Cheonmun (4): Closure
"Buy on fear, sell on greed."
Anyone who's ever been interested in stocks has heard that saying at least once.
When the market plunges into chaos and everyone's screaming that we're all jumping off the bridge together, the people who find the bottom and jump in have a much higher chance of making money.
And that rule applied here without exception.
Not that I was the one benefiting from it, though.
"Ha... fuck."
Kim Min-su, who'd been investing his military severance pay since getting discharged, stares at his securities account — a sea of deep blue.
"Seriously, why the hell would a company chairman run away?!"
This wasn't some small-to-medium business. The chairman and his family of a company big enough to be considered a major corporation didn't just pull a midnight flit — they tried to flee by boat, and now they're out of contact. Hearing that news had him on the verge of losing his mind.
The precious 20 million won he'd scraped together over eighteen months of hardship had taken a -40% hit in an instant, dwindling down to 12 million.
"Everyone around me was making money, so I studied hard and went for it..."
Originally, he'd had zero interest in stocks. But after seeing everyone around him obsess over them, he'd studied hard and invested in Cheonmun Group — the one the securities firms had such bright earnings projections for.
If it were a small amount, he could've just cut his losses and moved on. But this was the first time in his life he'd invested a big sum — 20 million won — and seeing nearly half of it evaporate meant he couldn't even sleep.
With his mental state completely shattered, he'd even deleted his stock trading app to try and forget about it. But then, news that could save him reached his ears.
He couldn't just hole up at home forever, so he'd been working a part-time convenience store job, trying to forget about stocks. That's when a news alert about a familiar company popped up as a recommendation on his phone.
"...Huh?"
Chewing on a discarded triangle kimbap he'd grabbed because he was hungry, he reads the article — and his heart starts pounding faster and faster.
He'd never been interested in stocks before, so he has no idea who Han Jeong-woo is. But Black Ridge Capital — even he's heard that name.
He used to be an open user of Neo Gate's Lumina Arcana back in the day, so he remembers hearing about Neo Gate getting acquired. The reason he'd even decided to start investing was because of friends who'd made a killing on Neo Gate stock.
He'd sworn he wouldn't reinstall the stock app until the stock price went back up — but he frantically downloads it anyway and checks his account.
The last time he'd checked, it was definitely down 40%. Now, the account has recovered to just -10% in no time.
"SHIIIIIIIT. FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!"
'...Is this guy insane?'
I'm meeting a friend near the university for a meal after a long time, and I stop by a convenience store to grab a drink — when the part-timer suddenly screams.
[I have no idea either. Why's he doing that?]
Even Athena sounds confused. I glanced at him when I walked in, and he didn't seem like a bad guy.
"You Cheonmun bastards... I TRUSTED you!!!"
He's losing his mind, giggling and carrying on like a crazy person. I thought something was wrong with him, but I guess he's just someone who got caught holding stock. These days, I don't really get any thrill from making money — I need to see people's varied emotional reactions to feel good.
'Hmm... I guess in a way, that's thanks to us?'
[It probably would've gone up anyway even if we hadn't touched it. This quarter's earnings came out well.]
'Still, we're the reason the stock's going to the moon, right? Cheers~'
The stock was going to rise anyway. We just eliminated the owner risk and made sure it shot to the stratosphere. Win-win, if you ask me.
Of course, to the people who saw the limit-down and cut their losses — my sincere condolences.
I ring up my purchase with the part-timer, who's getting a dopamine overdose from the fluctuating stock price, and head back to my car.
"Ah. How long till I get home?"
I got unlucky and hit rush hour. Now I've got about an hour to go.
[Let me handle the driving. And there's something I need to report — should I do it now?]
"What is it? Did something else blow up?"
There've been so many incidents and accidents over the past few days that just hearing the word "report" makes me a bit nervous.
[No. It's closer to good news. What do you think about merging the foundation we're currently preparing to establish with the existing Hope Children's Foundation that runs the orphanages?]
"I don't care either way. Go ahead unless the foundation objects."
Managing them separately would be more of a hassle than just combining them into one.
[The foundation chairman already agreed. The proposal came from their side.]
"Really? Then no problem."
A lot of people probably didn't believe Han Jeong-woo's announcement.
Plenty of them said they'd just stall for time, wait for public opinion to recover, and then quietly bury the whole thing or scale it down until it disappeared.
And that opinion — it irritated me a little.
"...Kinda pisses me off."
I see community posts sneering that they'll just cover it all up once the stock price recovers. Well, since I've already decided to merge the foundations, I'll just go ahead and start right now.
"The scale was 200 billion, right?"
[Yes. Exactly 200 billion won.]
"Bump it up to 500 billion. And expand the scope of support."
[Really?]
"Yeah. What's the harm? It improves the group's image, and we get to do some good on the side."
I'll expand the support scope wide open and make it so definitive that no one can talk shit about it.
[Got it. I'll push it through right away.]
Not long after Athena says she'll push it forward, news starts breaking.
The communities and social media that had been mocking, along with a few media outlets that had been skeptical — they all went dead silent after the article came out.
[What should the exact scope of support be?]
"Doesn't matter. Independence fighters, war veterans, whatever. There are plenty of people the government should be taking care of but just ignores or half-asses it. Even if it's not that, there are endless places that need funding — they just don't get attention normally."
I remember someone saying it's not that the country doesn't have money to help those people — it's that there are too many thieves siphoning it off in the middle.
[Understood. I'll review the options and execute.]
In the isolation center, battered and torn from all kinds of torture disguised as experiments, Oh Seong-moon leans against the wall. A robot wheels a TV on a cart over to him.
"...What now. What are you going to do to me now?!"
After being tormented in every creative way imaginable, it feels like months have passed for Oh Seong-moon. When the robot suddenly approaches, he can't help but scream from the anxiety.
> I thought long and hard about what would cause you, Chairman, the most pain to see. And I think this is the best choice.
He can't see a face, but the voice of that crazy woman who's practically controlling these robots and tormenting them makes his body cringe instinctively.
The TV screen turns on, and a recorded 9 o'clock news broadcast starts playing.
Oh Seong-moon's pupils dilate as if they're about to split open upon seeing the news.
The Cayman Islands. The Virgin Islands. Panama. A slush fund accumulated over decades through hundreds of shell companies, enduring enormous losses — and that blood money had suddenly fallen into the hands of some random bastard.
"No... NO! That's MY money. That's my BLOOD money!"
His feet are chained, so he can't even move freely. But he's so enraged that he grunts and tries to punch the TV screen.
He'd been struggling at first, but he seemed to have adapted somewhat and was holding up okay. Seeing how hard that single piece of news — that his slush fund had been recovered — hits him is... kind of fascinating.
"What a weird guy."
I'm watching through the feed Athena's sharing with me, but I can't understand Oh Seong-moon's behavior at all.
Click —
The camera feed that was coming in clearly disappears from in front of me.
"Hey. Athena?"
[You should only see the good things, Master. There's nothing worth seeing anymore.]
"I'm not a kid either..."
Still, it feels nice that she's doing it out of concern for me.
[The foundation merger process is almost complete. Starting tomorrow, we'll be finding people in need and beginning operations.]
"Nice. No one's going to bitch about it now, right?"
[Well... there are people saying that if we can afford 500 billion, we should donate another 500 billion. So there's no point in listening anymore.]
"That's ridiculous. They've never donated ten won in their entire lives, but they're telling other people what to do with their money?"
I plan to keep donating consistently — both to save on taxes when Neo Gate and Cheonmun's earnings are good — but I'm not planning to just dump money mindlessly like this time again. The system Athena manages ensures the money won't go to weird places, but increasing the donation amount here would be hard to get a better reaction anyway.
"Athena, is there a flower shop nearby?"
[There's one about five minutes away. Why?]
"I'm going to see my dad and mom after a long time. Just finished wrapping up all the important stuff — seems like the perfect time."
I've come to my parents' grave after a long time.
Before coming, I thought I'd have a lot to say when I got here. But now that I'm actually here, the words won't come.
"...It's been a while. Last time was right after I got discharged from the military, so that's about six months ago."
I set out the food they used to like, some alcohol, and flowers, and just ramble on. Before I know it, the sun is setting.
"I'm sorry I found out so late. It took your worthless son nearly ten years to even know what happened."
Knowing my parents' personalities, they might not approve of the revenge I took. But as their child — as the one left behind — I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had to do it.
"If there's any chance you two run into those bastards up there... well, that'd be awkward. So I'm going to make sure they can't die for the rest of their lives. That's okay, right?"
I bow, pour out the remaining liquor from the bottle, and get back in the car.
"Are you alright, boss?"
Jacob, seeing me get into the car, asks with a worried tone.
"Ah, I'm fine. It's been almost ten years since they passed. They'll see how I'm living and won't worry."
Stopping by my parents' grave — only now does it feel like my revenge is truly over.
"Let's get back to normal life, shall we? Everyone's worked way too hard these past few days."
As if the heavens heard my words, the hazy clouds part and a bright sun shines down.