President Yoon Ki-hoon, having finished the conversation, gave a deep bow before stepping outside.
As Seok-won rose from his seat and moved over to the desk, a female secretary from the executive office soon entered after a light knock and cleared away the teacup on the table.
Seok-won briefly glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then picked up the approval documents again. At that very moment, his phone began to vibrate.
Checking the name displayed on the screen, Seok-won immediately pressed the call button and answered.
"Perfect timing—I was just waiting to hear from you."
[Haha, is that so? If I'd known, I would have hurried and wrapped up the deal a bit sooner.]
Branch Manager John Porter burst into cheerful laughter from the other end of the phone.
"You sound like you're in a good mood—looks like the returns turned out quite well."
[In the end, we liquidated all positions at 139.86 yen, and the return came out to 17.7%.]
After finishing up, the female employee quietly left the room carrying the empty teacup and tray. Watching her go, Seok-won moved the mouse and brought up the USD/JPY exchange rate window on the monitor.
[USD/JPY: 138.99 (21.03)]
Not only the Eldorado Fund, but also hedge funds and major players that had been betting on a yen short position began liquidating their positions. As a result, the exchange rate—which had surged sharply—fell by more than one yen in just a single day, showing signs of weakness.
"With a position that large, I expected the average selling price to drop quite a bit, but 139.86 yen isn't that far from the peak."
[I thought so as well, but once 140 yen was broken, a flood of dollar orders came in, which allowed us to maintain our returns.]
Seok-won, having easily grasped the situation, formed a faint smile on his lips.
"It seems exporters like Toyota and Sony rushed to convert the dollars they received from export payments before the exchange rate fell further."
[As expected, you caught on right away.]
"As companies that generate a large portion of their revenue overseas, even slight fluctuations in the exchange rate can result in massive foreign exchange gains. No matter what the Ministry of Finance says, when they see the exchange rate dropping, they have no choice but to quickly sell off the dollars they're holding."
[Hahaha. That's exactly right.]
Even though the bubble had collapsed, Japan still stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States as an economic powerhouse, so the amount of dollars its export companies earned in a year was enormous.
'Of course, that too will soon begin to decline as China rapidly rises as the world's factory and South Korea—its strong competitor—gradually overtakes its key industries like semiconductors, automobiles, electronics, and shipbuilding.'
In any case, for now, it was still an era when the reputation of "Made in Japan" remained strong.
[Thanks to that, not only us but also other hedge funds and major players are finding it easy to unwind their positions.]
Leaning back into his plush chair, Seok-won spoke.
"Watching those who drained the foreign exchange reserves walk away calmly with profits, aided by their own country's export companies, must be driving Japan's Ministry of Finance up the wall."
[They'll probably grind their teeth just hearing our name.]
At Branch Manager Porter's words, Seok-won replied with a relaxed demeanour.
"The fact that they're grinding their teeth means we've made that much profit in Japan—so you could even consider it a badge of honour."
[Now that you put it that way, I suppose you're right.]
Considering how they had repeatedly profited at Japan's expense, it was only natural that just hearing the name Eldorado Fund would make them bristle.
Branch Manager Porter, speaking with a tone of pride, continued his report.
[After excluding all the various costs incurred, we have earned a total of 8.42 billion dollars.]
"Good work."
Pleased with the substantial figure, Seok-won showed a satisfied expression.
[We made significant profits from the exchange rate, but what I'm really looking forward to is the Nikkei.]
"The Nikkei is barely holding above the 8,000 level, isn't it?"
[That's correct.]
Branch Manager Porter immediately responded.
[With the recent surge in international oil prices raising concerns over worsening corporate profitability, and Japanese financial institutions—facing large-scale disposal of non-performing loans—selling off massive amounts of corporate stocks to strengthen their financial soundness, the Nikkei has been unable to stop its decline.]
As he listened, Seok-won moved the mouse and brought up the Nikkei index chart on the screen.
[Nikkei: 8032.19 (▼28.63)]
Looking at the index displayed on the monitor, Seok-won spoke calmly.
"Since 8,000 is a key support level, it won't break easily—but if even one strong negative factor hits, it could collapse at any time."
[I think so as well.]
Agreeing with Seok-won, Branch Manager Porter cautiously asked,
[Our return so far is 25.8%. With the index having dropped by a quarter, it seems like it's nearly reached the bottom—when do you plan to liquidate the position?]
Seok-won, who had already made up his mind, answered immediately without the slightest hesitation.
"Once the Nikkei touches 7,900, we'll start unwinding our position from there."
[...!]
Caught off guard by the unexpected remark, Branch Manager Porter asked back, unable to hide his bewilderment.
[Did you say 7,900?]
"Yes."
[That would mean it would have to fall more than 100 points from where it is now—do you really think that's possible?]
"You just said that high oil prices would worsen the performance of Japanese companies."
[Ah. Yes.]
"If high oil prices are resolved quickly, it'll end as a short-term shock, and the index will recover. But if my prediction is correct, international oil prices won't fall—they'll continue to rise."
[....]
"In a situation where international oil prices keep soaring, if the feared earnings shock of Japanese companies becomes reality, there wouldn't be a more certain negative factor for the stock market than that."
After a brief silence, Branch Manager Porter spoke again.
[Then… how high do you expect international oil prices to go?]
"You'll likely see them exceed 30 dollars per barrel within this year."
[30 dollars…! Are you serious?]
"With supply already constrained, if President Bush begins full-scale economic stimulus this year for his re-election campaign, oil prices will climb even more steeply."
Thirty dollars alone would be a massive shock, yet hearing that prices could rise even further made Branch Manager Porter unconsciously swallow hard.
"But once the global economy recovers, Japan—having many export-driven companies—will also benefit, and its stock market will rebound. So when the initial shock hits and the index plunges sharply, that will be the perfect moment to lock in profits and get out."
Before he knew it, having completely forgotten even the fact that they had made substantial profits from the exchange rate, Branch Manager Porter spoke in a stiff voice.
[So that's why you made such a large bet on oil futures and bought up so many oil company stocks.]
Holding his phone in his hand, Seok-won broke into a wide grin, revealing his white teeth.
[If things go as you say, you'll be writing another legend on Wall Street. Truly remarkable.]
"Only if everything goes according to plan."
[You've never failed even once so far, so I'm sure it will turn out that way this time as well.]
At the expectation-filled remark, Seok-won nodded with a relaxed expression.
"Don't let your guard down until the very end—keep a close eye on market movements."
[You have nothing to worry about.]
After talking a bit longer, Seok-won ended the call and set his phone down.
He was about to return to reviewing the approval documents spread out before him when his gaze suddenly stopped on the desk calendar placed to one side.
Looking at the date circled for tomorrow—January 25, a weekend—Seok-won muttered softly,
"It's already tomorrow."
Perhaps because Seok-won's very existence had created a butterfly effect, things that once matched his memories were now gradually beginning to diverge.
Even the Iraq War, which President Bush had declared over not long ago, should have originally begun in March of this year, according to his memory.
However, despite some minor changes, the major events had still unfolded as they originally had, so there was a high chance that this time would be no different.
"I hope I'm wrong this time."
Letting out a small sigh, Seok-won's expression darkened.
***
Saturday, January 25, 2003, 3:00 PM.
It was already past the time they should have gone home after finishing their morning shift, yet the office of a venture game company located on Teheran-ro was still packed with employees.
Workers sat in their chairs, looking half like zombies, pounding away at their keyboards, while energy drinks and coffee cups were scattered everywhere.
Because of the tight development schedule, it had already been a month of constant overtime—weekends included.
As a result, everyone's faces were filled with exhaustion, and dark circles hung heavily beneath their eyes.
Team leader Seo Yong-won, having loosened his stifling necktie and tossed it onto one side of his desk, looked around at his team and spoke.
"To meet the release schedule, we have to finish all the character rendering work by today. I know it's tough, but let's push through just a little more."
"Yes..."
The team members replied in weak voices.
Knowing that everyone was already doing their best, even sacrificing their personal lives, Team Leader Seo Yong-won felt that saying anything more would only come across as nagging, so he stopped there and returned to his seat.
Like the others, his desk was a mess—empty coffee cups, snack wrappers, and all sorts of miscellaneous items tangled together, making it hard to find any clear space.
Sweeping aside whatever was in his way with a rough motion, Seo Yong-won checked the clock at the bottom of the Windows screen.
"I was supposed to receive the sketches for the new items today."
Just as he moved the mouse to check his email, Seo Yong-won suddenly frowned.
"What the—what's wrong with this?"
[Page cannot be found.]
No matter how many times he hit refresh, not only did the internet fail to connect, but the error screen kept appearing.
"I'm already swamped as it is—this is driving me insane."
As Team Leader Seo Yong-won pressed his forehead, Oh Tae-kwon, who was nearby, turned around in his chair.
"What's wrong?"
"The internet's not working."
At that, Oh Tae-kwon got up from his seat, stepped closer, and peered at the monitor.
"Huh? You're right."
Just in case, he unplugged the internet cable connected to the computer and plugged it back in, but the error screen remained unchanged.
"Is it just me?"
When Team Leader Seo Yong-won asked with an irritated expression, voices erupted from all around.
"Ah! It's not working for me either."
"My computer's frozen too."
After confirming that the internet was down throughout the entire office, Seo Yong-won frowned.
"Could the router be broken? Go check it."
Nodding, Oh Tae-kwon went over to inspect the telecom router installed in one corner of the office, then turned back with a bewildered expression.
"It looks like there's no internet signal coming in at all."
Frowning, Team Leader Seo Yong-won spoke curtly.
"We're already short on time, and now the internet's acting up too. Call customer service right away."
"Yes."
Oh Tae-kwon immediately picked up the receiver and called the customer service centre of their internet provider.
But instead of being connected to a representative, only a recorded message played.
[This is the OO Customer Service Centre. Due to a high volume of inquiries, connections are currently delayed. Please wait a moment…]
As they waited for quite some time while listening to the hold music, Team Leader Seo Yong-won grew irritated.
"What are you doing? They still haven't picked up?"
"No. It looks like there's a huge queue."
Feeling an uneasy sense of foreboding, Team Leader Seo Yong-won furrowed his brows.
"It's not like everywhere else is down too… right?"
"Come on, no way."
Oh Tae-kwon shook his head lightly with a faint laugh.
However, no matter how long they waited, only the hold music and recorded message repeated—there was still no sign of being connected to a representative.
As the waiting time dragged on, a strange silence settled over the office, and unease gradually spread across everyone's faces.
TL/n -
The SQL Slammer worm, unleashed on 25 January 2003, was one of the fastest‑spreading computer worms in history, crippling parts of the global internet within minutes and causing major outages, especially in South Korea.