November 7, 2002, New York Mercantile Exchange.
Veteran broker Jerry Fisher, wearing a green windbreaker, wore a vacant expression at the market atmosphere that had completely reversed overnight.
Just yesterday, everyone had been clamoring to buy even a single drop of crude oil, but now they were struggling to sell off the crude oil futures they had painstakingly bought. It was no surprise he felt this way.
"Sell 200 contracts of December at 26.31—no, make that 26 dollars!"
"Sell 320 contracts of January at 26.44!"
"February at 26.50… damn it! Sell 230 contracts at market price!"
The sudden reversal in the exchange's atmosphere was caused by a single breaking news report broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom.
Iraqi forces had set fire to oil wells, and as the southern Rumaila oil field region became engulfed in flames, it was expected that crude oil extraction would be impossible for a long time.
The Rumaila oil field, with reserves reaching 20 billion barrels, was the largest in Iraq, so the global oil market was likewise thrown into severe turmoil.
As if that weren't enough, horrifying news followed that the increasingly cornered Iraqi forces were attempting to burn oil fields across the entire country as a last resort to halt the coalition's advance, plunging investors into complete panic.
Immediately, everyone scrambled to secure crude oil, and January futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged in an instant to 36 dollars per barrel.
Considering it had been around 23 dollars just before, it represented a staggering increase of over 56 percent.
"Even if you had money, everything was snatched up the moment it hit the market—people were practically screaming."
Jerry let out a hollow laugh as he recalled the situation just yesterday.
Fear had gripped the market that crude oil supply from Iraq, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, could be cut off for an extended period, and there were even predictions that international oil prices might surpass 50 dollars per barrel in the worst-case scenario.
As a result, buying pressure had been exploding when, suddenly, a breaking report came in that the Rumaila oil field—the very cause of this entire situation—was intact despite the fires.
"Since it's wartime and all kinds of uncertain information are flying around, at first everyone was unsure whether to believe it or not…"
Jerry let out a low groan.
In truth, he hadn't believed the breaking news right away either.
Having personally seen news footage of thick black smoke billowing from burning oil wells and covering the entire sky, it was only natural that he found it hard to believe.
However, not long after, Secretary of Defense Brett Morris appeared at a press briefing and announced that only ten wells in the Rumaila oil field had caught fire, and that the southern Iraqi oil fields had come under the control of U.S. and British coalition forces. With that, the situation changed in an instant.
As concerns over a reduction in crude oil supply disappeared, the market was suddenly flooded with a massive sell-off instead.
"Damn it! How far is this going to drop?"
"This is insane. There's no buying demand at all."
"Dump everything before the losses get worse!"
Investors dumped massive amounts of crude oil futures options they had aggressively bought at high prices just the day before, but there was no one willing to take the other side.
As a result, just as the surge had been steep, the fall was equally deep and terrifying.
[WTI: 21.09 (↓214.33)]
At the sight of crude oil prices plunging by more than 14 dollars in a single move, Jerry shook his head.
"It's a complete roller coaster."
No—this was far more frightening and brutal than any roller coaster at an amusement park.
Just thinking about how many investors must have been wiped out in the process—after prices had surged close to 30 dollars and then collapsed again—sent a chill down his spine.
Even among the traders he dealt with, there were quite a few who had taken positions at the very peak, only to be liquidated without any chance to react as futures prices crashed sharply.
Watching it all unfold, Jerry was once again keenly reminded of just how terrifying the futures market could be.
"You can strike it rich overnight if you're lucky, but the moment you slip, you fall straight into hell—that's the futures market."
Even now, calls placing sell orders poured in nonstop from those trying to claw their way out of hell.
Brokers, their eyes bloodshot, shouted themselves hoarse trying to offload their positions, wildly gesturing and struggling in desperation.
Entangled with one another, hurling curses and scrambling fiercely, the chaotic scene suddenly reminded Jerry of a phone call he had received two days earlier.
At the time, oil prices had been surging, yet the Eldorado Fund had abruptly decided to dump all the futures it was holding, which he had found puzzling.
"Back then, I never imagined it—but to think oil prices would really come crashing down."
As fear spread and the rally had only just begun to surge, he had thought it rash and foolish for them to dump all their holdings at once. Now, he felt like slapping himself.
"So the fool wasn't the Eldorado Fund—it was me."
Seeing how they had thrown away an enormous volume worth tens of billions of dollars all at once without hesitation, it was clear they must have already known that the damage to Iraq's oil fields was not that severe.
"If that weren't the case, they couldn't have acted so decisively."
Even so, if it had been him, he would have tried to squeeze out a bit more profit.
But watching the Eldorado Fund exit all its positions at the very peak with impeccable timing, Jerry, standing in the booth, could only click his tongue in amazement.
"It's not easy to know exactly where to draw the line. As expected, skill worthy of the nickname 'Midas' touch.'"
Even in futures trading—a field entirely different from stocks or foreign exchange—they displayed an almost artistic investment prowess, making it impossible not to admire.
Then, looking out over the trading floor, still in utter chaos, Jerry gave a bitter smile.
"In this game, no matter what anyone says, the winner is the Eldorado Fund—no, Chairman Park Seok-won."
However, Jerry had no idea that Seok-won's bet in the crude oil futures market was not yet over.
***
In contrast to the New York futures exchange, where despair and screams ran rampant amid the sudden collapse in oil prices following the surge, the Eldorado Fund trading floor located in the One New York Plaza building was filled with cheers.
[WTI: 20.99 (↓214.43)]
"21 dollars has been broken!"
"It's dropping viciously."
Chad, a junior trader who had joined not long ago, couldn't hide his astonishment, his mouth hanging open as he watched oil prices plunge, forming long bearish candles as if there were no bottom.
"My God."
Meanwhile, Mason, a founding member of the fund who had now gained considerable experience and held the position of team leader, shrugged with a relaxed attitude, an expensive luxury watch on his wrist.
"Didn't I tell you? There's always a reason behind what the boss does."
"Yeah… I really didn't expect oil prices to collapse like this all of a sudden."
Chad let out a long breath, still unable to shake off the shock.
"Everyone probably felt the same. I was no different."
After all, the broadcasts had been repeatedly showing images of Iraqi oil fields burning. In that kind of situation, no one except Seok-won could have predicted that crude oil prices would crash.
"If we hadn't known this would happen and had just held onto our futures options, we wouldn't just have lost all our profits—we could have taken massive losses."
"Just look at it now. No one's taking the other side, and it's nothing but a full-blown sell-off. It definitely would've happened."
Chad nodded as he watched defense stocks like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman plunge sharply, contrary to initial concerns, on expectations that the war might end sooner than anticipated.
"Not to mention crude oil futures—the timing of pulling out of defense stocks we bought in advance after they surged was incredible too."
Mason glanced briefly at the defense stocks, which were falling in tandem with the plunging oil prices, before replying.
"Come to think of it, the price we sold at was the absolute peak."
"Just how much did we make from defense stocks and crude oil futures alone?"
At that, Mason raised two fingers.
"Well… I'm not exactly sure, but it should be around this much."
Chad let out a gasp, his eyes widening.
"No way—20 billion dollars? My God, that much?"
"Not exact, but it should be around that."
With a grin, Mason pointed at the monitor displaying the defense stock prices.
"We made several billion dollars from defense stocks alone."
Having personally handled the trades, Chad had a rough idea of how much profit had been made from defense stock transactions, and he replied with a dazed expression.
"R-right, that's true."
Seeing Chad unable to close his gaping mouth, Mason spoke calmly.
"You do know these aren't the only two bets we placed, right? This is just the beginning."
Chad felt so dizzy he thought he might collapse.
Even the money they had already made was enormous, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what the final return would be once all the bets were concluded.
As Chad swallowed hard, his face still full of shock, Mason let out a quiet chuckle beside him.
It reminded him of how he had reacted the same way when he first joined the Eldorado Fund and witnessed the astonishing feats Seok-won had accomplished.
"Now you see why the boss is called a legend of Wall Street, right? So if you don't want to fall behind, you'll have to push yourself to the limit."
"Y-yes, sir."
Chad hurriedly nodded.
Until not long ago, he had thought that while Seok-won had indeed achieved remarkable results in a short period of time, perhaps there was some exaggeration to it.
But after personally witnessing the bold bets no one else had anticipated and the insane returns they generated this time, Chad became convinced that the stories circulating about him were, if anything, an understatement.
Mason placed a hand firmly on Chad's shoulder and said,
"Don't question it—just do as you're told, and the boss will make you a millionaire."
"...!"
Chad's eyes sparkled.
He had seen senior traders, including Mason, receive year-end bonuses exceeding one million dollars, and the desire to achieve the same surged within him.
At the same time.
Landon sat at his desk, a smile never leaving his face as he spoke on the phone with Seok-won in Seoul.
"Have you checked the oil prices?"
[They've been plunging since Secretary of Defense Brett's press briefing.]
"Hahaha. It turned out exactly as you predicted last time."
Holding the receiver in one hand, Landon brought a teacup to his lips.
"To be honest, I did feel a bit regretful, wondering if we had sold the crude oil futures too early—but I never imagined the situation would change this abruptly."
Landon lowered his voice slightly.
"So you already knew that the damage to the Rumaila oil field was minimal, didn't you?"
[Well, yes.]
Since he couldn't exactly say that he knew it from before his regression, Seok-won gave a vague reply and brushed it off.
"I thought as much."
Landon let out a deep exclamation of admiration, as if he had expected it all along.
He felt a slight sense of disappointment that he hadn't been told in advance, but what impressed him even more was Seok-won's information network.
At times, it was so extraordinary that he wondered whether Seok-won had unseen channels not just across the United States, but all around the world.
[You said the profit from selling crude oil futures was 18.6 billion dollars, correct?]
"That's right. Prices kept rising even during the sell-off, so the returns turned out better than expected."
Landon added, his voice tinged with confidence.
"On top of that, we earned an additional 2.7 billion dollars from selling defense stocks."
[That's a decent return.]
Even after making an enormous sum of 21.3 billion dollars, Seok-won remained completely composed, just like himself.
As Landon took a sip of his tea, his eyes widened at what Seok-won said next.
[At this point, it looks like oil prices have fallen enough, so let's start buying crude oil futures again.]
"...!"