So It Actually Worked

So it really did work.

The moment the call connected, the used car dealer launched into his pitch.

"I see."

He was explaining so enthusiastically that Siyoon couldn't bring himself to hang up.

He'd been so absorbed in the sales pitch that he'd almost forgotten.

The market was about to open.

He checked the time. 9:01 AM.

He hastily turned his eyes to the monitor, but Jain Tech's price had already been decided.

The third consecutive limit-up. And not just any limit-up — a Dot Upper Circuit, opening pinned at the ceiling from the very first tick.

Siyoon stared blankly at the monitor for a moment before murmuring to himself.

"...So it actually worked."

The dealer stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh, nothing. I think I've heard enough. I was under the impression I could decide on the purchase after a test drive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could I take delivery?"

"Then please send it to Yeouido. I'll text you the address."

With that, he hung up and pulled up his portfolio.

An amount that made his jaw drop.

What astonished him most was the fact that Jain Tech had posted three straight Dot Upper Circuits. He'd known the positive catalysts were solid and the company's future bright, but he hadn't expected a surge of quite this magnitude.

At this point, he was curious how people were reacting. He logged into the stock trading forums, where posts about Jain Tech were flooding in in real time.

The reactions were just as feverish as he'd expected. Everyone was prophesying a fifth consecutive limit-up for Jain Tech.

The news coverage struck a similar tone — the only difference was the more measured language, but the sentiment wasn't far off from the forums.

Even after reading the news, Siyoon tilted his head.

Into next week?

Tomorrow was Friday. Whether Jain Tech would extend its winning streak or turn into Black Friday remained to be seen.

That afternoon, a red Tesla rolled into the basement parking garage of Hansan Securities.

"Go ahead and take it for a spin, then give us a call."

The delivery driver handed Siyoon the keys.

He settled into the driver's seat and started the car — the engine was whisper-quiet, a hallmark of Tesla. He'd never owned a car himself, but years of working as a valet driver had put him behind the wheel of just about everything, and even a short drive was enough to tell him whether a vehicle had any issues.

After a lap around the parking garage, Siyoon stepped out of the car.

"Exterior's spotless. Drives beautifully, too."

Above all, he loved the futuristic design. It would make a gift worthy of Bang Yo-han, the robot fanatic.

He called the dealer on the spot.

"Just finished the test drive. It's great. I'd like to buy this one."

"Yes. No point in shopping around any further."

They agreed to complete the sales contract online and deliver the car first. Back in his office, Siyoon finalized the paperwork and sent Bang Yo-han photos of the newly purchased vehicle. The phone rang almost immediately.

"I told you. That I was buying a Tesla."

"Already did. Contract's done, insurance is signed up. The dealer handles the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠title transfer, so just send me a copy of your ID."

"Yep. It's a gift from me, so accept it graciously. Taking it out to Wolmido with Gu Hye-young this weekend would be perfect, no?"

"I've already ordered the delivery, so it'll show up in front of your place sometime today."

Bang Yo-han was too stunned to get another word out.

Only one thing worried Siyoon.

If Yo-han started dating, who was he supposed to hang out with?

The only name that came to mind was Jeombak-i.

After work, Siyoon returned home and sat down in front of his computer.

As expected, Jain Tech had closed at the daily limit, but he had no time to celebrate — he dove straight into chart analysis. Scanning the day's chart hour by hour, he identified two windows where sell orders had come cascading down: around 2 PM and 3 PM.

"Feeling shaky, are we..."

With three straight limit-ups banking plenty of profit, investors were clearly cashing out. Some had probably slipped out early, before the official investment warning.

The buy-side volume heading into the close had also dropped sharply. It had nothing to do with good or bad news — the risk relative to the expected return had simply grown too high.

"Inflow's only going to shrink from here."

From the standpoint of a holder, there was little to lose. Even if the stock went negative tomorrow, he'd still walk away with an overall gain.

But for anyone looking to buy in, it was a different story. The stock had done nothing but rise for four straight days since Monday, so there was no telling where the support line lay. Fear that one slip would send it into an endless freefall made it impossible for new money to jump in lightly.

Is it time to take the money off the table?

Three billion invested for a 162 percent return — a profit of more than 4.8 billion KRW. His mind was cautiously tipping toward selling.

As he stared at the monitor, his phone buzzed.

Bzzzt—!

It was Assistant Manager Min.

"Busy? Busy with what? What could I possibly be busy with. Did you leave work yet?"

"Yes, I ate."

The longer the conversation went on, the clearer it became that there was no substance to it. She had something she wanted to say and was dancing around it. On a hunch, Siyoon asked.

"You're in an emergency meeting, aren't you? Because of Jain Tech?"

"How would I not know? I came out of that very team."

When unusual situations like today's arose, the trading team at Hansan Securities convened emergency meetings to decide how to manage their positions. Three straight days of limit-ups — Team Leader Oh had probably gathered everyone by now.

"Don't tell me you're calling to ask for my opinion?"

Strictly speaking, he hadn't recommended anything. He'd merely answered the Head of Division's question. But pretending he had nothing to do with it didn't feel right either, given the way things were unfolding.

"My honest opinion is... I don't know."

"Whether to unwind the position tomorrow — I genuinely don't know. Jain Tech is a solid company and it will keep growing, but it's also carrying the risk of having posted three consecutive limit-ups."

"Then maybe it's best to keep the decision simple."

"We've already made plenty of profit. And tomorrow's Friday."

Assistant Manager Min was silent for a long moment. Then, as if something had clicked, her voice rose.

"It was less an opinion and more of a—"

Click.

The line went dead. Bewildered, Siyoon tilted his head.

The next day, Siyoon arrived at the office, sat down at his computer, and replayed yesterday's conclusions in his head.

If it went dot-up again — sell. Even if it gap-upped at the open — sell. Gap-down — sell. The conclusion was to sell, unconditionally.

Since optimism around Jain Tech remained high, he judged there would be no gap-down at the open.

He brought up the order window on his monitor and waited for the market to open. When nine o'clock came, the quote board began flickering rapidly.

The opening price: 103,500 KRW. Trading had begun 14.75 percent above yesterday's close.

Click!

He dumped his entire position at the opening price without hesitation.

Checking the execution window, all 87,114 shares had sold. And yet, Jain Tech was still climbing.

+16.1%

+18.4%

Did I cash out too early? Well, nothing I can do about it now.

As he was consoling himself, the rising price ground to a halt. Just five minutes after the open, Jain Tech began to plummet.

−15.3%

It never sank all the way to the lower limit, but the stock swung unsteadily for the rest of the session. Siyoon watched the turmoil for a while, then clicked his mouse.

Click.

Time to review today's trading record.

The result of one week of investment. A 200 percent return, with a final profit of six billion KRW.

"Whew..."

Staring at the trading record, a long breath escaped him of its own accord. In that moment, the phone resting on his desk buzzed.

He picked up, and she burst out, breathless with excitement.

At that, Siyoon tilted his head.

Don't tell him yesterday's phone call had actually been reflected in the meeting...