"George, you'll be the front man for this attack on the baht, 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 Dream High up to?"
"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 Kyung-eop.
"Haha, but they're still below you. They're not even competitors."
The straightforward words of Click Morgan, the CEO of J.P. Morgan, somewhat brightened George's expression.
"Who owns that company?"
"Charlie Kim holds 99% of the shares. James holds only 1%, and the detailed information is shrouded in mystery."
"I'll handle the attack, so you guys keep an eye on Dream High. If they take another position, we need to get insurance. Something feels off."
"Hehe, you've become more cautious, George."
The CEOs of the giant investment banks were less wary of Dream High, but George sensed something.
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. Even though he continued his attacks and made profits after they left, it was enough to give him a significant sense of defeat.
In this way, Han Kyung-eop unknowingly became the focus of the Wall Street giants.
* * *
Options are a simple game.
It's 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 can be exercised at any time before expiration.
The attack on the Thai baht began with the stock market.
Wall Street's 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. Dream High employees have already put in 100 billion in the same position as Wall Street. You take the opposite position with 150 billion. I'll also take 150 billion."
ā Okay, I'm waiting.
Before the attack on the baht began, many options were already being traded.
Wall Street's investment banks were creating various options and identifying buyers.
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 J.P. Morgan, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs.
They bet on the baht's decline and sold off billions of baht at once, driving down its value.
The baht's value was 26 baht to the dollar.
Dream High, based in New York, followed Wall Street and bet 10 billion dollars on the decline, while Han Kyung-eop and I took the opposite position.
ā Position purchased.
"I've also completed the purchase."
No one expected Wall Street to lose.
Han Kyung-eop followed my instructions, but he seemed doubtful.
What made hedge funds terrifying was the existence of the second wave.
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 was several times to dozens of times the funds of the hedge funds.
In the international financial market, where over a trillion dollars in foreign exchange are traded daily, the 10 billion or so dollars poured in by the hedge funds seemed insignificant.
But with the second wave entering, the amount skyrocketed.
Speculative capital, expecting the baht's price to fall, was ready to celebrate early.
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.
ā Wow... I didn't see this coming.
"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 coalition.
ā 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."
ā 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 coalition.
The baht's price did not fall; it even rose slightly.
It was a victory for Thailand and for me.
But the hyenas were not about to retreat.
I continued to buy the cheap options put on the market by the second wave of speculative capital through U.S. branches.
Fear paralyzed people's rationality.
The hedge fund coalition prepared for another attack.
But the second wave, frightened, was already selling options at half price.
At that moment, Han Kyung-eop's appearance was like a ray of light to the hedge funds.
With the help of Dream High Investment, which began buying all the options on the market at half price, the hedge funds regrouped.
ā 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."
ā Hmm... Do they know your identity?
"There are no eternal secrets. But we should keep it as secret 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 Kyung-eop 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 running 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 and control 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 coalition.
A victory of finance, not military power. A victory of the new imperialism.
ā Damn! This is unbelievable.
"What's the current situation?"
ā Currently, 30 baht, 600% return.
"I'll hold as long as possible. Stand by."
ā What? Not liquidating the position?
"Stand by."
It was a fight between the hedge fund coalition and other speculative capital.
The Thai government had already surrendered, and the speculative capital that entered later bet on the opposite position from the hedge funds.
Their resistance was powerless.
Three hours before the market closed.
"Everyone, sell."
ā Okay. Damn! Everyone, sell!
I heard Han Kyung-eop giving instructions to his employees in English over the phone.
I smiled and waited for Han Kyung-eop to speak.
ā Liquidation order issued.
"Finish the government's liquidation today."
ā Huh? We could hold half of it until expiration, right?
"We've already made enough profit. Know when to take your gains and leave. Greed only creates enemies."
ā 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 Dream High Investment.
Han Kyung-eop became a recognized figure on Wall Street and entered their cartel.
Wall Street is more closed than you think.
They don't easily admit new members to their cartel.
I was pleased to have created a connection with them, regardless of the profits.
ā Mu-hyuk...
Han Kyung-eop's voice was trembling.
An amount that couldn't be leveraged. A game where losing meant losing only the capital.
"Why?"
ā Liquidation amount: 42 billion dollars. The return is higher than expected because we bought the options at rock-bottom prices. This is unbelievable.
"What? 42 billion dollars?"
A 2000% return.
Before my regression, in 2020, the highest option return was 4879%.
But the investment amount was different.
"Explain."
ā The baht's decline was much greater than expected. The greater the decline, the higher our return. When we liquidated everything, this return rate came out.
My intervention caused a greater decline than in the original history, resulting in more than twice the expected profit.
"Wow... I didn't see this coming. Thanks to your preparation. Good job. Give your employees generous bonuses. This is the time for a money party."
ā Hahaha. Okay.
After a long conversation with Han Kyung-eop, I ended the call.
With the larger-than-expected profit, I planned to make some adjustments.
I decided to step back from Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines and give the hedge funds a chance to profit.
Too much profit was a problem.
We took half of the profit that should have been shared with the hedge funds.
'Time to take a break.'
With Thailand done, I decided to focus on Korea.
Ultimately, the Ashin Group signed a debt moratorium agreement, effectively declaring bankruptcy.
The government and the public were shocked to realize that even the top 10 conglomerates were not safe.
Still, the government's response was inadequate.
All politicians and business leaders were complacent.
They aimed only for victory in the presidential election and were obsessed with the nominal per capita income of 10,000 dollars, pouring all their foreign exchange reserves into defending the currency.
They made the foolish choice that ultimately led to the foreign exchange crisis.
It was time for Eva, who was in Hong Kong, to come to Korea.
Eva greeted me with a bright smile at the airport.
"Hey! Boss."
"Welcome back. Did you handle everything well?"
"Thanks to you. I had to meet the HSBC guys, though. Hahaha."
Eva's loud laughter drew the attention of passersby, perhaps due to her exotic appearance.
"Get in. We have a place to go."
"Where? Hotel?"
Ignoring Eva's signal, I got into the car.
Eva grumbled but followed.
"Where are we going?"
"Wait and see."
The car carrying Eva and me entered Seoul at high speed.
We arrived at a building in Daechi-dong, where interior decoration was underway after construction was completed.
"Here, we'll eat everything in the Republic of Korea."
Future Building.
The building where Future Investment would be located.