Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Translation: Godtl
[The Greek Syriza government and the EU have dramatically reached an agreement, approving the third bailout package. The bailout amount has been set at 86 billion euros, which means Greece will once again implement austerity measures. However, Greek citizens are currently voicing strong opposition to this decision...]
The Greek default crisis marked the first instance of a developed country failing to repay its debts.
The shockwaves shook European stock markets, and even our country felt the impact.
Fortunately, South Korea wasn't severely affected by the Greek crisis.
But the China Shock was a major event that impacted the global economy, and it seemed even the IMF was wary of its effects.
That's why the IMF, which had previously stated there would be no third bailout, ultimately had no choice but to negotiate with the Greek government to stabilize global markets.
Though it pained them to provide another bailout, it was necessary to prevent the domino effect of total market collapse.
"The recovery is happening faster than expected."
After the default hit, the IMF moved swiftly to mitigate the shock, which made a significant difference.
That very day, when we made a 250 billion won day trade, turned out to be an exceptionally profitable one.
"Hey, Oppa. Are you really watching economic news on a weekend? And this early in the morning? You've changed a lot from the guy who used to boot up games first thing."
"You should be sleeping in on weekends. Why are you up?"
"Ugh, don't even ask. I was planning to sleep more, but another department suddenly called. They said there was something wrong with the file I sent on Friday. But aren't you supposed to be off? I thought your company made you work weekends too."
"Ah, not these days."
The hectic life of a modern worker.
Even on weekends, my younger sibling was burdened with company work.
I was supposed to go in on weekends too, but I didn't see the need, so I didn't.
Even when I tried, my team members would stop me.
"Ugh, this damn computer is so slow!"
Already irritated from getting a work call on what should have been a pleasant weekend morning, my sibling was taking out their frustration on the laptop.
But honestly, even I could see how sluggish it was.
"Still not loaded yet?"
"Nope. I've been using this since college. It's pretty old."
My sibling had always been frugal.
They had this habit of never spending money carelessly, always saving wherever possible.
That's why they were good at saving money, interested in personal finance, and never one to replace electronics on a whim.
"Hmm."
I felt a pang of sympathy watching them stare intently at the endlessly loading screen.
"Is it urgent?"
"Huh? Oh, I just need to get it done by this afternoon. But it'd be better to finish it quickly instead of dragging it out."
"Really? Then let's go out."
"Huh? Suddenly? Where to?"
"To buy you a new laptop."
"Eh?"
I headed out with my sibling toward an electronics store.
"Wait, Oppa, you don't have to buy me one. Are you rich or something? Oh right, you said last month's salary was 700 million won. Even now, I can't wrap my head around that. How does a salary even reach 700 million?"
"Prop traders get performance bonuses, that's why."
"What kind of insane investments did you make to pull that off?! And half of that's going straight to the tax office anyway. You can't possibly have profits like that every month, right? What if next month you're left sucking your thumb? You should be saving and investing for your future, not splurging like this!"
"This much is fine."
Even as they kept insisting I didn't have to buy them anything...
I could tell they were excited—their lips kept twitching, unable to hide their smile.
"You say that, but I know you're happy about it."
"O-of course I am! But I just feel bad, like I'm burdening you. That's all."
"Don't worry. This is why I earn money in the first place."
Inside the electronics store, I browsed through the rows of laptops.
Being a hardcore gamer myself, I'd become quite the expert at assessing computer specs.
"Oppa. This one's fine for me."
My little sister picked out the cheapest laptop in the entire electronics store.
I shook my head at its absurdly outdated specifications.
"No way. This can't even run basic games these days."
"No, I'm not buying it for gaming, just for simple office work—"
"Higher specs last longer and process documents faster anyway. And you might want to play a few games as a hobby. Didn't you used to enjoy gaming?"
"Where would I find time to game after work? It'd be a waste."
Our guild hyungs would've clutched their necks in despair hearing that.
I selected and purchased the model with the best current specs.
"Really, you don't have to buy me something this expensive!"
"Enough. Just say thank you."
My sister, who'd been persistently trying to talk me out of such an expensive purchase, scratched her head shyly.
"Well... thank you. Hehe. I've never used anything this nice before. I'll take good care of it, Oppa."
She even gave me a full 90-degree bow.
Seeing her clutching the laptop preciously to her chest filled me with a strange sense of pride.
It finally felt like I was properly acting as an older brother.
I could feel my shoulders squaring up with unconscious confidence.
Her excited reaction—literally jumping up and down—only added to my satisfaction.
This kid really knew how to make me open my wallet wider.
"Sigh. This won't do. You've been using that old phone forever too, right? Let's get you a new one."
"Wait, what? A phone too?"
"Quickly."
Phone, wireless earbuds, tablet—we replaced every electronic device possible.
I did hesitate momentarily when I saw the keyboard that paired with the tablet cost several hundred thousand won, but I coolly bought it anyway.
"Is it Christmas today? Or... is it my birthday and I didn't know?"
My sister looked slightly dazed.
"Let's say it is. If anything breaks, just tell me. I'll replace it."
"Oppa... You're not spending recklessly because of me, are you? You have taxes to pay too. What if your performance drops?"
"Mmm. Don't worry about that."
"Why? Will this month be okay too? With the China Shock and Greek Default hitting, even financial firms are struggling, I heard."
She wasn't wrong, but ironically, I'd profited from that crisis.
If my performance bonus this month continues at this rate... it'll be an amount beyond my sister's wildest imagination.
"Your oppa's doing fine."
"Wow. So cool. You never know with people. I never imagined you'd end up in finance, Oppa. And with investment talent too?"
I felt the same way.
"..."
After finishing our shopping spree, I got back into my sister's car.
She took the driver's seat while I sat shotgun.
"By the way, Oppa, don't you drive?"
"My license might as well be for decoration—too dangerous."
I'd gotten the license but hardly ever drove.
"You could relearn. Want me to give you lessons?"
The Guild Leader had already given me strict instructions about this matter.
While relearning to drive was fine, I was absolutely not to actually drive around.
He said once our new department was established, they'd provide corporate vehicles with dedicated chauffeurs. His reasoning was clear—if I got into an accident while driving myself, it would spell big trouble.
'This car body feels too thin.'
I'd never paid attention before, but now I couldn't help worrying about how flimsy my sister's car seemed.
If she got into an accident, it would be disastrous.
I should probably get her a new car soon.
Wait—come to think of it, I should replace our parents' car too while I'm at it.
＊＊＊
The securities firm had been weathering relentless storms—first the China Shock, then the Greek Default exploding one after another.
Many couldn't withstand the turbulence and quit, while others stubbornly waited for the bull market's return.
In times like these, securities firms often suffer devastating losses, with bloodbaths sweeping through the industry—but fortunately, Gwangun Securities was an exception.
Rather than just weathering the storm, they were actually taking it a step further, plotting another ambitious move.
"Establishing a Prime Grade department?"
"Wait—isn't Prime Grade the rank above Elite? That's the highest tier, isn't it?"
The company announcement had gone up after the weekend.
Prime Grade, no less.
It signified the absolute pinnacle of rankings in the securities world.
Normally, departments of this caliber would be handpicked by upper management, selecting only the aces from each division.
But this time, unusually, they were accepting applications.
"Wait—shouldn't we at least try for this?"
"If it's Prime Grade, that means the operating funds are at least in the hundreds of billions, right?"
Naturally, this led to a flood of applications from everyone and their mother.
"Wow. I expected a lot, but the number of applicants is insane."
"At this rate, isn't everyone below team leader level applying?"
Team 7 members clicked their tongues as they reviewed the documents forwarded by HR.
"But hasn't it only been a short while since you became team leader? And now you're getting promoted to department head?"
"Look at the profit margins. It'd be weird if they didn't. Besides, securities firms are way more performance-driven than other companies. Doesn't matter if it's academic background or whatever—it all comes down to results. Let's just organize the HR documents and pass them to the team leader."
"Got it."
With little else to do, the team members sorted through the HR materials.
The Greek Default situation had resolved itself faster than expected.
And most importantly, the team leader had no intention of withdrawing and reallocating funds.
It made sense—after the China Shock, the Greek crisis had dealt a double blow, leaving investor sentiment frozen and trading volumes at rock bottom.
No buyers, no sellers.
In times like these, the best move was to pull back funds and wait it out.
"How many people do you think they'll pick? They'll hold interviews, right?"
"You can't really judge someone just by their profile. If they pass the document screening, they'll probably get an interview."
"True."
This place is gonna be packed with interviewees for a while, huh?
＊＊＊
The stock market had frozen over.
And it wasn't just our KOSPI—this was happening worldwide.
With two major crises hitting back-to-back, everyone was scrambling to pull their money out and just watch from the sidelines.
But I had no intention of sitting idle.
With this much capital to deploy, why would I?
Especially after the adrenaline rush of day trading during the Greek Default, sweat beading on my forehead—it had been downright electrifying.
But how can there be no gut feeling at all?
Yet there was a problem.
Even when I tried to deploy funds, I just... didn't feel anything.
I already knew what this intuition meant.
That the entire global market was frozen solid, leaving no room for trades.
Just in case, I dialed down the operating funds.
From 250 billion to 100 billion.
Still no reaction, so down to 50 billion.
Even then, silence—until I dropped it to 5 billion, and only then did I get a faint response.
But 5 billion... really?
Have I finally lost it?
Back in the day, even 1 billion would've made my hands shake—now, 5 billion doesn't even register as money.
Can you blame me? When you've been rolling 250 billion, suddenly being told to work with just 5 billion—who could muster any enthusiasm for that?
It's like raiding a nightmare-difficulty boss, only to be told to go kill trash mobs.
That kind of scale just doesn't trigger dopamine anymore.
So I figured I might as well follow the herd—pull out my funds and hold.
"Team Leader, HR forwarded the documents. We've organized them and put everything on this USB. There was more than we expected."
"Oh, that many applicants?"
"Would you like some help with that?"
"No, it's fine. I'll review them and let you know."
"Understood."
The USB contained hundreds of profiles.
All of them were applicants for our department.
"Wow, that's a lot."
Originally, I'd planned to select from the candidates recommended by the Guild Leader, but only one of them had given me the right feeling.
That's why we'd ended up posting an open call for applications instead.
Just skimming through the profiles, I could see many graduates from prestigious foreign universities, and countless applicants who came equipped with those notoriously difficult certifications as basic qualifications.
Anyone could see these were elites, but...
"Hmm."
None of them gave me that spark.
I kept scrolling through—glancing, passing, glancing, passing.
Was I missing something?
How could I not feel anything with so many outstanding candidates?
After dozens of these cycles—
"Ah."
One profile suddenly clicked.
"I'll mark this one for now."
I continued the process, only flagging those who gave me that immediate gut feeling and compiling their profiles separately.
"Ugh, my eyes hurt."
Staring at the screen while reviewing profiles was more taxing than I'd expected.
Still, I didn't take it lightly.
After all, I was choosing precious raid members who'd be fighting alongside me in major battles!
＊＊＊
"You probably won't finish reviewing them all today, right?"
"Not likely. There are so many applicants. To carefully examine each one and make a thoughtful decision would take at least a few da—"
"Section Chief Seo."
Section Chief Seo startled and turned around.
"I've already compiled the profiles. Could you organize them and forward them to HR?"
"Ah—yes. I'll do that right away."
"Thank you. I'm going to step out for some fresh air—my head is pounding."
"Of course. Take your time."
Section Chief Seo and the team members exchanged puzzled looks.
"He's already done?"
"That fast?"
"Should we take a look at who he picked?"
"Yeah, let's."
They checked to see who the Team Leader had selected for the Prime Grade department.
Surely, he must have chosen elites worthy of Prime Grade.
"Huh? But these specs..."
"Am I the only one thinking this?"
Contrary to expectations, the candidates the Team Leader had picked all had average specs.
Here, "specs" didn't just mean academic background—it also referred to their profit margins in their current teams.
"Some of them are even in the negative."
"Oh, but I know this person. They're incredibly diligent."
"Really? I know this Kim Tae-sik guy. He's diligent too, and really good-natured. But... how do I put it? He's not exactly proactive."
There are passive people, and there are active people.
And prop traders thrive when they're active.
Even when working as a team to formulate investment strategies, they make their own smart judgments and execute trades accordingly.
Passive types, though? They just do exactly as they're told.
No veering left or right—just faithfully following instructions.
If that fills the team's quota, great. If not, oh well.
Naturally, active traders usually earn more.
Because they're ambitious, they know how to make their own calls to achieve better results.
The only downside is that sometimes they overestimate their own judgment and push too hard.
"I don't see anyone who looks like a team ace here."
"Right. It's strange. Prime Grade is the firm's highest tier—why would he ignore specs...?"
Muttering to himself, Section Chief Seo suddenly had a realization and clapped his hands together.
"I get it...!"
"Huh?"
"I know why he picked these people."
"Why? What's the reason?"
As if double-checking his theory, Section Chief Seo scanned the profiles again before speaking.
"These people... have no ego."
"...!?"