Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 45

14th. Midwinter Hurricane (2)

From that day on, we scoured Wall Street, offering every possible security and borrowing $500 million with upfront interest, transferring it to twenty shell companies [companies created for the purpose of holding funds without conducting any business themselves].

After converting the dollars into Mexican pesos, we used those pesos to buy dollar-denominated letters of credit received by Mexican companies for exports, and short-term dollar-denominated bills issued by local financial institutions. We then repeatedly borrowed more Mexican pesos, using these bills as collateral, to buy even more dollar payment bills.

Initially, people like Park Tae-jin and Claire, along with the Standard Capital employees, and even Seon Hae-cheol, tried to dissuade me, saying the scale was too large. But who could resist a game where the first to act takes all?

After considering their advice, we returned to New York, having purchased $2.5 billion worth of dollar payment bills in the Mexican financial market by the end of the first week of December.

The target profit was at least $500 million.

The money borrowed was in Mexican pesos, so all we had to do was wait for the Fed [Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the United States] to raise interest rates and for Wall Street capital to withdraw from the Mexican financial market.

“I’ve never done anything so crazy in my life. I just wanted to make a decent profit in the foreign exchange futures market…”

Seon Hae-cheol, drinking whiskey at a bar near Wall Street, emptied his glass and shook his head. I wonder what he’d say if he knew this was just a warm-up.

I picked up the bottle, refilled his glass, and said,

“Uncle, Mexico can’t withstand this no matter what. The Fed raised interest rates by 0.75 percent on the 15th. We’re only buying A-grade trade bills through shell companies, so the Mexican government probably doesn’t even know.”

“I guess so… sigh.”

“Johnny’s right, Seon. There’s talk on Wall Street that Mexico will go bankrupt. We just need to be patient a little longer.”

Claire and I tried to reassure Seon Hae-cheol, but Park Tae-jin emptied his whiskey glass with a stiff expression.

“But Miss Lawrence, wouldn’t Mexico’s bankruptcy be bad for the United States as well?”

“What do you mean, Tae-jin?”

“The United States spearheaded NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). If Wall Street capital causes Mexico to default, America’s reputation…”

Before Park Tae-jin could finish, he saw Claire’s hand gesture and stopped talking. The look on her face was the epitome of ‘what will be, will be’.

“Don’t worry, Tae-jin. Wall Street is Washington D.C.’s master.”

“I hope that’s the case, but the situation is getting so big that it’s hard to predict, Miss Lawrence.”

Park Tae-jin still seemed unconvinced, emptying his refilled glass of whiskey in one gulp. I should say something to lighten the gloomy mood.

“Claire, if Mexico is about to go bankrupt, will the U.S. stop raising interest rates?”

“Probably? They need to prevent the factories that support American consumption from completely collapsing.”

Hearing that didn’t feel like someone else’s problem. The future of Korea, and East Asia, was no different from Mexico’s.

Just a slightly better-off Mexico. That’s the future of East Asia as I know it.

As gloom spread across my face, Claire carefully examined me.

“What’s wrong, Johnny? Are you not feeling well?”

“A little. We’re taking the dollars that Mexico should be getting, after all.”

I couldn’t be entirely happy about driving down the price of the dollars that Mexico should have received because of my greed. A twinge of conscience stung, but Claire chuckled at me.

“You’re still young, Johnny.”

“…”

I wondered why I was being like this. Considering my past, I would have jumped at the opportunity… Did having someone I like make me feel ashamed?

As I silently drank my whiskey, Claire’s subdued voice drifted into my ears.

“It can’t be helped. In this world, being weak is a sin.”

I wondered if the temperature of the blood flowing through this woman’s veins was colder than absolute zero, but my perception of her changed in an instant.

“If I’m weak, I can’t protect the people I love. My family, friends, colleagues…”

A trace of sadness briefly marked Claire’s face and then disappeared. Was it because of her relationship with her parents, which she had mentioned before?

She looked at me and continued,

“It’s presumptuous to think about strangers when you can’t even protect those around you. Just think about the people by your side. Prioritize those close to you, got it?”

“Yes.”

The order of the words was different, but what did that matter? Considering that people respect and look down on others based on their closeness, Claire’s order was correct.

So, her words were extremely selfish yet extremely rational. It was ridiculous for me, who had only given a few bucks and a bracelet before parting with my lover for a while, to pretend to care about strangers.

Claire, who was looking at me with a bitter smile, put down the glass she was about to bring to her lips. It seemed like she had something to ask.

“We digressed for a moment, but why did you ask that question?”

“Which one?”

“Whether the Fed would stop raising interest rates if Mexico was in a pinch.”

“I thought the appeal of the U.S. dollar might decrease. I’m curious what other options hedge funds might consider.”

Claire seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged.

“I’m not sure? Maybe I’m getting dull from drinking this.”

Seeing her awkwardly smile and shake her glass, it seemed she hadn’t sensed it yet either.

A bigger game than Mexico was coming.

***

I came to the office early in the morning, took a seat in the conference room, and greeted Claire as she opened the door and entered.

“How are you feeling?”

“As you can see. I feel better after eating chicken soup with hot sauce.”

“I had ramen from Korea to cure my hangover too.”

Claire was truly amazing. The four of us had drunk six bottles of whiskey yesterday, but she was fully armed with an office look and full makeup. She was no ordinary strong woman.

As I hid my admiration with a smile, I glanced at Seon Hae-cheol next to me. He seemed to be suffering from yesterday’s hangover, as he was only looking for water as soon as he came to the office.

“Uncle doesn’t look too good. I barely managed to wake up this morning.”

Thud!

“I’m still fine, okay? Don’t push me just because I’m drinking water.”

Seon Hae-cheol slammed down his empty cup and flared up, but Park Tae-jin snorted at him from the side.

“Fine, my foot, hyung [Korean honorific for older brother or male friend]. You wouldn’t have been able to wake up if Doryeon-nim [Korean honorific, here used to show respect to Johnny] hadn’t woken you up. You even stole the broth from the ramen Doryeon-nim made, didn’t you?”

“Why are you doing this too? Are you taking his side because you’re his protector?”

“I’m Doryeon-nim’s personal secretary, after all, hehe.”

Seeing the two of them going back and forth, the laughter that was about to come out disappeared because of Claire.

“Tae-jin! What’s wrong with Seon? Johnny, that’s too much! How can you do that to your father’s friend?”

Her face was flushed as she scolded me and Park Tae-jin, and it didn’t look good. Could it be?

As I tilted my head and looked back and forth, Seon Hae-cheol and Claire had already calmed down their expressions and were clearing their throats or looking elsewhere. I knew the two of them had a pretty close relationship, but it seemed like there was something more.

I wanted to investigate further, but I had to stop playing detective. It was because of the news on the TV.

[At 9 a.m. local time, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Mexico announced that they would abandon the fixed exchange rate system of 3.4 pesos per dollar and declare a floating exchange rate system. This measure is intended to prevent the outflow of foreign capital from Mexico…]

The hangover was completely gone. Mexico’s declaration of a floating exchange rate was scheduled to happen around December 20th, but it was happening more than two weeks earlier…

The back of my neck turned cold.

If the floating exchange rate starts now, we can earn at least twice the target profit. More than that joy, the larger the scale of my actions, the more I felt like I was changing history, which gave me goosebumps.

While I couldn’t decide whether to be happy or not before the next gambling game, I heard the screams of the three people who were watching the news.

“It’s happening! It’s happening!”

“Oh my god! Johnny!”

“Congratulations, Doryeon-nim!”

As much as the three people were cheering, screams like ‘Jesus christ!’, ‘Holy fuck!’, ‘goddy god!’ were heard from outside the door.

Looking at the profits alone, it was something to be congratulated and celebrated. As time goes by, if the peso-dollar exchange rate skyrockets, the dollars needed to repay the pesos we borrowed will decrease, increasing our profits.

While the outside air was still hot, the atmosphere in this room was slowly calming down.

“We have enough funds now. Sequoia Capital won’t be able to beat us, hehe.”

“I can’t believe it. Congratulations, Doryeon-nim.”

“That’s how this industry is, Tae-jin. That’s why Wall Street is so obsessed with currency speculation, right? Hehe!”

Seon Hae-cheol, Park Tae-jin, and Claire were all very satisfied, but I had no intention of stopping here.

“Let’s go out to the lobby and talk. Let’s hear what other people think.”

As we went out to the lobby with them, all the employees who were jumping around applauded us.

“Congratulations, Johnny!”

“It’ll be at least 500 million, no, over 1 billion dollars!”

“Everyone worked hard. Thank you for believing in me.”

After shaking hands and patting the shoulders of the employees who had gathered around me, I raised both hands and shook them up and down to calm everyone down.

“Our bet has definitely succeeded. But now is a new beginning. We need to create an exit plan and find new investments.”

It’s not like I’m not happy. I was so happy that I wanted to do the diamond step [a celebratory dance move].

However, a leader, a manager, is someone who must move towards higher and farther places. My dream, our dream, is higher and farther, so we must move forward with them.

I looked around at the people whose expressions had changed awkwardly and opened my mouth.

“Still…”

It’s also true that if you don’t pop a bottle of champagne for the racer and pit crew who won the race, you’re disqualified as an owner.

Thump!

I trailed off and slammed the table.

“Turn off all the computers! Let’s skip today and have a party!”

“Waaaaa!”

Everyone jumped around and cheered. We’re getting 1 billion dollars, so we should take a day off!

***

After turning off the office lights, we went to the Plaza Hotel in front of Central Park.

I went into the Royal Suite that I had reserved by phone and put both hands into the ice-filled bathtub. I grabbed the necks of the ones I could reach among the dozens of Dom Pérignon champagne bottles wrapped in ice and came to the living room.

“Everyone worked hard! Thank you for believing in me!”

After thanking everyone, I put one bottle on the table and shook the bottle in my hand. Thinking I had shaken it enough, I hit the bottle’s opening along the seam with the base of a champagne glass in one hand.

Pop!

The champagne burst out like a fountain with a cheerful sound. I was going to do sabrage [opening a champagne bottle with a saber], which I wanted to do with my company family, in this life!

“Waaaaa!”

“Whoo-hoo!”

Everyone shouted or put their fingers in their mouths and whistled. How happy would they be that the gamble they bet on the company’s fate had hit the jackpot like the champagne that just burst? These people, who had been treated coldly at Triumff, would find it hard to contain today’s emotion.

As I filled the champagne to overflowing, Seon Hae-cheol said.

“Everyone worked hard! Let’s have a toast, Owner-nim [Korean honorific, here used to show respect to Johnny]! Hehe!”

“Yes, Uncle!”

I smiled and cleared my throat, raising my glass high.

“From now on, it’s the real beginning of Standard Capital. The path we take will become the standard of Wall Street! The Way!”

“Standard!”

Clink!

The members who shouted the slogan in response to my lead clinked their glasses and emptied their champagne in one gulp. Whether it flowed down their mouths or not, they emptied the champagne and turned the glass upside down and shook it over their heads, and everyone laughed.

“Is that the Eastern way of drinking, Johnny?”

“On a day like today, you have to empty it without leaving a single drop, haha! Everyone can’t leave until we empty the liquor we’ve stocked up?”

We drank champagne and ate caviar on biscuits or tomato mozzarella caprese salad with forks on the table. It was an unimaginable morning party compared to the usual days when we ate coffee or hot dog scraps in front of the computer.

When everyone was drunk and dozing off or sleeping on the bed or sofa, Seon Hae-cheol put his hand on my shoulder.

“Nephew, can we talk for a moment?”

“Yes, Uncle.”

We went out to the balcony and leaned against the railing, looking at Central Park. The cold of midwinter permeated, but it wasn’t too bad to cool off the alcohol.

“Do you know why that Central Park was created?”

“Well?”

To be honest, I don’t know. It’s a story from 150 years ago, but who thought of making a park of 1 million pyeong [Korean unit of area, approximately 3.3 square meters] in the middle of Manhattan, the most expensive land in New York? If it were Korea, they would have put all kinds of buildings in it.

Seon Hae-cheol sipped the champagne he brought out and said, looking at Central Park.

“Someone told the architect in charge of Manhattan development that if there wasn’t a park in that place, they would have to build a mental hospital of the same size in five years.”

Thinking about it, it seemed plausible.

The jungle of capitalism, Manhattan, full of cold skyscrapers and gray buildings.

If there wasn’t a park like that in Manhattan, everyone who spends their daily life here, whether high or low, would be exhausted and fall out, whether physically or mentally.

As I nodded, Seon Hae-cheol patted my shoulder.

“You made a good decision today. Those friends were nervous too, and if you had pushed them one more time, they wouldn’t have lasted long and would have left.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

I don’t know why I feel so good about that one word. Is it because I’ve finally realized what it means to soothe people’s hearts like that Henry Royce guy [likely referring to the co-founder of Rolls-Royce, known for his attention to detail and care for his employees]? Or is it because of Seon Hae-cheol’s compliment?

As I smiled pleasantly and sipped champagne, Seon Hae-cheol brought up the topic.

“What are you going to do about the Chairman’s homework?”

“The yen betting?”

Seon Hae-cheol nodded.

“You’ve proven your skills enough now. We may have made money, but this neighborhood and Washington D.C. would have been turned upside down.”

“I think so too. There will still be a lot of American capital left in Mexico.”

“Yeah. It’s just my intuition, but… the Fed’s interest rate hike will stop soon. It’ll be difficult to get even $1 more out of Mexico.”

I got goosebumps because of Seon Hae-cheol’s indifferent words.

Even in my past life, the Federal Reserve Board stopped raising interest rates because they were concerned about the problem that Seon Hae-cheol pointed out. He looked new to me, even though he foresaw the future with his intuition.

“You’ve even done currency speculation in Mexico, so I’ll follow your opinion. Let’s do well in the future, haha.”

Looking at him smiling casually, I felt energized. I will run forward for them.