thenovelthief Chapter 112
Chapter 112
Translator: DreamscribeThe days of being like a recluse were over.
That went for Kim Doo-young, and for the executives here as well.
Until now, even when they showed up to work, everyone looked dead inside, as if it wouldn’t be surprising for them to resign the very next day. Each day had been like that.
But now, for the first time in a long while, there was a sense of energy.
“So, how is it?”
“After looking into it, the companies that acquired our shipping business are in serious condition. Back then, didn’t we sell off shipping at the highest price in the industry?”
“You mean they overextended themselves to buy it?”
“Yes. Most of them borrowed heavily from the banks, but even that wasn’t enough, so it seems they reached out to other financial institutions as well.”
There was a reason why they had gone to such extremes.
Because, at the time, the shipping business was worth bidding that much for.
It wasn’t just that they were blinded by greed.
Who could have possibly predicted it?
That a pandemic would break out across the entire world in the 21st century.
“As a result, the companies are now all on the brink of bankruptcy. Some of them are already up for auction.”
“If we were to acquire them, what kind of price are we talking about?”
“Not even 30% of what we sold them for. Honestly, it’s no exaggeration to say they’ve depreciated massively.”
In other words, the shipping companies that had sold at such high prices had all turned into worthless junk.
“Even if we were to take on all the debt those companies are carrying, it would still be cheaper.”
“That much?”
“Yes. The idea that shipping is over is spreading fast. Since the border lockdowns due to COVID began and factories everywhere have shut down. There’s nothing for the shipping companies to do. But the maintenance costs are still massive. They just can’t survive.”
At that, Kim Doo-young felt a chill run down his spine.
What if the EU hadn’t forcibly dismantled Kwangwoon Shipping?
Kim Doo-young, as he always had, would’ve continued acquiring shipping companies and purchasing more vessels, growing the business to the point where it could no longer expand.
And then, if COVID had hit like this?
Just like all those shipping companies now in ruins, Kwangwoon Shipping might have suffered immense losses and self-destructed.
“So in the end... CEO Jung Jin-ho was right again?”
“Yes. It goes beyond astonishing, honestly, it’s terrifying. Did CEO Jung Jin-ho really foresee all of this?”
Even Kim Doo-young didn’t know.
If you just looked at the situation, it was the EU and the global nations that split up the shipping companies.
It wasn’t even Jung Jin-ho’s intention to begin with.
“But when you think back, didn’t CEO Jung Jin-ho give up on shipping rather easily? This company he had grown with so much difficulty. Back then, we also thought something was off about his decision.”
That’s true.
Kim Doo-young had also thought that Jung Jin-ho was giving up too early without even putting up a fight.
“Could it be... maybe it was like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“CEO Jung Jin-ho knew this would happen, and he deliberately contacted people at the UN to apply pressure. So it would look like the company had no choice but to be split up from the outside. That way, public sympathy would follow, and he could sell the company at a very high price, then wait for times like now to come, and then take it back...!”
"Stop."
Kim Doo-young let out a chuckle, unable to contain his disbelief.
“What, are you writing a novel? Why don’t you just say our CEO Jung spread the coronavirus himself?”
“The timing is just too uncanny…”
“That’s enough. Let’s cut the nonsense and, just like CEO Jung said, get back to work. Haven’t you all had plenty of rest? Getting paid without any work to do. Now we’ve got to catch up on everything that’s piled up. Let’s burn the midnight oil, it’s been a while.”
There’s hardly anything employees hate more than being told to work harder.
But here, even being told to work without sleep made them grin from ear to ear.
“Alright, we don’t have time to sit around. Let’s first figure out which company we need to reclaim as top priority. And there’s no one trying to buy shipping companies right now, is there? We wait until they’re completely dried up and dead, and then we come in with a single drop of water. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
After sending the executives off to work, Kim Doo-young sighed alone.
“He dismantled the shipping business on purpose...?”
The words of one of the executives kept echoing in his mind.
What if Jung Jin-ho really had pushed for the dismantling of the shipping business just for this very day?
“...Just how far ahead is CEO Jung looking?”
Kim Doo-young gulped dryly without realizing it.
***
“Is… is this right?”
"I don't know anymore either. If they tell us to do it, we have to do it."
The mood among the employees of the National Pension Service was so euphoric that they were practically shouting cheers upon hearing the news that their 700 trillion won short had succeeded.
The magic of turning 700 trillion into 1,000 trillion.
It was the highest dopamine hit of their lives.
For now, the National Pension Service didn’t have to worry about depletion.
So with nothing left to stress over, and the situation seemingly wrapped up, everyone thought the newly grown 1,000 trillion would be transferred into safe assets.
“Well, as always, I figured we’d throw about 50% into bonds and stash the rest in blue chips. But now they’re saying to put 100% into regular stocks. Weren’t the experts saying that the market would keep dropping and hit –50% from here?”
Headquarters Director Cho had assumed that after this insane one-time gamble, they would return to the National Pension Service’s usual ultra-conservative strategy.
And it seemed the Chairman had also ordered the positions to be closed and was preparing to move the money into safe assets.
But after a call with CEO Jung Jin-ho, the Chairman’s orders changed.
He instructed them to scoop up all the stocks that had hit rock bottom.
“So this is ultimately another order from CEO Jung Jin-ho?”
“In a way, yes. From the beginning, this crazy 700 trillion mass short selling strategy was his. But I have no intention of speaking ill of him.”
Jung Jin-ho was, for all intents and purposes, a national hero.
He had saved a future generation that would’ve otherwise suffered immense pain.
It was just unfortunate that this couldn’t be publicly announced.
“But what if we lose everything this time? If the market actually drops to –50%, it’ll be a disaster. And the Chairman even said to acquire as much stock as possible through over-the-counter trades...”
When setting up the short positions, they had taken a careful three-month approach, fast but stable.
But this time was different.
If they dumped 1,000 trillion into the market all at once, it would shake the market itself, so the instructions were to secure the volume through OTC deals as quickly as possible.
“Does Kwangwoon think the market, which has broken through to the Earth’s mantle, is going to recover quickly?”
There was a reason the market had collapsed this much.
An unexpected global pandemic had killed every market.
As a result, bankruptcies rose sharply, and that triggered a domino effect that led to the fastest stock market crash in history.
This record was unprecedented in financial history.
“But it’s not 100 trillion, it’s a full 1,000 trillion.”
And they were told not to take months to build a long position, but to do it as quickly as possible.
The problem was, the person issuing this order was someone who had mastered the stock market.
Which meant they surely understood what 1,000 trillion represented.
And yet, they still gave this command...
“Is it that, just as the crash was record-breaking in speed, the recovery will be just as fast?”
Honestly, no one even wanted to think about it anymore.
Ever since the decision to short 700 trillion, their minds had already half lost.
“But isn’t the real problem from now on?”
“Hm?”
“It’s already widely known in the financial world that our pension fund shorted 700 trillion. Do you think other countries will just let that slide?”
“......”
That was true.
Given the size of it, there was no way the rumor wouldn’t spread.
Countries like the U.S. weren’t going to just sit back and watch.
After all, what makes a nuclear bomb scary is the aftermath, not just the explosion.
***
Trump felt like the whole world was conspiring against him.
Of all things...
A global pandemic that might only happen once in a thousand years had to occur during his term.
Usually when something happened, he could make excuses that it was because of the mess left by the previous president, but he couldn't do that with this.
Because before blaming anyone, they had to urgently shut the borders and stop this insane pandemic.
And on top of that, telling people to wear masks and avoid gatherings of more than four, the citizens were ridiculously bad at following those instructions.
There were even people who didn’t know what a mask was, or how to wear one properly.
“But during a time when the world is suffering from a pandemic, there are people who made tens of billions of dollars?”
It had been a massive crash, so of course there would be those who bought lottery-style put options and made a fortune. There were even people who made a killing during the 9/11 attacks by investing in those kinds of instruments.
“But this time it’s a government institution?”
“Yes. The Korean National Pension Service.”
Korea… Korea, huh.
To Trump, Korea was a significant place.
There were issues over U.S. military defense costs this time, and more importantly, because of North Korea.
Trump had been acting as a mediator between North and South Korea, trying to improve their relationship.
It’s not like he was actually encouraging them to unify.
It was all just to boost his own approval ratings, to create the image of a peace-oriented president, the one who had achieved peace between the two Koreas, something no one else had done.
“And they pulled off a short sale of this scale over there? And I’m supposed to believe that?”
But this was a scale that didn’t make any sense.
Short selling with 700 billion dollars.
“We also thought it was an unbelievable amount, but if they take a few months and build positions slowly across global markets, it’s not impossible. They placed positions in the U.S., Europe, Asia, practically every market, and made profits.”
That alone was shocking, but that wasn’t the truly important part.
“And it’s now being widely accepted that Kwangwoon is behind all of this.”
“Kwangwoon?”
A name that had been coming up often lately.
Especially among the chaebols.
“Kwangwoon’s mysterious actions go back to China. A coalition in China pressured Kwangwoon and stripped them of the Tianjin Port project. After that, a mysterious explosion occurred at Tianjin Port, the coalition was completely dismantled, and Kwangwoon became a key partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.”
“And China just let that happen?”
“Yes. That’s what’s so surprising. Rumor has it that Kwangwoon was connected to people at the top in China, and the coalition had no idea and made the mistake of touching them, and were all purged as a result.”
In China, that somehow seemed plausible.
Isn’t that a place where purges happen several times a day?
“The problem is, Kwangwoon predicted the oil price shock and preemptively stockpiled reserves, becoming a frontrunner in the shipping industry, acquiring numerous shipping companies and becoming the dominant force at sea. And the first place they began pressuring was Taiwan, openly targeting TSMC and destabilizing the semiconductor market.”
That part, Trump remembered.
The collapse of TSMC had been a shocking event in the semiconductor industry.
“When TSMC collapsed, Kangseong completely took over the semiconductor market, and NVIDIA was shaken as well. Kwangwoon acquired AMD and, with Kangseong’s support, secured market share.”
“That server problem also happened around then, right?”
“Yes. It was a joint move by Kwangwoon and Kangseong.”
“Then why did we just sit back and watch all that happen?”
“Well... it’s because, Mr. President, you were never particularly fond of NVIDIA. Didn’t they support the opposing side during the election? Though to be fair, most corporations did. Also, Kangseong was one of our biggest supporters.”
The political funds Kangseong had sent.
Behind that was Kwangwoon as well.
“So we turned a blind eye to their actions to some extent. But when they began dominating the SNS and OTT markets, taking down Japan, then France and the UK in succession, that’s when we started feeling the threat.”
They even used the overwhelming power of social media to incite the Yellow Vest movement in France, forcing the Perron administration, which had been trying to keep Kwangwoon in check, to kneel.
“And Hong Kong, was that their doing too?”
“Yes. As if collapsing the financial market through Brexit wasn’t enough, they exploited the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong to trigger capital flight. Singapore, their biggest competitor, was hit hard despite staying neutral, and its markets were badly shaken.”
Reading the report while listening to the explanation, Trump blinked in disbelief.
Was this really something a single corporation could pull off?
If all of this had been orchestrated, it would be a design that surpassed artificial intelligence.
“As Kwangwoon’s influence grew too large, the EU decided to crush their shipping business.”
“And even that was part of Kwangwoon’s plan?”
“Yes. Looking at the results now, it seems Kwangwoon deliberately dismantled their shipping division and sold it off at a high price, all to buy it back later for dirt cheap.”
Which meant Kwangwoon had known about the COVID crisis in advance.
“Don’t tell me they were the ones behind the virus...?”
“That part is uncertain. The WHO maintains it originated naturally. There are also claims that it came from the Wuhan lab, but the exact cause is still under investigation. What’s important is that Kwangwoon made a huge profit off this crisis again.”
“What about the National Pension Service?”
“Likely a smokescreen to conceal their identity. In other words... a scapegoat. They’re the crazy ones who shorted the market with tens of billions of dollars. All the criticism will fall on the National Pension Service, not Kwangwoon.”
So they planned to walk away without taking a single hit.
“We need to rein them in before Kwangwoon grows any bigger.”
“Even though they supported us? I mean, do we even have grounds to legally go after them?”
“Well... they did engage in massive short selling, yes, but they spread it across global markets, so it’s hard to classify it as market manipulation. Still, if we need an excuse, we can make one, can’t we?”
Even if it meant fabricating an excuse, they needed to rein those bastards in.
For the first time in a while, Trump agreed with his advisors’ opinions.
But then, a thought crossed his mind.
These terrifying people had orchestrated everything up to this point, could it be they hadn’t foreseen the U.S. government stepping in?
***
When the Chairman contacted me saying he wanted to close all positions,
I instinctively glanced over the stock market.
It had always hovered at the bottom.
But that day, instead of the floor, I had a fleeting vision, of it springing back like a compressed coil.
And not just slightly, soaring high, and fast.
That’s why I had advised him to close all positions and reallocate based on the portfolio I had suggested.
“But that Chairman really listens well to our Jin-ho, doesn’t he?”
“Well, he did pull off a successful 700 trillion short. so wouldn't he follow whatever he says after that?”
“True. That’s fair. Our Jin-ho basically saved the future generation, didn’t he? Hahaha.”
Hyungnim let out a hearty laugh, but in truth, it wasn’t a situation to be laughing about.
“So... how bad is it?”
“Rumor has it, not just the EU but even the United States is now closely scrutinizing the market, trying to understand what really happened with the National Pension Service and Kwangwoon.”
“Is there anything that could become a legal issue?”
“We built our positions gradually, so we didn’t cause major market disruption. We didn’t manipulate prices either. But with the amount being 700 trillion, if they want to dig up something, they’ll find a reason to go after us.”
Hyungnim silently nodded and looked toward me.
“Jin-ho. Don’t worry about anything.”
"Yes?"
“If anything becomes an issue, I’ll take responsibility. All of you just followed my orders.”
“No. Hyungnim. What are you saying?”
“Judging from how things are going... it’s looking dangerous. Unless we offer up a scapegoat, they won’t let this go.”
Hyungnim was prepared to take all the blame himself.
Just like the Chairman of the National Pension Service.
But that was something I could never allow.
‘There has to be another way…’
Until now, my instincts had led to many actions, but never once had they caused harm to me or to hyungnim.
Which meant, even this time, there had to be at least one escape route...
But finding it through instinct alone wasn’t easy.
Because I had to assess and confirm everything from a comprehensive view of the situation.
“But here’s the thing. From what I’ve heard, AstraZenon has already begun vaccine production with funding from various countries… and apparently, other companies will take more than twice as long as we do?”
"Ah, yes. That's right. Vice President."
“Then countries will have no choice but to purchase our vaccine, even to avoid astronomical losses, right?”
Phase 2 clinical trials had already been completed.
And they were highly successful.
The results showed it could suppress COVID with a 95% success rate.
“Also, according to a report from the WHO, even if a good vaccine is developed, due to mutations, it will take at least 3 to 4 years for the situation to stabilize. Until then, we’ll need to continue supplying booster shots, won’t we?”
“That’s… true?”
“By then, most countries will have undergone regime changes, right?”
That’s when an unknown chill began creeping up from beneath my feet.
“Then let’s offer vaccines cheaply to those countries targeting us, and negotiate. We’ll provide fast and stable vaccine supply, in return, they don’t touch us until things settle down.”
“......?”
No sooner had the Vice President finished speaking than the chill that had only tickled beneath my feet began to spread throughout my entire body.
“So what you’re saying, Vice President... is that we’re going to use the vaccine to threaten them.”
“It’s not a threat, it’s buying time. Their approval ratings have already hit rock bottom due to this crisis. By the next election, regime changes are inevitable. When that happens, won’t they all just move on and forget about it?”
After he finished speaking, the Vice President calmly sipped his coffee.
I just stared at him silently.
He wasn’t Employee of the Year...
No, he was Executive of the Year.