Chapter 4

===================

Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

“Ugh!”

I opened my eyes as if having a seizure.

“W-what time is it?”

I hurriedly checked the time first.

Then let out a boiling scream.

“Aah.”

10 minutes before the alarm.

I could have slept 10 more minutes.

It was the first time I felt this emotion since my senior year of high school.

Should I just sleep more?

Even just 10 minutes?

“Sigh. What’s the point of sleeping more?”

The moment I closed my eyes here, I’d obviously pass out straight through until lunch without even hearing the alarm that would ring in 10 minutes.

“Ugh.”

I barely got up from my spot.

“Ugh. I shouldn’t have played games yesterday.”

Office workers come home from work and still play games.

I have no idea how they all live like that.

“Office workers really are amazing.”

The guild hyungs too, at their age, coming home from work and turning on the game, that stamina was simply admirable.

“I’m going to be late at this rate.”

While briefly thinking about other things, 10 minutes had already passed.

I quickly washed my hair to prepare for work.

I just turned on cold water with the showerhead and poured it straight on my head while applying shampoo with one hand, and that was it.

Doing it this way also helps wake me up.

I miss it.

Normally, I would’ve been gaming until this time and then fallen into sweet sleep.

Ah. The old days.

After washing at super speed like that and going out to the living room, Dad and Mom were sitting at the dining table.

No. Why are people who should still be sleeping already up?

Did I make too much of a fuss washing up?

“Jeong Jin-ho. Sit here.”

“Huh?”

“Where do you keep going so early in the morning these days? Are you really going to interviews? At the crack of dawn?”

What was coming had come.

“Well. Actually I got a job.”

“What? Weren’t you going to interviews?”

“Yeah. I was preparing to go to work right now.”

Third day at Gwangwoon Securities.

On the first and second days, I didn’t tell them I was working because I didn’t know how things would turn out.

But now I could say it.

Because.

“What? Gwangwoon Securities?”

“Wait. Gwangwoon Securities?”

This came out yesterday.

“What. It’s a real business card?”

“Oh my. A Gwangwoon Securities employee ID, and even a business card? What on earth is all this.”

Mom and Dad had expressions saying they couldn’t believe it.

Then Mom firmly grasped my hand.

“Jin-ho. Mom’s sorry.”

“Huh? S-suddenly?”

“Did we pressure you too much to get a job? Even so, you shouldn’t lie like this. Mom saw the news too. These days people lie to their parents about getting jobs, then later take out loans and pretend it’s salary, then disappear without a trace.”

“No. What are you talking about, Mom?”

“Mom knows what kind of company Gwangwoon Securities is! How did you get into such a big company!?”

Tsk.

I can’t think of words to refute that.

It wasn’t a company I dared enter.

But it wasn’t a lie.

Because I really work there.

“I don’t know where to start explaining, but I really work there. And I need to hurry to work, Mom. The market opens at 8:30, so there’s a lot to prepare beforehand.”

That’s what being the youngest is.

Doing chores so our senior traders can make lots of money today too. That’s why I can’t be late.

“No. You’re going to the end.”

“Honey. Don’t you know our Jin-ho? Even though he has no talent for studying and was lazy while working hard at games, he’s a kid who never lies.”

“Dad. That’s a compliment, right?”

“So son. This is real, right?”

I nodded strongly.

“Yes.”

“Dad believes in our son. If you got into this place, they must have hired you because you’re capable enough.”

Dad looked at the business card Gwangwoon Securities gave me as if handling the most important thing in the world.

“Dad always believed our son would do well. Hahaha.”

“Thanks. But I really can’t be late, you know? Let me get ready first.”

“Alright. Hurry and get ready. You can’t be late for no reason.”

I quickly finished preparing and went outside.

Then Mom put toast in my mouth.

“Don’t skip meals.”

Somehow it felt like I was eating Mom’s toast for the first time in a long time.

“And we need to buy a few suits. You can’t just keep wearing the same suit every day. Let’s go buy new ones this weekend.”

Then she warmly hugged me.

Hugging Mom was also something I hadn’t done in a long time.

Dad who was behind also came trotting over and hugged me.

“Have a good day at work, son.”

“If it’s hard, tell us right away. You shouldn’t keep things bottled up. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

So this is what being acknowledged feels like.

My heart warmed up for no reason.

“Ah. I’m really going to be late. I’ll be back soon!”

“Okay. Mom will make delicious food, so call me when you’re getting off work!”

“Okay!”

I hurriedly opened the door and went outside.

My steps were lighter than ever today.

————————————————————————————————————————

“Jin-ho. You came just 1 minute before being late?”

“Phew. That’s a relief. Still, I should’ve arrived earlier than you, sunbae-nim. I’m sorry.”

“Hehe. It’s okay. I should set an example as your mentor.”

The fresh start of morning was organizing briefing files.

“We were legendarily busy yesterday, right?”

“Right. I thought the first day was the busiest, but there were days way busier than that.”

“Yesterday was a bit unusual. Market volatility suddenly increased. It doesn’t happen that often.”

Only the third day.

But this new employee had a good work sense.

Other new employees usually move a bit sluggishly only after about a month, but this guy is very sharp.

How should I put it.

Should I say he’s perceptive?

Thanks to that, we could finish preparations quickly.

Enough to enjoy the leisure of a cup of coffee like this.

“Oh right. I was so busy yesterday that I didn’t even check how the mock investment turned out. Did you see it, Jin-ho?”

“No. I was also just busily following you around yesterday, sunbae-nim.”

Documents, snacks, drinks, etc.

I really ran around everywhere pulling a cart full of various things.

People usually think there’s only one junior trader per team, but that’s not true.

If there’s a shortage of hands, you have to go around helping other teams too.

Yesterday was especially busy, so I just ran around from team to team delivering.

“Now that I think about it, rather than keep losing money like that, it would be better to sell it off now before it’s too late. All the insurance stocks are falling because of this interest rate change issue, so before we lose more.”

“Should we?”

“Yes. I’ll advise you from the side, so let’s try to restore what we lost. Let’s see. The one you bought last time was Jungang Insurance, right? What did that close at yesterday?”

How long has it been since I had morning coffee at the office?

Feeling such small happiness, the moment I checked Jungang Insurance’s stock price.

“Pfft!”

Lee Hye-rin spat out the coffee she was drinking.

Jeong Jin-ho in front was startled and quickly brought tissues.

“Are you okay?”

“J-Jin-ho. Did you see this?”

Jungang Insurance had risen by a whopping 15%.

That very stock that had been hitting lows together with other insurance stocks.

“Uh.”

But Jeong Jin-ho’s expression looking at the screen was strange.

Should I say surprised, or should I say he knew this would happen?

“No. I’m also seeing it for the first time today. Why did this go up.”

His tone was also somehow unnatural.

Was it just my imagination?

‘But how did he pick only this one out of all the insurance stocks?’

It was an amazing coincidence.

“You really didn’t know?”

“Huh?”

“Actually, didn’t you know this would go up, Jin-ho?”

“Th-there’s no way.”

That must be it, right?

Everyone was making a fuss about dumping all insurance stocks, so there’s no way only this person knew something.

“Employee Jeong Jin-ho.”

At that moment, a heavy voice rang through the office.

It was none other than Team Leader Park.

“Ah, yes. Team Leader. Hello.”

“Let’s talk. Follow me.”

“Yes.”

Maybe because of the size difference between the two, Jeong Jin-ho following Team Leader Park looked a bit pitiful.

He wouldn’t suddenly call him to scold him.

Did the team leader also see it?

————————————————————————————————————————

I feel dazed.

When I bought that stock, it kept going down, so I thought my ability didn’t work.

Plus yesterday I was too busy to even check that stock price.

But it went up?

“Employee Jeong Jin-ho. It’s only your third day, how is it? Manageable?”

“Ah, yes. Everyone’s been treating me well.”

“That’s good. I also wanted to not give you too much work and teach you slowly, but yesterday market volatility was unusually high.”

“Not at all. I’ll work hard at whatever you ask me to do.”

Team Leader Park stared at me intently.

“Only I know in our team.”

“Huh?”

“That Employee Jeong Jin-ho came as a parachute.”

“Ah.”

“Well, rumors will spread soon and everyone will know anyway.”

While saying that, Team Leader Park drank the liquid in his cup.

I heard that’s protein.

“I didn’t want to ask separately, but since it’s come to this, I’ll ask. Are you family with the CEO?”

“No.”

“No? Then why did the CEO put Jeong Jin-ho into the company? Honestly, you know well that you don’t have the specs to enter here.”

“That’s.”

Then I remembered what the guild master earnestly asked me.

The request to never talk about how we met in a game.

“I’m sorry, Team Leader. I can’t tell you that.”

“..”

I also understood why he told me not to say it.

What would people think if he said he inserted a guy he met in a game?

“Fine. I won’t pry further either. But just one more thing. What’s with Jungang Insurance?”

The team leader saw that too.

“Just. I was lucky.”

“Lucky, huh. Employee Jeong, do you know what our traders’ target profit rate is? 0.1 to 1%. On days with high volatility like yesterday, we make 3 to 5%, but we also take losses. That’s why we set the target profit rate safely. Because if we overdo it trying to make profits, we could suffer bigger losses.”

I heard from Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin that the team’s monthly target profit rate is about 5 to 15%.

“But yesterday, Employee Jeong made the monthly target amount assigned to each trader in one day. Although it’s mock investment, is this really luck? Didn’t you set up a strategy alone based on the meeting contents we discussed?”

“..”

I couldn’t say anything.

Not only do I barely remember what we talked about in the meeting, but even if I did remember, I don’t understand what it means.

Of course, I am studying hard.

But to a newbie who’s only been here 3 days, this stock world was full of unknowns.

But I can’t just ramble here saying, “Actually Team Leader, I have a special ability.”

“Hmm. Is this also difficult to answer?”

“Well.”

“Well, I won’t ask about this anymore either. Everyone has their own secrets, and sharing them with others is stupid. Especially for a trader where individual performance is top priority. This was my mistake. Sorry.”

“N-not at all.”

“Then keep up the good work today. When rumors spread that you’re a parachute, people won’t look at you kindly. But if you show them you’re working hard, everyone’s thoughts will change.”

“Yes. I’ll work hard.”

“You can go now. Call Assistant Manager Lee for me on your way.”

“Yes.”

Even though I wasn’t being scolded, my heart was pounding for no reason.

Team Leader Park probably didn’t intend it, but he has a force that overwhelms people.

It’s probably because of those muscles that look like they’ll burst.

‘But what if this really works?’

My own special ability that others don’t know about.

It could be that I was just insanely lucky, or it could be that this ability that was only used in games also works here.

Actually, if you think about it, isn’t this stock market also a giant probability gacha game?

No matter how well you analyze data, no one knows how results will change due to random situations and volatility.

‘I hope it’s less busy today.’

Then I can test whether this ability is real or not today.

————————————————————————————————————————

‘So there is something after all.’

Team Leader Park always wondered.

Hwang Dae-woon, the CEO of Gwangwoon Securities, is someone who thoroughly selects people based on merit and built this small company to its current size.

Not because he’s good at investing himself, but because his eye for people is excellent.

That’s why Team Leader Park was puzzled.

That such a person would insert a parachute.

He was already feeling great disappointment that the person he usually respected inserted a family member as a parachute, but it turns out those two aren’t family.

‘And he can’t reveal the reason.’

A bold guy.

He can’t reveal why he’s a parachute.

Plus, I learned one more thing from our brief conversation.

‘Jeong Jin-ho definitely knew Jungang Insurance would go up.’

He’s pretending not to know, but you can’t fool eyes that have rolled around this gambling floor for a long time.

Then it’s entirely his own skill.

The crazy boldness of going all in on one stock.

Even the insight to see through a different possibility alone when everyone predicted the downfall of insurance stocks.

Could this guy be.

“You called, Team Leader?”

“Ah. Assistant Manager Lee. Did you prepare the meeting materials?”

“Yes. I finished everything.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll tell our team members and other departments, so today don’t go running around, just stay at your seat.”

“Huh?”

“You haven’t been able to do much mock investment because you’ve been busy lately, right? To evaluate you, I’m saying spend today just practicing trading. With Employee Jeong.”

“Ah. Yes. I’ll do that.”

I don’t know why the CEO inserted that guy as a parachute.

But Jeong Jin-ho.

There’s definitely something.

Whether it’s insight or crazy dopamine addiction disguised as boldness.

I can just find out from now on.

No. Maybe he was just lucky once.

But isn’t there a famous saying that penetrates the stock market?

[Stocks are all about luck]

The lucky one wins.