Although the graduation ceremony delayed quite a bit, I still managed to arrive at Daehwa Securities before the 17th was over.
It wasn’t like this was the United States—everything here was within reach.
Still, there was no avoiding being late.
“Mmm, good thing Chicago’s open 23 hours.”
Glancing at the clock that signaled 5 p.m., I shrugged my shoulders.
“You’re here. Ah, that’s right—you said today was your graduation, didn’t you? You look a bit different than usual.”
The futures team leader at Daehwa Securities tilted his head, clearly not used to seeing without a n’s business suit.
He must have assud I’d just co straight from the graduation ceremony without changing clothes... maybe he thinks I actually wear my school uniform to class.
...Which I usually don’t, to be fair.
“Mm. That’s how it turned out. What about the guys?”
“They’re having dinner right now.”
“That’s just another way of saying they’re working overti. Do you usually take shifts for that?”
The team leader shook his head with a laugh.
“Haha, how could we? The young miss herself had beds brought into the company. Naturally, we have to eat and sleep here.”
“Mm... that’s not exactly why I brought them in. Still, thanks for working hard.”
Well, actually, that is exactly why I brought them in. If you don’t work at a ti like this, when else will you?
People who call it the madness of an evil corporation have simply never experienced this industry. The futures market always goes insane right before maturity.
Of course, it’s rare to see people really living at the office like this... but still, I did buy expensive beds, so why not? They’re even the sa kind I use myself.
And more importantly, I pay them a lot.
A whole lot.
“Hehe, once we finish this job, I could probably buy a house near the office with my bonus...”
The team leader, looking pleased, smiled and went back to his seat.
–Clack, clack.
“Oh wow, it’s already dropped this much.”
Seo Ji-yeon’s eyes glead as she skimd the WTI futures data. She’d seen enough now that even the rough notes made sense to her at a glance.
“But young miss, you haven’t actually bought the futures yet, have you?”
“That’s right. I’ll buy them when it drops below zero.”
“...Then what’s the futures team supposed to do until then?”
Her gaze sharpened.
The aura of an “upper managent” type—soone desperate to cut waste and grind people down for efficiency—was starting to leak out.
Ugh, scary.
She’d once demoted several directors at Daehwa Securities for doing nothing—one of them had even been her father’s friend, but she hadn’t spared him.
What was it she’d said? Sothing like, “If you need money or a position, I can give you that privately, so I won’t hesitate to fire you.”
“What do you think they do? Market analysis, report writing... And it’s not like they only deal in WTI futures—they’re still trading in other sectors.”
After all, oil futures are only one part of the futures market.
The people at Daehwa Securities aren’t just cheerleaders who react to whatever I do.
“Ah, I see. True, the report I got was from the futures team too. Normally, we don’t even have dedicated people for oil information.”
Now satisfied, Seo Ji-yeon stepped out. The people she’d brought with her were waiting outside.
A few of them—friends dragged straight from the graduation ceremony—were awkwardly glancing around, looking for a place to rest. As fresh graduates, they couldn’t function without Ji-yeon’s presence.
Being student council president must be tough.
–Clack.
Just as I was about to refocus on the monitors after catching a glimpse of her walking out, one of my secretaries approached and bowed.
It was the one who’d been chatting with the student council juniors just monts ago.
“Young miss, we have another important guest today...”
“Sung-il, just give the gist quickly.”
“Ah, yes. The chairman of Yukos in Russia contacted us—he wants «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to rent the oil storage facility we built in Busan.”
Hmm. I’d heard about that man from Lee Si-hyun several tis.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
An oil tycoon, a partner who maintains close ties with Si-hyun... and as of now, the third-richest man in Russia. A liberal by nature, which makes him aligned with the Russian governnt stance I prefer—so I support him.
And more importantly, he’s my type.
The chairman of Russia’s oil giant Yukos is an engineering graduate. As he should be, though it’s not uncommon to see companies stick soone who knows nothing about science at the top.
That’s why I like people from STEM backgrounds, or scholar types. There’s a reason I went all the way to LTCM myself to scout Nobel Prize-winning professors with high salaries.
Hmm...
Now I see why this report reached directly. It’s not sothing I can just casually decline.
I stroked my chin, organizing my thoughts, then gave a small nod.
“Alright, let’s et and talk briefly.”
“Ah, then we’re opening the storage?”
“Not yet—later. It’s the 17th now, right? Four days until maturity, so it’s about ti to start moving.”
The actual deal would have to be signed the day before or on the day of maturity, but preliminary arrangents could be made now.
“Still, it’s unusual for him to co forward personally.”
While in reality the richest man in Russia is probably Lee Si-hyun, officially Khodorkovsky is the third-richest. Oil prices are low now, so he’s not showing his full strength, but by around 2000 he’ll beco the richest in Russia.
His net worth exceeds 10 billion dollars.
Even for , 10 billion dollars is an enormous sum. As an oil tycoon, he’s directly involved in the market, so this negative oil price situation is nothing more than sothing he can scoff at and move past.
“Maybe he heard sothing from... the chief secretary?”
“Pfft, no need to talk about Si-hyun like that. You haven’t even seen her face, have you?”
“...True, by the ti I joined the secretary’s office she was already in Russia. But still, since she’s soone you trust, I can’t speak carelessly.”
I stretched my legs out playfully. The black pantyhose tightly wrapping my long legs accentuated their shape.
“I generally trust my secretaries—to the point of entrusting them with my body. You included. Want to take this chance to change my stockings for ?”
He fidgeted and bowed his head deeply.
“I... I’m sorry. That’s a bit...”
Yeah, thought so.
I chuckled lightly and leaned close to his ear.
“Your guess was reasonable, but if Si-hyun had actually told him sothing, she’d have inford as well—unless the secretary’s office was hiding things in so petty faction fight.”
Most secretaries co from within the company, but not all. This one, for instance, ca from the student council.
“....”
“You get what I’m saying?”
“Ah, yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
After giving that light warning, I brushed my hair—falling down to my thighs—aside and looked back at the chart.
2.13$
2.18$
2.05$
2.20$
The trade records were scattered.
With the order book completely empty in between, the gaps had grown too wide. Unlike in gas, the real market doesn’t let you buy exactly at $2.10 just because the price fell from $2.11—unless soone happens to be selling at $2.09, $2.10, and $2.11 all at once.
In a situation like this, the middle just drops out.
It’s proof that liquidity has dried up. And it’s also the kind of environnt where I could move the entire market with a laughably small trick.
An oversupply of oil, but no liquidity—it’s fascinating, isn’t it?
“In truth, my storage capacity isn’t that big—barely ten million barrels.”
“Ten million barrels is plenty big, isn’t it?”
True. This isn’t the 21st century yet. Oil production and consumption in 2020 is so much higher that even a few million barrels in storage would still be a ga changer in this era.
Besides... my social standing is different now.
“By global standards, it’s not much. But it’ll be enough. I’ll make it enough.”
With a light smile, I looked out the window.
The area next to the Daehwa Securities building wasn’t empty anymore. In the past, all it had was a local sundae soup place known for its tasty salted shrimp—but now, from Daehwa Investnt Bank to various financial firms, the surroundings stood guard by Daehwa Securities.
All for the single reason that I was the owner here.
Because my achievents were so dazzling, all kinds of companies and people had built their own places here, craning their necks to look up at .
Even right now, there was a perfect example at my side.
“So, team leader—you said you’d buy a house after this job?”
“Yes. Real estate prices have dropped a lot lately, so I figured this was the ti. But the prices here haven’t fallen at all, so I’m saving up hard.”
Ha.
Our futures team leader was planning to buy a place nearby to get to work faster at Daehwa Securities—using that big bonus.
–Tap.
I pulled an envelope with a check from my breast pocket. With about ten million won inside, it wasn’t much, but enough to cover a nice al or two.
“We need to improve our employee benefits. Can’t have a team leader unable to buy a house.”
“It’s fine, young miss. Not many people get paid as much as we do here. Even Daehwa Group headquarters staff don’t earn as much as ...”
“Alpha Fund pays ten tis this.”
“....”
“If you’re that grateful, work harder.”
While the team leader bowed repeatedly, my secretary nearby looked envious—but I turned away, ignoring him.
This was the sa secretary who’d refused to help change clothes earlier. Still clinging to outdated ideas about gender boundaries—money was wasted on such remnants of the past.
***
February 18th.
Three days before maturity.
I woke up in the bed in the president’s office at Daehwa Securities, and the first thing I did was check the futures price.
[1.74$]
It was yesterday’s closing price.
“Insane.”
I said that, but my lips were curled up in a grin of pure delight. Even though the money I’d put in this ti was nothing compared to my total wealth, a shiver of pleasure ran from my lower belly up my spine.
I had changed the course of the world.
It wasn’t about moving sothing forward by a few months, or stealing soone else’s share to make myself rich.
I had purely, simply changed fate and history itself. I—Yoo Ha-yeon.
“Haa...”
In the mirror, the flushed cheeks of an excited woman stared back, her pale, half-bare body tinged with a peach hue.
“...Your morning coffee.”
My secretary handed coffee and a newspaper. Normally, I’d smile and make so risqué joke, but I wasn’t in the mood for teasing right now.
Downing the hot coffee in one go, I stepped into the cool morning air and eagerly devoured the paper—
Reading the words that praised , that proved my existence had beco part of history’s flow.
“Power... huh.”
I let out a dry laugh.
It really is that simple.
At a re wave of my hand, there are countless people who would co running, receiving nothing in return—and be delighted for the chance to make a fortune because of .
That’s the kind of person I am now.
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