The Resort
The market had not yet opened.
Ko Guhyeon pulled up the charts for Yangil Seji and Daeho Tech and went over his analysis from the day before, while Siyoon studied his face on the monitor.
If he can just get through this crisis...
Guhyeon's problem had always been his mindset.
Self-control was a fundamental requirement for any trader — and the quality that ranked above all others.
His ability was beyond question.
One look at the materials he had submitted at his interview made that clear. The amounts had been small, but there were days when he had turned a profit of over 300%, and he was diligent enough never to miss a single entry in his trading journal.
But the SST team operated on a completely different scale. The reason he had been able to trade his personal account so comfortably was that the money at stake was small enough to lose.
"Think of it as 50,000 won, not 5 billion."
—I'm sorry?
At Siyoon's words, Guhyeon's narrow eyes flew wide open.
"The pressure that comes with handling billions is something nobody finds easy to bear. Whether you can push past it or not is what separates professionals from amateurs. If you want to become a real trader, you have to beat yourself first."
Guhyeon accepted the advice with grave sincerity, nodding again and again. Then he spoke.
"Honestly, when I got the offer from Hansan Securities, I wondered if I was dreaming. I'd been through interviews at other firms, and every single time, I wasn't the one they chose. I assumed it was because of this fat body of mine. But thinking about it now... I don't think that was the reason at all."
He looked straight into the camera.
The screen filled with his round, chubby face.
"I don't think I ever believed in myself. I kept thinking, if I take a loss this time, they'll throw me out of Hansan Securities. The anxiety over that was driving me out of my mind. This time, I'm going to keep my head clear. Just like you said, Team Leader — I'll focus on the numbers, not the money."
His face, which had been stiff as a board since the day he joined, finally looked a little easier. Siyoon addressed him.
"The numbers are just numbers. The market's open now. Go fight yourself."
—Yes, sir!
Guhyeon answered at the top of his lungs and turned to the charts.
Yangil Seji and Daeho Tech.
Those two stocks were today's targets.
With two instead of one, the possibilities opened up far wider than yesterday — either one could end up being the prey.
Twenty minutes after the bell.
Daeho Tech was the first to move.
A short-term rally. The buying orders chasing from below dried up, and the sell volume raining from above began landing one hit at a time. The pace of the climb slowed.
Not yet.
Siyoon said it silently.
Part of him worried he might be wrong, but his focused eyes never wavered.
Ordinarily, Guhyeon would have jumped in without asking, but watching him sit quietly, locked on the chart, Siyoon could tell his mindset had genuinely changed.
Good. We wait a little longer.
As they watched, Daeho Tech climbed one more leg. This was the real thing now — the buy-side depth was no longer following the price up. The price had risen, but the support beneath it had gone still. Only the sell pressure weighing down from above kept growing thicker.
—Team Leader, I'm entering now.
"Go ahead."
Guhyeon immediately began placing his orders.
The order book was thin, so it took a while, but all 5 billion won of his position filled.
—Daeho Tech, average entry price 22,800 won. Short position of 5 billion fully established.
"Nice work."
On the left side of the screen, Yang Miyoung gave Guhyeon's shoulder a reassuring pat. Meanwhile, Daeho Tech had begun to fall. Siyoon watched the order book and spoke.
"It'll sail right past a 5% gain."
A wall of sell orders had formed overhead.
With so much volume trapped at the peak, a rebound didn't look likely.
—All that's left now is for it to drop.
Guhyeon said, eyes fixed on the chart.
Ordinarily he would have been jumping around in excitement, but his composure was visible to the naked eye.
"Good. Let's hand it over to Guhyeon from here."
—Thank you, sir.
Once the price dropped past 4%, Daeho Tech's decline gathered momentum.
As the price, cascading down like a waterfall, began to shudder violently, Guhyeon finally opened his tightly pressed lips.
—Dumping it all now.
His hands sped up.
Hammering at the keyboard, he began closing out the 5 billion won position. And at last—
—Average price 21,150 won. Full position liquidated. Return of 7.81%, profit of 390 million won.
Even after delivering his trade report, his expression remained calm.
Is that really Guhyeon?
It was like looking at a different person.
Siyoon nodded in satisfaction and asked, "How does it feel? Like you've been reborn?"
He looked into the camera with a smile on his face.
—Like I could fly.
Only then did Yang Miyoung and Ahn Hyeoksu, who had been watching Guhyeon's trading in tense silence, finally let out their cheers.
—You did it, Guhyeon! You killed it!
***
Over lunch with the warehouse staff, Choi Tae-wook asked, "Director, has that worry of yours cleared up a bit?"
"Worry?"
"You were saying something this morning."
"Ah..."
The one he'd been worried about — Guhyeon — had turned a profit today.
Close to 400 million won in earnings, no less. The SST staff's goal was to generate profits on their own, and with this, they could be said to have cleared the first stage.
Handing them trading authority right away still felt risky, but it wouldn't be long before they were all executing trades on their own, without Siyoon looking over their shoulders.
As they were finishing up, Tae-wook spoke up carefully.
"By the way, Director... I think I'll have to quit soon. To get ready for my readmission."
"Is that so?"
"I've got about a month, but as a returning student there's a lot to sort out before I can settle back in. Course registration rules have changed a lot, apparently."
"Right. Best to get everything done early. I'll let the General Affairs team know."
"Thank you, sir."
Even walking out of the cafeteria, Siyoon couldn't shake the sense of loss.
Tae-wook had been the very first employee he'd worked with after being transferred to the warehouse. When they first met, the kid had looked at him as if he were the Grim Reaper, but as time passed, they had grown close.
Tae-wook had been a teacher to him, too. How to talk to people, how to share a meal, how to work alongside others — he had learned all of it from him.
Walking back toward the office, Siyoon asked, "School's going to cost a fortune in living expenses. Have you saved anything up?"
"Ah... I'll have to work part-time while I'm in school. Nights at a convenience store, maybe."
"You'll do fine after graduation, Tae-wook. You said you wanted to join Hansan Securities someday, right?"
"Yes. It won't be easy, but I want to try."
At those words, Siyoon stopped in his tracks.
"Why?"
"In my opinion, you can absolutely pass. You don't invest just to make money the way some people do — you look at a company's actual value."
"Haha. Come on, are there really traders like that at Hansan Securities? Ones who invest for anything but profit?"
For some reason, that stung a little.
"Anyway. When you graduate and apply, tell me."
"Ohh~ so the Director's going to put in a good word for me?"
It was still a long way off — no telling what would happen.
But if things kept going the way they were, wouldn't he have that kind of pull by then?
"We'll see when the time comes."
"Awesome! I'm counting on you, Director!"
And with that, he headed back to the office with the warehouse staff.
***
A weekend afternoon.
Siyoon was sitting lazily on his terrace reading a book when someone shouted from far below.
"Kang Siyoon—!"
He stuck his head out and looked down at the first floor.
Far below stood Bang Yo-han.
And next to him was Koo Hye-young.
"Kang Siyoon—! Let's go play—!"
They were supposed to leave for the Gangwon-do resort together today.
So why on earth was he doing that?
Siyoon picked up his phone and called him. "If you're a civilized human being, use your phone. What are you screaming into the sky like an idiot for?"
—Haha! So you were on the terrace. I took a shot in the dark. Come down, quick!
Bang Yo-han and Koo Hye-young were waving their arms from far below.
When he made it down, the Tesla was already waiting. As Siyoon came into view, Koo Hye-young asked, "Huh? Is Jeombak-i coming too?"
Jeombak-i dangled in Siyoon's hand.
"It's his first overnight stay, so I have no choice. If I'm even a little late coming home in the evening, this thing lays into me nonstop."
"That's... a robot dog, isn't it? A robot gives you grief?"
Grrrrrr.
At her words, Jeombak-i bared its teeth.
"It'll quiet down if I switch it to power-save mode. It won't be any trouble, so don't worry."
"O-okay."
And so their one-night, two-day trip began.
The destination: Hanyoung Resort.
A sprawling resort where they could enjoy a hotel stay along with leisure and relaxation.
While Yo-han drove, Siyoon asked, "Did I really have to be squeezed into this?"
"Hey, anyone watching would think we dragged you here by force."
"You did drag me by force. When have you ever seen me travel?"
"Which is exactly why you need to start. Come on, travel a little, meet a girl — can't you just live like a normal person?"
"Doesn't sound easy."
"That part, I'll grant you."
He hadn't taken a single trip since high school. He'd skipped the school excursion back then, and the membership retreats in university, too.
People themselves made him uncomfortable — a place crawling with strangers was never going to be Siyoon's idea of a good time.
"Anyway, this is the last time. I'm never traveling again."
"Fine, fine. Got it!"
And so they arrived at Hanyoung Resort.
Stepping into the hotel lobby, Bang Yo-han walked up to the front desk.
"Hi, I have a reservation under Bang Yo-han."
"Of course. Let me check that for you."
A neatly groomed receptionist with her hair pulled back checked her monitor. Then her expression turned strange.
"You said the reservation was under Bang Yo-han?"
"Yes."
"I'm very sorry, but you're not on the reservation list. Could you perhaps have booked it under a different name?"
"No. I booked it three days ago, and I completed the payment and everything."
"One moment, please. Let me check again."
After staring at the monitor for a long while, the employee looked flustered.
"I've just confirmed it, and the reservation request does exist. But it was never finalized."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"It's still showing as pending payment."
"Oh, no..."
Yo-han hastily pulled out his phone. Once he'd checked it, he seemed to realize his mistake, and his face crumpled.
"Ah...! My card authorization failed. I'm so sorry — could we possibly check in to any vacant room right now?"
"I'm truly sorry, sir, but Hanyoung Resort operates strictly on a full-reservation basis."
"Hah... We came all the way from Seoul. Four hours on the road..."
"I understand your situation, but there's really nothing I can do. I'm sorry, but there's a line behind you..."
Three or four people had already queued up behind Yo-han.
He stepped aside with no other choice, wearing the face of a convicted criminal.
"I'm sorry, Siyoon. Hye-young, I'm sorry. I should've double-checked."
"It is what it is. We'll just have to find some cheap inn nearby."
Just as Siyoon was about to turn away, someone came hurrying over with a bright smile.
"Director Kang!"
"...?"
It was a man in his thirties. His wife was holding a child in her arms.
"I'm Kim Jihun, Assistant Manager from the General Affairs team."
"Ah..."
Now that he thought about it, he did remember seeing his face back when he'd visited the General Affairs team.
"Out for the weekend, I take it?"
"Yes, well..."
"Then why are you leaving? I noticed earlier — were you having trouble checking in?"
"My friend here botched the reservation. Nothing to be done."
"Really? Even so, Hanyoung Resort has a partnership with our company, so something can surely be worked out... One moment, please."
With that, he made a call to somewhere. After a lengthy conversation, he turned back with a bright face.
"I've spoken with my team leader, so you'll be hearing from them shortly."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Don't worry about a thing. Just wait a moment."
Siyoon appreciated the thoughtfulness, but having someone go this far on his behalf was honestly rather embarrassing.
Five minutes passed like that.
Then someone came scrambling at a run from the hotel entrance.
What's going on?
The man stopped at the front desk. After a brief exchange with the receptionist, the middle-aged man came straight over to Siyoon.
"Director Kang Siyoon?"
"Yes... that's me."
"I'm Lee Juncheol, General Manager of Hanyoung Resort. Please forgive the trouble we've caused — this was our staff's mistake. We'll escort you to our finest suite right away."
For some reason, the man was breaking out in a cold sweat.