Sora's Affair
University student.
She had always believed she would do nothing but study until the day she graduated.
Creak—!
An unexpected opportunity found her instead.
Sora visited the headquarters of Gaemi Investment Securities.
"You said your dream was to become a trader, right?"
"Yes……."
"Haha, that's perfectly fine. The actual work only differs a little depending on the position."
She was being shown around by Department Head Yeom Yu-an.
She had been here once before.
But that was on a holiday.
The market had been closed then. The building interior had been utterly deserted.
"Yes, the stock I mentioned during our client meeting……."
"It closed up nine percent for me yesterday. But it jumped quite a bit even into the closing auction."
"There's a slight mix-up in the information you have, ma'am. The holdings you currently own are completely safe."
The office was divided by simple partitions. At every desk, employees were on the phone. Tension threaded through every voice. Dozens of monitors only sharpened the atmosphere.
Gulp.
The everyday reality of the securities industry. Something she had only ever imagined was unfolding right before her eyes.
"How does it look?"
"Everyone seems really busy."
"Haha! Not quite. For the PBs, client consultations are the main part of the job."
"PBs?"
Department Head Yeom Yu-an explained.
A securities firm's work divided broadly into four categories: the finance division, support divisions, information divisions, and control divisions. Each complemented the others.
I see.
Traders belonged to the finance division. They directly earned money for the company. Private Bankers—PBs—did the same. But in terms of difficulty, their work was relatively more relaxed.
"Most people who join a securities firm start out as PBs. That will probably be the case for you too, Sora."
"Yes."
"No need to feel disappointed. You can always transfer teams through internal applications."
"I-I'm not disappointed, exactly."
Consulting with clients and purchasing the stocks they wanted. The responsibility was comparatively light. She steadily absorbed the details of the work. With enough years of experience, she could move to other departments.
"This is the trading floor—the department you're aiming for."
"Wow……."
"The air feels different, doesn't it?"
The office one floor up. She finally understood why he had called the PBs' work relatively easy.
Most faces were set in stone. A few looked so pale it was worrying. Every desk had at least six monitors. Some stations had more than ten, dizzying just to look at.
Click. Clack.
Clack-clack! Click!
Ironically, it was quiet enough to hear breathing. Only the occasional rattle of keyboards broke the silence.
The reason was obvious to any investor. Sora swallowed without realizing it.
"I don't need to tell you, but no loud voices in here."
"Yes."
"One press of the Enter key moves hundreds of millions of won."
"!!"
No need for flash. This was a profession where people deliberated for hours over a single keystroke.
It must be terrifying…….
Monitors filled with charts. She could not help empathizing with the traders staring holes through those screens. Seeing the actual workplace made everything hit differently. She thought she finally understood what it meant to have your blood run dry.
"What did you think?"
"It seems like a much harder job than I expected."
"Haha! I showed you a rather extreme example. If you start learning the work, you'll begin with small amounts."
Someday she would have to operate at that level. Department Head Yeom Yu-an's words stirred many thoughts.
So that's why Dad kept trying to stop me.
But she had no intention of giving up. She was not trying to achieve it overnight. She would learn step by step. And she had been given the best possible environment to do so.
"Have you attended the study group yet?"
"Not yet. Even though you went out of your way to recommend it……."
"Haha. No need to rush. You're still at the stage where you have plenty to learn, right?"
"Yes."
Department Head Yeom Yu-an was helping her. The condition was that she consider employment here positively after graduation. For Sora, it was something she had wanted more than anything. Landing a job at a securities firm was the first step toward her dream.
Which means I have to work even harder.
He had even arranged the study group for her. It was made up of people aiming for securities firm jobs. She would be able to learn what the industry actually did—faster and more accurately.
"You'll be able to study knowledge you can't get at school."
"Yes."
"And please give some more thought to what we discussed last time."
"I understand."
The reason he was doing all of this. It was not purely for talent recruitment. Sora had heard as much. He wanted her to consider the analyst track as well, not just trading.
I still don't know yet.
He had said from their first meeting that she had the talent to become his successor. Which career path was right for her—she could not tell right now. But one thing was certain.
"Hello. I'm Yoon Sora. I've just joined."
She no longer needed that man's help. A path had opened that would let her advance toward her dream on her own.
"Welcome!"
"Whoa, a female member~."
"Could you give us a quick self-introduction?"
The study group. A gathering that met twice a week to learn securities firm work. They met at a café. Five men and two women, all older than her.
"I'm currently enrolled in the Economics Department at Hankuk University. After graduation I'm aiming to become a trader…… to join a securities firm."
"Trader, nice."
"Excellent."
Sora chose her words carefully, the way she always did. She quickly realized it had been unnecessary.
Here, that's completely normal.
No one found it awkward when she stated her goal of becoming a trader. They were all aspiring securities firm employees, after all.
"Hankuk University? Wait, isn't that the same school as Jiyoung?"
"Yeah, right?"
"You two don't know each other? You've never met?"
"What's your class year, if you don't mind?"
"Class of '17."
"Class of '17?!"
The fact that she was young became a brief topic of conversation. But the atmosphere never turned into an obstacle.
"I'm a graduating senior, so I don't know the younger kids these days."
"You a fossil?"
"Yeah, a fossil. But I've heard of her. The valedictorian of the class of '17 is supposedly really gorgeous. So that must be her."
"It's an honor to meet you, sunbae."
"The honor's mine. Wow~ Department valedictorian and recommended by Department Head Yeom? Your life's already on the express track."
The level was high. Exactly as Department Head Yeom Yu-an had described.
Everyone seems like good people.
They were seriously aiming for securities firms. They were considerate even of a newcomer like her. She probably did not need to worry much. She wanted to learn a great deal.
That body and those tits?
Noona fetish activated, damn shame.
Guys, don't start drooling, okay~?
The existing members welcomed her too. Someone this pretty joining them. The usual study group activities proceeded in a lively atmosphere.
"Osung Electronics has been climbing a lot lately."
"Yeah, because of the coins……."
"They say they can't even sell semiconductors these days—not enough supply."
"They're continuously breaking record earnings. Both Osung Electronics and SQ Technics are flying."
"Sora, what did you say?"
"Ah, nothing."
They discussed recent market trends. A rally was underway centered on semiconductors.
Wasn't it because of the coins?
Their reasoning was different. Sora had started to speak, thinking she knew the topic, then hastily swallowed her words. She might have been wrong. Or she might have overestimated the influence of coins.
"Steel's been posting good numbers lately too."
"Undervalued. Totally undervalued."
"The whole KOSPI is undervalued. You should be fully loaded."
The more she listened, the more other thoughts arose. Had she misjudged this gathering?
They don't actually seem that knowledgeable…….
There were more than a couple of points she wanted to correct. Her lips itched. The KOSPI was not undervalued. There were reasons stocks rose and fell.
Sip.
Their vision was shortsighted. They were making the classic beginner investor mistake: attaching reasons to results that had already happened. Done that way, everything sounded plausible. It was useless for actual investing. The factors that changed the future were never just one or two things.
"Sora, don't you have anything to say?"
"No, I'm just listening."
"At twenty, it's natural to still find this hard!"
"We're talking about quarterly reports right now……."
She sipped her Americano, soothing the burn in her gut. On the outside she simply kept smiling.
Who the fuck doesn't know that?
The reports that came out every quarter. Useful for looking into a company's internal situation. But they were only results. Investment decisions did not come from there.
"Look at Donghae Steel. The PER is ridiculous!"
"And what about Osung Electronics?"
"In the first place, the KOSPI's overall PER is……."
Was there no one here with deeper vision? Disappointment settled over Sora.
No. Maybe that's only natural.
Job seekers. They were not current professionals. It would be stranger if they already possessed specialized knowledge.
Creak—!
The café door opened. The real reason she had decided to attend this study group was something else.
"Hey, kids~?"
"Sunbae!"
"Youngwoo hyung! Why have you been so hard to see lately?"
"Sorry, sorry. Securities firm work is busy. I barely carved out time to come."
A working professional came to give lectures. More precisely, a senior member of the study group who had already landed a job.
How does a current professional view the market?
That was what she had been looking forward to. She had joined because she wanted to know the perspective of someone actually working at a securities firm.
"Why is the KOSPI rising these days?"
"Yes!"
"What's your take, sunbae?"
"Well, since the KOSPI is in an undervalued PER state……."
"No. It's just following the Nasdaq higher!"
The more she listened, the more it seemed there was nothing special. He was laying out obvious statements as if they were profound.
"Nasdaq semiconductors went parabolic."
"Ah, so that's why~."
"Steel keeps climbing too. So the KOSPI is just tagging along."
"Ooooh!"
"I saw US Steel go up!"
"No. These days the biggest steel company in the US is a place called Nucor……."
Here and there he showed a veneer of expertise. But it was nothing more than a simple listing of information.
US Steel is from the Carnegie era.
She already knew that. She had expected something from a current professional, yet he was spouting nothing but empty talk.
"Youngwoo hyung."
"Yeah?"
"We've got a new member, so explain it a bit more simply~."
"Really? I didn't know. Oh……, you?"
"Hello. I'm Yoon Sora."
"No need to be stiff! Oppa will explain it simply for you. The US Nasdaq and the Korean KOSPI are linked by sector……."
Her former self might have listened attentively. To her current self, it felt bland. Shallow knowledge that was useless for real investing. She could not feel satisfied no matter how hard she tried.
Gulp.
She missed the taste that used to poke deep into her core.