9:34 a.m., Manhattan, New York.
With a citywide flight ban in effect after the passenger plane collision, Seok-won traveled by car instead of his private helicopter to reach the Eldorado Fund office in Lower Manhattan.
Although it was only about seven kilometers in a straight line from the Plaza Hotel where he had been staying, the roads were nearly paralyzed due to the terrorist attack, and the trip took a full thirty minutes.
The moment Seok-won entered the building, he headed straight for the elevator and went up to the office on the 31st floor.
The trading floor, which would normally have been deafening with ringing phones and traders shouting orders, was now submerged in silence. Even the air itself felt heavy.
The monitors that should have been flickering with constantly shifting numbers were completely black. Traders who would usually be rolling up their shirt sleeves and throwing themselves into trades, along with interns rushing around with stacks of documents, were all standing frozen in front of a large television, their faces blank with shock.
"This can't be happening…"
"Sniff… sniff…"
On the large screen that normally displayed market news and economic updates, an unimaginable scene was unfolding. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, a symbol of New York, were engulfed in thick black smoke.
While Seok-won was on his way, United Airlines Flight 175, carrying nine crew members and fifty-one passengers, had slammed into the South Tower, which had previously remained intact.
With its fuel tanks full of highly flammable aviation fuel and traveling at a speed exceeding 950 kilometers per hour, the aircraft became a weapon of devastating destructive power the moment it collided.
"Aaaah!"
"P-people are falling!"
"Holy shit!"
The live broadcast showed people inside the building leaping from dozens of floors above, one after another, in a horrifying scene captured without mercy by the cameras.
Unable to endure the flames and toxic smoke filling the interior, they chose to throw themselves from the building.
"..."
Seok-won let out a low, restrained sound, his face stiff with tension.
Before his regression, he had only seen heavily edited footage in Korea, where the most brutal and graphic scenes had been removed. Now, confronted with the raw, unfiltered reality of the catastrophe, he couldn't help but feel shaken.
Han Ji-sung, standing behind him, and the bodyguard Baucas were just as pale, unable to tear their eyes away from the television screen.
The employees were no different. No one could bring themselves to speak. Some of the women covered their mouths as they sobbed, while others repeatedly called and texted people who weren't answering, their hands trembling.
Many major financial institutions and hedge funds, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, had offices in the Twin Towers where the attack occurred. That meant friends or former colleagues of the people here could very well be trapped in that hellish scene.
To make matters worse, the overwhelming surge in call volume completely overloaded the communication lines, making it nearly impossible to get through and deepening everyone's anxiety.
At that moment, Landon, Andrew, and Dan arrived after receiving the call, their faces rigid with shock.
"You're here."
At Landon's words, Seok-won asked in a low, heavy voice.
"How bad is it?"
Landon answered with a far more serious expression than during their earlier call.
At first, they had thought it was simply an accident caused by pilot error or mechanical failure. But after the second aircraft struck, it became clear that this was a deliberate attack on the United States.
"European markets, which opened on an upward trend, have plunged sharply since news of the World Trade Center incident… no, the terrorist attack, broke. The UK's FTSE 100 is down more than 270 points, and Germany's DAX has fallen 10.51 percent to 4,177.74."
Andrew added grimly from beside him.
"While airline stocks are plunging due to the terror attack, international oil prices are surging. North Sea Brent crude for October delivery is trading at $31.50 per barrel, up 13 percent on the London futures market."
"Since passenger planes were hijacked and used in the attack, it's only natural that airline stocks are taking a hit. I heard the New York market opening was delayed until 11 a.m. Has there been any further announcement?"
Even someone as composed and levelheaded as Dan Baradan seemed unable to stay calm in a situation like this. His voice trembled slightly as he replied.
"Just a moment ago, the SEC announced an emergency suspension of all financial trading across the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange, for the entire day."
As if he had expected it, Seok-won gave a small nod.
"With New York in chaos after a terrorist attack, there's no way anyone could calmly trade stocks."
"That's part of it, but many financial institutions and funds were located in the Twin Towers. Even if the market opened, trading wouldn't function properly," Landon added grimly.
Andrew nodded in agreement.
"And even if it did open, there would've been massive panic selling due to the shock of the attack."
"That's true."
Just looking at the European markets, which were already plunging in response to the news, made it easy to imagine what would happen if the U.S. markets opened.
"The yield on two-year U.S. Treasury bonds has fallen 0.027 percent to 3.24 percent, and the dollar has weakened to 90 cents against the euro," Dan, the chief investment officer, reported.
Seok-won's expression darkened.
"Money is fleeing to safety."
The fact that U.S. Treasury bonds and the dollar—long considered the safest assets in the world—were being abandoned made it painfully clear just how deeply fear had taken hold of the markets.
The real problem, though, was that while others still didn't realize it, this nightmare was far from over. In truth, it was only just beginning.
As if on cue, screams erupted from the employees gathered in front of the television, and a third piece of devastating news broke.
"Oh my God… this can't be real…"
"No…!"
The three of them looked over in confusion as Mason, a senior trader, staggered toward them with a deathly pale face, barely able to speak as he delivered the shocking news.
"The… the Twin Towers have collapsed!"
"What?!"
"What do you mean…?"
Unlike Seok-won, who had already closed his eyes as if he had known this moment would come, the others reacted in disbelief and rushed toward the large television broadcasting the live feed.
Where the twin towers had stood side by side only moments ago, spewing thick black smoke, the South Tower was now gone. In its place, a massive cloud of dust rose into the sky.
The three of them froze in place, mouths hanging open.
"How… how is that even possible?"
Someone muttered, as if hoping this was all just a nightmare.
Eva, the receptionist, forgot all about her smudged mascara as tears streamed down her face. She clasped her hands tightly together and began to pray.
"God… please…"
Seok-won stared at the repeated footage of the collapse playing on the screen, his expression heavy and somber.
Just then, a phone rang. Landon, who had been standing there in a daze, hurriedly pulled his phone from his inner pocket.
"Yeah. It's me. What? That's real?"
He raised his voice sharply before his shoulders sagged.
"Okay. Let me know as soon as you hear anything else."
The moment he ended the call, Seok-won asked,
"What happened?"
Landon slipped his phone back into his jacket and turned toward him with a grim expression.
"The Pentagon has also been attacked."
The staff members who had been watching in silence gasped and erupted in shock.
"The Pentagon? You mean the one in Arlington, Virginia?"
Andrew stammered as he asked, and Landon gave a heavy nod in response.
Then he explained what he had just been told.
"Just like the planes that hit the World Trade Center, another hijacked aircraft slammed directly into the Pentagon."
"..."
As Seok-won stood there in silence, his lips pressed tightly together, the employees who had just received the latest wave of news were gripped by fear, which quickly turned into raw anger.
"Those bastards!"
"Who the hell would do something like this?"
"This is an attack on America!"
The Pentagon, meaning "five-sided," was the nickname for the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington, Virginia.
With the U.S. military's central command having been attacked on home soil, it was no exaggeration to say that the United States itself was under attack.
***
Ring-ring! Ring-ring!
The loud ringtone shattered the silence as Choi Ho-geun, who had been lying in bed with his wife, forced his eyes open.
"Yaaawn."
Letting out a long yawn, he glanced at the bedside clock. It was pointing to 11 p.m.
"Who the hell is calling at this hour?"
Still half-asleep and irritated, Choi Ho-geun grabbed his phone. The moment he saw the name on the screen, his face twisted into a frown.
"Hey, you jerk. Why are you calling me at this hour?!"
The moment he answered and barked into the phone, the urgent voice of Manager Jung Hwan-yeop burst into his ear.
[Manager, have you seen the breaking news?!]
"Breaking news?"
[The World Trade Center in New York… no, turn on the TV right now. Hurry!]
The seriousness in his voice, completely devoid of its usual playfulness, made Choi Ho-geun instinctively realize something terrible had happened.
"Wait a second."
He hurriedly got out of bed, and his wife, lying beside him, shifted slightly and murmured sleepily.
"Mmm… what's going on?"
"It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
Choi Ho-geun quietly closed the bedroom door and stepped into the dark living room.
He switched on the side lamp, grabbed the remote from the coffee table, and turned on the television. A breaking news screen immediately filled the display.
[We repeat. At 8:46 a.m. and again at 9:03 a.m. local time, hijacked passenger aircraft crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York. And just moments ago, another hijacked aircraft struck the Pentagon.]
As the agitated anchor continued speaking, the footage repeatedly showed the South Tower of the Twin Towers collapsing in a cloud of pale dust, black smoke still billowing from it.
The scene was so unbelievable that Choi Ho-geun briefly wondered if he was dreaming.
He pinched his cheek and felt the pain, confirming it was real, yet the situation still felt impossible to accept.
Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Choi Ho-geun stared at the television again.
"This isn't a movie… what the hell is this…?"
After watching the passenger plane slam straight into the Twin Towers, Choi Ho-geun dragged a trembling hand down his face.
Then, snapping back to his senses, he raised the phone in his hand to his ear.
"I'm heading to the office right now. Call an emergency meeting and gather the entire team immediately!"
[Yes, sir! Understood.]
After ending the call, Choi Ho-geun muttered while staring at the repeated footage of the plane crash and the collapsing buildings still playing on the screen.
"How can something like this even happen…?"
Then, as the thought of how this terror attack would impact the global stock markets hit him, his face twisted.
"Damn it. The world's stock markets are going to be thrown into chaos."