Chapter 21

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Ugh. Really can’t rest. Can’t rest.”

The place swept by a typhoon.

Those who somehow survived had no time to rest.

They’d barely attached respirators.

Because to return to past glory, they have to start from the beginning again.

“What can you do? Everyone just has to pick up scraps diligently. We need to make profits somehow.”

“Last month was negative because of nickel, and this situation exploded this time, so can’t help it.”

“Phew. I wanted to go to the prop trade team too. Good thing I didn’t. At least we get fixed salaries on time.”

“Right. I told you. Break the fantasy. Everyone thinks prop traders make tons of money, but ultimately only those who earn, earn.”

“Still, one consolation for those people is that they’re not alone in taking damage from China.”

That guy, over there, and that guy over there too.

Everyone was all in the negatives together.

Don’t they say pathetic people feel happy just looking at each other?

Traders were at least getting consolation from that.

“But what’s Team 7 doing? Still no movement?”

“Yes. Still zero trading volume. Really completely frozen.”

Everyone’s jumping into the market with the heart of picking up scraps.

Originally they say it’s better not to trade in bearish markets.

But staying like this, they won’t get performance bonuses next month either.

Aren’t prop traders a profession that lives on performance bonuses, not salaries?

They can’t just sit and suck their thumbs starving to death, so they were trading with desperate hearts.

You could tell how busy they were just by looking at each team’s trading windows.

In this situation, Team 7 alone was leisurely.

Though they’re in the same department, they’re in a completely different world.

Should I say they’re alone vacationing on treasure island?

“How long are they going to hold this?”

Trade teams can never know other teams’ return rates, trading volume, or positions.

But the risk management team knows everything.

Because they’re the surveillance system.

That’s why they knew exactly what stocks Team 7 was holding.

“It’s already been over a week but they’re not selling and holding to the end. If it were me, even if it just doubled, I’d go crazy and sell immediately.”

“That’s why they’re sitting in that position. That person. In my view, not human. Betting on a bearish market alone is just beastly.”

The team the risk management team watched most closely was exactly Team 7.

From when they bet on a bearish market out of nowhere alone, to even after the bubble burst, watching them not release volume to the end, now the risk team was more nervous than the parties involved.

“Ah. Really making me all nervous.”

“But won’t they not sell for a while?”

“Right. The Chinese stock market shows no signs of improving, so they’ll probably keep holding.”

They should be monitoring traders making risky investments, but risk management team staff were all focusing their attention only on Team 7’s trading window.

“Aren’t you all working?”

Section Chief Kim Sang-geon who couldn’t stand it anymore gave a warning.

“Traders have gone crazy and are throwing everything around right now. We need to block them from losing more. Team 7 isn’t even moving anyway, so everyone do your work. Close all Team 7 trading windows.”

“Yes.”

At the section chief’s instruction, staff were reluctantly about to close the trading windows when.

“Huh? Huhhh?”

“What now?”

“S-Section Chief. It’s m-moving! It’s moving!”

“What?”

“Team 7 is dumping all their volume!”

“!?”

Section Chief Kim ran to his seat with his eyebrows flying.

To not miss even a single moment of this awaited moment.

Tap tap tap!

Click! Click!

It feels like keyboard and mouse rapid clicking sounds are ringing after a long time.

At Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho’s sudden sell instruction, team members were disposing of everything they held.

Of course, they didn’t throw everything at once like amateurs.

Because doing that could make prices hit bottom at once.

So they proceeded with selling by dividing volume.

“But. This is right, isn’t it?”

“I know. Just holding through today, the price seems like it’ll rise more.”

Today the team leader’s instruction was firm.

Full sale.

Not selling half and watching trends, but literally selling everything.

They were following that instruction, but wondering whether this is really right was unavoidable.

“Hmm.”

But every time such doubts arose, bitter words flew from Section Chief Seo.

“I said. Don’t dare doubt.”

“B-but Section Chief. Just looking at current trends, it’ll rise more if anything, it absolutely doesn’t seem like it’ll fall?”

“So? Can you make return rates like the Team Leader? When everyone bet on bull markets, this person alone bet on bearish markets. Can you do that?”

“No.”

That was something you couldn’t do even with two hearts.

That’s why Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho seemed not human in their eyes.

An ordinary person would’ve agonized tremendously while holding for several days about whether to dispose of it now, eventually unable to overcome the pressure and selling everything before the bubble burst.

“Honestly, I don’t understand the Team Leader’s judgment either. But that person’s vision is different from ours. When we see 1, that person sees 10 and judges.”

Don’t they say true investment masters have different insights?

But actually, there’s one uncomfortable truth you learn after doing prop trading a bit.

Everyone talks about insight and whatnot, but ultimately investment is luck-based.

“But our Team Leader isn’t luck, right?”

That was the scariest part.

Team Leader Jeong Jin-ho’s judgment was always not based on luck, but on some algorithm that ordinary people dare not fathom.

“Still, I feel relieved inside. I was so nervous about how long we’d hold this.”

“Wow. This is the first time in my life seeing myself earn this much. And in just a week!”

Prop traders have 5% average monthly profit.

It’s a place where earning just 1% a day gets you called an ace.

But look at this return rate now.

“Phenomenal.”

That’s all that came out.

Money that started at 50 billion increased to hundreds of billions.

In that short time.

“Everyone gather materials. I’ll go report directly to the Team Leader.”

“Yes!”

Section Chief Seo organized materials received from team members and headed to the team leader’s office.

His steps going to report couldn’t be lighter.

I thoroughly looked over materials given by Section Chief Seo who was smiling broadly.

Was he originally someone who smiled so well?

“The ETFs were a bit disappointing. As you know, there weren’t many types of Chinese ETFs. It’s something that only makes profit as much as the stock market falls. But we hit the jackpot where we took shorts and put put options.”

The put option prices we held rose up to 20 times, and we sold everything right there. Actually, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say most profits came from there.

“That’s also a shame. The steel side we grabbed as main had trading volume limits.”

Still, we stuffed it in as much as possible and made one big hit.

After recovering all the ETFs and things we shorted and gathering them all in one place again.

“A whopping 250 billion, Team Leader.”

Section Chief Seo’s voice was trembling.

“While I’ve had a long prop trading life, I’ve earned 30% in one month exactly once. But 500%.”

I also, even when I first received 50 billion from the company, thought it would be amazing if I didn’t lose it and earned not less, not more, but exactly half.

“Good work, Section Chief.”

“Oh no. I just did what the Team Leader told me, what. Rather, the Team Leader worked hardest. Thank you, Team Leader. Then please call me if there’s anything else to do.”

After the section chief left, I blankly stared at the screen.

Even investing 50 billion was unrealistic, but now that money swelled to hundreds of billions, only hollow laughter came out.

‘They said team leaders receive 30% of return rate.’

They said if we achieve maximum team performance, there’s additional % bonus too.

Then exactly how much comes in?

Even the 700 million that came in as last salary is still unbelievable, but even more money than that.

‘But should I really have held out a bit longer?’

But don’t they say human greed has no end?

Even after making profits like this, I was thinking wouldn’t I have earned more if I held a bit longer from here?

‘Just looking at indicators, no matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem like selling timing.’

Though I’m studying investment diligently, even to my still insufficient eyes, now wasn’t appropriate selling timing.

‘The price is even rising more. I really should’ve held out a bit longer.’

Up to there.

I stopped the thoughts creeping up and even turned off the monitor.

Already sold everything and finished.

Let’s not regret.

“..”

Ah. But I really should’ve held out just a bit longer.

Like any securities firm, everyone couldn’t emerge from China shock.

Among them, those trembling hands and feet endlessly were options department staff.

“It won’t come up today either, right?”

“Are you crazy? Selling that now.”

“Leaving it alone, the price will keep rising steadily, why would that guy crazily release volume?”

“Really, who the hell is it? Who’s holding it?”

There’s no blood left to dry now.

The guy holding volume seemed to be enjoying this situation watching the Chinese stock market get destroyed.

Can’t be helped.

Isn’t the Chinese stock market falling more as time passes?

That’s why everyone was giving up.

“Phew. Nothing to do, so just cigarettes.”

“It appeared!”

“What?”

“Volume is pouring out now! Everyone gather it quickly! Hurry!”

Staff who were just slamming heads on desks all got up and rapid-clicked the buy button.

Since the guy releasing volume wasn’t releasing at once but little by little while adjusting prices, they couldn’t relax for even a moment.

Because if done wrong, there was high risk of volume being stolen by other securities firms.

“Phew.”

“Done? Did we gather it all?”

“Couldn’t gather everything but fortunately seems like we recovered most.”

Staff breathed sighs of relief.

They already took sufficiently big hits, but could’ve taken even bigger losses from here.

But whether he felt mercy, the rich guy who’d been bleeding them dry suddenly released volume.

“Why on earth did he do that?”

As tension released, now question marks rose above everyone’s heads.

“I know. Leaving it alone, it’ll rise more. Even now look. The price is rising little by little.”

It was a time when just holding made money pour in automatically.

But kicking away this honey pot like this?

“Don’t know. Maybe they urgently needed funds too.”

“Could there be something? Before China shock burst, they swept up all this volume.”

“Is there particularly anything? The Chinese government is quiet. Thanks to that, the Chinese stock market is getting more destroyed.”

“Don’t know. Don’t want to know either. Lucky it ended like this anyway. Thought my eyeballs would fall out watching for volume to come up for days.”

Right. Let’s be thankful it ended at this level.

If the situation worsened more from here, even thinking about what comes after is horrible.

“Everyone worked hard. Let’s think we’re lucky it ended here. Now really going to smoke a cigarette.”

“T-Team Leader! Wait!”

But rest wasn’t permitted to them yet.

The team leader who tried to take brief rest while smoking turned his body irritably.

“What now? Did the Chinese government spaz out again?”

“Yes!”

“What?”

The team leader bulged his eyes and ran toward the monitor.

An economic news anchor was telling breaking news just received.

[The Chinese government issued a stock selling ban. Major shareholders holding over 5% stakes have all selling transactions suspended, and IPOs are also suspended. Also, they entered market stabilization by injecting national funds, and announced they’ll increase interest rate cuts and loan reserve ratios.]

“Stock selling ban? Aren’t these really crazy bastards? What are these guys doing now!”

Extreme regulatory policies of major shareholder selling bans along with interest rate cuts and national fund injection.

The Chinese government finally entered normalization work.

This way, the Chinese stock market gains room to rebound again.

The problem was options.

“If it becomes like this. We recovered at the peak, right?”

“Yes.”

After that news went out, prices already fell 2 times.

Can’t even predict how much more they’ll fall from here.

“If we’d just held 10 more minutes.”

Then we might have recovered at much cheaper prices.

No. Maybe didn’t need to recover at all.

“Who the hell is it?”

At this point, now really curious.

“Who the hell is the bastard that stripped us!”