Side Story 41. A Month Later - Kwon Seong-Il (2)


    「Title: South Korea’s stock market hits an all-time high… KOSPI surpasses 3,700 points. Are we entering the era of 4,000 and 5,000?


    Today, the KOSPI has pierced through the 3,700 mark, setting a new, all-time high. Starting fromst week, the KOSPI has been continually setting new records. It has been surging since it was announced that Iljoo Construction and Daehoo Construction were selected as the entering groups.


    In particr, Daehoo Construction, an affiliate of Jeonil group, is currently hitting the upper limit of 29.99%, while Ilsung Electronics, which had raised high expectations, is unable to escape the lower limit of 29.99%.


    Today, KOSPI showed a record-breaking ten percent surge, breaking through 3,775 and leading global stock markets.


    Yesterday, Lee Dae-Jin, the head of the investment strategy team at Daehoo Securities, said, “We are on the verge of entering a new era for our civilization. The preference for risk assets in the global financial market is bing clear.” He added, “We had anticipated the all-time high of 2,600 points within this year, but now any prediction seems meaningless."


    ording to the Korea Exchange, individual investors have bought ''KODEX Leverage'' worth fifteen trillion won since the boom began on November 12th. This ETF tracks twice the daily return of the KOSPI 200 futures index. If the KOSPI 200 futures index rises one percent in a day, this ETF rises by two percent.


    Individual investors who have invested in this ETF have made a nearly 180% return in the past three weeks due to the index''s surge. The all-time highs in global stock markets, not just the KOSPI, are believed to have stemmed from high expectations about the outer space venture following an agreement among the top ten global investment firms four days ago.


    Comments:


    └It''s not toote. Considering the scale and level of civilization of Saint Dragorin, the venture has no choice but to expand.


    └This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in human history. It''s a blessing for all of us to live in this era. Isn''t it time for the three pirs of God Odin?


    └Goddin! Goddin! Goddin!


    └Should I enter now as it keeps rising?


    └I predict 5,000 points tomorrow. Hurry up and board! Surely no one is foolish enough to short the market now.


    └I crave gains.


    └The leader is not Daehoo Construction but Ilsung Electronics. Think about who the president of the World Awakened Association is. It''s an obvious fact.


    └Do you think the association president would be interested in the likes of Ilsung? Why would he care about a mere when he lives like an emperor? Anyway, I hope you don''t jump into the Han River. You''re not the only one invested in Ilsung, okay?


    └The moment financial sanctions are announced, everyone here will copse. They say sanctions areing soon.


    └If you''re jealous, invest too. Just sell your soul to get more money. Why the negativity in this glorious era?


    └Goddin! Goddin! Goddin! Let''s break the upper limit of leverage tomorrow!


    └King Association~ Please give us one more big win!


    └There''s no supply for Daehoo Construction. Give us a chance. Let''s share the profits. It''s unfair.


    └It''s too strong today. Go easy. We need to go long, right? It''s not a one-time business.


    └Yes! I entered at the opening and made a 15% profit. I only trust Him! KOSPI 10,000, let''s gooo~


    └Goddin! Goddin! Goddin! Amen. 」


    ...Damn, should I try it too?


    As Seong-Il read the article, he became more anxious. While he was drowning in ever-increasing interest, everyone else seemed to be thriving.


    I should''ve held back, even for Hera''s sake.


    Kim Ji-Hoon left for outer space urgently, iming his neck disc had burst, and Hera left for another purpose. In the end, the loan repayment issue was not resolved at all.


    However, the reason why he couldn''t hold onto Hera was because of one fact that Kim Ji-Hoon had shared. How could Hera, just because of her name, have had such a massive amount of fifty billion dors?


    She had borrowed that money from the U.S. government. In return, Hera promised to pressurize the association so that apany designated by the U.S. government could venture into outer space.


    That was why Hera''s current location was the headquarters of the World Awakened Association.


    Although I''m trapped, I''m still grateful.


    He didn''t know why she had shown such favor to him. But there was one unchanging truth in the world that there was no such thing as a free lunch apart from the interest.


    Seong-Il sighed again.


    ...Why did I get involved? What should I do now?


    His eyes naturally turned to the monitor.


    ...Stocks.


    ***


    Of course, Seong-Il knew that if he mishandled stocks, it would be a total disgrace. But this thing called ''leverage'' has recorded a 180% return in just three weeks. So, if he put in 100 million won, he would earn 180 million won.


    If I had put in fifty billion dors, how much would that be?


    It turned out that stocks from the selectedpanies, Daehoo Construction and Iljoo Construction, were unbuyable even if he wanted them.


    If I have to buy, I have to buy leverage, but what''s leverage? What is ETF?


    The inte exined it as follows: it''s like a stock, but it''s not. It''s like a fund, but it''s not.


    In a nutshell, it was a stock that operated like a fund, but Seong-Il found it hard to grasp this concept. Fortunately, there were many reference videos on YouTube. In these times, when almost everyone was into stocks, he didn’t even have to search. Popr rmended videos were all about them.


    「Elementary students understand Leverage ETF.」


    「Invest in ETF (Leverage) right now, the greatest era of humanity!」


    「Ten hard-carry tips learned from gamer_butler''s y.」


    「Pay attention to the potential value of Saint Dragorin.」


    There were more.


    「Stock Market Bubble - unprecedented rapid rise. Clear signs of overheating. Relying solely on rosy hopes without real performance.」


    「97 IMF Crisis, 00 IT bubble, 08 Subprime, this July''s King of Hell hearing... The strongest crash is approaching.」


    Videos from so-called financial experts with negative views were also visible. But Seong-Il wasn’t interested in that. Seong-Il grabbed a pen and paper and started watching the video titled "Elementary students understand Leverage ETF."


    After a few viewings, he roughly understood the concept of ETFs.


    So, it''s a product created to invest in stock indices. There are indeed brilliant minds in the world. How did theye up with this?


    Simply put, the stock index included all the stocks in the market. So, if a financialpany, like Ilsung Securities, linked all the stocks on the market to an ETF product? The product would naturally move ording to the stock index.


    In other words, buying an ETF had the effect of diversifying investments in all domesticpanies listed on the KOSPI! The exact mechanism of how ETF prices were determined was rted to the existence of LP (Liquidity Provider) and future prices. But individuals only needed to know the basic concept.


    Indeed, nothing is as important as diversifying investments! This is a great discovery.


    Seong-Il had heard that diversifying investments was important in stock investment. He felt like he was seeing things with fresh eyes. If he had bought leverage earlier, then he wouldn''t have to fret about the interest.


    He immediately picked up the phone. He was calling where a substantial amount of money, which Hera lent him or to be precise, the US government amodated and lent back through Hera, was tied up. It was a call to the US headquarters of SOB (Sun of Bank).


    <Hello, how are you? It''s Caliber.>


    <Hello, Mr. Caliber.>


    <I need to withdraw some of my money. Please transfer it to the ount you''re currently calling. It''s a Korean ount.>


    <May I ask why?>


    <Do you know what an ETF is? I''m thinking of investing a bit in it.>


    <Are you referring to the entire fifty billion dors?>


    <Is there a problem?>


    "As you know, fifty billion is a significant amount for us. Therefore, we need some preparation time. As you know, Mr. Caliber…>


    <Just skip the ''as you know'' part. If I want my money back, why all this talk? Do customers need to worry about the bank''s situation? Just deposit my money quickly. Isn''t that what banks are for?>


    <...Mr. Caliber.>


    <Oh, should Ie over there myself? I assume you don''t want to upset King of Hell.>


    <We understand. But if you''re looking for an investment, how about investing in the US stock market?>


    <I''m Korean.>


    A Korean should invest in Korea. Why would they invest elsewhere?


    ***


    Jeonil Bank was in chaos because a whopping fifty billion dors suddenly came in without any prior notification.


    “What…what the heck is this fund?”


    "It''s from Mr. Kwon Seong-Il... Caliber''s ount."


    "Was it reported? To the Financial Services Commission (FSC)?"


    "Yes. The chairman of the FSC is currently visiting. The bank president is also in a frenzy because of this."


    "Damn, this is driving me crazy. The FSC is one thing, but what about us? What does the foreign exchange team say? Huh?"


    "What can they do?"


    "…First, process it and then report. I''ll contact Caliber."


    "Okay, sir."


    Having arge influx of foreign currency would generally strengthen our foreign exchange reserves, which would be a good thing. However, the problem was that this country was an exporting nation, not an importing one. In a country that relied on exports, a strong domestic currency could be fatal. Things were already turbulent due to this issue, and now Caliber added fuel to the fire.


    Not just the FSC. The Blue House also directly sent official documents to all banks. The message was clear. They wanted to prevent foreign investors froming in and exchanging their dors for domestic currency. While Caliber wasn''t a foreigner, the dors that came into his ount that day were unprecedented in scale. The only simr incident would be back during the IMF crisis when Jeonil Group, then known as Jeonil Investment, brought in hundreds of billions of dors.


    The deputy bank president hesitated several times before picking up his cell phone.


    He has to pick up…


    Just then, internal phones in the office began ringing all at once, and employees who had just left the room looked back in surprise. The deputy bank president stared at the monitor in shock.


    As expected, the exchange rate had dropped significantly in the most recent announcement. Caliber was exchanging his dors for the domestic currency.


    「Exchange rate plummeting.」


    「[Breaking News] Confirmed inflow of investment funds amounting to fifty billion dors.」


    「[Breaking News] KOSPI breaks the 3800 mark!」


    ***


    At that moment, Gillian and Jessica were also facing the same issue.


    "Fifty billion dors have entered Korea. We can''t know who''s hot money it is, but we''re certain it''s not from us. Maybe it''s from China? I can''t think of such a fool. It''s impossible to be that stupid."


    "Hmm... What''s clear is, as you said, once the fool joins in, there''s no turning back. We''re nning to make a profit, but what about you?"


    "We feel the same. And we''d also like to teach that fool a lesson. When the fifty billion dors waiting in Korea is put into action, we''ll consider that D-day. Sort of a re."


    "Of course. Investing such a huge amount in this unprecedented bubble, even if that hot money loses, it''s worth it. I''ll contact Brian."


    "He will surely think the same."


    "Most likely."


    Gillian began sorting out the documents. The surge was over. Now, it was time to prepare for the crash.