CEO Ming’s vision went dark.
He could see the Great Wall Fund, which had set out with such ambition, collapsing in ruins as of today.
Damn it. They said silence was golden. Why had he turned his last chance into his own funeral day with a pointless question?
“...Of course not. I only asked because I didn’t know what position we should invite the person you recommend to take. And because I wanted to know how careful we should be with our words if an audit comes from NPS headquarters.”
Fortunately, that pathetic excuse seemed to be to his liking. The insolent young man smiled again and said,
“That won’t happen. I have full authority over both selection and audit regarding the Changcheng Fund mandate.”
“Th-then that’s a relief. Yes, we will hire the person you recommend as an outside director. In that case, how much of an incentive should we give them?”
“Market price.”
“...Pardon?”
“I’m asking you to set the incentive according to my investment performance.”
“...I say this out of an abundance of caution, but what if your portfolio is underwhelming, or ends up in the red?”
“Then you don’t have to pay it. Also, I, as the person with full authority, will take all losses and responsibility that follow.”
CEO Ming drank down ice water.
At first, he had thought this young man was merely arrogant, but in just five minutes, he changed his mind. He wasn’t simply arrogant—his guts had completely burst out of his belly.
Only then did he understand how Changcheng Fund had received a mandate proposal from NPS, beating out all those formidable fund companies.
What this bastard wanted was someone desperate. A desperate fund firm that was just barely keeping its signboard up.
“Market price... Usually when a restaurant writes ‘market price,’ it’s never cheap.”
“Yes, it will be somewhat expensive. It’s the portfolio I’m instructing, after all.”
“Then even if that portfolio truly incurs a loss, you won’t hold us responsible? If, by any chance, the promise differs...”
“CEO Ming. If you accept this proposal, then you’re the one holding the gun.”
“...Pardon?”
“If I don’t keep my promise when the time comes, report all of this to NPS headquarters. How about that? Then Changcheng Fund will have at least one safeguard as well, won’t it?”
CEO Ming’s deliberation did not last long.
“Very well. We’ll do as you say. But what kind of portfolio are you envisioning, to be so certain...”
Once the big picture was agreed upon, the young man’s face brightened considerably.
He handed CEO Ming the papers he had prepared.
“This is the portfolio. If we finalize the contract today, 2.1 billion dollars should be deposited within two days. In Korean won, that’s three trillion.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Put half of it into the portfolio you prepared today, CEO Ming. You’re far more capable than I expected. It will generate high returns.”
CEO Ming smiled bitterly.
Even the best investor in the world wouldn’t speak in such a tone of certainty. So how did this bastard talk about everything like a teacher grading dictation?
“Thank you for your generous evaluation. Then the rest of the money...?”
“Buy cryptocurrency with all of it.”
“B-Bitcoin?”
“Yes. And don’t do anything. Nothing at all.”
CEO Ming went pale.
“T-Team Leader?”
“I’ll say it once more. The reason we selected an external manager is to buy assets that the pension fund cannot handle. I won’t listen to objections.”
“...I have no intention of objecting. From the moment you brought up the outside director, I was prepared to do everything you told me. However, as a partner firm... Of course you said you would take all responsibility, but since we’re in a position where we can’t avoid responsibility entirely either, may I at least ask one question?”
Fortunately, the tearful look on CEO Ming’s face seemed to stir the young man’s sympathy.
When the young man nodded, he spoke rapidly.
“Cryptocurrency has no substance. It’s electronic data with no purpose or use, like NTFs or the metaverse that briefly became popular during COVID. Above all, the Fed is preparing a stablecoin, saying it will expose the fraudulent nature of cryptocurrency. With America sharpening its blade like that, will its value really rise?”
“The Fed has already lost.”
“...Pardon?”
“It won’t be able to beat decentralized currency.”
“What do you mean...”
Unlike him, who was growing impatient, the young man’s face was endlessly relaxed.
“CEO Ming. Ten years ago, the Fed clearly said this: ‘Cryptocurrency is a scam.’”
“...”
“Then five years ago, it changed to ‘It is probably a scam,’ and recently, its stance shifted to ‘Could it be a scam?’ And now it’s preparing a stablecoin that removes all the advantages of cryptocurrency and gathers only its disadvantages.”
“...”
“Of course, I don’t know either... why that thing goes up. But if we’re going to argue like that, is there any scholar in the world who can explain the price of gold?”
“Forgive my impertinence, but Team Leader, you seem almost certain it will rise.”
“Yes. From the moment it was included in an ETF index, the stage of debating whether it’s a scam had already passed. And seeing the Fed prepare something like a stablecoin, I concluded that it recognizes cryptocurrency as a threat to dollar hegemony.”
“...”
“I’ll say it once more. I alone will take responsibility for the investments I instruct.”
After thinking for a while, he nodded.
“Understood. We’ll do as you instruct.”
“Thank you. You and I communicate well, CEO Ming.”
“Then do you have no other instructions besides that?”
“Mm... There is one thing. Before investing in the portfolio you prepared, how about increasing the seed money a bit first?”
“What do you mean?”
Saying that, the young man took out a thick stack of documents from his bag.
“This is a list of suspected stock manipulation targets currently in the KOSPI market. If we shake out the operators’ pocket money, we’ll be able to start with double the seed money.”
“Y-yes? You’re telling us to short-sell?”
“Is there something strange about that?”
“...Of course it’s strange. No matter what, we are people entrusted by NPS to invest its assets. If we make money by shorting the KOSPI, that resentment will naturally spill over onto NPS as well.”
“I don’t think so.”
The young man shook his head.
“Of course, if you burst a manipulated stock, individual investors will suffer too. But how is that something an investment firm should be criticized for? You’d be preventing even greater victims.”
“But...”
“The Financial Supervisory Service will take the blame. If you’re not inclined, you don’t have to do it.”
CEO Ming knew instinctively.
The bastard spoke as if there were a choice, but if he did not follow his instructions, the contract would go up in smoke.
“...We’ll do as you instruct.”
“Good. Then since both sides seem to have agreed on all the details, shall we stamp the contract?”
The young man held out the management mandate contract, and CEO Ming swallowed hard. Don’t think about anything else. First, he had to stamp that seal so the company could breathe again.
The truth was, he did not want this contract at all.
He, too, had once made a name for himself on Wall Street as an aggressive investment manager, but he was nothing compared to this young bastard.
This bastard wasn’t at the level of aggressive investing. He was simply gambling. And going all-in on every hand at that.
“Ah, before you stamp it, there’s one last thing I’d like to ask of you.”
Just before he stamped the seal, the young man looked at CEO Ming. Unlike before, there was not a hint of a smile on his face.
“What we discussed today is confidential.”
“O-of course.”
“But the human heart is not always like that.”
“...Pardon?”
“If by any chance you leak what we discussed today to NPS headquarters, or think of using it later as leverage to threaten me, you’d be better off not doing so. It may sound like I’m showing off, but I’m not in a position where I’d be kicked out of the company for taking a few pennies on the side. But for Changcheng Fund, its only rice bowl would be smashed to pieces.”
“...”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
*
On the way back after amicably finishing the mandate contract with Changcheng Fund, Meilin, sitting in the passenger seat, asked me,
“I’m so glad it all worked out nicely! But... why didn’t you bring up Russian bonds? You said that was your ultimate goal, Sejun.”
“The war is going to drag on anyway. It won’t be too late to talk about reconstruction projects later.”
“That war is going to last that long? But the news said it’s already entering a lull.”
I only gave a bitter smile.
“Sigh—anyway, Sejun, you really are an unpredictable man. But Sejun... what exactly am I supposed to do?”
“It’s a bit difficult to explain...”
“What is it?”
“Meilin, CEO Ming will probably pay you a fairly large amount as an incentive. Ten percent of that is your compensation.”
“Ten percent... Then what about the other ninety percent?”
“Please launder it through several accounts I’ll tell you about. If you don’t like the ratio, we can adjust—”
“Sounds good.”
“...You’re okay with it?”
“Yes. Somehow, I feel like the ten percent you’re talking about will be far more than what my father earns. Korean won is much more expensive than yuan, so I’m sure I’ll earn more. But... may I ask where that laundered money will be used?”
For some reason, the night view of Gwanghwamun was beautiful today.
I wondered just how far my absurd dream would come true. I was certain that millions of anti-government protesters had filled that square.
“Political funds.”
“Ah... I see. There’s one more thing I’m curious about. May I ask one last question?”
“Go ahead.”
“...Why? When I first saw you, Sejun, you were definitely an assistant manager, and now you’re a senior manager—no, you’ve even become a team leader. I don’t know much about investing, but I at least know that people who are doing well quickly start their own companies. So why do you keep taking such a dangerous path? You said becoming a politician wasn’t even your dream.”
When she finished speaking, news about the Ukraine-Russia war came over the radio.
It had already been a full year since the war began. They said both sides had already suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and millions of war refugees had been displaced.
“Well...”
Suddenly, several presidents came to mind.
Why had it been? For what reason had they cried out for nuclear armament and self-reliant national defense in those times? What future had they seen that let them know even America was a country that could change?
“...”
It seemed I wasn’t the only regressor in Korea after all, was I? But all the ones I knew had met bad ends. Would I follow the same path as them?
“I guess it’s fate.”
I don’t know.
It seems this time, it’s simply my turn.