Chapter 62: Results of the Bet

In Mexico, a massive flight of foreign capital had begun.

This was due to a crisis in the Mexican peso.

In just one day, 6 billion dollars fled from the Mexican central bank.

But that was only the beginning.

On the 22nd, Mexico expanded the fluctuation range of the exchange rate against the US dollar and implemented another round of devaluation measures.

At the beginning of 1994, it was 31 pesos to 1 dollar.

When Han Gyeong-yeong contracted with Goldman Sachs, it had already fallen to 35 pesos.

No one on Wall Street had predicted that the new government, which won the general election in August, would devalue the peso.

If I remember correctly, before it matures early next year, it will go to 7 pesos per dollar.

With one gamble, they had made over 50 times the profit.

Mu-hyeok, you were right.

Han Gyeong-yeong’s voice was trembling.

“Ha…”

I sighed without realizing it.

Even knowing the future, it was impossible not to be tense.

In an instant, the tension dissipated.

When do we liquidate?

“Let’s wait until January.”

Phew… Now I’ll do whatever you say. Just tell me when to liquidate.

“Okay, let’s talk again later. Keep monitoring.”

Alright, understood. It’s still an emergency until we liquidate. Don’t worry about that.

The call with Han Gyeong-yeong ended.

Perhaps due to the release of tension, sleepiness washed over me.

‘If history follows its original course, it looks like we’ll make between 15 and 20 billion dollars in profit.’

As I thought about the profits we’d made, I drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

* * *

Goldman Sachs Headquarters

“What on earth is going on!”

Tommy, the CFO, burst through Peter’s office door.

Peter, who had been sitting dazed, jumped to his feet.

“What’s happened to the peso?!”

“The Mexican government has devalued the peso.”

Tommy, his face as white as a sheet, pressed his hand to his forehead.

“How much is it now?”

“It’s still at 4 pesos before the market reacts, but we don’t know how far it’ll fall by tomorrow.”

“The contract was at 5 pesos, right?”

Peter asked with a trembling voice.

“Could they have predicted this would happen?”

“That’s nonsense! How could a fledgling hedge fund know something we didn’t? How much did we take?”

“We sold half to clients and kept half for ourselves…”

“Hah…”

Tommy heaved a deep sigh.

“No contact?”

“No, not yet.”

“How far do you think it’ll fall?”

After calculating silently, Peter cautiously spoke.

“Minimum 5 pesos, maximum 7 pesos.”

“Let’s wait and see. If it falls below 5 pesos, contact them first and suggest liquidation. It’s your contract, isn’t it?”

Tommy subtly tried to shift the responsibility to Peter.

“But sir, you signed the contract…”

“What are you talking about? The contract’s in your name.”

However, the next day, another peso devaluation was announced. They could no longer even try to shift blame onto each other.

A large amount of dollars had already left Mexico, and with another devaluation, no one could stop the peso’s fall.

Finally, Tommy instructed Peter to contact Han Gyeong-yeong.

Hello?

Peter spoke in a cheerful voice before James could finish.

“Hey~ James! It’s Peter.”

Oh, Peter! Long time no see. What’s up?

“Uh… about that contract.”

Hm? What contract?

Peter found James’s feigned ignorance irritating, but he couldn’t show it.

All the executives present were staring at him.

“The peso contract. When are you going to liquidate? You’ve made a profit, so it’s time to liquidate, right?”

Ah! That one. But there’s still time until maturity, isn’t there?

“About a month left, yeah. But you never know what might happen. Liquidate at this level. It’s advice from a senior who’s been on Wall Street for a long time.”

Laughter could be heard through Peter’s phone.

Hey Peter, I haven’t forgotten the look in your eyes when you laughed at me back then. What senior? See you in January.

With those words, the call ended.

“James! James!”

Peter called out desperately, but of course, there was no answer from the other end which had already hung up.

Half out of his mind, he snapped back to reality at an executive’s call.

“What did he say?”

“Huh?”

“Is he liquidating?”

“Well…”

“Spit it out, man. Quickly.”

“He said ‘See you in January’ and hung up.”

The executives’ laments filled the office.

“What are we going to do now?”

When Tommy asked accusingly, Peter raised his head and glared at him.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Then who should I ask? Isn’t it your contract?”

“Ask the crazy Mexican government what they were thinking. And Tommy, you signed the contract, didn’t you? Don’t try to push this onto me.”

“What?!”

The chairman, who had been listening silently from the head of the table, clicked his tongue.

Tommy, who was about to say something, closed his mouth.

“It doesn’t matter who made the contract. Can you fix this?”

Neither Tommy nor Peter could answer. How could they possibly fix this?

“Peter, you’re fired. And Tommy, you’re fired too. You both need to take responsibility for this, don’t you?”

At the chairman’s sharp words, Peter decided to accept his fate.

He just nodded and left the office, returning to his team.

He couldn’t say anything in the face of his team members’ resentful looks.

“I’m sorry.”

* * *

The new year of 1995 dawned.

The peso’s fall continued even into the new year.

Bro, let’s liquidate now. Throw it all.

“Okay! Wait.”

Han Gyeong-yeong was excited at Kim Mu-hyeok’s instruction.

A day passed after starting the liquidation.

“Mu-hyeok, liquidation complete!”

What’s the profit?

“It was originally 26 billion dollars, but by the time we finished liquidating, it dropped about 1 billion. 25 billion dollars.”

Good job. Take a break for a while. You’ve got employees handling the stock investments, right?

“Yeah, I don’t have the energy to focus on that.”

Right, stocks are just for show anyway. You did well. Focus on futures and options. We’ll start again soon, so rest up and take care of yourself.

“Can’t I go to Korea to rest?”

No way. You absolutely can’t come to Korea for a while.

At Kim Mu-hyeok’s firm words, Han Geong-yeong sighed and ended the call.

“Hehehe.”

Han Gyeong-yeong, who had been sitting dazed with his head against the chair, couldn’t contain the laughter that kept bubbling up.

He couldn’t forget the changed expressions of those who had laughed at him until just last summer.

‘Did you know? Did you really predict this would happen more than six months ago?’

That was the question from the executive who replaced Tommy and Peter in dealing with him.

‘I’m not a god, how could I know that? Everyone knew the peso was overvalued, right? I just bet on that and won.’

That’s how Han Gyeong-yeong answered.

He was able to leave Goldman Sachs headquarters laughing at them in return, after finishing all the liquidation.

“…What on earth is Mu-hyeok’s true identity?”

Han Gyeong-yeong, who had been giggling, muttered while staring into space.

* * *

I sat on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Even though I knew the future, when the prediction came true so accurately, I couldn’t properly sit up straight due to the thrill.

Yeah, this is it. 25 billion dollars.

Even at the current exchange rate, that’s 20 trillion won.

When the IMF crisis hits and the exchange rate goes up to 2,000 won, it’ll be a whopping 50 trillion won.

‘I wonder if Grandfather’s assets are more than mine?’

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

This was just the beginning.

Out of the many opportunities to come, only one had passed.

In a battle between me, who knows the future, and financial experts who merely predict it, I could never lose.

How could I lose in a gamble where I know the opponent’s hand before it even starts?

“Manager.”

Manager Ma, who had been waiting outside, opened the door and came in.

“I’m going to meet the Myeong-dong bosses one by one, so set up appointments. And what’s the latest on Cheon Su-man?”

“There’s been no notable movement.”

There’s no way that guy would just stay still.

Was sending him abroad a wrong choice?

“We can’t instill fear in him in Australia, can we? The pain that Cheon Su-han is feeling, I mean.”

Right now, Cheon Su-han was almost out of his mind.

Unable to bear the fear, he had attempted suicide but failed due to the people in the same room.

“Killing is possible, but using the same method would be difficult.”

“Hah… What about running him over with a car?”

“He hardly ever leaves the house. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be easy. The Chairman’s eyes are there too.”

I quietly clicked my tongue.

Grandfather was the problem.

Grandfather knew about Cheon Su-han’s condition but had never brought it up to me.

But killing had a slightly different weight.

At least while Grandfather was alive, I didn’t want to cause him more pain.

I know what it’s like to lose family.

“Let’s keep watching for now. There will be some movement. He’s not the type to just give up.”

“Understood.”

Just because he couldn’t come back to Korea didn’t mean I was going to forgive him.

A few days later,

I visited Viper Noh Ik-seon’s office..

The arrogance from when we first met was completely gone.

“You feel it now that Chairman Cheon is gone, don’t you?”

There was no reaction to my condescension.

“Say something. Do you understand reality now?”

“If I’ve been disrespectful, I apologize.”

“If you weren’t needed in my plans, I would have made you like Hammer. I won’t give you another chance, so judge wisely.”

“I understand.”

That’s enough of the stick, time for some carrot.

“You said you didn’t want to come out into the light, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. Then start collecting on the loans that have gone out, and don’t make any new loans for now. Collect everything by next year.”

“What?”

President No looked puzzled at the sudden order to quit the loan shark business.

“Government policies are going to change. We need to separate the funds before that. Since you said you don’t want to come into the light, you’ll have to go deeper into the shadows.”

“I understand. If it’s an order, I’ll follow it.”

“It might be hard to understand now, but with time, you’ll see why I’m saying this. I’m entrusting that shadow world to you, President No.”

“Thank you.”

Relief washed over President No’s face.

I threw out a question like a test.

“Has Chairman Cheon contacted you?”

The answer came immediately.

“He contacted me before he left the country. He told me not to contact him and hung up.”

“This is the last time. If you plot or act without my knowledge one more time, you won’t even be able to retire like Hammer. Remember that.”

With those words, I stood up.

“You’re close with the loan sharks in Myeong-dong, right?”

“Yes? Yes, I’m friendly with most of the people in the loan shark business in Myeong-dong.”

“Keep maintaining those relationships.”

“Understood.”

I left President No’s office and got into the car.

Manager Ma, who usually doesn’t ask questions first, finally looked back and asked.

“Is there a reason we need to keep an untrustworthy person close?”

At those words, I looked at Manager Ma with a slight smile.

“The Myeong-dong bosses have been in this business for decades. The connections and people they’ve built up over that time are not insignificant. If we were to start raising someone like that from scratch now, who knows how long it would take? If he’s willing to go into the shadows on his own, that’s a blessing.”

“I see. Understood, Boss.”

Manager Ma fell silent again. The car started moving slowly.

I leaned back in my seat and organized my thoughts.

The Loan Business Act would come into effect in 2002, but by then, Japanese funds had already finished all their preparations and were waiting. It was the moment when loan sharks and private finance became subordinate to Japan.

But this time, I planned to move that timing a bit earlier through lobbying and preempt it.

No matter how much private finance enters the institutional system, loan sharking won’t completely disappear.

Since President No himself said he’d stay in the shadows, I planned to leave that work to him and assign one private lending company each to the remaining two presidents.

“We’ve arrived, Boss.”

At Manager Ma’s words, I ended my thoughts.

As I got out of the car, President Shin Seong-il approached and greeted me.

“Young master, you’ve arrived.”

Behind Shin Seong-il, who was greeting me politely, his subordinates were lined up.

For a moment, I had to bite the inside of my mouth to avoid showing any reaction.

A man slightly bowing his head behind Shin Seong-il.

‘Why the hell is that bastard here?’