The Leading Room Empire Crumbles

Son Hyuk-su was running a leading room. Impersonating CEO Yu Jinseong, he managed a group chat, sharing stock tips in exchange for money. The world was full of greedy suckers blinded by greed, and he was raking in over 100 million won a month.

Kukuku, what a bunch of idiots. If I were a real stock expert, would I be running a leading room? He was a high school dropout. A total noob. His own returns were a disastrous -398%.

No biggie. Recommend some promising penny stocks, pocket 100 million a month. Kyaa! Life is sweet!! Factory work barely paid 3 million a month, and it was brutally tough. The dorms were shitty, the food was slop.

On the flip side, running a leading room netted him over 100 million monthly. People called him "young boss." He lived in a luxury apartment, dined on gourmet feasts, had a celebrity-level girlfriend. At bars, girls poured him drinks like waterfalls. He could guzzle his favorite top-shelf champagne all night.

But then...

It all crumbled overnight. Hard-earned members fled. Demands for refunds poured in.

Business ground to a halt amid nonstop sabotage. And that wasn't all.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

"Police here."

As coverage began—no, as the leading room drew public scrutiny—law enforcement moved in.

Jinseong was browsing the internet.

Leading rooms topped real-time search trends. Public focus zeroed in, spawning article after article. Once media bit the bait, even more people tuned in. Major networks covered it; newspapers splashed it big. As leading rooms blew up, Jinseong rode the wave.

Articles on Jinseong proliferated. Overnight, he gained nationwide fame.

His businesses got spotlighted too, spreading YSP awareness far and wide.

What a steal. Free mega-promotion for his empire. Worth hundreds of billions at least. No, impossible to price.

Public sentiment was overwhelmingly positive.

"CEO."

"Yes?"

"YTV servers crashed."

"What?!"

He couldn't help but panic.

"YSP Coin Exchange servers crashed too."

"......"

Traffic surge overloaded them.

"Hmm—YSP Cheongju Building has empty space, right? Expand the server room ASAP."

"Yes, sir."

Calmly regaining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠composure, he issued orders.

"Director Lee, Director Kim."

"Yes, CEO."

"Yes, CEO."

He rushed to the 7th floor, summoning the full IT team.

"I've ordered emergency server expansion. Handle it coolly."

"Of course."

"Got it."

"Politely notify customers of the situation and our apology."

"Yes, CEO."

"Yes, CEO."

"Prep compensation for the outage and some killer events."

He directed them to devise prevention measures too. One mistake was forgivable; twice was incompetence. Jinseong hated repeats.

"CEO, emergency expansion requested."

"Good work."

"We'll submit server contingency plans."

"Thanks. Appreciate it."

Secretary Han Jiyu looked stunned. Unsolicited, she'd volunteered server reports.

He peeked at her inner thoughts.

"CEO."

"Secretary Han."

They spoke in unison.

"You first."

"No, CEO, please go ahead."

"Thinking of heading to Cheongju. Want to come?"

"Yes, CEO."

Truth be told, Jinseong had no plans to go. But reading her thoughts changed his mind. He'd supervise the expansion personally.

He hailed a taxi. Money was plentiful, but life was singular. As a newbie driver, long hauls felt risky.

"Secretary Han, what should I do for the company's growth?"

"Pardon?"

"Read a book recently stressing 'efficient work.' Wondering if I'm running things efficiently, what to prioritize for growth."

He didn't show it, but the young CEO pondered management deeply. Lately, more business books and celeb memoirs.

"In my view, you're doing great already."

"Really?"

"Yes. More than enough—no, flawlessly excellent."

Han Jiyu knew how hard he worked. Daily studies, workouts, agonizing over success.

"Keep doing what you're doing."

"Thanks."

At YSP Cheongju Building, he directed and oversaw expansion. Han Jiyu assisted, quizzing staff.

"Hungry? Let's go. My treat—something tasty."

They hit nearby Myeongnyun Jinsa Galbi.

Kr, as expected, galbi means Myeongnyun Jinsa! Pork galbi and draft beer—pure bliss.

"Good, right?"

"Delicious."

Han Jiyu chugged cold beer, cheeks flushing. Weak tolerance.

"CEO, do you like delivery food?"

"Huh? Yeah, love it."

"What delivery do you like?"

"Everything. Delivery is always right."

"Me too. Love it all. Exactly. Delivery is eternally right."

"CEO, like games?"

"Yeah, but sadly no time."

"Ah..."

No bandwidth for gaming.

"Secretary Han?"

"Yes, love them tons."

"What kind?"

"Light mobile games."

Chowing galbi, chatting delivery and mobile games...

Affection soared with every exchange.

"Secretary, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thoughts on hotel vacations?"

"Hotel vacay? Not for me. Home is best."

"Ah? True, home rules."

"Yes. Home supreme. Flopping on a soft bed—world's greatest."

"Right. Totally."

He nodded in agreement.

Servers expanded in record time. YTV and YSP Coin Exchange ran smoothly.

Viewers surged by thousands.

Finally broke 10k.

Jinseong marveled at media power.

"Really? Glad to hear it."

"Haha, sorry. With my assets in the hundreds of bill—no, wait, kinda rich, so numb to donations."

Chat flooded with '???'.

Slip-up. Major blunder.

"Folks, all your donations go 100% to charity. Donate lots! Today's content: finance basics."

Smooth pivot.

Focus locked on the billions.

"Finance basics..."

Jinseong scratched his nose, stumped.

"Bottom line: Nasdaq is god. Bitcoin invincible."

Topic shift inevitable.

Checked real-time trends.

Good news rolled in.

"CEO, Halmae Tteok's 30th franchise opened!"

"Y Shopping site complete."

"YSP Coin created."

Unexpected too.

"CEO, CF ad offer for you."

"SBC's Jeong Won-seok wants an interview."

"Variety show Infinite Challenge appearance invite."