Chapter 17: Plaza Accord (2)

A wave of excitement filled the room. I smiled, calming my racing heart.

“Yes, haa. I knew this much. The future is the problem.”

“Hahaha! Ah, thank you, Miss. Really!”

Ha Jusung, more cheerful than I’d ever seen, laughed, expressing his gratitude.

“Hey, it’s too early for thanks. If we don’t break the barrier, it’s zero… ah.”

Aha.

Ha Jusung’s situation is slightly different from mine.

I bet on an extremely low probability, while Ha Jusung bet only on the dollar’s decline.

While he won’t win as much with standard put and call options, the immense volatility guarantees significant gains.

“Ah, right. You made a bolder bet, Miss. I’m sorry. I was too happy…”

“It’s fine. Even if I lose, you’ll cover for me, right? I lose 100 million won… but you’ve won much more, right?”

He laughs confidently, nodding.

“That’s right. I’ve probably already earned 300 million won. Without you, I wouldn’t have earned this money, so even if you lose, it’s nothing.”

Good. The risk hedge is perfect.

Though unintentional, managing competent subordinates is a virtue of a superior.

Feeling relieved, I open the refrigerator for a cola.

A cold soda sounds perfect.

-Click.

Ah, it’s unopened.

Slightly disappointed, I hand the bottle to my secretary.

“Sihyeon, open this.”

Lee Sihyeon sighs subtly.

“…Miss, too much sugar will rot your teeth. You had a lot of candy today, drink the cola tomorrow.”

Tsk.

I glare, offering the cola again.

“I don’t care. You want to get fired?”

But Lee Sihyeon firmly takes the cola and scolds me.

“No means no. The Chief Secretary and Nanny said the same thing.”

Ugh.

Nanny worries too much. She always interferes.

Anyone would think she’s an old lady. She’s barely thirty, not that long after breastfeeding.

“My cola…”

Deflated like a flat soda, I turn and lie on the sofa, reaching for the candy basket.

-Thud.

“…?”

-Tap tap.

My hand only hits the cold glass of the table.

I glance at the table. Lee Sihyeon is staring at me, clutching the candy basket and cola bottle.

“Candy is confiscated too.”

Really?

With that expression, I open my mouth in exasperation.

“…That’s impossible.”

“I saw you subtly skipped brushing your teeth. Go brush them now.”

This is insubordination.

I’m a transmigrated girl; my teeth don’t decay…

Dejected, I sigh and grab a toothbrush.

I want to become an adult quickly.

September 23, 1985. 8 AM.

Yu Hayeon, a child of the new nation, wakes early at Daeha Securities’ headquarters.

“Haa-aam.”

Sleepy.

Stretching, I shake off the sleepiness.

“Ugh…”

Groaning, I open my bright eyes, fully energized.

“Early bird alert!”

Thwack.

Jumping out of bed, I rush to the Reuters monitor. The exchange rate is 223 yen.

“Oh, it fell a lot.”

There was only one bed, so Lee Sihyeon slept on the sofa. Ha Jusung, who didn’t buy extreme barrier options like me, was elsewhere at the office.

“Sihyeon, wake up!”

I shake Sihyeon awake. She looks tired, likely from a restless night.

“Ugh. You’re so energetic again… Miss…”

“Four hours until New York cut! Let’s eat and watch the exchange rate.”

“……Ughh. The exchange rate will change regardless of whether we’re watching… Can’t we sleep a bit more…?”

Good, you’ve become a brilliant determinist, Sihyeon.

I nod, watching Sihyeon’s transformation into a rational homo economicus.

“It’s fine. I find watching the exchange rate fun. Isn’t my happiness most important?”

Lee Sihyeon, fixing her hair, slowly rises from the sofa. She slightly frowns, perhaps due to a headache. It’s quite attractive.

“Haa…”

Oh, pretty.

I knew this, but she looks even more attractive now.

Her ponytail, black and white business suit, clear skin despite no makeup, and ample chest.

It’s a shame I’m not a man. Her abs were impressive last time.

“I’ll wash my face.”

Lee Sihyeon, returning from the restroom, shakes the water off her hair, slightly loosening her wet shirt buttons.

“Why are you staring?”

She looks at me blankly.

“Ah, nothing.”

Feeling a strange pang of envy and deprivation, I rush to the bathroom to wash my face. My stomach feels a little uneasy. What emotion am I feeling…?

Gulp gulp.

In the mirror, a girl with slightly dull eyes stares back. I smile faintly.

The girl in the mirror regains her bright eyes and refreshing air.

…Snap out of it, Yu Hayeon.

-Creak.

“Oh, you washed your face this morning without being told. Well done, Miss.”

I smile at Lee Sihyeon’s nonchalant words.

“Yeah, let’s eat quickly. I’m hungry.”

For breakfast, I had sundae guk for the first time in a long while. It wasn’t very tasty.

Back at the office, I secretly stole some candy and was caught by Sihyeon.

I can eat snacks right after meals…

The New York cut is at 12 PM.

It’s 9 AM after breakfast and brushing my teeth. Three hours left…

But I have nothing to do.

‘Hmm, I should have woken up an hour later. Jusung comes around then…’

I idly shuffle through documents, glancing at the exchange rate.

USD/JPY: 219.4

The New York cut option barrier was 217 yen. I set it generously, even though I know the future.

“Um… Miss, what happens when the option matures?”

Sihyeon, also idle, doing calisthenics, asks. I run to her back and answer.

“You exercise the option. The premium was 100 million won, but exercising the option will cost far more.”

You could resell the options before maturity for a high premium… but it’s risky if the barrier is reached late. You might need to exercise the option directly to realize the profit.

That’s why I used Daeha Securities. I wouldn’t have enough money even if I used all my own money to hold that much USD.

“Gulp… Haa. I understand.”

Sihyeon continues push-ups, sweating profusely, with me on her back. Serves her right; who told her to confiscate my candy?

She already has a large chest, making regular push-ups difficult. With me on her back, it is even harder, and her arms tremble.

“Hey? If you fall, you die. You know?”

I smile, kicking her lightly.

“Ugh… Can you do this to someone exercising, Miss… Hu, ugh…”

“Haa, knowledge is painful. Pain leads to enlightenment. Understand?”

“I don’t know…”

Then I have no choice. I must continue until she understands.

I gave Lee Sihyeon an economics crash course—interest rates, stocks, bonds, supply and demand—and she absorbed my teachings, utterly exhausted.

“Enlightened. Descend now.”

“You’re the one who needs to get down… Get off my back quickly… Ugh.”

That’s true.

I get up, encountering Ha Jusung arriving at the office.

“Sir, good morning. How are you?”

“…I’m doing very well. Miss’s secretary, not so much.”

Ha Jusung looks at me and Sihyeon alternately with an ambiguous expression.

“Sihyeon is fine, right?”

“Yeeees…”

Sihyeon, drenched in sweat, holds a fan with hazy eyes.

As befits the era’s views on young women’s exposure, she remains fully clothed. It seems she’s oblivious to the way her clinging wet shirt looks.

‘Boring.’

Aside from Ha Jusung, who needs to execute the options trade, there is still nothing to do. I grab a recently imported Super Mario game.

The plumber’s adventure begins; familiar BGM fills my ears.

“Ooo… This is it.”

Others at the company are working diligently, while I’m skipping school and playing the latest game. This life is the best.

***

11:30 AM.

Finally, the exchange rate breaks the barrier.

USD/JPY: 216.3

The green light flashes triumphantly.

It has long passed the 217 yen barrier and is about to break 216 yen.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!”

I clap, laughing wildly. My previous gloom disappears, replaced by surging energy.

“Hu… This is actually happening.”

Ha Jusung looks at me incredulously. Even Lee Sihyeon, who was glaring at me earlier, looks at me with shining eyes.

“How much is the premium?”

“It was 0.02 won before…”

Removing the barrier, the premium is calculated quickly.

2.03 won.

100 times the investment.