I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 32: Black Monday (2)

The Day After Black Monday.

"How... how could something like this...."

They’d heard about it, sure, but no one really believed something like this could happen. The staff stared at me, eyes wide with fear and awe.

"A-Are we... gonna get arrested for this? I mean, this is...."

I gently patted the shoulder of the one who was shaking, smiling sweetly.

"It’s fine. No one knows but us, right? We all stayed within legal bounds."

Truth is, I only did a small part of this.

The aftermath of Black Monday wouldn’t be much different from the original timeline. Sure, pushing the Dow down an extra 2.6% was a hell of a win, but...

What people think I did? That’s way bigger than what I actually pulled off.

So, how do the people at Daehwa Securities see me?

No one predicted Black Monday. Looking back, they just came up with reasons why it might have happened.

But me? I stood right in front of them, called the crash, and did things that looked like I caused it to happen.

To them, it’s like... Black Monday happened because of me.

It’s like a magician’s sleight of hand. The real cause is somewhere else, but if you repeat the right actions and outcomes, people start to believe.

"Oh, she did this, so that happened!"

– That’s what they think.

To those who only half-understand what I did... I’m the greatest genius in history, and completely insane.

I played with the global markets using just a million dollars.

This is how I chase power.

I’m going to weave such a perfect myth that no one will even think of challenging me.

Even when the 21st century comes, even when all my knowledge of the future runs out.

***

In just one day, Black Monday wiped out 500 billion dollars from the US alone. If you look at the global markets around that time...

In the month of October alone, the losses hit 2 trillion dollars.

It wasn’t just Wall Street—Tokyo, London, every major exchange saw panic selling.

Hong Kong’s stock market dropped 50%. When the Dow lost a quarter of its value, Wall Street was chaos, but Hong Kong getting cut in half? That was unimaginable.

Australia dropped 45%, Spain, London, Japan fell 30%, and even Canada, right next to the US, fell 25%...

And again, that’s not some individual stock—it’s the entire market over a month.

Now, every time the Daehwa Securities staff looks at me, they can’t even meet my eyes.

Naturally, the US Senate and House went into a frenzy, holding endless financial hearings.

In the end, they brought in circuit breakers and sidecars, and the new Fed chair, Greenspan, kept pumping liquidity into the market.

Exactly like the history I know.

‘No major changes yet.’

Sure, I brought the panic forward a bit, and Japan got wrecked worse from the Friday-Tuesday double hit, but the US still had solid fundamentals.

Even with Ha Yeong-il’s fund pulling in 100 million dollars, it barely made a ripple.

“...How is this even real? 100 million dollars?”

Fresh back from wrapping up in Wall Street, Ha Yeong-il stared at me like he’d seen a ghost. He was the only one who heard my plan and predictions in full, so it made sense.

Other people didn’t know, but he had to know exactly how far the US market would crash.

"Heheh, I told you I’m a genius."

I flashed him a childish grin for the first time in a while, and he grimaced.

"I always thought of myself as a rational guy, didn’t really believe in superstitions... but now I get why people turn to gods and nonsense. Did you get some divine revelation or something?"

I shrugged.

"God gave me this genius brain, so it’s pretty much the same thing."

"...."

Not wrong. No one in this world believes in the divine or something beyond as much as I do. Not even the Pope has faith like mine.

"Anyway, 100 million is plenty for seed money, right?"

"More than enough. And since it’s net worth, not outside capital, with the investments coming in soon, it won’t stop at 100 million—it’ll be closer to 300 or even 500 million."

Right now, the Soros Fund was managing around a billion dollars. Ha Yeong-il’s fund had shot up from a no-name boutique to a mid-tier hedge fund overnight.

And if we advertised that we called Black Monday? The impact would be huge.

"But still, the New York market stabilized quicker than [N O V E L I G H T] I thought. Back on Black Monday, I really thought America was done for...."

Ha Yeong-il looked at me with fresh amazement.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Not only did I predict Black Monday, but I also saw how the US would somehow stabilize afterward.

"100 million... not bad, huh? That’s exactly 100x, right?"

We started with about a million dollars. Sure, we used up some setting things up, but a 100x return? That’s a solid win.

And considering how much leverage we used, we needed at least this much.

"We could’ve made more... a lot more. The market didn’t crash for just a day."

He looked a bit regretful but didn’t press. He got why I pulled back. The rest of the profits were used to build connections.

If you make money off shorting or options, someone else loses. Making too much would’ve been dangerous right now.

Not that we didn’t make it. We just... gave some back. Technically, we had about 700-800 million at one point.

"Felt good though, right? Watching all those big shots beg some kid Asian trader for mercy."

He grinned wide and nodded.

"Of course. It was... incredible. Banks and funds I thought were untouchable, all on the edge of collapse, groveling to some rookie fund manager."

Told him not to take too much though—if they actually went bankrupt, we’d never see that money. And of course, nothing’s free. It’s all debt now, and they’ll pay it back.

"Next time, I won’t be so nice. They can go bankrupt for all I care."

Honestly, it was a bit of a waste. Can’t ever get enough money.

Bet Ha Yeong-il felt the same.

"Yeah, probably. Damn, can’t believe my fund’s already at 100 million...."

His fund had already grown. They wouldn’t get another chance.

When I invested personally, it was 10 million. Then we made the official hedge fund, and now it’s 100 million...

Next time, we’ll pull in 10 billion. By then, I’ll have the power to protect it.

I nodded slightly, eyes gleaming. Time to run this hedge fund for real.

"We can advertise now. We’ve got enough contacts in the investment banks and other funds... and enough clout to hire the people we need. Right?"

"Haha, yeah. Even before I came back to Korea, people were already crowding around the fund. Took almost a month to finally see your face."

"Hire the ones who actually listen. And yeah, I know it sounds impossible, but try to get someone at least a little ethical."

We both burst out laughing at that.

"Hahaha! Now that’s a good one."

Ethical people on Wall Street?

Like hell.

And even if they existed, they sure wouldn’t be lining up to join this fund.

A fund that became legendary overnight, running on insane strategies and wild leverage.

Only one kind of person would come.

Someone young, hungry, and dying to become a legend themselves.

Follow current novels on freewebnσvel.cѳm.

"Hah, yeah, I know. But you get what I mean, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Someone who won’t screw over the fund or do anything too illegal."

Exactly.

Funny enough, on Wall Street... just sticking to the law most of the time makes you an honest person.

.

.

.

After Black Monday passed... I lay in bed, rolling around, thinking.

To be honest, I’m not exactly a saint. I’m just a normal fund manager, totally loyal to my own desires.

"Still... maybe I’ll try being good in this life."

Being good doesn’t sound so bad. Mercy’s for the strong, not the weak—and if you’ve got enough money and power, acting kind works in your favor.

I’m not some movie superhero... if I get stabbed, I’ll probably die. No point making enemies for no reason.

"...Miss. Am I misunderstanding what the word ‘good’ means?"

Si-hyun, sitting on the bed massaging my shoulders, gave me a look like I’d lost it. She’d shed her usual suit and was wearing a tank top and dolphin shorts, showing just enough to look nice.

"Nope, you got it right."

I pulled out a crisp check for 10 million won and slid it into the line of her cleavage. Her toned body shivered slightly.

"Look at that, it works. So, I’m good now, right?"

"...."

Phew.

Life is just too damn easy.