As usual, Seok-won arrived at the office in the morning, handed over his linen jacket, and said,
"Could you get me an iced Americano, please?"
"Of course. The usual—extra strong, right?"
"You know my taste well."
When Seok-won replied with a light chuckle, Na Seong-mi gave a small bow with a smile.
"Right away."
With that, she neatly hung his jacket in the wardrobe and then stepped out.
Meanwhile, Seok-won sat down and looked at Han Ji-sung, who was standing in front of his desk.
"Assemblyman Chu Tae-guk is expected to step down from his position as floor leader of the Gongjeong Party today, correct?"
Dressed in a sharp suit and holding a leather planner in one hand, Han replied promptly.
"Yes. It's anticipated that he'll resign along with his official announcement to run in the upcoming presidential primary for the Gongjeong Party."
"Several candidates have announced their bids, but we can safely assume that Assemblyman Chu is essentially confirmed as the party's nominee, right?"
"The Blue House is backing him, so unless something unexpected happens, he's the likely candidate."
The media had already been showering Chu Tae-guk with attention as the frontrunner for the presidency.
"The New Era People's Conference has already settled on Kim Jaechun as their candidate. We should have the general election lineup more or less finalized by the end of this month."
Han Ji-sung hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking,
"Shall I run a popularity poll of the major candidates?"
Since the identity of the next president would significantly impact the business world, not only politicians but also corporations were intensely sensitive to political shifts at this time of year.
But Seok-won, who already knew an enormous political and economic tsunami was about to hit South Korea, shook his head without hesitation.
"There's no need. The outcome is practically already decided."
"Excuse me?"
Han Ji-sung looked puzzled, but Seok-won didn't offer further explanation and simply changed the subject.
"When is Manager Choi expected to return?"
Though he wanted to ask who Seok-won believed would win the presidency, Han suppressed his curiosity and replied,
"He's planning to wrap up things in the U.S. and return sometime next week."
"Make sure everything is prepared so his transition back is smooth."
"Yes, understood."
Seok-won nodded slightly and leaned back in his chair.
"You may go now."
Han gave a polite nod and exited the office.
Moments later, as if in a smooth relay, Na Seong-mi returned and placed a glass of iced Americano on his desk.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Once she stepped out, leaving him alone, Seok-won took a sip of the cool Americano and turned to the Bloomberg terminal set up on one side of his office to scan for any updates in domestic and international stock or currency markets.
Just then, his phone rang. Seok-won picked it up.
"Hello?"
[Boss, it's me. Are you watching the Tokyo forward exchange market right now?]
The urgency in the voice on the other end caused Seok-won to furrow his brow.
"Did something happen?"
[Sell orders for the Hong Kong dollar started flooding in as soon as the market opened. It looks like the Quantum Fund's attack has begun.]
Seok-won immediately moved his mouse and opened the Tokyo forex trading screen to check the Hong Kong dollar's rate.
[USD 1 : HKD 7.9]
"...!"
As expected, the exchange rate—normally pegged at 7.8 Hong Kong dollars to 1 U.S. dollar—had slightly drifted outside the narrow band. It was a minor deviation, but enough to raise alarms.
Seok-won's eyes sharpened. Gripping his phone more firmly, he asked,
"How much is being sold?"
[It's already surpassed 6 billion Hong Kong dollars, and the volume is still climbing fast.]
Landon, on the other end of the line, quickly added,
[Oh, and just a moment ago, the spot market also saw the start of major HKD sell-offs.]
Just as Landon said, Bloomberg's terminal flashed a breaking news alert reporting the massive dumping of the Hong Kong dollar.
Seeing a sudden surge in HKD sell orders, Seok-won instantly understood—other hedge funds were now joining the attack.
Still, having fully anticipated such a scenario and prepared in advance, he showed no signs of panic. Instead, he remained composed.
"So George Soros really went in hard, striking on the very day of the handover. Ruthless."
[It's the perfect timing, isn't it? The first day is the most chaotic and vulnerable. There's little chance for a solid defense.]
"True enough."
Leaning back in his chair, Seok-won kept his eyes on the monitor and continued,
"For now, let's stick to the plan. Don't join the fight—just observe."
[Understood.]
As the call ended, a chime sounded, and Na Seongmi's voice came through the desk speaker as if on cue.
[Manager Choi Ho-geun is on the line.]
Seok-won immediately reached out and pressed a button.
"Put him through."
[Yes, sir.]
Not long after, the phone rang with a trill, and Seok-won picked up the receiver immediately.
"I was just about to call you. Perfect timing."
[Sir, it looks like the attack on the Hong Kong dollar has begun.]
Choi Ho-geun's voice was tinged with excitement, but Seok-won responded calmly.
"I know. And it's something we've been expecting, so there's no need to get worked up."
He moved his mouse and pulled up the Hang Seng Index futures chart on the monitor.
"What's the status on our short positions in Hang Seng Index futures?"
[We've continued selling, but ever since the attack on the HKD began, all the buy orders have vanished.]
Nodding slightly, as if he had anticipated this, Seok-won replied,
"When the exchange rate wavers, foreign investors feel uneasy and start pulling out funds, which naturally drags the stock market down."
[I thought the same. Just like we saw with Malaysia—unless the price drops significantly, no one's going to be eager to buy.]
Tapping lightly on his desk with his fingertips, Seok-won paused to think, then said decisively,
"Set 12,000 as the floor and try to sell as much as you can."
[But the index is currently in the 16,000 range. Are you saying you expect it to drop more than 25%?]
Choi Ho-geun sounded shocked.
"Forty-five percent… maybe even a full 50% crash from here."
[That's…]
The prediction of a catastrophic crash beyond expectations made Choi Hogeun instinctively swallow hard.
A 50% drop in the stock market essentially meant that a nation's economy would be shattered—his reaction was only natural.
[But surely China won't just stand by and watch Hong Kong fall apart?]
Then Seok-won asked in a calm, heavy voice:
"Do you really think China will step in to help Hong Kong?"
[It's only natural, isn't it? Now that the city has been returned from Britain, it's Chinese territory. If China, with its massive foreign exchange reserves from trade surpluses, intervenes, the stock market might stop falling—or even rebound.]
Choi Ho-geun's assumption was a logical one.
China wouldn't want Hong Kong to collapse the moment it regained sovereignty. Most market participants shared the same belief.
"You think George Soros and the hedge funds don't know that?"
Caught off guard, Choi Ho-geun didn't reply right away.
"They're striking Hong Kong despite China being behind it because they're confident Beijing won't intervene. And frankly, I believe that too."
[You're saying China will just let Hong Kong fall?]
Choi gasped in disbelief.
"Not let—they'll have no choice but to watch. That's the more accurate way to put it."
[But that's… how could—]
At that moment, the Hong Kong stock market, now open for the day, began to plummet in response to the attack by speculative forces.
As he watched, Seok-won continued:
"Yes, China holds $126 billion in reserves—the largest in the world. But if they recklessly flood the market with dollars to help Hong Kong, don't you think they'll start fearing they could become the hedge funds' next target?"
[...!]
Just then, it seemed that Hong Kong authorities had stepped in—someone was absorbing the flood of sell orders in both futures and spot markets, and the HKD was being pushed back within its normal trading band.
"After watching hedge funds like a swarm of locusts rip through Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, China's first instinct will be self-preservation. They won't have the bandwidth to worry about Hong Kong too."
[That's…]
At that moment, Choi Ho-geun finally realized the situation, letting out a low hum.
[Hmm. After hearing your explanation, I can see how that might be the case.]
"Of course, even without China's help, Hong Kong's resilience is impressive. It won't collapse like the Southeast Asian countries did."
Seok-won shrugged nonchalantly.
"But while the Hong Kong authorities are fighting off hedge funds, the stock market will inevitably be left in tatters."
[So that's why you recommended shorting the Hang Seng index futures instead of the Hong Kong dollar.]
Choi Hogeun's voice reflected admiration.
"There's an easier way to make a profit, so why bother stepping into the mess?"
[Haha. That's true.]
Seok-won grinned slightly, and Choi Ho-geun laughed on the other end of the line.
"As I just mentioned, while Hong Kong's instability is visible, there are still investors holding out hope that the Chinese government will intervene. We should sell as many Hang Seng index futures as we can while they're still in the market."
[Understood.]
After hanging up, Seok-won immediately turned to the Bloomberg terminal, where new breaking news had appeared.
It was a statement from the newly appointed Finance Minister of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, following the dismantling of the British colonial government after the handover to China.
[An attack by speculative forces aiming to maliciously break the long-standing peg between the US dollar and Hong Kong dollar has begun. However, the Hong Kong government is committed to using all available measures to prevent this. Attempts to devalue the Hong Kong dollar for profit will not succeed and will likely result in significant losses. We urge these actions to cease immediately.]
Immediately following that was news that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government had raised its short-term interest rate from 6% to 7.5%, a 1.5% hike.
"Even with the weakness being targeted, their response is impressively swift."
As Seok-won looked at the monitor, he noticed that the Hong Kong dollar's decline had momentarily halted due to the interest rate hike.
However, the Hang Seng index continued to plummet at an even faster rate, dropping over 100 points and breaking below the 16,100 level.
"Now it's George Soros's turn to retaliate."
Seok-won sipped his iced Americano leisurely, watching the battle unfold on the screen.
The rapid fluctuations of the Hong Kong dollar and the steep, unrelenting fall of the Hang Seng index were both captivating to watch.
"Watching this battle unfold isn't so bad after all."