This was the power of money! In this life, Jonathan and I had agreed that the power of finance was an SSS class skill. Financiers like Jonathan and I could say that because we were the love child of 21st century capitalism. The Awakened, the beneficiaries of the New World, were in the position of arguing that statement but had not.

Money…I had never participated in class, but I couldn’t concentrate on the words of the male teacher standing at the lecture desk today. I could hear the sound of the clock ticking louder than his voice. 

Tik Tok. Tik Tok.

The minute hand overlapped with the hour hand, and it was noon in Korea. It was 10:00 AM in Thailand since there was a two-hour time difference. The Central Bank of Thailand would announce their implementation of the floating exchange rate system in thirty minutes, at 10:30 AM. That was when things would start.

According to history, Singapore’s foreign exchange market was where the baht was traded the most, and they were shocked and stuck frozen in fear as if they were attacked by nuclear weapons. It was like heaven for the guilds…no, never mind, the groups that bet on Thailand surrendering in mid-July. However, the two groups that bet on Thailand’s victory would fall into hell. With my full-scale intervention, those who had bet on the drop in baht today were just us and a few investors that didn’t lose their positions to us. Everyone else was tied to the baht rising, so we were just thinking about whose loss would be the biggest. 

It was 12:30 PM, and the fourth period had ended. It was the time for the president of Bangkok Central Bank to hold a press conference, and, at that same time, it was the lunchtime that the students at my school had been waiting for. The classroom got busy with students moving and putting their desks together to share their lunch. I stood up to go to the teacher’s office. As always, the students’ eyes focused on me, then looked away. 

Even after returning to the past, I couldn’t remember the young lady who was my homeroom teacher. Given how cute she was, I should’ve remembered her, but I didn’t. She gave me the impression of a cute puppy, and she was so tiny that her head just reached my shoulder. She looked up from her chair. 

“You seem to get taller every time I see you, Seon-Hu. How tall are you now?” She asked.

I was over six feet. I nodded instead of answering her question.

“I would like to leave school early because I feel sick,” I said.

“You seem like you would be in better condition than me though,” she blinked.

Nonetheless, she seemed to be okay with me going home early as I was a student who didn’t cause any problems in spite of my physique and I had good grades. She also remembered that this was the first time she heard me say a full sentence. She thought for a second, then waved her hand.

“Okay, go,” she said.

“Thank you,” I bowed. 

“Seon-Hu. I don’t think it would happen, but is there anyone bullying you? Nevermind. The reason why I ask this is because you seem to be alone all the time,” she seemed worried. 

“...It’s just my personality, and I like being alone. Thanks for checking in,” I replied.

“You talk like an adult. Go see a doctor, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her gaze did not leave me until I completely left the teacher’s office. She seemed to be deeply concerned, and no wonder why…

***

Wung Wung.

My PC made a loud sound as it was accessing the internet since my house was empty.

Even though the phone bill for last month was over 150 thousand won, my parents had not said anything to me. When I skipped the tutorial and came to this period, I was already their mature son. I was always smiling in pictures, but my parents knew that I forced a smile for their sake. 

In the photos that people had taken without me noticing, I was expressionless. In addition, the backgrounds were usually of a playground with pull-up bars. Of course, my parents took them, and I could tell how they felt when taking those pictures. I was growing too fast compared to other people my age, and my brain, mentally, was maturing at the same rate. I was always taciturn and earnest. 

Similar to how my homeroom teacher let me leave school without scolding me, my parents also didn’t reprimand me for racking up a phone bill that was over 150 thousand won. That amount was quite a lot for our family during this time. 

Anyway, accessing the internet through PC communication was slow all the time. Singapore’s foreign exchange information site and the lag on the GOL messenger I used to communicate with Jonathan were sluggish. The message, ‘Too many active connections’ popped up on my screen first.

- J: Sun!

- N: That’s me.

- J: Tell me your full name.

- N: I like how you are being so careful. It’s me, Na Seon-Hu. Has the result been announced?

- J: Yes.

- N: What is our ratio position?

- J: Seventy percent on thirty-four baht. Fifteen percent on thirty-two baht. Fifteen percent on thirty baht.

- N: The average of thirty-three baht.

- J: You’re right.

- N: I can’t check the market price now because the foreign exchange information site has shut down. We would have the right to profit by now, right?

Jonathan suddenly became quiet. I had tried to pretend I was fine for a while, and I had consoled myself that anyone who knew the past could earn money. However, I reached my limit. I pressed the keyboard one by one with my trembling fingers. The silence that Jonathan brought made my heart beat faster.

- N: Jonathan?

Jonathan must be losing his mind. He sent words with typos at first, then a proper sentence showed up. 

- J: It’s thirty baht for now. Our earning rate before liquidation is three hundred, which is sixty billion dollars. 

Jonathan changed his attitude and acted like an analyst who was reporting to his boss. I could tell that he was trying to calm himself down. There had been cases when people got large earning rates with small funds, but the amount we bet on was fiftyfold leverage from two hundred million dollars, which was around ten billion dollars. As Jonathan said, it was crazy. No one could have ever done it without knowing the future.

- N: Let’s keep doing this until the market closes.

- J: The opposite positions, whom we had raided from, are resisting fiercely. I recommend ending things now to confirm profits.

- N: As we agreed in advance, I will decide the timing. You don’t need to worry about the opposite position’s resistance. Today’s announcement has completely overturned the situation.

The decline wouldn’t stop until the stock market ended, and the opposite positions were aware of this. If this was a competition over whose desire was bigger, they would have some hope. However, as Thailand declared their surrender, there was no moment of emotion to intervene. 

History was continuing on without change. The only thing different was that in the past, I had been taking a Korean language class right now instead of trying to allay my excitement.

***

It was trillions in Korean won, so I admitted that I would gain an astronomical amount of money soon. The numbers kept ringing in my head. Even though I had never touched this amount of money before, reality hit me just by imagining it. I washed my face with cold water multiple times, but my face was still too hot. 

Jonathan’s message came up every time the baht fell by 0.1. The messenger was quiet, but the numbers on my head were louder than anything else.

- J: 29 baht.

- J: 28.9 baht.

- J: 28.8 baht.

I was glad that we were not together since I knew the answers, unlike when I opened the boxes. If I was with Jonathan, our excitement would be at its peak like drug addicts, and I might have told him about future plans. Of course, such a silly slip wouldn’t happen, but no one actually knew what would happen when dealing with such crazy exhilaration. Not only have I seen it happening once or twice, but I've also experienced it several times. This was why I kept pressing myself and did my best not to think about the amount. 

Gosh. I just had to see the result without putting my life on the line, but why are my hands shaking so much? I clenched my fists as hard as I could, and it helped me a little bit.

- N: Begin to close.