As the sun rose outside and the dim light of dawn broke through, Seok-won, who had stayed up all night, sat at his desk in front of several monitors.
[HKD: 7.80 (▼0.12)]
The fierce battle over the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate, where both sides had poured in astronomical sums without yielding an inch, had finally come to an end.
There had been several perilous moments when the exchange rate band was on the verge of breaking under the relentless assault led by the currency speculators of the Quantum Fund.
But each time, the Hong Kong government had defended the dollar by flooding the market with massive amounts of foreign reserves, as if they had nothing to lose.
Seok-won picked up his glass of whiskey, ice clinking, took a sip, and muttered to himself while keeping his eyes fixed on the monitor.
"The only reason the Hong Kong government could fight back so boldly, ready to drain their foreign reserves, is because they have strong backing."
Without China, holding a massive $126 billion in foreign reserves, standing behind them, even Hong Kong wouldn't have dared to confront the speculators head-on with such abandon.
"On top of that, the three-day time limit worked in the government's favor."
With a ticking clock, the attacking hedge funds had no choice but to grow anxious and impatient.
Conversely, the Hong Kong government only had to endure for three more days, clenching their teeth and holding the exchange rate band firm.
"It's a narrow margin, but sometimes that's all it takes to decide victory or defeat."
In fact, as the New York forex market neared closing, cracks began to appear among the hedge funds that had formed a united front against the Hong Kong dollar.
Large investment banks and hedge funds like the Eldorado Fund, armed with intelligence that uncovered the secret pact between the White House and George Soros, began to exit first as the deadline approached, shifting their positions from short to long to minimize their losses.
Seok-won set his glass down and murmured softly.
"The moment the attack formation breaks and groups start peeling off, the battle is as good as over."
From the start, they had joined forces with the aim of toppling Hong Kong for massive gains, so no one could blame them for quickly switching positions once they realized victory was out of reach.
"In fact, recognizing early that they couldn't win and cutting their losses swiftly was the smart move."
Most likely, as soon as the deadline passed and the attack on Hong Kong ended in failure, the Quantum Fund's first move was to buy back the Hong Kong dollars they had dumped.
Sure enough, buy orders for the Hong Kong dollar were surging explosively in the forex market, and even now, the exchange rate was dropping rapidly.
[HKD: 7.78 (▼0.14)]
"At this rate, the Hong Kong government might end up having to sell off the Hong Kong dollars they bought up just to defend the exchange rate band."
Seok-won let out a bitter smile at how quickly the situation had flipped.
But then, as he thought about what was coming next, his face hardened.
"The hedge funds that took heavy losses in Hong Kong will be desperate to make up for it by finding their next target."
With Japan holding the world's second-largest foreign reserves and the yen being a quasi-reserve currency, they wouldn't be easy to touch. That left only Korea.
"What's more, with Wall Street investment banks releasing a string of negative reports pointing out Korea's shaky economic situation, it's only natural the greedy hedge funds would set their sights here."
If, on top of that, global credit rating agencies like Moody's and S&P downgraded Korea's sovereign credit rating, it would be like a starting gun for the hedge funds to pounce like a pack of starving wolves.
"Of course, as long as I'm here, there's no way I'll let things play out like they did in the past, where hedge funds carved up Korea like meat on a cutting board."
Seok-won's low, sunken voice echoed through the quiet room.
***
"Chief, here are the sorted records of the Hang Seng futures trades."
"Yeah, thanks for the work."
Choi Ho-geun, sitting at his desk with a cigarette between his lips, took the file that Noh Hee-won handed him.
"You're having breakfast before you head home, right?"
Having liquidated all his positions, Jung Hwan-yeop, sprawled out in his chair like he owned the place, checked his watch and turned to ask.
Choi, flipping through the documents, answered offhandedly.
"Of course. After pulling an all-nighter, if I went home and asked my wife to make me breakfast, you can imagine what I'd hear."
"Well then, how about some bean sprout soup from that Jeonju place around the corner? It's been a while."
Having barely eaten a proper meal in days, just hearing the word "soup" suddenly stirred his appetite.
Though Seok-won had looked out for them and gotten them some expensive lunchboxes now and then, it wasn't quite the same as sitting down to a steaming hot meal fresh from a restaurant.
"I was craving some hot soup anyway—that sounds perfect."
Choi Ho-geun flashed a broad smile at his team.
"My treat. Let's all fill up with a hearty bowl of bean sprout soup before we call it a day."
"If you're buying, of course I'm coming along."
Yoo Seok-hyun, whose big build matched his big appetite, nodded eagerly.
"Been a while since I had gukbap. The radish kimchi at that place is really good too."
"Count me in, sir."
Hong Jae-hee and Noh Hee-won chimed in, visibly brightening at the idea.
"Well then, it's pretty bright out now, so let's start wrapping up and get ready to head out."
At that, Jung Hwan-yeop stretched out his arms wide while still slouched in his chair.
"Ughhh... Finally, no more of these endless night shifts and all-nighters."
"Happy, are you?"
Choi asked as he closed the file folder.
"After more than a month of barely setting foot in my own home? You bet I am."
"You act like you're some poor married man, but you're still single."
"Exactly—that's why I need my evenings free. Gotta have time to meet my girlfriend, go on dates, and, you know, do all kinds of things."
"What? You're still seeing that Bella girl?"
Choi had heard about his successful date when Hwan-yeop got back from the States, but he'd assumed it fizzled out after a date or two. But judging by his tone, that clearly wasn't the case.
Choi's eyes widened in surprise, and Jung Hwan-yeop glanced at him with a sulky look.
"Sounds like you're actually rooting for us to break up?"
"Hey now, you weren't exactly the settling-down type. Weren't you the guy who said, 'The world's big and there are plenty of women out there'—swearing you'd play the field until you got bored before even thinking about marriage?"
"Well, that free-spirited lifestyle's kinda lost its charm. I'm thinking maybe it's time to settle down."
Choi was so taken aback he asked again, just to be sure.
"Wait... You're seriously thinking about marriage?"
"Yeah."
And judging by the earnest look on his face, he meant it—making it all the more surprising.
"Don't make that decision lightly. Think it through carefully. You're serious?"
"Yeah, I'll admit, at first it was her looks that got me hooked... but the more we met, the more I realized we just click so well. So I'm planning to propose soon."
"Heh."
Choi Ho-geun let out a puff of air, watching as Jung Hwan-yeop scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Poor girl, getting caught up with a guy like you."
"Oh, come on, sir. Seriously?"
"If you really mean to marry her, don't treat it like some joke. Go buy a diamond ring and propose properly. You know, with all that stuff women love—bouquet of flowers, fancy restaurant with a nice night view, expensive wine."
"I've got it all planned out, don't worry."
"Yeah, sure you do."
As usual, the two of them bickered like kids, and the team members, who were getting ready to head out, chuckled at the familiar scene.
Then, by chance, Hong Jae-hee glanced at the large market board mounted on the opposite wall, and her eyes suddenly widened.
"Huh?"
Startled, she quickly turned and called out to Choi.
"Sir! Look at that!"
"What? What's going on?"
Choi paused mid-argument and turned his head.
"The Hang Seng futures are surging!"
Hong Jae-hee raised an arm and pointed at the big board, her voice ringing through the room.
At that, not just Choi but everyone else looked up at the massive screen showing the Hang Seng futures index.
[HIS: 6,600.64 (+100.33)]
"Huh?"
"What's happening with that?"
"...!"
"Could it be a glitch?"
Just moments ago, the Hang Seng futures had been down more than 61 points, but now it was skyrocketing, leaving everyone staring in stunned silence.
Jung Hwan-yeop, suddenly snapping out of his slouch like he'd never been tired, straightened up and hurriedly moved his mouse to check the trading window.
"This is nuts! All the sell orders are gone—it's nothing but buy orders flooding in!"
"What?"
A thought flashed through Choi Ho-geun's mind, and he barked out urgently.
"Check the Hong Kong exchange rate! What's it at right now?"
Yoo Seok-hyun quickly checked the exchange rate displayed on his monitor and called out.
"It's dropped to 7.75 per dollar!"
Jung Hwan-yeop let out a breath and muttered.
"7.75... that's the bottom of the currency band."
Choi Ho-geun walked over to Yoo Seok-hyun's desk, glanced at the monitor, and let out a low hum.
"It's true."
"What the hell is going on here?"
Jung Hwan-yeop, looking dazed, stood up and ran a hand through his hair.
"If the rate's fallen this much, it looks like Hong Kong didn't surrender. Looks more like the hedge funds doing the attacking have thrown in the towel."
"You mean... Hong Kong actually won this fight?"
Yoo Seok-hyun asked, still sounding like he couldn't believe it. Hong Jae-hee, equally stunned, covered her mouth with her hand.
"That... actually makes sense now."
Scratching the back of his head, Jung Hwan-yeop responded.
"Hong Kong managing to hold back the hedge funds that tore through Southeast Asia like a swarm of locusts... I can't believe it even seeing it with my own eyes."
"Exactly. No one predicted it would turn out like this."
Choi Ho-geun, eyes shining with admiration, looked up at the big market board showing the Hang Seng futures index and quietly corrected him.
"There was one person."
"Huh?"
"The one person who predicted Hong Kong would come out on top."
Yoo Seok-hyun blinked and then seemed to realize who he meant.
"Oh! You mean the boss!"
"Yeah. We thought he was selling at the shoulder, but now it looks like he caught the peak."
Choi Ho-geun nodded, hands on his hips.
"His timing on that short was just art, wasn't it?"
Jung Hwan-yeop shook his head in disbelief.
"Exactly. Everyone else thought the Hong Kong government was about to throw in the towel and devalue the dollar... but he closed out his short positions right when the profit was at its peak. I have no idea how many moves ahead he was seeing."
With genuine admiration on his face, Jung Hwan-yeop let out a sigh of amazement.
"If he hadn't cashed out back then and gone long, he wouldn't be sitting pretty right now, would he?"
Choi Ho-geun chuckled at Hong Jae-hee's question.
"He'd probably be sitting there right now, sweating bullets watching his profits shrink in real-time, desperate to buy back in even if it meant grabbing whatever he could."
"Whew... just thinking about it gives me chills."
Jung Hwan-yeop shuddered, letting out a groan.
The other team members wore much the same expression.
The thought of wiping out in a single blow all the profits they had struggled to earn through countless all-nighters and overtime over the past month was so dreadful, they didn't even want to imagine it.
Jung Hwan-yeop, patting his chest in relief, kept his eyes on the Hang Seng futures index, which was still surging wildly even at that moment.
"Still, with things turning out like this, the hedge funds that went after Hong Kong must be facing massive losses."
Choi Ho-geun gave a small nod.
"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few hedge funds go under because of this."
Even as he said it, he couldn't help but feel another wave of admiration for Seok-won's insight and skill—timing his shorts perfectly on such a brutal playing field, closing out at just the right moment, and maximizing his returns.