hours. If his flight had arrived on time, he should be arriving shortly.
“Shouldn’t you go pick him up at the airport?”
“He said it was fine. Said he’d come straight to the office.”
That was when it happened.
Click.
The office door opened.
With the sound of a rolling suitcase came a familiar face.
“I’ve come to report.”
It was Danny.
Despite the long flight, his expression was bright.
Or rather, it looked more satisfied than bright.
“You came straight here without even stopping at your place?”
Han Jae-yi asked.
“Of course.”
Danny set his suitcase to one side as he spoke.
“My mouth was itching to tell you all so much I couldn’t wait. I’m not even tired right now. It’s like dopamine is flooding through my entire body.”
Danny flopped onto the sofa.
Despite the fatigue of a long-haul flight, his eyes were bright and alert.
“Can I get you some coffee?”
“No, forget it. Let’s start right now.”
Danny waved a hand.
Then he looked back and forth between Han Jae-yi and me and spoke.
“I’ll give you the final settlement report.”
The air in the office shifted.
Han Jae-yi closed her laptop and sat up straight; I too leaned back on the sofa and fixed my gaze on Danny.
“First, Bear Stearns.”
Danny introduced the first name.
“Acquired by JP Morgan in March and settled. Return rate 900%. Invested fifteen million, recovered a hundred thirty-five million.”
Han Jae-yi’s eyes widened slightly.
Though she’d known the figures already, hearing them again made them feel new.
“Next, Lehman Brothers.”
Danny’s voice took on weight.
This was the core target of the whole project.
“Bankruptcy filing on September 15th. Credit Default Swap prices skyrocketed. Return rate 2,100%.”
2,100%.
Twenty-one times the principal.
I turned the number over in my mind.
“We reinvested the full hundred thirty-five million we recovered from Bear Stearns. The recovered amount……”
Danny paused for effect.
“Two billion eight hundred thirty-five million dollars.”
The office fell into silence.
Han Jae-yi held her breath.
“……What did you say?”
Han Jae-yi’s voice trembled.
“Two point eight billion dollars.”
As Danny repeated it deliberately, Han Jae-yi’s mouth fell open—and didn’t close.
Even I was inwardly shocked.
I’d known Lehman would collapse, and I’d expected the Credit Default Swaps to soar.
But 2,100%.
I’d honestly anticipated around a tenfold return, and I’d thought that alone would be a tremendous success.
‘I didn’t think it would reach this far.’
I kept my expression composed.
If I looked shocked, it would undermine things right now.
“Next, Merrill Lynch.”
Danny continued matter-of-factly.
“When acquired by Bank of America, the stock price plummeted. The Put Options we held paid out. Return rate 480%. Invested twenty million, recovered ninety-six million.”
Han Jae-yi still wore a dazed expression.
She hadn’t processed the figure she’d just heard.
“Finally, AIG.”
Danny stated the fourth name.
“They received government bailout funds, but the stock price was decimated. A ninety-five percent-plus collapse from the peak. Return rate 750%. Invested twenty million, recovered a hundred fifty million.”
Danny paused to collect himself, then looked at me.
“Total principal: one hundred million dollars.”
Danny fell silent for a moment, eyes moving between Han Jae-yi and me.
“Final recovered amount.”
Danny opened his mouth, his voice slow and deliberate.
“Three point one billion dollars.”
The number echoed through the office.
Three point one billion dollars.
Thirty-one times the principal.
Han Jae-yi’s face went pale.
Her expression transcended shock into something dazed and hollow.
“Three point one billion……”
Han Jae-yi murmured.
Her fingers traced invisible calculations in the air.
“At 1,400 won to the dollar……”
When the calculation finished, Han Jae-yi’s eyes widened enormously.
“Four trillion? Over four trillion won?”
Danny nodded.
“Around four trillion three hundred billion won.”
Han Jae-yi wrapped her head in her hands.
“This is insane.”
Her voice trembled.
“This is truly insane. How is this even possible?”
Han Jae-yi shot up from her seat, paced the office in agitation, sat back down, then jumped up again.
“Four trillion. Four trillion. We made four trillion won?”
Her gaze landed on me, then shifted back to Danny.
An expression of disbelief.
“Did we really do it? Did we really?”
Danny laughed and nodded.
“We really did. I settled everything myself before coming back.”
A smile bloomed across Han Jae-yi’s face.
Her eyes grew wet.
It was an expression that could have been either tears or laughter.
“Two years. Two whole years……”
Han Jae-yi couldn’t find the words to continue.
Nights and days reversed.
The anxiety that came whenever the market rose.
The fear that we might be wrong.
All of it would feel compensated in this moment.
I watched her.
Truthfully, even I was shocked.
Thirty-one times over.
I’d anticipated around tenfold, and even that would have seemed like a tremendous achievement.
I’d known Lehman would collapse, but I couldn’t have predicted the return rate exactly.
‘Four trillion.’
In my previous life, I’d never held this much money in my hands.
True, the Seonjin Group’s total assets were far larger, but those hadn’t been mine.
This four trillion was different. It was entirely mine.
“You’ve worked hard, Danny.”
I spoke calmly and evenly.
Danny looked at me steadily with an expression that asked: how can you be so composed after earning over four trillion won?
A look that said I was strange.
It was a familiar expression. As Han Jae-yi’s excitement settled a bit, Danny spoke.
“So.”
Danny looked directly at me.
“What comes next?”
I studied Danny for a moment, then opened my mouth slowly.
“Ribbon Capital needs to return to its true purpose.”
“Its true purpose?”
“I intend to grow it as an investment firm. Han Jae-yi will handle Korea, and you’ll handle the United States.”
Danny’s eyes flickered slightly.
After a moment’s thought, he asked carefully.
“Does that mean you’ll keep using me?”
“Were you planning to leave?”
Danny shrugged.
“No, I just thought I was a disposable mercenary. Go short, make money, and it’s over.”
“That’s not how it is.”
Danny studied me for a moment, then let out a laugh.
“Got it. We’re moving forward together.”
Danny nodded as he spoke.
“So what’s the direction going forward? Where are we deploying this money?”
“Macroeconomic conditions are going to become very turbulent ahead. America will open the spigots to revive the economy.”
The era of Quantitative Easing.
A single term to describe the age ahead. The Federal Reserve and federal government would step in and pump massive amounts of money directly into the capital markets.
There would even be talk of “helicopter drops”—literally showering money from the sky.
“When that happens, a divergence emerges between the real economy and the capital markets. You get these absurd phenomena: the real economy is in free fall, yet prices are high and stocks are climbing.”
“So the dollar weakens.”
“Exactly. When America floods the market with dollars, it depresses the dollar’s value, which means the currencies of emerging markets like Brazil and Korea surge relatively.”
I continued, looking between the two of them.
“Do you think emerging nations just sit still? Their export companies are dying. They’ll all start printing money to devalue their own currencies—a race to the bottom. They’ll say: ‘You Americans save yourselves while killing us? Think again.'”
Han Jae-yi cut in.
“You’re saying a Currency War will break out?”
“Yes. And holding cash in that environment is like turning money into garbage. When every nation is printing currency, just sitting on cash means watching its value evaporate.”
I continued, addressing both of them.
“China just announced a stimulus package recently. Four trillion yuan. Over seven hundred trillion won in Korean currency. They’re starting to print money.”
“Resource-rich nations will jump on that bandwagon. Once China invests in infrastructure, raw material demand will explode.”
“Exactly. Australia, Brazil, Russia—they’ll ride the China-led boom and recover rapidly.”
……
“Conversely, Europe, bound to the euro and unable to freely print money, will struggle. They’ll worry too much about Germany’s reaction, unable to do quantitative easing, just tightening their belts while the recession deepens.”
Before I’d come back, this period saw Europe fall into the Eurozone Debt Crisis.
Nations like Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain—the PIGS with weak fiscal health—would face bankruptcy crises.
Going forward, stock market movements would convulse each time one of these countries exploded.
“The whole world is now going its own way.”
I looked at both of them.
“Those who print money aggressively survive. Those who can’t fall behind. That’s the era coming.”
……
“In this rapidly changing world, we’ll make money and accumulate more power.”
Four trillion won was vast, but it was also money that could do nothing alone.
As the individual Kang Seon-woo, I could spend it my whole life and not exhaust it, but as the owner of the Seonjin Group forced to defend against relatives’ attacks and to build Seonjin into the world’s greatest company, it still wasn’t enough.
“That way, when something like this happens again next time, we can change the situation ourselves.”
It was something I’d told Danny a year ago, in that New York banquet hall.
Back then it had been a vague determination, but now it was different.
I had ammunition worth over four trillion won.
“So you were serious back then.”
“Of course. I don’t lie.”
“Good. I’ll work hard at your side from now on.”
As Danny answered, I turned to look at Han Jae-yi.
“Why are you looking at me? I’m a loyal subject who pledged allegiance to Kang Seon-woo before Danny did.”
“What does it matter who came first? What matters is ability.”
“What did you just say?”
Danny and Han Jae-yi began bickering, and I watched them with a smile before standing up.
“Enough of that. Let’s get going. You’ve come back to Korea after a long time, Danny. Let me buy you dinner.”
As I took the lead heading out, the two who’d been bickering behind me followed along.

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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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