Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Translation: Godtl
"Hello everyone! I'm Jeong Jin-ho, a man who loves playing tanks. Nice to meet you!"
Hwang Dae-un still vividly remembered when Jin-ho first joined the guild.
How delighted the guild members had been to have fresh young blood joining their ranks of middle-aged men.
On top of that, Jin-ho always maintained a cheerful attitude that brightened the mood, and his gaming skills were exceptional.
So Dae-un ended up entrusting him with the raid leader position outright.
In most raids, the most important thing isn't the clear time.
It's human relations.
With dozens of members in a single raid party, the raid leader must balance their skills and classes, assign positions, and provide direction.
But that's not all.
The raid leader bears the tremendous responsibility of addressing members' suggestions, complaints, and various issues while coordinating accordingly.
And Jin-ho excelled at this.
Rather than prioritizing clears, he focused on keeping the raid atmosphere as lively as possible.
Not the kind where a single mistake would sour the mood, but one where everyone could laugh and chat all day.
From that point on, the guild completely transformed.
Before, it was common for guild members to argue and hurt each other's feelings during raids, with the guild disbanding several times. But after Jin-ho joined, such incidents never occurred again.
Dae-un, who had been considering quitting the game because he didn't want to deal with people-related stress in games on top of work stress, grew to love gaming again thanks to Jin-ho.
Well, to be precise, perhaps he just enjoyed being active in that particular guild where Jin-ho was.
That's why he cherished Jin-ho so much.
When he heard the kid was quitting games to prepare for employment, his heart dropped so hard that he immediately arranged a company position for him regardless of consequences.
Even if his credentials were lacking.
Even if he lacked skills.
Dae-un was determined to keep him no matter what.
That had been his intention...
That had truly been his intention...
"Are these numbers even possible?"
Hwang Dae-un clicked his tongue as he looked at the metrics of Prop Trading Team 7, the only department at Gwangun Securities producing absurd profit margins.
"It's impossible by normal standards. Who could possibly multiply 50 billion won several times over in just a few days? You'd be lucky not to get reported to the Labor Board."
Doubling 50 billion won in a short period is already incredibly difficult.
But quintupling it in a week? That was unprecedented in Gwangun Securities' history.
"Sir, if I may ask out of genuine curiosity—where on earth did you find this guy? His resume shows zero prior experience at any securities firm. He was literally unemployed. How did you possibly recognize such talent...?"
"Well—"
CEO Hwang Dae-un cleared his throat awkwardly.
He couldn't possibly admit he'd parachuted the kid in out of pity after meeting him in a game.
"Some things are just meant to be. Don't dig too deep."
"...Is that all?"
"Yes."
At this response, Vice President Kang Ji-hwan nodded knowingly.
If the CEO was being this tight-lipped, the new hire must have come from some extraordinary background.
"But shouldn't we be learning investment techniques from him?"
"Do you think he'd teach us just because we asked? Even if he kindly explained, it's not something we could comprehend anyway."
Dae-un himself had once checked Jin-ho's trading data, wondering what algorithm guided his buy-sell patterns.
"But I couldn't make heads or tails of it. What basis he used for buying, what principles guided his selling—to anyone else, it would look like some rookie randomly trading on whims."
"And yet all those trades were profitable?"
"Every single one. At this level, it's beyond simply understanding the theory to replicate it."
Was this some one-and-only investment technique?
A trading method only one person in the world could comprehend—
Ji-hwan loosened his tie slightly.
"Seems I missed quite a lot while overseas."
"So, did you gain anything? How are things looking?"
"Everyone's on edge about Europe right now. Greece's repayment deadline is approaching, and they're showing no signs of paying up."
"They wouldn't actually default, would they?"
"That would be disastrous. They wouldn't go that far—they're not Russia, after all. From what I've gathered, it's definitely risky, but they'll find some solution."
That would be a relief.
With the China Shock already wreaking havoc on global markets, adding a Greek default to the mix would create nothing short of a spectacular catastrophe.
"But sir, about this Jeong Jin-ho fellow. His performance bonus this month is going to be astronomical, isn't it? At least several billion won, no?"
With exactly 30% of profits paid out regardless of taxes, it was an amount an ordinary office worker could never hope to earn in their lifetime.
Our Jin-ho must be getting headaches doing his May tax calculations.
"Ji-hwan. In your view, Jin-ho isn't team leader material, is he?"
"Of course not. He's not someone meant for the Elite tier. Frankly, his rapid promotions are already causing some murmurs as it is. With returns like these, keeping him at team leader level would be downright laughable."
I see...
The problem is the next step up would be department head, but there are currently no vacant department head positions.
Should I just create a new one then?
＊＊＊
"Only China could pull off something like this."
"Right? It's possible precisely because it's China."
China had implemented extreme market stabilization measures including a complete suspension of selling.
Unthinkable in any other country.
Circuit breakers to temporarily halt trading were one thing, but a full six-month selling moratorium?
On top of that, they'd mobilized their Sovereign Wealth Fund, pouring in capital to stabilize the markets.
"If they were going to do this, they shouldn't have allowed margin trading in the first place."
"Still, better late than never. The real problem was they didn't plan to gradually reduce leverage—they just let it explode all at once."
The team members' faces were wreathed in smiles.
"Whew. If the team leader hadn't told us to dump all our positions quickly back then, we could've taken massive losses."
"Though prices are still up 10x from..."
"We sold at 20x!"
To an outsider, it might look like we were diligently holding a team meeting, but we were really just making small talk.
Because right now, we're completely out of the market, sitting on our capital.
"As I mentioned before, anyone who wants to can re-enter the market now."
"I'll just stay put."
"Me too. This is a huge sum the team leader worked hard to earn—who am I to...! If I tried trading it, I'd just lose it all."
"You know how it is—once we've hit our monthly targets, we pull out all funds and do nothing."
Teams that had nearly met their monthly targets would either just glance at the markets or not even bother coming to the office, relaxing at home instead.
A sort of reward for early achievers.
Of course, those wanting higher performance could always re-enter, but since losses were more likely, most held back.
'I haven't been doing anything either since I'm not getting any strong intuitions.'
Why wasn't I getting any signals?
Maybe it was because of the amount.
The capital I could currently deploy: 250 billion won.
Back when it was 5 billion, my buys and sells didn't significantly impact non-small-cap stocks. But trying to day trade with 250 billion would make me a market mover capable of influencing share prices.
Just imagine.
250 billion won flipping between buy and sell orders every second.
The sheer volume would make it impossible to properly execute orders, completely distorting prices.
"Shall we all take a break then?"
"Oh. Really?"
"Yes. I know you've all been on tenterhooks because of me. Take some time off to recover your peace of mind."
"Wow~!"
The team suddenly burst into applause.
They must have been really bored just sitting around.
Yet diving back in with our profits now would be risky—the current market could wipe us out if we misstep.
'Maybe I'll take this chance to relax and play some games.'
Weekdays, weekends.
Until the China Shock hit, I'd been working nonstop monitoring markets.
The pressure meant I couldn't even properly enjoy my favorite games.
High time I took a break and caught up on my gaming backlog.
"Um... there's one thing."
Then Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin cautiously spoke up.
"We haven't had a single team dinner yet."
"Oh. Now that you mention it..."
"Ever since the team leader joined, we've had back-to-back spectacular situations—dinners never even crossed our minds."
Team members began exchanging glances.
Soon all eyes turned to me.
Suddenly remembering something, I rummaged through my wallet.
"Ah, here it is."
"What's that?"
I grinned and waved the card before them.
"The corporate card."
＊＊＊
People say omakase is the ultimate company dinner, but give me good beef any day.
And not just any beef—premium Hanwoo at that!
Just as our Guild Leader had said, omakase would probably just serve me fish I don't even like, making the whole experience miserable.
Not that I've ever tried it, but...
"Alright, cheers~!"
"Ah-ah, we can't just toast like that. If I may be so bold, may I propose the toast, Team Leader?"
"Yes, please go ahead, Section Chief."
Section Chief Seo cleared his throat and raised his glass.
"Our Team Leader. One of the best decisions I've ever made in my life was joining this team. You know what they say—when someone's caliber is different, every action they take stands out. Doesn't that describe you perfectly, Team Leader? So, in that spirit—Team Leader, please continue to cherish us, support us, encourage us, assist us, push us forward, worry for us, fret over us—"
"S-Section Chief, th-that's enough..."
"Ahem. Anyway, I pledge my lifelong loyalty! Now, a toast to our Team Leader, Jeong Jin-ho!"
"To Team Leader Jeong!"
A sip of soju after a bite of perfectly grilled beef ribs—nothing could taste better.
Who knew beef could be this tender?
Hanwoo truly is in a league of its own.
And since this place was in Yeouido, everything felt extra luxurious.
I almost felt guilty, as if I were indulging alone while my parents went without.
Next time, I'll bring my parents and younger sibling along.
"Ah, right. Earlier, I overheard that all the other teams are looking into Greece. What do you think will happen?"
"Tsk. Talking about work at this sacred company dinner?"
"But what else do we have to talk about besides stocks? It's the most fun topic anyway."
"True. Money talk is the most entertaining thing in the world."
I could talk about games...
But honestly, none of them looked like the type to play games.
"Well, they probably won't default."
"That's likely, right?"
"But remember how Russia suddenly declared default back in the day and caused chaos?"
"Wasn't that when the LTCM fund lost a whopping $4 billion? But that was Russia—it's different, right? Just like how China's throwing out trading regulations now."
Greece... Greece, huh...
I'd seen it in the research reports.
They owed about €1.6 billion to the IMF, and despite the deadline looming, there was no sign of resolution.
What's worse, Greece had already received two bailouts.
Yet, their economic recovery was sluggish, and their debt problem remained severe.
"What if they actually default?"
"That'd be a complete disaster. The moment they default, they'd have to leave the Eurozone. That'd escalate tensions in Europe, leading to heightened military strain and national security concerns."
As I listened to the team's discussion, I skimmed through related articles on my phone.
Greece was already in military conflict with Turkey over territorial disputes. If they declared default, it could weaken their defense capabilities, and some analysts even speculated that extreme scenarios might lead to war within Europe.
But those were worst-case predictions. Most expected Greece to receive another bailout and avoid default this time, too.
"Ugh, talking about work here is ruining the mood. Let's change the subject. Aren't we all getting fat performance bonuses this time? Thanks to our Team Leader. What're you all planning to do with yours?"
"Pfft, what's there to say? The thrill of closing our positions still hasn't worn off!"
"But the bonuses haven't been paid out yet... And it's still a while until then."
"Team Leader said he's holding the funds without touching them, so the bonuses will come through as-is."
"We should worry about May's taxes first. They take half. Can't go spending recklessly."
"Ugh. Half? That's just evil...!"
The team happily imagined what they'd do once their bonuses arrived, feasting on ribs and drinks to their hearts' content.
But I couldn't join in so easily.
"Team Leader, what've you been looking at since earlier? Is something going on at home...?"
It wasn't anything to do with home.
Ever since I started reading those Greece-related articles, an electrifying thrill had been coursing through me, making my skin tingle.
After some hesitation, I carefully spoke up.
"...Should we take a look at the market tomorrow?"
"Huh?!"
"Y-you said we'd hold the funds for a while, didn't you?"
"Yes, but..."
The safe move would be to stop here and take a break.
Then, just as Section Chief Seo said, the bonuses would come through.
But just like how I'd always chased after gacha items in games, maybe I, too, was just a dopamine addict.
"Let's try some day trading for old times' sake."
At those words, the team's pupils began trembling violently.
"With... 250 billion won...?"