Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Black-Haired Investor Awakened as a Superman 013
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After meeting Jason and returning, I ended the day by studying foreign languages.
The next day, when I woke up.
It had been revealed overnight that the church attended by Patient 31 in Korea was not an ordinary church.
Korean society was more outraged by the fact that the church was New Heaven and Earth than by the fact that Wuhan Pneumonia had become the starting point for a nationwide spread.
As expected.
Among numerous religious facilities, the analysis that New Heaven and Earth would be the watershed moment for this Korean infection was once again correct.
The only miss was that it started in Daegu, not Gwacheon, where the New Heaven and Earth headquarters is located.
‘Even though it’s a country… Ha!’
Every time such certainty turns out to be true, goosebumps run all over my body.
I rubbed my arms and legs and clicked my tongue.
The reason the Spanish flu swept across Europe around World War I was due to the concentrated living conditions of soldiers.
In military camps, on the front lines, and even at events after the war.
Numerous people gathered in closed spaces, infecting each other. As they returned to society, they randomly spread the virus.
Now was not such a time of war.
Therefore, I judged that a similar environment would be religious facilities.
It was no coincidence that I discovered New Heaven and Earth while investigating Korean religions active in Wuhan.
Although it has now been deleted, activities in Wuhan could easily be found on the New Heaven and Earth website at the time.
The words "Secretive religious sect" and "Cult" kept coming from the living room.
Mom's expression was unpleasantly contorted.
She was also starting to pay attention to this secretive religious group.
"That's the place your son mentioned. I hope your aunt is okay. It's such a mess."
It's the beginning of a plague that will sweep away many lives, even though it's only a hundred people so far.
Instead, I replied,
"It's not just someone else's problem."
Already, fifteen citizens who had returned from Wuhan here had been confirmed and were in quarantine.
I felt that warning Mom about her community was not enough.
"Mom, don't even think about going to the Seattle area."
Mom's eyes narrowed.
Looking at her suspicious eyes, I said as if I was fed up.
"There you go again, looking at me like that. Again."
"You surprise me out of the blue like that. You always startle me once in a while, don't you?"
"Direct flights from China are concentrated there. Be careful of the virus."
Only then did she show a faint smile, as if she didn't mind her son worrying about her.
"What business do I have going there? Don't worry. I won't even glance at Seattle or Washington. I have to do what my son tells me to do."
It was the start of a day just like any other.
Wake up at 6 AM, take a light shower,
Check global news and market trends that occurred overnight.
Start analyzing pre-market data around 7 AM.
By the time I check the major economic indicators or corporate earnings release times to be announced that day.
Mom's morning preparation sounds start, like now.
It's a time when I can have a light conversation with Mom.
Not only during my time at Goldman Sachs but for the past decade, it has been difficult to have such a morning.
So even if I'm repeating the same daily routine, holed up at home for a whole month after resigning.
"Mom's leaving."
"Have a good day."
I like this morning.
Especially the faint scent of Mom's shampoo that lingers even after she leaves for work.
* * *
I returned to my room and sat in front of the computer again.
Of course, it's because of day trading.
Not only today's trading but the overall direction for the future has been set.
The pre-market and Asian stock market data from last night were cluttered with traces of how surprised the global market participants, who had been taking Wuhan Pneumonia lightly, were.
This was a clear signal.
The New Heaven and Earth incident in Korea became the watershed moment that finally made the world, which had been dealing with it carelessly, face reality.
Analysts who had been vaguely referring to some parts of Asia are now presenting direct and strong arguments that the economic powerhouse Korea is beginning to be swallowed by Wuhan Pneumonia.
Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate in economics with over 4 million followers, also posted a lengthy tweet arguing that the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Korea is not just an Asian problem.
The rapidly increasing number of views, in the thousands, is noticeable.
This is in stark contrast to a Twitter post from a month ago that accurately analyzed the current situation, which has been abandoned with single-digit views.
I adjusted my posture and sat up properly.
It seems the long wait is over.
I'm almost there.
* * *
Monday, the fourth week of February.
The streets of New York, after the weekend, were different from usual.
The usual Monday morning hustle was still there. But there was an unsettling feeling in the air.
The faces of people looking at their smartphone screens everywhere were grim.
Even those who were hurrying with coffee had anxious looks in their eyes at the news of the stock market crash.
Especially around Wall Street.
The steps of traders and financiers heading quickly to their offices were filled with tension beyond anxiety.
Wherever money was gathered, the word Wuhan Pneumonia could be heard.
Even an MMA gym, which seemed to have nothing to do with such an atmosphere, was filled with tension.
In that place, where even the air felt sharp, the eyes of those surrounding Jason with clenched fists were by no means friendly.
"How are you going to take responsibility for this?"
Chad muttered lowly, approaching without slowing his pace.
The way he narrowed the distance, forehead to forehead with Jason, glaring into his eyes, was like a scene from an official face-off.
But this was not a show.
There was no one to stop them, no rules.
Thwack!
A loud noise rang out.
Jason's headbutt into Chad's face was devastating.
With that momentum, Jason tackled and mounted Chad.
'I don't know anymore! I don't know.'
Jason cried inwardly.
'Please, stop it! Please!'
The fist he was about to bring down in a ground and pound was filled with all the emotions that had been suppressed.
But just before he could bring his fist down, Jason was knocked to the side by a strong impact to his side.
Jason, glaring at the person who had pushed and kicked him, confirmed that it was Brad.
"Brad, even you… Ugh!"
Jason didn't even realize what kind of attack he had suffered from Chad.
Thwack!— Beeeeeeep!—
Suddenly, the shock that spread from his jaw to his brain instantly blurred Jason's vision.
His body fell heavily to the floor.
Chad grabbed Jason by the collar and pulled him up.
"Give me back my money. My money."
Jason, his eyes wide open, quickly grabbed Chad's wrist.
He twisted the wrist forcefully.
He tried to break the grip.
"You… bastard."
As Chad's hand gradually loosened, Jason immediately lowered his center of gravity and put his weight on it.
But Jason's attempt to drag Chad to the floor was thwarted by the intervention of the man called Brad.
Brad's big foot struck Jason's face, and blood splattered.
The escalating atmosphere seemed to explode silently in an instant.
"Jason!"
Colleagues who had previously defended Jason jumped in.
Others who had been watching also jumped in, and the situation rapidly deteriorated.
Fists and kicks flew wildly.
The gym was completely transformed into a scene of chaos.
In a space filled with groans and the sounds of collisions.
Sweat and blood mixed and dripped onto the gym's sponge mats.
This brawl showed no signs of ending until one side emerged victorious.
As some leg wrapped around his neck like a snake, Jason bit down on it with all his might, just as he remembered Hyun-woo doing to him in the past.
He overcame the moment of crisis just as Hyun-woo had done to him in the old days.
But that was only for a moment.
Another fist, flying from an unseen direction, struck Jason's jaw as he tried to get up.
His mind went blank.
At that moment.
The sound of sirens was getting closer and closer from afar.
* * *
「 Brawl Between Fighters Erupts Over Investment Dispute
A brawl broke out between fighters at Renzo Gracie Academy, a famous MMA gym. The cause of the incident was a dispute over a bad investment.
Jason S and Chad B recently suffered heavy losses in a joint investment, and an argument broke out over who was responsible.
The conflict soon turned into a fistfight, and other fighters intervened, quickly turning it into a brawl.
Police were dispatched to the scene after the incident and arrested those involved. The exact circumstances are currently under investigation.
February 24, 2020, 23:30
By New York Post 」
It was an article that had been posted on the New York Post's online news site not long ago.
I should have just gone to sleep.
Thanks to surfing the web, I came across news I didn't need to know.
I hesitated for a moment and then picked up my phone.
The 10th Precinct of the New York Police Department is located just a few blocks from the gym where the incident occurred.
The phone number there flashed in my mind.
If I concentrated more, I could even delve into where and when I had been exposed to that information, but that was not important in the current situation.
< My friend was arrested today. His name is Jason Smith. He's probably being held there. >
It is not common for fighters from the same gym to engage in a brawl with each other.
Without the sound of typing, an answer came back immediately.
< Yes. Bail will be set within a few hours. Please wait. >
< Is it possible to talk to him? >
< ...Normally, phone calls are not allowed in such cases. But I will make an exception this time only. >
Usually, when arrested, you are given the right to make one phone call to the outside, but it seemed that Jason had not used it.
Not even to his wife.
The police station must have been concerned about Jason not making any contact with the outside world.
After a while, static could be heard over the phone.
Followed by a weak voice.
< Don't worry about it. I'm hanging up. >
When he tried to hang up without even listening to me, my voice immediately rose.
< Hey, Jason! How did the interrogation go? Why did the word 'loss' come out? >
It took quite a while for his breathing to come out as a muffled wind sound.
< I don't even know how I got here…. And that wasn't even what I said. >
< What are they babbling about? >
I waited for his answer.
After a little time, and then some more, he finally spoke.
< …You know better. What the stock market is like right now. >
< What's it like? >
< It's ruined. It's going to ruin. It's going to ruin more. >
It's not because he received an investment of two hundred thousand dollars that I'm stepping in to care for him.
Even if I set aside the fact that he occupies a part of my school days, considering the performance bonus I will get because of him.
This level of care can be said to be a service that I can fully provide.
But the fact here is that even though it hasn't fallen even 10% from the peak, even though it's just the beginning.
The market atmosphere is so miserable.
Investors are wailing as if they are about to die.
It's natural.
Like the fear felt when a roller coaster reaches its peak and knows it will soon drop sharply.
When the market starts to decline from its peak, it cannot help but bring tremendous fear in itself.
< Are we… ruined? >
To his question, in which he was somehow swallowing his sobs, I gave my final answer and hung up the phone.
< It's not ruined until I say it's ruined. >