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CH131 | GSI
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 03:35:01 +0000 UTC"Do you need anything else?"
Rodney, who was visiting George Soros's mansion in Southampton, Long Island, smiled at the question from Soros’s wife, Isla.
"Dinner was so delicious that I don’t think I have any room left for more."
"Oh my."
Isla, a strikingly intelligent beauty with dark hair, offered a gentle smile.
As Soros’s wife—seventeen years his junior—her beauty had yet to fade, and she still radiated charm.
"Then I'll leave you two to talk."
Standing behind George Soros, who was seated comfortably on a plush leather sofa, Isla draped her arms around his neck and whispered affectionately,
"Don’t drink too much whiskey."
She left a light kiss on his cheek before closing the study door behind her and stepping out.
"She’s perfect, except for the occasional nagging."
Soros chuckled as he reached for a thick Cuban cigar from the wooden case on the table.
"That just means she loves you."
Rodney, dressed in a three-piece suit, replied smoothly, offering a touch of flattery.
"Hmph."
Soros smirked and clipped the tip of the cigar with a cutter.
"Care for one?"
"Gladly."
Soros pulled another cigar from the case and handed it to Rodney.
"A Cohiba Behike, I see."
"That’s right. They only make a handful each year—one of the finest."
Cohiba was one of Cuba’s most prestigious cigar brands, crafted from the highest-quality tobacco leaves grown in the fertile soil of Pinar del Río Province.
Among them, the Cohiba Behike was an ultra-limited edition, produced in batches of just 100 boxes per year—only 4,000 cigars in total.
"This is a rare treat, even if you have the money for it. My palate is in for a luxury tonight."
Rodney lit the thick cigar, drawing in a long puff and savoring the rich aroma as it filled his mouth.
The deep, earthy fragrance of the tobacco spread smoothly through his senses.
Soros, impressed by Rodney’s ability to truly appreciate a fine cigar, smiled as he picked up his glass of whiskey, the ice clinking softly inside.
"There’s no better pairing for a cigar than whiskey."
Rodney lifted his own glass and replied,
"And with some jazz in the background, what more could one ask for?"
"Exactly."
The sound of ice clinking against the glass accompanied Soros’s slow sip of whiskey as he leaned back into the plush sofa.
"I hear Goldman Sachs has decided to move forward with us."
Rodney, catching Soros’s gaze, nodded slightly and responded in a serious tone.
"Yes. JP Morgan and Bear Stearns have each agreed to lend us $1 billion."
Holding a thick cigar between his fingers, Soros smirked.
"If Wall Street investment banks are eager to offer us war funds upfront, they must have caught the scent of money in the air."
"Anyone can see that the Bank of Japan is getting backed into a corner. They’re just betting on the side that looks most likely to win."
"That makes sense."
"If we add in the hedge funds that will follow our lead, we should be able to pour at least $4 billion into this."
Hearing the figure, Soros's eyes gleamed.
"That’s enough to make the Bank of Japan feel like a nuclear bomb just dropped on them."
"They’ll have no choice but to wave the white flag and cut interest rates—just like the Bank of England did."
Soros scoffed, his voice turning cold.
"Even if they hold out, it doesn’t matter. We’ll just tighten the noose until they surrender—just like dropping a second bomb on Nagasaki ended the Pacific War."
"The more they burn through their foreign reserves to defend the yen, the more profit we make. So, either way, it works in our favor."
With their dominance in this battle already secured, neither of them even considered the possibility of losing.
In fact, not just hedge funds but all of Wall Street saw the Bank of Japan’s surrender as inevitable—it was only a matter of time.
"Then as planned, let’s drop Little Boy on them."
"Understood."
Little Boy was the name of the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare, dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.
And just as that bomb had devastated an entire city, the financial strike orchestrated by Soros’s Quantum Fund was set to send shockwaves across Japan’s economy.
Soros, with a cigar between his lips, flashed a satisfied smile at the thought of bringing Japan—the world’s second-largest economy—to its knees, just as they had done with the Bank of England.
As he observed Soros, Rodney suddenly recalled something and spoke up.
“By the way, do you remember Park Seok-won?”
Soros tilted his head in thought before the name clicked.
“Oh, you mean that young fellow who co-authored a paper with Professor Frank Harvard?”
“That’s right.”
“Why bring him up now?”
Seeing Soros’s puzzled expression, Rodney took a sip of whiskey before continuing.
“I mentioned before that he’s now running Eldorado Fund, which is getting a lot of attention on Wall Street.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, Eldorado Fund has been selling some very interesting option products to Japanese corporations.”
Since Soros had already been keeping an eye on Seok-won, he leaned in with interest.
“What exactly are they selling?”
“Knock-In and Knock-Out options.”
Soros’s brows furrowed slightly, a hint of disappointment crossing his face.
“We already made a killing on that. And he’s only now getting into it?”
Rodney, however, smirked and replied.
“It's similar, but not quite the same.”
“...?”
“What we sold was a Knock-Out option, which expires when the exchange rate falls below a certain threshold. But Eldorado is selling a structured derivative that combines both Knock-In and Knock-Out options.”
Hearing this, Soros responded with a nonchalant attitude.
“So, they're betting on the exchange rate falling after the battle with the Japanese banks is over. But Japanese companies, having been burned once, aren’t idiots. They won't fall for such an obvious ploy.”
“I thought the same, but when I saw the terms Eldorado offered, I thought a lot of companies might still bite.”
“What terms are we talking about?”
“They set the agreed exchange rate at 90 yen, with a wide fluctuation range between 78 and 100 yen.”
“...!”
Soros looked at Rodney in disbelief.
“You said 100 yen?”
“That’s right.”
Rodney nodded slightly and continued.
“I checked the terms several times at first, wondering if it was a mistake.”
“100 yen—are they crazy?”
“Under these conditions, it's an attractive offer, don't you think?”
Rodney's question was met with Soros shaking his head in astonishment.
“Even if the battle with the Japanese banks ends, the exchange rate will still be volatile for some time. If you can exchange at 90 yen with almost guaranteed certainty, I'd probably sign the contract too.”
“I agree with you there.”
Soros muttered, looking completely perplexed.
“What on earth were they thinking, selling such an option?”
“They might be betting that the exchange rate will return to the 100 yen range, as it did before the Kobe earthquake when the rate stayed almost fixed there.”
Rodney shrugged lightly, his tone casual. But Soros snorted in disbelief.
“Do you really think that's going to happen?”
“I suppose if the White House and the Fed keep pushing the strong-dollar policy, it could. But now that their stance has shifted, it doesn’t seem as likely.”
Indeed, after the White House's defeat in the midterm elections, they had raised interest rates sharply to curb inflation, pushing the strong-dollar policy. However, soon after, the financial crisis in Mexico caused a series of adverse effects, making it difficult to maintain that policy.
“I think Park Seok-won has gotten cocky after all his successes. This time, he’s likely overreaching.”
Soros’s cynical assessment matched Rodney's own thoughts.
“He’s hit the jackpot so many times, so it was bound to happen. Maybe it’s time he fell.”
“That’s how you learn about the world.”
Of course, it would come at a high price, but that was something Seok-won would have to bear.
At that moment, Rodney gave a sly smile.
“It’s highly unlikely, but if the exchange rate suddenly shifts and the yen weakens, pushing the rate above 100 yen, it’d be one hell of a jackpot.”
Rodney’s comment was, as expected, a completely unrealistic scenario.
Soros chuckled lightly as if he had just heard a funny joke.
“If that happens, Seok-won will truly be a legendary investment genius.”
At the same time, Soros was completely convinced that such an outcome was impossible.
***
It was a bright and sunny morning.
The sunlight pouring through the large windows was dazzling.
Seok-won sat at his desk, catching up on the work he had missed during his European business trip, when Noh Seong-mi knocked and entered.
"Here’s the mail for the director."
Noh Seong-mi walked up to the desk and set the mail down.
“Thank you.”
“Would you like me to get you a coffee?”
“No, that's fine.”
“Then please let me know if you need anything.”
Noh Seong-mi turned and left the room.
Once the door closed, Seok-won picked up the yellow envelope from the pile of mail.
The envelope was sealed tightly, with only the recipient's address and name written on it, but nothing on the sender's side.
Seok-won tore open the seal and pulled out a thin booklet the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
Inside the booklet was not only stock information but also the latest unknown updates on politics, economics, the entertainment industry, sports, the media, and all sorts of other fields in society.
It was, in fact, what’s commonly referred to as “chira-shi,” a type of unofficial, insider newsletter in the stock market.
What Seok-won had received was a premium edition that cost more than two million won per month and was delivered weekly in a package like this.
The newsletter covered everything—from the latest political moves, including the Blue House and government officials, to rumors about politicians, chaebols, real estate development projects, and even celebrity scandals. The breadth of its content was immense.
While some stories were outright absurd, close to fiction, it also contained sensitive and crucial information only insiders could know.
That’s why, despite the high cost, Seok-won subscribed to receive this chira-shi, hoping to gain access to information just a little faster than others.
As he flipped through the pages, Seok-won stopped when he spotted something that caught his eye.
[Boseong Telecom, negotiations for a large OEM order of wireless telephones from France's Alstom. Contract size expected to exceed 40 million dollars annually.]
Upon reading this, Seok-won immediately realized that the information was part of a plan to artificially inflate the stock price of Boseong Telecom. It was clearly a false rumor intended to set up a pump-and-dump scheme.
“They’re done with scamming the small investors, now they're about to start pushing the stock up for real,” Seok-won muttered.
Putting down the chira-shi, Seok-won turned in his chair and checked the stock price of Boseong Telecom on the computer.
Sure enough, after plummeting from 17,600 won to 10,500 won, the stock was now soaring again, with a sudden surge in trading volume.
His eyes gleamed coldly as he observed the rise.
