AgWorld Chapter 549 549: CH550
Chapter 549 549: CH550
Seoul
In the highest office of the 63 Building, standing tall over Yeouido.
Beyond the wall-to-wall glass windows, the blue sweep of the Han River stretched out like a panorama, with Wonhyo Bridge cutting cleanly across it.
By the window, Seok-won stood with one hand in his pocket and his phone in the other, speaking with Landon in New York. Behind him, a bold headline dominated the front page of the Wall Street Journal spread open on his desk:
[U.S. Private Equity Giant Collapses After $23.1 Billion Investment in Cisco.
Proof of the Dot-Com Bubble's Burst?]
In a steady voice, Seok-won said:
"I thought they'd cut their losses on Cisco somewhere in the middle. I didn't expect them to cling to it until the fund collapsed."
[They hesitated and missed the chance to sell. By the time they tried, panic had taken over the market. No one wanted to buy Cisco, and the losses spiraled out of control.]
"With investor sentiment already shaky, Wall Street banks downgrading their ratings must have been the final blow."
[Exactly.]
Following Seok-won's orders, Landon had taken large put-option and short positions on Cisco, and now he spoke with a lively tone.
[And the media—especially the Wall Street Journal—added fuel to the fire by questioning whether Cisco's vendor-financing practices had inflated its revenue. That amplified the fear even further.]
Seok-won responded with a bitter look.
"When times are good, they call it an aggressive, market-dominating strategy. But the moment things turn bad, they flip their stance and accuse you of cooking the books. That's how fast sentiment changes."
[Everyone already knew Cisco was using vendor financing. But now the narrative makes it sound like they've been deceiving investors for years. It's almost absurd.]
"That's the stock market for you."
[I suppose you're right,] Landon said, then asked cautiously:
[The Nasdaq has fallen more than thirty-one percent from its peak as of yesterday's close. Are you planning to keep the position as it is?]
"We're only at the beginning of the bubble bursting. Pulling out already would be foolish."
[Funds big and small are collapsing by the dozens every day, just like Lone Star. Everyone's panicking. If people learned how far ahead you're looking… they'd be shocked.]
At Landon's awed tone, Seok-won replied casually:
"That's how inflated the bubble has become over the past few years. The aftermath is bound to be huge."
[You're right.]
Starting in 1991, the United States experienced its longest expansion in history. Then in 1997, IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue defeated a world chess champion, sparking public fascination with cutting-edge computing.
Soon came the Internet revolution and the spread of PCs. People became convinced a new world was opening, and their optimism ballooned.
That was how the dot-com bubble formed.
Adjusting his grip on the phone, Seok-won spoke with a serious tone:
"People claimed you couldn't value companies by past earnings anymore, that the rules of the internet era made traditional metrics obsolete. They used that to justify the surge in dot-com stocks. Now everyone's about to realize how naïve and delusional that optimism was."
[Since the market collapse, even on Wall Street, people are admitting expectations were excessive.]
"The more people sober up from the party they were drunk on, the faster the market will plunge."
[If the market crashes that badly, the White House and the Fed will step in, won't they? They'd have to stop raising rates immediately.]
Seok-won looked out the window at a white tour boat slicing across the Han River and answered:
"When the market breaks, everyone thinks of the nightmare of the 1929 depression. Of course they'll take action to prevent a recession. And when the government and the Fed step in, we'll get a temporary rebound. But it won't last."
Landon hesitated, unsure.
[Even with the U.S. government—the only superpower left after the Soviet collapse—intervening? And the Fed, which practically moves the world economy? You think they still can't stop the bubble from bursting? Why?]
"The bubble's too big. It's like trying to plug a dam that's already collapsed. And once the illusion around dot-com companies is gone, stocks can't maintain current prices."
[Ah, I see. Without the mania driving the market, there's no way investors will tolerate P/E ratios over a hundred or the inflated valuations. Even if there's a rebound, everyone will rush to sell, and it'll fall back down immediately.]
A satisfied smile tugged at Seok-won's lips.
"Exactly. After the dead-cat bounce, the next drop will be deeper and steeper than the first."
[It'll be a nightmare for the market, but the deeper the drop, the faster our profits will snowball,] Landon said with a laugh.
"So hold the position tightly until I give you the word."
[Understood. At this rate, I may have to stop going to the Manhattan office for a while and handle everything by phone.]
That response made Seok-won raise an eyebrow. This was a crucial moment, and Landon should have been guarding his post—not avoiding it.
"What do you mean?"
[Since the market crashed, the clients who bought index futures or options from us have been in chaos. They're calling several times a day… and now some of them are coming to the office in person to harass us. It's gotten to the point where I can barely work.]
Seok-won let out a small chuckle of understanding.
"They're trying to cancel their contracts, aren't they?"
[Exactly. The more the market drops, the more money they lose. They're probably in agony every single day.]
Landon complained from the other end of the line, saying he'd been tormented nonstop.
[And if the rebound you mentioned hits and the market plunges again afterward, they'll make even more of a scene. Better to disappear somewhere they can't find me.]
Seok-won responded with a step further:
"Then why not take a month-long vacation?"
[A vacation?]
Hearing Landon's surprised tone, Seok-won replied calmly:
"You didn't get a proper year-end break because of the Y2K prep. Take your family, hop on your yacht, and go to the Bahamas. You can handle urgent matters over satellite phone."
[Hah! How did you know the yacht I bought recently has been tied to the dock all this time? It's been breaking my heart.]
"The weather's warmed up. Perfect for sailing."
Even though he couldn't see it, Seok-won could practically feel Landon shaking his head on the other side.
[The whole of Wall Street is in emergency mode because of the crash. If word gets out that I'm relaxing on a yacht in the Bahamas, people will lose their minds.]
Amused, Landon laughed again—still amazed by Seok-won's confidence.
"The board is already set. No need to waver. Just sit back and wait until we haul in the big catch."
[All the titans of Wall Street are losing fortunes in this crash. If you're the only one who nails the big short and hits the jackpot… another Wall Street legend will be born.]
Instead of answering, Seok-won simply curved one corner of his mouth into a sly smile.
***
A few days later, on Wall Street in New York.
Fuller, the chairman of Bear Stearns—one of the most prominent investment banks on Wall Street—paced nervously across the wide, carpeted office.
The confident, cold-headed persona he usually carried was nowhere to be seen. Dark circles sagged under his eyes, and deep lines creased his brow, showing exactly how worn down he was.
"Damn…"
Chewing hard on the filter of his cigarette, Fuller ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
He had no idea how many cigarettes he'd smoked already. Several lay crushed between his lips, and the crystal ashtray on the coffee table was piled high with burnt-out butts.
Walking over to his desk, he glanced at the monitor—only to see the Nasdaq had slipped all the way down to the 3,200 level. His expression twisted.
"This is insane."
Not just the Nasdaq—Dow and the S&P 500 had also been plummeting. The entire New York market looked like it was in freefall.
At first, he had assumed it was just a temporary correction after an overheated rally.
But once the Nasdaq broke below 4,000 and began threatening 3,000 in what felt like an instant, the situation had stopped looking like a breather and more like a disaster. The ease in Fuller's face had long vanished.
Worst of all were the index futures and put-option contracts Bear Stearns had bought from Eldorado Fund near the end of last year—deals that now suffocated him.
Especially the ten-billion-dollar put-option contract on the top ten Nasdaq companies. That one alone made it nearly impossible to sleep at night.
"When we signed that put contract, I laughed at Eldorado for being reckless…"
Leaning over, placing both hands on his desk, Fuller muttered in a voice full of regret.
He had thought Eldorado was making a foolish bet against the trend, inflated by arrogance after a streak of wins.
But in reality, they had read the situation more clearly than anyone.
The foolish ones were Fuller and the rest of Wall Street—drunk on the dot-com mania and partying right up until the bubble was seconds from bursting.
By the time regret came crashing in like a tidal wave, it was already too late to undo anything.
"God…"
As he sighed again, a knock sounded from outside.
Fuller turned quickly, just as CIO Joseph Lawyer opened the door and stepped inside.
Fuller rushed away from his desk, stubbed out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray, and demanded sharply:
"How did it go?"
Lawyer, the CIO, didn't meet his eyes and lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't able to meet Mr. Landon."
The moment he heard that, Fuller's face twisted with frustration.
"Our accumulated loss has already blown past three hundred million dollars! And you couldn't even meet him? If he wouldn't see you, you should've stormed into his office and grabbed him if you had to!"
Lawyer responded with a slightly aggrieved expression.
"I would have, sir. But you have to be able to find him to even try."
"You're telling me he won't meet us at all?"
Fuller's voice rose sharply, his brow furrowing.
Even if they were the desperate ones, being turned away at the door was an intolerable insult.
Lawyer hesitated for a moment, then sighed quietly.
"That's not it… He's on vacation."
"…What?"
Fuller froze, his mind stopping for a moment.
"Vacation?"
"Yes."
Lawyer's shoulders sagged helplessly as he answered.
"The market is crashing, all of Wall Street is in chaos, and he decides to go on vacation? How does that make any sense!"
Fuller shouted in disbelief, but Lawyer could only sigh as if to say there was nothing he could do.
"Wall Street is in chaos, yes. But we're the ones holding the long positions—the ones getting burned alive. Eldorado Fund is short. They're probably relaxing and enjoying the situation."
It wasn't wrong. They were watching the market crash and feeling sick to their stomachs, while Eldorado Fund, sitting on massive short positions, had no reason to panic at all.
Even so, the idea that Landon had simply vanished on vacation made Fuller's face contort with rage.
"Damn it!"