I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 46: The End of the 80s (6)
“Someone you can trust?”
Ha Yeong-il looked at me, puzzled.
“Yeah, someone I can trust. How much do you trust me—specifically, the orders I give you?”
He thought about it for a moment before answering.
“...I trust your judgment more than my father’s.”
“Ahaha, now that’s nice to hear.”
I beamed and nodded, then pulled out a document and placed it in front of him. It was a CDS contract.
Ha Yeong-il glanced over it and let out a low sigh.
“Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary... but this isn’t... these aren’t government bonds. These are all CDS for corporate bonds tied to Eastern Europe. And the sell position is ours.”
“Exactly. That’s why the premiums are pretty high.”
A CDS is insurance in case the bond issuer defaults. So corporate bonds, which are less reliable than government bonds, come with higher premiums.
“...Are you sure about this? I’m not an expert, but... these companies don’t exactly have a great reputation. If they go under, we’ll have to pay out.”
“That’s the point.”
If you make money, you’ve got to know how to spend it too.
“...What?”
“We’re ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) already shorting Eastern European government bonds, aren’t we?”
With far more capital than Daehwa Investment Securities, Alpha Fund could easily handle the risks of CDS.
“Ah, so it’s a hedge.”
“Exactly. Now go spread these around the Western European banks. And the most important part... don’t hand these to mid-level guys—pick some complete newbies, but smart ones, and give them the contracts.”
Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, ING, Crédit Lyonnais... even Barings Bank.
The buyer positions were filled with major Western European banks.
“...Understood. Our fund doesn’t exactly have strong ties with old money anyway. We were just starting to feel like we needed more investors.”
Old money refers to the traditional Western elite. For the record, Korean chaebol families or famous IT company founders are considered nouveau riche—new money.
Compared to the mere decades of history behind new money, old money’s roots go back before World War II.
These families have been rich for hundreds of years, so they’d never invest in a fund like mine. It lacks the proper pedigree.
“You know your stuff. Having connections in Europe will make deals easier later. Those old noble types... they won’t even listen unless you come to the table backed by at least one prestigious bank.”
Business doesn’t move without connections. I’m practically handing them free money—how could they not invest?
Ha Yeong-il seemed convinced, but he still had one question.
“I get why you want Western European banks... but why specifically the new recruits?”
I answered like it was obvious.
“Because that way I can tie them down with more favors later, duh. Start by dealing with mid-level guys, make the contracts, and then sort through the newbies and send me the list. I’ll pick out a few promising ones.”
“...Got it.”
He tilted his head but followed my instructions faithfully.
Just like he said, Ha Yeong-il trusted me deeply.
***
After meeting with Ha Yeong-il, I spent some time showing Si-hyun around New York. It was hilarious watching her stare blankly into the sky like a country bumpkin.
And yet, the way she stood up firmly whenever she ran into some racism—that was pretty cool. Our chief secretary really picked a solid one.
“....”
“What are you looking at?”
“Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just looking for someone.”
Ha Yeong-il had already followed through with my orders. He’d cleaned up a few Alpha Fund employees and one of their “friends,” solidifying his position in the fund.
After that, everything moved like clockwork.
The rising star of Wall Street was on the move, and his people quickly crossed over to Western Europe, signing contracts with old, established banks.
The documents I was reviewing now were the last batch I’d asked for. The rising talents in those European banks.
But... why isn’t “he” here?
Did I get the year wrong? Or is this the butterfly effect?
“Tsk...”
I sighed, flipping through the papers, when suddenly the door burst open and Ha Yeong-il rushed in.
“Haah, hoo... Young Miss, I’m sorry. I forgot to fax the last part, so I brought it in person.”
He was holding another stack of documents.
“Tch, and here I was worrying for nothing. Hand it over.”
I snatched the papers from him and shoved the ones I’d marked back into his hands.
“Alright, I’ve decided on all the other banks. Now there’s just Barings left, right?”
“Yeah? Yes, that’s right.”
Still catching his breath, Ha Yeong-il nodded blankly.
‘Tsk, what a pain. This is why you have to spin these complicated webs when you don’t have raw power.’
Right now, I was weaving my influence through careful layers.
Quietly developing CDS at Korea’s Daehwa Investment Bank while biding my time and gaining insight... then freely running investments and generating capital through short selling in the US with Alpha Fund.
And whatever’s left over, I toss around to Western European banks under the guise of hedging.
Finally...
I lay down the groundwork for the future.
-Rustle.
I skimmed through the documents and pointed to one person.
“Let’s go with this guy for Barings. I like how confident he looks—reminds me of myself. From now on, let’s funnel the CDS deals through him.”
His name was Nick Leeson.
A fresh hire at Barings this year—and the man who, in six years, would single-handedly destroy the 230-year-old bank.
But... isn’t six years a bit too long?
***
While I was busy plotting to devour Western Europe, Lee Si-hyun sat, reading the newspaper, deep in thought.
“...Young Miss. What happens if the Eastern European revolution succeeds?”
“What do you mean?”
“Communism... well, it basically denies private property, right? So, what happens to the wealth and companies owned by the state? How do they divide it up?”
“Ah, good question. They’ll just... divide it up however they want.”
Her eyes widened slightly. Greed glimmered in them.
You’ve grown up, haven’t you, my little Si-hyun?
“So... this sounds like a huge opportunity to grab a massive slice of the pie.”
I nodded.
“Exactly. That’s why I’m taking losses on the CDS sales just to force my way into Europe.”
The Eastern European revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union were golden opportunities for Western capital.
Especially in the Soviet Union, where the transition from communism to capitalism was a total mess.
Think about it—just like Si-hyun naturally wondered, in communism, private companies don’t exist.
But... now the Soviet Union’s gone. The worker who used to “manage” a factory suddenly becomes a huge capitalist who “owns” it.
Of course, Russia had some countermeasures in place. It was similar to what the Czech Republic and Poland tried....
“Let’s take Poland as an example. If you’ve seen the news, they’ll probably go for voucher privatization. A few other countries will likely do the same.”
“Voucher privatization?”
“A voucher just means a coupon. The idea is that since companies belong to the state, and the state originally belonged to the people, they’ll sell everyone the right to buy shares in these companies through coupons... or something like that.”
In theory, it’s a beautiful idea. Just as idealistic as classical economics, which assumes everyone acts rationally.
“...That sounds complicated.”
Exactly. That’s the problem.
The biggest issue with voucher privatization was that it was “complicated.”
People could barely put food on the table, and now they’re supposed to break down government policies and understand them? Especially people who had just been living under communism?
Sure, there were some who could manage it. And those people became rich.
The state was selling companies for cash, with no strings attached. Even stuff that shouldn’t have been for sale was going dirt cheap.
Sure, in places like Poland or the Czech Republic, where they did it slowly and step by step, it wasn’t so bad....
But Russia? In total chaos, they handed out these company-buying coupons for free to every citizen. That’s right—for free.
“And here’s a basic rule of capitalism. Almost everything in the world can be bought and sold.”
I smiled sweetly and raised my index finger.
“...You’re going to buy them?”
“Yup. As long as we have the right connections, we can buy companies in Eastern Europe too. Think about it—if I’m starving to death, do you think I care about some coupon?”
“They’ll sell the coupons... won’t they.”
The people of the former Soviet Union learned that real fast to avoid starving.
Unfortunately, understanding how corporations and stocks actually worked was more of an advanced concept, so they figured it out way too late. And... by then, it was already over.
The greedy bourgeois teamed up with the new Russian oligarchs and snatched up everything that used to be state-owned.
Of course, that was Russia. What I’m after now is Eastern Europe, so I can’t go to such extremes.
“That’s why Ha Yeong-il is setting up some shell companies. With everything so chaotic right now, we only need to rope in a few locals to make a decent-looking company. Well... it’s not exactly a shell company if they’ll actually be doing business, huh?”
I’ll need a few shell companies as connectors, sure, but the companies we set up on the ground will be real businesses.
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Si-hyun let out a little gasp like she understood.
“Ah! That way there’ll be way less resistance, right? Since they’ll look like local companies.”
“Exactly. Even if someone else actually controls them, for most people, appearances are everything.”
Some countries even auctioned their companies off directly to foreign capital... in those cases, it’ll be even easier to make it happen.
We’ll need to put up a few layers of proxies for Alpha Fund, but that’s just a price I’ll have to pay.
“...You’re way too happy about this.”
Of course I am.
“Ahaha, chances like this don’t come around often. I’ve gotta grab those prime companies fast.”
“So... when do you plan on selling them?”
I shook my head. The only way to control a country is through the country itself, so as just a single person, I at least need to keep hold of the key companies.
“I’m not going to sell them. No matter how much money I’ve got, it’ll be almost impossible to buy them again later.”
“Then... that’s going to cost a lot.”
“Ha, why do you think I’m making money like crazy right now?”
I was more than satisfied as I prepared to throw all the money I’d made from shorting Eastern European government bonds right back into Eastern Europe.
***
A few months later.
November 9, 1989.
I stood holding a piece of broken concrete from the Berlin Wall, posing for a photo.
In the picture, there was a mysterious girl with a bright smile and a very stern-looking female bodyguard.
.
.
.
“Young Miss, be honest with me. Did you... get possessed by some kind of spirit or something?”
“No? That’s rude, what did I even do? I didn’t do anything.”
“....”
All I did was remove the butterfly effects.
Thanks to that, East and West Germany unified safely just like they were supposed to, and the Soviet Union will collapse right on schedule too.
