The Asset Management Division office at Daheung Investments was buzzing with activity from early morning.
Beep! Beep!
"Sell 200 contracts at 5,500!"
"What? I can't hear you—say that again!"
Team members clutched their receivers, raising their voices, but trades weren't going through as easily as they'd hoped.
With his shirt sleeves rolled up, Choi Ho-geun popped a lozenge into his mouth and bit down as he glanced at the monitor in front of him. The Hang Seng Index was plunging more than 100 points under the pressure of the currency assault.
[HSI: 16,011.36 (▼136.75)]
When he moved the mouse to check the trading window, it was a mess—just like a swarm of panicked mice fleeing a fire. All the buy orders had vanished, leaving only waves of sell orders and shouting traders.
"Tch. With Hong Kong's central bank hiking short-term rates by 1.5%, it's no surprise everyone's rushing to dump their stocks."
If even he could foresee this, then the savvy traders of Tokyo, Hong Kong, and New York certainly wouldn't be caught off guard.
With his brows furrowed and arms crossed, Choi pondered for a moment, then turned toward Jung Hwan-yeop, who had just ended a phone call and set down the receiver.
"Were you able to sell anything?"
Jung, fanning himself with one hand as if the room were hot, shook his head.
"Not a thing. Even after dropping the price by 500 points, there's zero interest."
"Looks like everyone's sitting on their hands."
Leaning back in his chair, Jung spoke with a trace of weariness.
"If it were me, I'd clear out all my positions and just wait and watch."
"Yeah, makes sense."
Choi nodded slightly—he would've done the same.
As he glanced around at his team still wrestling with their phones, Choi clapped his hands decisively and raised his voice.
"Everyone, stop what you're doing for a second. Eyes up!"
At his call, everyone—from traders Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hui to Noh Hee-won, who was copying documents—looked up in surprise.
"No more orders for today. End all trading as of now."
"Huh?"
The team froze, exchanging confused looks.
The unexpected instruction left everyone visibly stunned.
Even Jung, who had expected Choi to suggest lowering the index target further, couldn't believe what he'd heard.
"You're saying we shouldn't try to get as many trades through as possible before the index drops further?"
"That's right."
"Surely you're not planning to end the short-selling operation here?"
Jung spun his chair to face Choi directly and asked the question head-on.
With both hands on his hips, Choi answered confidently:
"This is far too good of an opportunity to just walk away from."
Jung Hwan-yeop and the rest of the team looked even more puzzled after hearing Choi's explanation.
"There's no point placing orders right now anyway. Nobody's buying, so nothing's going to get sold."
"That's true."
At Jung's response, both Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hui nodded in agreement from their desks.
They had all been struggling with unfilled orders, so it made perfect sense.
"Aside from those who've taken on all the short positions we dumped and are now stuck in long positions, everyone else has pulled out and is sitting on the sidelines. If we place lower-priced sell orders now, not only will they not get filled, but we'll just drive the asking prices down even further."
In truth, with nearly everyone else backing out, the only players left in the market were those desperately trying to cut their long positions—something the team understood immediately.
Wearing a serene smile as if he'd fully let go, Choi added:
"In times like this, rather than forcing trades, sometimes it's better to just step out of the market for a bit."
Hong Jae-hui, her hair tied back, asked hesitantly with a worried expression:
"But what if the decline accelerates and we miss the chance to short more futures altogether?"
"Don't worry. No matter how steep the crash, the market never just falls endlessly. There will be temporary rebounds along the way, and when buying pressure starts to return, that's our chance to sell off more contracts quickly."
Jung, realizing Choi's strategy, finally relaxed his stiff expression and nodded.
"Yeah, that's definitely more efficient than forcing trades that just won't go through."
"They say if you cling too tightly to one tactic, even good opportunities can slip away."
"Sometimes it's important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture."
Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hui also agreed, loosening up after being tightly wound all morning.
As the room finally relaxed a bit, Jung leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head.
"So we can just wait calmly until the market shifts again."
Pretending to be laid-back, Jung stretched—but Choi gave him a sharp side-eye and barked:
"Hey! The market could swing again at any moment. Plant your butt in that chair and keep your eyes glued to the monitor until the session ends!"
"Aw, come on…"
Jung clicked his tongue with a disappointed expression.
"I thought we could skip the usual black bean noodles for lunch today… guess not."
With the market in constant flux—not just in Hong Kong but also in Malaysia, where they'd also placed futures bets and needed to monitor the exchange rate—they couldn't afford to leave their desks.
That's why, for over two months now, the entire asset management team had been surviving weekdays on Chinese takeout delivered straight to the office.
"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick just looking at another bowl of jjajangmyeon."
Hong Jae-hui made a face of pure disgust.
"Fried rice used to be okay, but I'm getting tired of that too now."
Even Yoo Seok-hyun, who normally never complained, shook his head with a grim face.
Choi Ho-geun was just as tired of Chinese food as the rest of them, but with the market liable to shift at any moment, leaving the office wasn't an option. So, he reluctantly tried to placate his team.
"Fine. I'll throw in some sweet and sour pork today, so stop grumbling."
"Come on, boss. Sweet and sour pork? Don't be stingy—go big with seafood stir-fry and spicy garlic chicken!"
"Ooooooh."
When Jung Hwan-yeop chimed in first, the team's eyes lit up.
Unable to ignore those hopeful, sparkling gazes, Choi let out a quiet groan and gave in.
"Alright, alright. Order whatever you want."
"Yes!"
As cheers broke out, Jung raised his thumb enthusiastically.
"That's what I'm talking about—you're a real man, sir!"
Declaring him a "big spender," Jeong turned to Noh Heewon and shouted:
"Miss Noh! You heard that, right? The boss is buying. Get one large seafood stir-fry and one large spicy garlic chicken each, and don't forget to ask for two plates of complimentary fried dumplings. There's no way we're sharing just one plate between this many people."
He rambled on excitedly, half-joking, while placing the order. Choi shot him a side-eye, clearly unimpressed.
If it had been anyone else, Choi might have let it slide, but at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to shove a pickled radish into Jung's mouth to keep him quiet.
As everyone buzzed over lunch, laughing and arguing about the menu, a woman in a neat dress suit entered the office, accompanied by two delivery workers.
"Just put them over there, please."
Pointing to the conference table, Na Seong-mi gave directions while the deliverymen opened their insulated containers and began laying out steaming hot stone pots and side dishes in a neat row.
"Deputy Na? What brings you here?"
Surprised, Choi hurried over to her.
"The CEO sent over some ginseng chicken soup to thank you all for your hard work in this heat. He said it's important to keep your strength up in this kind of weather."
Na Seong-mi answered with a soft smile.
By then, Jung had already leapt from his chair and opened one of the containers. A puff of white steam wafted up from the hot soup.
"Wow. After eating nothing but wheat-based junk every day, I've been feeling totally run-down. How did he know exactly what we needed? The CEO really is the best."
Hearing that, the rest of the team rushed over, sniffing the air excitedly.
"Whoa, this smells amazing."
"Look at that milky broth! The aroma is unreal."
"I'll grab some newspaper to lay under the table."
Seeing everyone so happy made Choi smile faintly as he turned to Na Seong-mi.
"Thanks, Deputy Na. We'll really enjoy this."
"Oh, I just ran the errand—it's no big deal."
She dipped her head slightly and smiled gently.
"Well then, I'll get going. Enjoy your lunch, everyone."
"Will do."
As Choi Ho-geun answered, Jung Hwan-yeop had already ripped open a pair of chopsticks and popped some kimchi radish into his mouth. He called out to Na Seong-mi.
"Deputy Na! If the CEO decides to send us lunch again, can you ask for grilled eel rice bowls next time? That's the real stamina food!"
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Don't forget, okay? Promise!"
Na Seong-mi left the office, doing her best to suppress a laugh.
Watching his shameless subordinate, Choi let out a sigh and muttered while covering his face with one hand.
"Good grief… what a piece of work."
***
At that same moment, Seok-won was sitting in the backseat of a luxury Benz sedan, on a call with Eric Bernas, the Hong Kong branch manager of the Eldorado Fund.
[There's a rumor going around that after sharply raising short-term interest rates, the Hong Kong authorities are now preparing drastic measures to support the currency and the stock market.]
"What kind of measures?"
[In addition to buying up Hong Kong dollars being sold off by hedge funds in the spot and futures markets, they're also reportedly planning to purchase large volumes of heavily devalued stocks to prop up the market.]
Seok-won's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Buying stocks too? Buying up the currency is one thing, but they're stepping into equities as well?"
[That's right. And not just a little—they're saying the purchase amount could reach tens of billions of dollars.]
"Even with a healthy foreign reserve, trying to defend the currency and support the stock market sounds like Hong Kong is biting off more than it can chew."
[I agree. That's why there are growing rumors that Beijing is backing this aggressive move from behind the scenes.]
Seok-won's eyes sparkled with interest.
"So China is expected to step in and lend support?"
[Exactly. The idea is that the Communist Party leadership in Beijing wouldn't stand idly by and let Hong Kong collapse to hedge fund attacks right after the handover.]
Eric continued, now in a more serious tone.
[Most people assumed they'd focus on defending the currency and let the stock market take a hit. But seeing the Hong Kong authorities go all-in from the start suggests they've coordinated with Beijing in some way. It's not something we can dismiss as just a rumor.]
That was a reasonable conclusion, but thanks to his memories from before the regression, Seok-won knew China would take a more cautious and defensive stance. So, he wasn't overly concerned.
"Whether it's true or not, just the rumor itself puts pressure on the hedge funds shorting the Hong Kong dollar."
[Exactly. China's $126 billion in foreign reserves is not something anyone can take lightly.]
"On the flip side, this kind of expectation gives us an even better opportunity to short more Hang Seng futures."
[If people start believing China will step in to help Hong Kong, some are bound to jump in and buy futures hoping for a rebound.]
Seok-won gave a small nod.
"Keep me updated if you hear anything new."
[Will do.]
After ending the call, Seok-won folded his phone and slipped it into his inner pocket, a thoughtful expression settling on his face.
"Maybe a few years down the road, but for now, China hasn't fully solidified its foundations. The situation's still unstable, so they're not likely to act rashly."
Still, he thought it best to prepare—just in case.
While he was deep in thought, the luxury Benz sedan he was riding in arrived at its destination: the Namsan Hilton Hotel.
As the vehicle came to a stop in front of the hotel entrance, a uniformed doorman in a cap was already waiting and promptly opened the rear door with courteous professionalism.
Stretching out his long legs as he stepped out of the car, Seok-won walked toward the lobby with his executive assistant, Han Ji-sung, at his side.
They took the elevator up to the third floor, where the hotel's Korean restaurant was located. Guided by the maître d', Seok-won was shown into a private room.
Inside, Choi Jin-woo—who had previously served as Vice Minister of Science and Technology and had been appointed Minister of Trade and Industry just a few months ago—was already waiting and greeted him warmly.
"Welcome."
"It's good to see you again, Minister."
Seok-won smiled as well and stepped forward to shake Minister Choi's hand.