Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Start of the 90s (3)
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Receiving a generous portion of Grandfather's secret funds implied one thing.
It meant... I could intervene more actively now.
"Alright. I thought it was impossible at first and gave up, but things have changed a bit."
Lee Si-hyeon sighed as she cleared away the "No Betrayals in 100 Days" nameplate from the desk and asked,
"What are you planning this time?"
"For starters, I can hire Seon-jun oppa. Other families parachute their kids into finance companies, right? Now it should be fine to bring him into Alpha Fund. Then... we can work together naturally without anyone catching on."
Yoo Seon-jun was a key card I could play in Europe.
Among the reliable and capable people, he was the only one I could expose to the outside world aside from Ha Young-il... but Ha Young-il was already too busy managing the fund.
"Hmm, and right now I'm just sketching out plans, but I'm not sure if it'll work. I need to map it out properly."
I was drawing a big picture for a major play in Europe. It was still just a rough sketch.
"What are you scheming now...?"
"It's a secret for now. It's all hypothetical.... Let's play some more games first. Si-hyeon, come sit here."
I sat the fidgety Lee Si-hyeon back down and handed her the joystick again.
"...Honestly, I have no idea. Wouldn't it be better to actually move your body than play these games?"
Lee Si-hyeon, who maintained a lean yet busty figure with toned muscles through consistent exercise and self-care, shadowboxed the air to express her dissatisfaction.
...That would hurt if it landed. Does she generate actual wind with her punches in real life?
Without any past-life perks like mine, wasn't she the real rare species for keeping such an unrealistic body?
"You would think that. Wow, your body's seriously amazing. Even guys would be jealous."
I traced her sharp eleven-pack abs with my finger in admiration. The soft chest blending seamlessly with firm muscles looked more unreal than a statue in a museum.
"...Now that you mention it, yeah. You've scared off every guy who's ever liked me. You'll understand when you're thirty yourself, miss."
"If I'm thirty, you'll be pushing forty."
"Stop."
"Tch, can't even joke."
"Sigh, I swear, without me, you'd die of boredom."
"Why? I have plenty of secretaries."
"Sure, but none with a body like mine, right? Your tastes are so unique...."
As we chatted, the game naturally took a backseat. I got a bit excited too and unbuttoned my top, slipping off my clothes.
Unlike Lee Si-hyeon's healthy, vibrant skin, my half-naked body revealed completely pale, translucent skin.
"Eek, miss... even for a girl, that's a bit much. I'm straight."
What?
I ignored Lee Si-hyeon and stood in front of the full-length mirror nearby.
"Haa.... This is it. Perfect."
-Thud
My hand trembled against the mirror. I gazed at my reflection with dizzying pleasure, as if entranced.
A peerless beauty stared back at me with eyes lost in love.
Whoa, whoa, seriously...
"Eut, huu.... Ha, haa...."
As I let out an aroused sigh, the woman in the mirror drowned in ecstasy too.
.
.
.
"...Your tastes are seriously unique."
"Ah, um.... Just, just trying it out."
"Yes, yes, I get it."
"...."
What...
Si-hyeon's body was great, sure, but no woman could match Yoo Ha-yeon.
Except for the minor issue that Yoo Ha-yeon was me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'Germany has reunified.'
What do you feel reading that?
"Aha! It means the German Empire! Long live Iron Chancellor Bismarck!"
"Hmm, is it Little Germany or Greater Germany? Austria rightfully belongs to Germany too.... Danzig, Sudetenland, Austria—anywhere Germans live should be Germany, right? So we need to annex it all for true unification?"
People like that are rare in the 21st century. The second one's an octopus anyway...
But it's the 20th century now. Darn.
Correction, then: What does 'German reunification' bring to mind?
"The Soviets must feel threatened.... Now we can say capitalism has fully triumphed in the ideological battle."
An American politician might think that.
"We oppose German unification! Are you trying to birth a Fourth Reich?! Nazi Germany is coming back!"
Britain would recoil violently, haunted by nightmares from just decades ago.
But German politicians, especially economic bureaucrats, thought:
"We have no money..."
'At least curb inflation first.'
They whimpered inwardly, issued bonds to fund unification costs, and decisively hiked interest rates.
And Britain started foaming at the mouth in outrage.
.
.
.
"...The German central bank has raised rates again."
Yoo Seon-jun muttered in disbelief upon hearing that the German central bank had hiked rates again as 1991 dawned.
"Ha-yeon, how did you know this would happen?"
I stretched languidly with a bright smile, munching popcorn while watching the news.
"Hmmm, obviously? How else do they stop inflation? Raising rates is the only way."
The economic gap between West and East Germany was enormous.
Unification costs were predictably massive too. Any Korean could grasp that easily.
Wasn't the money issue the constant refrain in North-South unification talks? Even sturdy Germany, with not too vast an economic disparity, was reeling.
Watching that reel in real time felt strangely surreal.
"Rate hikes.... Well, after spending that much, it's expected, but..."
To cover unification costs, Germany printed bonds to fund the budget, leading inevitably to inflation as money flooded in.
To combat inflation, they raised rates.
Simple economic formula. On the surface, no big issue.
Higher rates make borrowing tougher, cooling the economy a bit. But Germany's fundamentals are rock-solid—that's Germany.
However... this seemingly flawless logic had one fatal flaw.
In our inescapably interconnected global village, my private mutterings at home were under the whole neighborhood's watch.
Yoo Seon-jun let out a hollow laugh and pointed it out.
"Wait, doesn't this screw over every other country? Because of ERM, everyone else has to follow suit and raise rates too."
"But they stopped inflation, right?"
ERM.
Not Eternal Return Masters, but the Exchange Rate Mechanism, core of the European Monetary System (EMS).
Major European nations, including Britain, were operating under this ERM policy—a fixed exchange rate system, simply put.
For Britain and Germany: 1 pound = 2.95 Deutsche Marks. Strictly.
The problem? Defending your currency's value demands sacrifices. Like forcibly buying your own cheap currency at premium prices from the market.
Usually, raise rates. Higher rates boost yields, drawing investors, naturally strengthening the currency.
Yes. The currency strengthens naturally.
Whether to fight inflation or defend value, rising rates lift currency value.
"The Deutsche Mark has already appreciated quite a bit. Miss, shouldn't we liquidate our holdings in Germany?"
Seo Joo-eun cautiously asked about the news of Germany's rate hike.
"Nah, it'll go higher. Great for us—we're already heavily invested there."
I grinned happily.
Remember when I set up a company in West Germany right after the Berlin Wall fell?
My now-thriving firm took a hit from the rate hikes, but knowing the future, I'd positioned against the grain. Germany's hikes were a massive boon for me.
My money duplicates anyway, but with others slumping while I rise, it's like doubling my speed.
"Rates... I don't think they can keep raising them. Other countries won't sit idle."
Yoo Seon-jun argued cautiously. Even this gambler saw Germany's moves as overreach.
Because it was a huge nuisance.
Combine Germany's rate hikes with ERM, and an amusing fact emerges.
Higher German rates strengthen the Mark. Exchange rates are relative, so the pound weakens.
But ERM forces Britain to defend the pound's value.
By hiking rates or buying their own currency dear. And... unlike Germany, Britain couldn't easily raise rates.
Their economy was wrecked.
"What was the UK's GDP growth two years ago? 2.3%? Wonder what last year's will clock in at.... Not announced yet?"
Yoo Seon-jun groaned in response.
"1%. I heard it's around there. Britain can't raise rates easily."
Not negative yet. The UK posts miraculous negative growth this year and next.
"Exactly. But that's not Germany's problem, right? Their rates will go up at least 5 to 8 more times."
"Won't Britain collapse...? How can a country on the brink of negative growth match those insane rates?"
And that's why it does.