The Regressed Vault Keeper Took It All

Chapter 22: From Now On, It’s a Battle Against Time

When April came, the madness of the market grew even fiercer.

The deregulated Daegung stock soared as if it had grown wings, leaping past 10 hwan, 15 hwan, and breaking through the 20 hwan peak in one swift stroke.

It hadn’t even taken ten days to climb that high.

Money raised by selling land, mortgaging homes, and even borrowing from loan sharks rushed into Myeong-dong like a black tide.

It was as if the entire Republic of Korea had turned into a massive gambling den.

In people’s eyes, only greed and blind hope for instant fortune burned.

After a few days of short vacation, the four of us—me, Kang Cheol-min, Yoon Ji-seong, and Ma Dong-jin—gathered again at the secret office in Myeong-dong.

A slightly different, somewhat excited air lingered compared to before.

“Did everyone rest well?”

“Yes, thanks to you, I had a great time with my wife for the first time in a while. Thanks to the encouragement allowance you gave me, I was able to hold my head up a little, haha!”

At my question, Kang Cheol-min replied with his signature sly grin.

“I also went down to the countryside for a while and bought my parents a calf. They were very pleased.”

The look in Yoon Ji-seong’s eyes behind his glasses had also softened.

“I stayed at the office the whole time.”

As always, Ma Dong-jin’s steadfast answer made me look at him with a puzzled expression.

“Why didn’t you take a vacation?”

“I thought someone had to stay behind in case of unexpected variables. And… I don’t really have family waiting to welcome me anyway.”

At his calm words, the atmosphere in the office grew heavy for a moment.

It seemed Kang Cheol-min and Yoon Ji-seong knew about Ma Dong-jin’s personal circumstances, for their faces showed sympathy.

I clapped my hands loudly on purpose to lighten the awkward mood.

“We’ll talk about that separately later, just between us. Now, it’s time to get back to work!”

I walked over to the chalkboard, grabbed a piece of chalk, and quickly began writing.

“The current price of Daegung stock is 20 hwan. Since the enforcement of the Securities Trading Act, the pace of its rise has become even steeper. What’s the market situation?”

“It’s a furnace, just as the saying goes. When I went home, even old man Kim next door, who never knew a thing about stocks, grabbed me to ask about them. And this isn’t just Seoul. The whole country is stirred up.”

Yoon Ji-seong reported, unable to hide his excitement.

“That’s right. They say not just inns near the Securities Exchange but even hotels don’t have a single room left. People from all over the country are flooding in, and even when room rates are raised several times over, they still sell out. Nearby restaurants and bars are booming too. Money is overflowing.”

Kang Cheol-min chimed in, as if waiting for his turn.

People pouring in from across the nation clamored to buy Daegung stock as quickly as possible.

Prices jumped if even a single day passed, so there was no way they could stay calm.

“The transaction system also changed from April, didn’t it?”

“Yes. Instead of physical trading and deferred trading, now it’s physical trading and normal trading.”

I asked to confirm what I already knew, and Kang Cheol-min immediately replied.

“I see. Normal trading… That’s the system where, once a deal is struck, the buyer doesn’t need to pay immediately. For two months, the Securities Exchange covers the settlement, and the buyer only pays interest to receive the stock certificate, right?”

“Correct. In effect, it made buying on credit possible. Deferred trading had been too complicated for the public to use, but normal trading had much lower barriers. Since anyone could now buy stock by just paying interest without having a lot of cash on hand, everyone rushed in, borrowing money if necessary, and of course, the price skyrocketed like mad.”

In a situation where stock prices were soaring daily, who cared about a few pennies of interest?

There couldn’t be a better environment for speculators.

Ironically, the system meant to encourage physical acquisitions and curb speculation had instead poured fuel on the fire, fanning the frenzy and overheating the market.

“Because of normal trading, the Securities Exchange will soon announce a paid-in capital increase.”

At my words, Yoon Ji-seong’s eyes widened.

He was so shocked he even stuttered.

“Th-they already raised the capital from 600 million hwan to 1 billion hwan, and now another paid-in capital increase?”

As trading volume exploded, the sparks had naturally flown to the Securities Exchange itself.

The more normal trading increased, the less cash it had to pay sellers, and the Exchange was being driven into a severe liquidity crisis.

Only a very few people knew about this yet.

I nodded and wrote “Paid-in Capital Increase” in big letters on the chalkboard.

“The moment a paid-in capital increase is announced, the physical stock certificates we secured will become a golden goose that lays golden eggs.”

Because to participate in a paid-in capital increase, physical stock certificates were required.

At that realization, Kang Cheol-min let out an exclamation.

“Ah, so that’s why you took the risk and focused on collecting physical shares instead of deferred trading! I finally understand.

You were already looking ahead to the paid-in capital increase!”

“That’s right. The current normal trading system is like planting a time bomb inside the Exchange’s vault. It was only a matter of time before it went off.”

“Then will you participate in the paid-in capital increase?”

Ma Dong-jin asked calmly.

I firmly shook my head.

“No. We won’t participate.”

I raised one corner of my mouth as I continued.

“When the announcement of the paid-in capital increase drives market expectations to their peak, we’ll sell off all the shares we hold at the highest price possible and get out.”

This upcoming capital increase was destined to fail.

They were planning to issue more than ten times the volume of stocks currently circulating.

No matter how overheated the market was, there was no way it could absorb all of it.

“From now on, it’s a battle against time. Every single day matters. Analyze the market’s reaction in detail, hour by hour, and report it. Especially you, Kang Cheol-min—stay at the Securities Exchange until closing and don’t miss the atmosphere on-site.”

“Understood!”

I turned to Ma Dong-jin and asked again.

“Are all the physical certificates we secured being kept safe?”

“Yes. They’re stored in a large vault with double security. Not a single error.”

“Good. Make absolutely sure that nothing leaks outside. I trust you.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

After giving instructions to the two, I spoke to Yoon Ji-seong last.

“Have you identified any other buying forces besides us?”

“Not yet. Since my last report, I haven’t detected any new moves. No matter how much digging I do, I can’t find a trace. They seem to be far more cunning than I expected. Much like us, they’re putting up proxies to thoroughly conceal the real buyers.”

I gave a small nod.

If there was a force with that level of intelligence and funds at its disposal, only Jeong Tae-soo came to mind.

But it was not yet the stage for certainty.

“For now, let’s ignore them. As long as they don’t directly interfere with our plan, we’ll leave them be for the time being.”

There was nothing good to come from poking recklessly.

If I had to rank priorities, they were lower on the list.

Though no one else was listening, I deliberately lowered my voice and gave stern instructions.

“From now on, focus all your resources on tracking Park Jeong-ho’s movements. We need 24-hour surveillance. Be extremely careful not to get caught.”

“That will… not be easy. As I mentioned before, men suspected to be KCIA agents are always lingering around him. Even approaching is difficult.”

“I know it’s difficult. But it must be done. The moment Park Jeong-ho starts selling, the physical shares we hold could instantly turn into scraps of paper. We must predict his moves and act before he does.”

“…I’ll do my best.”

Tension was tight across Yoon Ji-seong’s face as he nodded.

I clapped my hands once more to lighten the mood and spoke.

“Alright, let’s work hard just for this month! If this succeeds, I’ll give you the hefty bonus I promised. It will be an amount unlike anything before.”

At the word bonus, both Kang Cheol-min and Yoon Ji-seong’s eyes sparkled again.

Even Ma Dong-jin, who rarely showed emotions, seemed to twitch faintly at the corners of his mouth.

“Now, let’s begin!”

On April 1st, the Korea Securities Exchange was converted into a corporation with a grand inauguration ceremony, and Shin Man-cheol was inaugurated as the second chairman.

But before the festive heat even faded, grim reality weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Shin Man-cheol let out a deep sigh as he looked at the mountain of ledgers piled on his desk.

Each number stabbed at his eyes like a dagger.

Outwardly, the storm of frenzy raged on, but inside, the Exchange was no different from a shipwreck on the verge of breaking apart.

Just then, a soft knock came, and his secretary respectfully delivered a report.

Shin Man-cheol answered briefly with a weary tone.

“Chairman, President Park Jeong-ho of Hangang Securities has arrived.”

“Send him in.”

Soon, the heavy door of the chairman’s office opened, and Park Jeong-ho entered with his trademark sly smile.

“My, Chairman! You’ve lost so much weight. What on earth is going on?”

Even without being invited, Park Jeong-ho plopped naturally onto the sofa opposite.

His demeanor carried a subtle arrogance.

“President Park, welcome.”

Shin Man-cheol reluctantly rose to greet him.

Once again, he shook his head with a deep sigh.

“You ask why I look so troubled. You know full well. I only took this seat at your earnest request… but I never imagined the situation would be this dire.”

Shin Man-cheol recalled the time when Park Jeong-ho had persistently sought him out and proposed the chairmanship.

Their acquaintance went back quite a long way.

When Park Jeong-ho was still a young deputy department head at Gukil Bank, Shin Man-cheol had been that bank’s vice president.

The principled and upright Shin Man-cheol, and the ambitious, resourceful Park Jeong-ho.

Though very different, fate had oddly bound the two together.

Even as Park Jeong-ho left the bank and grew into a giant in the securities world, Shin Man-cheol remained steadfast at the bank.

It had only been recently that Park Jeong-ho returned to seek him out.

“Vice President, please take the chairmanship of the Korea Securities Exchange.”

At first, Shin Man-cheol refused his offer several times.

“What do I know about securities? Especially in such chaotic times…”

“Only you can clean up the mess left by former Chairman Cha Sang-woo and stabilize the market. Please, I beg you. I’ve already spoken with the other directors. All that remains is your decision, and you will become the new head of the Exchange.”

“Why do you want me in that seat? President Park, I have no intention of being anyone’s puppet.”

“Puppet? Nonsense! If I had wanted a puppet, I never would have come to you in the first place.”

Though Shin Man-cheol still seemed unconvinced, Park Jeong-ho pleaded earnestly with a desperate expression.

“Vice President, what the Korean capital market needs in this crisis is not a scheming politician or a greedy merchant. It needs someone who can set and uphold firm principles. As far as I know, no one suits that word ‘principle’ better than you.”

“Is that truly why you want me here? Because you need a man of principle? Or… is it because you want to show just how easily such principles can be broken?”

At Shin Man-cheol’s sharp retort, Park Jeong-ho fell silent for a moment.

Then, with a serious expression, he finally spoke.

“If I wanted to break principles, I wouldn’t have chosen you. You are the strongest proponent of free-market principles I know. And so am I. Everything must be left to the invisible hand of the market. Excessive government regulation only distorts and sickens the market. If you steady the helm…”

Faced with Park Jeong-ho’s repeated pleas and his plausible arguments, Shin Man-cheol had finally accepted the chairmanship, albeit with a heavy heart.

But the reality he confronted was more devastating than he had ever imagined.

Because of the surge in normal trading, the Exchange was on the brink of bankruptcy any day.

Though capital had been urgently raised from securities firms, it was no more than a stopgap.

Pushing aside his recollections, Shin Man-cheol sighed again, shaking his head.

“…I really don’t know how to resolve this. At this rate, we’ll all collapse together. Perhaps we should suspend normal trading altogether, even immediately.”

Groaning in distress, Shin Man-cheol spoke.

At that, Park Jeong-ho cried out firmly.

“No, Chairman! That absolutely must not happen!”