Government Complex No. 1, Gwanghwamun, Seoul
"The exchange rate that had surged to 2,067 won per dollar is now plummeting!"
Jung Ji-hoon, Director of Financial Policy, burst through the door as if he might break it and
shouted loudly.
At that, Deputy Minister of Economy Choi Jin-woo and Deputy Minister Shin Seung-gi, who had been sitting on the sofa with anxious expressions, let out sighs of relief.
"Whew. Watching it break past 2,000 made my insides burn—it felt like I was turning to ash.
Now, we can finally breathe."
"Exactly. Every time the exchange rate rose, I felt like my blood was drying up."
Shin Seung-gi replied, erasing the worry from his face and visibly relieved.
"Even though we knew the Eldorado Fund would step in, the anxiety was unbearable. I feel like I've aged ten years just from this."
It had been such a nerve-wracking moment—one misstep and they might have had to declare
national default. Every second had been tense.
"What's the reaction from the currency speculators?"
Choi Jin-woo looked up and asked Director Jung.
"As soon as the Eldorado Fund poured in over four billion dollars, the speculators panicked. They didn't even think of fighting back—just rushed to buy back the won they had sold off and started covering their shorts."
"Dumping such an enormous sum all at once... Even if I were a hedge fund, I'd be stunned."
Choi Jin-woo sounded impressed, and Deputy Minister Shin chimed in.
"No doubt. They said they could crush the speculators—and it turns out they really could."
"Haha, that's right! If it's President Park, I knew he'd slam those speculators right where it
hurts."
Choi Jin-woo nodded enthusiastically, unable to hide the joy spreading across his face.
Seeing that, Shin Seung-gi leaned forward and added,
"Let's ride this momentum and announce that we've secured early access to the second tranche of the bailout—$8.5 billion from the IMF and other international financial institutions. It would completely crush the will of the speculators."
"Excellent idea."
Choi Jin-woo turned to Director Jung, his voice brimming with energy.
"Immediately release a press statement to both domestic and international media. Let's drive the final nail in this exchange rate drop."
"Understood."
Jung Ji-hoon responded confidently and quickly turned to leave.
Watching him go, Deputy Minister Choi leaned back into the plush sofa and murmured
contentedly,
"Just imagining those damn speculators, who've tormented us endlessly, scrambling in panic
right now—it feels like ten years of indigestion have been cleared in one go."
For the first time in a long while, a genuine smile spread across Choi Jin-woo's lips.
***
Daehung Group Headquarters, Mapo, Seoul
"Alright. Got it."
Chairman Park Tae-hong, seated behind a large mahogany desk, put down the receiver.
The wrinkles that had been gathered between his brows gradually smoothed out, and a faint
chuckle escaped his lips.
"Hmph. That kid..."
It was a mix of pride that his youngest son had handled things so well, and relief that his earlier worries had been unfounded.
Still smiling with satisfaction, he looked up when a knock sounded and Deputy Manager Jung Yoon-kyung entered the room.
"Chief Financial Officer Seo Jin-hyung is here."
"Send him in."
Chairman Park replied, his expression once again composed and dignified.
"Yes, sir."
Moments later, CFO Seo Jin-hyung entered in a gray suit, looking visibly uneasy.
Chairman Park instantly understood why he was here but chose not to reveal it. Instead, he asked calmly,
"What is it?"
Seo Jin-hyung stepped closer to the desk, bit his lip tightly, and spoke urgently.
"The exchange rate that had soared to 2,000 won is now plunging rapidly."
As expected. Chairman Park held back the grin threatening to escape and responded,
"I'm aware."
His composed tone only deepened the concern on Seo Jin-hyung's face.
Apparently thinking the chairman didn't realize how far the rate had dropped, he became visibly more anxious.
"It's fallen nearly 200 won in one go—it's now down to 1,730 won."
"When I checked a little while ago, it was still at 1,800. This drop really is something."
Despite what he said, Chairman Park remained completely unfazed, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Flustered, Seo Jin-hyung blurted out quickly,
"We've already lost 337 won from the peak. Shouldn't we hurry and convert our dollars before it falls any further?"
While the CFO was visibly rattled by the fear of further decline, Chairman Park remained
unshaken.
"We exchanged our dollars when the rate was under a thousand won, so strictly speaking, we're not in the red yet."
"Yes, technically, that's true, but still..."
Park Tae-hong raised one hand, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"All the dollar conversions have already been made. You don't need to worry."
"The rate's falling fast—it's dangerous to—wait, what?"
Seo Jin-hyung blinked in shock, and Chairman Park Tae-hong smiled faintly as he watched him.
Then, in a tone laced with subtle pride, he said,
"I was worried too, so I called Seok-won just now. He said the currency exchange was already done."
"Is that true?"
Seo Jin-hyung tried to suppress his surprise as he asked again, and Chairman Park nodded.
"Yes. He exchanged all the funds we entrusted him with—at the peak, 2,067 won per dollar."
"...!"
Seo Jin-hyung's eyes widened again.
It was as if Seok-won had predicted the drop. Selling dollars at the absolute top was almost too perfect to believe.
Unaware that Seok-won had actually been the one to orchestrate the rate drop, Seo Jin-hyung was simply stunned by the flawless timing.
"H-How…?"
He gaped, unable to finish his sentence. Chairman Park grinned, clearly enjoying the reaction.
"I told you, that kid has a real talent for making money."
"It's incredibly difficult to time the forex market. To sell at the very peak… there's no other word for it but brilliant."
Seo Jin-hyung shook his head in amazement.
"Heh."
Chairman Park made no effort to hide his growing grin as the corners of his mouth twitched upward.
"He said he'll deposit the exchanged funds into the group's account within a couple of days, so you can expect that."
"Yes, sir. But… with that kind of exchange gain, the total must be…"
As Seo Jin-hyung quickly calculated in his head, Chairman Park spoke first.
"He said it came out to about 843.6 billion won."
"Wh-what!"
Seo Jin-hyung gasped, almost choking on his breath.
It was no surprise. Including returns from asset operations and currency gains, they had nearly tripled their principal in just a few months.
Chairman Park was inwardly very pleased, but he spoke in an offhand tone, as if it was nothing special.
"That should ease our financial concerns for a while."
To that, Seo Jin-hyung responded, his face now lit with enthusiasm.
"Not just for operating funds—we might even be able to resume the investment projects we had postponed due to austerity."
"Hahaha, exactly."
Chairman Park Tae-hong, laughing heartily, leaned back in his chair with an air of ease.
"Thanks to Seok-won, we're in a better position now. Still, the economy isn't doing well, and
liquidity is drying up. Let's maintain the current state for now and observe the situation a little longer."
"Understood."
Seo Jin-hyung, the CFO, gave a short reply and then cautiously added, watching Park's
expression.
"Since his investment skills are clearly exceptional, what do you think about taking this
opportunity to entrust a portion of the group's surplus funds to him, instead of keeping everything in deposits or bonds?"
"You mean to have Seok-won manage part of our funds?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Hm…"
It wasn't a bad suggestion. Chairman Park folded his arms, appearing deep in thought.
"Until now, we've been managing our cash reserves with deposits, trusts, and bonds. The benefit is we can liquidate them quickly if needed, but as you know, the interest rates are terrible."
"They are practically a joke."
"But if we were to entrust even a portion to him, even if we don't get gains like this last time, a return of just 20 to 30 percent would be far more profitable."
Seo Jin-hyung seemed so shocked by Seok-won's recent success that he was now enthusiastically trying to persuade Park.
"That may be true, but as with any investment, there's no guarantee of profits."
Chairman Park maintained a cautious attitude, but Seo Jin-hyung didn't back down.
"That's why I'm suggesting we start with just a portion."
"Mm…"
No one knew Seok-won's investment prowess better than Chairman Park, so the idea had, of
course, crossed his mind before.
But investing always carries risk.
If they entrusted him with money and ended up losing it, it would put not only Chairman Park but also Seok-won in a tight spot.
And since it involved corporate funds, there was always a risk of it spiraling into legal trouble
over allegations of embezzlement or breach of duty.
Still, hearing Seo Jin-hyung bring it up made the idea more tempting again.
Especially after watching him grow the company's surplus funds significantly through currency arbitrage, Chairman Park's confidence in him had grown stronger.
Even someone as prudent as Seo Jin-hyung seemed thoroughly captivated—not just by Seokwon's status as a family member but by his exceptional skill as an investor.
"Chairman."
"Give me a moment."
Chairman Park, displaying the restraint befitting the head of a conglomerate, didn't make a hasty decision. Instead, he furrowed his brow in contemplation.
"It's all good, but the only problem is the management fee. Taking 20%? What a little bandit. And that's with the family discount—unbelievable."
He grumbled, and Seo Jin-hyung gave him an awkward smile.
"The fee isn't cheap, true, but he generates returns that are well worth the cost."
"Tch. That's also true."
Chairman Park put on a slightly sulky expression, then burst into a chuckle.
"Which means I don't have a single leg to stand on if I want to complain."
As Chairman Park started to praise Seok-won, even if subtly, Seo Jin-hyung played along while pretending not to notice.
"He doesn't charge unless he turns a profit. So technically, it's a performance-based contract,
which works in our favor. It also shows how confident he is in delivering results."
"Exactly."
Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded in agreement.
"I'll discuss the idea of entrusting surplus funds with the other executives before making a final decision."
"Understood."
"If there's nothing else, you may go."
"Yes, sir."
Finance Director Seo Jin-hyung gave a polite bow and turned to leave the chairman's office.
Once the door closed and he was alone, Chairman Park leaned back into his plush chair with a deeply satisfied smile.
"Eight hundred billion won… Thanks to Seok-won, we've managed to recoup in one stroke the losses we suffered from the financial crisis."
In fact, Midopa Department Store—the group's core affiliate and main source of revenue—had seen its sales plummet due to the economic downturn, dragging the entire group's performance to a record low.
Even with austerity measures in place, heavy losses had seemed inevitable.
But thanks to Seok-won, the group had posted several hundred billion won in non-operating
income, turning what should've been a deficit into a surprise earnings surplus compared to the previous quarter.
"Heh heh heh… Whose son is he, really? Such a remarkable kid."