Chapter 2

2. Future and Past (2)

The two people got into a taxi and moved.

Ku In-hyuk insisted on stopping by Yu Seo-jun's house for a moment to pick up a certain item.

The item in hand, the two arrived at a small building tucked away in a corner of Mapo. The small building, faintly illuminated by the streetlights, had nothing particularly special about it compared to the other buildings around it.

The windows of the building, which seemed to be five stories high, were all dark. It was probably because it was Christmas Eve, and the office workers had left early.

Yu Seo-jun looked around the entrance for a sign. Strangely, there was not a single sign or marker at the entrance. Feeling a bit odd, he asked Ku In-hyuk:

"Where are we?"

Ku In-hyuk did not answer but slung the large bag he had brought from home over his shoulder and gestured. Yu Seo-jun followed him silently down the dark corridor.

They took the elevator down to the basement. Despite being a small building, the basement was quite deep. Yu Seo-jun saw that the elevator indicated the 6th basement floor.

After getting off the elevator, they walked down a dark corridor and entered a sealed room that looked like a warehouse. Yu Seo-jun stayed close to Ku In-hyuk, not wanting to lose him.

Click.

As the lights turned on, the interior of the warehouse came into view. Yu Seo-jun's eyes widened.

It was about thirty square meters. The warehouse, filled with all kinds of advanced equipment, looked like a new world, a laboratory from the distant future. The equipment, which looked quite expensive at first glance, was abundant.

There was a machine that caught his eye. It was a dark, tower-like machine placed in the center. Dozens of monitors were flashing around the machine, which looked like a very important device.

"Where are we?"

Yu Seo-jun asked, unable to close his mouth in surprise.

Ku In-hyuk put the bag he had brought on a table and answered:

"Here? The hidden research lab of LTCM's Korean branch."

At first, he did not understand Ku In-hyuk's words properly. But then he remembered what LTCM was. He had heard about it from acquaintances in the same field, but it was a name he could not forget. A foreign investment company that had made an unprecedented hit in the derivatives market about two weeks ago, leading to his bankruptcy. It was the foreign speculative capital that had driven him to bankruptcy.

If this place was LTCM, what was the relationship between this place and Ku In-hyuk?

Ku In-hyuk, seeing Yu Seo-jun's surprise, said:

"Didn't you feel anything strange? The incident that happened on the maturity date of December 9th. It was as if a well-planned drama, and all domestic financial companies were devastated. As a result, it developed into a foreign exchange crisis. And as a result, suicides like yours started to occur..."

Ku In-hyuk sighed and continued, as Yu Seo-jun stood with his mouth open.

"All of that was what I did."

Ku In-hyuk's words hit him like a hammer.

Ku In-hyuk's astonishing story continued.

Ku In-hyuk was already called a genius when he entered university. He was a devout follower of Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Majoring in physics, he had a particular interest in the relationship between time and space. The evolution of spacetime from the birth of the universe to the present was his area of interest.

Ignoring the calls from the academic world, he spent his life researching his interests and solving various high-dimensional equations. In 2025, two years ago, he discovered the connection between time and space. He then realized that time travel was possible using this connection.

He wanted to develop a time machine to prove this amazing discovery. He wanted to confirm that his theory was correct. However, the development cost of the time machine was so enormous that no individual could even consider it. He approached a few companies with the idea of developing a time machine, but he received only thorough neglect. Even the physics community did not believe his discovery.

It was then that the foreign investment capital, LTCM, appeared before him. Known as a financial investment company, LTCM believed in Ku In-hyuk's theory and promised him unlimited support. Ku In-hyuk was overjoyed. All the obstacles were solved in one go.

LTCM's only condition was to send a small memory chip back to 2020, five years before the present. Naturally, Ku In-hyuk accepted their offer. The greatest joy was being able to prove his research.

With nearly unlimited support, Ku In-hyuk developed the time machine in just one year. To enable time travel with the time machine, an enormous amount of energy was required. Due to the energy limit, there was a limit to the mass that could be sent back in time.

He sent the memory chip that LTCM requested to 2020. As a way to thank them for supporting his research, Ku In-hyuk did not think much about it. The experiment was a huge success, and everything changed.

After the memory chip was sent back in time, the world flowed differently. The 2026 that Ku In-hyuk faced was completely different from before. LTCM had transformed into a giant corporation compared to its previous state. In just five years, or more precisely, six years, a complete transformation had occurred. With the information from the future, LTCM had achieved consecutive victories in the international financial market over five years. The small investment company had turned into a giant that dominated the world's finance.

And in just one year, the transformed LTCM began to target a few countries with weak financial systems around the world. They were ruthless. They did not hesitate to use any schemes and tricks for their own benefit.

In alliance with other speculative capitals, they cleverly drove a country's financial system to bankruptcy. As a result, several countries collapsed, including our South Korea.

"Ultimately, the great upheaval that occurred on the maturity date of December 9th was due to LTCM's scheme. It was the result of a carefully laid trap over several months with other speculative capitals. If we trace the root of it, it was my mistake that made LTCM a giant. The bankruptcy of your company was also due to me. The downfall of our country can also be attributed to me. It was not because you mismanaged your company, but because you were caught in the evil schemes of the giant speculative capital. Do you understand?"

Ku In-hyuk's voice gradually rose as he could not control his emotions.

Yu Seo-jun could not believe it. Upon reflection, the recent foreign exchange crisis seemed abnormal. It felt like a scenario where someone was driving the entire society and country to ruin for their own benefit.

"What was in the memory chip you sent?"

"It contained all the information and the latest financial techniques from the previous five years. I don't know exactly what was in it, but I can make a rough guess."

Yu Seo-jun inwardly agreed. If someone knew the future investment techniques and all the information, it would not be difficult to make money using it.

"The current LTCM is a complete monster. They have achieved rapid growth by using the memory I sent them five years ago and have now grown into a giant corporation that controls the world. The problem is that they will do anything for their own benefit. There is no way to stop their greed. There is no force that can oppose them in terms of capital."

Yu Seo-jun looked at him with a dazed expression. What was he supposed to do? He was already on the verge of suicide due to bankruptcy.

Ku In-hyuk asked with a stiff expression:

"Aren't you angry? To be driven to suicide by a mere speculative capital. Or, to see your country reduced to this state by speculative capital."

Yu Seo-jun could not answer. He could not grasp what Ku In-hyuk was trying to say.

Ku In-hyuk clenched his fist.

"I am angry. I am angry that I fell into their trap and made this society what it is, and that I was used by their trap. That's why I want to fix it."

"How?"

Yu Seo-jun asked without much hope.

Ku In-hyuk opened the bag he had brought from Yu Seo-jun's house. Familiar items spilled out.

Four leather-bound diaries. They were the diaries he had written from 40 years ago when he entered university until now. These diaries contained his life.

Ku In-hyuk said firmly:

"This is the method I came up with to fix everything. The key is your diaries."

"Why the diaries?"

"I want to send these to you 40 years ago. The past you, with these diaries, will surely accumulate enormous wealth. Then, you will fight against LTCM, who obtained the memory chip. If everything goes as planned, you can prevent the foreign exchange crisis."

Yu Seo-jun understood Ku In-hyuk's plan. His diaries contained the events he had recorded over the past 40 years. Most of them were about stock movements, and with that information alone, he could amass great wealth.

Ku In-hyuk pointed to the dark, tower-like machine in the center.

"This is the time machine I developed."

He placed the four diaries on the central plate of the time machine and continued:

"To stop their conspiracy and change the current situation, we need to send different information to the past. That's why I came up with this. Sending your records to the past you. I considered other methods, but this was the best."

In other words, Ku In-hyuk believed that Yu Seo-jun was the optimal person for this.

Ku In-hyuk tapped the keypad connected to the time machine. Complex graphs appeared on the monitor, and changes began. The sound of the machine starting to operate could be heard from a distance.

Yu Seo-jun grimaced. His head hurt. He asked, not believing it:

"Will the future change then?"

"Of course. It has already been proven with the memory chip."

Yu Seo-jun found it difficult to grasp the exact cause and effect of the changed past and the changed future.

"Why not send a message to the you who was developing the time machine, telling you not to make it?"

"I thought about that too. But a better idea came to mind. Think about it. Don't you have something you want to tell your past self?"

For a moment, Yu Seo-jun recalled the great sorrow and anger that had once made him despair. Even though it had become a distant memory, the pain still pierced his heart.

"I wanted to help you solve that incident. I've wanted to do this with the time machine for a long time."

Yu Seo-jun's hands trembled with intense emotion. He remembered. He remembered pleading with Ku In-hyuk, crying and begging him to make a time machine long ago.

Ku In-hyuk tapped his shoulder, breaking his complex emotions.

"Ah, write a letter. To your past self. We don't have much time. Just a short page. That way, your past self will know what to do with these diaries, right?"

Yu Seo-jun wrote a short letter in a dazed state. He was confused about what to write. He wrote down his current situation and a few names he thought were important and related to LTCM.

Ku In-hyuk inserted the letter between the pages of the diaries.

Whirr—

As the time machine started, lights flickered around it, and the monitor displayed chaotic graphs.

Ku In-hyuk pointed to the monitor and said:

"I'm not sure if there's enough energy. It requires a lot of energy. I've been secretly accumulating energy for about half a year for this opportunity."

Ku In-hyuk smiled at Yu Seo-jun, who was watching silently. It felt like he had been preparing for this day for quite a long time.

"LTCM is having a celebration party right now. They don't want the past or the future to change. I've been told that this place will be closed soon. They need to ensure their safety, I guess."

Whirr—

The soft machine noise gradually intensified.

Tension filled Ku In-hyuk's face. Yu Seo-jun also watched the changes, alternating his gaze between Ku In-hyuk and the machine.

Ku In-hyuk clenched his fist and shouted:

"The future will change again. By you, Yu Seo-jun."

Ku In-hyuk's voice echoed in Yu Seo-jun's ears.

Yu Seo-jun prayed fervently. He didn't know what was happening, but he desperately wanted to change his life, which was ending in suicide. He wanted to save the person who had caused him so much pain and help South Korea, which had faced a foreign exchange crisis and bankruptcy.

Flash!

Lightning-like, the surroundings suddenly brightened around the time machine.

The diaries placed on the time machine disappeared. The future will change. If Ku In-hyuk's plan works.