thenovelthief Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Translator: Dreamscribe[Everyone, great work.]
“Hoo-ah.”
“Ahh-.”
As the market closed and CEO Jung Jin-ho’s voice rang through the headset, thanking them for their efforts, the employees finally let out the deep breaths they had been holding in.
Even though the air conditioning was on full blast, their entire bodies were drenched in cold sweat.
Partly because of the large number of computers running in the same space, but more than that, it was the intense tension that didn’t let up for even a second.
“Ugh. My fingers hurt.”
"I feel like my body is paralyzed."
Groans came from all around.
Department Head Seo looked at them with a satisfied expression.
“I had days like that too, back in the day.”
“Right? Brings back memories.”
“I used to do day trades with several hundred billion back then. I thought that alone was enough to drive someone crazy, but compared to now, that was nothing, just a drop in the bucket.”
It wasn’t just Department Head Seo.
All the employees in the Prime Department who had previously experienced this kind of intense, large-scale day trading were smiling in their own ways.
“So, did anyone make a mistake today?”
“Strangely, the miss order rate is 0%. There were literally no mistakes.”
“No way. Really? With this many people?”
“Exactly. I was shocked when I saw the results too.”
When Department Head Seo first conducted the orientation, there seemed to be a lot of clueless-looking people, so he had expected a ton of miss orders.
“Guess the talents the CEO picked are really different. He seriously only picked people who can click without error or ego.”
“Yeah, but how did he even know that?”
“That’s what I’m wondering too. I heard he only looked at simple profiles. How could he know from just that that they’re perfect for the job?”
CEO Jung Jin-ho’s recruitment method was always a mystery.
He didn’t meet the person in an interview.
Nor did he read through their self-introductions thoroughly.
Just a single-page profile.
From that alone, he could determine what kind of work the person was suitable for.
“Unless there’s something we don’t know?”
“L-like what?”
“There’s a separate investigation team.”
“Huh?”
“They have us bring in just a simple profile, but behind the scenes, there’s a separate route that thoroughly investigates the person’s background and tendencies......”
“Department Head. You’ve been watching too many movies.”
Still, it was clear that there was something the others didn’t know.
“So, what about today’s profit? Do we know how much it was?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, how much?”
Everyone's attention focused their attention on Lee Hye-rin.
Since it was such a massive scale of day trading, everyone had been divided into teams and had been trading like mad under CEO Jung Jin-ho’s command.
Naturally, they had no way of knowing the total profit in real-time.
“Don’t be shocked.”
“I won’t. So hurry up and say it. How much?”
“One hundred trillion.”
“......?”
The employees, who were so confident they wouldn’t be surprised, stared blankly at Lee Hye-rin for a moment.
“Manager Lee. A-are you serious? Did you say one hundred trillion?”
“Is that even possible?”
“Well, hasn’t our CEO made close to double through day trading before?”
“Y-yeah, but the amount was completely different! That kind of money came out of this frozen market?!”
The shock was understandable.
Even for them, day trading in the hundreds of trillions was a first.
No, in all of financial history, there was no precedent for this.
No matter how much you say they spread 500 trillion across the entire European market.
It seemed far-fetched to expect that to turn into major profits.
That’s how frozen the European market was.
But the results defied their expectations.
If someone said they earned one hundred trillion in just one day, who would actually believe it?
“Of course, this includes the National Pension funds combined with Kwangwoon’s funds, so we’ll still need to calculate separately how much we actually made.”
“L-let’s deal with that later. Are you telling me the market actually absorbed that level of trading?”
“Yes. You saw it too, Department Head. Our CEO really pumped those stock prices up forcefully.”
This time, Jung Jin-ho’s strategy was simple.
“Push until it goes up. That’s it, right?”
That was exactly it.
Like smashing through with a dump truck.
Like saying, ‘Even now, it won’t go up?’
He literally slammed it until it finally did.
Then, numerous investment firms that had been testing the waters jumped in, and individual investors also got sucked into the black hole, starting to throw in their money.
“So that’s why, even when we exited, the stock prices didn’t fluctuate much.”
“But isn’t that the kind of thing where if you get the timing even a little wrong, you get hit hard?”
“Exactly. But you know how it is. Our CEO’s timing is unbelievably precise.”
It was always amazing.
How on earth did he know that uncanny timing?
“They say the financial market is a living organism.”
“Maybe to the CEO, he can see the movements of that organism.”
“You know what’s really scary?”
“W-what is it?”
“This is just the beginning. In fact, today was only the first day.”
“.......”
The employees who were pulled in for the day were already utterly exhausted, but Jung Jin-ho, in contrast, was full of life.
To him, today was merely a warm-up.
At that moment, one thought passed through the employees’ minds.
“Do you think the EU is just going to sit back and watch this?”
“This is an unprecedented market disruption, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know either......”
***
Lately, the leaders seemed to be diligently attending every meeting.
No, in fact, it would be more accurate to say they showed up whenever there was something to complain about.
[What the hell is going on! This wasn’t part of the agreement!]
[Day trading with 350 billion euros! If we had known they would disrupt the market like this, we would’ve blocked it from the start!]
A rush of leaders joined the video conference.
Their heightened tones made even Charol break into a cold sweat.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
[Does this seem like a time to calm down!? A company from that tiny piece of land just bombed our country’s economy!]
[President Charol. Be honest. Did you receive something in return from Kwangwoon?]
[You reassured us, but behind the scenes, you colluded with Kwangwoon and wrecked the market like this!]
As the leaders pressed her, Charol finally lost her patience and exploded.
“You’re all being too much! Do I really look like I’m working for Kwangwoon in exchange for compensation?!”
Her sudden outburst silenced everyone.
“Of course, I was just as shocked by Kwangwoon’s actions. But Kwangwoon kept their promise to us. They were the first to inject 130 billion euros and massively bought corporate bonds to stabilize CDS, didn’t they?”
[That’s true, but... what they did afterward wasn’t right, was it?]
“Yes. Disrupting the market by day trading across all of Europe with that much money was clearly wrong. But tell me, did any market today close in the red?”
[......]
No one refuted her.
Because every single stock market in the EU had risen today.
Even in markets where the National Pension and Kwangwoon’s funds weren’t injected, they rose in response to external influences.
“I know very well that this method is unprecedented and truly destructive. But if you look at the result, our frozen markets have regained vitality, haven’t they?”
[Still, there are companies that are about to shut down because of this.]
“Well, that applies to the forces who were engaging in short selling. Since a massive short squeeze happened, of course they have no choice but to close down. Their sacrifice is unfortunate, but in the end, the majority is benefiting, aren’t they?”
In conclusion, the EU markets were becoming healthier.
Even though the market was being disrupted, it was turning out to be a drastic but effective treatment.
“If anyone is still dissatisfied, please speak up. I’ll contact Kwangwoon right now and block them from entering that market.”
[......!]
Again, no one said a word.
Because they knew.
If they blocked Kwangwoon’s funds here, all the capital in their own countries would flow overseas.
Even the citizens who were jumping into the market knew that someone was manipulating it.
But instead of criticizing it, everyone was rushing in to join the money game.
If they forcibly tried to block that, where would all that money go?
The money would flow into the countries that were staying silent now, fattening their coffers.
“Since no one is saying anything, I assume we’re good to proceed as is?”
[But… we can’t just leave this unchecked. Sure, for now the market is being pumped and rising, but who knows when this madness will suddenly come to an end.]
“I’m fully aware of that. And I’m sure Kwangwoon is too. For now, the market is going up, so we’re letting it be. But if the opposite happens, don’t you think we just need to show that we won’t sit back and take it?”
[……]
And with that, the leaders backed down.
After listening to all their complaints, Charol, who was starting to show signs of hair loss, let out a deep sigh.
“Why do I feel like I’m defending Kwangwoon right now?”
While she had been threatened by Kwangwoon, perhaps Charol instinctively knew it as well.
That to revive the market now, something extreme like Kwangwoon was necessary. Still, what she couldn’t understand was, just who the hell had the insane idea to scalp trade with that much money?
***
“Ugh-.”
It felt like smoke was coming out of my temples.
There was even a faint smell of an overheated engine at the tip of my nose.
I pressed on my dull, throbbing temples.
“Guess I’m reaching my limit.”
I had been running non-stop day trades for three straight days, so it was only natural.
Without resting for even a second, I scanned countless markets and gave orders based purely on the instincts that came to me.
If I pressed the wrong button or issued the wrong instruction, we could lose serious money, so I had to proceed with the utmost care.
That’s why there was no part of my body, fingers, eyes, shoulders, arms, legs, neck, that didn’t ache.
But despite all that hardship, I still felt the lingering trace of a dopamine high floating around in my head.
Right now, I felt absolutely incredible, beyond description.
“CEO-nim, great work today as well.”
“No, it’s the employees who worked harder than I did.”
Department Head Seo brought me a summary of today’s results.
“If we total the profits over the past three days, it comes to 350 trillion.”
“Hmm. Still a little disappointing.”
“What? D-disappointing?”
“I was hoping we could pull in around 200 trillion a day. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as I thought.”
“…….”
Department Head Seo stared at me with a dazed expression.
“But we must be nearing the limit now, right?”
“Ah… you mean the market?”
“Yes. Up until now, we’ve taken full advantage of an overheated market, but toward the end of today, I could feel we were nearing the tail end.”
Until midway through Day 3, my instincts were firing non-stop.
But in the latter half, the sensation abruptly cut off.
From my long experience, that was also a signal in itself.
A sign that the time to run wild in this market, day trading freely, was coming to an end.
“That’s what we think too. In fact, far more money than we expected has flooded into the European markets. And it happened in such a short span of time. So now there’s hardly any more capital left to flow in, and it feels like we’ve just come out of a brief frenzy.”
That meant it was time to start pulling out.
But withdrawing all the money at once wasn’t an option.
Hadn’t we already stirred up enough market disruption with those massive day trades?
And now that we’ve made a profit, we just bail?
That would be no different than declaring war on the EU.
“We’ll need some stocks we can bury money into for a few months.”
“Yes. I’ve actually prepared some materials for that.”
I skimmed through the files Department Head Seo handed me.
But nothing caught my attention instinctively.
“Oh, and this is a new proposal from EMIC.”
“Hm? From EMIC?”
“Yes. They’ve sent a request asking us to save them.”
What does that mean?
Save them?
“Apparently, EMIC is suffering from a severe liquidity crisis. A lot of investment firms got caught in the short squeeze this time, and EMIC was one of them. On top of that, the stocks they were long on hit rock bottom, and in the midst of that, they were forced to liquidate their positions and are now on the brink of bankruptcy.”
EMIC is by no means a small firm.
And yet they’ve been pushed to that extent?
“……?”
But strangely, right at that moment, the dormant instinct inside me began to stir.
“They’re planning to sell Tottenham for how much?”
“2.5 trillion won. Tottenham currently has over 1 trillion won in debt, but they say they’ll take care of that themselves.”
They must be that desperate.
“What do you think about Tottenham? Does it look promising?”
“They’ve completely rebuilt everything from the stadium to the player facilities, so it’s very solid. Among EPL teams, no one can match Tottenham’s facilities. However, in terms of revenue… it’s going to take quite some time. The impact of COVID is significant. Matches are still being played without spectators.”
“But it’ll get better over time?”
“Yes. After all, the EPL is the world’s most popular league. It may be sluggish now, but it’ll rebound eventually, right?”
I looked over the report on Tottenham.
My instincts were responding to it.
“Then proceed with the acquisition at this price.”
“Yes, CEO-nim.”
But something still felt off.
What was it?
This nagging feeling.
“By any chance… did EMIC put anything else up for sale?”
“Ah. They’re trying hard to sell all the stocks they currently hold. But I heard many of them aren’t selling because the prices have dropped too much.”
“What kind of stocks?”
“They apparently hold quite a bit of stock in the eco-friendly energy sector. Didn’t Europe put a lot of effort into developing that market? So it seems EMIC had a lot of equity there too…”
That’s when my instinct twitched again.
“Could you bring me that list?”
***
Europe was bustling with astronomical amounts of money being poured in.
Yet no one was truly focusing on that.
“So in the end, that guy won.”
“It was the natural outcome.”
“Was Trump’s approval rating really that low? He was patting himself on the back nonstop for reviving the US market.”
“He did benefit from that, which is the only reason he got as many votes as he did.”
The US presidential election had ended.
A direct showdown between Aiden and Trump.
And the winner of this election was Aiden.
“Still, he’s a decent president for us. President Aiden has been emphasizing the semiconductor market ever since his candidacy. And our Kangseong Group has a firm grip on that market right now.”
“I’m a bit worried. What if he tries to squeeze us for no reason?”
“There’s definitely a possibility, but he won’t be able to just take from us. We’ll only cooperate if we get something out of it too.”
“So with Aiden becoming president, does that mean our Kangseong Group stands to benefit the most?”
“That’s probably not the case.”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho slightly furrowed his brow.
“Then who?”
“Most likely Kwangwoon.”
“Kwangwoon? Sure, they’re involved in semiconductors, but they’re nowhere near our level. They’re focused on the graphics card market, aren’t they?”
“It’s not because of semiconductors. It’s something else.”
“……?”
At the executive’s words, Kang Sung-ho tilted his head.
“Do you remember the story about Tottenham the other day?”
“Oh, that. Those bastards jacked up the price like thugs, didn’t they?”
“Yes. Kwangwoon obviously rejected it. But it seems that really got under their skin. They immediately dumped a massive amount of money into the EU market and attacked EMIC behind the scenes. Now EMIC is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Kang Sung-ho let out a short laugh.
Idiots.
Messing with Jung Jin-ho, of all people? What a mistake.
“Apparently, EMIC couldn’t hold out any longer and finally surrendered, selling Tottenham at a cheap price.”
“Looks like CEO Jung really does have a strong interest in sports.”
“Yes, that’s what we thought at first too.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Kwangwoon wasn’t actually after Tottenham.”
“……?”
They weren’t after Tottenham?
“Tottenham was just one of the spoils. What Kwangwoon really wanted was the equity holdings EMIC possessed.”
“Equity?”
“Yes. EMIC held large stakes in eco-friendly energy companies across Europe. But due to this recent attack, they were forced into position liquidation and had to urgently raise funds. On top of that, energy-related stocks were completely wrecked.”
“And Kwangwoon scooped it all up at dirt-cheap prices?”
“Yes. They bought everything EMIC put on the market. Right now, the two entities that hold the most equity in European eco-friendly energy companies are Kwangwoon and the National Pension Service. And do you know what Aiden is pushing even more than semiconductors?”
At that, Kang Sung-ho blinked.
“Eco-friendly energy?”
“Yes. On his first day in office, Aiden signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement that Trump had pulled out from. And as part of his campaign promises, he declared he’d make the largest investments in eco-friendly energy.”
Which meant that Kwangwoon had become the biggest beneficiary.
“Wait a minute. Even so, the companies Kwangwoon holds are European, right? In the end, America’s going to prioritize their own domestic companies.”
“That’s true. But in the eco-friendly sector, Europe has the most advanced technology. Even the American eco-friendly companies are all linked to European firms. Like it or not, for Aiden to carry out his green agenda, Kwangwoon has now become central to it.”
“!?”
Only then did the puzzle pieces fall into place.
“So Tottenham was just a smokescreen. Kwangwoon’s real target was the equity EMIC held?”
“Yes. It’s clear that was their goal from the start. I don’t know what kind of close ties they might have had with the Aiden administration, but now those two forces inevitably have to work together. No, maybe they’ve been cooperating for a long time already. Just look at how Aiden, as if he had been waiting for this, suddenly declared full support for the green sector.”
“S-so wait.”
All this time, they thought Kwangwoon was aligned with Trump.
“But they were actually on Aiden’s side?!”
*****
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