Rehearsal (7)
I heard the news of the French president's death not from French media, but from Korean news.
—"French President Mitterrand, who visited Korea a few months ago and decided to return the Royal Yi Dynasty's documents from the Outer Royal Archives, has passed away. The Foreign Ministry, which issued a statement of condolence, announced that the president will personally attend the funeral of the late President Mitterrand..."
Click. "...Hold on a second."
I was casually flipping through domestic news as usual while enjoying my hobby when a shocking breaking news alert hit.
To verify if it was true, I hurriedly called my secretariat.
"Hey, fax over some French newspapers and your local news. And a list of the top presidential candidates right now."
—"Yes, understood."
"..."
Rustle. I tossed the clothes I was wearing onto the bed and let out a breath.
A major variable had cropped up after a long time—one small slip could lead to massive losses, so I had to judge carefully.
"Yeah, I knew something like this might happen. Hayeon-ah, let's do this right. Real good..."
I glared into the mirror with wide eyes. A beautiful woman with slightly bloodshot eyes stared right back at me.
Nice, looking pretty today too. Seeing the smooth curves of my body calmed my mind.
My pounding heart slowed, and my head, splashed with cold water, began calculating.
Splash. I lounged obliquely in the bathtub, scanning the compiled news.
Right, in France, if the president dies, the Senate president temporarily assumes the powers. I knew exactly 20 years prior in France, the same thing had happened...
But at this point in time, it absolutely shouldn't have.
"...Miss, you're scary. Did you do something weird when President Mitterrand visited Korea last time?"
Seo Ji-yeon, attending to my bath, kneaded my shoulders firmly.
"I wasn't even in Korea then. Don't talk nonsense."
I hardened my expression. Events that would unfold in France from now on flashed through my mind.
Is this good news or bad...?
If early elections happened two years ahead of schedule, who would win? Originally, the Republicans would triumph, but... the world is unpredictable. Especially with massive political events like presidential elections.
"For now, the prime minister plan's all messed up..."
Ugh, this is tricky. With the president dead, there's no one left to shoulder the blame. Or maybe pinning it all on the dead president could work...
Not sure if that'll fly. Politicians usually get a sympathy boost when they die.
"The death itself is the problem! How about this? He looked gaunt ever since he came last time... It was his fault for not taking care of his health. Something like that."
"..."
That's a bit much.
***
The chaotic French political scene didn't settle down as time passed. If anything, it spread like wildfire as the election neared.
Prime minister blame, president blame... So who's running for president? How do we fix the recession...?
I gave a wry smile.
"Well, at least we've eaten well."
With political turmoil intensifying, French bond yields rose, and my short positions on them raked in massive profits.
It wasn't the future I'd predicted, but the flow was as expected. The difference was that it happened naturally without me stirring the pot.
"Who do you think it'll be?"
Lee Si-hyun, whom I hadn't seen in a while, asked. It was such a crucial and sensitive topic that we had to meet in person in Vladivostok.
She'd been complaining about surveillance lately... Felt kinda bad. No privacy at all.
I answered calmly. With other subordinates, I'd be precise, but with Si-hyun, a little off was fine.
"Probably Jacques Chirac. Jospin's not ready yet, Balladur's got a shot though."
"...So you don't know."
"Exactly."
Saying the top candidate—or second, or even third—might win means nothing. Obviously one of the three will.
In original history, Chirac became the next president. Balladur and Jospin could've been presidents too but ended their careers as PMs.
Seeing these history-book figures in person is kinda fresh.
I didn't know French politics inside out, but I knew the big names. Working in finance, you can't not know French presidents. Plus, Mitterrand ruled 14 years, Chirac 12—hard to forget.
Though Mitterrand only made it 12 here before dying... Still France's longest-serving.
"Let me rephrase then. Who would you want to win?"
"Sharp question."
I paused, rummaging through memories. Leftists had Jospin, rightists Balladur and Chirac.
Balladur stepping back temporarily to dump blame on the Socialists suited me fine... But now it's turned into a blunder.
Right at the finish line, when we need to keep sprinting, he stops to catch his breath.
"Jospin from the Socialists might actually be okay? Real leftist, hates neoliberalism. Chirac went too hard on it as PM—public TV privatization pissed everyone off."
As PM, Chirac pushed aggressive neoliberal policies like privatizing public broadcasting. That's why Balladur, not the Republican frontrunner Chirac, is PM now. Too much bad blood.
After becoming president originally, he pivoted moderate, but who knows what he's thinking now.
"Looks like they're deliberately tanking the economy to hand power to the Socialists and pin the blame there."
I nodded readily.
"Bingo. And now I don't even need to touch it."
The sudden election frenzy pushed Crédit Lyonnais cleanup aside. In a time needing quick loss-cutting and punishments, dragging feet is a huge negative...
Probably won't recover even 30% of the bailout taxes sunk in. Textbook failed bailout case.
"Got it. So what about oil exports to Europe? We've paused them using Yeltsin as excuse for now."
She was taking losses to sell, so normally we'd cut off... But.
"Nah, keep selling at a loss for now. I'll cover the money separately. Need a bleeding competition till the companies stabilize."
"Mm, alright."
Her emotionless eyes scanned her notebook, checking off items.
Scribble scribble.
"Anything else to order? I've sent plenty on Russian affairs."
"Nah. Just grow power moderately without letting a dictator emerge. Good thing, right? Spreading democracy."
Dictators spike political risk too much.
"...True enough."
I gently grabbed Si-hyun's chin, meeting her eyes.
"What, got something you wanna do?"
"..."
She averted her gaze. Hiding something?
"Hmm? Met some guy?"
"...No. Nothing like that. Just... you haven't given orders lately. Feels... lonely? No, not that... Kinda sidelined? Makes me wonder if I'm your secretary or a Russian oligarch."
Power usually tempts the latter more, but her faith in me is overflowing.
I grinned and kissed her cheek.
"Won't happen, don't worry. Didn't know you craved my orders. Okay okay, I'll command you lots from now on."
Si-hyun peeled me off with a subtle expression, rubbing her cheek grumpily.
"Feels like I got played... Like I've been trained into a willing slave. Not much difference anyway."
Hehe. I laughed warmly and hugged her tight.
The warm feeling was nice.
"Next time, let's hit a nice restaurant. We barely ate in France last time. Now with wine-friendly dishes, we can do ortolan too."
"Not keen on that cruel one... But French food's tasty, yeah."
That's why it's delicious. Mitterrand's last meal, essence of French cuisine.
"I love gourmet stuff. Foie gras is doable in Korea, but ortolan's tough. Our chef's Italian, sucks at French..."
We chitchatted idly. Trivial stuff unrelated to grave politics or tangled economics.
…
"Oh, so when're you planning to come?"
I smiled brightly.
"After everything's done. Probably a year, but I can wait."
"...Yes. Looking forward to it."
Si-hyun said that and left the room.
Click.
The hotel room felt a bit colder with her gone. I folded the newspaper and set it on the desk.
"Phew, good. All the annoying stuff's wrapped up. Rest can wait till after the election. Tell Alpha Fund to dump all positions..."
My throbbing head started calculating again, billions of dollars shifting to poke at France and America.
Practice over. Now just wait for results and dive into the next real fight.
The dot-com bubble era was nigh.