Five people gathered and were having a conversation.
"George, you'll be the front man for this baht attack, right?"
The man called George nodded.
"Of course, I'll be the front man."
"Hahaha. I'll follow you closely."
The five people gathered here were the ones who would wage a currency war against Asia.
"We suffered quite a loss in Japan. What the hell is DreamHigh doing?"
"It's a new investment company, but they've been performing quite well. Lately, they've been quietly investing only in stocks."
"They'll definitely follow us in. They're like hyenas."
George Soros didn't hide his hostility towards Han Kyungjeong.
"Haha. Still, you're beneath him. He's not even a competitor."
Thanks to the straightforward words of Click Morgan, the CEO of JPMorgan, George's expression brightened.
"Who owns that company?"
"Charlie Kim holds 99% of the shares. James has only 1%, and the detailed information is shrouded in mystery."
"I'll lead the attack, so you guys keep an eye on DreamHigh. If they take another position, we need to buy insurance. Something feels off."
"Hehe, you've become more cautious. The great George, of all people."
The CEOs of the giant investment banks were less wary of DreamHigh, but George was feeling it.
Their moves so far had always been faster than his.
The Mexican peso, the Japanese yen.
They always entered the market before him and exited earlier, causing him significant losses. He knew this from experience.
Of course, he still made profits from the continued attacks after they left, but it was enough to give him a significant sense of defeat.
That's how Han Kyungjeong unknowingly became the focus of the Wall Street giants.
* * *
Options were a simple game.
The concept of buying and selling time.
A derivative that can be bought and sold for everything.
A gamble where one person wins and another loses.
American-style options could be exercised at any time before expiration.
The attack on the Thai baht began with the stock market.
Wall Street hyenas, led by George Soros, rushed into the stock market.
Thailand's stock prices fell by more than 10%, and investors began to panic.
"Bro, get ready. DreamHigh employees have already bet 100 billion on the same position as Wall Street, and you should take a 150 billion opposite position. I'll also take a 150 billion position."
― Okay. I'm waiting.
Before the attack on the baht began, many options were already being traded.
Wall Street investment banks were creating various options and identifying buyers.
After all, it was a game with a win rate of over 90%. Astronomical amounts of options were traded at rock-bottom prices.
The main players in the baht attack, led by George Soros, included famous hedge fund managers like Stanley Druckenmiller, Julian Robertson, and Leon Cooperman, as well as foreign exchange dealers from Wall Street financial institutions like JPMorgan, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs.
They bet on the decline of the baht and sold off billions of baht at once, driving down its value.
The value of the baht was 26 baht to the dollar.
DreamHigh, based in New York, followed Wall Street and bet 10 billion dollars on the decline, while Han Kyungjeong and I took the opposite position.
― Position purchase complete.
"I've also completed the purchase."
No one expected Wall Street to lose.
Han Kyungjeong followed my instructions, but he seemed doubtful.
What made hedge funds terrifying was the existence of the followers.
Speculative capital that had no communication with them was on high alert and followed behind, ready to grab even a small piece of the pie.
The amount of money was several times to dozens of times larger than the hedge funds' capital.
In the international financial market, where over a trillion dollars of foreign exchange are traded daily, the 10 billion dollars or so poured in by the hedge funds seemed insignificant.
But the amount skyrocketed when the followers entered.
Speculative capital, expecting the baht to fall, was ready to raise a toast in advance.
But Thailand's response was unexpected.
Responding to the Bank of Thailand's appeal, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong joined in to defend the exchange rate.
The Southeast Asian alliance bought large amounts of baht from the market, stabilizing the price.
― Wow... I didn't expect this.
"Wait and see. Something more interesting will happen."
My prediction came true.
On May 22, the Thai government adopted a dual exchange rate system, delivering a powerful blow to the hedge fund alliance.
― Did you predict this?
"Of course. Now, have the U.S. branches buy all the cheap options and liquidate the options held by the six branches."
― What? Continue betting on the decline?
"Ultimately, the Thai government will surrender."
The Thai government even used strong measures to prevent foreign bank branches in Thailand from selling baht overseas.
It was a defeat for the hedge fund alliance.
The value of the baht did not fall; it even rose slightly.
It was a victory for Thailand and for me.
But the hyenas were not about to back down.
I was using U.S. branches to keep buying the cheap options being sold by the followers.
Fear paralyzed people's rationality.
The hedge fund alliance prepared for another attack.
But the followers, scared, were already selling their options at half price.
At that moment, Han Kyungjeong's appearance was like a ray of light to the hedge funds.
With the help of DreamHigh Investment, which began buying all the options on the market at half price, the hedge funds regrouped.
― As you said, I communicated with the hedge funds. They agreed to join the attack.
"Good job. You're now part of the cartel. Congratulations. It's a prestigious position not everyone can enter."
― Hmm... Do they know your identity?
"There's no such thing as a permanent secret. But we should keep it as late as possible. For now, wait and attack with them. I'll just observe. If there's any unusual movement, I'll contact you separately."
The call with Han Kyungjeong ended.
A big smile spread across my face.
'30 billion dollars bet on Thailand's victory. With a 700% return, that's about 210 billion dollars, right?'
It started as a gamble with 500 million dollars.
The days of relentless pursuit without a single defeat brought me significant profits.
'Not enough yet. Don't get complacent.'
210 billion dollars is not a small amount, but there are people with more money than me.
They never come to the forefront but manipulate everything from behind.
Even excluding them, 210 billion dollars might not be enough to guarantee a win against Japan.
When the attack on the Thai baht entered a lull, Thailand's finance minister changed.
The new finance minister, Tanong Bidya, was a 49-year-old young economist.
He, who learned economics from books rather than the field, prescribed a drastic remedy to revive the Thai economy by liquidating insolvent banks.
But reality was cruel.
The Thai government, having exhausted its foreign exchange reserves in defending the baht, ordered 16 financial institutions to cease operations, but it was too late.
On July 1, Hong Kong's sovereignty was transferred to China. Fireworks lit up the Hong Kong night sky, and Chinese President Jiang Zemin declared the end of Western imperialism.
But the next day, Thailand finally surrendered to the hedge fund alliance.
A victory of finance, not military power. A victory of the new imperialism.
― Hey! This is unbelievable.
"What's the current situation?"
― Currently, 30 baht, 600% return.
"I'll hold as long as possible. Stand by."
― What? Not liquidating the position?
"Stand by."
It was a battle between the hedge fund alliance and other speculative capital.
The Thai government had already surrendered, and the speculative capital that entered later bet on the opposite position of the hedge funds.
Their resistance was powerless.
Three hours before the market closed.
"Everyone, sell."
― Okay. Hey! Everyone, sell!
I heard Han Kyungjeong giving instructions to his employees in English over the phone.
I smiled and waited for Han Kyungjeong to speak.
― I've issued the liquidation order.
"Finish the government's liquidation today."
― Huh? We could hold about half until expiration, right?
"We've already made enough profit. Know when to take your gains and leave. Greed only creates enemies."
― Understood.
"Contact me when it's done."
The futures and options market is a zero-sum game.
If someone wins, someone else loses.
Enemies are inevitable, but there's no need to drive them to ruin.
The Thai currency war ended in victory for the hedge funds. But the true victors were me and DreamHigh Investment.
Han Kyungjeong became a recognized figure on Wall Street and entered their cartel.
Wall Street is a more closed community than you think.
They don't easily admit new members to their cartel.
I was pleased to have established a connection with them, regardless of the profits.
― Muhyeok...
Han Kyungjeong's voice was trembling.
It was an amount that couldn't be leveraged. If lost, it would only be the capital.
"Why?"
― Liquidation amount: 42 billion dollars. The return is higher than expected because we bought the options at rock-bottom prices. This is unbelievable.