It was estimated that OTK Company's profit for the day exceeded 2 trillion yen.
Although losses were incurred on the actual stocks due to the collapse of Toyota's share price, these were offset by options. The problem was that financial institutions (particularly Japanese ones) had to absorb those losses.
Until the incident happened, no one had paid much attention to derivatives, leaving them unprepared. This was because they hadn't imagined that Kang Jin-hoo would actually sell the shares on the open market.
The Japanese government, which had vowed to recover the shares by any means necessary, was left empty-handed, like a dog chasing a chicken only to watch it fly onto the roof.
Japan's financial authorities protested to OTK Company, calling it stock manipulation and unfair trading. However, Kang Jin-hoo retorted, "Do I need permission to sell my own shares?" Regarding the derivatives, he replied, "They were merely investments intended to hedge the underlying assets."
To profit from options by driving down the index through large-scale selling of underlying stocks, the profit from the options must naturally exceed the loss from selling the stocks. However, for OTK Company, the opposite was true: the loss from selling the stocks was greater than the profit gained from the options. Nevertheless, they effectively made a profit. Why? Because they had acquired those very shares for a mere 14.97 million yen!
OTK Company wasn't the only one to benefit from this event. As soon as Kang Jin-hoo launched his selling blitz and the US hinted it would no longer tolerate a weak yen, hedge funds collectively rushed in to feast on the Japanese stock market.
The 14.97 million Toyota shares dumped by Kang Jin-hoo were bought up by countless institutions and individuals. The public pension fund, feeling forced, repurchased 4 million shares, while Zhou Auto swept up 3 million shares on the cheap and disclosed its stake acquisition. Speculative capital took care of the rest.
Since it was impossible to hold all these buyers accountable or demand the return of shares individually, it ultimately meant that only the ones who got hit were made fools of.
Hit by a one-two punch of the order mistake followed by the option shock, the Japanese stock market was devastated, and Japanese financial firms shed tears of blood as they calculated their option losses.
The public pension fund lost over 3 percent of its total managed funds.
In terms of quarterly losses, it was the largest ever. This time, even Finance Minister Matsukata couldn't dismiss it as 'merely 3 percent'.
The Japanese public's anger exploded, and the public pension fund hastily announced countermeasures. They planned to reduce the excessive allocation to domestic stocks while seeking compensation from Nishida Securities.
Given that the public pension fund wasn't entirely blameless, it was expected they would only receive partial compensation rather than full damages. However, the prevailing view was that even partial compensation would make it difficult for Nishida Securities to avoid bankruptcy.
The problem was that Nishida Securities is Japan's second-largest securities firm after Nomura Securities, and the public pension fund holds an 8.8 percent stake in Nishida Securities.
If bankruptcy were to actually happen, the chaos in Japan's financial sector would intensify further.
Caught in a dilemma with no easy way out, the situation worsened as the entire cabinet resigned, plunging Japanese politics into turmoil.
It was a series of unbelievable events to have stemmed from a single order mistake.
***
The crash of the Japanese stock market made headlines worldwide.
It was covered extensively in Korea, Japan, and the US, of course, but particularly noteworthy was the attention from the UK. Perhaps they felt a sense of shared pain, having been hit hard during Brexit?
The Financial Times ran a special series of articles on Brexit. For reference, the UK invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty the year before last but is still bogged down in Brexit negotiations with the EU. Time is running out.
On Japanese internet sites, insults poured down on me alongside Prime Minister Okazaki. The Sankei Shimbun even ran my photo prominently under the headline "Financial Terrorist." I looked quite villainous in the picture they somehow obtained.
But honestly, they don't really have the right to say such things. Whether it's British or Japanese capital, they've plundered other countries more than once or twice throughout history.
Then, when they are the ones getting plundered, they cry bloody murder. That's the definition of hypocrisy.
I sighed and said,
"Looks like I won't be able to visit Japan for a while."
Taekgyu comforted me.
"You won't be able to go to Disneyland anymore."
"I can just go to the one in Orlando for that."
That one isn't Disneyland, it's Disney World. I promised to go there with Ellie later.
"Still, you won't be able to go to Natsukomi (Summer Comiket) this year, right?"
"...I didn't go anyway."
Anyone listening would think I was a regular who could no longer attend.
OTK Company made a fortune, but its subsidiaries operating within Japan became targets of boycotts.
The biggest hit was taken by OTK Games.
A noticeable number of casual users departed from Lost Fantasy M. However, Ichikawa Shigeru seemed unconcerned.
[It might actually be for the best. The Japanese game industry right now is so isolated, like the Galapagos, completely detached from global market trends. I intend to use this opportunity to break out of Japan and properly enter the global market. We are currently planning mergers and acquisitions with foreign game companies, and have several projects in preparation.]
Taekgyu was impressed.
"Wow! Our elder Shigeru is really something else."
At this point, it was worth acknowledging.
Another company affected was Faceit. As a pornography company, Japan is a crucial market second only to the US, so the impact would be significant.
However, Tobey wasn't worried at all.
[Hmph, do you really think Japanese people will stop watching porn because of this? People can live without playing games, but they can't live without watching porn.]
"...Huh?"
Surprisingly, just as he said, the actual user churn rate was minimal. And there are plenty of other porn sites besides Faceit.
Is this the power of content?
***
The aftermath did not subside easily.
While the Japanese financial market was shocked, the US, Chinese, and Korean stock markets, expected to benefit from a stronger yen, rose in unison.
Japan sought to stabilize its stock market while preparing for trade negotiations with the US. They quickly halted efforts to make Masaru Yoshizawa's accident an international issue.
Memorial sites set up across Japan were dismantled in an instant, and the Zaitokukai protests demanding Masaru be brought back also vanished.
While criticism against me continued, they seemed to be restraining themselves regarding CarOS.
Our total profit slightly exceeded 2 trillion yen. Since the yen was expected to remain strong for a while, we postponed converting it into dollars.
Hyunjoo shook her head.
"A profit margin like this should probably be in the Guinness Book of Records."
Ellie looked dumbfounded.
"Was making money always this easy? I work hard, often late into the night, and still don't earn much."
Even I was astounded looking at the profit. It was truly like money falling from the sky.
So, what should I do with this money now?
Taekgyu put his hand on my shoulder and said,
"My friend. Since you earned it like a dog, shouldn't you spend it like a nobleman?"
I nodded.
"You're right."
Since it's Japanese money anyway, it should be spent where it's needed, right?
***
[OTK Company Establishes Foundation for Victims of Japanese Colonialism!]
[OTK Company Contributes 5 Trillion Won to Foundation]
[Descendants of Independence Fighters, Comfort Women Victims, Forced Labor Victims to Receive Support]
[Related Organizations Express Gratitude]
[Smiles Bloom at Wednesday Demonstration in front of Japanese Embassy...]
When the news broke, Japan erupted in fury.
Although money doesn't have names written on it, there was no need to investigate where OTK Company got the funds for the foundation contribution.
Comfort women and forced labor victims shed tears of joy, and netizens welcomed the news.
-ㅋㅋㅋ Using Japanese money to support independence fighters and victims.
- Park Si-hyeong settled for a mere 1 billion yen, but Kang Jin-hoo scraped up over 2 trillion yen.
- One well-raised speculator is better than ten politicians.
- Thank you, Prime Minister Okazaki. You've paid sufficient compensation, now you just need to kneel and apologize on a heated iron plate.
- This is true patriotism.
- The Republic of Korea is a Kang Jin-hoo-possessing nation!
- Ah! National pride is welling up inside me!
- Yeon Nakyeong san, Lee Jeong-hye san, Ogenki desu ka? (Are you well?)
- 5 trillion won is too little. Didn't they say he earned over 20 trillion this time? Didn't he pocket the rest.
- What do you expect from a speculator? He took his cut first. How is that guy a patriot? So lame.
- If you're going to donate, donate every last penny!
- Have you guys ever donated even 100,000 won?
- Typical. People who've never donated lecturing others when they do.
***
After things settled down, I received calls from all over.
There were even threatening calls from Japanese right-wing groups and yakuza. The staff responded as they had been trained.
[How dare you attack Japan? We'll destroy OTK Company and Kang Jin-hoo!]
"If you continue this, we will report you to the police."
[Kuso! (Damn it!) You think we're afraid of the police?]
"Ah, since we are a US corporation, the report will go to the American police. We have already requested cooperation from the FBI. What was the name of your organization again?"
[...Click... dial tone!]
With its largest shareholder's stake fragmented, Toyota was busy dealing with internal stabilization. Support from the Japanese government was also temporarily suspended, putting Japan's Auto Alliance in crisis.
Daryl sounded satisfied.
[They were constantly making a fuss, demanding driving data disclosure citing traffic accidents involving their own citizens. Serves them right.]
Warren Buffett had partially liquidated his portfolio of Japanese companies before I started selling and had made profits by betting on the foreign exchange market.
Chairmen of major domestic corporations, including Chairman Im Jin-yong, also offered their congratulations. Among them was RCK Bros Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo.
[Congratulations, CEO Kang Jin-hoo. I heard from a friend at Nomura Securities that you really turned Japan upside down.]
Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo had worked at Nomura Securities before joining RCK Bros. So he would have heard the reactions from the Japanese securities industry in real-time.
Besides the congratulations, it seemed like he had something else he wanted to say. No matter how cold-blooded an investor, it's natural to worry about one's only daughter, right?
"You don't need to worry about Yuri."
[I hope this doesn't cause any trouble for the company.]
"Not at all. She's doing exceptionally well right now."
[Is, is that so?]
"From what I can see, she has tremendous talent. If she didn't, I wouldn't have hired her in the first place."
No parent dislikes hearing praise about their child.
Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo was overjoyed at my words.
[If you see it that way, CEO, then it must be true. So Yuri really does have talent in that area. Haha, that's truly a relief.]
***
I woke up and opened my eyes.
Ellie wasn't there, but I could hear the shower running in the bathroom.
A soaking wet workout outfit lay on the floor.
A little later, Ellie emerged from the shower wearing a robe.
"You're awake?"
"Did you work out this morning?"
"Just a little."
"What about breakfast?"
"I had a cup of coffee."
"You didn't eat dinner last night either, will that be enough? Eat something."
Ellie firmly shook her head.
"I'm not eating anything until after the shoot."
Today was none other than a shooting day.
At CEO Bester's earnest request, Ellie had agreed to be an advertising model. The commercial needed to be filmed at a beach, but it was still winter in Korea. They were reportedly scouting locations in resorts in the Philippines or Indonesia.
First, they planned to do an indoor photoshoot today. Ellie had been preparing diligently, even skipping meals, seemingly to look even prettier.
"I've been getting regular skin treatments at the hotel spa for a month now. How is it? Don't you think it's gotten better?"
"You're beautiful even without it."
"Tsk, cameras these days are so good they capture every little flaw."
"Don't they touch things up in post-production?"
"Still."
Ellie dried her hair and then got dressed.
"Can't I come with you?"
Ellie shook her head at my words.
"No. Natural expressions are important, and I'll feel self-conscious if you're watching. It feels kind of embarrassing too. Besides, if you come, wouldn't the staff feel pressured and unable to work properly?"
"Right, I suppose so."
Not many people know that Ellie is my girlfriend. Only figures in the business world and Golden Gate employees, perhaps?
She said the people involved in today's shoot just know her as a foreign model.
Once dressed, Ellie gave me a light kiss.
"They said it should be over in the afternoon, so I'll contact you right away."
"Okay."