Become the Protagonist of a Conspiracy Theory! (2)
This crisis response had been a success.
Lee Jaseung and Han Juhyeong.
The two of them were about to move straight into the Xenon Project — Juhyeong as overall operations lead, Jaseung as advisor.
Chairman Han's final approval had already come down.
The press conference was purely a face-stamp affair.
Juhyeong appeared in the hall in his capacity as "Head of the Crisis Response Task Force."
It was a stage designed to stamp his presence into the public mind before the Xenon Project kicked off.
Juhyeong stepped onto the podium with several executives. Moments later, the PR staff began distributing press kits.
Cho Miyeon pulled out the article draft she'd already written and finished preparing for battle.
A press conference is a speed war.
You had to file the second the announcement landed if you wanted even a shot at the portal main page.
That was why veteran reporters pre-wrote articles for every expected scenario, filling in only the specific numbers and quotes on site.
Scenario 1: Strong Hanyeong Auto Earnings
Hanyeong Auto posted a substantial surplus recently. This earnings reversal…
Scenario 2: Beating Estimates
In its latest earnings report, Hanyeong Auto delivered results that exceeded market expectations. As investor confidence recovers, a stock rebound looks…
The senior reporter next to her stole a glance at her laptop screen and sneered.
"Earnings reversal? Recovering investment sentiment? Are you even reading the market these days? We're dying because of the yen — what surplus?"
"Aigoo, if I don't write these whiffs, how am I supposed to lay the carpet under your feet, sunbae?"
The complete lack of impact on her left the senior looking dumbfounded, but he didn't press it further.
The press conference was starting.
"Good morning. I'm Han Juhyeong, head of the Hanyeong Auto Group Crisis Response Task Force. We've gathered you here today regarding the rapidly shifting…"
Miyeon turned her eyes back to her laptop. At the bottom of the screen sat a third scenario she hadn't shown anyone.
Scenario 3: Hanyeong Auto's Gamble — Partnering with Makers
While she'd been hanging around Makers firing off near-conspiracy articles, she had happened to catch Juhyeong paying Jaseung a visit.
The Hanyeong Auto heir drops by Makers? Lee Jaseung doesn't take meetings for no reason. Are those two cooking something?
Something was there! What was it?
She'd crawled all the way here on that expectation, but the actual presentation was unfolding as grimly as predicted.
"This quarter, Hanyeong Auto Group's global sales volume came in at 1.12 million units, a 3% decrease year-over-year. This is the result of aggressive pricing from Japanese competitors in the North American and European markets. Operating profit stood at 920 billion won, down 28% year-over-year."
The senior next to Miyeon clicked his tongue.
"See? What did I tell you? Japanese cars are selling thirty percent cheaper — how are you supposed to hold the line?"
A glance confirmed he was already writing "K-Auto Crushed by Yen Weakness."
But Miyeon still hadn't given up hope.
It's Lee Jaseung. There's going to be a twist. There has to be a twist…
What she focused on wasn't the verbal presentation but the distributed materials. Her eyes, reading every character with care, stopped dead on net income.
Net income is… holy shit?
Blink. Blink.
What am I looking at right now? Th-th-three…
At the same moment, Juhyeong dropped the bombshell.
"However, net income recorded 3.8 trillion won."
Three point eight trillioooon?!?!?
The hall erupted into chaos. Confused voices spilled out.
"Did they mess up the numbers?"
"Sales are down, operating profit is down — how does net income go up?"
And yet it had happened.
Juhyeong announced it again.
"I'll say it once more. Net income of 3.8 trillion won. That is a 68% increase year-over-year. This growth in net income is attributable primarily to forex hedge gains from effective currency risk management. Specifically…"
Forex hedge gains?
Only then did the other reporters start combing through the disclosure materials.
At last, under "non-operating income," they found the three-trillion figure.
The returns Makers had generated, combined with those from other delegated managers, had been booked even higher.
The same realization hit everyone at once.
These crazy bastards…
That wasn't hedging — that was forex speculation.
The senior reporter's hand shot up.
"Hold on! Isn't that speculation, not hedging? Did the audit committee approve this?"
Juhyeong answered with the calm of a man who had expected the question.
"This forex hedge strategy received prior approval from the audit committee and was passed by unanimous board resolution. We also strictly complied with the Financial Supervisory Service's regulations on derivative transactions."
"Did you trade directly, or was it delegated management?"
"We delegated management to three external specialist institutions. This was a measure to disperse risk and secure expertise."
"Which firms? Disclose the counterparties!"
Juhyeong shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but contractual confidentiality clauses prevent us from disclosing the counterparties. It is also not a mandatory disclosure item."
Murmurs swelled among the reporters.
Everyone wanted to know which manager had produced this colossal return.
Miyeon swallowed hard. The hands resting on her keyboard trembled — with excitement.
They said they'd split it among three, but Miyeon knew.
The vast majority of those three trillion had almost certainly come from a single manager.
It's Makers. One hundred percent Makers. I'm the only one who knows! This is an insane exclusive!!
The instant her bloodshot eyes locked on the keys and she started to type, her phone vibrated.
Miyeon froze, then lifted her head and scanned the room. Somehow, she had the feeling he would be here.
Behind the press seats, leaning against the wall, her eyes met Lee Jaseung's. He was looking down at her with an unhurried smile.
She fired off a reply at once.
A moment later, the email arrived.
It was practically ready to copy and paste.
Then an idea struck her. Miyeon sent one more message.
No reply. Miyeon fired laser beams with her eyes.
Please say okay! Trust me!
Jaseung, watching her steadily, gave a slight nod.
And a short while later, press materials went out with the name "Makers" stripped clean — leaving only "delegated fund."
Having filed to the desk, Miyeon laughed under her breath. Heh heh heh.
Let them all wonder!
On the 28th, Hanyeong Auto's Q3 earnings briefing revealed a standout result.
Anticipating yen volatility, Hanyeong Auto had pre-emptively dispersed its forex hedge strategy across three external specialist managers. Among them, one manager's performance was overwhelming… (continued).
The article mentioned only "forex hedge returns via specialist managers." But the only reporter who cited specific returns and the hedge strategy itself was Cho Miyeon.
In other words, she had boarded the express bus straight to the main page.
Comments exploded the moment the article went up.
The reaction was largely the same.
Disbelief.
By this point, people no longer cared about "procedure."
Just which delegated fund was it?!
Around the time public interest fully shifted to the delegated fund —
Around the time everyone had completely forgotten the Hanyeong Auto earnings release itself —
Han Juhyeong dangled a carrot.
"We're still in the middle of the earnings presentation, folks!"
Then came the carrot party.
As if determined to bury the forex-speculation suspicions, Hanyeong Auto flooded the room with story after story.
"Hanyeong Auto will not treat the forex gains as one-time profit. We plan to invest the full amount into the Xenon Project."
And then the finishing blow.
"Furthermore, to repay our shareholders for their unwavering support, we plan to issue an interim dividend, and we are also actively reviewing a share buyback."
The forex gains flowed straight into long-term growth plus shareholder returns.
At those words, the public's dopamine detonated.
Whatever fund, whatever method — who cared anymore.
My stock is going up right now!!!!!!
The market roared on the back of the shock earnings. At the open, Hanyeong Auto stock hit its daily limit-up, and related parts suppliers surged one after another. Forex risk had been neutralized, and expectations for future growth had been layered on top.
The identity of the delegated fund was shaping up to be buried as a "lucky coincidence."
The mood was warm.
Everyone was wrapping it up like this.
But then.
As announcement after announcement rolled in, people began to sense something was off.
Once again, no manager names appeared.
But somehow it felt like every single one of them was the same fund.
This work is a work of fiction. All characters, groups, place names, and events appearing in this work are entirely fictional and bear no relation to any real-world counterparts. Specialized knowledge described herein has also been reconstructed and adapted to fit the story, and may differ from actual information.