October 7, 2001, 6:30 p.m.
The spacious hotel fitness center had been completely cleared out, leaving no one around. In the empty space, Seok-won pushed up the platform of the power leg press, beads of sweat forming as he matched the coach's commands.
"Huup."
Each time he exerted force, the heavy metal plates slotted into the machine, clattered and heaved with a deep, weighty sound.
His T-shirt, soaked through with sweat, clung tightly to his body, clearly revealing his solid muscle lines. Sweat droplets traced the sharply sculpted line of his jaw like a carved statue before falling, drip by drip, onto the floor.
Clap clap!
The coach, a former winner of an international bodybuilding championship, stood beside him and offered encouragement with light applause.
"You're doing great! Keep that posture just as it is, and let's do five more. Today, we're filling out forty!"
While the coach was passionately assisting with the workout, a vibration buzzed from the pocket of Han Ji-sung, who was standing against the wall together with the bodyguard, Baucas.
Han Ji-sung quickly pulled out his phone, checked the caller, and then stepped forward.
"Chairman. It's a call from Mr. Landon."
Seok-won focused, putting strength into his legs as he pushed the platform upward.
After finally completing forty repetitions, he gestured to the side. The coach quickly engaged the safety lock and, reading the situation, stepped away.
"Whew..."
Seok-won steadied his slightly ragged breathing, rose from the machine, and moved to sit on a bench.
After wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, he took the phone that Han Ji-sung was holding and brought it to his ear.
"It's me. Did something happen?"
From the other end of the line, Landon replied in a subdued voice.
[It looks like an attack on Afghanistan will be carried out within a few hours.]
It was something he had anticipated, but hearing that the airstrikes were about to begin still made Seok-won's expression harden as he asked,
"Is the information reliable?"
[Yes. It came from the White House, so there's no doubt about it.]
Nodding slightly, Seok-won spoke in a calm tone.
"If the attack starts while the stock market is open, it's bound to have a negative impact. It seems they're planning to carry out the airstrikes over the weekend, when the market is closed, to minimize the shock."
[That does seem to be the case.]
"What scale of attack do you think it will be?"
The scale of the attack was an important issue, since the shock it would deliver to the stock market would vary accordingly.
[It appears that a full-scale attack will be carried out not only against terrorist camps in Afghanistan, but also against the Taliban government that supported those behind the terrorism.]
"Then it won't end with airstrikes alone—ground operations will be carried out as well."
[There's a strong chance it will turn out as you say.]
As events unfolded exactly as they had before his regression, Seok-won held the phone in his hand and formed a bitter expression.
[Since we don't know what kind of impact the attack will have on the stock market when it opens on Monday, how about temporarily halting the short covering and observing the situation?]
Given the uncertainty over which direction the market would move, standing back to read the mood was not a bad option.
However, Seok-won did not hesitate and answered immediately.
"There's no need for that. Let's continue buying according to the plan."
[As anxiety grows in the market, investors may try to move their funds into safe assets.]
"Of course, that could happen. But you know the saying—once bad news is anticipated, it's no longer really bad news."
[....]
"On the contrary, the resolution of a long-expected negative factor could confirm the bottom and become the catalyst for the index to rebound."
Adjusting his grip on the phone, Seok-won continued speaking in a calm voice.
"Even with a large-scale attack imminent, the fact that neither the exchange rate nor international oil prices are showing major fluctuations compared to earlier is proof that the market has already digested all the bad news, isn't it?"
[Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case.]
"Still, we never know what kind of unexpected variables might arise. Keep your antennae up and closely monitor market movements, just like now, so we don't miss any information."
[I'll do that.]
After talking a bit longer, Seok-won ended the call and handed the phone back to Han Ji-sung.
Under normal circumstances, there would still have been more time left for his workout, but as his once-heated body cooled down, his motivation sank along with it.
Seok-won stood up from his seat and called over the coach, who was standing some distance away.
"Let's call it a day here."
"Yes! Understood. I'll take care of the cleanup, so please leave it to me."
Seok-won lightly patted the coach on the shoulder in response to his cheerful reply, then headed toward the showers.
***
News of large-scale airstrikes on Afghanistan by the United States and the United Kingdom sent European stock markets off to an uneasy start, falling amid deep concern.
But that didn't last long.
When the New York stock market opened afterwards and rose just as Seok-won had predicted, the European markets also managed to rebound.
Mason, who had been a fresh graduate just out of university when the Eldorado Fund was first established but was now a seasoned senior trader, skillfully carried out trades while monitoring market conditions across six monitors set up in front of him.
"Sixteen thousand shares? Okay. Buy sixteen thousand shares of Citibank at that price!"
As Mason placed the order and set the receiver down, a junior sitting next to him turned his head to look over.
"With the news of the Afghanistan airstrikes, defense stocks are going crazy and shooting up again."
Mason replied with an indifferent expression.
"With this strike, they'll clear out all the inventory that's been piled up in the Defense Department's warehouses, and then they'll have to buy weapons again to fill the empty space. Of course defense stocks are going to rise."
"That's true, but after the Cold War ended and global disarmament pushed defense stocks down to rock bottom, it's just surprising to see them shoot straight up the moment the boss decides to buy."
At the junior's remark, Mason lifted his head and checked the stock prices of defense companies displayed on the large market board in front of him.
[LMT : 49.11 ▲1.38 (+2.89%)]
[RTN : 36.30 ▲1.33 (+3.80%)]
.
.
"Because the short bets generated such enormous profits, it doesn't stand out as much by comparison, but defense stock investments have still made close to fifty percent in gains so far, haven't they? Isn't that incredible?"
Seeing the junior's eyes filled with admiration, Mason let out a soft chuckle.
"What are you making such a fuss over this for? If you stay under the boss long enough, you'll experience far more astonishing and exhilarating things."
"Come to think of it, you said you've been here since the fund was first established, right?"
"That's right."
Mason shrugged his shoulders with a slightly smug expression.
"Wow! Then you must've seen everything—from the yen attack that took down the high-and-mighty Quantum Fund, to the LTCM incident, and even the Asian financial crisis—all the feats that made the boss a legend on Wall Street."
"Of course. Do you think I just watched? I was up for nights on end, carrying out trades while taking orders directly from the boss."
"Wow..."
The junior revealed his envy with sparkling eyes.
It was only natural—having taken part and played a role in events that were still spoken of like legends on Wall Street was not an experience just anyone could have.
Mason recalled the first time he had gone to the airport to greet Seok-won long ago.
Back then, the Eldorado Fund had been nothing more than a small family office. To think that in less than ten years it had risen to a position where it was called a legend on Wall Street and wielded enough influence to sway global finance—it was impossible not to feel awed all over again.
Even now, the bets he had participated in were so astonishing that "unbelievable" was the only word that came to mind, and the fact that he had been part of them was an immense experience for him as a trader.
On top of that, every time a jackpot hit, he received bonuses in jaw-dropping amounts, enough to make him a millionaire at a young age. By any measure, he had been incredibly lucky.
"So if things keep going like this, we'll get a really hefty bonus again at the end of this year, right?"
When the junior looked at him with an expression full of anticipation, Mason took a sip of coffee from his tumbler and replied calmly.
"The profits aren't fully locked in yet, but even so, we've already hit one of the biggest jackpots you can count on one hand. We might even get a bonus bigger than our annual salary."
"Heh heh. Then I guess I'll have to go ahead and buy myself a nice sports car. There's a model I've had my eye on for a while now."
Mason snorted in response.
"Manhattan traffic is hell. You can't even drive it to and from work—you'll probably spend more time leaving it stuffed in a garage. What's the point of buying a sports car?"
That was advice born of experience.
Every time he thought about the yellow Lamborghini Diablo he'd bought with his bonus three years ago, now sitting in the garage covered in dust, his heart ached.
"A sports car is exactly what makes a man's heart race, isn't it?"
The junior launched into a passionate speech, championing romance.
Mason recalled that he had once said the exact same thing himself and shrugged.
"Fine. Do whatever you want."
Don't you only become a real adult after shedding tears in front of a dust-covered sports car?
Thinking that, Mason nodded to himself.
Just then, a breaking news alert flashed up on the Bloomberg terminal installed on one side of the desk.
"What's this?"
[
Second anthrax infection confirmed in Florida! FBI launches urgent investigation into possible biochemical terrorism.
The Attorney General stated, "We are taking this incident very seriously," adding, "There is still no evidence of biochemical terrorism, but we are not ruling out any possibilities."]
"Biochemical terrorism? This is insane..."
It seemed the other traders had also seen the Bloomberg breaking news. Unable to hide their shock, they began murmuring among themselves.
"Anthrax? Isn't that extremely dangerous?"
"There's no way they actually carried out a real terrorist attack, right?"
"What's going to happen to the stock market now?"
As the atmosphere descended into chaos in an instant, Mason hurriedly checked his monitors. Just moments ago, the three major indices had been surging upward, led by defense and semiconductor stocks—but now they were all sharply turning downward in unison.
"Damn it!"
Cursing under his breath as he sprang to his feet, Mason turned around and spotted Dan Baradan, the senior investment chief, hurriedly picking up a receiver and placing a call somewhere.
Dan, who had been staring at the large market board with a hardened expression, opened his mouth urgently the moment he heard Seok-won's voice.
[It's me.]
"Have you seen the breaking news that just came out?"
[You mean the report about a second anthrax infection in Florida.]
"That's right."
Watching sell orders pour in amid fears of biochemical terrorism and seeing the gains of all three major indices rapidly shrink, Dan spoke with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Fear of terrorism is spreading through the market at an alarming pace."
[With the shock of the suicide aircraft attacks not having fully faded yet, it's only natural for people to be frightened and pull back when something like this happens again.]
Despite an entirely unexpected variable emerging and the market becoming impossible to predict, Seok-won's demeanor remained remarkably calm.
Seeing that, Dan felt a surge of frustration and hurriedly continued.
"If this really is biochemical terrorism, panic selling could erupt, and the stock market could crash again like last time. How about temporarily suspending purchases and watching how things develop?"
If the stock market were to crash here, it would be a golden opportunity for the Eldorado Fund, which was holding short positions, to increase its returns even further.
Dan naturally expected approval to proceed that way, but he couldn't hide his bewilderment at the response he received.
[No. Continue buying as planned and close out the positions.]
"Yes? But—"
[If the market falls into panic due to fears of biochemical terrorism, it will be a good chance to buy back the stocks we shorted at low prices.]
"...!"
TL/n -
Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Raytheon Technologies (RTN)
+++
Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It primarily affects livestock and wild animals but can infect humans through contact with spores in soil, animal products, or contaminated mail. It is not contagious person-to-person, but exposure can be deadly without treatment
+++
October 4, 2001 (Florida): The first anthrax infection was confirmed in a photo editor at American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. This was the case referenced in breaking news at the time.
October 9, 2001 (Washington, D.C.): Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to the offices of Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. Staff members were exposed.
October–November 2001: Additional letters were sent to media outlets including NBC, CBS, ABC, and the New York Post. Postal workers handling contaminated mail became victims.
Total Impact:
22 people infected (11 with inhalation anthrax, 11 with cutaneous anthrax).
5 deaths, including postal workers and elderly recipients.
Thousands underwent preventive antibiotic treatment.
+++
FBI Investigation:
Initially suspected foreign terrorism linked to al-Qaeda. Later shifted focus to domestic sources. After years of investigation, the FBI concluded that Bruce Ivins, a microbiologist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (Fort Detrick, Maryland), was responsible. Ivins died by suicide in 2008 before charges could be filed.
+++
The timing—just weeks after 9/11—intensified public fear.
Americans became wary of opening mail; the U.S. Postal Service faced a crisis of trust.