The Price of Lies

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪"

A little tune hummed itself out of her without thinking.

Lately, Sora felt like she could float right off the ground.

All because of the profits sitting in her account.

For the first time in her life, she had made a truly enormous sum of money from stocks.

And it wasn't just the size of the win. She had turned a profit before, sure—but never like this.

So this is why people do pump-and-dump stocks. Ehehe.

A pump-and-dump play.

Nothing like the large-cap value investing she had always treated as her main strategy.

Gambling?

She used to think of it that way. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had sworn she would never touch that kind of investment in her entire life.

Turns out there's a logic to it after all. The way prices rise and fall.

But it was worth trying. The kind of upside you would never see on ordinary stocks. Risk proportional to the reward. Careful analysis and cold judgment might just be enough to offset it.

More than anything, it was thrilling.

The feeling when she sold at the top—she would probably never forget it for the rest of her life.

So this is what they mean by gambling?

Traders are gamblers.

The first time she heard that, she had been furious. A year later, she understood.

Traders chase high returns. They dive into high-risk plays—pump-and-dumps, futures, options. And now she had taken her first step.

Just thinking she was closer to her dream made her blood run hot with excitement.

More than that, I want to devour Senior. No—I want to kiss him.

Her body really was heating up. The afterglow from that day still lingered. Whenever she recalled it, a strange, sweet feeling rose in her chest.

Gulp.

He had done all sorts of things to her. Everything that happened that day still haunted her mind.

"Right here—press down on your belly."

He had groped her all over. What she had thought was just her stomach tightening had actually been her feeling it—sexually.

She slowly traced her fingers across her abdomen. The place that had felt best was almost within reach.

Around here. No—it was right here.

She closed her eyes and it rose in perfect clarity: Senior's thick, long cock, gripped tight in her hand. If it went inside, it would reach just below her navel.

She pressed the tip of her finger in. A sharp tingle shot through her, almost the same as that day. Sora obsessively worked the spot that had just felt so good.

Senior, Senior, Senior, Senior, Senior, Senior, Senior…!

Clockwise, round and round. Her lower body trembled; her breathing grew ragged. Soon her whole body was shuddering, just like when he had toyed with her.

I love you, Oppa…

After that day she had finally recognized her own feelings. She had told herself she simply liked learning stocks from him. Rationalized it. But that wasn't the whole truth.

She liked spending time with him. Admitting it to herself had been painfully embarrassing. Even the reason she had fallen for him.

Falling for someone because of his cock… that's not exactly normal, is it?

Of course it wasn't only that. The real reason she had started liking him was her dream. With Senior beside her, she felt like she could do anything.

But the cock was definitely part of it. First love starting from a dick? From a rational point of view, it did not seem normal.

The rest of him is great too, but his cock is just so cute!

When she touched it, it throbbed and swelled. Huge and hard, yet it responded so honestly the moment she stroked it. Little Senior. She had even given it a nickname. That was why she pretended to reluctantly go along with the handjobs.

She didn't mind his perverted side either. If anything, she wanted to do all sorts of things together and enjoy them.

I wish the guy would make a real move. Even if "girls can do anything," there are still things we can't.

But she didn't want to become the pervert herself. Twenty-one years old. January had come and gone and she was a year older, yet she still felt so young. She wanted him to take the lead. All he did was sexually harass her and never said anything serious—it was driving her crazy.

Haaah~

She soothed the helpless feeling with a long sigh. But defying instinct was never easy.

I want to devour Senior. Pin him down and suck him dry.

When you can't have pheasant, settle for chicken. There was something else he had done to her that day.

Sora slipped the strap of her tank top off one shoulder. Slurp. She cupped the bare breast and guided the half-stiff nipple into her mouth. She rolled it like candy, even nipped it lightly—exactly the way Senior had done to her.

Mm… it just feels ticklish.

No pleasure like that day. No mysterious, tender emotion either. But it would do as a substitute for a kiss. She soothed her bored mouth and opened the community.

.

.

.

It was the hot topic right now—the very 09Lady she had traded and made money on.

The stock price had rocketed to absurd heights. Then it had plunged just as steeply. Surely it would bounce once? Even the short-term traders were all getting bagheld.

Hehe, so they're dishwashing my shares?

Whenever she looked at stock communities, it was always full of people who had made money. At first it made her anxious. Am I the only one who can't win? With time she had realized the obvious truth: only the winners post. Most people who got bagheld simply kept their mouths shut.

Knowing that, she still secretly wanted to be one of the former. Because making money from stocks was her dream.

Tap, tap!

Slurp.

Sora's hand froze as she was about to post.

+100 million. Making four times her money was something to be proud of, but—

Senior must have made way more.

The size of their seed capital was completely different. He would have taken home proportionally more. He was already famous in the community. Under the name Sonik-jwa he had become a named user. He even posted his daily P&L charts.

She had expected the board to be buzzing with profit talk. Instead—

The atmosphere was different from before. She had been busy with other communities lately and had neglected this one.

Did the user base get replaced…?

Unlike the women-dominated boards, it wasn't closed off. And stocks had that tragic quality: you could be forced out against your will. When you became too scared to even open your account.

It was different from what Sora had expected. The direction was the same, but the process was a complete 180.

No way.

A bull market. Plenty of people making money. Successful investors weren't just one or two. Ordinary individuals were mostly winning too. That was why no one got as hyped as before.

Slurp. Slurp.

It made her angry. Day trading. People still saw it as gambling. Until recently she had thought the same. But once you understood the principles and could generate consistent returns, it wasn't gambling. It was simply one method of investing.

Senior works so hard on his trades.

And they just ran their mouths without knowing a thing. No matter how hard she sucked on her nipple, the anger wouldn't settle.

"Something like that happened?"

Recent trends in the community. He hadn't been paying them any special attention.

"Yes. It's too much, right?"

"Hey, go easy."

"Senior worked so hard to make those profits. Those bastards just call it all pure luck. Assholes!"

"Oh! Ooh!"

Sora clearly had a bone to pick. The right hand working his cock tightened with force.

Throb! Throoob!

Enough that he almost came without meaning to. He skillfully caught it with the tissue in his left hand, then stroked from the base all the way up to squeeze out what remained inside. One load was drained in an instant.

I was deliberately holding back to tease her.

He had planned to teach her the greatness of a cock. To make the flustered Sora properly recognize a man.

"You came quite a lot today. Must have been building up? One more round?"

"I-I'm fi—"

"No need to be shy. If I just play with it a little, it'll stand right back up."

"Ah♡"

Surprisingly little resistance. For someone who used to screech about sexual harassment, she had become the ace of the handjob room.

I was aiming for this, but something feels off.

While receiving the second handjob, he continued the conversation. From close enough that their lips nearly touched, completely honest.

"Doesn't it make you mad, Senior?"

"About what?"

"You post proof consistently, and it took you way less time, but people keep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comparing you to others…"

He wasn't unaware of what Sora was saying. The stock market was vast, and new investors always appeared.

That's just how it is.

Especially in a bull market. Individual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trading methods rarely drew special attention. Because almost anything made money. What actually sold to the public was smooth talk.

"Does that even make sense?"

"From a business perspective, it's correct."

"But investing isn't done with words…"

"Like the old you?"

"That was mean!"

"Ahn♡"

Everyone was drunk on dreams and fantasy. But dreams always woke eventually.

That's when it shows.

Only when the tide goes out do you see who has been swimming naked.