It had been a year since I last saw Hyunseong’s face.
Our eyes t across the room.
“What? Why are you just standing there like an idiot? Sit down. I already ordered,” Myungsoo scolded.
I took off my coat, hung it on the rack, and sat down.
After parting ways in Busan like that, I thought it’d be awkward when we t again.
“You been doing okay?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Sa as always. I heard you’ve been visiting my grandma every day? Thanks.”
“Mm.”
But just like that, it felt natural—like we’d only seen each other yesterday.
That’s what real friendship is like.
Even after a long ti apart, there’s no awkwardness.
“You two can save the long-lost family reunion for later. Today’s main character is , you bastards.”
At Myungsoo’s playful comnt, all three of us burst out laughing.
It felt good to be laughing like this with friends again.
“Myungsoo, this is really where it starts.”
“I know. I gotta keep my grades up to get appointed as a prosecutor. I’ll study till my brain splits open. I can study with the others.”
“At least you won’t be lonely with them around.”
“Yeah, true. Anyway, I’m prepared to die for the next two years.”
“Good.”
Myungsoo nodded toward Hyunseong, who was silently eating his food.
“That guy’s gonna be staying at my place for a while. He’s helping stay focused on my studies.”
Hyunseong nodded.
“You sorted things out now? Still scared of ?”
“Oh, co on. Who’d be scared of Kim Muhyuk? That’s bullshit.”
Myungsoo said sothing, but I just waited quietly for Hyunseong’s reply.
Hyunseong set down his chopsticks.
“I’m sorry.”
“What’re you apologizing for?”
“I get it now. Why you had to go that far...”
“Then that’s enough. So what now?”
“I’ll stay at Myungsoo’s place for a while.”
“Nothing uncomfortable?”
“No. I’m all healed.”
“Take your ti figuring it out. What you want to do.”
It had already been a year since the incident. As he said, there were no visible signs of lingering trauma. Maybe he was just hiding it well...
“I’d like your help with my work, but that’s just . If there’s sothing you want to do, tell . If I can help, I will.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for looking after my grandma.”
“Stop it. I went for my own peace of mind.”
It would’ve been convenient if I could entrust work to soone reliable like Hyunseong—but he was a friend who’d already been through too much to satisfy my own ambitions.
“Let’s eat.”
As the food ca out just then, we spent the al reminiscing and talking for the first ti in a long while.
The pleasant lunch ended quickly.
I said goodbye to my friends and headed toward Pyeongchang-dong.
I was resting my head against the seat and had my eyes closed when—
“Boss, are you feeling good? You look like you're in a good mood.”
Ma Chief’s words made open my eyes. Seed I’d been smiling without realizing it.
“Friends always make you feel better, no matter when you et them.”
I closed my eyes again and leaned back against the seat.
* * *
In early 1995, the yen, which had been hovering around 100 per dollar, suddenly surged in value after the Kobe earthquake.
Hedge funds in the U.S. began buying up yen and Japanese governnt bonds in large amounts, fueling the yen’s rally.
Han Kyungyeong, using the funds we earned in xico back in January, bet on the yen’s strength from behind the scenes.
Now it was ti to reverse the bet.
We planned to liquidate all positions and wager everything on the yen’s decline.
The Japanese foreign exchange futures market was a completely different scale from xico.
It was big enough that we could execute trades of the size we wanted.
Back in xico, we had to create the product ourselves—but in Japan, that wasn’t necessary.
― Contract’s done. Phew—my hands are shaking. Are you seriously gonna go all-in like this every ti?
“You did good. I’ll tell you when to close. Stay on standby.”
― Got it.
“For now, don’t worry about anything else—just start setting up shell companies in tax havens.”
― Okay.
I hung up the phone.
The so-called Reverse Plaza Accord.
The strong yen trend that began with the 1985 Plaza Accord had been shaken by the Kobe earthquake and a barrage of attacks from hedge funds. The 90-yen line against the dollar was ultimately broken.
In the end, Japan reached out to the U.S. A eting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors resulted in an agreent to weaken the yen.
That agreent would later trigger the Asian financial crisis.
Futures and options markets were a zero-sum ga—soone had to lose for another to win.
No matter how well you predicted the future, it ant nothing if no one was willing to take the other side of your contract.
But Japan’s foreign exchange market was now a playground for global hedge funds.
There was no shortage of derivatives we could profit from.
The dollar, as the world’s reserve currency, and the yen, second in line—this power struggle was going to bring astronomical profits.
The reason I had first gone to the U.S. and invested in Netscape, and later in Steve Jobs, was to disguise myself as a stock-focused investor.
Of course, those investnts were highly profitable too, but nothing compared to what derivatives could bring.
Everything’s going according to plan...
But I didn’t know how much my actions were changing the future.
Still, to take over Korea, the only real opportunity was the IMF crisis.
Even if I had to risk everything, I had to take the gamble.
Maybe because I’d already confird in xico that the future wasn’t changing, I didn’t feel nervous—despite the much larger stakes.
Now that the work in the U.S. was done, it was ti to do what needed to be done in Korea.
“Grandfather, it’s Muhyuk.”
“Co in.”
I went straight to Grandfather’s study.
“I’d like to recall the funds tied up in Hyunbo Group.”
“Hyunbo? Why there?”
Grandfather asked curiously at my sudden request.
“The debt is too high. They’re still borrowing money from banks. We need to either get the cash back or convert it to stock and throw it on the market.”
Hyunbo Group.
A large corporation specializing in construction and manufacturing, centered around Hyunbo Co., Ltd.
They even built Eunmi Apartnts in Daechi-dong, Gangnam.
It ranked 18th among business groups in Korea but was hollow inside.
During the Sixth Republic era, it had nearly collapsed due to its involvent in the infamous Suseo land scandal.
Chairman Jang had retreated from managent after throwing bribes everywhere—but that was all.
“Chairman Jang is no more than a real estate speculator—nothing more, nothing less. He’s greedy. That greed will co back to bite him. We need to pull out before it does.”
Grandfather stared silently at my face.
The rhythmic tapping of his fingers on the armrest filled the room.
I waited quietly under his gaze. Soon, he nodded.
“I don’t fully understand your reasoning yet, but I’ll trust you. Handle this one yourself. Want to borrow Myeonghun?”
He was telling to go recover money from a corporate chairman.
This was a test.
I could sense the anticipation in his expression.
I smiled and shook my head.
“No. I’ll handle everything with Ma Chief.”
Grandfather seed pleased with my answer and called for Secretary Ha.
“Transfer all of Hyunbo’s bonds to Muhyuk.”
“You an Hyunbo Group, sir?”
“Yes. Give him everything.”
Grandfather turned back to .
“You really sure you don’t need Myeonghun?”
“If Secretary Ha moves, then it’s not recovering the funds. Everyone will just say it was Grandfather’s doing.”
“Haha. Alright, give it a shot.”
I left the study, satisfied with the result.
* * *
“What’s Hyunbo Group’s financial situation like?”
“Not much different from other conglorates. If Hyunbo’s in trouble, it ans they all are.”
Inside the now-empty study, Chairman Cheon’s smile had vanished.
“There’s gotta be a reason Muhyuk keeps saying to collect on all the bonds. We’ve already pulled out of everyone outside the top 20, right?”
“Yes. We withdrew all funds, though a few companies had their bonds ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) converted instead.”
“What’s that kid thinking...”
“Since you trust him, why not just keep watching?”
Chairman Cheon nodded—but his brow was furrowed.
The decision was already made, but he couldn’t help worrying about his grandson.
“Losses aren’t the issue. It’s that people who always succeed tend to fall hard with a single mistake.”
“He’s always been confident.”
“That’s what worries . Confidence turns to arrogance, and arrogance leads to ruin.”
He trusted Muhyuk.
His grandson, the heir apparent, had never once made a poor decision.
But that very trust was what scared him.
“Keep watching. Anyway—any word from Cheongpunghoe?”
“They’re too distracted right now. The president is... well, he’s stubborn to the bone...”
“Yeah, Yonghyeon’s probably losing his mind too.”
There was a hint of laughter in Chairman Cheon’s voice.
Cheongpunghoe had tried to pressure the president through politicians and bureaucrats—but he just bulldozed ahead.
Even the real-na real estate law had been announced, right after the real-na financial system.
“They’ve transferred everything under new nas, right?”
“Yes. All properties under trust have now been moved to the young master’s na.”
“Good. Make sure there’s no room for problems later—especially after I’m gone.”
“...Chairman.”
Secretary Ha looked at him with conflicted eyes.
Chairman Cheon waved a hand and chuckled.
“Co on, I’m not dead yet. Don’t give that look.”
“...”
His recent health check had shown nothing wrong—but Chairman Cheon already knew.
He was fading.
After Secretary Ha left, he stared out the window and muttered softly:
“Misook... I’m sorry. I’ll be coming to see you soon.”
* * *
After receiving the bonds and financial statents from Secretary Ha, I started reviewing them.
I’d also asked Ma Chief to dig deeper.
On paper, nothing looked too bad.
Their debt ratio was high, but not worse than other conglorates.
But I knew better—the rot ran deep.
There were too many short-term loans. If even one went unpaid, the whole thing would collapse.
Grandfather held convertible bonds from Hyunbo Co., Ltd.—not even publicly traded.
I could try to force the group under using them, but...
There’s no need for that.
Better companies would show up for sale eventually. No need to bite into this poisoned apple.
“They’re incurring massive financial costs from all the external borrowing. They’re still bribing officials to keep the loans coming, but who knows how long that’ll last.”
After Ma Chief’s report, I was convinced.
Ti to settle this.
“Let’s go. Ti to collect.”
When we arrived at the headquarters of the 18th-ranked conglorate, I couldn’t help but gape.
I hadn’t realized it back then, but...
“Are you sure this is the place?”
Looking up at a shopping complex attached to Eunmi Apartnts, I asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes.”
The reply didn’t change.
I gave a hollow laugh.
“This guy’s sothing else.”
Hyunbo Group’s headquarters was on the third floor of an apartnt complex’s comrcial building.
“This won’t be easy.”
A sigh escaped on instinct.
< Friends Always Make You Feel Better, No Matter When You et Them > End.
User Comments
0 comments from readers