After finishing the meeting with President Obama, I returned to the hotel.
Dimon had flown all the way to Washington and was waiting for me.
"Why did you come all this way? I could have come to see you."
"You came all the way to America after a long time, so I thought I should move."
I roughly took off my tie and sat down on the sofa.
Dimon politely sat cross-legged on the seat opposite me.
"The White House was in chaos because oil prices fell too much. The fintech bank was in chaos in a different sense, right?"
"Thanks to you, Chairman, we are achieving high returns. Especially, the fintech bank is set to achieve its highest returns in history."
"With that amount, there shouldn't be any problem running CITI Group now."
"Not only no problems, but after paying off all debts, we have surplus cash. Depositors are increasing significantly. People are coming to deposit money not only from Silicon Valley but all over the U.S."
It was a virtuous cycle.
Higher returns led to more customers.
More customers meant more deposits, which allowed handling more funds and generating higher returns.
"We should open more branches all over the U.S."
"We have already opened many branches. If this continues for five years, we could have the most branches of any bank in the world."
The fintech bank had already risen to be one of the best in the U.S.
This was possible because it had acquired CITI Bank.
Some branches owned by CITI Bank were now operating under the fintech bank's signage.
"Shouldn't the fintech bank become the top bank in the U.S. on its own?"
"If we can keep generating returns like now, it could become the largest bank in the world, not just the U.S. Especially since the value of Bitcoin is steadily increasing."
The fintech bank was the world's sole Bitcoin exchange.
Of course, lately, some new companies and financial firms have sprung up like mushrooms, but the fintech bank still monopolized Bitcoin trading.
"Bitcoin's price has risen a lot, hasn't it?"
"It surpassed $2,000. It has increased more than tenfold in a year."
"It will increase more than tenfold again. With that, the fintech bank can generate as much revenue from Bitcoin transaction fees alone as it does now."
Bitcoin was only around $100 a few years ago.
But it had already surpassed $2,000, and in a few years, it would increase tenfold again to reach $20,000.
For the price to rise, trading volume had to be high.
The fintech bank, which monopolized the Bitcoin exchange, naturally saw increasing revenue.
"To be honest, the fintech bank has become like the U.S. central bank. Money is pouring in from the Bitcoin exchange as if they were printing money."
"Interest in Bitcoin is gradually increasing in Korea as well."
"Actually, starting this year, the fintech bank's Korean branch began Bitcoin trading. In just three months, over 100,000 customers opened accounts, and the number of account openings is rapidly increasing every month."
This was satisfactory enough.
If greed shifted from transaction fees to Bitcoin itself, the carefully built Bitcoin ecosystem would collapse.
Thanks to us not trading Bitcoin but keeping a steady focus, customers felt secure trading Bitcoin.
"Since you're making record profits, you must have considerable excess funds. How much can you invest in the oil company acquisition consortium?"
"We have to invest as much as you want."
"You'll earn at least double. By the first half of next year, oil prices will stabilize, making this a good investment."
"If it's double the profit, we absolutely have to go in."
Although we made enormous profits from crude oil futures, even doubling profits was no small matter.
In finance, even a 20% profit would cause a frenzy.
"The oil company acquisition will be done by closely related parties to Taewoo Group. We need to gather at least $50 billion to acquire a decent company."
"Taewoo Securities and the fintech bank won't be hurt by acquiring oil companies, but they have nothing to do with IT companies."
"We'll open a consortium under the pretense of saving U.S. oil companies to ensure stable power supply. That way, the public and shareholders will understand and accept it."
Just creating a plausible reason was enough.
The IT industry, championing eco-friendliness and sensitive to carbon emissions, would likely view oil company acquisitions negatively.
But with the righteous cause of protecting the U.S. economy, opposition wouldn't be absolute.
"The fintech bank can easily invest up to $10 billion. If needed, it can invest up to $20 billion."
"If we get $2 billion each from five IT companies, that makes $10 billion. To raise $50 billion, the fintech bank should invest $15 billion. The remaining $25 billion will come from Taewoo Group."
Raising $50 billion was no problem.
IT companies had significant retained earnings, and some could easily provide $20 billion or even $200 billion.
But they didn't push for that.
$50 billion was enough to snatch up the most delicious pieces.
"Work with Chairman Han to form the consortium. Don't rush it—just make sure it's ready to operate by January next year."
"So, until January next year, we just keep profiting from short selling?"
"The most profit-worthy period is from now until December. We should squeeze every last drop. That way, we can acquire oil companies at the lowest prices."
The more the short selling amount increased, the lower the oil companies' value dropped.
We had to drag it down to its lowest point to increase profits when acquiring them.
"We just need to attack enough for the oil companies' boards to announce they want to sell."
"I'll make the final push. But won't people criticize us if we attack hard and then try to acquire companies?"
"The U.S. government will take care of that. Even without us, oil companies' stock prices are bound to fall, so no one can blame us."
We had a strong ally in the U.S. government.
No matter how much profit we made from short selling, the U.S. government was in a position not to restrain us, but to protect us.
If they annoyed us, the $50 billion for oil company recovery might vanish.
"It feels like I've obtained a license to kill. Until now, I've moved cautiously watching the government's mood, but this time, I'll swing my sword like a desperado."
"It must be bringing back old memories."
"I remember the times I wrestled with loan sharks in Myeong-dong."
Dimon's eyes had changed.
From the look of the largest U.S. financial firm's chairman, he had become the look of a loan shark from Myeong-dong.
After finishing the U.S. schedule, I headed not to Korea but to China.
Most of the shares of the Guyana fund were held by U.S. companies, but 20% of the shares belonged to Chinese oil companies.
I came to China to acquire that 20% stake.
I had a meeting with Jeong Ju-seong, the rising governor of Li Gang, with whom I had newly established a connection.
"How have you been?"
"Thanks to Chairman Kim, I have been doing very well. The consortium for the Mongolian transport route is highly regarded by the influential people. I also received high praise after a long time."
Li Gang also needed achievements to rise to the center of power.
Of course, he could probably reach the power core within ten years with his ability alone, but with my help, he could climb faster.
"I'm glad to hear I was of help. How is China these days? The U.S. is in chaos because of falling oil prices."
"Is there any country that doesn't use oil? China is in chaos as well. You know the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), right?"
"Are you referring to the CNOOC group?"
"Yes, the company exploring and developing oil fields from Chinese coastal waters to various places worldwide. But with oil prices dropping so much, their losses are at an all-time high."
Li Gang was very interested in becoming a central figure in power.
So he paid great attention not only to Jung Ju-seong but also to various Chinese industries.
"If you want, I can offer some help."
"If it's help from Taewoo Group, it's always welcome. But how can you help?"
"Of course, we can't acquire CNOOC outright, but we will acquire some of their assets. From what I've heard, overseas oil companies are also withdrawing from oil field exploration."
"You mean acquiring exploration shares held by CNOOC?"
"If Governor Li Gang wants, I am willing to take losses and acquire them. After about ten years of holding, we can at least break even. Or we could resell to some blind U.S. company."
No matter how state-owned, companies are sensitive to losses.
If we can secure liquidity immediately, there's no reason not to sell shares.
Moreover, if the asset is oil field exploration, it is even more tempting.
"Exactly what exploration shares do you want?"
"I'd prefer shares tied with U.S. companies and funds so they can be resold to U.S. firms."
"I heard CNOOC has that kind of fund shares. I will check quickly and let you know."
"Take your time. It's not urgent. And if CNOOC doesn't want to sell, don't exert too much effort. Just know I offer this goodwill."
What I wanted was the Guyana fund.
But I didn't even mention the word "Guyana" during the conversation with Li Gang.
If I brought it up first, it could raise suspicion, and there might be problems with acquiring shares held by U.S. companies.
So I could only give hints.
I believed Li Gang could find the answer from the fragmentary hints I dropped.
If he couldn't do that, how could he rise to the center of power in China?
"I'm already well aware of Chairman Kim's goodwill. I will do my best to identify assets that meet the conditions you mentioned and inform you."
"I'm glad if I can meet Governor Li Gang even just once more under this pretext."
"Please come to China anytime. I will drop everything and come to greet you."
I gave Li Gang homework.
He politely accepted it like a good student.
"I hope our relationship transcends nationality and continues."
"I've never thought of Chairman Kim as Korean. Even if the relationship between Korea and China becomes bad, I promise our relationship won't change."
But would that really be the case?
The deployment of THAAD was imminent.
At that moment, China would declare the ban on Korean culture (Hallyu), and my influence in China would become difficult to maintain.
So I had to extract as much as possible now.
Only then could I grow Taewoo Group enough to be untouchable by China.