Chapter 80
Translator: Dreamscribe
"The oil price dropped again."
"Is it because of Trump?"
"Yes. Apparently, President Trump strongly criticized OPEC this time, saying they are deliberately manipulating oil prices. Thanks to that, the price went down in the short term."
It’s not just any other country.
It came straight from the mouth of the President of the United States, so of course it was bound to affect the price.
But there was a problem.
It was one thing for the price to move due to Trump.
The issue was that a specific group started taking positions 30 minutes before the price fluctuation occurred.
"And right after that, an issue like this pops up again without fail."
"So they’re making profits in advance by taking short or long positions?"
"Yes. Not just our securities firm’s overseas traders, but traders from other firms are also suspicious. They're wondering if President Trump himself is directly involved."
It might sound like a conspiracy theory.
But those who have worked in the US market for a long time know.
That political figures are deeply involved in the stock market.
Of course, it’s rare for someone to trigger issues as frequently and suspiciously as Trump does, but this is all just circumstantial evidence.
And it will likely remain as circumstantial evidence going forward as well.
Because there is no institution in this world that can investigate the President of the United States.
On top of that, our country has many regulations regarding high-ranking officials holding stocks.
But the US is relatively lenient.
And it was revealed that Trump holds stocks in various companies, and he’s been heavily criticized for exploiting legal loopholes to avoid full disclosure.
That’s why the suspicion is only growing stronger.
That the person who is the US President is raising and lowering stock prices to pocket his own gains.
"Well, this kind of thing doesn’t only happen in the US. It’s common in most countries. The only reason the US gets more attention is because of its global influence."
"True. If the head of state wants to fill his own pockets, who’s going to stop him? Besides, we’ve been enjoying some profits ourselves thanks to Trump, haven’t we?"
It’s a sort of custom to reward those who helped with the election and, in the process, enrich oneself as well.
Kangseong and our Kwangwoon could be considered companies that benefited from that.
"By the way, what did G-Mart say?"
"They said they’d accept our entire proposal."
"No way. Really? That’s surprising. I thought for sure they’d reject it."
Just like hyung said, I thought the same.
Even when I first sent the proposal, the staff in our department probably assumed Kangseong would reject it.
"But I guess they were feeling threatened by Lupang too. Lupang’s growth has been no joke."
They’re called the Big Three, but honestly, everyone knows.
If things keep going like this, Lupang will win overwhelmingly.
"The business structure isn’t bad, honestly. If they combine it well with the system of 'Midnight Snack Nation’, they might be able to block Lupang from rapidly expanding early on."
"Do we have a suitable person?"
I was already in charge of both the securities and the exchange.
Taking on a new business on top of that seemed a bit too much.
"I’ll find the right person and put them in charge. And if they hit any business roadblocks, I’ll tell them to ask you. Give them some advice from time to time."
"Okay. And the expenses will be covered by headquarters?"
"Yeah. Our group has an overflow of money right now. Instead of losing money, everyone’s making a killing."
That means the group can decide for itself how to use that money.
But hyung left all the decision-making about that money to me.
Transferring money to the securities firm requires a capital increase and is entangled in all sorts of complex laws.
But without going through such complications, I could directly decide how to move the group’s money.
"Set aside a budget for the business you're running. Even after doing that, there’s still plenty of money left. Over 1 trillion won, in fact. The executives are saying if there’s nowhere to spend it immediately, maybe we should park it elsewhere for now."
"Where to?"
"The US market. They say it’s incredibly stable right now. Virtually no volatility."
When I first entered the securities firm, it felt like a storm hit nearly every single day. But doesn’t calm always follow after a storm?
The U.S. stock market was the same.
It had been tossed around by all kinds of turbulence, but now it was showing very stable indicators.
"They say the VIX is at the lowest level in history. Rather than buying safe assets and letting them sit, the returns are decent right now, so they want to spread the money there instead."
It seemed the executives had been preparing diligently in their own way.
Hyung simply showed me a list of stocks.
Starting with the inverse VIX ETF, it was a list of stocks currently expected to yield stable long-term returns.
Since it was an amount nearing 1 trillion won, it was difficult to pour it all into one place.
They intended to distribute it across various areas.
"The market really is more stable now than ever."
Despite the uncertainty called President Trump, the market remained stable.
The reason was actually simple.
Even though President Trump held the most powerful position in the world, becoming the President of the United States doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants.
If he doesn’t control the Senate and the House of Representatives, he can’t carry out any of the policies he wants to implement.
While the Republican Party did secure some seats, the Democratic Party, which keeps him in check, also gained a similar number of seats, making it difficult for him to run his policies.
Ironically, this has created a power that can restrain President Trump, which in turn contributed to the stability of the market, keeping stock prices from fluctuating.
"So right now, wherever we put the money, it’ll stay stable…"
It was right at that moment.
I was about to pick a stock from the list to tell hyung.
But suddenly, the paper I was holding caught fire.
Startled, I threw the list onto the table.
"Wh-What’s wrong?"
Once I threw it on the table and looked again, the paper was perfectly fine.
But just a moment ago, it was definitely burning.
"......."
Should I pick it up again? I thought for a moment.
But I didn’t.
Because I felt like I might see the illusion of fire on the paper again.
What mattered was the message that illusion was trying to convey.
"Hyung, for now, don’t invest the money anywhere. Just hold on to it. I’ll talk to our staff and get back to you."
The more I used my intuition, and the more time passed,
The more clearly it started conveying its will in various ways.
‘But this one was way too realistic.’
The issue was that my intuition had been upgraded to the point of dominating even my senses.
In the past, I relied purely on vague feelings.
But now, it was so visually obvious that anyone could tell whether it was a warning or a good sign.
‘Then how much more will it be upgraded from here?’
***
VIX.
It refers to the volatility index.
Also known as the fear index.
The lower the VIX, the more stable the market is, with little fluctuation. Conversely, the higher the VIX, the more fearful and unstable the market is perceived to be.
A very high VIX would be around 40.
Moderately high would be 30.
Normal is 20.
But currently, the U.S. VIX index was at 11.
This was the lowest VIX level in history.
"Traders these days must be yawning all the time."
"Exactly. Can the VIX even go this low? This is the first time I’ve ever seen a number like this."
"Of course. It’s the first time in U.S. history. That just shows how stable the market is."
It felt like a giant tree that had withstood countless storms.
Everyone was viewing the market optimistically.
"That’s why products like XIV are blowing up right now."
XIV was an inverse VIX product.
As the U.S. market displayed historically high stability, everyone began pouring money into inverse ETFs.
Products based on the belief that the market would continue to remain as stable as it is now.
In the past, people would’ve laughed and asked who would put money into something like this, but now, it was the most popular product in the United States.
“Anyway, our CEO must be incredibly bored these days. With the market volatility this low, he can’t even find a place to invest money.”
“That’s why lately he hardly pays attention to the stock market and is only focusing on corporate acquisitions and partnerships.”
“Honestly, I think this is better. Back when he was heavily investing in the stock market, he would even stay up all night. And we were the ones getting ground down beneath him.”
“Ha. Still, I miss it sometimes. The days when the CEO had all of us sitting down while he commanded every move and raided the market.”
It was physically exhausting, but there was never another time when the dopamine surged all the way to the top of their head like that.
So lately, they’ve honestly been missing it.
The days when they moved the market with rapid-fire trades, second by second, following CEO Jung Jin-ho’s orders.
But nowadays, he doesn’t gather all the department members for strategy meetings like he used to.
Unless there’s some major issue, CEO Jung Jin-ho doesn’t even come to work.
There was even a time when he didn’t show up for an entire week.
“He probably won’t come in today either. Looking at the U.S. market yesterday and the domestic market today, there’s been absolutely no movement.”
“That goes for Bitcoin too. Back then, things were constantly blowing up around the world, and I used to wish things would just calm down a bit. But now, I almost wish something would happen.”
There were even rumors going around that traders in Yeouido were barely showing up to work. Just as the thought crossed their mind, should they all just take a group vacation at this point.
“Department Head!!”
A staff member rushed into the office, flustered.
“What’s wrong?”
“The CEO is calling for you!”
“What? The CEO came to the office?”
“Yes. And he’s ordered that not a single person from the Prime-tier departments be absent. Everyone is to come up.”
“......!”
The staff exchanged glances with each other.
They sensed it too.
For the first time in a long while, CEO Jung Jin-ho was summoning the entire team.
And what did that mean?
It meant something serious was about to happen.
“Everyone, get ready and head up.”
“Yes, sir!”
The once-quiet office suddenly regained its energy.
***
“Currently, whether it’s U.S. securities firms, domestic investors, or foreign investors, the one place everyone is pouring the most money into right now is right here. XIV. Everyone is continuously investing in inverse ETFs, and a huge amount of capital has been concentrated there.”
I calmly reviewed the data the staff had hurriedly prepared.
The fact that all markets had now entered a period of stability meant there were no stocks significantly dropping or rising.
It’s good that the market is stable, but putting money into it now could yield lower returns than even a savings deposit.
That’s why the inverse VIX came to mind.
A product that bets on volatility decreasing.
You invest based on the forecast that the market will remain stable, or even become more stable, like it is now.
“That’s probably why our group is planning to spread its funds across this area too. Putting money into so-called safe assets right now is practically the same as letting it rot, since there’s no volatility there either.”
I skimmed through the current popular inverse VIX ETF products.
Everyone had created similar ETF products and were selling them like crazy, so the list was endless.
“.......”
Same as yesterday.
Just like the list hyung showed me, all of the products on the list began to go up in flames.
Before the fire spread to me, I placed the documents on the table.
Strangely, the moment I let go, the flames vanished as if they were never there.
“What do you all think? Does this product seem decent?”
“I’d say it’s the best investment method for now. There’s never been a time when the VIX was this stable. That’s why people can’t make money going short, and they can’t make money going long either. So everyone is pouring their money into this product. Most expect the VIX to drop even further.”
To be honest, those inverse products are essentially all short positions.
They’re bets that the VIX will fall even further from where it is now.
“But what if it goes up?”
“Even if it rises a little, it probably won’t lead to a big loss. It could always come back down again.”
But I had seen it clearly.
All those products were engulfed in flames.
If it wasn’t just a red signal but burning in actual fire, didn’t that mean they were in a very dangerous state?
“What about products that assume the VIX will rise?”
“If you’re talking about a slight increase, then maybe...”
“I’m not talking about a slight increase. What if it rises significantly?”
“You mean a long-term increase?”
“.......”
Department Head Seo’s words didn’t give me any particular feeling.
“Are you perhaps... talking about a short-term VIX surge?”
And then, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head, a sharp sensation struck me.
“Yes.”
“H-However, a short-term VIX surge is just not possible at the moment. If something like that were to happen, it would mean a massive bomb just went off…”
That’s exactly what it would mean.
All the money was currently tied up in inverse VIX.
Everyone believed the U.S. stock market would remain stable.
That’s why all the money had poured in there.
“But you just said it yourself. That all the money is concentrated there. Doesn’t that also mean too much money is concentrated in one place? How much money do we currently have available for trading in our securities firm?”
“About 1 trillion won. All of it has been distributed across various investments, and that’s the amount we can move immediately.”
But the sensation I got from 1 trillion won was too faint.
Of course, it was a lot of money, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy my intuition.
“What if we increase the funds from here?”
“We can bring in the funds from headquarters. If we open an account under our securities firm as a client, the money can be deposited there. Then, they can delegate the authority to let us manage the investments.”
“Then please open the account. So that the funds can be transferred to us.”
“W-Wait a minute, CEO-nim. That would put us in charge of more than 2 trillion won. If you’re predicting a short-term VIX surge, we can’t possibly inject the entire 2 trillion into products that go against the current trend.”
It was a matter of volume.
But there was no need to invest it all into a single product.
“If the VIX rises sharply in the short term, wouldn’t that shock also affect other stock prices?”
“Most likely, in the short term.”
“Then that’s enough. We won’t put the money in one place, we’ll move it around to various spots. There are plenty of stocks listed on the U.S. market, right? 2 trillion won is a volume the market can absorb.”
“CEO-nim… are you saying...”
Department Head Seo and the rest of the staff turned pale.
“Y-You’re going to run day trades with 2 trillion won?”
*****
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