July 8, 1997.
The office of Daehung Venture Capital's Fund Management Department had decided to wait and observe the market until buying pressure resumed. It was calm, but a slight tension hung in the air.
Everyone was sitting at their desks, resting, but keeping a sharp eye on their monitors, ready to start trading at any moment.
Even Jung Hwan-yeop, the usually talkative, was silent, holding a small handgrip exerciser in one hand, alternating between squeezing it and releasing it, never taking his eyes off the Hang Seng Index futures trading window.
"Sir, here's the data you asked for."
"Ah, thank you."
When Noh Hee-won approached and handed over the documents, Jung Hwan-yeop received them and gave a brief nod.
"Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Noh Hee-won, slightly intimidated by the atmosphere, asked in a soft voice.
"No, it's fine."
"Okay..."
When Noh Hee-won returned to her desk, Jung Hwan-yeop started flipping through the documents when suddenly, an alert sound rang out, causing him to instinctively look up at the monitor in front of him.
Just moments ago, there had been almost no orders in the futures trading window, but suddenly, buy orders started flooding in like a burst.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Jung Hwan-yeop, who had been leaning back in his chair, sat up straight and exclaimed in surprise. Choi Ho-geun, still seated, asked.
"What's happening? Is there something going on?"
"We're seeing a flood of buy orders for futures."
"Really?"
Choi Ho-geun quickly stood up from his seat.
"Yes. There are already over 100, no, over 200 orders coming in."
At that moment, Yoo Seok-hyun urgently interjected.
"The Hang Seng Index, which had been falling after breaking 14,000, has stopped its downward trend!"
Hearing this, Jung Hwan-yeop quickly turned his head and looked at Choi Ho-geun.
"I think something's going on."
Choi Ho-geun, instinctively feeling that something had changed, was just about to contact Howell, a trader at the Hong Kong branch of El Dorado, to check when the phone on his desk rang first.
[Did you see the buy orders coming into the futures trading window?]
It was Howell on the line.
Choi Ho-geun moved the mouse and opened the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures trading window on the monitor, replying in English.
"I was just about to call you about that. What's going on?"
[The Hong Kong government has just declared intervention in the stock market.]
"…!"
With a look of disbelief in his eyes, Choi Ho-geun tightened his grip on the receiver and spoke.
"Are you saying the Hong Kong government will directly intervene by buying stocks?"
[That's right. They said they will focus on purchasing blue-chip stocks, and while they can't disclose the exact amount, it's expected that at least $10 billion will be injected.]
The large-scale purchase of blue-chip stocks meant that the Hang Seng Index, which was composed of the 50 leading stocks in various sectors, would rise.
It was now clear why buy orders for Hang Seng Index futures had suddenly poured in.
[There's a rumor that the Chinese government is behind this decision to break the expectations of abandoning the stock market to defend the exchange rate, and that's why the Hong Kong government is buying in large quantities.]
"Even in Hong Kong, this would be no easy feat, so I can understand why people would think that."
If Seok-won hadn't tipped him off earlier, Choi Ho-geun would have suspected that China was lending support. After all, the Hong Kong government's response was bold and unprecedented.
[As you can see from the trading window, everyone expects the Hang Seng Index to rebound with this move, so they're jumping into futures buying. What is Daehung Venture Capital going to do?]
At Howell's question, Choi Ho-geun, still holding the receiver to his ear, stared at the trading window, where buy orders kept piling up and the bid prices were rising. He paused to consider the situation.
While it was an opportunity to sell, there was a risk. If China truly intervened and hedge funds, startled by the situation, abandoned their attack on the Hong Kong dollar, the Hang Seng Index could soar, leading to significant losses.
As Choi Ho-geun watched the trading window rapidly update with each passing second, his mind raced with thoughts.
However, his indecision didn't last long.
He recalled Seok-won's words, which insisted that China wouldn't intervene in the Hong Kong situation, and made his decision. He spoke firmly.
"We'll resume selling futures, so please relay the orders."
[Understood.]
Howell gave a brief reply before hanging up.
Putting the receiver down, Choi Ho-geun noticed his team members, including Jung Hwan-yeop, staring at him intently with ears perked up. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Alright, everyone heard that, right? The Hong Kong government has announced that they'll intervene directly to stabilize the stock market, which has crashed."
At this, everyone looked surprised, then quickly shifted to a skeptical tone.
"Trying to defend both the exchange rate and the stock market seems like a risky move to me."
"I agree. There's a high chance they could fail at both."
"That's right."
In front of his murmuring team members, Choi Ho-geun spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
"It seems the market believes that China is behind Hong Kong."
At this, the expressions of the team members changed dramatically.
Jung Hwan-yeop, who had been standing with his sleeves rolled up, narrowed his eyes and let out a grunt.
"Well, of course. There had to be a reason why Hong Kong was making such bold moves."
"If that's true, then shouldn't we be buying back and closing our positions instead of selling futures?"
Hong Jae-hee, with a worried expression, spoke up, and Yoo Seok-hyun, standing next to her, nodded in agreement.
Noh Hee-won wasn't sure about the specifics, but the tense atmosphere made her nervous, and her face stiffened as well.
"There's no need to worry about China's intervention. Just like I said before, when the buying pressure comes back, we'll sell as many futures as possible."
Choi Ho-geun, standing with his hands on his hips, issued the command in a calm and steady manner.
Jung Hwan-yeop, in a more serious tone, expressed his concerns.
"Chief, please think about it again. If we're not careful, we could face significant losses."
Looking around, it was clear that the rest of the team was equally uneasy.
Choi Ho-geun shrugged his shoulders and said lightly, deliberately downplaying the situation.
"This isn't my decision; it's what the President said."
"Really?"
Jung Hwan-yeop widened his eyes in surprise.
"Before the Hong Kong authorities made their announcement, the President predicted this and told us in advance?"
"Yeah."
Jung Hwan-yeop let out a soft exhale, his mouth agape in disbelief.
"Wow… the President is something else."
He scratched the back of his head, his face glowing with admiration.
The other team members, too, were in awe of Seok-won's foresight.
"Did the President really say that?"
"How could he possibly know all this?"
Seeing the team members' relieved chatter, Choi Ho-geun couldn't help but feel a little resentful.
"What's this? When I mention it, you all doubt it, but once it's the President's orders, you all agree without hesitation?"
"Hahaha..."
As the team members awkwardly avoided eye contact, Choi Ho-geun's feelings of disappointment grew.
"Really, you guys."
"Come on, Chief. It's not that we don't trust you, but the President has never made a wrong call. He's a proven strategist, after all."
Choi Ho-geun, without an ounce of apology, glared at Jung Hwan-yeop, who was grinning widely, before finally giving in and licking his lips.
"True, when the President speaks, I just follow without question. What else can I do?"
Nodding in agreement, Choi Ho-geun clapped his hands lightly to bring everyone's attention back to the task at hand.
"We never know when the market might shift, so let's get moving."
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
Jung Hwan-yeop and the team responded energetically, returning to their seats and resuming the trading that had been paused for a moment.
***
[HSI: 13,980.29 (▲17.78)]
Sitting at his desk, Seok-won glanced at the Hang Seng Index on the monitor before turning his head to read the breaking news on Bloomberg, which announced the Hong Kong government's intervention in the stock market. He muttered softly to himself.
"As expected, now that they've played their strong card, the effect is starting to show immediately."
Seok-won took a leisurely sip of his cold coffee and then continued to watch the active Hang Seng Index futures trading on the Tokyo and Hong Kong markets.
"Eric, the branch manager, and Choi are not missing the opportunity and are responding well."
With a satisfied expression, Seok-won leaned back and continued his musings aloud.
"Right now, the index is rebounding on hopes of the Hong Kong government's stock purchases and China's intervention, but if the hedge funds, including George Soros, don't stop their attacks and continue pushing, this rally will quickly lose momentum."
If China shows no movement for days, doubt will start to creep in about whether they are truly helping Hong Kong.
At that moment, hope would turn into disappointment, undoubtedly delivering an even bigger shock to the stock market.
"The bigger the expectation, the greater the disappointment. If the Hong Kong stock market crashes, the fallout will hit the New York Stock Exchange across the Pacific."
If that happens, Seok-won could sell large amounts of Hang Seng index futures, increasing his position, and when the New York Stock Exchange crashes, he could sell his short positions on the Dow Jones for a huge profit. This would be a double win.
"I'm looking forward to the next few days."
A broad smile spread across Seok-won's face.
***
The next morning.
Chairman Park, who had stayed out late drinking the night before, didn't arrive at the company until nearly noon.
"Why don't you just take the day off and rest at home?"
His wife said as she saw him off at the door, and Chairman Park responded with a grumpy expression.
"If I slack off just because I had a drink, the company's discipline will fall apart in no time."
"I'm just worried about your health."
"I'm fine. Stop fussing and go back inside."
Chairman Park waved his hand and, with his secretary holding a bag, opened the front door and stepped outside.
"He really is stubborn as iron," she muttered.
Looking at the closed door, Madam Jo sighed and turned around. She knew well that even with a hangover, he'd endure it without complaining, so she'd better prepare a remedy to settle his stomach.
Meanwhile, as Chairman Park left the mansion, he passed by the driver, Kim Hyung-gi, who opened the car door for him, and got into the backseat.
A moment later, the smooth ride of the Mercedes-Benz sedan began as Chairman Park leaned back in the leather seat and asked,
"What's on the schedule for today?"
The secretary, sitting in the front seat, turned around to answer.
"There's a financial report meeting at 1 p.m. and another at 3:30 p.m. at the Mido Department Store headquarters in Sangye-dong."
"Then let's plan to have dinner with the department store executives after the meeting."
"Understood."
Chairman Park shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly bothered by the lingering hangover. Even though he had eaten hangover soup and honey water his wife had prepared before leaving home, the effects of drinking late into the night still hung over him.
"Manager Kim, turn on the radio. Let me hear the news while we're on the way."
"Yes, sir."
Kim Hyung-gi, the long-time driver, immediately reached out with one hand and turned on the radio.
[...Starting tomorrow evening, heavy rain will hit the country, bringing an end to the prolonged heatwave.
Now, here's breaking news.
At approximately 9 a.m. today, Do Moon-seong, the chairman of Taehwa Shopping in Busan who had recently applied for court receivership, tragically jumped to his death from his 13th-floor apartment.]
Chairman Park Tae-hong, sinking into the plush seat and listening to the news, widened his eyes in surprise at the unexpected bulletin.
"Turn up the volume!"
He barked in a hoarse voice, and Kim Hyung-gi quickly adjusted the radio's volume.
[According to witnesses, Chairman Do Moon-seong, who was unable to pay a negotiable promissory note worth 2 billion won, was accused of violating the bad check law by the banks he had been trading with. He had received a subpoena to appear at the police station by 10 a.m. today for questioning and had reportedly been struggling under the pressure, according to his family and acquaintances...]
"This can't be... Chairman Do committed suicide?"
Chairman Park, recalling that he had spoken with Chairman Do just a month ago at a meeting with the Federation of Korean Industries, looked deeply troubled.