The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 256

256. Rampage and Sprint (5)

Early summer of 1987.

Victoria Corporation announced its second-quarter results.

Sarah was the presenter again, and her blue suit once again graced the cover of *The Economist*.

But that was it.

Despite the astronomical performance of Victoria Fund and the release of *Tetris* by Victoria Corporation’s gaming division, the stock price remained unmoved.

“Unbelievable.”

Hyun-woo, Robert, and Sarah were having coffee in the president’s office.

“Recently, the U.S. stock index feels stagnant.”

Hyun-woo wasn’t thrilled with Victoria Corporation’s current stock price either.

‘At this rate, it might be worse than last year.’

Sarah, the presenter of the earnings, also didn’t look pleased.

“I don’t know why.”

Hyun-woo said to her.

“Isn’t it just meeting people’s expectations?”

Sarah tilted her head to the right.

“Meeting expectations?”

Hyun-woo put down the mug in his right hand and replied.

“A market capitalization of $100 billion carries a lot. Providing new financial services in the West, developing an online distribution system with Walmart… all of that is already factored into the $100 billion valuation.”

Sarah sighed briefly.

“So, you’re saying our company’s stock price won’t move with ordinary achievements?”

Robert picked up on her words.

“Charlie, even so, isn’t this too stagnant? Victoria Fund’s returns have already surpassed even famous hedge funds.”

The profits Victoria Fund made in the first six months were unbelievable.

Considering the second half of last year, Victoria Corporation’s stock price should have risen.

Hyun-woo sighed deeply.

“Hoo… The reason our company’s stock price isn’t rising might be *because* of Victoria Fund.”

Sarah said with a look of disbelief.

“Charlie, no one predicted Victoria Fund’s current returns. 300% in just half a year.”

Victoria Fund’s assets had grown to over $80 billion.

This was a scale that even legendary hedge fund giants hadn’t achieved.

“Sarah is right. No one expected this level of return to continue.”

Victoria Corporation’s asset size was already astronomical.

And investors knew that the larger the amount managed, the lower the returns.

This was connected to the snowball effect.

‘A giant snowball gathers a massive amount of snow each time it rolls, but the rate at which its diameter increases is smaller than that of a small snowball.’

In other words, it’s much easier to increase a small 1cm snowball to 2cm than to double the size of a 1m snowball.

“Charlie, your words don’t make sense. You’re saying the stock price can’t rise even though we’ve achieved returns that no one expected?”

Hyun-woo spread his hands at Sarah’s question.

“I think some explanation is needed.”

“Explanation?”

Hyun-woo nodded.

“Victoria Fund’s investment was definitely successful. But the problem was that it was *too* successful.”

Too successful is the problem.

Does that mean it raised investors’ expectations too high?

Sarah and Robert narrowed their brows at his words.

“Charlie, you know what? You’re making things too difficult these days.”

“Sarah is right. Charlie, can you put it simply?”

Hyun-woo nodded as if he understood.

“Okay. I’ll get straight to the point. Investors who saw the success of our Victoria Fund started following our investments instead of investing in our company.”

Sarah and Robert’s eyes widened at his summary.

“Ah! I see what you mean!”

“Come to think of it, it was very simple, but I didn’t think of it.”

Hyun-woo’s logic was very simple.

Instead of being amazed by Victoria Fund’s returns, Wall Street investors were rushing to invest in Japan. Their investments turned the Tokyo Stock Exchange into a black hole sucking up global capital, and Japanese conglomerates like NTT [Nippon Telegraph and Telephone] were growing at an alarming rate.

“People are no longer putting money into the New York Stock Exchange.”

This meant that individual investors, hedge funds, and institutional investors were leaving the New York Stock Exchange.

Robert put his hands together and frowned.

“The problem is serious.”

He thought that the outflow of funds from the New York Stock Exchange could lead to a recession in the United States.

‘Victoria Corporation has benefited from investing in Japan, but its roots are in the United States. If the United States falls into a recession, Victoria Corporation’s business will inevitably shrink.’

Hyun-woo sighed again.

“Hoo… This might be why President Reagan didn’t grant Prime Minister Nakasone’s request.”

What the United States wanted was not the revival of Japan, but the reconstruction of the United States.

“Charlie, is there a solution?”

Hyun-woo raised both hands in the air.

“There isn’t.”

“No vaccine?”

“Only time will tell.”

This meant that this phenomenon would continue until the Japanese bubble burst.

“That’s the worst.”

Hyun-woo took a sip of coffee and said.

“The stock price hasn’t fallen significantly, so it’s not the worst.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows at his words.

“Charlie, don’t talk like it’s someone else’s company.”

She seemed concerned that Victoria Corporation’s stock price was sluggish.

“Charlie, if there’s no solution, I’ll give up worrying.”

Robert was more relaxed than Sarah.

Sarah thought the reason was that Robert’s stake was smaller.

‘Besides, Robert cashed out some of his shares.’

He had less pressure than the two because he had cashed out some of his shares.

Hyun-woo said to Sarah and Robert.

“I’m saying this, but I won’t just sit idly by.”

Sarah lowered her raised eyebrows and asked.

“Do you have a plan?”

Hyun-woo scratched his head and replied.

“I don’t have a special plan, but…”

“I won’t forgive you if you’re just saying you’ll work hard.”

“That’s difficult.”

“Don’t tell me you were just going to say you’d work hard?”

Sarah had expected Hyun-woo to have a special strategy or response.

“Actually, I’m expecting something from the U.S. government.”

The Reagan administration was already moving. They were preparing for a second Plaza Accord [an agreement between France, Germany, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom to depreciate the U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of the other countries].

“The Reagan administration?”

“Judging by the fact that they rejected Prime Minister Nakasone’s request, it seems they’re preparing something big.”

“Can that one move bring the flow of money back to New York?”

Hyun-woo shook his head from side to side.

“It will be difficult right away.”

“So, it’s a long game.”

“That’s right, unless a major event occurs.”

Robert stood up from his seat and said.

“Since there’s no solution, I’ll go back and make some calls to each development team.”

Unlike him, Sarah didn’t get up from her seat. After Robert left, she asked.

“Charlie, you know, don’t you?”

Hyun-woo paused and asked back.

“Know what?”

“When the Japanese bubble will burst.”

Hyun-woo was taken aback but calmly responded to her words.

“I can personally make a prediction, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Soon, right?”

“It won’t be soon.”

Sarah leaned over the table and said.

“I see… You haven’t recovered Victoria Fund’s investments yet, have you?”

She thought that the moment Hyun-woo recovered Victoria Fund’s investments would be when the bubble burst.

‘Charlie is a grumpy person. He doesn’t tell me everything he knows.’

Sarah knew that Hyun-woo was hiding something from her.

Of course, she didn’t know exactly what it was.

On the way home from work.

Sarah no longer drove herself. And the car they were riding in was no longer a Ford sedan.

She and Hyun-woo were leaning back in the second row of an S-Class with bulletproof features.

“When do you think it will be?”

Hyun-woo tilted his head at her question.

“When will what be?”

“When the bubble bursts.”

“Haven’t you given up yet?”

“I’ll keep asking until you tell me.”

Hyun-woo sighed and replied.

“Early 1990s, maybe?”

Sarah lightly clicked her tongue.

“Tch, I could have given that answer too.”

“No. I really think so.”

“You’re saying this year will just pass by?”

“I answered that way because many people besides Sarah have asked.”

Sarah sighed inwardly at the mention that many people had already asked.

‘Hoo… John or Jeremy must have asked.’

John Pierre and Jeremy Spin were key executives of Victoria Fund.

“Why?”

“An overheated engine won’t cool down easily unless it rains.”

Rain meant an unexpected major event.

Sarah thought that an unexpected major event was war.

‘If a large-scale war breaks out, the flow of the economy can change in an instant.’

She slightly raised her voice.

“What if it rains?”

“We’ll go bankrupt.”

Hyun-woo knew that Victoria Corporation’s stock price was linked to Victoria Fund.

“If it’s not good for the engine to overheat, and it’s not good for it to rain… then the best thing is for the engine to cool down slowly, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Charlie, you’re looking for a way to cool down the engine slowly, right?”

Hyun-woo turned his gaze out the window and replied.

“I wouldn’t say I’m looking for it, but rather praying for it?”

“That’s not like Charlie.”

“Pardon?”

“Charlie has always found a way.”

Hyun-woo scratched his head at her assertion.

“Was I?”

“You were.”

“I think you trust me too much.”

“I bet my life on Charlie.”

Hyun-woo’s eyes widened at her words.

“Pardon?”

“I’m just kidding. Anyway, Charlie will find a way, and I’ll breathe a sigh of relief.”

Sarah’s faith in him was absolute.

Hyun-woo couldn’t tell her that he was a person who had been reincarnated from the future and knew how history would unfold.

‘I feel like everything could be distorted the moment I tell her.’

He thought that if he were a god, that’s what he would do.

* * *

June 17th.

As soon as Hyun-woo arrived at the office, he received an urgent phone call. The call was from Seoul. He answered the phone with a dry voice.

“The Chief of Staff is calling me.”

The person who called him was Han Cheol-in, the President’s Chief of Staff [referring to the President of South Korea].

“Originally, Director Kim was going to call, but I thought it would be better if I did it.”

There weren’t many issues that would require the Director of the National Security Planning Agency [South Korean intelligence agency, predecessor to the NIS] and the President’s Chief of Staff to call urgently.

Hyun-woo had been following the news, so he had some idea of what he was going to say.

“The situation in Seoul seems urgent.”

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in nodded.

“To be honest, it’s not easy. His Excellency is considering deploying troops.”

In 1987, Seoul was experiencing democratization movements in various places ahead of the Olympics.

Later, people would call this the June Struggle [a pro-democracy movement that led to democratic reforms in South Korea].

‘Hmm, the military of a country hosting the Olympics violently suppressing protesters.’

He knew of a tournament where such a situation had occurred.

‘The Mexico City Olympics turned out that way.’

Mexico City violently suppressed university students who were protesting against the Olympics, and many deaths occurred in the process.

‘But that kind of thing won’t happen in Seoul.’

He knew the end of the June Struggle.

“Chief of Staff, the reason you called me is to find out the U.S.’s intentions, right?”

The people at the Blue House [the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president] thought that Hyun-woo was the most accurate source on the United States.

And this was not wrong.

He had connections with high-ranking officials in the U.S. Republican Party, and if necessary, he could also obtain information from the CIA.

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in asked.

“Hyun-woo, if we deploy troops, the Reagan administration won’t stand still, will they?”

Hyun-woo knew history, so he felt at ease.

‘Tanks won’t be deployed in Gwanghwamun [a major intersection and landmark in Seoul].’

He wanted the story to unfold according to the flow of history.

“The Reagan administration does not want a repeat of the Mexico City tragedy.”

“Hmm, Mexico City?”

“If the situation is serious, the U.S. military in Korea may move.”

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in’s voice grew louder at the mention of the U.S. military moving.

“The U.S. military moving in a situation of confrontation between North and South?”

Hyun-woo answered his question.

“The situation is different than it was seven years ago.”

Seven years ago.

That is, when the new military faction staged a coup, the United States at the time was concerned about a civil war in Korea and condoned the new military faction.

But if the Cold War was cooling down, the story was different.

Moreover, the Reagan administration had once again declared that it would defend liberal democracy from dictatorship.

“Does that mean the Cold War is ending?”

“Secretary-General Gorbachev may become president in a few years.”

There was no president in the Soviet Union. The fact that he would become president meant that the Soviet Union was coming to an end.

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in couldn’t help but be surprised by his answer.

“Is the story progressing that far?”

Hyun-woo answered his question.

“Considering the current atmosphere, it’s not just a simple joke.”

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in nodded.

“In many ways, that means it’s disadvantageous to us.”

“Please think about the Olympics first.”

“What if His Excellency prioritizes power over the Olympics?”

Hyun-woo replied coldly.

“He won’t be able to prioritize the latter.”

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in groaned lowly.

“Hmm, does that mean there’s no way?”

“It could be like the Philippines.”

In 1986, a democratic revolution took place in the Philippines, and the regime changed.

The United States took this opportunity to declare a break with pro-American, anti-communist dictators.

“The Philippines.”

“Of course, if we take appropriate measures, it won’t go that far.”

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in lowered his voice.

“In your opinion, how far should we step back to be okay?”

He subtly asked about the deadline.

Hyun-woo didn’t want to get deeply involved in this incident. But because the question was a question, he couldn’t help but go into it deeply.

“Direct election is the minimum condition.”

Presidential direct election.

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in thought that giving that up was the same as giving everything up.

“Direct election is the minimum condition?”

Hyun-woo said firmly.

“There will be no negotiations below that.”

“Are you saying we have to negotiate with the United States?”

“Chief of Staff, you have to negotiate with the people on the other side, not the United States.”

The other side of the Blue House.

These words were referring to the people who were waging the June Struggle.

“Are you saying that the United States wants to negotiate with them?”

“Chief of Staff, even if you hold a direct election, it doesn’t mean there’s no chance of winning.”

“Hyun-woo. In this situation, isn’t His Excellency’s re-election impossible?”

Hyun-woo replied in a soft voice.

“Of course, His Excellency’s re-election will be difficult.”

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in clenched his fist upon hearing his answer.

“Your words… um, you’re saying we should consider another candidate.”

Hyun-woo said in a low voice.

“Persuading His Excellency will be 10 times easier than persuading the United States.”

The United States’ intentions are set.

The Blue House’s power cannot change that.

If they continue to insist, an event like the Philippine Revolution will occur.

Chief of Staff Han Cheol-in understood all of these messages.

“Hoo… It won’t be easy, but I’ll do my best.”

Hyun-woo said to him.

“Chief of Staff, the best may be difficult, but if you look for it, there will be a second best.”

“I understand. I’ll call you again.”

Hyun-woo hung up the phone and let out a long sigh.

“Haa…”

As he sighed, Sarah, who was standing in front of the door, asked.

“Charlie, did something happen to your family?”

Hyun-woo shook his head and replied.

“Something happened to the country, not the family.”

“To the country?”

“Don’t worry. I think it will be resolved well.”

Hyun-woo could feel that he was standing in the middle of history.