In truth, the outlook for Japan’s semiconductor companies hadn’t been very bright from the start.
That was because the once-tense balance in the semiconductor market between the United States and Japan collapsed around 1985, causing serious damage to the U.S. semiconductor industry.
When the entire board was on the verge of collapse, the previously passive U.S. governnt finally drew its sword, and with the signing of the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreent in 1986, Japanese semiconductor companies lost their competitive edge in the Arican market.
“It’s only natural—Arica felt the crisis and aggressively imposed regulations. Thanks to that, our Daehwa Electronics scooped up a lot of scraps. And the news announced this ti? That was the finishing blow.”
Having left school early on Friday and gone straight to Daehwa Securities, I began a detailed explanation to my followers.
Now that Daehwa Electronics was a matter the entire Daehwa Group had its eyes on, they probably knew the rough outline too.
“...So that’s why you told us to prepare for short selling. Hmm, but why aren’t you doing it yourself...?”
One of the employees at Daehwa Securities asked. She was a young secretary who sotis helped when Si-hyun wasn’t around.
Besides her, there were a few other people around as well. All were Daehwa Securities employees, a sort of team made up of [N O V E L I G H T] particularly smart and trustworthy individuals.
They knew the peripheral details of the things I was doing, but due to their shallow perspective, they didn’t fully understand what I was trying to achieve.
Perhaps only soone like Ha Joo-seong could grasp my true aim.
“Ah, you an why I didn’t short sell under the na of Daehwa Securities? First off, it’s illegal, right?”
“...Since when did you ever care about things like that, Miss?”
In that mont, I sensed an impure glint in their eyes.
Hmph. Still, I’ll let it slide—it is technically true.
“There are a lot of reasons. Complicated tax issues... and also, it’d be too easy to get found out. Everything we’ve done so far—we’ve kept it all secret from the family, haven’t we?”
That’s why I only entrusted it to people I could trust. If I weren’t a third-generation chaebol, it would’ve been impossible.
This is why power matters. It’s not that you can’t buy trust with money, but it takes a long ti, and it’s exhausting.
I cleared my throat and tapped a world map with a stick. Where I pointed, the word New York was clearly printed.
“And more importantly, this isn’t even the main battlefield. I’d rather not waste opportunity costs needlessly. The true stage is Wall Street in New York—don’t forget that.”
Countless transactions must be made in the blink of an eye. If I shorted in Japan first and then had to move the money back to the U.S., it would be incredibly inconvenient.
That’s why soone else had to do it.
“...So that’s why you borrowed President Ha’s connections. Huh, impressive. Didn’t you say you were paying back your debt to him? And now you’re using him again?”
One of the smarter employees opened his mouth slightly in admiration. He was the one responsible for staying in touch with fund managers at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
I gave him the order to deliver this ssage under Ha Joo-seong’s na:
—“Since I owe you for the Plaza Accord, I’ll repay the favor with so good information. There’s going to be a major blow to the Japanese semiconductor market soon.”
That was the aning of the ssage.
In other words, I got the Japanese financial sector to short the Japanese semiconductor market themselves.
Considering that foreign short selling gets hit with even heavier regulation... there was no better way to shake Japan’s stock market than this.
And since it wasn’t my own money but soone else’s being used, there were no restrictions at all.
‘If people start thinking the Nikkei Index dropped by dozens of percent because of my short selling, that’ll be a problem.’
I smiled faintly and shrugged.
“What? It benefits them too, doesn’t it?”
“...True. Even if their own stock market gets wrecked, if they can profit through short selling, of course they will.”
Even in the financial world, where there’s no one you can trust, credit is incredibly important. If anything, the less formal the deal, the more weight the spoken word carries.
A simple truth.
To maintain a network, if you receive sothing, you must give sothing in return.
“That’s how human relationships work. A good relationship isn’t about one side getting everything... it’s one where both parties win.”
Until now, I’d heavily leveraged Ha Joo-seong’s network, and in exchange, I’d handed over useful bits of information.
Well, this ti, what I gave away would end up helping the most anyway.
Ti passed, and real-ti data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange started flashing across the monitor.
A live price chart.
It was a system that hardly existed unless you were a large securities firm like Daehwa Securities.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Already the stock prices of Japanese semiconductor companies are acting strangely. Huh, anwhile Daehwa Electronics stock isn’t fluctuating that much.”
Looking at the graph streaked with red and blue lines, Daehwa Securities employees smacked their lips. Working in finance themselves, they understood the significance.
Stock prices of Japan’s semiconductor firms were gradually dropping.
NEC: -4.7%
Toshiba: -5.2%
“How much did Daehwa Electronics go up?”
“About 2%...? I think it’ll rise a fair bit by market close.”
Hmm, so Daehwa Electronics did go up. But maybe because it had already risen a lot before, it didn’t climb all that much more.
I heard they call it ‘early reflection’ or sothing... My guess is my uncle bought up stocks in advance.
Eventually, the stock chart wavered slightly and then stopped at the -5% mark. A staffer familiar with the Japanese market glanced at the clock and said:
“It’s lunchti. Looks like a trading halt.”
They paused trading at the perfect timing.
Now the real commotion would start in the Tokyo Stock Exchange. For the next hour, all sorts of chaos would unfold, and the securities people probably wouldn’t even be able to eat properly.
Classic panic behavior.
“Uh, should we check the dostic market in the anti...?”
I shook my head.
“Forget about that for now. Let the other family mbers focus on it—we should be swimming in a bigger pond. I’m going to go eat lunch, so you all take your break too.”
What a joke it would be if, after all this reincarnation, I was scrabbling over so tiny piece of land. While the rest of Daehwa Group focused on minor news, I was planning the bigger picture.
“Yes, understood, Miss.”
At my signal, the staff bowed. Even without having to say it, one of them stepped forward to attend to .
Seeing how obedient they’d beco brought a natural smile to my lips.
After all—
There’s no feeling quite like being above soone.
***
Just in ti, Si-hyun arrived for lunch, so we were able to eat together.
With Lee Si-hyun attending to , I went to a tonkatsu restaurant I hadn’t visited in a while and enjoyed a Japanese al. Of course—eating Japanese food at tis like this is just good manners.
“...Doesn’t it bother your conscience to eat this together?”
Lee Si-hyun grumbled, but she diligently cut the tonkatsu and fed it to .
Ugh, such an insolent secretary.
“You eat faster than I do anyway. Besides, if you eat too much of this stuff, you’ll gain weight.”
“...I honestly don’t know where to even start criticizing that. Why are you worried about gaining weight? And yet you eat everything just fine.”
I’ve got a reincarnation perk, so it’s fine.
“Hmph. Anyway, you finished tidying things up in Japan, right?”
Si-hyun had gone to Japan in my place to take care of a few matters. Mostly real estate liquidation stuff, but since there was so involvent with the yakuza and personal security was required, I sent Si-hyun.
“Ah, yes... I did more or less wrap it up.”
She briefly grimaced. Her delicate brows knit together, and a flicker of hesitation crossed her face before vanishing.
“You ever buried soone before?”
“...Huu, please don’t say such violent things. Aren’t we supposed to see no evil, hear no evil? Especially since you’re still young, Miss.”
I sneered at her words.
“I’ve already experienced most evil things as a child—doesn’t matter anymore. So, have you?”
Si-hyun rubbed her toned arm and nodded.
“Well, I had so experience with the chief secretary’s help before. Still, real action’s a different story.”
“You’ve done well.”
I knew she could handle herself in a fight, but honestly, I had been a little worried. After all, she’s a woman—there was a chance she could’ve gotten into so real trouble.
“...Yes. Maybe because of that, I’ve been having bad dreams lately. I’m sorry about the other day too—I was feeling a bit off and crossed the line.”
“As long as you know. Still, I gave you permission... so, mm, I won’t hold you accountable.”
If a subordinate crosses the line and starts climbing upward, they should be punished—but... going back on my own word is sothing a superior should never do.
That’s why I had no intention of punishing Lee Si-hyun.
...Well, it’s not like her lullaby was that unpleasant anyway.
“When this is all over, I’ll give you so vacation ti. Or is there sowhere you want to go?”
I smiled softly and patted my secretary’s shoulder. Overworking soone breeds resentnt—you have to loosen the reins at the right mont.
Just like now.
“...Vacation?”
Lee Si-hyun looked at wide-eyed, as if she’d never even considered such a thing.
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