A Footless Rumor Travels Twenty Thousand Miles

A footless word travels at least twenty thousand li.

Right now, I'm armed with 10x leverage.

That means if Shopity's stock price rises 10%, I pocket 100%. If it climbs 20%, that's 200% for me.

Of course, the flip side is a mere 10% drop wipes out my entire fortune...

Once guys start talking about bailing, the odds of that happening drop to zero percent.

And the short sellers still need over 11 million more shares than what's floating in the market to cover everything.

Of course, the big funds have ways to claw back.

"They'll hunt for block deals, probably."

A block deal is what big shareholders or funds use when they wanna dump a massive pile but time's tight and the volume's huge.

Take Shopity: 5% stake's worth 200 billion won. Dumping it all on the open market? Price tanks, obviously.

So they bundle it up like a block and offload in one go.

"Normally, you'd slash the price to move that much volume quick..."

But right now, the power dynamic's flipped.

Usually, the desperate seller with a mountain to unload is the underdog, buyer calls the shots.

Here, the buyers—the ones scrambling to cover shorts fast—are the ones begging.

Conditions ain't the same as usual.

"Market's at $50, and they're offering $80?"

"Fucking assholes."

"...So, you gonna cover or not?"

"Hell yeah. Can't not cover—then I'm a deadbeat debtor."

But here's the thing.

If they can snag shares at a premium like that, it's still better than the alternative.

Institutions and big holders ain't idiots.

If word gets out someone's desperate to buy, what do the majors do?

Simple: "They hold. Absolutely hold."

No reason to sell when it's obvious it'll moon higher.

Remember that 11 million shortage? That's the rosiest scenario for the shorts—assuming they hoover up every last share in the market.

"Because that assumes the short funds succeed in buying every damn share out there."

Hedge funds jumped on the short, sure, but Wall Street's crawling with way more funds.

Info like that spreads on the Street faster than you can imagine.

And scrambling for block deals screams short supply to everyone.

Event-driven funds—the ones that feast on big events—gonna miss that signal? Nah.

Two minutes flat. That's how quick they analyze and strategize.

Building positions after? "Varies, but never more than 10 minutes."

Then the sharks swarm: other hedges, traders.

Hell, even retail sniffs blood and piles in.

On the Street, we call it "smelling blood in the water."

"Perfect metaphor—hits home spot on!"

Only works if no shorts show weakness first.

But they always do.

Save your own ass first, right?

Once a few funds bolt, the apocalypse kicks off.

Short squeeze: The shorts' worst nightmare.

Long a stock? Worst ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠case, -100%—you're broke, but finite. Unless you're a leverage lunatic.

Shorts? Different ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beast. Price can rocket forever; you gotta cover eventually. Losses: infinite.

Keep climbing? You buy weeping, squeezed dry. Hence, short squeeze.

"Feels like I'm the brutal plantation owner whipping slaves..."

Remember subprime mortgage meltdown?

Wall Street bankrupted folks, drove suicides.

Fun fact: The perps filed bankruptcy, grabbed bailouts, back to business as usual.

Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠losing here, funds got deep pockets. Spread across positions, losses manageable.

So why the panic?

"Rumors spread."

IBs (investment banks, the lenders) slash lines. Investors demand redemptions. Banks whisper, "That fund's risky?"

TL;DR: Credit evaporates. No credit, you're chained.

HouseDeedMiracleSeat I love you

Up 20% in an hour lmao

Been riding with you forever bro

ShortaJwa from now on for Shopity

Couldn't eat so fuck you all

Up 20% already, but the monitor kept flashing nonstop.

"Oh."

"Ooh."

Then volume exploded like crazy.

Prime brokers mobilizing. Signal for forced liquidations.

"Game on."

Shopity rocketed skyward... then stalled.

"...Fuck, flow's breaking."

I muttered at the screen. Volatility halt on the individual stock.

Price moves too wild? Exchange hits the brakes for a breather.

But here, it's backfiring hard.

Why? Gallery buzzing:

Drawing bigger crowds on the rumors.

That proverb's wrong. Words got no feet, sure—but they don't stop at a thousand li. That's 400km; Korea to US is 10,000km. Minimum twenty thousand li.

Trading resumed.

Normally, sharp moves draw curves—but halts snap the graph.

Folks pull sells during pause, bid higher. "Price jumps."

Volatility halts trigger this loop.

"Yum yum."

Jump. Halt. Bubble detached from fundamentals? Whatever—shorts trapped, bubble won't pop.

"This is the real short squeeze."

Forgot one thing?

10x leverage, baby.

Then, amid the halt-jump routine, fun event drops.

Ding!

Familiar news ping. Title hits, I burst laughing.

Seconds later, this halt's eerily quiet.

Trading resumes...

Now resuming = instant halt.

Fingers freeze over mouse eyeing returns. Principal 1.2 billion won; 800% now = 9.6 billion sellout.

"Nah."

Next resume hits 10 bil+.

But no sell button. Plenty trapped shorts left.

Pssht.

Crack an energy drink for caffeine hit.

"Ahhhh. This is it."

Bubbles scrape throat, dopamine high hits like booze.

No alcohol needed. This money-printing? That's filial piety. What else is?