Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Translation: Godtl
If you ask who makes the most money at a securities firm, most would say it's the executives.
"But that's absolutely not the case. Of course, executives earn more in fixed salaries, but when it comes to incentives, prop traders make significantly more."
As always, the day began with the team leader's voice, as refreshing as vitamins.
Seemingly driven by a sense of duty to impart every possible tip to her juniors, she continued speaking.
"That's why every securities firm has a grading system for prop traders."
"A grading system?"
"Yes. Just like how schools rank students by grades, securities firms do the same."
Prop traders also have rankings and compete within those tiers.
Now I understand why everyone is so sharp-edged and practically foaming at the mouth to outdo each other.
"Lower-grade prop traders handle smaller amounts of money. Since their working capital is limited, even with high returns, their incentives remain modest. In contrast, top-tier prop traders manage substantial capital. Even modest earnings translate into massive incentives."
While it varies by firm, at Gwangun Securities, the minimum capital a single prop trader handles starts at 1 billion won.
That was the baseline.
"High-performing prop traders often negotiate separate contracts. At other major securities firms, Prime Grade prop traders reportedly earn annual salaries well over 10 billion won."
"Wow. 10 billion? Just in salary?"
"I hear hundreds of billions are standard. But the key point is—there's a reason they earn that much. They bring in hundreds of billions, even trillions, for the company, so they deserve it, don't they?"
No wonder top university graduates flock to become prop traders.
An annual salary in the billions.
It was an amount I couldn't even begin to fathom.
"But our country is still small-scale compared to others. Look at the U.S. There are legendary prop traders there who've earned hundreds of billions in incentives."
"H-Hundreds of billions...?!"
"Hehe. It's an incredible world, isn't it?"
No wonder people say stocks and real estate are the ultimate paths.
A world where clicking a mouse can earn that kind of money.
"So, what's our team's grade?"
"We're squarely in the Normal Grade. From what I know, the higher the floor, the higher the grade. See how the derivatives department is on the highest floor here? While specifics vary, on average, derivatives traders are the highest earners among prop traders."
"They make that much?"
"Yes. Rumor has it their monthly salaries far exceed our annual pay—that says it all. The next rising stars are quant traders. They use AI to create algorithms for high-frequency trading, though I don't know much about that."
The world of stocks is truly complex and enigmatic.
But the rewards are so colossal that it's hard not to be drawn into its allure.
A game where the masses form the foundation, and only the top 1% reap the fortunes, so to speak.
"Everyone here? Let's start the meeting early today."
"Ah, yes!"
The team leader gathered all of us in the conference room.
But as I moved around running errands, I noticed two juniors—just like me—entering the room.
"These are our new junior traders joining the team. As you all know, several seniors resigned due to recent events, so one team disbanded. We brought their members over to our side."
So now we have four juniors?
Maybe the workload will ease up a bit?
"Team Leader. Weren't new seniors supposed to join us today too?"
"Yes. But they're not new hires. We're promoting existing juniors."
"Huh?"
Promoting juniors?
Wait. Does that mean—?
"Assistant Manager Jeong, Assistant Manager Lee. Starting today, both of you will be promoted from junior to senior."
"Whaaat?!"
Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin and I turned to ice on the spot.
Senior?
Just like that?
"W-Wait a minute, Team Leader. Promoting these juniors to senior? Assistant Manager Lee has some experience, sure, but this is already too fast. And Assistant Manager Jeong Jin-ho too? This is an excessively unconventional promotion! Across all securities firms, you won't find this kind of hyper-speed promotion!"
Assistant Manager Yang Mi-ju's voice was sharp with anger.
But I get it.
Even I don't understand what's happening—how must Assistant Manager Yang and the other traders feel?
"There's a good reason for this decision. Over the past few days during the mock investment period, Employee Jeong's profit rate has been the highest in our team."
"Team Leader. That was just mock investment. It's completely different from real trading—you're promoting him just because he performed well for a brief moment?"
"The decision's already made. You all know how this industry works—in the end, it's all about profit margins. And with our team expanding, the capital we'll be handling has increased too. Do you know what that means? Our team's incentives just got higher."
"If that's the case, then all the more reason—!"
"Enough. It's already decided."
As Team Leader Park spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, the other team members could no longer protest.
In that heavy atmosphere, Team Leader Park addressed the two of us.
"Employee Jeong, and Team Leader Lee. You see those two workstations set up over there?"
"Ah, yes..."
"Those desks are for you two. The IT staff will explain all the functions in detail, so pay close attention and learn."
It still didn't feel real.
Were we really becoming seniors?
"Consider today just an orientation—just focus on learning how things work. No need to hit the ground running immediately. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then let's begin the real meeting. Oh, and Employee Jeong—starting today, you're no longer an employee. You're now a team leader. And Team Leader Lee has been promoted to assistant manager."
"?!"
"T-Team Leader!"
"Now. Let's begin the meeting. Have you forgotten? We're now handling other teams' capital too. If you want to make serious money, focus up."
The meeting that followed felt like weathering a storm.
＊＊＊
"We've installed six monitors for starters. Please contact the equipment team if you need additional ones."
The IT staff member began methodically explaining my new workstation.
"The two main monitors are dedicated to the HTS trading program. You'll use them for real-time charts and the order book. The left dual monitors are for news feeds and research reports. The right dual setup is configured for market trends and monitoring sector fluctuations."
"That's... a lot."
"Yes. Prop traders need to move faster than a second. We've also replaced your keyboard with a custom model. Single keystroke orders."
The staff member pointed from F1 to F12.
"F1 for buy orders, F2 for sell. And so on. We've set it up this way because clicking manually with a mouse would cost precious time. Until you're accustomed, I recommend keeping the shortcut key guide nearby."
A specialized keypad already sat on the desk—for rapid numerical input during high-volume trading.
"We've also upgraded to dedicated fiber-optic lines since order congestion can happen during volume spikes. Monitor response times are optimized too. Even a 1ms delay is unacceptable."
I nodded while feeling cold sweat form.
This was the equipment for actual trading?
It was in another league compared to mock investments.
"Lastly, we've configured error-prevention alerts. You'll hear warning tones for unusually large orders or abnormal price spreads."
"Ah, understood."
"Everyone struggles at first, but you'll get used to it soon. Well then—"
I'd never even used dual monitors for gaming like everyone else.
And here I was with six.
Yet Team Leader uses nine.
Three seemed more than enough—what possible screens could require nine monitors?
"Jin-ho. Did you get all that?"
"Ah, yes. Team Leader—no, Assistant Manager!"
"Gah! Don't! That's embarrassing."
We'd expected another day of running around like dogs like the other juniors, yet here we sat before this premium equipment as newly minted seniors.
"Don't be so nervous, Jin-ho. We'll do fine. Just like during mock trading—it's the same thing!"
"...Assistant Manager. Your legs are shaking right now."
"Eep!"
Would the Guild Leader know I'd become a senior?
He'd probably jump in surprise if he found out.
But his silence suggested he might not be fully aware of developments downstairs.
"Team Leader Lee. Employee Jeong. Wait—should I call you Assistant Manager Lee and Team Leader Jeong now?"
Then Assistant Manager Yang Mi-ju approached us with venom in her voice.
"You two. Given the current office climate, you find this amusing? Are you completely thoughtless? When the team leader offered to promote you to senior, you should've refused outright. Instead, you just gobbled it up?"
Her piercing eyes betrayed her simmering displeasure.
"I can't accept you two. And you know this, right? The money we get depends on our team's performance. But if our results go down the drain because of you two, I won't just sit back and take it. Do you understand what I'm saying?! So if you can't handle it, go tell the Team Leader right now. Ask him to revoke your promotions."
I'd been noticing this for a while—Assistant Manager Yang Mi-ju seemed to be taking out all her frustrations from that day specifically on Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin.
And since I was standing right next to her, it felt like I was getting dragged into the beating by association.
I get it.
A newbie who hasn't even been here long gets promoted to Senior—of course that would stick in her craw.
And if it's prop trading where the team's performance is on the line? Even more so.
But Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin is someone who worked incredibly hard to become a Senior.
When we were both Juniors, she never once cut corners.
If there was something she didn't know, she'd kindly ask, and she was always the first to step up and take on work.
She had a heart as angelic as her face.
It was painful to see someone like her being torn down like this.
"Assistant Manager. I understand perfectly. I think you can stop now."
"What did you just say?"
"The Team Leader said it himself—in this field, it all comes down to profit margins in the end. So don't worry. We'll prove ourselves through results. We won't be dead weight for this team."
Assistant Manager Yang Mi-ju stared at me as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Ha. Go ahead and try. Maybe it's good for you to realize sooner rather than later just how out of your depth you are."
Assistant Manager Yang Mi-ju stormed off back to her seat in a huff.
"J-Jin-ho. Why did you do that? You didn't have to."
"I'm sorry. I just... snapped. It felt like Assistant Manager Yang has been targeting you specifically ever since that day."
"It's okay. Isn't that just part of office life?"
"But we're in trouble now. I said we'd prove ourselves through results. What if I end up ruining everything?"
"Hoho. I believe in you, Jin-ho. You showed your skills during the mock investments, didn't you? I know you'll do great. Fighting! Let's survive today!"
As Lee Hye-rin cutely clenched her fist, I mirrored her, squeezing my own tightly.
Then I took a deep breath and sat down at my desk.
During the mock investments, throwing money around hadn't felt scary at all, but now that it was real money, I could already feel a chill running down my spine.
Ah. I really shot my mouth off, didn't I?
But there was no taking it back now.
The only option left was to prove myself with actual results.
Besides, didn't I have a special ability that no one else knew about?
Let's see. The amount I'll be managing is... one, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand...
1 billion?!
I never imagined they'd throw 1 billion won at me on the very first day.
I'd never even seen, much less touched, that much money in my entire life.
Hell, I hadn't even seen it in games.
Well, I did hear from Assistant Manager Lee earlier that the minimum amount for prop traders is 1 billion.
But they didn't even give us that much during the mock investments.
And now, the moment we become Seniors, they're handing us real 1 billion won to trade with?
Is this company out of its mind?
＊＊＊
"Ugh. So annoying."
Assistant Manager Yang Mi-ju gulped down cold water in quick, angry swallows.
What on earth was the Team Leader thinking?
Promoting those two to Senior out of nowhere?
If those two end up tanking their investments, it'll directly impact the team's performance!
Sure, there are individual performance incentives, but team performance incentives are nothing to scoff at either. And if those two end up dragging the team down...
"If that happens, I won't let it slide!"
And that brat had the nerve to talk back to a senior like me!
So disrespectful.
"Yang Assistant Manager~. You seem extra prickly today?"
"If you're here to poke the bear, get lost."
"No, no. It's just—you seem especially sensitive about Assistant Manager Lee... no, wait, she's a Senior now, right? Assistant Manager Lee's been here long enough to deserve the promotion, hasn't she?"
"Deserve it? She's far from ready. And what's up with that newbie? How the hell did he get promoted at warp speed?"
"So you really don't know, huh?"
"What?"
Another assistant manager from a different team glanced around before lowering her voice.
"You know that newbie, right? Rumor has it he's related to the CEO."
"Wha—WHAT?!"
"Originally, only team leaders and above knew, but I heard it from a friend in HR. Makes sense now, doesn't it? Why such an unprecedented promotion happened."
"W-wait. So... so I just picked a fight with royalty?"
"Well, it's not like he'd hold a grudge over something that petty... right? You didn't say anything too harsh, did you? Hope there's no bad blood. Anyway, I'll head out first. Good luck today~!"
"..."
Assistant Manager Yang could only stare blankly into space.
"Assistant Manager Yang. The market's about to open—aren't you going? Assistant Manager Yang?"
She stood there, frozen, as if she'd turned to stone.