Chapter 39
Chapter 39
When I imagined closing the short position, I could smell a pleasant fragrance.
A floral scent of roses. But unlike the first time I smelled it, I could sense another fragrance mixed in. A cool and refreshing herbal scent. It was the same scent I had smelled during the GameHub incident.
During the GameHub crisis, retail investors united as one and crushed several vicious hedge funds from Wall Street that had long preyed on small investors. They drove them into complete bankruptcy, and several CEOs were arrested.
It was a refreshing and satisfying victory for the retail investors.
The fact that I smelled that same scent at Youngmi Pharmaceuticals probably meant that something equally satisfying would happen here as well.
What could it be?
Was it referring to the arrest of the owner’s son who tried to profit using undisclosed information?
No.
With a scent this strong, it didn’t feel like things would end with the arrest of the owner’s son, who wasn’t even the actual owner, and not even imprisoned yet.
It felt like something far more satisfying would happen.
But this was only my personal deduction.
Unlike the scent that clearly indicated profits for me, this part was uncertain.
Still, although I could smell the scent, it wasn’t vivid yet.
The scent also told me the point where I could make the maximum profit.
When I imagined a certain price, there would be a moment when the scent became crystal clear and transparent.
That price was the exact point where the greatest profit could be realized. That was when I should close the position.
The fact that the scent was not clear yet meant Youngmi Pharmaceuticals would fall further.
“One of the leading pharmaceutical stocks is going to fall this much?”
I checked the chart and indicators of Youngmi Pharmaceuticals again.
Just as the scent had suggested, the chart showed far more signs of decline than of recovery.
It was a good thing I checked before closing the position.
It was something I should have done from the beginning, but after making so much money lately, I had become naive.
I should reflect on myself.
I had been ready to settle for an easy profit.
After making too much money recently, it seemed my hunger had faded.
It felt like the scent was warning me not to settle for mediocre gains, and that if I was going to take profit, I should squeeze every last bit out of it.
And I needed to stay alert.
When I stopped using this ability as a child, it had disappeared.
I must never repeat that foolish mistake.
An ability becomes stronger the more it is used.
I should use it as much as possible.
Only then would it evolve.
“Team Leader?”
Deputy Manager Choi Choongsik’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Yes?”
“That position…”
“Oh, the position?”
I should stop worrying about whether it was too much profit.
The scent was telling me clearly.
Of course I should take advantage of it.
Let’s be greedy.
“We’re holding. The selling pressure hasn’t weakened, so it looks like it can go further.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
None of the team members questioned it.
Part of me felt uneasy about that, but another part understood them.
From their perspective, it was the most rational choice.
Each prop trader had to make profits personally.
And in this task force team, I currently had the highest investment success rate.
For them, following my lead was simply the most rational decision.
Still, it would be nice if they acted a bit more independently.
But unless the risk became excessive, it wasn’t my place to interfere.
Youngmi Pharmaceuticals closed at minus three percent.
The next day.
Youngmi Pharmaceuticals rebounded immediately at the opening as strong buying pressure flowed in.
A technical rebound.
It rose five percent in an instant.
Then the buying pressure increased further, expanding the rise.
Did I make a mistake not selling yesterday?
“Hm…”
No.
Even though I felt uneasy, one thing was certain.
The scent was never wrong.
While watching the stock, the remaining buy orders suddenly dropped sharply.
At the same time, sell orders slowly began increasing.
“This is a turning point… it’s going down.”
I could tell thanks to the chart studies I had been doing, and the lessons from the best trader, Deputy Manager Choi Choongsik, and Yuri noona.
Thanks to such good mentors, I had improved much faster than others.
A moment later, exactly as I predicted, Youngmi Pharmaceuticals turned downward.
“As expected.”
It felt good that my guess was correct.
The scent was important, but skill was also necessary.
The scent only told me where profits existed.
The details were something I had to discover myself.
As the decline continued, additional selling joined the momentum and the drop deepened.
It passed five percent.
Then seven percent.
The decline slowed briefly.
But this wasn’t a recovery.
It was bait.
A small rebound to lure retail investors into buying.
Through that, large players like institutions and foreign investors could exit their positions.
Just as expected, it fell again.
Today was going well.
Then suddenly the decline accelerated sharply.
This kind of sudden movement wasn’t a battle between buyers and sellers.
It meant there was an external factor.
A major piece of bad news.
Within ten minutes, Youngmi Pharmaceuticals crashed to the lower limit.
“Yes!”
The wait had been worth it.
But why did it fall?
Right now, that wasn’t important.
Youngmi Pharmaceuticals current price 275,000 won.
It had fallen to about half of my short selling price.
Now that it had reached the lower limit, I should check if this was the optimal closing point.
I imagined closing the position.
Along with the pleasant rose scent, the refreshing herbal scent became perfectly clear.
Now!
The ideal closing point.
I stood up and spoke to the prop traders.
“Everyone, let’s close the Youngmi Pharmaceuticals short positions.”
“Yes.”
The prop traders answered in unison.
At the same moment, their hands moved in perfect coordination.
Like soldiers trained in the military.
Honestly, it shouldn’t be like this.
But for now it couldn’t be helped.
In fact, this might even be more efficient.
Our team traders were extremely skilled.
If I suggested the position and they executed it, it was far more efficient than me trading directly.
They became my hands.
I became the brain.
The performance bonuses would also be larger this way.
Because working with me, who could use the scent, meant the investment could hardly fail.
Still, I should think about it more.
For prop traders, becoming someone’s hands rather than their own decision maker could affect their pride.
“Team Leader, position closed.”
“I’m finished as well.”
“Same here.”
All positions were closed.
I checked the profit.
Youngmi Pharmaceuticals current price 275,000 won
Short selling price 725,000 won
Profit per share 450,000 won
Shorted shares 26,000
The total profit was 11.7 billion won.
A profit made from investing twenty billion.
It wasn’t dozens of times the profit like the startup investment earlier.
But that had been an exceptional case where I exited quickly due to luck.
A fifty eight percent return from stock trading was more than satisfactory.
I looked at the team members’ profits.
My eyes widened.
As expected from the best traders at Mirae Securities.
While I had earned around fifty eight percent, they had made profits between fifty and seventy percent.
They were skilled at short term chart trading.
Seeing that strengthened my belief that actively using them was the most rational approach.
“Everyone’s returns are very high.”
“That’s thanks to you, Team Leader.”
“No. I only suggested the direction. You all made the profits with your own abilities. Great job.”
“Thank you.”
“But why did the stock suddenly drop to the lower limit?”
“They say the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office has launched a large scale raid on Youngmi Pharmaceuticals. Beyond Director Jin Taehyun, they are now investigating Chairman Jin Youngho for slush funds.”
“Really? It’s not just a show?”
“Probably not. The case is handled by that crazy prosecutor from the Southern District Prosecutors’ Office. Even the higher ups can’t control him.”
Good.
I hoped that crazy prosecutor would teach them a proper lesson.
“They might even go to prison.”
“Very likely. He’s a prosecutor who doesn’t hesitate to use any method to catch criminals. His motto is that sacrificing an innocent citizen to catch ten criminals is unacceptable… but if it’s unavoidable… well, anyway, he’s an interesting guy. He said he’d give them at least ten years.”
Something felt strange.
“How do you know him so well?”
“He’s my friend. We met yesterday. He said they were able to arrest the manipulation group and Director Jin Taehyun thanks to a righteous person using a Mirae Securities account.”
“A righteous person?”
“Yes. He said he couldn’t reveal the details, but there was someone who made a decisive contribution to the arrest.”
A righteous person?
Someone fighting stock manipulators in times like these.
Whoever it was, they were doing something important for justice in Yeouido.
Just then, a breaking news banner slowly scrolled across the screen under the economic news broadcast.
Chairman Jin Youngho of Youngmi Pharmaceuticals arrested for slush fund creation, stock manipulation, and violations of foreign exchange law. Chief secretary and finance director arrested as accomplices.
That felt refreshing.
The owner of Youngmi Pharmaceuticals, who had abused disclosures to gain unfair profits, had finally been arrested.
I hoped they tore the whole place apart during the investigation.
The refreshing herbal scent must have been hinting at this kind of satisfying outcome.
Just like the retail investors who crushed the hedge funds, the crazy prosecutor would destroy the chairman.
Well, he was already arrested, so the destruction had already begun.
“If no one is busy today, how about a team dinner?”
“Yes. I’ll reserve a pork belly restaurant.”
The youngest trader, Lee Dongsu, said.
“No. On a day when we succeed this much, we should eat something expensive.”
“Then beef.”
“No. Let’s go to a hotel buffet today. The Renaissance Buffet. I’ll make the reservation.”
“The Renaissance Hotel buffet? That place…”
His reaction was understandable.
It was one of the best hotel buffets in Korea.
Three hundred fifty thousand won per person.
“Did something good happen?”
Yuri noona came out of her office and asked.
“Our team is planning a dinner today.”
“Really? Then I’ll give you the company card. Pay with this.”
“What? Director… that…”
Deputy Manager Choi looked embarrassed.
“It’s fine. You can take it. Eat as much as you want today.”
I accepted the card and placed it in my wallet.
Then I smiled.
“Thank you, Director.”
“No need to thank me. You can eat so much that I regret giving it to you.”
“We’ve already reserved the Renaissance buffet. Would you like to join us?”
The moment she heard that, her eyes began shaking left and right.
I understood her reaction.
Three hundred fifty thousand per person.
With more than ten people on our team, that was at least 3.5 million won.
And with alcohol…
Her big eyes wandered in confusion.
Her face was turning pale at the thought of the expense.
Why did that expression look so cute?
I was going crazy.
I took out my phone and sent her a message.
“Come with us, noona.”
I woke up early in the morning and ran to the office.
A hangover run.
It was much harder than sweating in a sauna, but it was healthier.
Still, I would never do it again.
I almost threw up on the way.
Yesterday we started at the hotel buffet, then drank wine and beer, and finally soju at a street stall.
When I entered the office, the team members who had arrived greeted me.
“Good morning, Team Leader.”
“Morning.”
Judging by their faces, they hadn’t fully recovered from the alcohol yet.
They hadn’t just drunk.
They had poured it down their throats.
These days people didn’t even drink much anymore.
But our team was unusual.
Noona probably hadn’t arrived yet.
She had drunk the most yesterday and still hadn’t gotten drunk.
The team members were speechless watching her.
“Good morning.”
She stepped out of her office and greeted me.
“Good morning.”
She was already at work.
And there wasn’t even a hint of fatigue on her face.
How strong was her liver?
It was amazing.
I sat down and checked reports and market trends.
Nothing particularly important stood out.
Then I checked my current positions.
GayaZen short position worth ten billion.
Samhyun Electronics options and ELW worth ten billion.
GayaZen had risen two percent, meaning I was down two percent.
With fees and interest it was slightly worse, but that didn’t matter.
This level of loss was insignificant.
The real issue was the ten billion invested in Samhyun Electronics options and ELW.
If the stock price didn’t fall below the strike price within the limited time, it could result in a major loss.
But I wasn’t worried.
I had smelled a strong scent from the Samhyun Electronics options and ELW.
Profit was certain.
Next was the five percent stake of Goguryeo Zinc hidden inside Beomhan Resources.
“Yeongpo or Goguryeo Zinc will probably try to buy it.”
Last time when I imagined selling to Yeongpo, I smelled a heavy woody scent.
It was the first time I had smelled a woody fragrance, so I didn’t know its meaning.
But when I imagined selling to Goguryeo Zinc, I smelled lily and chrysanthemum.
The same scent I had smelled at Edison SB.
So it was certain that selling to either side would bring profit.
But I still didn’t know which side would produce the larger gain.
However, neither side had contacted us.
Goguryeo Zinc had made an offer before, but Yeongpo had never approached us.
They should know we held the shares.
I was curious why.
But I couldn’t exactly go to them and ask why they weren’t coming.
In situations like this, waiting was the only answer.
“Team Leader.”
Deputy Manager Choi came to my desk.
“Yes?”
“The movement of Goguryeo Zinc’s stock price is unusual. It looks like someone is secretly accumulating shares.”
“…Yeongpo or Goguryeo Zinc?”
“Probably.”
“Then we can’t just sit still. We need to start buying as well.”
“Is there a reason?”
I explained to Deputy Manager Choi why we absolutely had to start buying.