Chapter 86

< Instill fear in New York. >

#86

Instill fear in New York.

#86

Instill fear in New York.

“Is it true that the movements of DreamHigh Investment are unusual?”

“Yes, boss. They are suddenly buying all the positions that are short on the stock market, regardless of whether they are in the U.S., Europe, Japan, or any other country.”

George Soros, who had been focusing all his attention on the attack on Hong Kong, stopped what he was doing and fell into thought upon hearing his secretary’s words.

‘What are they thinking?’

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand their actions.

Unless the global stock market were to crash dramatically all at once, there was no way they could benefit from such behavior.

October 19, 1987, Black Monday.

If something like that, where the New York stock market plummeted by over 20% in a single day, didn’t happen again, it would be like turning all their money into scraps of paper.

“Is the attack on Hong Kong still ongoing?”

“Yes, the attack on the foreign exchange market is proceeding as planned, in sync with our strategy.”

After pondering, George Soros gave instructions to his secretary.

“Let’s follow DreamHigh for now.”

“All the stock index futures and options on the market are being swept up by DreamHigh.”

“Try to buy as much as you can without overextending yourself. I need to see what’s happening.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t worry about Hong Kong anymore. Just keep an eye on DreamHigh’s movements and report back to me.”

George Soros decided to act on his unease.

But he was already one step too late.

* * *

— Muhyuk! It’s a big deal!

“...Why?”

Han Kyungyeong’s urgent voice filled me with unease.

— Hong Kong... Hong Kong... did something crazy. They raised the short-term interest rate to 300%. The news is in chaos. Is Korea quiet?

“Ha...”

Although it was a day later than in the original history, Hong Kong ultimately abandoned the stock market.

This incident occurred when speculative capital, believing that the Hong Kong dollar would devalue due to the inability to withstand the stock market decline, launched a final assault.

— The global stock market is reacting. It’s another Black Monday! It’s insane, this is a miracle!

“Bro, let’s talk later.”

— Hey! Muhyuk!

I ignored Han Kyungyeong’s desperate calls and hung up the phone.

I threw my phone on the bed and covered my face with both hands.

‘Can’t do it twice, really.’

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority abandoned the stock market instead of defending the currency.

Raising the short-term interest rate to 300%.

It was a choice that no one, not even the Wall Street elites or the economic leaders of various countries, could have predicted.

Who could have expected such an event to happen in Hong Kong?

After organizing my thoughts, I called Han Kyungyeong again.

— Yeah, Muhyuk. It’s chaos here.

“Bro, when the market opens next Monday, sell all the stocks you have.”

Without any explanation, Han Kyungyeong was silent.

“Probably, the morning session will be relatively calm. But the panic will start in the afternoon. It will be a crash beyond imagination. It will start in the U.S., followed by Europe and Japan.”

— ...You had a plan? I thought you were crazy.

The crash in the New York stock market was predictable. But I intended to make the decline even more severe.

“Sell everything. If we don’t have enough, borrow from other securities firms. Borrow and sell everything. Instill fear in New York.”

Once fear takes hold, it eats away at people’s reason. A brain paralyzed by fear cannot think clearly.

— Okay.

“Stop the attack on Hong Kong. We might not suffer significant losses, but other hedge funds will be in dire straits. They borrowed money to attack. A 300% interest rate is a death sentence for those who didn’t use their own capital like us.”

The Hang Seng Index fell by 10.4% in a single night, closing the market.

Speculation is no different from gambling. Not only did they lose their capital instantly, but there were also many investors who suffered enormous losses. The stock market plunged into panic.

The hedge funds were not the only ones affected by this extreme measure. The U.S. funds that had invested in the Hong Kong stock market also suffered significant losses.

They ended up taking actions they shouldn’t have to repay the enormous interest.

And the long-awaited October 27th.

I stayed up all night, talking to Han Kyungyeong and focusing all my attention on the U.S. stock market.

The profits from Hong Kong were negligible compared to what we would make in the U.S.

The difference in the market was something that could not be ignored.

“Bro, let’s start. When the market opens, sell everything. Even if you incur losses, it’s fine. The more losses, the more profit we will make. Have you explained it to the employees?”

— Yeah, they’re all excited. How many investment firms in Wall Street can claim a victory against the U.S.? Participating in such an event will be a career-defining and historic moment.

“Keep selling at the lowest price. Induce the stock market to fall.”

— Okay.

I checked the U.S. stock market through the slow internet.

I always felt inconvenienced at such times.

‘Sigh... In a few years, we’ll be able to check almost in real-time, just like before.’

I waited for Han Kyungyeong’s call, grumbling about the slow internet.

The call came just before the morning session ended.

— Stock trading has been halted. It’s already down 150 points.

Stock trading was halted for 30 minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by more than 150 points.

It was much faster than before. The fear I instilled made them sell their stocks even faster.

As the Wall Street speculators who were attacking Hong Kong started selling U.S. stocks, retail investors were swept up in the herd mentality. Everyone started dumping their U.S. stocks.

“Good job. Did you sell everything?”

— Yeah, all sold.

“Start buying back slowly from tomorrow.”

— Got it.

“In a few days, you’ll be a legend on Wall Street. Congratulations. The God of Investment, James Han.”

— Hahaha. Crazy. That’s you.

With just 1% of Han Kyungyeong’s shares, he would probably be one of the richest people in South Korea.

Every 1% drop in the stock index brought us astronomical profits.

“I’ll always be in the background.”

— The U.S. government will start watching us. Eventually, your identity will be revealed. What about getting U.S. citizenship? You’re exempt from military service, right?

“I was thinking about it, but not yet. We can’t deceive the U.S. government, but I still have things to do in Korea. It will be fine after a while.”

Now, the world was starting to function as a single economy under the name of a global village.

What happened in New York, the center of world finance, was not just a problem for the U.S.

An event that would have ended with a 7% decline turned into a 15% crash due to my intervention. It was the first time in the history of the U.S. stock market.

The largest decline in terms of the stock index and the second-largest in terms of the drop since the Black Monday of 10 years ago.

The crash in the New York stock market led to a simultaneous crash in the global stock market.

The profits we made in Hong Kong, the U.S., Europe, and Japan were beyond imagination.

Although we didn’t invest all our capital, we contracted as many options as possible, making it possible.

“Let’s start liquidation.”

— Okay.

I was the winner of this gambling game.

This was just the beginning.

Armed with unparalleled wealth, I would stand above everyone.

In the future I desired.

* * *

This victory made the Clinton administration aware of Kim Muhyuk’s existence.

Discussions about the stock market crash were ongoing at the White House.

“Kim Muhyuk?”

“Yes, Mr. President. A 24-year-old young businessman in Korea.”

“Why should I know this name? He’s just a businessman.”

“He made a huge amount of money from this stock market crash. More than the U.S. annual budget. You know what it means for an individual to have that much money, don’t you, Mr. President?”

The mention of an amount exceeding the U.S. annual budget piqued Clinton’s interest.

“Wow, some kind of Superman, huh?”

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin frowned at Clinton’s playful response.

“Mr. President, this is serious. It means that American wealth has been transferred to a man from a small country on the fringes of Asia.”

“So what’s the problem? Was it illegal?”

“No, but...”

“Listen, Rubin. We don’t hold people accountable for things that happen within the bounds of the law. If it was illegal, we could stop it, but if it was a legitimate investment, we can’t make an issue of it, can we?”

Rubin raised his voice, frustrated.

“It’s an amount that can bankrupt a country’s economy. The person holding that much money is not an American citizen but a citizen of another country.”

“Then we can make him an American citizen.”

Clinton’s casual remark made Rubin hit his chest.

Of course, Rubin himself knew that