On the 1,000 pyeong of land in Daechi-dong that I had taken from Chairman Hyunbo, I built one building instead of the originally planned two.
I had thought of using it when Hyun-kyeong came to Korea, but I changed my mind, thinking it would be better to get a small office if I wanted to play the role of a good guy.
In the end, this place was supposed to become Eva's base of operations.
"The top floor is decorated like a hotel. You can stay there."
"When can I see it?"
"By the end of this year. How about it, do you like it? It's my gift to you."
"GOOD!"
Eva seemed genuinely pleased, looking up at the Future Building with an impossibly big smile on her face.
"For now, I'll stay in a hotel suite and prepare."
"Is it okay to recruit anyone you want?"
"Yeah. Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Not yet. I need to meet them first. I have to prepare in advance to start working by the end of the year. It's going to be busy. But will you stay with me today?"
Eva gave me a seductive look.
"Hahaha. I didn't make any other plans for today. I'll show you around Seoul. This is the first time you've come here as an adult, right?"
"Yeah. Let's start with something spicy."
I took Eva to a restaurant I had reserved. It was a traditional Korean course meal place that foreigners often visited.
We discussed the preparation process while eating, and on the way to the hotel, I dropped Eva off.
"Seoul's night view is no less impressive than Hong Kong's."
"It has developed a lot, hasn't it?"
"Yeah. I didn't expect it to be this good."
Eva muttered, looking out the window.
"Is it really true that this country is in crisis?"
"You've seen Thailand."
"Thailand and Korea are different in terms of economic scale."
Eva was right.
There was a significant difference in economic scale between Thailand and Korea.
The second country in Asia to join the OECD.
On the surface, the Republic of Korea was an economic powerhouse that had achieved the Miracle on the Han River.
But it was nothing more than an empty shell, a castle of sand built on debt.
"Indonesia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong won't be safe either. The hyenas of Wall Street don't discriminate. Their ultimate target will be Korea."
Originally, Korea was not part of their plan, but seeing Korea wobble due to the Southeast Asian economic crisis, they decided to attack.
With the backing of the United States, they pressured the IMF to continuously impose favorable conditions on Korea.
"I believe what the boss says. The crisis will be an opportunity for me. Thank you for putting me in this event."
The car slowly stopped at the hotel entrance.
"Let's go in. Let's have a drink in the room where you'll be staying for a while."
Eva nodded and got out of the car with a haughty expression.
Her appearance was enough to draw people's attention.
Eva, who came up to me, linked her arm with mine and said,
"Since today is the last day, this much is okay, right?"
As Eva said, after today, when she officially enters the political and financial circles, it would be difficult for us to meet like this.
"Yeah, let's go."
The next day.
I left the hotel early in the morning.
"What's the schedule for today?"
"Except for the dinner appointment with Miss Cheon Ji-young, there are no other plans."
"Then take me to Myeongdong."
Hyun-seong was learning the basics of bookkeeping and the loan business under the guidance of Ssangkal in Myeongdong.
According to Ssangkal, he was learning faster than expected.
"Welcome, sir."
As soon as we arrived at the office, Ssangkal Kim Ho-sik came out to greet me.
"Mr. Kim, you look better."
"Hahaha, I've been loafing around lately. Other loan sharks are having a field day."
As the economy worsened and money stopped circulating, Myeongdong was the first to react.
Since banks and finance companies had tightened their lending, the only place people could turn to was the loan market.
Especially, small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed individuals were knocking on the doors of Myeongdong in a hurry.
Unaware that it was a shortcut to hell.
"Mr. Kim, you need to launder your identity now. If you lend money now, it will be hard to collect later, making it difficult to operate in the open."
"I understand. It was just a thought."
While talking with Ssangkal, I entered the office and saw Hyun-seong sitting at his desk, looking at documents.
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Uh."
His gruff personality hadn't changed at all, even in the loan market.
I went behind Hyun-seong and looked at the documents. They were all loan papers.
"Are you getting used to it?"
"Sort of. It's still hard."
"You only need to understand the basic concepts. You won't be doing the actual work on the ground, so you don't need to know as much as the experts."
"No, I need to know. Otherwise, why would I be here? If I'm going to do it, I need to do it properly."
This showed Hyun-seong's stubborn character.
"Alright, do your best. Let's go get some food."
Hyun-seong checked the clock on the wall and tilted his head.
"It's not even noon yet."
"So what? Let's go."
"Alright. Just let me wrap this up."
While Hyun-seong finished the documents he was looking at, I sat on the sofa in the middle of the office and talked with Ssangkal.
"We'll start setting up loan companies next year. Set up straw men with people you can trust. Hyun-seong will help, and you'll handle all the practical work."
"Thank you for the opportunity."
"Don't betray me. There are only two left now."
"I understand."
Ssangkal must have known better than anyone how Mange and Majak were dealt with. It was fortunate that he understood well.
"You'll be rewarded according to your efforts."
"Yes."
"It's natural to get crumbs when you handle the dough. I'll tolerate it up to a certain point, but don't cross the line."
"I understand."
By the time my warning to Ssangkal was over, Hyun-seong had finished his work.
"Done."
"Alright? Let's go. Mr. Kim, see you next time."
"Yes, sir. Have a safe trip back."
We went to a shabby restaurant nearby.
It was the first time in a while that I had eaten at a bustling restaurant.
"From next year, things will get busy."
"Uh."
Myeong-su was fulfilling his military service as a military prosecutor and planned to join the prosecution after his service.
Hyun-seong was exempted from military service after the accident.
"Thanks for helping me."
"It's fine. I'm the one who should be grateful."
It was a relief to see that Hyun-seong, who had been a sore thumb, had settled in and adapted to his new role.
I didn't talk much with Hyun-seong.
Whether for my satisfaction or for Hyun-seong's future.
I just hoped this was the right choice.
After parting ways with Hyun-seong, I arrived in Pyeongchang-dong.
When I went to the study to greet my grandfather, he spoke first.
"You were out overnight yesterday."
"Yes, I had some business to attend to."
"Sit down. I have something to say."
My grandfather's expression was quite serious.
I sat down, and my grandfather, who seemed a bit hesitant, spoke heavily.
"The government contacted me. They want me to release my dollars into the market."
Faster than expected.
While the government claimed to maintain 30 billion dollars in foreign reserves to reassure the public, they announced the Financial Reform Act, expanding the limit on individual foreign currency holdings to 500,000 dollars and promising not to ask about the source. This allowed them to maintain 30 billion dollars in foreign reserves.
"If releasing my dollars would prevent the economic crisis, I would lend them to the government, but it would be like peeing on a sore foot."
It was true. Even if all of my grandfather's dollars were poured in, it wouldn't make a difference.
It was better to hold onto them until the end and then lend them to companies to gain a lot.
"Yes, then you should refuse."
"Will there be any problems? It's not good to be at odds with the government."
"Don't worry. It's already a dead government. The prosecutor general is on good terms with us, and the head of the National Tax Service is a long-time friend of yours, isn't he?"
The two heads of the investigative agencies that could threaten my grandfather were deeply connected to us.
"The government made a politically motivated decision. They ignored the warnings of the Bank of Korea and the reports of frontline officials, engaging in pointless power struggles. The minister of economy is the one who did this."
This government had staked everything on joining the OECD and achieving a per capita income of 10,000 dollars.
For purely political reasons.
The government failed to grasp the current situation, where finance companies were borrowing short-term foreign debt from the U.S. and Japan and lending it to Southeast Asian countries and domestic companies.
Due to the U.S. interest rate hike and the Southeast Asian economic crisis, a significant portion of the massive funds that had flowed into Asia was now heading back to the U.S.
The fuse of the time bomb was getting closer to the end.
"In a few months, the large corporations will start lining up to find you."
"Do you have any requests?"
"Just do what you originally planned. Have them pledge shares of their core companies or issue convertible bonds."
"Hehe, I understand. I don't know what you want, but I'll do it properly."
"Especially, I want to secure as many shares of Il Sung Electronics as possible. As many as possible."
"Il Sung Electronics?"
I smiled at my grandfather's puzzled expression.
"Yes, it's the core of the Il Sung Group."
"I'll try my best."
"Thank you."
After finishing the conversation with my grandfather and going up to my room, Manager Ma reported to me.
"PMC's establishment preparations are complete. The legal entity will be established by next month, and the purchase of weapons will start in the spring of next year."
"What about the Korean branch?"
"They plan to set it up in the spring of next year. They will send a team of Navy SEALs to run it."
"Eric is doing well."
The money invested in establishing the PMC had already exceeded 2 billion dollars.
The amount of money spent even before purchasing weapons was terrifying.
"The money is pouring in."
"Of course, since we're creating a private army. But if we only take on contracts from the U.S. government, it won't take long to recover the costs."
"True. And money isn't the most important thing. Just keep it going."
"Understood."
After dismissing Manager Ma, I called Han Kyung-hyeong.
β Hello.
Han Kyung-hyeong sounded groggy, as if he had just woken up.
"Were you sleeping?"
β Ah... Mu-hyeok?
"If you were going to sleep, I'll call you later."
β No, wait a moment.
I could hear Han Kyung-hyeong moving around on the other end of the phone.
β Ah... What's up?
"Bro. How much is in the company in Bermuda?"
β Black Mouse?
"Yeah."
β A bit over 30 billion dollars.
"Okay. Invest that in Korea. As soon as the market opens tomorrow, bet on the exchange rate being over 1800 won and the stock price being under 400 by January next year."
β ...What? I'm wide awake now."
"1800 won, stock price 400."
Han Kyung-hyeong was silent for a long time.
"Do you understand?"
β Yeah, I understand, but... It's uncertain whether 30 billion can be burned. I'll check as soon as the market opens when I get to work in the morning."
"Alright, thanks."
β Is Southeast Asia over now?
"No, Hong Kong is left. There's still time, so bet 30 billion on Korea's collapse."
Korea didn't fall due to the attack by Wall Street.
The bomb inside exploded, leading to self-destruction.
If we abandoned the Korean market, other hedge funds would surely take the opportunity.
I recalled what Chairman Song had said before.
'Of course, you should seize the opportunity. If you don't, someone else will make money from it. That's the economy.'
Yeah, I should take it for myself.
Han Kyung-hyeong, hiding his identity, began purchasing all the futures and options available in the market under the name of a ghost company in Bermuda.
The hedge funds that had been touring Southeast Asia were now preparing to attack Hong Kong, the hub of Asian finance.
The biggest opportunity to make money from the Asian financial crisis had arrived.