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CH137 | GSI
🕑 Added 2025-02-16 03:35:01 +0000 UTCApril 10, 1995 – Morning
Entering her fourth year at the company, Na Sung-mi hurried up the subway station stairs, a handbag slung over one shoulder, making her way to work.
She normally arrived 30 minutes early to prepare before her direct supervisor, Seok-won, showed up. But today, she woke up late, making her even more anxious.
Stepping out of the elevator, Sung-mi entered the office and flipped on the lights, brightening the dim room.
Glancing at her wristwatch, she saw that it was just past 8:50 AM.
She was 20 minutes behind schedule, but as long as she got everything ready before Seok-won arrived, she was in the clear.
"I need to get everything sorted before the director gets here."
She set her handbag on her chair and turned on her computer first.
Taking off her blazer, she neatly hung it in the closet behind her desk and hurried into the inner office to organize things.
She expected the room to be empty, but the moment she opened the door, she froze in surprise.
Seok-won was already there, sitting at his desk, focused on his computer screen.
"Oh my! Director!"
He leaned back slightly, glancing up at her.
"You're here?"
Sung-mi stared at him, still caught off guard.
"Goodness… When did you get in?"
Despite the sunlight streaming in through the large windows, Seok-won looked slightly fatigued.
"I had work to do, so I came in early. Can you bring me a cup of coffee?"
"Of course."
Just as she turned to leave, he called out again.
"Wait a moment."
She turned back. "Is there something else?"
He pulled out his credit card and handed it to her.
"You know the Japanese restaurant behind the office, right?"
"Yes."
"The Investment Team 1 members have been working since early morning. They probably haven’t eaten, so order their most expensive bento boxes and have them delivered."
"Understood."
"We won’t have time to go out for lunch either, so while you're at it, place an order for lunch as well. Not just for Team 1—it should cover the entire Investment Division. Oh, and make sure to include yours and mine too."
Sung-mi hesitated. "That’s going to be quite a lot…"
"That’s fine."
It was then that she remembered—Seok-won was the chairman’s son.
She had briefly worried about using his personal credit card instead of a corporate one, but clearly, that concern was unnecessary.
Realizing she’d be getting a luxury bento lunch, Sung-mi secretly cheered and asked,
"Got it. Anything else?"
"No"
At his response, Na Sung-mi gave a brief bow and quickly left the room.
As the door closed, Seok-won leaned back into his plush chair, his eyes fixed on the computer monitor.
[USD/JPY: 83.09]
At one point, even 82 yen had seemed dangerously fragile. But with the Bank of Japan (BOJ) scrambling to flood the market with yen and buy up dollars, they had managed to push it back above 83 yen.
However, in the process, the BOJ had exposed its weakness—showing that rather than controlling the situation, they were being dragged along helplessly by the hedge funds led by George Soros.
"And on top of that, they've just sent a clear signal to every forex dealer in the world—something big is about to go down today."
No doubt by now, rumors were already spreading through the forex trading circles that the BOJ had been ambushed by hedge funds in the Sydney forex market.
And this was just the prelude—the real battle would unfold soon when the Tokyo forex market opened.
Right now, every trader and investor around the world was watching, holding their breath, wondering—
"Can the BOJ withstand the onslaught? Or will they be forced to surrender like the Bank of England?"
Seok-won already knew how this would end.
But since he had returned to this moment, there was always the possibility that something could change—which meant he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
"If anything deviates from the original course, I’ll step in immediately. I can’t let history change."
His eyes flashed sharply.
Thanks to his successful investments in Mexico, his fortune had grown massively. If needed, he could use his own cash reserves to tip the scales—ensuring a decisive victory for the hedge funds.
Seok-won glanced at his wristwatch, then turned his attention back to the monitor displaying the Tokyo forex market ticker.
"Only 20 minutes until the market opens."
***
9:25 AM – Bank of Japan Headquarters,
Nihonbashi-Hongokucho, Chuo Ward, Tokyo
With the Tokyo forex market just minutes away from opening, the air inside the trading floor was thick with tension—so quiet, you could almost hear a pin drop.
Dozens of traders, including Manager Yamada, sat frozen, eyes locked on the giant status board at the front of the room.
They were exhausted from the month-long battle, but today was the day—the one that would decide everything.
No one could afford to let their guard down now.
As the silence stretched, Yamada, too anxious to stay seated, stood and checked his watch with a tense expression.
"What's the situation in Sydney?"
A trader at the front desk, eyes still glued to his monitor, turned slightly to respond.
"Holding steady at 83.09 yen. Buying pressure has eased for now."
"Any movement from Quantum Fund?"
Before the first trader could answer, a broad-shouldered colleague beside him spoke up instead.
"Their last buy order was an hour ago. Nothing since then."
"Hmm."
The sudden calm felt unnerving.
Not long ago, the hedge funds had been attacking aggressively, flooding the market with buy orders. And now? Complete silence.
Instead of relief, Yamada felt a growing sense of dread.
It felt eerily like the stillness before a massive storm.
"Could it be that George Soros has decided to retreat after seeing us fight back?"
Beside him, Director Matsuyama, his expression grim, murmured under his breath.
But Yamada immediately shook his head.
“They launched a precise strike targeting our weak points—there’s no way they’d back out so easily.”
“Hah… I figured as much.”
Matsuyama sighed, not having seriously expected otherwise.
As the entire room remained gripped by an ominous silence—
Riiiing!
A sharp ringing suddenly shattered the tension.
Every head in the room snapped toward the source. The nearest staff member quickly picked up the phone.
“Yes, please hold for a moment.”
Speaking with utmost formality, the employee handed the receiver to Matsuyama.
“It’s Governor Kajiwara.”
Matsuyama immediately took the phone.
“Yes, this is Matsuyama… Understood, sir. Yes. Yes. I see.”
After the brief conversation, he handed the receiver back and let out a long, heavy sigh.
“What did the governor say?”
Yamada asked cautiously.
Matsuyama’s voice was deep and grave as he relayed the message.
“The Prime Minister has approved an additional $1 billion for defending the exchange rate.”
“That brings our total available funds to $2.1 billion.”
“That’s right.”
Matsuyama gave a small nod, then turned to Yamada.
“That should be enough to hold off Soros and his hedge fund bastards, right?”
If the Prime Minister and Governor Kajiwara were willing to allocate another billion dollars, it was clear that even the Cabinet now recognized the gravity of the situation.
The available funds had doubled, but Yamada still couldn’t ease the tension tightening around his face.
“We’ll do our best.”
Matsuyama frowned at the lack of confidence in Yamada’s tone.
“‘Doing your best’ isn’t good enough. No matter what happens, we must hold the line at 80 yen—treat this like a fight to the death!”
Yamada wanted to at least feign confidence, but the reality was too grim for any bravado.
Each passing second only made the anxiety worse, gnawing at his nerves.
Then—
A staff member suddenly called out, “Five minutes until market open!”
Instinctively, Yamada's gaze flicked to the massive electronic clock at the center of the status board.
The time was ticking down.
[9:29:25]
[9:29:26]
.
.
.
[9:30:00]
And then—
At exactly 9:30 AM, under the watchful eyes of foreign exchange traders all over the world,
The Tokyo Forex Market opened.
“Market is live!”
As soon as an employee nervously announced the market’s opening, the USD/JPY exchange rate, which had started at 83.09 yen, began to fluctuate wildly.
“Buy orders for the yen are pouring in!”
“Damn it! 83 yen just broke.”
The once silent trading floor erupted into chaos, prompting Yamada to raise his voice.
“We can’t lose momentum! Buy dollars immediately—stop the yen from gaining any further!”
At his command, the staff sprang into action, pounding keyboards and placing urgent orders over the phone.
“Market buy, 2 million dollars!”
“Okay—done!”
“Bought! 800,000 dollars!”
“Done!”
“Five more—bought!”
They fought desperately to defend the exchange rate, but instead of stabilizing, the yen only soared higher.
[USD/JPY: 82.99]
[USD/JPY: 82.55]
.
.
.
[USD/JPY: 81.99]
“82 yen is gone!”
“Shit! Just how much money are they throwing into this?”
The sheer scale of the relentless yen buying left everyone shocked and terrified.
It was as if the hedge funds were trying to end the battle in one decisive blow, unleashing a tsunami of buy orders that crashed through the market.
Even Yamada, who had braced for intense resistance, felt like he was being suffocated by the overwhelming onslaught.
Then—
Matsuyama, standing beside him, roared, veins bulging in his neck.
“Damn it! Buy every last dollar available—NOW!”
“We can’t! If we burn through our reserves now, we’ll be left completely defenseless!”
Yamada urgently tried to stop him.
But Matsuyama, his face flushed red with fury, glared at him.
“I KNOW! But if we hesitate and 80 yen breaks, the situation will spiral out of control!”
He wasn’t wrong—Yamada couldn’t argue against that.
Taking advantage of Yamada’s brief hesitation, Matsuyama turned to bark orders at the team.
“What are you all waiting for?! BUY DOLLARS NOW!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Understood!”
The staff, who had been hesitating, immediately rushed to place orders, intimidated by Matsuyama’s sheer fury.
“Damn it…”
Realizing there was no other option, Yamada had no choice but to fall in line, commanding the team accordingly.
Matsuyama’s response wasn’t necessarily wrong.
But could they really withstand this relentless hedge fund assault?
As the battle intensified, Yamada’s sense of foreboding only deepened.
