Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Translation: Godtl
'Maybe I should seriously consider buying a car.'
Some might say, "What kind of car can you buy when you haven't even received your first paycheck yet?"
But now I understand why securities firm employees prefer to drive whenever possible.
Since our start time is so early, missing the first train means being late, and even if you catch it, the timing is always razor-thin.
The only saving grace is that the seniors don't arrive quite so early, so there's less pressure to be perfectly punctual.
'Huh?'
But today, for some reason, everyone from juniors to seniors and even team leaders had gathered in the office without exception.
'Did the market open early today or something?'
The sight of everyone running around like mad was anything but ordinary.
"Mr. Jin-ho. You're here?"
"Ah. Sorry. I'm a bit late. I didn't realize everyone would be here so early."
"It's fine. You're actually earlier than the usual start time. Besides, there was a major incident yesterday, so that's why."
"A major incident?"
"Yes. The Indonesian government suddenly dropped a bombshell announcement that they'd cut nickel production by 30%."
"I see..."
I didn't fully grasp why Indonesia reducing nickel production was such a big deal, but I nodded along anyway.
Thankfully, our angelic Deputy Lee Hye-rin always provides thorough supplementary explanations.
"Just yesterday, everyone expected battery-related stocks to enter a slump with prices dropping for the foreseeable future, right? But now the situation has completely changed. Companies holding large nickel reserves will obviously benefit from this, so their stock prices are bound to surge. Several teams went short yesterday—you know how disastrous it is when short positions go wrong, right?"
Lately, I've been studying stocks diligently.
So I'm starting to recognize some of the terminology.
When institutions take short positions, it usually means they've executed short selling.
It's a strategy to profit from anticipated stock price declines, and many institutions use it for risk management.
The problem arises when you bet on prices falling, but they rise beyond expectations—the losses can be catastrophic.
This was precisely why everyone had rushed in at the crack of dawn for emergency duty.
Naturally, those who had shorted battery stocks expecting a decline were now scrambling to assess which stocks to buy amid this turmoil.
"The scariest part is that no one can predict how much any given stock will rise or fall."
They say no matter how hard humans struggle, they can't overcome nature.
The stock market is no different.
No matter how thorough your analysis and preparation, you can't outmaneuver volatility that hits like a natural disaster.
"Our team didn't heavily invest in battery stocks yesterday, right?"
"Thankfully, the Team Leader told us to keep it moderate, so the damage shouldn't be too bad. Other teams are in complete chaos, though."
Thank goodness for the Team Leader's sharp instincts.
But wait a second.
'Didn't I buy battery-related stocks yesterday too?'
What happens to those, then?
"Deputy Lee, Mr. Jeong! This isn't the time to stand around! Get the reports ready, now! Hurry!"
"Ah, yes! Mr. Jin-ho. Let's go!"
Right. It was just a mock investment anyway.
No point worrying about it.
I just need to focus on doing my job properly here.
＊＊＊
"..."
Team Leader Park and his team members were staring at the stock market with even graver expressions than usual today.
The stock market had been bombarded by Indonesia's sudden announcement.
Some might scoff, asking what the big deal is over something like that.
But it is terrifying.
Because this is the K-market.
The domestic market is peculiar.
When a deer-related typhoon hits, deer-themed paint stocks rise. When avian flu (AI) surges, completely unrelated artificial intelligence (AI) stocks climb.
This is what's called "keyword investing"—a phenomenon rarely seen in other countries' markets but one that occurs constantly in ours.
The reasons are simple: Korea has a high proportion of individual investors participating in the stock market, and thematic stock culture is deeply entrenched here.
Additionally, herd mentality is exceptionally strong in our country, where the "if others are buying, I should too" mindset drives sudden stock price surges.
This is why people say that in the domestic market, if you just chase the upper limits well, you're halfway to success.
And that was exactly the problem.
How would this herd mentality react to Indonesia's announcement?
"Aah. It's rising."
"This is insane."
As the stock market opened, groans erupted from all directions.
"Please, just buy! For god's sake, buy!"
"No way. How high is this damn price going to go?"
Other team seniors were visibly losing their tempers.
Even the team leaders knew better than to intervene at times like this.
How could anyone keep a grip on reason when money was vanishing right before their eyes?
Even if it was company money, all of it would reflect on their performance records. For traders whose incentives were practically their entire salary, this was madness.
"Team Leader, all the battery-related stocks are surging right now."
"For now, yes. But they'll gradually fall. The word will spread fast—only those holding the most nickel reserves will see long-term gains. How much are we down?"
"Fortunately, we cut losses quickly on our short positions. The problem is the stocks other teams are holding... Looks like a full-blown short squeeze hit."
Short squeeze.
The most dreaded term among securities traders.
So much so that even mentioning it casually was taboo.
"It's not just us—other firms went heavy on shorts too. The Korean exchange is in chaos with margin calls right now."
A short squeeze occurs when short sellers, panicked by a sudden price surge, rush to buy back shares, driving the price even higher.
In other words, securities firms like Gwangun—who had taken short positions on battery stocks anticipating a drop—were now scrambling to cut losses as prices spiked. But with no sellers available, prices kept climbing, and short losses snowballed in a vicious cycle.
The only silver lining was Korea's daily price fluctuation limit.
Upper limit: +15%
Lower limit: -15%
But that was no comfort.
If trading frenzy kept up like this, there might be no sellers for days—meaning short positions would keep bleeding losses.
And right now, there was exactly one stock in that exact situation.
[Daehan Solutions +15%]
Daehan Solutions had rocketed to the 15% upper limit in record time.
Trading wasn't halted, but with no further price movement possible for the day, buy orders were piling up endlessly.
"..."
Team Leader Park Hong-seo was the type to pour every ounce of focus into the market the moment it opened.
But today, he couldn't concentrate at all.
In the end, he closed all his positions early.
With money flooding into one sector and no sellers in sight, all he could do was sit and wait.
"But how the hell did he know?"
Did he have some connection to the Indonesian government?
How else would he go all-in on a stock other institutions hadn't even glanced at?
"..."
Team Leader Park's piercing gaze locked onto Jeong Jin-ho, who was bustling around outside handling errands. Sensing the weight of that stare, Jin-ho glanced his way briefly before sharply turning his head away.
'Should I ask? No. He won't answer anyway.'
He hadn't even explained his relationship with the CEO, and just like with Joongang Insurance last time, he'd probably brush it off as luck.
Meaning he wouldn't share his investment secrets.
'But then he's so diligent with grunt work?'
Jeong Jin-ho.
Just who the hell was he?
Some elite-level talent the CEO had scouted from somewhere?
But his credentials didn't seem to match...
'This isn't working.'
If the other party wasn't willing to talk, prying wouldn't help.
And Team Leader Park didn't want dead weight on his team.
Conversely, he also didn't want to waste someone overflowing with talent.
'Guess I'll have to drag it out of him.'
Though the market wasn't closed yet, Team Leader Park made his decision. He shot up from his seat and strode off somewhere.
＊＊＊
Bang—!
Team Leader Park Hong-seo slammed the desk and stormed out.
With his hulking muscles, I half-expected the desk to crack.
"Team Leader's seriously pissed, huh?"
"Who wouldn't be? You know the drill on days like this, right, Jin-ho?"
"Yep. No smiling. Shoulders down. Head bowed. Correct?"
"Good. You remember well."
"Had a special lecture over udon last night. Haha."
"Shh! No laughing!"
Everyone at the securities firm was on edge today.
Like the slightest provocation could spark actual bloodshed.
And with curses flying everywhere, the atmosphere was downright hostile.
"Team Leader glared at me hard before leaving. Did I mess up?"
"Maybe it's because Jin-ho has such a smiling face."
"Ugh. I'll be careful."
We junior employees, powerless and constantly bearing the brunt of others' frustrations, could only hope this storm would pass quickly.
"I want to get promoted to senior soon too. Oh! My stocks!"
"You have stocks invested? I thought our company prohibits personal investments."
"It's not a complete ban. Of course, the approval process is so cumbersome that no one bothers. Anyway, not real stocks—the ones I bought in our mock investment."
"Ah!"
Deputy Lee Hye-rin hurriedly checked the stocks she'd invested in the mock trading system.
Her face immediately fell.
"No way... I was too busy to check, and now... I put everything in battery stocks, and all the profits I barely scraped together yesterday are gone."
I checked the stock prices I'd bought in the mock investment too.
"Guh—!"
At the graph shooting straight through the roof, I gasped and covered my mouth.
"Jin-ho, you must be shocked seeing your stocks drop too. Don't be too discouraged. It's just a mock investment, right? Let me see."
"Ah, you really shouldn't..."
"It's fine. I won't laugh, just let me— Gah!"
Hye-rin, who had moved closer to comfort me, also startled at the graph.
"W-wait. 15%? Jin-ho, you were holding today's hottest stock? No. H-how?!"
"I told you not to look."
"Jin-ho... are you some kind of investment genius or something?"
"No..."
Then Deputy Lee suddenly covered her face with both hands.
"Ugh, I'm so embarrassed. I gave this prodigy a half-baked stock lecture yesterday over a measly bowl of udon."
"No, no. Those were really valuable tips—blood and flesh kind of advice. And you treated me to udon and fried shrimp too..."
"Ugh, you must've been laughing at me inside."
"No, really, I wasn't."
"From now on, I'll be your junior. Senior Jeong Jin-ho."
"Ah, come on!"
She really was an impossible senior.
＊＊＊
"Department Head. Do you have a moment?"
"What is it? The market hasn't even closed yet—what's so urgent?"
"You know how it is. Right now, all we can do is suck our thumbs. I wrapped up the urgent stuff on my way here."
"Honestly. Sit down first."
As soon as Team Leader Park took a seat, he got straight to the point.
"I want to promote one of the juniors to senior."
"I was about to offer you a drink. You're in a hurry. And suddenly a senior promotion? I thought you were here about the nickel crisis."
"Fortunately, our team wasn't hit too hard."
"Right. It's the other idiots who are the problem. Who knows how much they'll lose this time. Ugh. Drives me insane. I told them to play it safe, but those brats went crazy over pocket change."
"They say even dust piles up to make a mountain."
"Yeah, it's not your fault. This mess is all because of those Indonesian bastards pulling that stunt."
Clearly frustrated, Department Head Lee Tae-ho downed a glass of water in one gulp.
No idea how many glasses of cold water he's had today alone.
"So, who are you promoting? Do we even have a junior with enough experience yet?"
"It's a new hire who hasn't been here long."
"Wait. Are you talking about that parachute hire?"
"Yes."
At that, Department Head Lee's expression shifted oddly.
"Park Hong-seo, you bastard. Didn't take you for the type—are you brown-nosing too?"
It was a fair misunderstanding.
Promoting a junior who hasn't even been here a week to senior?
It'd be unprecedented in Gwangun Securities' history.
"I know how it looks. But that's not the reason."
"Then what? Is this parachute some kind of investment prodigy you're promoting?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"He's talented in investing."
Department Head Lee stared blankly at Team Leader Park.
Park Hong-seo—that guy didn't have a humorous bone in his body.
He was dead serious about everything.
"What exactly did you see?"
"The new hire only did two mock investments so far. Here are the results."
"What the—Central Insurance and Daehan Solutions? He picked these himself?"
"Yes. He claims it's luck, but remember what you always told us juniors, Department Head? If luck overlaps more than twice, it's no longer luck."
This guy had to go and dredge up old memories.
"Can you take responsibility for this? What if this kid blows company money?"
"He's the chairman's parachute hire—won't they cover for him?"
"What?"
"Just like you taught me, Department Head, I only invest in safe assets."
"You crazy bastard."
Delivering that line with a completely straight face left the department head speechless before he burst into laughter.
Park Hong-seo.
As always, he remained dead serious about everything.