“That was CEO Ming…”
“Don’t use a scarecrow as an excuse. CEO Ming came by and explained the whole situation. How did you invest to get results like this?”
“The global market conditions were good…”
“If they make the college entrance exam easy, does everyone get a top score? No matter how good the global market was, Changcheng’s returns on entrusted funds are overwhelming. No, not just among entrusted managers. Even compared to every investment firm at home and abroad, they’d be overwhelming. How on earth?”
With an awkward expression, I avoided Director Oh’s gaze.
I could hardly remember it clearly now. Had Changcheng’s first investment been short-selling a domestic manipulated stock…?
By then, Changcheng’s seed money had already doubled. When the Nasdaq crashed over Donald’s tariff remarks, it doubled again through inverse products; when that same Nasdaq recovered within a week, it doubled again through leverage; when Nvidia plunged in the aftermath of DeepSeek, it doubled again; when Nvidia recovered its previous high in two days, it doubled again…
Just the things I could immediately remember were at that level, and every single one was a result that would have been impossible without memories of the future.
“Director. That’s not what matters right now.”
“What?”
“The end of the war. The Russia-Ukraine war, which lasted longer than the Korean War, has finally ended. Then we should hurry up and find reconstruction theme stocks too.”
“Don’t change the subject, you bastard! Reconstruction or whatever, we have thirty billion dollars in Russian bonds tied up. How am I supposed to explain this to the higher-ups?”
“Director…”
“It’s not pocket change, it’s forty-five trillion won! Looking at the state Russia’s in, they won’t even be able to pay the interest, let alone the principal. Do you think I want to talk about reconstruction right now?”
“We can collect on it.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be in cash… We just need to receive something of equivalent value, don’t we?”
Director Oh’s prediction was extremely accurate.
Contrary to public expectations that Russia would have an advantage in reconstruction thanks to its natural gas, Russia would suffer from severe fiscal hardship going forward. It was only natural, since Ukraine had received “aid,” while Russia had financed its war expenses through “bonds.”
The high-interest bonds they had issued like promissory notes returned after the war as a massive pile of debt, and Putin, in a way that was very Putin-like, even cut pensions for wounded soldiers and the families of the war dead. Even so, the fiscal crisis never ended, and he frequently resorted to threats of default.
“Equivalent value? What kind of technology does a country on the verge of collapse have that we can receive thirty billion dollars’ worth of value from?”
“…That’s not necessarily true. No matter how much Russia may be a paper tiger, it’s still ahead of Korea in basic science.”
“You bastard, are we the Ministry of Science and Technology?”
“…Wouldn’t that basic science, once transferred, contribute to the development of our applied sciences and engineering?”
“Why do you keep spouting sophistry, you little—!”
Like Cinderella, I had to endure a round of scolding for quite some time.
Even so, part of me felt relieved. Seeing Director Oh fly into a rage, it didn’t seem like he was going to report me to the prosecution. I had caused an unimaginable accident, but a little nagging like this was nothing…
“Enough. From now on, do as I say.”
After the long scolding finally ended, Director Oh spoke in a firm voice.
“The purchase of Russian bonds was something the Changcheng Fund did on its own. It has absolutely nothing to do with our entrusted funds. If we cut ties right now, both sides can end things cleanly. Let’s take only the money we’re owed and terminate the entrusted management contract with Changcheng.”
“…Are you saying we should give up the Russian bonds?”
“What are we going to do with a check that’s bound to bounce anyway? If we hold it, it becomes a problem, but if Changcheng holds it, there’s no problem. Before the Western financial sphere gets the wrong idea… no, before they uncover the truth, let’s cut ties early.”
“Director…”
“You bastard, think about this coldly for once. Even if Russia does end up having the ability to repay, would they repay the Chinese authorities’ bonds first, or ours? If we hold onto this for no reason and the prosecution takes issue with these materials, I won’t be able to defend you either. This is the best option.”
“…That won’t happen.”
“What?”
“The relationship between China and Russia will become a bit delicate from here on.”
No matter how people say there are no eternal enemies or friends in diplomacy, the China-Russia relationship would turn truly cold-blooded.
The root cause was money. The high-interest bonds they had issued without thinking of the consequences gradually turned the Sino-Russian relationship into that of master and servant.
Russia implemented harsh austerity measures, even cutting pensions for wounded soldiers and the families of the war dead, but even then, the fiscal crisis was not easily suppressed. As a result, Putin frequently threatened default, and China, forced to swallow its tears, extended bond maturities, forgave interest, and wrote down principal, until cracks formed between the two countries.
In a way, he really was consistent.
Putin, the icon of backstabbing, backstabbed enemy nations, friendly nations, and his own people with remarkable fairness.
“What?”
“For Russia, the bonds held by the Chinese authorities are an enormous burden. Conflicts arising from that will be frequent. So treating the Russian bonds as money we won’t be able to collect anyway and giving them up would be an extremely foolish choice.”
“Are you saying that because you don’t know how close China and Russia are right now?”
“The Soviet Union was once an ally of the United States. Iran was once an ally of the United States, and China was once a strategic partner of the United States. What is eternal in the international community?”
Director Oh stared at me for a long while, then said,
“So what are we going to do by holding Russian bonds? Do you think Russia, which won’t even be able to repay the Chinese authorities’ bonds, will repay these?”
“For now, please just hold onto them. I’ll try to create an opportunity.”
Director Oh let out a long sigh.
“…Damn it. Holding them in itself is a violation of the West’s financial sanctions.”
As if comforting him, I said,
“A problem of that level is something our political circles should be able to resolve…”
Unlike Director Oh, who was full of worry, my head was filled with anticipation.
There were countless technologies Russia had that Korea did not. If we wanted to receive compensation equivalent to thirty billion dollars, what would be best?
*
“Your Excellency… The Chinese ambassador visited the Kremlin today. I am deeply sorry, but he says there has been no change in their position.”
The Kremlin, Moscow.
A man stood before Putin and his ministers, his face ashen.
The man, who held a high-ranking position in the KGB, had one weighty mission. To persuade China to overturn the Gyeongju Memorandum and continue the war…
But the results of the meeting were not good. The Chinese ambassador demanded an immediate end to the war without revising their position, and judging by his unyielding attitude, it seemed to be the will of the presidential palace.
After a long silence, Putin opened his mouth.
“Then China will no longer buy our bonds?”
“…Yes.”
“No. Aleksandr, you should not be answering ‘yes.’ If China does not purchase the bonds, how will we secure war expenses? You answer that.”
Alek turned pale.
This was power already riding on the back of a tiger. For Putin, the end of the war was no different from a death sentence.
Contrary to initial expectations that it might be even easier than the annexation of Crimea, Russia had suffered one disgraceful performance after another, until the front lines became fixed without even fully capturing Donbas.
In the process, just how weak the Russian military was had been exposed to the whole world, and Ukraine, where pro-Russian and anti-Russian sentiments had originally been in tight balance, had hardened outright into an anti-Russian nation.
“Y-Your Excellency…”
“What are you doing? Answer me.”
Putin’s face turned bright red.
Through the invasion of Ukraine, Russia had expanded by about a handspan on the map, but considering the manpower and resources spent, there was no worse bargain. If the war ended as well, no one could guarantee how the internal discontent they had suppressed until now would erupt.
“Seeing as you cannot answer, I suppose you have no plan?”
“I-I apologize. However, I will prepare a plan as quickly as possible and prepare for a second invasion.”
“No, there’s no need for that. You could not even succeed in the small matter of persuading China. How could I entrust you with something larger?”
“…Pardon?”
“The weather is cold today. Have a warm cup of tea.”
When Putin gestured, the secretaries placed a cup of black tea before Aleksandr.
“Y-Your Excellency!”
“What are you doing? Has your heart changed so much that you no longer wish to share a cup of tea with me?”
“P-Please spare me. If only for the sake of my wife and children…”
“If you refuse this cup, I will send gifts to your family as well.”
“Y-Your Excellency! Your Excellency!”
Aleksandr sank to his knees. This tea, gifted by Putin, was a tea one could drink only once in one’s life.
Alek, who was from the KGB, had conducted countless operations using this tea, and his clients had always drunk exactly one cup before falling asleep forever.
“…Your Excellency, why not calm yourself for a moment and first finish discussing the matter going forward?”
While everyone held their breath and watched Alek, Finance Minister Anton opened his mouth.
Having served as finance minister for roughly ten years, he was one of Putin’s closest aides and a capable minister who had made distinguished contributions to securing war funds until now.
“Going forward?”
“Yes. Right now, more important than China no longer buying our bonds is what they will do with the bonds they have already bought.”
Putin’s eyebrow twitched.
In truth, it was an issue he had been conscious of ever since talk of ending the war began. Russia’s dependence on China had risen in proportion to the bonds China had purchased, and China’s influence over Russia had soared.
The Gyeongju Memorandum, agreed upon with the United States while bypassing Russia, said everything. It showed that from now on, Russia had no choice but to follow the direction China dictated…
“Anton, what is it you want to say?”
“It is time we seriously discuss it. The method by which we do not repay them…”
The officials of the Finance Ministry already looked like they had lost their country.
No matter how much they thought about it, there was no answer. If they repaid all this money, it was obvious inflation would erupt like in Germany during the Great Depression.
“So? What is the method of not repaying?”
“Rather than opposing the end of the war, it seems better to use the Gyeongju Memorandum as leverage.”
“A bargaining chip?”
“Yes. In exchange for following the Gyeongju Memorandum, we must obtain practical cooperation from China, such as extending bond maturities and forgiving interest. Not only that, once reconstruction proceeds, we will need tens of billions of dollars in budget from here on. We must unfreeze our assets in the Western bloc and quickly bring them into the state treasury.”
Anton’s head grew faint.
The postwar reconstruction costs calculated by the Russian Finance Ministry alone amounted to tens of billions of dollars. Purchases of Russian bonds by third countries other than China had also been assessed at around twenty-five percent, and there was not a single one among them they had any money to repay.
“Your Excellency… In every respect, it seems best to follow the Gyeongju Memorandum. And with China, we must negotiate as much as possible to give them something other than money. To do that, our communication channel with China is also important. We desperately need even a single person well-versed in Chinese affairs.”
Putin quickly understood Anton’s meaning.
He turned his head toward Aleksandr, who was sitting collapsed on the floor, trembling.
“My, my thinking was too short-sighted. Alek, it seems we very much need you.”
“I-I-I will do my utmost. I will definitely bring about negotiations with the Chinese authorities.”
“Yes, I trust you will do well this time. There will not be a second failure, will there?”
“O-O-Of course not! I will absolutely succeed.”
After saying that, Putin downed the black tea in front of Alek in one gulp.
“Y-Your Excellency!”
“You mustn’t!”
But nothing happened.
“Why are you all acting like that? Is there some problem with this flavorful black tea?”
Leaving the ashen-faced ministers behind, Putin grinned and said,
“But who knows what the next black tea you drink will be like. Ha ha.”
“…”
“Everyone, do your utmost. Our finances are already strained enough as it is, and we cannot hand out natural gas for free just to repay bonds. Think with all your might about how not to repay them.”