Kapitel 66: Chapter 66: Friends Always Bring Joy
It was the first time I'd seen Hyeon-seong's face in a year.
Our eyes met across the empty space.
"What? Why are you standing there like a statue? Sit down I've already ordered."
At Myeong-su's scolding I took off my coat hung it up and sat down.
I thought it might be awkward meeting Hyeon-seong after not contacting him since we parted ways in Busan.
"Have you been well?"
"Yeah you?"
"Same as always. I heard you visited my grandma every day? Thanks."
"Mm."
But it felt as natural as if we'd seen each other yesterday.
That's what real friendship is like.
Even after a long time apart there's no sense of awkwardness.
"You two can have your family reunion later. Today I'm the main character you bastards."
We all laughed for a while at Myeong-su's playful words.
It felt good to meet up and laugh together after so long.
"Myeong-su this is just the beginning for you."
"I know. I need to maintain my grades to qualify for the prosecutor appointment. I'll study until my head splits open with the other kids."
"At least you won't be lonely with them around."
"I guess so. Anyway I'm considering myself dead for the next two years."
"Right."
Myeong-su pointed at Hyeon-seong who was eating silently.
"This guy will be staying at my place for a while too. He's going to help me focus on my studies."
Hyeon-seong nodded.
"Have you sorted things out now? Are you still scared of me?"
"Oh come on that's ridiculous. Why would Kim Mu-hyeok be scary? I'm not sared anymore."
Myeong-su said something but I waited silently for Hyeon-seong's answer.
Hyeon-seong put down his chopsticks.
"I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"I understand now why you did what you did…"
"Then that's enough. What do you plan to do now?"
"I'll stay at Myeong-su's place for a while."
"Are you comfortable there?"
"Yeah I've recovered completely."
"Take your time and think about what you want to do."
It had already been a year since the accident. As Hyeon-seong said there didn't seem to be any lingering effects. Though he might be hiding it…
"I'd like you to help me with my work but that's just my wish. If there's anything you want to do just tell me. I'll help with whatever I can."
"Okay."
"Thanks for taking care of my grandma."
"Don't mention it. I went there to make myself feel better."
If I could entrust work to reliable Hyeon-seong it would be convenient but it felt too selfish to push my friend who had been through so much.
"Let's eat."
As the food arrived we reminisced and chatted about many things.
The enjoyable meal time ended all too quickly.
On the way to Pyeongchang-dong after parting with my friends
I was leaning back with my eyes closed when
"Boss are you in a good mood? You look happy."
I opened my eyes at Manager Ma's words. Apparently I had been smiling without realizing it.
"Meeting friends always puts me in a good mood."
I closed my eyes again and leaned back in my seat.
* * *
In early 1995 the yen which had been maintaining a rate of about 100 yen to the dollar began to strengthen rapidly after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe.
Hedge funds in the U.S. fueled the yen's strength by buying up large amounts of yen and Japanese government bonds.
Han Gyeong-yeong too bet on the yen's strength hiding behind the hedge funds with the money he had earned in Mexico in January.
Now it was time to bet again.
He planned to liquidate all positions and stake his entire fortune on the yen's weakness.
The Japanese foreign exchange futures market was on a different scale from Mexico.
It was large enough for transactions to be executed as much as we wanted.
In Mexico we had to create our own products but in Japan there was no need for that.
― After the contract is completed~ I'm nervous. Are we going all in every time?
"Good job. I'll let you know when to liquidate. Stand by."
― Understood.
"For now don't worry about it. Just prepare to set up a corporation in a tax haven."
― Okay.
I hung up the phone.
The so-called reverse Plaza Accord.
The yen's strengthening trend which began with the Plaza Accord in 1985 was now under attack from both the natural disaster of the Kobe earthquake and the indiscriminate assault of hedge funds. Eventually the 90 yen to the dollar barrier was breached.
Japan finally reached out to the U.S. The G7 finance ministers and central bank governors agreed to guide the yen towards weakness.
And this agreement ultimately became the trigger for the Asian economic crisis.
The futures and options markets were literally a zero-sum game where one person's death meant another's life.
If there was no one to accept the contract it would be useless even if you knew the future.
But right now the Japanese foreign exchange market was a playground for hedge funds from around the world.
There was no shortage of derivatives for us to profit from.
The power struggle between the dollar the primary reserve currency and the yen the second reserve currency would bring me astronomical profits.
When I first went to the U.S. and invested in Netscape and Steve Jobs it was to disguise myself as an investment company investing in stocks.
Of course those investments also made me a lot of money but it was nothing compared to derivatives.
Everything was going according to plan but…
I don't know how the future might change because of my actions.
But to get Korea in my hands there was no other opportunity besides the IMF.
I had to take the gamble even if it meant risking my entire fortune.
Maybe because I'd already confirmed once in Mexico that the future didn't change I wasn't nervous despite the much larger amount at stake.
Now that I'd done what I needed to in the U.S. it was time to do what I needed to in Korea.
"Grandfather it's Mu-hyeok."
"Come in."
I went straight to my grandfather's study.
"I'd like to withdraw the funds we've invested in the Hyeonbo Group."
"Hyeonbo? Why there?"
Grandfather asked with interest at my unexpected words.
"They have too much debt. They're constantly borrowing more money from banks. We need to either get our money back or convert it to stocks and dump them on the market."
Hyeonbo Group.
It was a large conglomerate specializing in construction and manufacturing centered around Hyeonbo Corporation.
They also built the Eunmi Apartments in Daechi-dong Gangnam-gu Seoul.
It was a large business group ranked 18th in the business world but it was a hollow giant.
During the Sixth Republic it faced a crisis of group dissolution due to the notorious Suseo land speculation scandal one of the biggest power-related corruption cases.
Thanks to Chairman Jang's specialty of bribery offensive he only had to step down from management but…
"Chairman Jang is nothing more than a real estate speculator in the end. He's too greedy. It will eventually come back to bite him. I think it's right to withdraw our funds before that happens."
Grandfather stared at my face without saying a word.
The rhythmic sound of his fingers tapping on the sofa armrest filled the study.
I waited silently enduring grandfather's gaze. After a while grandfather nodded.
"I don't fully understand what you're saying yet but I'll trust you. Do you want to borrow Myung-hoon for this?"
It meant he wanted me to personally lead the effort to recover money from a conglomerate chairman.
This was a kind of test.
I could sense the expectation on grandfather's face as he spoke.
I smiled leisurely and shook my head.
"No I'll prepare and move directly with Manager Ma."
Pleased with my answer grandfather smiled and called for Chief Ha.
"Give all the Hyeonbo bonds to Mu-hyeok."
"Do you mean Hyeonbo Group sir?"
"Yes give him everything."
Grandfather looked at me once more.
"Are you sure you don't need Myung-hoon's help?"
"If Chief Ha moves it wouldn't be me recovering the money would it? What Chief Ha does is essentially what you do grandfather. Everyone knows that."
"Hahaha good. Give it a try then."
I bowed to grandfather who looked satisfied and left the room.
* * *
"How's Hyeonbo Group's financial state?"
"It's not much different from other large corporations. If Hyeonbo is in danger then it's fair to say all major corporations are in danger."
Inside the study after Mu-hyeok left
The smile had disappeared from Chairman Cheon's face.
"That boy Mu-hyeok keeps talking about recovering all the bonds there must be a reason. You said we've recovered most from companies outside the top 20 right?"
"Yes we've recovered all funds but for some companies we didn't recover and instead bought more convertible bonds."
"I wonder what that boy is thinking."
"Since you've decided to trust him why don't you keep watching?"
Chairman Cheon nodded but furrowed his brow.
Though it was already decided he couldn't help but worry about his grandson.
"The loss isn't that important. People who have been successful continuously often crumble after just one mistake."
"You've always been a confident person."
"That's why I'm more worried. When confidence overflows it becomes arrogance. And arrogance eventually leads to hubris."
Chairman Cheon already trusted Mu-hyeok.
A successor who had never made a wrong judgment in his actions so far.
He believed in Mu-hyeok but worried that this very belief might become poison.
"Keep watching. By the way how are the Cheongpung Group's movements?"
"They probably don't have the capacity to pay attention to us right now. This president is quite stubborn…"
"I suppose Yong-hyeon must be in a frenzy too."
There was a hint of laughter in Chairman Cheon's voice.
The Cheongpung Group had been putting pressure by mobilizing politicians and government officials but the president pushed through with his own stubbornness.
Things were in chaos because the president not satisfied with just the real-name financial system had now announced a real-name property ownership system.
"Have all the property names been transferred?"
"All the properties under borrowed names have been transferred to the young master's name."
"Good job. Make sure there's no room for problems later even after I'm gone."
"…Chairman."
Chief Ha looked at him with troubled eyes.
Chairman Cheon chuckled and waved his hand.
"I'm not dying yet you fool. No need to look at me like that."
"…"
Although the recent health checkup showed no abnormalities Chairman Cheon knew. He knew that his physical strength was gradually declining.
After sending Chief Ha out Chairman Cheon muttered while looking out the window.
"Mi-suk I'm sorry. Your father will come to you soon."
* * *
After receiving the bonds and financial statements from Chief Ha I began reviewing them.
I had already assigned Manager Ma to conduct a separate background investigation.
There were no major issues on the financial statements.
Although the debt ratio was quite high it wasn't much different from other large corporations.
But I knew that inside it was rotten to the core.
There were many short-term loans. A corporate group that would collapse immediately if they failed to repay just once.
The bond grandfather held was a convertible bond of the unlisted Hyeonbo Corporation.
Using this I could push a little and potentially take over the Hyeonbo Group but…
There's no need to do that.
Later more appetizing companies would come up for sale and I didn't want to eat this poisoned apple.
"Excessive external borrowing is clearly causing excessive financial costs. They keep getting loans by giving bribes but it's hard to say how long that will last."
After hearing Manager Ma's report I was even more certain.
It was time to go and settle this.
"Let's go collect our money."
The headquarters of the 18th-ranked conglomerate that Manager Ma guided me to was in a truly ridiculous location.
It was a fact I hadn't known before.
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
I asked incredulously looking up at the Eunmi Apartment commercial building.
"Yes."
The answer remained unchanged.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"This guy is really something else."
To think that the Hyeonbo Group headquarters was located on the third floor of an apartment commercial building.
"This isn't going to be easy."
I couldn't help but sigh at the situation.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein