Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Translation: Godtl
"Assistant Manager, do you know what our total return rate was yesterday?"
The voice of Assistant Manager Han Saet-byeol, who had recently joined the Prime Department, was brimming with excitement.
"How much was it?"
"They say we made a whopping 5%! Isn't that insane? No, seriously—how do you make 5% in a single day with 500 billion won? I haven't been with the company for long, but I've never seen anyone make 5% in a day before!"
5%...
Yeah. That's an entirely normal reaction.
For a typical prop trading team, making 0.1% in a day is considered average.
But suddenly, 5%?
And to hear that they made 5% with 500 billion won—it's enough to make anyone's head spin.
"I think the Section Chief might be a little disappointed, though."
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?"
"Ah, never mind."
He'd ended up muttering nonsense without even realizing it.
'But maybe I'm the one who's gone crazy.'
5% didn't seem all that impressive anymore.
In a prop trading team, making 5% in a day would earn you the title of "ace," but here in the Prime Department—where Jeong Jin-ho was—5% was just an ordinary number.
'Have I been infected by the Section Chief's mindset?'
This wasn't good.
5% was still an enormous gain.
What was he going to do later?
"Ah, Section Chief! You're here!"
"Good morning, Section Chief!"
Before long, Section Chief Jeong Jin-ho arrived at work.
"Ah, yes. Good morning, everyone."
After briefly acknowledging the greetings from his team, he headed straight into his office.
"But Section Chief... is something wrong? You look a little off."
"Really? Even though we made 5% in a single day? If it were me, I'd be grinning from ear to ear."
Watching these newcomers (?) chatter, Section Chief Seo shook his head.
"You all still don't really know our Section Chief yet."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you hear before you joined? Our Section Chief was promoted from a regular employee to Section Chief in record time—it didn't take long at all."
"Oh, I heard about that too! They say he set legendary return records that'll go down in history."
"Exactly. But you've only heard the stories—you don't know the exact numbers. In that short period, his returns were in the hundreds of percent."
"!?"
Even before joining the Prime Department, they'd heard all sorts of things.
Some called him a parachute hire.
Others said his performance was insane.
But one thing was certain—no company would entrust someone with 500 billion won just because they had good connections or were some hotshot parachute hire.
In fact, 500 billion won was nearly half of Gwangun Securities' current managed assets.
If they took a loss on that 500 billion, it would affect the entire company.
It was practically entrusting the company's fate to a single person.
In other words, Section Chief Jeong Jin-ho's value to the company was that high.
"H-hundreds of percent?!"
"How much did he even make?!"
"Hehe. That's exactly why a mere 5% doesn't satisfy him. And that's not all—the achievements our Section Chief has accomplished..."
Section Chief Seo proudly began spinning tales of Jeong Jin-ho's heroic exploits.
Some were experiences he'd witnessed firsthand, while the other half were stories he'd heard from Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin.
But this man—
Had he been a master storyteller in a past life, weaving tales of conquering kingdoms? His ability to spin a yarn was downright impressive.
Thanks to that, the employees—who were already fiercely loyal to Section Chief Jeong Jin-ho—found their reverence for him growing even stronger.
'I was exactly like that when I first joined the team too.'
The memory overlapped with Section Chief Seo's animated storytelling, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
'But I heard he was up investing until almost 4 AM last night...'
Isn't he pushing himself too hard?
＊＊＊
"Ugh... my stomach hurts."
Eating late-night snacks in the early morning really was a mistake.
If you've ever played games—especially RPGs—you'll relate to this.
After putting in the effort to clear a raid and defeat the boss, you end up starving.
So after finishing work, I ordered delivery from a 24-hour restaurant and ate.
But I ended up eating something spicy for no reason, and now my stomach has been hurting all day.
It feels like flames are shooting out from behind, so to speak.
"Yesterday's profit was 5%..."
That was the return I managed to achieve after running nonstop from morning until the next dawn.
I had been holding onto funds for a while with no opportunity to deploy them, but ever since my FX account was opened yesterday, I've been charging ahead like an unbridled foal, exhilarated.
"It was fun, though."
Admittedly, it was a bit disappointing that the market remained frozen, stuck in a tight range.
Even the FX market, which typically sees daily trading volumes in the hundreds of trillions, was eerily quiet—proof of just how rigid the current economic climate had become.
If volatility had been higher, I probably could've made more than 5%.
"Well, it's a little disappointing, but... for a first attempt, this isn't bad."
No need to be impatient.
One thing I've learned while studying investing is that markets don't stay frozen as long as you'd think.
Somewhere in the world, an event will inevitably occur, and that will send ripples through global markets. Of course, our domestic stock market is often an exception.
But since I'm not just trading domestically now, all I have to do is keep an eye on global developments.
And then, inevitably, something will happen somewhere.
That moment will mark the beginning of a highly volatile market.
"Chief. The meeting preparations are all done."
"Ah, yes. I'll be right there."
Back then, we used to squeeze into the team leader's office for meetings.
But now, with an entire department established, we have a proper conference room.
"Anything's fine. If there's anything unusual, feel free to mention it."
Honestly, skipping the meeting and diving straight into the FX market might've been the right call, but I've learned something from using this ability frequently—my intuition activates based on the information that comes to me.
So I can't afford to skip even a single day of meetings.
Because the information my team compiles here amplifies my intuition even further.
"The Chinese government has imposed selling restrictions and is desperately trying to stabilize the market, but it's backfiring—the Shanghai Index is becoming even more unstable, Chief."
"More than anything, the real issue is the ice age gripping global markets. Everyone's too terrified to buy or sell."
"That's why money's flooding into safe assets. Gold prices are creeping up, and so is the dollar. The problem is, even safe assets can't withstand the trading drought in this frozen market."
"Even in domestic and overseas markets, trading volumes are so low that delistings are being considered for quite a few stocks."
When markets freeze, stocks with already-low liquidity get delisted.
One of the rules in KOSPI and other global exchanges is to delist stocks with no trading volume—and that's exactly what's hurting us now.
"So right now, everyone's just flocking to safe assets?"
During meetings, I have one habit—jotting down only the key points in my notebook.
"Yes. Gold, the dollar, the yen, U.S. Treasuries, German bonds, the franc, and so on. Money's pouring into all these safe assets. And I suspect even more will follow."
As I was noting down Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin's report, my pen suddenly jerked at one point, distorting the characters.
What was that just now?
I lifted my head and looked at Assistant Manager Lee.
"Assistant Manager. Could you repeat what you just said?"
"Huh? Ah. Gold, the dollar, the yen, U.S. Treasuries, German bonds, and safe assets like the franc are seeing an influx of money..."
There it was.
The franc.
That word sent such a tremor through me that I could barely write properly.
"The franc... isn't that the most trusted safe asset in finance?"
"Yes. Switzerland remained safe even during the world wars. And during global financial crises, the franc has always held its ground. Above all, there's no political risk."
"Moreover, the reason the Swiss franc is considered the ultimate safe asset is because of its price ceiling."
The Swiss franc.
It's the currency people turn to as the safest asset during financial crises or when the economy freezes over like now.
Isn't Switzerland that famously neutral country where people online always bring up Swiss banks whenever money's mentioned? On top of that, it's a place with remarkably low political corruption, making it low-risk.
And the biggest reason—the price ceiling.
No matter how much the euro rises, there's a system in place that strictly maintains a ceiling of 1 euro to 1.20 francs. In other words, if the exchange rate tries to drop below that, the Swiss government will intervene by injecting money to prevent it.
This essentially eliminates volatility by artificially preventing the franc from strengthening too much.
Thanks to this price ceiling system, the Swiss franc has become the world's premier safe asset.
"..."
But why?
Why am I getting this signal now?
Are they telling me to buy safe assets now and just hold on?
Or is there something else?
Why are safe assets considered safe?
Because their volatility is low—that's what makes them safe assets.
In other words, for a dopamine investor like me, the franc isn't an attractive asset.
But for such a strong signal to come through now...
"Everyone, go back to your stations immediately and dump all your current holdings."
"Yes, sir!!"
Before my words even finished landing, the employees nearly bolted to their computers before I barely managed to stop them.
"Wait a second!"
"Yes?"
I naturally expected at least one person to question me.
I was about to explain what to buy next, but none of them even thought to ask why I was giving this order or what my intentions were.
They just charge forward the moment an instruction comes down.
"After dumping your positions, everyone should buy Swiss francs."
"Ah, yes, sir!"
Again, not a single question.
Like robots executing programmed commands, they sprinted back to their computers.
＊＊＊
"He made a whopping 5% profit. On the very first day, no less. I heard he was shaking up the exchange until 4 in the morning."
"What? 4 a.m.?!"
The 5% return didn't even register in his ears.
The "4 a.m." was what stuck with CEO Hwang Dae-un.
"Isn't it incredible? They say the FX market's trading volume is practically nonexistent right now—it's chaos. And yet he pulled a 5% profit out of that?"
"No, but you said he worked until 4 a.m.? Did Jin-ho go nonstop from morning till dawn?"
"Ah, yes. It seems Deputy Manager Jeong Jin-ho stayed until 4 a.m., while the rest of the team rotated shifts."
Sigh. This kid.
His gaming habits are showing again.
During large-scale raids, the raid leader usually manages nearly a hundred members by rotating them out.
It's good that he's applying that experience.
But what if the raid leader collapses from exhaustion?
The entire hundred-member raid team goes down with him.
"I should call him in for a talk before my business trip. So what's he doing now? Still grinding himself to the bone?"
"No. Deputy Manager Jeong seems to have concluded there's no point in the current market—he suddenly funneled all his capital into Swiss francs."
"Francs?"
"Yes. He poured everything into the world's safest asset."
That was unexpected.
Given Jin-ho's investment style up until now, this was something beyond mere animal instinct.
Anyone else would've called it downright beastly.
But the astonishing part is that he's won every single time without a single loss.
That's how he's already multiplied his modest seed money into 500 billion won.
In other words, Jin-ho always thrives on risky investments.
He's the heart of a beast—making money by taking paths others avoid.
And that guy bought francs?
The safest asset there is?
"That's strange."
"It does seem strange to me too."
"Is there some unusual issue with Switzerland?"
"That's exactly what I was curious about, so I looked into it, but there's nothing particularly noteworthy. The Swiss government did release funds last time to stabilize things due to Euro price volatility, though."
Meaning the franc had always been like that.
But Jin-ho suddenly went all-in on it.
"You said you'd call him later. Maybe you could casually ask him about it..."
"Forget it. What authority did we give Jin-ho? That we wouldn't interfere from above. Even if that kid invested in some backwater mountain, we wouldn't intervene."
That was the rule set by CEO Hwang.
Never question or interfere with Jeong Jin-ho's investments.
"Ah, but sir. You have to catch a flight tomorrow morning. Are all your preparations done?"
"Already taken care of. I have to leave on the early morning flight, so I'll be leaving work early today."
"I should accompany you as your guard..."
"Hey. If the CEO's away, the vice president has to hold down the fort. What if something happens? Don't you know the CEO and vice president aren't even supposed to take the same flight?"
＊＊＊
The Guild Leader rarely summons me to his office.
If he has something to say, we usually meet over samgyeopsal or in-game.
But today, he personally called me to his office.
"You rascal. Didn't I tell you last time we gamed together? Don't stay up all night gaming just because you're young. Same goes this time. All the other employees rotate shifts, but if you keep trading nonstop without rest, what are we supposed to do?"
"But I increased profits by 5%..."
"Is profit what matters right now!? If you collapse, your entire department goes down with you. From now on, don't grind yourself to the bone. What's the point of earning hundreds of billions, even trillions, if you end up sick because of it?"
My hyungnim.
He's hopeless at being a tyrannical boss.
Anyone else would turn a blind eye as long as the profit margins were good, no matter how hard I pushed myself.
I was genuinely touched.
"If you pull this again, I'll shut down your FX trading for good."
"Understood, sir."
"Just call me hyungnim when we're alone."
"Aw, come on. This is still the company. How could I dare? I'll stick with 'sir' here."
"You brat... Ah, and leave early today. Go get some sleep. You've been trading nonstop, right? Why don't we leave together? I'm heading out early too. Perfect timing—I'll drop you off."
I shook my head.
"Ah, it's fine. I still have things to do. By the way, are your travel preparations all set?"
"Yeah, pretty much done."
"Last time you went abroad, you had a hard time because of the currency exchange, right?"
I remembered him complaining about it during a raid once.
"You still remember that?"
"Of course. You described it so vividly back then—it's still fresh in my mind. But why Saudi Arabia, exactly?"
"Isn't Saudi the land of oil? Loaded with money. Plus, they're opening their stock market for the first time this year. The scent of money is practically oozing from the place—I have to see it for myself."
Saudi Arabia is the world's second-largest oil producer.
Thanks to that absurd geographical advantage, they're sitting on mountains of cash.
But Middle Eastern countries tend to be quite closed off, don't they?
Yet the Saudi government, striving to develop further, has been making efforts to break free from that insularity—one of which is opening their securities market.
"But don't worry. This time I've packed all the necessary meds. I even researched hospitals in case of emergencies. And my entourage is..."
The Guild Leader kept reassuring me, detailing all the thorough preparations he'd made.
"...?"
That's when it happened.
'Huh?'
As he was mid-sentence, something intensely overwhelming shook my entire being, blurring my vision momentarily.
Drawn by that sensation, I instinctively grabbed his arm.
"Huh? Wh-what's wrong all of a sudden?"
"Sir. No—hyungnim."
Startled, he flinched at my sudden grip.
"About the Middle East... Is there any way you could not go?"