At the hotel fitness center, where a vast glass window overlooked the deep blue Han River, Seok-won ran on a treadmill, earphones in, listening to fast-paced hip-hop.
It was a weekday afternoon, and although more than a dozen treadmills were lined up in a row, he was the only one using them.
He kept running without pause, and by the time the red sunset settled between the apartment buildings across the river, he finally began to slow his pace.
Catching his breath, Seok-won grabbed a towel hanging beside him and wiped the sweat from his face. When he checked the panel, the distance read 7.6 km.
"Should I go a little more?"
His stamina was still holding up.
Just as he took a sip from his water bottle, intending to push through to the 10 km mark, Han Jisung approached, dressed in a suit, holding out a phone.
"Sir, a call from Landon in New York."
Clicking his tongue slightly in disappointment, Seok-won turned off the treadmill, stepped down, and took the phone.
"It's me."
[Were you working out?]
Seok-won tossed his sweat-dampened towel to Jisung and perched himself on the bench press seat.
"I've been busy the past few days, so I came to make up for some missed workouts. What's going on?"
Landon's voice carried a slight edge as he responded.
[After two days of gradual decline, copper spot prices rebounded to $2,709.1 per ton today due to a surge of large buy orders in the New York futures market.]
Seok-won's eyes sharpened as he adjusted his grip on the phone.
"Did Sumimoto step in?"
[Given that the orders were placed through JPMorgan, that seems likely.]
JPMorgan was Sumimoto's go-to broker for futures trading.
Even if that weren't the case, Seok-won's pre-regression memories told him that around this time, Sumimoto Trading was holding massive copper reserves. That meant the one trying to prop up copper prices through futures buying could only be Takashi Sugihara.
'Otherwise, there's no reason to aggressively buy overpriced copper futures in a market weighed down by weak demand.'
A desperate attempt to recover losses—
But ultimately, a futile struggle.
'The smarter move would have been cutting losses early and offloading the reserves as soon as he realized his mistake.'
Instead, Sugihara had doubled down, making things even worse.
'Maybe he got drunk on his past success and that ridiculous "Mr. 5%" title, thinking he could bend the market to his will.'
But no matter how influential Sumimoto was in the global copper market, no single entity could single-handedly reverse a major trend.
His arrogance, the belief that he could control the market, was leading him down the same doomed path as Brad Cooper, the trader who bankrupted Barings Bank with reckless gambles.
Like a predator locking onto its prey, Seok-won's eyes gleamed as he asked,
"How much has Sumimoto poured into futures buys so far?"
[As of today, over $1 billion.]
There was no way an ordinary department head could place such massive orders alone, but Sugihara had already crossed the line.
"Even after buying so many futures contracts, copper spot prices still haven't rebounded. That means the downward pressure is immense."
[There's the demand contraction from the economic slowdown, but the bigger issue is that China has been offloading massive amounts of copper lately, which is keeping prices suppressed.]
China, often called the world's factory, was not only the largest producer of copper but also its biggest consumer.
In fact, Sumimoto Corporation had been able to dominate the global copper market for over a decade largely because of secret collusion with a handful of powerful Chinese firms that controlled the domestic market.
"If those Chinese companies are now acting against Sumimoto, it means that long-standing cartel has broken apart."
[I believe so as well.]
Now that cracks were forming in what once seemed an unshakable fortress, Landon—who had initially been skeptical about attacking Sumimoto—was taking a much more aggressive stance.
"It looks like the time is ripe. Let's finish Sumimoto off."
[Understood. I'll proceed with the futures sell orders as per your instructions.]
"Dump everything we have. Break through the resistance level that Sumimoto is barely holding on to."
[Will do.]
Ending the call, Seokwon handed the phone back to Han Jisung, who was waiting beside him.
He considered getting back on the treadmill, but his sweat had already dried, so he decided to call it a day.
"I'll take a quick shower and head out. Get the car ready."
"Understood, sir."
Without another word, Seok-won turned and walked toward the showers
*
Tokyo, Koto City, Morishita – The Next Morning
Copper prices were still in a slump.
After watching the price movements late into the night, Sugihara had finally collapsed into bed past midnight.
His sleep didn't last long. He was groggily pulled from his exhaustion when his wife shook him awake.
"Honey, wake up."
"...Ugh. What is it?"
A week of restless nights had left Sugihara's face deeply etched with fatigue.
He tried to turn over, but his wife shook his shoulder again.
"It's Matsura on the phone. Hurry up and get up."
At that, Sugihara bolted upright.
"Matsura?"
"Yes."
Matsura was a staff member at Sumimoto Corporation's London branch—and, on a personal note, Sugihara's junior from university.
Still in his pajamas, Sugihara stumbled out of bed and picked up the receiver from the living room table.
"Hello?"
His voice came out rough, as if he had swallowed sand.
[Manager, this is Matsuura.]
Sugihara lifted his head and glanced at the clock on the living room wall.
It was just past 3 a.m.
Running a dry palm over his weary face, he asked,
"What's going on at this hour?"
His mind was sluggish from lack of sleep, but the urgency in Matsuura's voice jolted him wide awake.
[Copper spot prices have plunged. We're on the verge of breaking below $2,600.]
"What?!"
The shocking news made Sugihara's eyes widen. Without realizing it, he raised his voice.
"Are you saying $2,600 is at risk? Is that true?"
Matsuura answered immediately, his tone firm.
[Yes, sir. Prices have already fallen to $2,601.9, and with this selling pressure, it looks like they'll break below $2,600 soon.]
Sugihara gripped the receiver tightly, as if trying to steady himself.
"It was still at $2,700 just before midnight! How the hell did it drop nearly $100 in such a short time?"
[A massive sell-off hit the New York futures market, causing a sudden shift in sentiment. The market was already weak, and as futures prices collapsed, panic spread, dragging spot prices down as well.]
"Damn it!"
Sugihara scowled, cursing under his breath.
[On top of that, CNMC and other Chinese copper firms have dumped nearly 150,000 tons of physical copper, further fueling market fears.]
"150,000 tons?! Are they out of their minds?!"
That was an enormous volume—more than 10% of Japan's annual copper consumption, a staggering amount for a manufacturing powerhouse.
With futures prices crashing and such a massive supply dump in the spot market, a price collapse was inevitable.
"Those bastards."
Sugihara was already frustrated. He had been struggling to prop up prices, only for the Chinese firms to swoop in and offload their stocks the moment the market showed signs of life. Their opportunistic behavior was infuriating.
And now, with this latest move completely wiping out all his efforts, a deep sense of betrayal and fury surged within him.
"Was it those Chinese firms that dumped the futures contracts as well?"
Sugihara's bloodshot eyes gleamed as he asked urgently.
[We haven't been able to confirm that yet.]
That made sense. With copper spot prices crashing nearly $100 in one go and chaos erupting at the London Metal Exchange (LME), there was little room to monitor the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) as well.
Pressing a hand against his forehead, Sugihara took a deep breath, trying to suppress his growing agitation.
"You said the Chinese dumped 150,000 tons, right?"
[That's correct.]
Sugihara quickly calculated his next move and gripped the receiver tighter.
"Then place a buy order—not for 150,000, but 200,000 tons. We need to stop the price from collapsing any further."
Matsuura, stunned by the unexpected order, asked in disbelief.
[Are you saying we should buy 200,000 tons instead of cutting our losses?]
"Now is not the time to sell. If we dump our holdings here, the losses will be locked in permanently. I won't allow that!"
[But the market sentiment is terrible right now. If this goes wrong, our losses could spiral even further.]
Matsuura's voice was filled with concern, but Sugihara squared his shoulders, puffing out his chest in a show of confidence.
"Do you know who I am? I'm Mr. 5%—don't forget that. The copper market has always been our domain. If we place a massive buy order and make it look like we're accumulating at these low prices, other investors will take notice and start buying too."
[But…]
Matsuura hesitated, his lingering doubts evident in his voice.
"I'll take full responsibility. You just do as I say."
Sugihara's grip on the receiver tightened as he spoke with unwavering authority.
[…Understood.]
At this point, Matsuura had no choice but to comply.
"Good. Place the order immediately and update me on any changes."
[Yes, sir.]
As the call ended, Sugihara set the receiver down and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Haa…"
Just then, his wife appeared, wrapped in a silk robe over her nightwear, concern written all over her face.
"Honey, is something wrong at the company?"
A phone call in the dead of night, followed by an intense conversation—it was enough to make her worry.
Sugihara looked up and forced a neutral expression.
"It's nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. But I'm sorry—I need to head to the office."
"It's still dawn… You're going to work already?"
"Looks like I have to."
His wife stared at him in silence for a moment.
"Alright. I'll lay out your suit—wash up in the meantime."
"Thanks."
Without another word, she turned and walked back into the bedroom.
As the door clicked shut, the faint smile lingering on Sugihara's face quickly disappeared.
"Damn it."
A sinking feeling gnawed at him—this time, stopping the copper price from crashing wouldn't be easy.