Thursday, February 13, 1997
– Bangkok, Thailand
From the moment markets opened, the Foreign Exchange Department of the International Division at the Bank of Thailand was in absolute turmoil—as if a hornet's nest had been kicked.
"Sixty contracts sold at 6.8!"
Sitting in front of a monitor, Piyaphong shouted out in a panicked voice. FX Center Director Kaj Damtathuy, sporting a beard, frowned deeply and snapped back irritably.
"Where's it coming from this time?"
Without even turning his head, Piyaphong yelled back.
"Goldman Sachs! Wait—Citibank just placed a sell order for seventy contracts at 6.8 too!"
"Goddamn hyenas..."
Grinding his teeth, Damtathuy barked the order.
"Buy it all—scoop up every last sell order!"
"Understood!"
Piyaphong immediately picked up the phone and started placing buy orders.
As soon as the contracts were filled, the sell pressure momentarily eased—but it didn't last long. More baht sell orders came flooding in, once again cornering the Bank of Thailand.
Watching the exchange rate they had just barely propped up fall again, Damtathuy's face twisted in fury as he let out a curse.
"Damn it!"
This wasn't the first time hedge funds had dumped massive sell orders every time the central bank bought up baht to stabilize the market.
"We cannot let it pass 27 baht to the dollar! Buy everything—now!"
Veins bulging in his neck, Damtathuy roared again.
The FX staff, including Piyaphong, scrambled back into action—placing direct buy orders or using commercial banks and brokerage firms to sell dollars and buy up baht.
Tension filled the room like a battlefield.
Monitors displayed live market feeds not only from Bangkok, but also from Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney. Charts flickered in real-time as staff slammed keyboards, juggled phones, and screamed out bids and quotes.
Every time they absorbed the sell orders, more came pouring in—as if hedge funds were waiting just behind the curtain. Cries of frustration and profanity echoed throughout the floor.
The chaos continued all day long. No one had time for lunch. Hours blurred by in a frenzy until finally—the market closed.
As silence settled over the room, the exhausted FX traders slumped back in their chairs like damp rags.
Piyaphong, too, was completely drained. The moment he relaxed, he realized he didn't even have the energy to lift a finger.
Kaj Damtathuy, now hoarse from shouting all day, clapped his hands to gather what little attention remained among his worn-out team.
"Good work, everyone. I know you're all wiped out, but submit the total amount we spent on baht purchases today."
"Yes, sir."
"Got it."
Responses came in, weak and worn-out.
Piyaphong, who'd been half-collapsed on his desk, slowly straightened up and began typing, checking the day's purchase figures.
[$87,800,000 USD]
Piyaphong let out a sigh without realizing it as he confirmed that he alone had spent well over 80 million dollars.
Adding the foreign currency used by other personnel, more than a billion dollars had essentially been blown away in a single day trying to defend the exchange rate.
The real problem was that this wasn't the end—this was only the beginning.
He was worried about whether Thailand's foreign reserves could hold out until all the increasingly aggressive attacks from hedge funds were repelled.
The memory of the Bank of England and Japan, which had both suffered heavy losses in foreign reserves and ultimately surrendered after trying desperately to hold on, made the situation feel even more hopeless.
"Can we really make it through this...?"
Muttering to himself, Piyaphong shook off his growing sense of despair and stood up to print the order slip so he could report to the center director.
***
Eldorado Fund, Manhattan, New York.
CEO's Office
As the sun had already risen and bright light poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Seok-won sat behind a spacious wooden desk, monitoring the baht's frantic overnight fluctuations across several screens.
With her jet-black hair neatly tied up and wearing a suit, Daisy set down a mug and said,
"Sir, here's your coffee."
Seok-won, who had been closely watching the baht chart from the London forex market following the one in Asia, finally tore his gaze from the monitor and looked at Daisy.
"Thank you."
"You haven't had breakfast yet. Should I bring you a sandwich or something light?"
"That would be great."
Hearing her words, he suddenly realized how empty his stomach felt.
He hadn't noticed it while concentrating on the screens, but since last night, he hadn't eaten anything besides coffee.
"Of course. There's a great sandwich place right outside. I'll be back in no time."
"Thanks."
Smiling brightly, Daisy took the empty tray and walked out.
Leaning back in his chair, Seok-won stretched side to side, loosening his stiff neck and shoulders.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. As expected, Landon and Andrew—who had also stayed up all night—walked in.
"I was about to call you—glad you came."
Seok-won stood up and gestured with his chin toward the sofa in his office.
"Have a seat."
As Landon and Andrew took seats on opposite sofas, Seok-won walked around the desk and settled in the center seat.
Although he'd been at the office since early morning, Seok-won's appearance was impeccable as always.
Wearing a white shirt and a bright-patterned ascot tie gifted by Kinsley, Seok-won exuded a refined, polished air.
Crossing one leg over the other, he looked at Andrew and asked,
"Did you confirm the Quantum Fund's movements?"
Andrew, receiving Seok-won's gaze, habitually adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with one hand before replying.
"Yes. I'm not sure of the exact amount, but just as you predicted, we've confirmed that they sold baht through Goldman Sachs."
"I figured as much."
As Seok-won gave a small nod, as if it were expected, Landon naturally chimed in.
"Considering that today's baht sell orders from Goldman Sachs totaled just over 200 million dollars, it seems they were throwing a light jab before the real assault begins."
"If it weren't just a jab, they would've poured in a lot more money."
"I agree," Andrew added, backing Seok-won's assessment.
"Shall we observe the atmosphere a bit longer?" Landon asked, glancing over cautiously.
Leaning back against the sofa, Seok-won stroked his chin with a pensive look, and the two men fell silent, awaiting his decision.
If they entered the game too late, they wouldn't be able to maximize profits. But if they moved too hastily and disrupted the flow, things could spiral in an unpredictable direction—so they had to tread carefully.
"How much did the Thai central bank spend today defending the exchange rate?"
"Roughly between 1 and 1.1 billion dollars."
"Then the hedge funds will likely hit the baht even harder tomorrow."
"They've seen that the Bank of Thailand—or BOT—won't crumble under just that much pressure, so I'd say that's a safe assumption."
At that, a glint appeared in Seok-won's eyes, and he spoke as though he had made up his mind.
"In that case, let's buy baht tomorrow."
"Shall we stick to the one-hundred-million-dollar bet you mentioned before?" Andrew asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Yes, start with that. Then, depending on the situation, we'll inject a few hundred million more."
"Understood."
"Let's root for BOT to keep up their ironclad defense against this first wave from the hedge funds."
With a sly smile, Seok-won spoke, and the other two couldn't help but smile in return.
"Haha, yes, let's hope they do. If they burn through their foreign reserves and reach the brink of exhaustion by round two, then when we switch positions and go short again, they won't be able to hold out and will have no choice but to throw in the towel."
***
The next day.
It was well past midnight, but Choi Ho-geun and his team members had taken a taxi to the Eldorado Fund office.
Crossing the empty lobby, dimly lit in places, the four of them stepped into an elevator that had just arrived.
As soon as the doors closed, Jung Hwan-yeop let out a big yawn and rubbed his eyes.
"Ugh. I've barely slept a few hours—my eyelids keep drooping."
"I told you to go to bed early. Why did you have to drink beer?" Choi Ho-geun clicked his tongue from beside him.
"How could I just go to sleep after watching such an electrifying, dopamine-fueled showdown? Right?" Jung said, tapping Yoo Seok-hyeon on the shoulder.
"It really was incredible," Yoo replied, his face still buzzing with leftover excitement.
"I've never seen anything like that before," he added, and Hong Jae-hee nodded in agreement.
Even Choi Ho-geun, who prided himself on having years of experience in Yeouido's financial district, had never seen a central bank and hedge funds go head-to-head with over a billion dollars on the line—in real-time, no less. It had been an electrifying experience for him, too.
But the most shocking part was what Mason had said—that what they'd seen was just the prelude to the real battle.
That's why today's match, following yesterday's action, was even more highly anticipated.
Before long, they arrived on the 31st floor, and when the elevator doors opened, Choi and his team hurried toward the Eldorado Fund office.
After passing through the security gate and entering the trading floor, they saw that a few traders were already at their desks.
The four of them exchanged brief greetings with traders they'd grown friendly with during their training period, then pulled up their chairs and sat at their assigned spots.
For a while, they'd been using a meeting room at the back as a temporary workspace, but since a few weeks ago, they'd finally been allowed to trade for real—and with that came the privilege of having their own desks on the trading floor.
It was still only for the duration of the training, but the opportunity to trade on Wall Street filled them with excitement and pride.
Especially for Hong Jae-hee, who had previously only worked in the back office. Being able to experience trading firsthand during this training program made the moment all the more meaningful.
As the group settled in, a junior trader approached them, holding a stack of printouts in her arms. She wore a knee-length skirt and had graduated from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, one of the Ivy League schools.
Handing a copy to each of them, she said, "Here's the material on the baht."
"Thank you."
Each person received their handout with a word of thanks.
While the group quietly reviewed the summary compiled from various sources, Mason arrived, holding a briefcase and walking onto the trading floor. He waved.
"Hi. You guys got here early."
Choi Ho-geun smiled and threw out a lighthearted comment.
"Well, like you said—it's not every day you get to witness something like this. We couldn't miss it."
"Hah. This one's pretty big, sure, but when you're with the boss, this kind of game is nothing," Mason replied, eyes gleaming with pride.
"Did I ever tell you about the time the boss teamed up with the Quantum Fund and crushed Japan's central bank back in '03?"
"Wait—are you saying the boss, I mean the CEO, was part of the yen attack?"
Deputy General Manager Choi Ho-geun asked in surprise.
His team members also widened their eyes, clearly hearing this story for the first time.
Seeing their reactions, Mason lifted his chin proudly and continued, "Not just involved—he practically led the charge with the Quantum Fund to bring down the yen. Now, here's how it went down…"
Just as Mason was about to launch into his enthusiastic tale, Dan, the senior chief wearing a silk necktie, strode into the room and shouted loudly.
"Meeting in twenty minutes! Everyone, report to the conference room—no exceptions!"
He pointed directly toward Choi Ho-geun and his team.
"You four, too. Be there."
"Us?" Choi asked, visibly startled.
"That's right. Boss's orders—don't forget."
With that, Dan turned on his heel and walked out.
"Whew. Looks like the boss is finally making a move," Mason whistled briefly and flashed a grin, his white teeth showing.
"You mean Eldorado Fund is actually joining the baht attack?" Choi asked.
"Of course! You think the boss would sit out a game this big?"
The revelation that Seok-won would not just be observing but personally entering a financial battleground where tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars could change hands made Choi and his team's hearts pound with anticipation. They couldn't wait to see what kind of play he would make.