Chapter 28
Chapter 28
eral suspicious areas.
Manager Choi and Team Leader Kim looked slightly surprised.
“You judged it’s a manipulated stock based on these points?”
“Yes. It seemed like unusual buy orders were artificially preventing downward pressure.”
“Wow, Deok-su, you’re like a ghost.”
“Right? Even you think so, Team Leader? You accurately pinpointed the points. How did you know this?”
“I’ve been studying charts in my spare time.”
“Ha, studying? This isn’t something you can study. You’re born with it. Impressive, really.”
“No, I just guessed.”
“Guessing is also skill.”
Hearing Manager Choi’s praise made me feel proud.
An alert sounded from his phone. Manager Choi checked it and said,
“It’s confirmed. Edison SB. It seems Na Jeong-eui, the younger sibling of Na Eui-ri, is running the manipulation. But Jeong-eui is probably just a front. He’s keeping a low profile due to the trial and using his brother as the face.”
A familiar name caught my ear.
“Na Eui-ri? The corporate raider and stock manipulator? The scammer who got acquitted yesterday?”
“Yes. You know him well.”
“I do. Deok-su, you know quite a lot. What’s the story?”
“Well… because of Na Eui-ri, I barely got to attend school, and I barely graduated. Just thinking about it…”
I told them about the damages my family and father suffered because of Na Eui-ri. Talking about it made my hands tremble with anger. After a deep breath, they comforted me.
What should I do?
The scent I had sensed when first considering buying Edison SB was a mix of lily and chrysanthemum. It promised profit, but the ominous feeling made me reluctant.
Then I imagined short selling instead. Suddenly, the scent changed to fresh roses.
It was a signal that entering was okay.
But the fact it was a manipulated stock bothered me.
If I didn’t enter?
It would definitely rise, and small investors would shed tears of blood. The lily-chrysanthemum scent could have been predicting their frustration, anger, and sorrow.
Then…
I didn’t hesitate.
By short selling, I would earn money without causing suffering to small investors. There was no reason not to enter.
Revenge against Na Eui-ri? No.
I was just entering with the mindset of earning money.
After the meeting, I checked Edison SB’s chart again.
The line showed a smooth upward curve.
I estimated how much to short.
One hundred billion? One hundred ten billion?
The scent was unclear.
Two hundred billion? Not yet.
Three hundred billion?
When I considered three hundred billion, the fresh rose scent became noticeably clear.
Three hundred billion? That’s huge…
But I wasn’t worried. I wouldn’t suffer a loss.
To short three hundred billion, I borrowed the shares through another securities broker and sold them immediately.
Soon after, a message arrived.
It was Team Leader Kim.
Kim Yuri: Edison SB. 300 billion. Short selling??
Kim Deok-su: Yes.
Kim Yuri: That volume will ruin the manipulator’s plan. If the manipulators succeed, you’d lose a lot. You chose carefully, right?
Kim Deok-su: Yes. Don’t worry.
Kim Yuri: You said it was a careful choice? I’m really worried.
Kim Deok-su: Trust me. No need to worry.
Kim Yuri: Those manipulators spent months pouring hundreds of billions. How can you not worry?
Kim Deok-su: Seriously.
Kim Yuri: Just kidding. You’re careful, so it’ll work. Deok-su, hit the jackpot.
Kim Deok-su: App.
After finishing the conversation, I got up and went to the restroom.
At the end of the corridor was a desk with someone sitting facing the wall.
It was the resignation pressure applied to employees being pushed out.
How long would he last? Usually not more than a week.
Who is it?
I approached out of curiosity.
It was Risk Management Manager Kim Yu-seong.
His presence there was clearly the chairman’s intention. A message saying “resign.”
I wondered how long he would endure.
A sigh came from behind. Team Leader Kim shook her head.
A few days ago, Kim Yu-seong had been Risk Management Manager but was now pushed to the corridor.
The desk was a message from the company, or rather his father: resign.
“I have to endure this.”
Kim Yu-seong took a deep breath to control his anger.
For someone who always lived as he pleased, patience was hard. But running away now would mean a real fall.
When he had tens of billions in his account, he could resist his father. Now, with less than ten million, a penniless second-generation chaebol was just another poor person.
Though employees’ eyes made him feel shame, enduring here and being forgiven would be easier than leaving and later asking to return.
Kim Yu-seong ran hope circuits in his mind.
Staring blankly at the wall, his eyelids drooped.
He couldn’t sleep… but his head slowly fell onto the desk.
Kim Yuri approached her brother lying on the desk.
He was sprawled asleep.
“Ha, seriously…”
She wanted to smack the back of his head but restrained herself.
Earlier it had been a sigh of worry, now it was just irritation.
Seeing her brother asleep in this situation made her speechless.
Deok-su’s words came to mind. The chairman wanted the Risk Management Manager in their team. How should they handle it?
She couldn’t answer. If left alone, her older brother would take advantage. If placed beside her, he’d require too much care.
She decided to think about it.
But seeing him like that, there was no need. She should have just cut it off.
“Brother!”
Kim Yu-seong flinched and sat up.
“Oh, Yuri.”
Seeing him wipe his mouth with his arm, she felt her patience snap.
“What are you doing?”
“Uh… nothing to do.”
“No matter what, you…”
“Anything?”
The thought of his past and Deok-su’s short selling clicked.
“Brother, do you still use stock communities?”
“Hmm? Sometimes.”
It was hard to believe, but he had an uncanny ability to detect others’ weaknesses. This made him excellent at analyzing companies.
He had made a name for himself in stock communities with his critical analysis.
Of course, he was blind to his own flaws.
Kim Yuri said to him,
“Brother, bored?”
“Why?”
“Want to do something fun?”
She told him what would be fun to do. His eyes sparkled like a predator spotting prey.
Three days after the short sale, the rising stock turned downward.
Three hundred billion worth of shorted shares had dampened investor sentiment.
This is why short selling limits stock rises.
Small investors who had been debating now started selling.
The downward trend continued for several days.
Then sudden large buy orders appeared: three securities firms, one billion each, totaling three billion.
A strong, unusual buying power appeared. I sensed it was a manipulator.
I observed.
Next came a five-billion order. The stock rebounded from decline to rise.
Then a fifteen-billion order.
I smirked.
“Got it!”
The manipulator’s money was filling the void left by small investors.
Should I strike again?
Considering how much to short, I smelled a clean, fresh scent at two hundred billion.
I shorted another two hundred billion.
Total shorted: five hundred billion. Still enough capital.
Two days later, the Edison SB stock community was tense.
People speculated someone had a reason for shorting such a huge amount, but no one knew why, which fueled anxiety.
Stock community forums are mostly filled with shareholders hoping for stock rises. Their desire made them irrationally optimistic.
But some were different. They spoke negatively amidst the optimism.
Among them, user UCastleGenius was excellent. He pointed out Edison SB’s insolvency with precise analysis.
People threatened him with lawsuits for spreading false information, but he remained firm.
Daily, he posted one new evidence of corporate flaws, cooling the overheated atmosphere.
Initially ignored, but those who knew his name began commenting.
“Where he passes, no grass grows.”
A user more terrifying than ghosts in uncovering corporate flaws.
After his posts, sentiment shifted from buying to selling.
Individual selling pressure mounted, and the stock hovered.
Manipulators tried to buy to push the price up but failed against the selling pressure and shorted volume.
Articles questioning Edison SB’s credibility further fueled the decline.
Based on my calculations, over one hundred billion was already spent in a few days. For a mid-sized company like Edison SB, manipulating the stock requires 200-300 billion on average.
The manipulators had likely spent 150-200 billion already.
“Is it over? Or one more round?”
Judging by the atmosphere, no more buying seemed likely.
Timing is key in manipulation. My intervention turned the rising stock downward.
To regain attention, they’d need three months.
I planned to exit. When their holdings hit the market, the stock would fall further.
From the day I shorted, I expected a 50 percent drop. My profit: 50 percent.
Na Eui-ri’s loss?
I didn’t care.
This wasn’t revenge.
It was pure capitalism: earn money and prevent innocent investors from suffering.
Feeling this, I considered watching Tazza again over the weekend.
While leisurely observing charts, massive buy orders arrived from four securities firms: five billion, ten billion, ten billion, twenty-five billion. Total fifty billion.
The stock, previously declining, reversed upward.
“Look at this.”
If they wanted hell, I’d give it.
Imagining another short sale of one hundred billion, the fresh scent appeared clearly.
I shorted one hundred billion.
The rising trend paused due to increased shorted volume.
Suddenly, the stock dropped sharply.
Limit down reached.
“Why is this happening? It shouldn’t be like this.”
The stock movement was completely unexpected.