Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The One Who Subdued the Bank of England (2)
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📰 Breaking News Pound Short-Selling Volume Hits $120 Billion! Pound/Mark Exchange Rate at 2.8... Bank of England Rushes to Buy Pounds Bank of England Injects 30 Billion Pounds into Forex Market... Does Britain Have Enough in Its Vaults? -Rustle.
Another all-nighter, dawn breaking dimly as always.
I picked up a morning newspaper from somewhere in America and let out a sigh as I read it.
"It's a shame I can't step out into the spotlight myself."
'The One Who Subdued the Bank of England.'
In my past life, that was the title given to George Soros, the man who successfully shorted the pound.
But in this life, Alpha Fund would claim that title. Or maybe Ha Young-il would.
The people close to me know my true colors, but it's still just among those in the know... It irks me to no end that the world at large has no idea about this grand plan I've pulled off.
I do enjoy playing the man behind the curtain, but even better is basking openly in praise. At least Yoo Seon-jun, who can keep up with my thinking and understands what I'm doing, looks at me like some mythical creature—which isn't much better.
"So... when do you plan to step into the forefront?"
Seo Joo-eun had overheard my muttering and asked. She rarely voiced her own thoughts, so this was unexpected.
"Why?"
I stared blankly at her face, and she hesitated a moment before answering. She was sharp enough to know it was best to respond honestly in situations like this.
"Why? Well... I overheard you talking with Young Master Seon-jun about it. It sparked some personal curiosity. Right now, you're held back by practical constraints... Ah, it was just curiosity, nothing more."
"You know, right? Around when I turn adult."
"Ah, as expected."
Seo Joo-eun nodded. Being a minor was a perfectly reasonable excuse. Of course, the year I turn adult happens to coincide exactly with the foreign exchange crisis... but that's just a happy coincidence on my part.
"But hold on a second..."
Hmm.
I approached her and fiddled with the hem of her clothes. Something felt different...
"Are you dating? Office romance?"
"W-Well..."
My second secretary's face flushed slightly.
Oh. Looks like it.
I mean, she wasn't my type, but Joo-eun was pretty in her own way.
"Hmm, well... it's fine for now. I didn't ask for reports on that sort of thing. But you know not to leak secrets, right? Keep it in-house as much as possible."
For some complicated reasons, Daeha Securities and Daeha Investment Bank encourage office romances. In 20 years or so, we might worry about turning into some noble dynasty (though I relaxed after realizing most chaebol families are like that anyway).
"...Yes."
"So, who is it? Busy as you are, when did you find time for romance?"
"Um... it's not quite romance. With the young master..."
That short phrase told me everything.
I clicked my tongue. No wonder Seon-jun oppa smelled like a woman when I hugged him earlier...
"So that's what you were curious about? You won't even get maternity leave by the time I turn adult... Take a break after this is over. Choi Yeon-ha's gotten the hang of things by now anyway."
"...No retirement for me, huh."
As if she'd expected it, she looked oddly relieved.
"Of course not. You think I'd fire you for having a kid?"
"Most companies do. Women usually quit to raise kids after giving birth..."
Hmm, come to think of it, yeah. If Joo-eun weren't an orphan, her parents would probably demand it.
"It's fine! I've got money to burn, so employee benefits will be generous. Especially in a high-pressure job like this. Our company guarantees lifetime employment."
I waved my personal ledger and grinned. We'd spent some on acquiring Barings Bank, but this year's profits were still overflowing.
Current earnings: $600 million.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A $10 billion short position inevitably carries massive risk. Leveraged short-selling incurs hefty costs even if you just sit on it.
That's why I'd been pulling all-nighters, shuttling between Daeha Investment Bank and Daeha Securities.
"No special news from the UK yet... but we expect them to exit the ERM soon," Lee Si-hyeon said.
Si-hyeon, who maintained a toned body through exercise and steel-like stamina, was finally showing strain—her hands trembled faintly.
"Yeah, the issue is when..."
A day or two could change the profit-and-loss figures dramatically. That's short-selling for you.
By meddling with the past for this pound short, it had slipped slightly from my control, letting me savor the thrill.
"...Frankly, this is too much of a gamble, miss."
"Copying history beat-for-beat without knowing the outcome would be boring, right?"
This was somewhere between a gamble and inevitable history. I'm not like Yoo Seon-jun, leaving everything to probability.
I want to control even the realm of chance.
"...Yes, you'd say that."
Si-hyeon grumbled.
"Come on, it's a big day—let's focus."
I was tense. I'd set a tight deadline on the short. If the pound's crash was even a bit delayed, I'd suffer catastrophic losses.
I might even end up broke and on the streets...
Ah, right—I'm a chaebol heir. That won't happen.
"So, what's next? We've done everything you asked..."
Normally she'd find work herself, but exhaustion had her standing there mumbling dumbly.
...Is she sleeping on her feet?
"Rest up after this, I promise. Now wake up! Handle margin calls, manage the team! And once the news drops, time the position close. Got it?"
"Y-Yes... Understood..."
My secretaries and subordinates aren't machines that dump everything on some shady genius and just go "Ooh, stock up!" "Ooh, stock down!"
We're not some inept user management team from a game fantasy whining "What can we do? No authority—gotta trust the player and AI."
Of course... they're not incompetent, just reactive. Actually, a bit less competent than Wall Street's money ghosts...
But they get the job done.
"Ah, good morning, miss. Have a nice day."
A zombie-like Daeha Investment Bank employee bowed. He'd been handling the Barings acquisition in Berlin until yesterday.
Another employee corrected him.
"It's 6 PM, evening. Doesn't look like dawn."
"Huh? Isn't it morning? Secretary General's here, so..."
"Oh, Secretary General's around. Morning it is."
The correcting employee nodded blankly.
I glanced between the wall clock and the TV clock.
12 o'clock.
...Lunchtime now. Wall clock's busted.
With a small sigh, I sat casually, munching a sandwich while reading Barings Bank's internal docs. The cold ham sliding down my throat was unpleasant, but work made it tolerable.
"Sigh, wanna go home and eat something tasty..."
-Click.
As I flipped channels with the remote, breaking news blared.
A flashy red headline scrolled at the bottom.
🚨 Breaking News 🚨 Bank of England Announces ERM Exit! Bank of England Surrenders! Britain Abandons ERM... Switches to Floating Exchange Rate! Ah.
It's done.
My pupils dilated. Joy welled up from deep in my gut, blooming into a faint smile. I quickly calmed my excitement and calculated the profits.
Adding the Spanish and Swedish gains... factoring in Barings costs...
$1.5 billion.
The haul from this affair.
In the distance, employees shouted "Off work!" in glee. With a faint smile, I ordered the position closed.
📈 Alpha Fund Update Alpha Fund Hits 30% YTD Return in Just One Month! ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A frail old man shuffled slowly through the City of London, lost in thought.
Once the center of world finance.
Once a nation where the sun never set.
Once a bank that lent money to the U.S. government...
All past tense now. Britain had waned through World War II and the Cold War.
No—perhaps since the British Empire ceased being an empire. Some might counter that America just rose too high...
But those leading a nation couldn't make such excuses.
"Sigh... where the hell is Britain headed?"
-Tap.
-Tap.
His cane struck the pavement slowly. A crumpled newspaper on the ground screamed the Bank of England's humiliation.
📰 Headlines Pound Plunges—Nearly Halved! All Prime Minister John Major's Fault: Britain's Parliament Full of Excuses. Who Answers for the National Treasury Handed to America? Losses in Hundreds of Billions of Pounds... Long-Term Recession Forecast. Where Is the British Empire Headed? Long ago, India had bowed to a mere company, the East India Company.
And India became the British Empire's crowning jewel.
'Perhaps Britain as well...'
Britain, ultimately subjugated by American capital...
Where is the British Empire headed?
Bank of England Governor Robert Leigh-Pemberton sighed and dragged his heavy steps onward.
It was the era of Pax Americana.