Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Translation: Godtl
"Wow. A vacation? You, Section Chief?"
"Is it really that surprising?"
"Yes. You barely take breaks even on weekends, always pushing to work more. I honestly thought you never used things like vacations or paid leave."
Perhaps it was only natural.
I love my job.
Nothing else stimulates my dopamine quite like this.
And it's not just because of that that I don't take separate holidays.
Haven't I already had my fill of rest during my unemployed days?
"So where are you planning to go?"
"I've decided on a family trip first. Thinking of heading to the States."
"Ooh~ America. Nice."
"Have you been there, Assistant Manager?"
"Of course. I've traveled there and even toured some famous investment firms. How about you, Section Chief?"
"As for me... this will be my first time on a plane."
"Whaaat?!"
Hye-rin stared at me with an utterly fascinated expression.
"I can't believe it! To think I'd meet an actual airplane newbie in person!"
"Airplane newbie...?"
"Section Chief. You do know how to board a plane, right? You absolutely have to take off your shoes and wear a suit!"
"Oh. Really? Thanks for the tip. Hold on, let me jot that down."
At that, Hye-rin panicked and tried to stop me.
"W-wait, you're actually believing me?"
"Of course I know you're joking."
"Eek! You scared me there."
Ah. So you're not supposed to take off your shoes after all.
I really thought you had to.
Knock knock.
"Ah, yes. Come in."
Ahem. "Section Chief, sorry to interrupt your conversation."
"Oh my. You two go ahead. Ah, right. Section Chief, about dinner tonight... the usual place?"
"Sounds good."
Though not often, whenever I end up having dinner with Hye-rin, there's always one place we go.
The udon restaurant that holds our first memories together.
"..."
For some reason, the Assistant Manager gave Hye-rin an envious glance before handing me a file.
"This is from the research department. The materials you requested about Japan."
I skimmed through the documents.
This was because I'd felt a strong intuition about Japan during my recent conversation with my younger sibling.
"Japan is stubbornly maintaining zero interest rates like the U.S., and there are even rumors they might go negative."
Japan, like America, was holding firm to zero interest rates.
Especially with current Prime Minister Abe pushing economic stimulus measures, implementing what's called Abenomics.
But why are Japan's interest rates at zero?
The reason is simple.
Because there's nothing left to develop.
In our country, people scramble to borrow money to buy apartments, but here, people don't even have the concept of taking on debt to buy homes.
Nor do they have any intention of recklessly expanding businesses through loans.
They simply drift along, content with their current circumstances.
As a result, there's no one borrowing money, no one buying homes—interest rates remain stagnant, and real estate prices keep falling.
The complete opposite of our country.
In Korea, real estate is destined to rise, but in Japan, buying a home guarantees its value will drop.
This very issue creates a phenomenon where people are even more reluctant to purchase property.
"In our country, there's this societal pressure that we must endlessly climb higher, right? Get married, have kids, then upgrade to a bigger apartment. Get into a Seoul university, land a job at a conglomerate, and so on. Compared to that, Japan is... stagnant. There's no pressure to constantly move upward."
The difference in societal perspectives between Korea and Japan.
While striving for higher and better development has its positive effects, it's not entirely good either.
Because the stress from this endless, cutthroat competition is intense.
Korea's endlessly rising suicide rate is precisely the side effect of such societal pressures.
"..."
I scanned through the list of recommended Japanese stocks.
The research team doesn't recommend investing in Japan right now.
Even Japanese companies aren't actively investing in their own country right now.
There's a reason the term "yen carry trade" exists.
It's about borrowing yen to invest overseas—with Japan's current zero interest rate policy, borrowing money incurs almost no interest.
People leverage this advantage to borrow funds in Japan and pour them into foreign investment markets.
'Nothing's really clicking for me here.'
Yet I couldn't shake the feeling I'd had while talking to my younger sibling—that sensation of the entire world trembling beneath my feet.
As I scrolled through the list, my gaze suddenly halted.
"...?"
'Jintetsu Group?'
Looking into the company's details, I found it was a well-known railway corporation in Japan.
They made money through railways, real estate, and overseas investments.
You could tell just from the name.
Translated directly into Korean, it meant "fast railway."
"Ah, Jintetsu is famous for its railways. But you know how it is—Japan's railway sector is tightly controlled by JT Group. So they couldn't rely solely on railways and had to diversify. They even built Japan's tallest skyscraper, Osaka Harukas."
But why was that feeling slowly rising in me now?
The intensity wasn't particularly high yet, but the deeper I dug into the company's information, the closer it got.
To put it in gaming terms, it was like the visual effects or feedback to the player growing stronger as you neared the item you were searching for.
I requested additional research on Jintetsu Group from the analysts and delved further.
"...!"
And finally, one detail struck me like a bullet to the brain.
'Corporate bonds issued by Jintetsu Group?'
Bonds.
Governments aren't the only ones that issue bonds.
Corporations do too.
It's a way to raise funds quickly—major conglomerates in Korea do it, and Jintetsu was no exception.
But here, an intense sensation surged through me like an electric current.
'But bonds? And Japanese bonds have such low interest rates...'
When you buy corporate bonds, you receive interest payments at set intervals.
Typically, interest is paid every three months, but Japan's ultra-low interest rates meant the yields weren't particularly high.
"..."
So why was I being drawn to this?
Lost in thought, I flipped to the next page.
And there, my gaze froze again.
[Jintetsu Group's Kumamoto Project]
＊＊＊
"So, have you found out? Who is it?"
"It's going to be difficult to pinpoint exactly. These bastards have systematically positioned themselves by spreading money through brokers left and right."
The chairman of Kangsung Securities, who had boldly vowed to uncover who had shorted Kangsung Electronics last time, now wore an uneasy expression.
"So you're saying you can't catch them?"
"Hard evidence will be tough, but I have a strong suspicion."
"A suspicion?"
"Yes. Back when Stumbagen triggered the Dieselgate scandal, they used this exact same method to sweep the market clean. Many speculate it's the same players this time. And recently, after reviewing quarterly securities reports, one firm stood out as suspicious."
"Which one?"
"Gwangun Securities, Chairman. Their latest quarterly results are absolutely absurd. They've raked in an obscene amount. There's a lot of talk that they might be the ones who cleaned out Germany."
Gwangun.
Those bastards again?
The shameless ones who extorted 2 trillion won from Kangsung Group and swallowed LK Tower whole!
And now, on top of that, they're playing games with Kangsung Electronics' stock price?
My head was starting to burn.
"But Chairman, there's a rumor circulating in the market right now."
"A rumor? What now?"
"Remember how we leaked information that an insolent force had taken a massive short position on Kangsung Electronics?"
Thanks to that, all the hunters lurking in every corner had come swarming in.
And every single one of them was cut down without even getting a chance to swing their swords.
"There's a rumor going around that Kangsung Group and some unknown entity deliberately set up this whole scheme, joining hands to lure in and slaughter the hunters."
"W-what?!"
What kind of absurd nonsense was this?!
"Are they saying we intentionally blew up the battery ourselves?!"
"Some say we knew about the battery issue in advance and planned it, while others genuinely believe we deliberately triggered it. You know how it is—whenever a big incident happens, conspiracy theories follow. And with the hunters losing an astronomical amount of money this time, they'd want to blame us, whether it's a conspiracy theory or not."
Hearing it put that way, it made sense.
If Chairman Kang Sung-ho had been in their shoes, he too would have suspected someone had stabbed them in the back.
"But it turns out Jintetsu Group participated in this hunt."
"Jintetsu?"
"You know, the ones who built that Osaka Harukas skyscraper."
"Ah. Them."
Osaka Harukas.
A towering 300-meter skyscraper, the tallest in Japan.
Inspired by Jintetsu's massive construction, LK Group went on to build what is now LK Tower.
"Jintetsu Group has been completely pushed out of the railway business by JT Group, so they've expanded into real estate, hotels, and distribution. But since Japanese real estate isn't booming like Korea's, they've apparently been focusing on yen carry trades. They go wherever the money's hot, make quick profits, and then pull out."
"And this time, it was Kangsung Electronics?"
"Yes. They were herding the prey along with the hunters, but when the stock price crashed, they panicked and dumped everything. They took a huge loss because of it."
"I see who's spreading these ridiculous conspiracy theories now. Those conniving bastards."
"Yes. Jintetsu must be absolutely furious."
But I still didn't understand the point of this conversation.
What did it matter if Jintetsu took a loss or not?
"Gwangun Securities recently made a request to our asset management company."
"Gwangun did?"
"Yes. They asked us to sell off all the short-term corporate bonds we hold from Jintetsu."
"...?"
Kangsung Group's primary revenue source is Kangsung Electronics.
But there's another place that brings in steady profits—
Kangsung Asset Management.
A massive financial firm handling a staggering 200 trillion won.
Of course, all that money belongs to clients.
They can't just do whatever they want with it, but the fees alone amount to hundreds of billions.
No wonder financial firms are called cash cows.
And now they're asking us to sell off corporate bonds held there?
Japanese corporate bonds, at that?
"Each fund has its own characteristics. Japanese corporate bonds have low interest rates, so they're safe, but they're not exactly an attractive investment. That's why Korean investors don't prefer them."
"They don't sell well?"
"They used to, but with Abenomics still in effect, no one's buying anymore. The fund managers there said they were already planning to gradually sell them off."
In other words, they were toxic inventory.
And now Gwangun Securities was offering to take all that toxic inventory off their hands.
If it were any other securities firm, they'd have jumped at the chance to sell.
The problem was that the firm in question was Gwangun.
"How much in short-term corporate bonds did Jintetsu issue?"
"Five trillion won."
"That's more than I expected."
"Yes. They spent a fortune building the tower, and above all, they've got a massive project underway in Kumamoto, so they've been issuing continuously. With money flooding into safe assets lately and the yen rising, Japanese firms engaged in yen carry trades have taken quite a hit. They must be in dire need of funds."
Yen carry trades are a great investment strategy, but when the yen rises, the losses pile up just as fast.
Given the various circumstances aligning, the Jintetsu Group might be facing financial difficulties, but they weren't on the verge of withering away like the LK Group.
"Jintetsu isn't in such dire straits financially. Many predict that if this large-scale project is successfully completed, they'll make another leap forward."
Yet, Gwangun Securities was aggressively scooping up their short-term bonds.
Why?
Surely they didn't think Jintetsu would default on those bonds?
That couldn't be.
If funds ran short, Jintetsu could simply issue more bonds to raise capital.
"For now, hold onto the bonds and don't transfer them."
"Ah, yes."
"And... could you arrange a meeting with the president of Gwangun Securities?"
"You want to meet him in person, Chairman?"
"Yes. Set up an appointment."
To borrow his sister's words, President Hwang was a bastard with a deceptively warm face.
Given that he'd just squeezed two trillion won out of them, that was understandable.
But what stuck in his memory even more was what she'd said next.
That the manager always hovering by President Hwang's side was the most suspicious one of all.
＊＊＊
"Are you sure this is really okay?"
"It's not like I asked to meet him alone, was it?"
"Well, that's true, but—"
A meeting had been scheduled—with none other than the chairman of Kangsung Group himself.
Under normal circumstances, he'd just say, "Go ahead and handle it," but something in his brother's tone had unsettled him.
A gut feeling that letting him go alone would be a mistake.
In the end, he accompanied his brother to the meeting.
"They won't kick me out just because a lowly manager tagged along, right?"
"Who knows? But if they try, I'll walk out with you."
"Wow. As expected of the Guild Leader's loyalty."
"Heh. Of course. If we came together, I can't just go in alone. What's our guild's motto? 'Live together, die together.'"
"I thought it was 'A guild like family'?"
"That's the first one. This is the second."
With that, he and his brother entered the Korean restaurant.
Whether they'd reserved the entire place or not, only Chairman Kang was seated inside.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Hwang Dae-un, president of Gwangun Securities."
"I'm Manager Jeong Jin-ho."
"Ah, yes. I'm Kang Sung-ho."
Though his face was unassuming, his gaze was razor-sharp.
His eyes lingered on me with particular interest.
"So, this is the one."
"Huh?"
"I heard from my sister. 'There's always this one manager glued to President Hwang's side. The most suspicious one of all,' she said."
"Haha. Please understand. All major decisions at Gwangun Securities are made after consulting this man's advice."
Chairman Kang chuckled in response.
"Then I suppose the decision to gut our electronics division was his idea too?"
"..."
His brother let out a forced cough.
"Ahem. I'm not sure what you mean..."
"No need to hide it. I came here knowing everything. Ah—please, have a seat. I ordered some light drinks—hope you don't mind?"
As Chairman Kang poured me a drink with a smile, I couldn't help but wonder if coming here had been a mistake.
The tension was suddenly so thick my face and body felt stiff.
"I'm not here to blame you. But to pull two trillion won from us and then pull another stunt like this—that's a bit audacious, don't you think?"
"Well... I'd call it good teamwork. Thanks to Kangsung spreading rumors to crush us, all the hunters flocked right in. Haha."
But his brother didn't back down, parrying smoothly.
"Teamwork? We didn't benefit at all. Instead, we're being accused of setting the stage just to stab everyone in the back."
"I know everything worth knowing. That you offloaded your shares while the hunters were pumping up the stock price and made a tidy profit."
"That's a dangerous accusation. What if the Financial Supervisory Service hears?"
"Oh dear. My apologies. That was careless of me. Heh. Still, thankfully, the stock is recovering, isn't it? All thanks to the Chairman's swift decision-making."
A strange battle of nerves was unfolding between them.
Caught in the middle, I quietly sipped my drink.
"You're Deputy Director Jeong Jin-ho, correct?"
"Ah, yes."
I nearly choked on my drink.
"How on earth are you so good at investing? If even the president here trusts you to such an extreme degree, your skills must be extraordinary, no? Isn't that right, President?"
"Ah, really. It's tiresome to keep saying it, but I doubt there's anyone in Korea—no, even overseas—who can match our Jin-ho's investment skills."
"And that massive earnings surprise this time—listening to you talk, it all seems to be thanks to this guy. What's your secret?"
A secret.
There was no complex technical analysis or anything like that.
"Well... It's hard to put into words."
"Hmm, so you have your own proprietary algorithm, then? Let me ask something else. Deputy Director Jeong, do you want to see all our country's corporations ruined?"
Want to see our country's corporations ruined?
Absolutely not.
"No. On the contrary, I want our domestic companies to succeed more than any other nation's."
"A person like you... No, never mind."
He looked like he had much more to say, but he didn't press further.
"Actually, there's one thing I really wanted to ask today. What's the deal with the Jintetsu Group bonds?"
So he knew we'd requested them from Kangsung's asset management division.
"That's..."
"Can't talk about that either? You know our asset management firm holds those bonds, right? I'd have to make the call for them to transfer them over."
"Then I'll find them elsewhere."
"Haha. Bold kid. Fine, I'll hand them over smoothly. But answer me this one thing—are those bonds profitable to hold?"
I hesitated briefly.
I didn't know why these bonds were good either.
But my gut was telling me to buy them.
"Yes."
That was the only answer I could give.
Wait, is he going to refuse now?
"Got it. I'll have the bonds transferred as requested. Ah, we've been talking so much the food's getting cold. Shall we eat?"
Fortunately, it seemed the bonds would safely come to us.
The problem was what came after—Chairman Kang and my brother each seemed lost in their own thoughts, not saying a word as they ate.
This is going to give me indigestion.
＊＊＊
"..."
After seeing the two off, Chairman Kang sank deep into thought.
President Hwang did have a warm face, just as his younger brother had said.
But what left the strongest impression was Jeong Jin-ho.
President Hwang had strained to appear cheerful, trying not to reveal his shaken nerves, but in stark contrast, Jeong Jin-ho maintained a perfect poker face throughout.
It was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling.
'And he had the audacity to say he wants our country's corporations to succeed.'
Yet this was the same guy who placed a massive short on Kangsung Electronics?
But in the end, even Kangsung Electronics had profited.
Because, just as President Hwang had said, they'd sold some shares at peak prices to secure funds.
"Chairman, we're ready to move at your command at any time."
Truthfully, Chairman Kang had met with President Hwang today for no other reason than to see just who had dared to toy with Kangsung Group.
And after the meeting, he'd planned to thoroughly crush Gwangun Securities.
From political circles to the media—
everything was already set up.
When Kangsung made a move, taking down a single securities firm was no difficult task.
But after actually meeting them, his thoughts had shifted slightly.
"Hold off... for now."
He couldn't forget that look in his eyes.
The gaze Jeong Jin-ho had when he answered with that simple "Yes."
With that level of conviction, there had to be something more to it.
This was the same madman who'd identified the battery issue before Kangsung Electronics itself and placed that massive short.
Strangely, rather than anger, he felt... trust.
"After transferring all the bonds to Gwangun, find out which other funds hold Jintetsu bonds. Get as many as possible. And bring me every piece of information on the Jintetsu Group."
A sudden thought struck him.
If the other party possessed an almost supernatural ability to predict the future—
should such a person really be made an enemy?
Wouldn't it be better to have them as a powerful ally instead?