Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Translation: Godtl
Since the weekend, team leaders had been scouring the place with fire in their eyes, searching for one person.
Jeong Jin-ho.
Where was Jeong Jin-ho?
Not only was he under the CEO's protection, but he was also pumping up profit margins—truly a golden goose laying golden eggs for Gwangun Securities.
But Jeong Jin-ho hadn't come to work all weekend.
"Well, if someone pulls off those kinds of returns, making them work weekends would mean the team's gone insane."
"We don't make the top performer of the week come in on weekends either."
It was something of a tradition.
In this world, seniority didn't matter.
Profits were everything.
Whether they were an assistant manager, deputy, or team leader.
Before profits, everyone was equal.
'Just show up on a weekday.'
'Before anyone else snatches him up, I'll be the first to—!'
Every team leader in the prop trading department shared the same thought.
They tried to sweet-talk that talented parachute hire into joining their team with all kinds of honeyed words.
A once-in-a-lifetime monster who'd achieved a 60% return in just five days.
If someone like that joined their team, performance bonuses wouldn't be a concern for a while.
But on the long-awaited Monday, news like a bolt from the blue arrived.
"Jeong Jin-ho as team leader?!"
After the nickel incident, they'd already heard that a new team would be formed following the collapse of one team. But they'd never imagined Jeong Jin-ho would become its team leader.
"Wow. The CEO's really pushing him hard."
"He's a parachute hire, and on top of that, he's proven his ability with profits—of course they're bulldozing him through."
"What a shame. I was waiting to snatch him up today. A team leader? Seriously?"
"As if he'd have gone to you anyway."
The team leaders clicked their tongues in disappointment.
But it was also a personnel move that made sense.
Not only did he have the CEO himself as his backer, but he was also a rookie who'd recorded the highest day-trading returns in the securities firm's history.
For a company that valued ability, there was no choice but to place him in a high position.
That way, he'd make them even more money!
"Team Leader."
"Huh? Section Chief Seo. You're here?"
"Yes. But there was a sudden personnel transfer notice today. What in the world is going on?"
"Ah, what? Section Chief Seo, are you being moved to the new team by any chance?"
Section Chief Seo Jae-pil was bewildered by the transfer order that had come down as soon as he arrived at work in the morning.
A new team.
Sure. That was all well and good.
But the new team's leader was a guy who hadn't even been with the company for three weeks yet.
"I've vaguely heard something about it. That rookie—they say he's a parachute hire. Apparently, the CEO planted him."
"Is that all you've heard?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, besides him being a parachute hire, haven't you heard anything else?"
"I'm not sure what you mean..."
"Well, if you don't know, that's fine. Actually, you know what? I envy you, Section Chief Seo. Hah. Must be nice not having to worry about performance for a while."
"Pardon?"
Had the team leader eaten something wrong this morning?
He already knew that the rookie's team had been selected as this month's top-performing team.
And that wasn't all.
The rookie had been chosen as this month's top trader.
Just as rumors were starting to circulate about whether he was being pushed as a parachute hire, Section Chief Seo had been transferred to the new team.
Surely the team leader wasn't acting like this because the company was going all-in on supporting the new team, was he?
Well, more performance bonuses were always nice.
But having to prop up a parachute hire who'd only been with the company for a little over two weeks...
How was he supposed to endure that pressure...?
"Everyone still thinks that parachute hire's just coasting, huh? The division head wasn't wrong at all. Maybe we really should go back to the old days and install a ticker tape display for some excitement."
"...?"
"You think our company's that much of a mess? He was chosen as the top trader because he actually brought in the most profits in the department."
"Wait. So—so you're saying that rookie really was the top trader?"
"Yeah. So go learn a lot from him. You know what really matters in this world, right? It's not seniority."
The team leader formed a circle with his fingers and showed it to him.
Not seniority, but money.
That was the truth of this world.
Section Chief Seo Jae-pil tilted his head as he watched the team leader walk away after patting him on the back.
"...That rookie's that good at investing?"
That was something he'd find out for himself when he got there.
＊＊＊
Today, I learned for the first time that there could be days even more nerve-wracking than your first day at work.
Now, I wasn't just an employee or an assistant manager—I was a full-fledged team leader.
Me, who'd only dabbled as a raid leader in games, was now a team leader at a company.
"There are several facilities only accessible to Elite-grade employees. You can enter with your newly issued employee ID."
"Ah, yes."
"And the equipment team should have set up new gear in your private office. There might be some additional equipment, so you'll need a separate briefing on that."
I received the new employee ID card issued by the HR team.
Printed on it were the words: "Jeong Jin-ho, Team Leader, Gwangun Securities."
"Congratulations, Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho."
My body trembled slightly at the title "Team Leader," which I was hearing for the first time today.
"Yes. Thank you."
Just as I was about to leave the HR department with the newly issued ID card hanging around my neck—
"Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho~!"
The HR team leader, who had been staring holes into my back and gauging the situation from behind, stood up and approached me.
"We're a bit late with our greetings, aren't we? Haha. I'm Kim Mun-sik, the HR team leader."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
"Did you know that I was the one who first placed Team Leader Jeong in the trading department?"
"No. I didn't know that."
"I always knew this day would come. Of course... it arrived much sooner than I expected. Anyway! Let's stay in close contact from now on. Okay?"
"Yes."
After parting ways with the excessively kind HR team leader who even escorted me to the elevator, I arrived at the entrance of the trading department.
"Phew."
Jeong Jin-ho, Team Leader of Proprietary Trading Team 7.
That was my new title starting today.
"Oh."
The first person I encountered upon entering the department was none other than Team Leader Park Hong-seo.
"..."
Team Leader Park also paused momentarily upon seeing me, then gave me a sidelong smile, patted my shoulder, and walked past.
It felt somewhat strange.
Like I was finally being acknowledged.
Outwardly, he seemed incredibly blunt and indifferent, but when I thought about it, Team Leader Park had been the one who pushed for me the most within the team.
The fact that I could become a team leader was also thanks to Team Leader Park giving me the opportunity.
'I should buy him a gift later.'
Maybe some dumbbells for those bulging muscles of his.
'This is my office.'
An office reserved exclusively for the team leader.
When I opened the door and entered, the equipment team staff member I'd met before was standing there.
"Team Leader. I've been waiting for you."
"Hello. Nice to see you again."
"Yes. Haha. I didn't expect to see you again so soon. And as a team leader, no less. I've never seen such a rapid promotion before. Congratulations."
My mouth fell slightly open as I saw the newly set up equipment.
No way. The monitors increased from six to nine!
"Here. It's similar to what I explained last time, except there are three more monitors now. As team leader, you can check your team members' investment trends and real-time profit rates—you'll use these monitors for that."
So that's why Team Leader Park also had nine monitors.
"Oh, right. I noticed the left mouse button was practically destroyed. So I replaced the mouse with a brand new one. I know you're in a hurry with day trading, but you'll hurt your hand doing that. If the mouse seems like it's going to break again, just let me know anytime. I'll replace it right away. A trader's time is precious, after all."
Come to think of it, the clicks hadn't been registering properly lately.
I must have broken it from frantically clicking whenever I got that feeling.
"Well then, have a productive day! Just call me if there are any issues!"
Only after the equipment team staff member left did I finally have some alone time in the team leader's office. Rather than feeling elated about becoming team leader, I felt tense and, more than anything, unsure of where to even begin.
"Before the market opens, I need to analyze the research materials, hold a team meeting to strategize, and—oh right. I haven't even greeted my team members yet."
The team members must be overwhelmed too, since the announcement only came down today.
I'd already received the list of who would be on my team beforehand.
Of course, they were all unfamiliar faces—except for one person I knew.
Knock knock.
"Team Leader. May I come in?"
Just then, a welcome voice reached my ears.
"Ah, yes. Please come in."
Soon, Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin entered the office with a warm smile.
"Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho~. Good morning."
"Ugh. Hearing that from you feels weird."
"Hoho. It's awkward for me too. But saying 'Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho' has a nice ring to it. Wow. But you're really the team leader now! Our Jin-ho... Oh, no. I'm sorry. It's just become such a habit."
She said "our."
No. What am I thinking?
"You can just call me Jin-ho like usual."
"Oh my. Absolutely not. You're our team leader now, the one who'll lead us. Really, congratulations! You're more than qualified for this position!"
Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin said "our team."
Nothing could make me feel more secure.
Moreover, when someone who was once your subordinate suddenly rises above you, it's natural to feel envy and jealousy—but it seems this angelic person is immune to such emotions entirely.
"And here's today's research materials. I've marked the important sections separately. Just reviewing this should cover everything you need for today's meeting!"
As expected of Assistant Manager Lee.
She must have been swamped since morning with the personnel changes.
"Then please review them at your leisure, and I'll see you at the meeting, Team. Leader!"
Assistant Manager Lee cutely emphasized "Team Leader" as she stepped out.
Ah, right. I'd felt something was missing this morning.
Turns out I'd been lacking this very vitamin.
"Ah, now's not the time for this."
There was no time to get sentimental.
"Meeting prep. I need to prepare for the meeting first!"
This wasn't like before when I could just dump materials and be done.
Now I'm the team leader who has to lead these meetings.
＊＊＊
"All the money is currently flowing into China."
Section Chief Seo Jae-pil opened the meeting with these words.
This was our newly formed team's first meeting.
1 Section Chief. 2 Assistant Managers. 1 Senior Associate. 1 Associate.
Including me, our team consisted of six members.
"As you're well aware, Team Leader, the Chinese stock market started at 2,000 points last year and has now risen to 5,178. An astronomical figure. That's a 150% increase in just one year."
The charts alone were staggering.
With such a massive population, their market firepower was no joke.
"So other teams, seeing how frozen the domestic market is, are deciding it's better to bet on the Chinese market instead, buying up ETFs left and right."
Our team specializes in domestic stocks, not international ones.
But that doesn't mean we're prohibited from international investments entirely—
we can still profit through derivatives distributed by asset management companies.
"Let's get in on this action too. I hear it's gaining several percentage points daily. ETFs look good, and if China's economy booms, steel sectors will profit too—that sector looks ripe for hit-and-run plays."
After Section Chief Seo, Assistant Manager Kim Chung-hyun offered his advice too.
According to research department materials, the Chinese stock market was currently the hottest in the world.
This was driving strength in raw materials and steel sectors, while surging Chinese tourism was causing cosmetics and hotel revenues to skyrocket.
"When the yuan strengthens, the won follows suit while the dollar declines—so taking a small short position there doesn't seem like a bad idea, Team Leader."
"For Hong Kong H-shares, key representatives include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Ping An Insurance, and Sinopec. With the Chinese government supporting state-owned enterprises, projected returns are substantial."
The current meta was the Chinese stock market.
This was honey to be sucked—the sooner you got in, the better.
'Good thing I studied up beforehand.'
Recent research materials had consistently highlighted the Chinese market as the prime focus.
While some called it a bubble, experts agreed it wouldn't burst anytime soon.
"Research teams and investment experts are all saying the same thing. They're predicting not just 150%, but possibly 300% growth."
Predictions were circulating that China's market, not America's, would soon drive global movements.
'From what I see, this looks like the highest probability play right now.'
The domestic market was perfectly described as "boxy"—neither hitting highs nor lows, just maintaining averages.
This was inevitable since both foreign and even domestic retail investors had long fled to China, leaving almost no volatility.
In times like these, the best move is to follow the crowd.
This is precisely why we have a research department—
to tell us to ride the same upward trends as everyone else.
'Though I'm not getting any particular gut feeling.'
Maybe because it's too obvious.
Meta awareness.
Trends.
Isn't following them exactly our job?
"Then we should also—"
Just as I, as team leader, was about to issue our first strategic directive—
'Hm?'
My gaze caught on a document I'd skimmed over earlier among the cluttered table materials.
[Chinese Stock Market Bubble Collapse Scenario]
This seemed to be reference material—not suggesting immediate investment in a bursting bubble, just for consideration.
That's why I'd initially glossed over it.
"..."
As if entranced, I picked up the document.
Several products were listed:
[KOLEX China H Futures Inverse ETF]
[LION China H Leveraged ETF]
All derivatives betting against the Chinese market's rise—
products no one would touch now, guaranteed losses for any buyer.
Normally, I'd dismiss this as reference material and move on.
"...!"
But why then—
"Team Leader?"
A violent thrill ran through me, tingling to my fingertips gripping the paper.