Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 217

Translator: DreamscribeThe road to meet hyungnim was always a pleasant one.

If he hadn't offered me a job that day, could I ever have dared to climb this high?

That was why I felt nothing but gratitude, and though he was the chairman of this group, to me he was the most comfortable person in the world.

"......"

But today, a heavy heart took the lead.

Because I had to propose something that could very well stake the fate of the entire company.

Proposing something that could bring down this painstakingly built group in a single blow was idiotic in itself, but if we didn't step up now, everything would collapse.

"So what you're saying is... we carry out a bailout ourselves?"

"Yes. I know it sounds ridiculous for a single corporation to conduct a bailout, but that's essentially what it is. Propping up the stock market. Pouring massive amounts of money in to catch the falling prices."

The financial markets were trapped in unprecedented panic.

As stock prices plummeted, margin calls started erupting everywhere, and financial firms were floundering, clueless about how to handle it.

On any normal day, they would have just sipped their coffee and sent a message telling clients to put up additional margin. But the situation now was anything but normal.

Not a single party would be able to post margin, and then the margin calls would trigger forced liquidation, and stock prices would fall further.

That chain would drag the financial firms themselves into bankruptcy.

"But even if we do this, can we really prop up a market that's crumbling as we speak?"

"Of course we can't do it alone. Other governments and institutions need to participate too."

"So we have to fire the starting gun? By pouring in an astronomical sum of money."

"Yes. We act with courage, and hope they follow our lead."

An act of courage.

Those words fit perfectly.

Pouring money into the market right now was insane.

There was the old market adage about buying when there's fear, but that was meant to be applied with timing and context in mind. Telling someone to put money in when the stock market itself might cease to exist was a con job.

In other words, I was asking hyungnim to make a gamble with the company's fate on the line.

"If we pour in every last cent we have and people just keep selling while nobody else tries to prop things up like we are, then we've just thrown our money away."

"Yes. As I said, we'd lose an astronomical sum."

"......"

That was exactly why it had been so hard to bring up.

But my instincts had clearly given me the signal.

That we needed to step up now.

"Geez. And here I thought you were putting on a serious face because you had something really heavy to say."

"What?"

"You told me you had something serious to discuss today, so I came with my guard all the way up."

"What did you think I was going to say?"

"That you were quitting? Or that you were done with the game?"

"I'm not quitting either of those until retirement age, you know."

"Ha ha ha! Then we're good."

Hyungnim's expression lightened as he filled my glass.

"As long as you're not leaving our company or the guild, it's fine."

"What I brought up is......"

"Of course we should do it. You're the one saying we should."

"But shouldn't you think it over carefully? One wrong step and we could lose every cent the company has. We could go bankrupt."

"Then I'll take responsibility for that too. Why do you think I'm still in this seat instead of retiring? It's for times exactly like this. Someone has to take responsibility."

Something deep in my chest ached.

"Besides, this company is something you built. Even if you tear it all down, I won't hold it against you. Honestly, just seeing Kwangwoon grow this much is more than enough for me."

This was by no means a decision to be made lightly.

And yet hyungnim was backing me on nothing more than his trust that I said I'd do it.

Just as he always had.

"So stop worrying and do what you want to do. I'll have your back."

"Hyungnim......"

"The meat's getting cold. Let's eat. You need to eat up if you're going to save this doomed world."

"Yep."

I did as hyungnim said and stuffed meat into my mouth.

Saving this doomed world, huh.

It sounded grand, sure.

But it wasn't wrong.

* * *

"Ch-Chairman, sir. You're going to do what?"

It was exceedingly rare for Chairman Hwang Dae-woon to gather all the executives from every affiliate in one place for a meeting.

Yet today he had called one on short notice, and this was what he had to say.

"Starting now, we're pooling every last cent from each affiliate and putting it into the market. In short, Kwangwoon is going to prop up the global stock market."

"Th-then the rumors were true? That Kwangwoon is going to pour an astronomical sum into saving the collapsing market?"

"I don't know when those rumors started spreading, but yes."

Sighs laced with shock and worry erupted from every corner of the room.

"Chairman. I understand the saying about buying when there's fear, but injecting funds into the stock market right now is no different from throwing money away. And you're telling us to pull every last cent from the affiliates and dump it into the market? This is suicide!"

"He's right. Stock prices are hitting all-time lows as we speak, and the talk keeps growing, doesn't it? That global markets might shut down entirely. That every stock on Earth turns into worthless scraps of paper."

In truth, Hwang Dae-woon had put on a brave face in front of Jin-ho, acting like it was nothing. But he was human. And being human, he felt the exact same terror that gripped everyone else around the world.

On top of that, this Great Depression was something humanity had never once experienced in its entire history.

"You think I don't know all that? I know."

"Surely... this was CEO Jung Jin-ho's plan?"

"That's right. Jin-ho brought it up first. I agreed."

"......"

The fact that it was Jung Jin-ho's directive, and no one else's, brought a brief silence over the room.

"But even if this is CEO Jung's plan, you need to deliberate further on this."

"One misstep and we won't just lose money, we could push this entire Kwangwoon Group to the brink of bankruptcy, Chairman."

This bet was do or die.

One or the other.

Did Hwang Dae-woon not know that?

It would be a lie to say he hadn't agonized over it alone at home.

But Jin-ho had made the call.

Hwang Dae-woon had already made up his mind to follow that decision.

"If global markets shut down for good, do you think Kwangwoon will somehow be fine? We all die the same death. What we're trying to do right now is prevent that catastrophe."

"But it doesn't have to be us, does it? Each government will step in and find a way to resolve this."

"Nobody's doing it right now, which is exactly why Jin-ho is rolling up his sleeves. Someone has to act and set the example. That's the only way they'll follow."

Easy to say, impossibly hard to put into action.

Because whether they would actually follow Kwangwoon's lead was very much in question.

"If the governments and institutions don't move the way we want them to, then we've just thrown our money into a raging inferno."

"Then we make it work no matter what. By every means at our disposal."

The Kwangwoon that Jung Jin-ho had built had grown far more influential than anyone had imagined.

The time had come to put that influence to proper use.

"Leverage every media outlet we can, and have each affiliate push the message hard. That Kwangwoon is stepping up to save the market. And pass the word to the Strategy Team. Tell them to find a way to resolve this mess, whatever it takes. This is all-out war. Not just the company's fate, but the livelihoods of every executive and employee in this room are on the line. Failure is not an option."

Hwang Dae-woon surveyed the faces of the executives one by one.

At first, every face had been filled with worry. But they seemed to have realized it too.

That retreating here meant death for everyone anyway.

Perhaps that was why.

Fighting spirit blazed in every one of them.

Just like the markets burning out there.

* * *

[Today, Kwangwoon will be committing every asset in its possession to carry out an emergency bailout aimed at propping up the global stock market.]

Across every media outlet Kwangwoon owned, one man's face appeared simultaneously.

Jung Jin-ho, CEO of Kwangwoon Securities.

As if delivering an address to the nation, he spoke from the podium, facing the cameras.

[The world is groaning under famine and war. The financial markets have been rocked accordingly, reaching a crisis without precedent. If things continue on this path, the civilization we know may disappear. That is why we must all join forces and stand against it. And so, Kwangwoon will be the first to step forward, putting up every cent we have ever earned, with the mindset of returning it all to society.]

Jung Jin-ho declared that he would put up every cent Kwangwoon had earned in order to save a world in crisis.

A bailout conducted not by a nation, but by a corporation.

And pledging an astronomical sum at that.

Abandoning corporate profits to pour money in with a do-or-die resolve, solely to save the collapsing global market?

Judging by his words on camera alone, Jung Jin-ho deserved to be counted among the next generation of saints.

Kwangwoon and Jung Jin-ho, stepping forward to save a world on the brink of annihilation.

What a tearjerking spectacle.

"Disgusting. The revulsion is rising to my throat. I could vomit."

But the EU officials who had watched his statement to the end were merciless in their assessment.

President Perron, in particular, had gone visibly pale with fury.

"How can a human being be so brazen and so vile!"

Save the world?

Put up everything they own for the world's sake?

They won't hold a grudge even if the company goes under because of it?

What a joke.

Kwangwoon was running a con on the entire planet.

"This is just them crashing stock prices to rock bottom and then scooping it all up for themselves, isn't it? How is Kwangwoon any different from the Rothschilds?"

The Rothschilds, who once dominated European finance.

But the reason they became Europe's wealthiest family overnight was war.

They spread the false rumor that Europe had lost to Napoleon, turning stock prices into waste paper, then swept it all up and amassed staggering wealth.

This was exactly the same.

They had sparked wars everywhere, making it look as though the world might end tomorrow, and now they were using that as a pretext to buy up stocks at rock bottom and send prices soaring.

"But the cruel part is that Kwangwoon isn't wrong. If Kwangwoon pours in all that money and nobody joins their movement, the global market really will meet its end. Civilization itself could collapse."

Kwangwoon had just given every government in the world an ultimatum between two choices.

Help us take control of global finance.

Or die together.

"That's why they sent us this official request as well. Asking us to temporarily lift all restrictions on Kwangwoon's stock purchases."

If a single entity suddenly poured massive capital into the market to intentionally drive up prices, that would violate financial regulations.

But they were asking for a pass given the extraordinary circumstances.

"So they're telling us to just sit here like idiots and watch while they gobble everything up?"

"We'd need to participate as well for it to work. Of course... if we do, we'd be looking at an unprecedented situation where Kwangwoon devours most of the global market."

In other words, Kwangwoon's ideal world would be realized.

Companies that had survived under state protection or on the strength of their own capital would all fall into Kwangwoon's hands.

"The biggest problem is that public opinion is entirely on Kwangwoon's side right now. They've mobilized every community and social media platform to paint Jung Jin-ho as some kind of 21st-century messiah."

That was the real problem.

Just watching the video, Jung Jin-ho looked utterly sincere, his voice even cracking with emotion as he called on everyone to unite.

And people, naive as they were, were falling for that sincere-sounding voice.

Without realizing that Kwangwoon's true intention might be to devour global finance whole.

"If anyone catches on to Kwangwoon's real motives and dares to criticize them, the mob descends like they want blood. How could anyone speak ill of a man like that, they say."

"Couldn't that be AI bots as well?"

"It's possible. But the point is, the majority of public opinion is on Kwangwoon's side. And if we don't comply with their wishes......"

"We get battered by public opinion and we all die anyway. Is that it?"

"Yes......"

What utterly ruthless people.

They were playing the role of demons in angel's clothing to perfection.

Yet right now, there was no way to criticize Kwangwoon or act against their wishes.

Because doing so would bring about the collapse of nations.

"Truly... it seems the end of the world has arrived."

Most people imagined the apocalypse as nuclear war.

But the end these officials were staring down was nothing of the sort.

A world built on Kwangwoon's lies, where everyone lived under their control.

That was the end of the free world.