Free Web NovelI turned on my laptop and opened my email.
The inbox contained videos and various documents.
After downloading everything, I started with the videos.
When I finished watching them all, I let out a deep sigh.
“Choi Taeuk...”
The people we had brought in this time had refused to talk at first, but after intense interrogation, they eventually spilled everything.
“Manager Ma.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Do you know Choi Taeuk?”
“Yes. Isn’t he the CEO of an IT company?”
“That’s right. But why do you think his name is appearing here?”
Manager Ma looked quite surprised and instead asked me back.
“Was Choi Taeuk the one operating the support team?”
“Yes. Apparently, Choi Taeuk provided the funding.” freeweɓnovel.cøm
The backgrounds of Choi Seohyeon’s support team were quite impressive.
Police officers, soldiers, even former National Intelligence Service personnel.
They were all specialists in gathering information.
Putting together a team of experts like that required a tremendous amount of money.
Considering how much we spent annually on our own intelligence team, it wasn’t difficult to estimate the cost.
“We’ll have to find out whether Choi Taeuk is acting under Baltice’s orders, or if he and Choi Seohyeon knew each other from the beginning.”
Afterward, I read through all the attached materials.
They had investigated quite a lot—my movements, connections, and even the state of my assets.
It didn’t look like something they had prepared in a short period.
“Collect everything on Choi Taeuk. His weaknesses, his relationships, his movements. Everything. And focus especially on his connection with Baltice.”
“Yes, understood.”
Choi Taeuk was the key card that could resolve this situation.
“Tell them I want reports as quickly as possible.”
After Manager Ma left, I closed the laptop.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I called Han Kyungyeong.
Soon afterward, Han Kyungyeong returned from the office.
Without a word, I pushed the laptop toward him.
“What is this? Something from Korea?”
Han Kyungyeong opened the laptop and began reading.
As he continued, his expression gradually hardened.
“...Choi Taeuk is behind this?”
“You know him too, right?”
“Of course. The heretic of the IT world. But every business he touches succeeds. The hand of God. We approached him several times to invest.”
“Yeah. Now his reasons for rejecting our investments finally make some sense.”
I already knew Choi Taeuk would succeed.
He had become successful in my previous life as well.
His business ability and technical skills were considered among the best in Korea.
Silicon Valley had even tried to recruit him several times.
His abilities were widely recognized.
“So what do we do with this bastard, Hyung?”
“What do you mean what? We crush him.”
I laughed quietly at Han Kyungyeong’s blunt answer.
“I’ve already ordered the Korean intelligence team to uncover everything about him.”
“What’s my job?”
“Keep focusing on ISDA.”
“Got it.”
Leaving behind Han Kyungyeong, who nodded solemnly, I slowly began arranging plans in my head.
Several days passed.
Manager Ma hurried into the office.
“Boss, ISDA has made its decision.”
“What was the result?”
“They declared a credit event regarding Bear Stearns and announced that they would proceed with the auction process.”
I fell into thought.
We had obtained the outcome we wanted, but this was only the beginning.
“When is the auction?”
“Starting next Monday.”
I nodded and stood up.
“Call Hyung. Tell him we’re holding an emergency meeting.”
An hour later.
All of Dreamhigh’s key personnel gathered in the conference room.
I signaled Han Kyungyeong to begin.
“Everyone has heard ISDA’s decision, right?”
“Yes.”
Han Kyungyeong slowly looked around the room.
“We have to maximize our profits through this auction. At the same time, we must stop anyone from intentionally inflating the bond prices.”
Baltice would undoubtedly try to increase the value of the bonds as much as possible to reduce the damage to Bear Stearns.
“First, Team A will handle the auction. Focus entirely on preparation. Build various scenarios and prepare responses for all of them.” ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The leader of Team A nodded.
“Team B will focus on the Federal Reserve and Wall Street. Use every connection you have and find out who’s participating in the auction.”
The leader of Team B also nodded.
“Team C will support Teams A and B. Spare no human or material resources.”
The leader of Team C nodded as well.
“Remember this. This auction is not just a financial transaction. Our future is at stake. Prepare thoroughly.”
“Yes!”
The meeting ended and everyone left.
Han Kyungyeong loosened his tie and let out a deep sigh.
“Muhyuk, I’m really exhausted.”
“You’ve worked hard, Hyung. Once this game is over, let’s rest for a while.”
“We’ve prepared so much to get here.”
“Hyung, this is the moment to show the power we possess. We need to make sure no one ever dares challenge us again.”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
There were many procedures required before activating CDS contracts.
After ISDA officially declared a credit event, participants and auction schedules were established.
These CDS contracts were insurance tied to CDOs.
And since CDOs were derivatives connected to MBS products, the auction would determine the value of the CDOs, which in turn would determine how much insurance had to be paid under the CDS contracts.
Once all auctions ended and the market value of the underlying assets was determined, the insurance payments had to be made immediately.
But Bear Stearns no longer had the ability to pay.
* * *
Eventually, auction day arrived.
Dreamhigh’s trading room was filled with tension.
I was looking down at the trading floor from Han Kyungyeong’s office.
Peter, the leader of Team A, addressed his team.
“Everyone, our objective is clear. We have to push the price of the underlying assets as low as possible. That will maximize profits from our CDS positions.”
“Yes, Team Leader. Everything is ready.”
Peter turned toward Han Kyungyeong.
Han Kyungyeong nodded.
As the clock struck exactly on the hour, the message announcing the start of the CDS auction appeared.
“First round begins!”
At Peter’s shout, the traders sprang into action.
“Current market price is 38%.”
One trader reported.
Han Kyungyeong immediately gave orders from behind.
“Put in a massive sell order at 35%. We need to spread fear.”
The traders quickly entered orders.
Numbers on the screen began falling rapidly.
“Second round. Price has dropped to 36%.”
Han Kyungyeong’s eyes gleamed.
“Push harder. Add more sell orders at 34%.”
The traders moved quickly.
At that moment, Mark, the leader of Team B, shouted urgently.
“Large buy orders are coming in from multiple parties. The buying pressure is too strong!”
Han Kyungyeong looked toward me.
I nodded slightly.
Receiving my signal, he immediately gave instructions.
“Keep dumping sell orders between 33.5% and 34.5%. We have to overwhelm their buying.”
The trading room had become a battlefield.
Fingers moved nonstop.
Confirmation sounds for sell orders rang one after another.
“Third round. Price has fallen to 34.2%.”
Han Kyungyeong smiled with satisfaction.
“Good. Maintain the momentum. Keep placing sell orders between 32% and 33%. Push the other participants into panic.”
Round after round, prices continued falling.
Sweat formed on the traders’ foreheads, but their eyes remained resolute.
“Final round! Two minutes remaining!”
Han Kyungyeong stood up and walked toward the large screen.
“This is the last chance. Throw everything into it. Push it into the 31% range.”
During the final two minutes, the trading room descended into madness.
Sell orders poured down like a waterfall.
“Ten seconds! Nine, eight, seven...”
The countdown began.
Everyone stared at the final price.
“...Three, two, one. End!”
For a moment, everyone held their breath.
Then the final price appeared.
31.8%.
“Perfect! We did it!”
Peter threw both arms into the air and shouted.
At the same time, cheers erupted throughout the trading room.
I watched them for a moment before lowering the blinds.
Then I picked up my phone.
“Eva. You watched the entire auction process, didn’t you?”
— Of course, Boss. You successfully drove the value of the underlying assets to an extreme low.
“Dreamhigh’s traders are professionals. They worked hard.”
— So now it’s my turn?
“That’s right. Start immediately.”
— Okay, Boss!
It was good news for us.
But for Bear Stearns, it was no different from a bolt from the blue.
A few days later, Eva arrived in America.
She didn’t come alone.
She brought the representatives of the paper companies we had dispersed.
Naturally, they were people I had never met before.
“Hello. I’m Kim Muhyuk.”
After brief introductions, we went straight into the meeting.
Eva stood at the front and took charge.
“Now it’s time for us to file claims under the CDS contracts held by each company.”
Using charts displayed on the screen, Eva explained the process.
“Since the final auction price was set at 31.8%, we can claim 68.2%.”
Taking a deep breath, Eva reported to me.
“Boss, the total value of our CDS contracts is fifty billion dollars. Applying 68.2% gives us...”
I finished the sentence.
“Thirty-four point one billion dollars.”
The room fell into suffocating silence.
Everyone understood what that number meant.
The first to break the silence was the attorney who would handle the insurance claims.
“Yes. Exactly. We’ve prepared claim documents totaling thirty-four point one billion dollars. We strictly complied with all ISDA regulations, and our law firm reviewed everything five times.”
I looked at the lawyer.
He was someone familiar.
“This is the second time we’ve worked together, right?”
“Yes, Charlie.”
“I’m counting on you again.”
The lawyer handling this case was David.
He was one of the five most famous lawyers on Wall Street.
Among the major cases he had handled were Microsoft’s antitrust lawsuit and the Enron case.
He was famous for delivering exactly what his clients wanted.
“I have to work hard for my success fee.”
And he loved money.
He was the kind of man who would chase money into hell itself.
At that moment, Han Kyungyeong cautiously spoke.
“Boss, a sum this large could shock the entire financial market. Other major institutions may react strongly.”
“James, we’re doing everything according to the rules. Even if they resist, there’s absolutely nothing legally wrong with it. Right, David?”
David nodded.
But he didn’t completely dismiss Han Kyungyeong’s concerns.
“Legally, there’s no issue. However, there is room for intervention by the U.S. government or regulatory authorities.”
After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
“Then let’s do it this way. Submit the claims, but proceed step by step. Since five investment companies hold the contracts separately, we’ll start with ten billion dollars and observe the reaction.”
David’s expression brightened.
“A wise decision. That will reduce initial resistance while creating a precedent. Once that precedent exists, future claims can be processed quickly according to the same standard.”
“Good. Eva is in charge of everything. Work closely with her and collect every cent.”
Thirty-four point one billion dollars.
Even if Bear Stearns sold off all its assets, it still wouldn’t be enough to pay that amount.
