Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Translation: Godtl
The Prime Grade department usually didn't have much to keep them busy.
While teams at other securities firms were worked to the bone from dawn till dusk—monitoring market conditions, preparing reports, and securing investment approvals—this department had no such need.
Of course, they still reviewed the research materials sent to them and familiarized themselves with everything before reporting to President Jeong Jin-ho.
They even prepared investment reports based on that information, but ultimately, it was Jeong Jin-ho who devised all the investment strategies.
So, their job could be described as leisurely sipping coffee while observing how the market moved and how Jeong Jin-ho's magic would unfold this time.
"Assistant Manager Yoon. That order I gave you earlier—did you process the full volume?"
"Yes. Fortunately, the institutions accepted it. Whew. At first, they kept rejecting it, so I had to persuade them over the phone. It was exhausting."
"Sorry, but we don't have the luxury to complain about being tired right now. Move on to the next order. Quickly!"
"Ah, yes!"
So, why did the Prime Grade department exist?
Because once President Jeong Jin-ho finalized an investment strategy, someone had to execute it.
It was usually a laid-back place, but once work began, it became busier than anywhere else in the world.
The reason? The sums they handled were on a completely different scale compared to ordinary securities firms.
"Section Chief Lee. How much have we processed so far?"
"Five trillion won."
"Damn. Still half left? We're running out of time."
"I know. We're trying to move as fast as possible, but the amount is just too massive..."
Ten trillion won.
Not one trillion—ten trillion. An astronomical sum.
And they weren't spreading it across multiple markets—they had to shove it all into the French stock market at once. Of course, even if they distributed it across futures, options, ETFs, and so on, there were limits.
No matter how much larger the French stock market was compared to Korea's—over twice the size—it couldn't digest ten trillion won in a single go.
That's what made it complicated.
They had to inject the money while avoiding as much scrutiny as possible from the French Financial Supervisory Service, which constantly monitored the market, and they had to secure enough liquidity to handle ten trillion won.
"On top of that, speed is our lifeline. Why do you think the president pays us such high salaries to sit here? For moments like this—exactly like this. We don't get to complain about how hard it is. Frankly, if we weren't exhausted with the money we're making, that would be the real surprise."
There were many ways to inject ten trillion won into the market.
The best method was to divide it over a set period and let the money flow in gradually—buying up numerous stocks so the ten trillion could blend in naturally.
But President Jeong Jin-ho didn't invest with a long-term perspective.
If he did want to invest long-term, he'd just buy the company outright and grow it himself. Everything else was purely about short-term returns.
"So we have to process it quickly. Whether it's one trillion, ten trillion, or even a hundred trillion! Our job is to ram this money into the French stock market exactly as the president orders! That's the only way we earn our keep. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Once work began, not a single second could be wasted here.
The value of President Jeong Jin-ho's time was different from everyone else's.
In his investment style, a delay of even one second could mean losing hundreds of billions.
"Alright. What's our team's motto?"
"Abandon the self!"
"Okay. Everyone, move!"
With that, Team Leader Seo picked up the phone again, rallying the team.
They had to pressure institutions into releasing the shares needed for short selling to meet President Jeong Jin-ho's target.
But can we really pull this off?
Honestly, after the two-trillion-won day-trading incident, he thought nothing could surprise him anymore. But where on earth did the madness to execute a massive short position with ten trillion won come from?
Common sense would say it's impossible to absorb that much volume in such a short period.
But one thing was certain.
Until now, President Jeong Jin-ho had never demanded the impossible.
＊＊＊
"Wow······."
"Should I say this is truly explosive······?"
We were watching the spectacle unfold through the conference room TV today.
The yellow vest protests that erupted in France had spread like wildfire.
Normally, we'd imagine protestors holding picket signs and shouting through megaphones, but France operates on a slightly—no, vastly—different wavelength from our expectations.
"They say they light fires even before starting the protests over there?"
"Isn't that just framing?"
"I thought so too, but seeing this, it must be real."
During our country's peak protest periods, clashes between demonstrators and police involved flipping buses and water cannons—pretty intense stuff—but compared to what we're witnessing now, it seems tame.
Street-side shops were being looted, some even set ablaze.
How should I put it?
It's like they're using the protests as an excuse to create lawless zones.
As if they'd been waiting for this moment, the protestors rose like rioters, destroying streets. Clashes with police trying to stop them were already turning bloody.
"The initial protest had about 200,000 participants, but now it's surpassed 500,000. By next week, they estimate over a million."
"It's spreading terrifyingly fast."
"Yes. Especially through our PicPic and FaceWeb—posts and videos encouraging protest participation seem to have significantly amplified the scale."
The French government appeared considerably flustered too.
While Europe is known for frequent protests, they likely never anticipated hundreds of thousands gathering at this explosive rate.
"FaceWeb and NewTube apparently saw this as an opportunity—they deliberately exposed all users to protest-inciting videos."
"What about our PicPic?"
"We didn't intentionally order such measures, but algorithmically, protest-related videos briefly dominated exposure. Then FaceWeb fanned the flames again, which cycled back to our platform."
So in summary—while unintended by us, FaceWeb spiked the trend, pulling us into the vortex.
"Unwitting partners in crime, then?"
"Yes. Particularly since PicPic is currently France's most popular SNS app. Without social media spreading these videos, the protests might've ended in their early stages."
But now, frenzied protestors have been rioting for a week straight, with the phenomenon spreading citywide.
"Early on, they seemed to aim for peaceful protests. The problem is opposition factions saw an opportunity to undermine the ruling party. That's when the radicalization began."
I felt uneasy.
Even though I hadn't pressured PicPic to push those videos, guilt crept in—isn't that just human nature?
They say businesspeople shouldn't let emotions sway them.
Seems that advice remains distant from me.
Still.
What must be done must be done.
"What about the stocks we bought?"
"Just as you predicted, President. When protests first began, French markets showed almost no volatility. Same as other markets."
Currently, all global markets are frozen.
With consecutive financial crises erupting, everyone's holding their capital.
"But as protests intensified, French markets started shaking violently. People realized this is on a completely different scale from past protests. At this rate, it'll become the largest since the 1960s."
As a result, the French stock market was experiencing a bear market.
Despite the global markets being frozen, the French stock market was fluctuating wildly.
And we had deployed the entire 10 trillion won, taking short positions across the board.
I had followed my instincts to pick stocks and passed them to my team, but I'd wondered how they could possibly handle such massive volumes—yet somehow, the team had pulled it off.
"It's quite remarkable, really. When you first ordered us to take short positions on the entire 10 trillion won, I honestly thought it was impossible. Holding long-term short selling positions might be one thing, but executing this in such a short timeframe? I truly believed it couldn't be done."
"But as we worked through it, it actually worked."
Thanks to that, we were making enormous profits every time the market fluctuated.
"The real issue now is the timing of the sell-off. Given the unimaginable amount of capital we've poured into the market, getting in was hard enough—but pulling out might be even harder."
That's why I was carefully timing my moves.
Where exactly would the bottom be?
Even the characters in The Big Short, an investment film based on a true story, knew the stocks would fall much further but deliberately sold midway.
Because if they waited any longer, the companies and institutions would collapse, turning their stocks into worthless scraps of paper.
But I didn't have to worry about that.
Because I had something no one else did—an ability only I possessed.
"..."
I hovered my hand over the list of stocks.
Some gave me signals; others remained silent.
My instincts seemed to be telling me exactly which ones needed to be liquidated right away.
"Please dispose of all the ones I've checked here. Space it out over a few days to avoid shocking the market."
"Ah, yes. I'll get right on it."
I stopped the team members as they moved to carry out my orders.
"Also, pass a message to PicPic. Tell them to take down all the provocative protest videos currently trending. And remove anything inciting violent demonstrations."
"Uh... Chairman. If we take all of those down, the spread of the protests might slow down. And if that happens, the stock market could stabilize again—"
"Even though we're profiting from short selling, I don't want to justify or fuel that kind of violence."
"Yes, Chairman. I understand."
After the team left, I let out a short sigh.
My heavy heart felt slightly lighter, but the weight still lingered.
"...Maybe I should make a donation."
＊＊＊
The Élysée Palace, the official residence and office of the French president, now had the atmosphere of a house in mourning.
The uncontrollably growing protests had set fires across the city, and police forces were being deployed daily to suppress them.
Amid the violent clashes between the two sides, thousands had been injured.
Every time the news was turned on, it showed nothing but footage of protesters and police colliding.
"What are the protesters demanding?"
"A complete rollback of the policies we've been pushing. Everything from the fuel tax hike to the tax cuts for the wealthy."
"I heard they're also demanding my resignation?"
"Please ignore that. It's the work of opposition factions trying to use these protests to oust you. But... I do think we should consider withdrawing the policies, especially the fuel tax."
I never imagined the public would rise up to this extent.
I thought they'd just whine for a few days and then give up.
"If they're demanding a full policy reversal, that includes the digital tax, doesn't it?"
"Yes. OTT platforms like NewTube and Enflix have already announced they'll raise subscription fees if the digital tax is enforced. NewTube is even planning a sharp increase in its previously low premium pricing."
"And not just that—there are serious rumors that FaceWeb and PicPic might withdraw from France entirely."
President Péron gritted his teeth.
Truth be told, there was no reason for the protests to escalate to this extent.
But those bastards had united and backed the French government into a corner.
Using fabricated videos and all sorts of rumors, they had framed Péron as the "President of the Rich," inciting such violent demonstrations!
"Though, to some extent, it's true that these policies were designed to benefit the wealthy within the country..."
"That doesn't matter. What matters is who incited that mob. We can withdraw everything else, but we absolutely cannot cancel striking down those bastards."
"Still, wouldn't it be better to try resolving this as peacefully as possible? The stock market is too volatile—even domestic companies that initially supported us are now raising their voices in opposition."
Even the wealthy who had strongly backed President Péron in the beginning had switched sides to the opposition once their own assets began to come under threat.
He should have known better than to trust those snakes.
"By the way, Mr. President, there's a strange rumor circulating in the financial markets right now."
"A rumor?"
"Yes. Before the protests began, tens of billions of euros flowed in from outside sources. All at once, engaging in short selling."
"Tens of billions of euros?"
"Yes. It's estimated to be around six billion."
"What?! Six billion?! Isn't that market manipulation?"
"The issue is that the money wasn't concentrated in one place—it was spread across multiple corporations, including major enterprises, supposedly to minimize market shock..."
Then, something suddenly flashed through Péron's mind.
"Don't tell me this is also connected to that Gwangun?"
"Yes. We haven't investigated yet, so it's not confirmed, but according to the rumors, that's the case."
Péron finally slammed his desk hard.
"I knew it. Those bastards placed their bets before joining hands to set this whole thing off."
It was still just conjecture, but that didn't matter.
As long as he could launch an investigation using presidential authority and thoroughly crush them, it was fine. He was about to issue the order immediately, but his advisors stepped in to dissuade him.
"Mr. President, you need to think calmly."
"Calmly? Do I look calm to you right now?"
"Right now, all videos related to the protests have been taken down on PicPic."
"...What?"
The very ones who had been at the forefront of inciting the protesters and agitating the public—suddenly backing off?
"As PicPic suddenly began removing all videos, FaceWeb and NewTube are also quietly reducing exposure."
"Why?"
"Aren't they sending us a message? They've demonstrated their power enough—now they're saying, 'Let's stop here.'"
Only then did Péron realize their intent.
"So, they want us to pretend none of this ever happened?"
"Yes. If we fully withdraw the digital tax, they'll stop inciting further unrest."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Had he ever seen such shameless bastards?
"Mr. President, you must negotiate with them."
"Negotiate unilaterally like this? This is us raising a white flag and surrendering!"
"But... if we make enemies of them now, they'll undoubtedly flood every platform with videos again. And then, the one million protesters could easily swell to two million."
"..."
Péron swallowed dryly.
This was what it felt like to truly perceive how the world had changed.
When he first became president, it had felt like he had all of France beneath his feet. But in reality, there was someone above him.
True power no longer lay with the government—it belonged to those who knew how to manipulate public sentiment and extract money from it.
And Gwangun had even sent a clear message.
If he crossed the line any further, they would turn all of Paris into a living hell.
"You must make a decision now."
A decision.
"What decision is there left to make?"
The answer was already set in stone.