A Bold Comeback

Friday, November 4th.

Ever since I'd cleaned up my stock positions, I'd been itching for this day to arrive. The reason was simple. Starting today, Pangea TV's stock price was going to surge for a while — roughly thirty percent or more, as far as I knew.

Why? No idea. But that was just how the Korean stock market worked, wasn't it? Good news hits and the price drops — already priced in. Bad news hits and it climbs — the big players finished accumulating and are making their move. You could slap any reason you wanted onto it after the fact. In a playground built for massive institutional forces, the destiny of a retail ant was every man for himself.

At first I'd been a little wary. The Wooga-dol Audition exit had only been a few days ago, and with the recent unpleasantness still fresh, running a stock-trading stream might come off as tone-deaf — or worse, make me look like I was rubbing salt in the wound. But my aggressive damage control seemed to have worked better than expected. Public opinion was holding up fine, and more than anything, a thirty-percent-plus return was just too good to walk away from. Not a single-day spike, either — a multi-day climb of that magnitude meant the real return rate was north of a daily limit-up.

So I went for it. I put up the notice yesterday and fired up the stream first thing this morning. Viewers drawn in by the title's pure bait energy started flooding into the seats.

I'd slipped a subtle hint into the notice, and the timing of today's stream was so loaded with meaning that viewers who didn't get it were the rare ones.

"Seo-ha, Seo-ha! Your idol— well, that didn't work out, but the title of your stock teacher is still firmly in place! Seo-a has arrived! Let's dig into some sweet picks together today."

The chat was still firing on all cylinders, but the drop in viewer count was unmistakable. Around eight hundred? It was only going to keep shrinking from here. With the Wooga-dol Audition exit, the casual floaters would gradually stop showing up. The important thing was not to get discouraged by that — keep a solid mental game and steadily grow a core fanbase.

Still so much to do. Grow the regulars, make money, and on top of that, prepare to build a crew…

In two days the Wooga-dol Audition would wrap up and Freeca, the virtual idol crew, would officially launch. If I wanted to move in step with that, I needed to be hustling every minute of every hour.

Above all, I have to keep the buzz going. Even a streamer riding high can be forgotten in a heartbeat in this industry.

In that sense, today's stream was going to generate serious viral heat across the communities. And the higher my returns climbed, the more the conversation would keep feeding itself.

"Everyone. There's something I've recently come to understand. This is genuinely important intel, so don't go leaking it anywhere — keep it just between us."

Tsk tsk. Still so many nonbelievers short on faith. One day they'd see my returns and beat the ground in regret.

"Alright, everyone — can you see this stock?"

I moved the mouse and pointed at a ticker every single viewer knew by heart. Pangea TV — the same one that had been free-falling ever since I'd taken my profits. It was already down more than fifteen percent.

I think it hit about minus five percent today too? It's been almost two years since I read that post, so the details are a little fuzzy.

A two- or three-percent margin of error was possible, but the subsequent climb was a certainty. Don't flinch. I started pitching the viewers with full confidence — come on, let's all become Pangea TV shareholders together.

The viewers weren't buying a word of it — just snorting with laughter. I launched into the logic I'd prepared in advance for the stream angle.

"Everyone, Pangea TV is going to moon again. Want to know why? I'll give you a hint. What's happening in exactly two days?"

"Exactly. That's it! Sunday is the day the Wooga-dol Audition ends."

"Come on! You people have zero instincts. That's the day a virtual idol crew gets formed. Backed by official Pangea TV sponsorship, with Ssa-yo as the representative! It's guaranteed to succeed, so of course Pangea TV's stock moons with it."

"Ahem. Well, the direction just wasn't right for me — nothing I could do about it. Even a plum government post is useless if the person doesn't want it. Anyway, I believe in Ssa-yo and the new virtual idol crew that's about to form, so I'm placing a firm bet."

A line that served the stream angle and raked in the bait in equal measure. Everything I said today would get tangled up with the finalist group and stay in the conversation for a good while — for the entire stretch of Pangea TV's stock climb. The big picture for keeping the buzz alive.

While I was sparring with the chat, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the market opened.

"I'll be buying near market close today. The finalists haven't been announced yet, after all. Once the results drop on Sunday, the impact should hit starting Monday. So today's strategy is end-of-day buy! How's that for a plan?"

There was still a long stretch until market close. I settled into a proper hangout session with the viewers for the first time in a while, casually tossing out bait between conversations.

"I'm still a streaming rookie, so I've never done the crew life — I'm curious what the pros and cons are."

Crew bait, with Miho and Lucy in mind.

"Apparently Bang-sel is huge among virtual streamers these days. Maybe I should try it once?"

Bang-sel bait, designed to trigger the viewers' collector instincts.

"Hinggugu. Concert prep has completely wiped Seo-a out. I need healing and rest. You guys understand, right?"

"…"

The break bait was a total failure. Ahem. The regulars were in a particularly foul mood today.

Meanwhile, Pangea TV's stock for the day was sitting at minus six percent. Wait — was this for real?

I thought it was around minus five. Don't tell me my memory's wrong?

A flicker of fear crept in. As low as the odds were, it could be a butterfly effect caused by my very existence. If I bought in now and it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kept dropping, I'd be torching every last won I currently owned.

"No, I said I'm doing a close-price trade. There's still a whole hour left — stop jumping the gun!"

I said it, but I was just as on edge as they were. And then — I really had to call it a blessing — about ten minutes later, Pangea TV stopped falling and started reversing. The stock gradually recovered, and before long the drop had narrowed to just minus three percent.

"Alright. Going in."

Total capital deployed this round: sixteen million won. A million more than the profits from my previous stock trades.

Apparently they hadn't expected me to actually buy — the chat erupted into pure flame. Plenty of people telling me to cut my losses even now. I raised my voice with solemn gravity.

"Seo-a, pure-blooded virtual streamer of Pangea TV. As a shareholder of two hundred thirty-three shares of Pangea TV, I will bury my bones right here."

"Looking at all these haters in here, next week is guaranteed to rise. Agree? You agree!"

And just like that, I was a Pangea TV shareholder once again.