A Good Person

Something unthinkable was happening. When he'd first been assigned to inventory management, quitting was all he could think about — but as time went on, it felt more and more like the company actually wanted to keep him around.

Siyun pulled out his new business card and turned it over in his hand.

Inventory Management Section Chief?

A title that existed nowhere on the corporate ladder. If they were going this far to hold on to him, maybe Team Leader Oh's words hadn't been empty flattery after all.

"The future of Hansan Securities, huh..."

However many times he turned it over, the phrase ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt absurd — and yet, because no one had ever expected anything of him in his entire life, those words struck him with an almost chilling kind of specialness. He had resolved to become a trader purely for the money. Recognition from the company had never been part of the plan, so this treatment could only leave him baffled.

They'd hired him a personal errand-runner so he wouldn't have to strain himself, and even outfitted his office with private trading facilities? The head of General Affairs hadn't spelled it out, but it amounted to handing him a measure of freedom.

"Hmm..."

There was no need to overthink it. Take what was given, do what could be done.

Mind made up, he pulled up every account he owned on the monitor.

His assets had grown by nearly two billion won already. Things going too smoothly always made him uneasy — but wasn't this going too smoothly by a wide margin?

While he was staring hard at the monitor, the office door swung open and Choi Tae-wook appeared.

"Section Chief! All the deliveries are done!"

Siyun hastily closed the windows on his screen.

"Good work."

After work, he dragged Choi Tae-wook off to a nearby soup restaurant. The moment the premium ox-tail soup they'd ordered arrived, Tae-wook straightened into a formal posture and raised his voice.

"Wow, such an honorable meal... I will eat it well!"

"Shh."

Siyun pressed a finger to his lips, and the younger man scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm sorry. I just get so nervous..."

"This isn't the army. There's nothing to be nervous about, and no reason to stand at attention."

"No, it's not that..."

Tae-wook trailed off, eyes downcast. Come to think of it, his nervousness seemed to stem from something else entirely.

"What? Do I look like the Grim Reaper to you?"

"Ah, well... From the first time we met, I got the feeling you were angry with me. If there's anything about me you don't like, I'll fix it."

His voice shrank to a crawl as he bowed his head. Honestly, it happened often enough that it was nothing special to Siyun.

"I'm not angry with you, Tae-wook. My mood right now is at its absolute best."

"Its... best?"

"A lot of good things happened today. Getting to work with a diligent guy like you is one of them."

"Are you... really pleased?"

"Hard to believe, I know, but yes."

With that, he poured soju into Tae-wook's glass. He had no idea how long they'd be working together, but since it would be for a while yet, he'd put together this modest little dinner.

"You majored in economics?"

"Yes, sir. After I'm discharged and finish my degree, my dream is to get hired at Hansan Securities. My goal is to become Korea's best trader. That's why I applied the second I saw the part-time listing — it's an honor just to be working here like this."

Listening to his story, Siyun realized Tae-wook had walked a hard road of his own. Raised by a widowed mother, he'd scraped his way through his studies, and now he was on the verge of returning to school after his military service.

Trading had a reputation as a glamorous, high-paying profession, but there was another side to it. Salaries could be docked based on losses, and in cases of serious damage, traders could even be held legally liable. Survive somehow and the opportunities would come — but surviving itself was the hard part. That was the trading market for you.

Tae-wook had learned all of that in barely eight months.

Still, there was no need to trample a seedling that hadn't even sprouted yet.

"If you work hard, you can become that too, Tae-wook. Korea's best trader."

At Siyun's words, Tae-wook's face lit up with emotion.

"Ha... I'll work hard. I'll work so hard that... that I meet you again at Hansan Securities, Section Chief."

Hearing that left Siyun a little at a loss. He'd been demoted to warehouse duty — was he really in any position to be handing out career advice?

They drank a modest round with the meal, and by the end of it Tae-wook seemed to be feeling the alcohol. Siyun slipped him taxi fare and sent him off.

"Get home safe. Don't be late tomorrow."

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I can just take the subway..."

"I'd rather you not reek of booze on your commute."

"Ha... Thank you... thank you so much!"

Just before getting into the taxi, Tae-wook turned back to face him.

"You're truly a good person, Section Chief!"

And with that, he was gone. Siyun tilted his head as he watched the taxi pull away.

Evening, back at home. The moment Siyun appeared, Jeombak-i came trotting to greet him.

Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap.

When he scooped the little guy up in one hand, a question mark flickered across the LED face — as if he'd sensed something different about today.

"I just had a few drinks. It's been a while."

He rarely drank, as a rule. This was the first time since joining Hansan Securities. When he set Jeombak-i back down on the floor, the dog suddenly bounded off and stopped in front of the water purifier.

"You want me to drink water?"

Jeombak-i was a robot, but he came equipped with full human-interaction functions — nagging included, apparently. Siyun grabbed a glass, drank his water, and headed for the shower.

He came out to find his phone buzzing. It was Bang Yo-han, who had thrown a fit upon hearing that Siyun was still stuck at the company.

"I got promoted to Section Chief."

"The warehouse has trading facilities now, and I've got a part-timer to run my errands."

"Crazy, right? Even you think so."

"Seems like somebody wants to keep me around."

"No idea."

Partway through their long call, Yo-han broke some news of his own.

"Yeah. Come by Yeouido if you can make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it."

"I moved. Recently."

"I'll tell you the details when I see you. Oh, and listen — there's something I want to ask you..."

"Do you think I'm a good person?"

It was such a question out of nowhere that Yo-han fell silent for a long moment. Then he burst out laughing.

The words Tae-wook had said to him earlier floated back. You seem like a good person.

He had never once heard anything like it in his life. Everywhere he'd gone, he'd been treated as a villain, so it was hard to simply accept the sentiment.

"Done laughing? Then let's hang up."

"Huh?"

"Hmm..."

It wasn't quite the answer he'd been hoping for, but he decided it was enough.

"Yeah. Thanks."

He arrived at the office early the next morning and headed down to the warehouse, where Choi Tae-wook was already organizing inventory.

"Good morning, Section Chief!"

"Hey. You're in early."

"You mentioned stock was coming in today, so I was clearing out some space."

Siyun nodded, satisfied. Thank goodness for a part-timer with some sense.

"Wait here a moment. I'll report the inventory to General Affairs, then come back and help."

"Yes, sir!"

He went into the office, logged into the inventory management system, and checked the inbound shipments.

Quite a lot was coming in. He reported the current inventory figures to General Affairs, then went straight back to the warehouse, where he worked alongside Tae-wook to sort the goods and secure the space.

"All done. The list of today's deliveries is printed out over there — check it and take them over at your own pace."

"Got it!"

With that settled, he returned to the office. He sat down at his desk, booted up the computer, and pulled up the stock window on the monitor. There was one stock he needed to check before the morning session opened.

Factory Robotex

A manufacturer of industrial robots for factory production lines. A startup, but one with seriously impressive technology behind it. It was still too small to attract much attention — yet for the past few days its trading volume had been surging, and it had landed squarely on Siyun's radar.

Spiking volume meant movement. The only question was whether that movement was a buying opportunity or a warning sign. It could be quiet, methodical accumulation — or it could be a short-term knife fight among retail ants. Even so, Siyun's instincts had already tipped to one side.

It's going up.

The volume looked jagged and erratic, but the fact that the lows kept inching higher pointed strongly toward accumulation. Someone was quietly building a position, biding their time for the right moment to push it up all at once. And even if buying today turned out to be a mistake, the loss would be manageable — Factory Robotex was small, but its technology had earned real recognition.

Nine o'clock.

The market opened, and the price began to swing.

It gapped up 2.2 percent from the previous close, then dropped back down 3 percent as the real volatility kicked in. The range Siyun wanted was between minus 4 and minus 7 percent. He had already split his capital into tranches and parked his buy orders at those levels.

Soon the chart lurched hard, and the speaker crackled to life.

The announcement repeated over and over for a long stretch until every buy order Siyun had placed was filled. His average purchase price: 11,530 won per share. Total capital deployed: two billion won.

Watching the chart whip up and down, Siyun murmured quietly.

"Let's go again."