Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Chapter 11“It’s popping off!”
“Wiping them out clean!”
Yippee!―
Goldman Sachs' prop trading team was in a festive mood.
They were filled with anticipation that they would achieve their best performance, surpassing even 2019.
Under the team leader's direction, they had taken a significant position in Tesla.
After the market closed, they would usually review the day's positions, analyze performance, and prepare for the next day's trading.
Normally, team members who had postponed lunch would order sandwiches and take a breather.
But this day was different.
It was a day for celebration, and almost the entire team had gathered in the lounge.
They also had a perfect topic for celebrating their victory.
“Hyunwoo seems to still be holding a short position. Maybe he got wiped out today.”
As Eric spoke, others chimed in.
“That guy. He probably thinks he’ll hit the jackpot if he keeps holding on.”
“He seems to have lost it since he got fired. Looks like he can’t even scam properly anymore, huh?”
“Speaking of which.”
Eric raised his phone, showing the screen to his teammates.
“This is a chat I had with Hyunwoo today. Should I be worried?”
Inside the phone Eric held up, there was a screenshot of his chat with Hyun-woo.
“‘Go die’? Seriously?”
Laughter erupted among the team members.
Even though Eric had provoked him first, many shook their heads in disbelief that Hyun-woo would explode with such emotion.
Eric, taking in the reactions around him, continued.
“I’ve always said we should help when we can. I’m worried it might be too late.
At this point, it’s not just his position that’s gone, but his mental health is concerning.”
Hyun-woo had always been highly regarded since his internship. No one could deny his skills.
But the result of once losing his way was devastating.
Some of the prop team members were displeased with Eric for mocking someone whose fate could be their own future,
but they were few in number, and most were smiling weakly.
“Are you sure his position is gone?”
“Can you even say that after seeing this?”
Eric waved his phone.
“That’s not enough. It could just be that he thinks you’re a joke. Hyunwoo has always looked down on you, hasn’t he? Right?”
“Me? No way, we’re not like that.”
Eric laughed it off lightly, but he couldn't hide the frown on his face.
“Then meet him in person and see for yourself if he’s really broken or not.”
“That’s not the purpose, but I was planning to. I should see if there’s anything I can do to help. He was a colleague, after all. He hasn’t been gone for long.”
Then a cold voice struck Eric's back.
“Eric. Are you an idiot?”
It was Victor.
Eric reflexively turned around, immediately seeing Victor's hardened face.
Victor continued to berate Eric without stopping.
“You’re destined to chase Hyunwoo’s ass until you die. Why don’t you just go die now?”
Eric was taken aback by Victor's sudden attack, but anger took precedence.
However, he couldn't vent his anger.
“Ugh.”
Eric's face contorted further.
It was because of Victor's fist, which was suddenly squeezing his neck.
Victor grabbed Eric by the collar and said through gritted teeth.
“Jump off a building or whatever and just die already. Stop acting like a girl.”
Victor didn't care about the female colleagues around him.
As Victor released Eric's collar, Eric's face crumpled along with his crushed pride.
“I’m, I’m going to report this to HR right now. Do you even know how many things you’re getting caught for right now?”
“Then I’ll have no choice but to bring up the AT Corporation case again.”
Victor whispered into Eric's ear.
“Calm, calm down, Victor. Why are you doing this?”
Eric, who had turned pale, asked as if trying to appease Victor.
But the problem was that Victor himself didn't know what was causing this surge of anger.
The last image of Hyun-woo suddenly came to mind.
A confidence so certain that it seemed to radiate like a halo.
Victor gritted his teeth as Hyun-woo's last appearance resurfaced.
It could never be the look of a loser.
* * *
An unexpected number popped up.
It was a message from Victor.
[Getting looked down on by a moron like Eric. You’re such an idiot. Go die too.]
‘Why is this guy suddenly acting up again?’
It was absurd that those who were called elites in the center of world finance were doing things that even high school students wouldn't do.
It was a more confusing time than ever.
Politically, the president's impeachment trial was underway, and economically, Wuhan Pneumonia was gradually creating a sense of crisis.
Of course, there wasn't a major collapse on the surface yet, but there must be some who had noticed the subtle signs of anxiety hidden deep inside.
And these promising individuals, who should be among those people, were doing such childish things.
‘Do these guys even know what’s really important?’
People on the outside might praise them as great, but if you looked at their individual faces, they were often more petty and sordid.
Especially guys like Victor, who were overly self-conscious, didn't care about what others thought and didn't hesitate to do embarrassing things.
Eric was just a moron, as Victor said, so he wasn't even worth mentioning.
Why couldn't they shake off these childish tendencies?
‘Are they all just too full?’
* * *
Traders have high rates of unhappiness and very low job satisfaction.
They were nothing more than racehorses chasing after rewards like money and fame―
But if they just let go of their greed, most of them came from family environments where they didn't have to do that.
On the other hand, I wasn't.
There was no way we, who had fled Korea as if running away, could be financially well-off.
Mom had to leave the house early in the morning and work until late at night.
The only jobs Mom, who couldn't speak the language, could do were simple manual labor.
She had to juggle two or three jobs a day, such as car washing, cleaning, and dishwashing, to make a living.
Every day, Mom, dragging her tired body home, forced a smile and greeted me.
“With grit.”
“With guts.”
Looking back now, that greeting wasn't a lesson for her young child, who had to live as a Korean-American.
It was a mantra that her mother cast on herself every day.
It wasn't just me who spent a lot of time alone because of the difficulty in communicating in a strange land with a strange language.
Both Mom and I used the late-night conversations we could have for a short time as the driving force of our day.
But as time passed, I became fluent and made friends, and I often fell asleep before waiting for Mom.
That time still remains in my heart with regret.
Anyway, thanks to Mom's sacrifice, our household gradually improved.
Nevertheless, it wasn't until 9th grade, when I entered high school, that I was able to have dinner with Mom.
It was 2008, and that year remained the most important year of my life.
At school, friends began to talk about their parents' job problems or the threat of losing their homes.
Some friends' homes were actually foreclosed.
Lunchtime became a competition of who was more miserable.
Of course, the friends who were really in crisis were nowhere to be seen without a sound.
That year was the peak of the global financial crisis, the year Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and the economy collapsed.
But fortunately, even though our family's life had improved a little, it was still difficult to cross the threshold of the bank, and that was a blessing in disguise, allowing us to avoid the direct economic shock.
In the meantime, I learned in detail about the subprime crisis in economics class.
I was shocked by the fact that the main culprits of the crisis, the big banks and their bankers, were actually having a money party.
The government was not punishing them, but rather pouring astronomical amounts of capital into protecting them.
Until then, I had vaguely thought that I should make a lot of money.
Seeing Mom struggling, I simply believed that money was necessary for a better life.
But the world I learned about through the class was completely different from what I had imagined.
Wall Street capitalists used every means to maximize their profits.
In the process, countless people were sacrificed.
Yet they were protected by the law and were becoming even stronger.
When my friends cursed them and expressed their anger, I was completely stunned.
“There’s a world like this……”
At first, I felt it was unfair and unjust, but only for a moment.
At some point, I became fascinated by the power and influence of Wall Street.
Above all, it smelled like a lot of money.
Wall Street found ways to make profits in any situation. They knew how to protect their world.
I wanted to set foot in such a world.
I wanted to hold money and power like them and stand in a position where I wouldn't be swayed by anyone.
That shocking realization in 2008 completely changed my life.
… They became my goal.
* * *
[The guy who’s going to stick with Eric for life. That’s exactly your level.]
It was clear that my image at Goldman Sachs was completely ruined.
I sent a reply and chuckled to myself.
Now that my reputation at Goldman was hitting rock bottom, I felt amused by the situation, thinking that there was nothing more to fall.
There was no need to worry too much, as it was just the reputation among the juniors.
Newborn chicks.
Overly self-conscious people who were barely able to take their first steps.
As if he couldn't stand losing, his reply came right away.
[Bullshit]
But unlike him, I had nothing but time on my hands.
I immediately fired back.
[The bullshit is what you’re doing right now.]
[Fuck you]
[The fuck you is what you’re doing right now.]
Just when I was about to get bored, he brought me a good pastime.
I had no intention of losing this game until he declared surrender.
[Is this the kind of guy you were? How did you endure it all this time, no, it’s because you’re in a shitty situation where you have nothing to lose now. The rumors were true. You’ve completely fallen, Hyunwoo.]
Crack!―
Memories surfaced and merged in one direction.
The puzzle was completed.
[The rumor is that you’re hooking up with Eric.]
[What the hell are you talking about? Do you think everything you say makes sense? How dare you bring up that idiot Eric.]
[Weren’t you hooking up with Eric?]
[Instead of just talking shit like a girl, why don’t we fight?]
[No, but seriously. Unless you’re hooking up with each other, there’s no reason to cover up the AT Corporation case, right? Why don’t you guys just stop?]
The AT Corporation case was an insider trading case committed by Eric and three close colleagues.
Victor was not directly involved.
But even though he had noticed that Eric was engaging in insider trading for a long time, he had been silent until now.
It could be seen as unlike him to miss the perfect opportunity to eliminate competitors, rather than simply coveting the team performance bonus.
But the truth was.
He couldn't question this deal that was being condoned by the higher-ups.
Rather, he had been using the opportunity to build trust with the higher-ups by not questioning the case.
Only now did I realize all these facts.
My past self had been focused only on performance, so I had been distant from office politics.
Victor had already seen through the complex flow of office politics and was using it.
While I was only focused on the numbers and performance in front of me, Victor had been drawing a bigger picture.
The team leader's favoritism also fits perfectly with what started after that.
The silence had been going on for quite a while.
Both at the company and on my phone now.
Then, the message I had been waiting for popped up.
[Are you going to expose it?]
He didn't deny it.
Even with just one text, I could feel that he was quite surprised.
The fact that someone other than himself, especially me, had noticed Eric's insider trading must have been shocking to him.
I had secured victory.
[Do you have some money?]