Chapter 100
Chapter 100
Translation: Godtl
"Chairman, here's the list of candidates selected through the foundation's investigation."
As soon as the Gwangun Foundation was established, we immediately sought out those in desperate need of our help.
While we broadly distributed donations, we also created a system to intensively provide scholarships to select, exceptional students.
And now, after thorough investigation, the finalized list of financially struggling yet highly capable individuals had been completed.
"..."
I carefully examined the names on the list.
At my specific request, the foundation had prepared detailed profiles for each student.
This way, I could gather information about them and exercise my intuition.
Just as I expected.
As the profiles entered my mind, a light began to flicker beside each name.
One thing was certain—our foundation staff were doing an excellent job.
Then again, perhaps that was only natural.
After all, I had personally handpicked the employees responsible for compiling this list.
Starting with those who shine the brightest.
While I planned to provide support to everyone on the list, I intended to offer the highest level of assistance to those students who radiated the strongest light—until they firmly established themselves as adults.
"Please add the students I've marked to the intensive support list. For the others, proceed with the basic support program."
"Ah, yes, Chairman."
Following my instructions, the foundation had identified students across various fields and compiled this list.
There were far more students in need of help in this country than I had anticipated.
Who would've thought that a guy who used to just sit in his room playing games would grow up to assist students in desperate need of support?
It was a strange, almost surreal feeling.
There was no telling how far these students would soar with this support, but I sincerely hoped they would become remarkable individuals capable of making a significant positive impact on this country.
That single conviction was why I had founded this foundation in the first place.
"..."
After receiving the list, I glanced at Assistant Manager An, who was hesitating nearby.
"Did you have something to say?"
"Ah, well... All the Deep OTM contracts are set to expire within the next 24 hours. As you know, they were originally set to mature within 72 hours."
Deep OTM.
A highly speculative put option that would pay out if the value of British currency plummeted.
In other words, it was like a lottery ticket—pay a premium upfront, and if disaster struck, you'd hit the jackpot.
My intuition had zeroed in on it first.
Of course, knowing what it meant, I hesitated.
But my intuition kept pointing at it relentlessly, so I ordered my team to scour the market and gather every available Deep OTM contract.
If my intuition was right this time, we stood to gain trillions of won.
But if I was wrong, billions in premium costs would vanish into thin air.
And there was one problem.
As Assistant Manager An had just mentioned, these OTM contracts were designed as high-stakes gambles, with extremely short expiration periods.
Now, only 24 hours remained.
If nothing happened within that time, the billions we'd poured in would disappear without a trace.
Truth be told, even I was nervous.
Despite knowing my intuition had never been wrong, that anxiety never left me.
The fear that maybe, just once, it could be wrong.
"Just keep watching."
"...Yes."
But the dice had already been cast.
＊＊＊
"Assistant Manager An, what did he say? Did you ask him?"
"About the OTM?"
"Yeah."
"He just told us to keep watching."
"Nothing else at all?"
"No."
The team members let out quiet sighs.
The OTM wasn't the only issue—there were other concerns too.
Chairman Jeong Jin-ho had poured money into all sorts of extreme financial products as if Britain was about to collapse tomorrow.
While his investment style had always been aggressive...
"It's never been this extreme before, right?"
"Right. No matter how much he shorted, he never bet on contracts with such short expiration periods."
The OTM contracts would expire in 24 hours, and while the other products still had some time left, it was cutting it dangerously close.
Even when shorting, he usually spaced it out over several days.
But this time, he had sought out only the contracts with immediate liquidity and dumped all available funds into them.
What did that mean?
It wasn't just a minor fluctuation—it meant Britain was about to be hit by the largest financial crisis in its history.
When that happened, every asset would hit rock bottom, and any short positions taken beforehand would turn into massive profits no matter where they were placed.
"But can the UK really collapse like that within 24 hours? For things to go as you predict, Director, there would have to be a flash crash—but there's no trigger for that, is there?"
A flash crash.
It referred to a situation where a specific stock experienced a sharp plunge within an extremely short period before recovering.
"No. The Director isn't just aiming for a simple flash crash effect. And what possible trigger could there be in the UK right now?"
"A no-deal Brexit?"
"Right. It might actually turn into a no-deal Brexit."
"But... even if it does become a no-deal Brexit, would the market crash hard enough to trigger the OTM?"
That was true.
A no-deal Brexit.
It would be a shocking event for the UK.
If a no-deal Brexit really happened, the UK market would undoubtedly shake—but it wouldn't collapse to the point of being completely wrecked like Japan's did.
The UK stock market was three times larger than Korea's, after all.
It was even bigger than France's.
Anyone else would think the Director had finally lost his mind.
But Manager Seo, who had worked under Jeong Jin-ho for years, knew the opposite was true.
"What the hell is about to happen in the UK...?"
＊＊＊
Reynold Bale's legs were trembling uncharacteristically.
Soon, the employee he'd been waiting for rushed in breathlessly.
"Well? What's the update?"
"We double-checked, and it's already been decided. There will absolutely be no no-deal Brexit, and the negotiation period will be extended significantly."
"Are you sure? It's really not a no-deal Brexit?"
"Yes. They know that if it were, not just the UK but other European countries would suffer collateral damage, so an extreme choice like that is off the table. This is internal information from the EU side, so it's definitive."
Right. That makes sense.
A no-deal Brexit is impossible.
"Then why the hell are these bastards—?"
The problem was Gwangun.
"You said the expiration is in 24 hours?"
"Yes."
"Tch."
In 24 hours, the EU will announce that there will absolutely be no no-deal Brexit and that the negotiation period will be extended.
But Gwangun doesn't seem to believe that information.
They've bet that the UK will collapse within 24 hours.
What the hell is their reasoning?
"Director. Doesn't this mean Gwangun is operating on faulty intel?"
"Could be. But think about it. Logically, even if a no-deal Brexit happens, would the UK economy really collapse?"
"There'd be a major shock, sure... but not to the extent Gwangun is betting on."
"Exactly. That's what's driving me insane. What kind of information do they have to be so damn confident?"
He was already bald, but it felt like even more hair was falling out.
Something was clearly going on, but even after mobilizing all of Gold Reagan's intelligence resources, he couldn't find an answer.
"Shouldn't we just ignore it?"
"Ignore it? If Gwangun's intel is right and the UK stock market really gets obliterated in 24 hours, do you have any idea how much we'd have to pay out?"
Gwangun had scooped up every OTM they could find.
They'd even bought up all kinds of derivatives.
"If Gwangun's prediction is correct, not just us at Gold Reagan but all the financial firms that issued those derivatives are completely fucked. And all our UK-based stocks will crash too."
So Reynold had to make a decision.
Should he ignore it?
Or should he prepare like Gwangun?
They had 24 hours left.
If something really was about to blow up, it might already be too late—but this could still be the golden hour to cut losses and salvage what they could.
"What about other financial firms and funds? If Gwangun's making moves this bold, everyone must know by now, right?"
"Yes. Rumors are spreading fast even without that—Bear Funds have already pulled out. It's too late to short now, so they're cutting their losses while they can."
"Those crazy bastards are chickening out and running?"
"Aren't Bears basically Gwangun's fanatics? But Gwangun moved too suddenly for them to follow their positions in time. They're just minimizing losses by fleeing."
The game of perception had begun.
The problem was that the Bear Funds—a gathering of the most reckless maniacs—were the first to panic and bail.
Which meant—
"The others will follow soon."
If even the Bears, who usually threw money around mindlessly, had regained their sanity, it meant something truly catastrophic was coming.
That was when Reynold made his decision.
"I'll report to upper management now. Relay this to the entire department: from this moment, withdraw or recall all UK-related products immediately. Also, dump every single UK stock we hold."
"B-but if we dump that massive volume all at once, the losses will be..."
"Right now, everyone's quietly closing their positions as we speak. So we need to offload ours before they do. Otherwise, we might be left holding worthless scraps. Move quickly."
They had only 24 hours left.
The time was desperately tight.
Which was precisely why they had to hurry.
Reynold, straightening his tie to report to upper management, let out a deep sigh.
What the hell kind of information does Gwangun have?
Then, a sudden thought struck him.
"But... what if there's actually nothing?"
What if there was no no-deal Brexit? What if there wasn't actually any event capable of shaking the British economy within 24 hours? Yet, regardless, everyone had already succumbed to hysteria and started dumping their holdings.
Because the one placing the bet was none other than Gwangun.
Hadn't Gwangun's shocking investment techniques up until now been the kind to go down in world history?
"What does that even matter right now?"
Even if this whole thing turned out to be Gwangun's bluff, it didn't matter.
Because the event was already unfolding—because of them.
＊＊＊
Prime Minister Teresa May had deliberately extended her negotiation time with the EU to stabilize her shaky approval ratings.
Plenty would criticize her for it, but she didn't care.
If she successfully concluded the negotiations, even if people cursed her now, history would eventually judge her differently.
And she would go down as one of the most significant figures in British history.
Positively, at that.
"..."
But the moment she saw the charts before her, she was momentarily speechless.
"W-what on earth is happening?"
The moment the markets opened, the British stock exchange plummeted catastrophically.
Shocked, she tried to halt trading with circuit breakers to stabilize the situation—but it was futile.
"Institutions are dumping their entire holdings in unison, as if they'd made some pact. The funds are doing the same."
"So why is this happening?!"
"That's... we don't know the reason either."
"W-what? You're telling me everyone's selling off for no reason?"
Stock markets rise and fall based on tangible events.
Yet right now, without any actual incident, the market was crashing as if a Great Depression had struck overnight.
"Could it be that everyone expects a no-deal Brexit?"
"No. The securities firms have already spread the word—there will absolutely be no no-deal Brexit."
"Then there's nothing else! So why is everyone going insane like this?"
As no one could provide an answer, one person finally spoke up quietly.
"It's Gwangun."
"...What?"
The Finance Minister's already pale face turned even whiter.
"I just received a report—Gwangun poured massive capital into a bet that the British economy would collapse within 72 hours."
"W-why would they do that?!"
"I don't know. The problem is, as word spread, everyone started eyeing each other—and when only 24 hours remained, institutions and funds began panic-dumping, leading to this disaster."
May couldn't believe her ears.
So a single company in Korea placed a bet that Britain would collapse, and now everyone was swept up in it, collectively selling off until the market was in ruins?
"That's... utterly absurd—"
It was too ludicrous to even finish the sentence.
The problem was—this was reality.
"The biggest issue is the exchange rate. The pound has already dropped 7% in this short time. And if institutions keep panic-selling like this..."
The Finance Minister swallowed dryly before continuing.
"We're looking at a second Black Wednesday. Possibly even worse."
British politicians hated Wednesdays.
Because the massive pound short-selling crisis triggered by George Soros in the past was known as Black Wednesday.
"So... you're saying my term could see a financial crisis worse than Black Wednesday?"
"Not 'could'—it's already at our doorstep, Prime Minister. We're trying to stabilize things, but this panic is spreading beyond institutions to individual investors. Frankly..."
Even the Finance Minister couldn't finish.
"Which is why I warned you before. We should have taken preemptive measures—we never know what Gwangun might do."
"..."
The advisors' voices no longer reached her ears.
No—she didn't even know how to react.
Is this really possible?
With no actual event, just because a single financial firm in Korea placed a bet—everyone got swept up in it, collectively selling off until the British market was in shambles?
Seriously?