June 29, 2002, 12:00 p.m.
The lingering disappointment from the narrow 1–0 loss to Germany in the semifinal a few days earlier still hung in the air throughout the streets.
But no one could deny the miracle that had already unfolded. The Korean national team—who had failed not only to advance past the group stage in previous tournaments but had never even recorded a single World Cup victory—had finally claimed their first win in forty-eight years and gone on to reach the semifinals. That alone was enough to satisfy the entire nation, and people showered the head coach and players with praise.
And now, with the third-place playoff against Turkey set to take place later that afternoon, everyone hoped for one final victory—one that would bring the 2002 World Cup, which had engulfed the entire Republic of Korea in cheers and feverish celebration, to a beautiful close.
To savor the final moments of the festival-like atmosphere, many planned to travel down to Daegu, where the match would be held, or gather at Gwanghwamun, where massive outdoor cheering events were expected.
Gu Jaeg-wang and Choi Jun-ho, childhood friends who had grown up in the same neighborhood and were as close as brothers, were also busily getting ready to head out with their other friends to watch the match at one of the outdoor cheering gatherings.
[Today, as tickets for the 2002 World Cup third-place playoff being held in Daegu sold out online within just ten minutes, not only Daegu but the entire Republic of Korea is buzzing with people eager to enjoy the final moments of the festival.
The massive and majestic super-large Taegeukgi—measuring 60 meters in width and 40 meters in height—which has stirred the hearts of countless Koreans and players at every match, was brought into the stadium yesterday and has completed preparations to decorate the grand finale of the festivities.
Meanwhile, the national team....]
On the television in Gu Jaeg-wang's small studio apartment, the announcer's impassioned voice rang out as footage of the Daegu World Cup Stadium, where the match was set to take place, filled the screen.
Volunteer members of the Red Devils, the official supporters' club of the national soccer team, carried in the enormous Taegeukgi, tightly rolled, and moved it in advance to the cheering section of the stadium, preparing to unfurl it for the final card section performance.
"Hey! At this rate, we're going to be late. Hurry up and finish already."
Wearing a red T-shirt, Choi Jun-ho checked the watch on his wrist and urged impatiently.
"Hold on. For a man, hair is everything."
"As if styling is going to change that face of yours."
Choi Jun-ho made a gagging gesture, pretending to vomit.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Gu Jaeg-wang stared into the mirror and carefully ran his fingers through his hair, which he had styled with wax, as he shot back a reply.
"Kickoff's still a long way off."
"People are going to show up in huge numbers again today. If we don't leave soon, we won't even get a place to sit. I heard some people've been camping out at Gwanghwamun since last night."
As Choi Jun-ho kept urging him on, Gu Jaeg-wang washed the wax off his hands and stepped out of the bathroom, replying as he did.
"Tomorrow's Sunday. If I'm going to get something going with some girls tonight, I've got to look good before I head out."
"Bullshit. Don't you remember what happened during the semifinal? You were so confident you could hit on girls who came out to cheer, and you got shot down by every single one of them. We ended up drinking soju with spicy cartilage all night, and you threw up on my blanket. It still smells funky, you punk!"
But Gu Jaeg-wang replied shamelessly, his face completely unfazed.
"That was only because the mood was bad after we lost the match. This time, I'm going to charm some genuinely decent girls, so you can look forward to it."
"Ugh. If a handsome bastard said that, I might believe it. But with that face of yours? Don't you think that's pushing it?"
Since both of them were as average-looking as they came, Choi Jun-ho often wondered where that confidence came from—the kind that kept Gu Jaeg-wang charging ahead without the slightest hint of intimidation, no matter how many times he got rejected.
"Don't worry. I'm overflowing with charm."
"You're insane."
Swearing under his breath, Choi Jun-ho suddenly grabbed a pillow from the bed and hurled it.
"Hey—my hair! My hair!"
Even in the chaos, Gu Jaeg-wang desperately shielded his waxed hair and let out a loud yelp.
"Unbelievable. And I call that guy my friend."
Shaking his head back and forth, Choi Jun-ho clicked his tongue as he continued watching the news, which was still filled with World Cup coverage.
"It's already the last match. That whole month really flew by."
"Seriously. I thought we'd be heading to the final in Yokohama, but losing to Germany was such a shame. Honestly, our players performed better overall."
"Yeah… that's true. But playing two consecutive matches that both went into extra time completely drained them. At the same time, the squad depth wasn't strong enough to comfortably sub out the starters for other players."
Gu Jaeg-wang nodded as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah. You could clearly see how exhausted our players were the whole time. Toward the end, it was painful to watch."
"Even so, they gritted their teeth and kept running until the very end. That's what makes it impressive."
Although they had fallen short in the semifinals just before reaching the final, neither of them nor anyone else in the Republic of Korea blamed the national team.
On the contrary, people were grateful and gave thunderous applause for exceeding all expectations and bringing joy to the entire nation throughout the month of June.
"After more than forty years without even a single win, making it to the semifinals alone is a miracle."
"That's true. Hey, did you see that card section before kickoff against Germany?"
"Dreams come true?"
"Yeah, that one! Man, when that came up, I can't even tell you how overwhelmed I felt."
Choi Jun-ho spoke as well, recalling the emotion of that moment.
"It'll probably be hard to ever feel something as thrilling as this World Cup again."
"Well, since we've walked that path once, we can challenge it again. But it won't be easy."
If reaching the World Cup semifinals were something that could be achieved at will, they would have already done it three or four times over.
The miracle of 2002 was the result of the national team and the entire country charging forward as if possessed, throwing themselves into it with unrestrained passion.
Both of them instinctively knew that a moment like this would likely never come again in their lifetimes.
"It all ends after today."
"Yeah."
Neither of them could hide their disappointment at the thought that the World Cup, which had filled their summer with such heat and passion, would come to a close today.
Then Choi Jun-ho glanced at the watch on his wrist and hurriedly slapped his friend on the back.
"Hey, hey! At this rate, we really won't even get a seat. Let's go."
"Yeah. We're buying the chicken and beer after we get there, right?"
"Right. Hoon-seok and Gitae said they'd buy it and bring it."
"Okay."
Gu Jaeg-wang picked up his phone and checked his reflection in the mirror by the shoe cabinet.
Both of them were dressed in red T-shirts—the unofficial uniform of the entire nation throughout June—and wore red Devil headbands on their heads.
On top of that, they had even brought along small national flags to wave and cheering sticks. Their preparations were flawless.
"Hey. Turn off the TV!"
"Okay."
Just as Gu Jaeg-wang reached for the remote control on the table, a breaking news banner suddenly flashed across the bottom of the screen.
"…What is that?"
The broadcast, which had been showing World Cup match footage, suddenly cut back to the studio.
A female news anchor seated at the desk delivered the breaking news with a grave expression.
[We will now bring you breaking news.
At approximately 9:54 a.m. today, two North Korean patrol boats crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea and launched a preemptive attack on our Navy's high-speed patrol craft after being ordered to withdraw.
Our forces immediately returned fire, sinking one North Korean patrol boat and driving the other back north of the NLL. In the process, multiple injuries were reported among our forces, and the wounded are currently being urgently transported to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital.
The government strongly condemned the North Korean military's actions as a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and a direct provocation that blatantly breaches the agreement reached at the first inter-Korean defense ministers' talks to jointly work toward easing tensions between the two militaries.
At the same time, an emergency National Security Council meeting has been convened under the president's direction, and the government is closely monitoring North Korea's next moves.
Once again, at approximately 9:54 a.m. today....]
"What… what is that supposed to mean?"
"A clash in the West Sea all of a sudden… it's like a bolt from the blue."
Just moments ago, they had been chatting about soccer and looking forward to the possibility of meeting someone new that day. Now, faced with the completely unexpected breaking news, both of them froze.
It felt as if a bitter midwinter cold had suddenly swept in, sending an icy chill down their spines.
"It's not like this is going to turn into a war or something… right?"
At Gu Jaeg-wang's muttered words, Choi Jun-ho snapped sharply.
"A war isn't going to break out that easily, is it?"
"Maybe not, but they said a North Korean patrol boat was sunk and that we've got a lot of wounded."
"Damn it… what the hell is this, coming out of nowhere?"
At that moment, Gu Jaeg-wang, who had been staring at the television with a grim expression, suddenly contorted his face.
"Damn it!"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I put all the money I saved from my part-time job into stocks, and now I'm totally screwed. Once the weekend's over, the market's going to crash the moment it opens!"
"How much did you put in?"
"Five—"
"Five?"
"All five million won! I went all in on Hi-Tech! Aaaaargh!"
Gu Jaeg-wang clutched his head and cried out in despair.
As part of the government-led "Big Deal" restructuring among the five major conglomerates, Hyundai had acquired LG Electronics' semiconductor division. Unable to withstand worsening management conditions, the company sold off or spun off all its other divisions—PCs, mobile phones, and home appliances—leaving only the semiconductor business. It then changed its name to Hi-Tech.
Choi Jun-ho stared at him in disbelief.
"You burned five million won on a company that could go under any day?"
"It swings up and down like crazy. The volatility is huge. I was planning to ride the waves and grow my investment."
"Are you insane? Since when did you become some kind of stock master? In a market crawling with sharks, what made you think you could just jump in?"
"Hey, but it went up by 100 won over a few days! I nearly doubled my money!"
Choi Jun-ho clicked his tongue and shot back,
"Then you should've taken your profit and gotten out at the right time."
"I thought it would go higher…."
Muttering in a dejected voice, Gu Jaeg-wang made a faint, pitiful sobbing sound under his breath.
"Good grief, you idiot. And where did you even get five million won to put into stocks? Even if you worked part-time, there's no way you could've saved that much."
Then Choi Jun-ho's expression suddenly turned serious.
"You didn't take out a loan or anything… did you?"
As Choi Jun-ho cautiously took a step back, eyeing him warily, Gu Jaeg-wang hurriedly waved his hands.
"No. I thought about using margin trading, but I got scared and didn't touch it."
"That's a relief, at least. Then where did the money come from?"
"From working construction during winter break, and the bits I'd been saving up little by little. That was my entire fortune."
Gu Jaeg-wang's shoulders slumped.
Seeing his friend so utterly deflated, Choi Jun-ho couldn't bring himself to say anything more and simply let out a sigh.
***
At the same time, the Yeouido 63 Building.
[Market experts are expressing concern that the inter-Korean naval clash that occurred in the West Sea today may negatively affect foreign investors' sentiment and pour cold water on our stock market, which had been showing signs of a rebound. In particular, with the New York stock market reeling from consecutive accounting fraud scandals....]
Standing with his arms crossed as he watched the news, Seok-won noticed Director Choi Ho-geun entering after a knock at the door. He picked up the remote control and turned off the television.
"Let's sit down and talk first."
After speaking to Director Choi Ho-geun, who had bowed his head politely, Seok-won walked ahead and took the seat of honor in the center.
Director Choi Ho-geun followed and sat on the sofa to his right. Crossing one leg over the other, Seok-won asked,
"How's the market atmosphere?"
Director Choi Ho-geun replied with a stiff expression.
"Fortunately, today is a market holiday, so the clash in the West Sea hasn't had an immediate impact on the stock market. However, once the market opens on Monday, we expect it will be difficult for investors to avoid the shock."
Seok-won gave a small nod as he responded.
"Since it's hard to predict how the situation will unfold, investors will probably try to avoid risk by selling first."
"That's correct."
Sneaking a glance at Seok-won's expression, Director Choi Ho-geun cautiously shared his opinion.
"Considering that during the West Sea naval clash in 1999, the stock index plunged by as much as 2.2 percent, we expect a similar level of decline this time."
As Seok-won listened silently, Director Choi Ho-geun continued.
"On the other hand, the defense stocks we've already acquired should benefit from this development and are likely to see significant gains for a while."
He couldn't help but admire the impeccable timing—how Seok-won had managed to accumulate defense stocks just before something like this happened.
For a brief moment, he even wondered whether Seok-won had somehow known in advance that a naval clash would break out in the West Sea. But he quickly shook his head.
He remembered that when Seok-won had first ordered the purchase of defense stocks, he had reasoned that as the United States waged its war on terror and instability in the Middle East intensified, domestic defense stocks would bottom out and rebound.
'To think something like this would happen right after we loaded up on defense stocks… He truly seems born not only with the insight to read the market, but with the luck to make money as well.'
Director Choi Ho-geun muttered inwardly, wondering if this was what people meant by fortune bestowed from heaven.
Then, hearing the instruction that came from Seok-won's mouth, Director Choi Ho-geun's eyes widened in shock.
"When the market opens on Monday, buy up every bit of the flood of sell orders."
"...!"