Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Translation: Godtl
"Hup. Hup."
"What are you doing, Jin-ho?"
"Ah, just stretching."
Hye-rin had told me that once the market opened, I'd have to haul this cart all over the place.
"There are two most important things in the stock market. Mental fortitude and speed—isn't that what they said?"
The senior traders handling actual trades were responsible for mental fortitude, while we were in charge of speed. Just yesterday, I'd run around so much that I got a cramp in my calf, making me acutely aware of how badly I needed to exercise.
Ah, but when exactly am I supposed to exercise?
Working out after office hours? Horrifying.
They say all office workers these days exercise after work.
Does that even make sense?
Especially Team Leader Park...
"Ugh."
I shook my head vigorously.
Even when I was living as a game addict, I never exercised. How am I supposed to work out after a full day at the office?
"Jin-ho. I don't think we'll need the cart today."
"Huh?"
"At least for today, we won't have to handle the cart."
If we, the most junior members, don't haul the cart around, who will?
"Team Leader already talked to the other teams. So today, juniors from other teams will probably be running around in our place."
Suddenly?
It's not right to complain—they should've done this yesterday—but this sudden arrangement felt odd.
I don't think it's because I'm a parachute hire.
"Instead, today we'll be doing mock investments until the market closes. Team Leader said to do it that way. I think he's giving us this opportunity because of that insurance stock."
"Ah..."
"Thanks to you, Jin-ho, I got this chance too. Thank you."
"No, no. I just got lucky, that's all."
"But was it really just luck? Hmm. No, never mind. It's probably a trade secret—it'd be rude to keep prying."
It wasn't anything like a trade secret.
It's not like I have some incredible analytical skills.
'So today, we just do mock investments?'
It seemed like this would be a crucial time to test my abilities.
"The meeting's about to start. You should perk up your ears and listen carefully. Usually, big securities firms like ours make sure to identify the meta."
"Meta?"
"Yes. Hot stocks, theme stocks, stocks in the spotlight, surging stocks—these don't come from all directions but usually overlap in one sector. That's why we call it the meta."
Hearing gaming terminology here was fascinating.
In games, don't they call trending strategies the meta too?
In securities firms, it seemed they referred to whatever was most likely to trend that day as the meta and focused intensely on that sector.
"Today, we'll check who will take the lead as the top stock and who will benefit from it during the meeting. Prop trading is the most sensitive to those things."
We do prepare the materials, but it's mostly just collecting them.
There's a research department within the company.
They gather and analyze information daily, both domestic and international, assessing how it might impact the stock market.
Once we receive the reports filtered through them, we distribute them to the team and prepare briefing materials for the meeting.
"To me, it still looks like alien language."
Global, industry-specific, corporate, market trends.
All these reports are insane analyses reduced to numbers.
What could I possibly understand from them?
"Hoho. What's with that attitude? You must've learned all this in school. And you probably saw it endlessly while studying for your certification."
"..."
I didn't respond.
"Ah, everyone's about to gather. Let's head in quickly."
"Got it."
Meta identification.
Meta identification is important.
I repeated Hye-rin's words to myself and pricked up my ears.
Because based on the market trend reports prepared by elite graduates from prestigious universities, I could hear in real-time what today's meta would be.
These were incredibly valuable insights—information you couldn't get even if you paid for it outside.
"Everyone's read the reports, right? The biggest emerging issue right now is the EV sector. Especially with risks increasing across the entire value chain. Let's hear one thing each of you knows about it."
Ah. I don't even understand what they're talking about from the start.
"After the electric bus fire incident, it seems inevitable that global OEMs will have to re-examine their safety standards... Especially since the price of nickel, a key battery material, has plummeted by 45% compared to six months ago, weakening the overall sector momentum. It's dropped way faster than expected, Team Leader."
"The oversupply issue is also severe. Even though China's LYD reduced its operating rate to 60% compared to last year, their inventory still exceeds 400,000 units. The average selling price (ASP) for entry-level models has also dropped by over 30% year-on-year. At this point, it's like they're telling us not to even bother doing business."
"But isn't the stance of the EU and the US still firm? Legislation has already been passed to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles starting from 2035."
I kept my mouth shut and cautiously followed the flow of the conversation.
With my ears, I listened, and with my eyes, I quickly skimmed through the report again.
Today's meta was the electric vehicle sector.
Even though Europe and the US had passed ultra-strict legislation to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in the future, conventional cars were still selling well.
Additionally, the US had introduced subsidy policies, and the same was true domestically.
However, battery fire incidents were occurring worldwide, and due to the inconvenience of needing to recharge, far fewer people were opting for electric vehicles than expected.
"Even if the EU and the US have a firm stance, for those trading by the second, it's nothing more than an empty promise. There's also the anxiety that those promises could be overturned at any moment."
The prop trading department was a place where 100% of the trades were day trades.
For them, long-term promises were nothing but illusions.
And the same went for the retail investors crawling around the stock market.
"Take short positions across the entire EV value chain, but manage risks thoroughly. Hedge by selling ETFs with high exposure to battery stocks."
"Understood. How much leverage should we use?"
"Anything over 2x is too risky. Keep it conservative at around 1.5x. We don't want to get margin-called."
"What about the internal combustion engine sector?"
"Pick undervalued stocks among catalyst material companies. But don't put all your eggs in one basket—diversify. Some of it might already be priced in."
"Then should we go short in the morning and switch to long in the afternoon session? We'll each decide our own timing."
"Let's do that. Keep an eye on the trends. This is something we'll have to play by feel. Just don't get too greedy. We all know we haven't met this month's targets yet, and we could end up losing even more. Okay?"
"Yes, Team Leader."
As the meeting ended, everyone rushed out in a flurry.
The Team Leader had given instructions, but I hadn't understood a single word of it.
Then, on the way out, one of the seniors called out to Deputy Lee Hye-rin.
"Hye-rin. Gather some data on catalyst material stocks with this intern here and pass it to me."
"Ah, yes!"
Just as the two of us were about to leave to collect the data—
"Hold on. Assign that to another junior from a different team."
"Huh?"
"Those two have other work today, so don't give them anything else to do. That's what I'm saying."
"Ah... Understood."
After speaking to the senior, Team Leader Park gestured at us.
Hurry up and dive into this market already.
＊＊＊
"Huuuu—"
Hye-rin's fingertips trembled.
This sensation—it had been a while since she'd felt it.
It was like being a starving predator returning to a feast.
"I can't afford to mess up."
Team Leader Park had made it clear.
This was an evaluation.
Meaning, if she screwed this up, she'd be stuck as a junior for a long time.
Just running errands all day, playing the role of a handmaid.
"It's okay. I can do this!"
Hye-rin repeated it to herself.
This was the opportunity she'd been waiting for, and she was ready to seize it.
All she had to do now was click her mouse like crazy once the market opened.
'But is Jin-ho doing alright?'
She stood on her tiptoes and stole a glance at Jeong Jin-ho in the cubicle next to hers.
Hye-rin was frantically reviewing the research reports, catalyst material stock data, and today's meeting notes.
But Jeong Jin-ho was just sitting there, perfectly still—staring at the monitor screen as if he'd turned to ice.
No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like someone who had no idea where to even begin, his mind completely blank.
So that insurance stock really had just been a fluke, huh?
I should go help him once things calm down a bit.
Looking after your junior is a senior's duty, after all!
＊＊＊
It was like athletes waiting at the starting line—everyone just waiting for the gunshot to ring out.
And sure enough, before long, an alarm blared through the entire company like an emergency alert.
Now was the time for everyone to sprint forward.
"..."
But I did nothing.
This wasn't some "the cheetah smiles" kind of moment.
I was just blankly staring, unsure of what to do.
I can't get a grasp on where to even start.
If this were a gacha pull, I'd just stare holes into the item until I got a feeling.
Or if it were equipment enhancement, the same logic applied.
But stocks were different.
There were just too many factors to consider.
How am I supposed to know if it'll rise right now, tomorrow, or a year from now?
With loot boxes and enhancement, you get immediate feedback—success or failure.
But stocks weren't like that.
Say I buy a stock based on gut feeling right now. What if it only rises a year later?
And there were so many stocks that I didn't even know which ones to scrutinize until I got a feeling.
It was like searching for a scale in a desert.
Stay calm.
That's what I always told myself whenever my mind clouded over with dust.
The problem was, I only ever had to do this in games.
Anyway, for now, I shouldn't rush—just take it one step at a time, calmly.
The Team Leader said today's meta was EVs and batteries, right?
Let's start there.
I should at least look like I'm working hard, shouldn't I?
I boldly unfolded the report the research team had given me.
"Hmm..."
Was I even reading Korean right now?
On top of that, the list of stocks related to today's meta was scrolling across the screen, and just as the Team Leader predicted, they were all lit up in blue.
I think he said to take a short position in the morning and go long in the afternoon.
Short and long positions.
How the hell was I supposed to manage risk with these?
Ugh. If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've gotten some experience when everyone was into Bitcoin.
But if everything's blue, doesn't that mean I absolutely shouldn't buy right now?
There were more EV and battery-related stocks than I'd thought.
But they were all glowing blue, looking like they'd wreck me the moment I jumped in.
Let's look for the ones in the red.
There's a term for it—upper limit chasing.
It means following stocks that are hitting their daily price ceilings.
I'd rather throw my money into those than into this mess.
If they say don't do it, then don't.
Thinking that, I was about to scroll past the battery-related stocks drowning in blue—
"...?"
When an almost imperceptible, tingling sensation spread from my fingertips through my entire body.
This feeling... it wasn't unfamiliar.
No way...
I reopened the window I'd been about to close.
Then, carefully, I checked each stock one by one.
Among the sea of red, my mouse wheel stopped on exactly one.
<Daehan Solution>
A company that produced batteries using nickel as raw material.
"..."
The intensity of the feeling spreading through me was enough to make me gulp dryly.
No doubt about it.
It was that feeling I knew.
But this...
Isn't the loss here way too steep?
And didn't they say the battery-related stocks would get obliterated the moment you touched them?
It sounded like they wouldn't rise for a long time.
Yet this overwhelming, trembling sensation in my fingertips was telling me—this one.
Well... it's just a mock investment anyway, right?
That thought eased my mind a little.
I'd trust my gut just one more time.
Click—
I firmly pressed the buy button.