Chapter 8

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“It seems some people’s mental state broke from this incident. Several seniors submitted their resignations and left.”

“Well, how often does something like that happen? We predict stock prices with data, but honestly, accurate stock price prediction is in the realm of gods. If you’re shaken enough by that to not even be able to trade, it’s better to leave quickly.”

Investment is a mental battle.

Someone said that, didn’t they?

The stock market is the massive psychology of humanity.

Sometimes covered in madness, sometimes engulfed in fear.

When looking at financial indicators, companies that look terribly insolvent often see their stock prices peak, and companies with excellent financial indicators often have low stock prices.

This means that people tend to buy stocks based on psychological factors rather than the company’s solidity.

If you can’t maintain mental strength in a stock market with such reed-like hearts, you’re not qualified to be a trader.

Especially prop traders who work in units of minutes and seconds.

“Did the battery side get resolved well?”

“Yes. We managed to cut losses well somehow. The battery side was temporarily overheated, and above all, there was a lot of public opinion that electric vehicles are still too early. So the bubble burst quickly too. Still, we took some losses.”

“You should consider it fortunate it ended at that level. Look at the US. There’s no limit to how much it can go up or down there.”

Just like Gwangwoon Securities and various other domestic securities firms, US securities firms also often take short positions.

But if you get caught wrong just once, even the biggest company can vanish in an instant.

Because there, unlike Korea, there’s no lower limit set for how much it can fall in a day.

“Plus we were lucky. The Korea Exchange has been pilot-testing since a year ago to raise the limit currently set at 15% to 30%, and this happened just before that.”

That was a huge relief.

If the timing of lifting the limit had been just a bit earlier, I can’t even imagine how much bigger the losses would’ve been.

“Was that next month?”

“Yes. They’ve already prepared all the institutional safeguards, and it’s scheduled to start next month.”

“We’ll have to pick things up well then. The domestic market will get incredibly hot.”

“Foreigners will be more excited than us. They’re already pulling out all their money now to pour a ton in at that time, aren’t they?”

The upper limit is rising from 15% to a whopping 30%.

Until now, due to the 15% limit, Korea wasn’t a very attractive investment destination from foreigners’ perspective.

But there was anticipation that if this is relaxed, foreign capital investment will increase quite a bit. The problem is you can’t tell whether that will be a positive or negative factor.

“Especially Westerners, once they charge in, they often run until they’ve cleaned everything out. I’m worried our innocent stocks will just suffer damage. Anyway, let’s prepare well.”

“Yes, President.”

“Everyone go do your work. You work hard today so you can rest tomorrow. Oh right. Did we clear out everything in shipbuilding?”

“Yes. As you said, President, I think it’s correct to see no prospects there for a while.”

“Right. There’s no reason to keep holding something whose stock price has been cut in half. International oil prices don’t look normal lately either, so watch carefully.”

“Yes sir.”

After finishing the meeting with executives, President Hwang Dae-woon leaned his head back and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Gwangwoon Securities is on track, growing steadily into a major securities firm.

But the more this happens, the more it felt like walking on thin ice.

That’s what the stock market is.

In this world that’s nothing less than a rollercoaster itself, if you make a mistake, the tower you worked so hard to build could collapse all at once.

“I should go play some games later.”

When struggling in this kind of anxiety, it was best to blow away those worries with games.

That was why he played games.

“But I wonder how our Jin-ho is doing.”

He doesn’t want to play favorites, but since he blatantly inserted him as a parachute from the start, he couldn’t help but worry.

So he told his secretary to watch carefully and report if anything unusual happens.

Knock knock.

“President. May I come in for a moment?”

Speak of the devil and he appears.

The secretary knocked on the door.

“Come in. What is it?”

“Ah, you told me last time to watch Employee Jeong Jin-ho and report if anything happens, right?”

“I did. Is something wrong?”

“Yes. I brought this because there seems to be an unusual situation you mentioned, President.”

Did our Jin-ho cause trouble?

Or did he fight with a superior?

He’s such a polite guy, he doesn’t seem like someone who’d fight with people above him.

But a junior couldn’t cause trouble either.

“.Hm?”

However, the document he received showed a completely different development.

“Wait. What’s this? Senior promotion?”

“Yes. There are some seniors quitting this time, so they’re promoting several juniors to fill those empty spots. Jeong Jin-ho is included among them.”

“No. Look at these crazy people.”

Promoting a guy who just joined to senior?

Hwang Dae-woon was about to call the person in charge immediately to severely discipline this matter.

“.No, wait.”

However, he soon changed his mind.

“They must have had their reasons.”

Even team leaders would all know that Jin-ho is a parachute inserted directly from the CEO’s office.

Especially the team leader who received Jin-ho probably couldn’t even see the stock chart properly.

He would’ve had a lot of worries about whether to ignore that parachute or treat him obviously well.

After continuing those worries and worries, he seems to have made this decision, and the director who approved this must have also agonized in various ways.

“If you didn’t know what to do, you should’ve asked me directly.”

But it would also be funny for a director to suddenly come and ask what that parachute is.

“What should we do, President?”

“Just leave it.”

“What? So you’ll really let him get promoted to senior.”

“What can we do? It’s my fault. I should’ve explained well in advance, but I just threw him in without a word, so confusion came from their side too.”

Rather, let’s think it turned out well.

It seemed not bad to give Jin-ho an experience to painfully learn what investment is through this opportunity.

Anyway, he’s a guy who doesn’t know the first thing about investment.

Would that team leader have really promoted him to senior to actually let him invest?

He must have schemed this to show superiors that he put in this much effort.

“That team must have their thoughts too. They won’t entrust that much capital to Jin-ho either. In the end, they promoted him for show, right? Let him get just a taste and then send him to another department. Keep watching.”

“Yes, President.”

Our Jin-ho, he’ll be shocked when suddenly told he’s becoming a senior without knowing anything.

When first investing in stocks as a trader, he’ll probably be confused not knowing what to do first.

Then when he loses money, he’s the type who’ll blame himself for causing losses to the company and the guild master.

Then I’ll have to pat him on the back very coolly and magnanimously, saying it’s okay.

Because that’s what the image of a guild master Jin-ho looks up to should be.

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

There’s no word.

‘I thought an angry summons would come for all the people in charge to come up to the CEO’s office by now.’

If there was going to be a reaction, it should have come yesterday at the very least.

This is about suddenly promoting a new employee who just joined to senior.

Surely this fact reached the President’s ears, but there’s no news.

Not yesterday, and no news today either.

Just because it’s Saturday doesn’t mean securities firms rest.

Even the President comes to work on weekends without resting.

The same goes for the employees below.

Saturday work was inevitable at least for market analysis, report writing, and data collection.

‘But the fact that there’s no word means as expected.’

The President knew about it.

Jeong Jin-ho’s investment skills.

As Team Leader Park expected, this wasn’t an ordinary parachute.

A new employee with mysterious investment skills.

And the President who directly inserted that person.

There must be some connection.

Not a family relationship, but that unknown something.!

“Team Leader. Is our team getting more personnel? Why are they suddenly setting up new seats on our side?”

Team members tilted their heads seeing the equipment team staff come down and create two new seats.

“Some seniors submitted resignations and left. Someone has to fill those empty spots.”

“Is that our team? Looks like new seniors are coming in?”

“Yes.”

Team members had no idea that one of those seniors was Jeong Jin-ho.

Team Leader Park hadn’t told them yet either.

Because just in case, the CEO’s office might call belatedly and completely nullify it.

But seeing there’s still no word, wasn’t the President already aware this would happen?

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

“Going to work even on weekends. Too harsh.”

At least weekend work hours are 9 o’clock, and leaving time is also early.

After the market closes on weekdays, you need time to gather and organize data on weekends, so weekend work was absolutely necessary.

“Right. What complaints can I make? They give more money for weekend work too.”

I should just be grateful I can work.

Still, the body being tired is unavoidable.

I just wanted to hurry home and lie down.

At least the fortunate thing is working only Saturday and resting Sunday?

“I’m home.”

Is no one here?

Did Mom and Dad go to work today too?

Though they usually rested on weekends.

“Mom and Dad went grocery shopping.”

At the voice heard then, I flinched and looked toward the sofa.

My younger sister was lying there looking at her phone.

“Geez. You’re lying there without any sign of presence.”

“I even waved when you came, but you’re the one who didn’t see.”

“But what brings you home? You rarely come home on weekends.”

My sister was also living on her own for work.

“Dunno. Mom kept calling saying she wanted to see my face.”

“Tsk. Be good to Mom and Dad. You know how much they cherish you.”

“What about you? Playing games at home every day like a jobless. Huh?”

My sister blinked her eyes after looking at my outfit.

“Why are you wearing a suit?”

“Why? Because I came back from the company. Didn’t you hear from Mom?”

“What? You got a job?!”

“Hehe. I’m not jobless anymore.”

“No. Why didn’t you tell me? Congratulations. The day my brother gets a job finally comes.”

“Right. Like you said, I can’t live jobless forever.”

Of course, if hyung-nim hadn’t given me the opportunity, I might still be rotting away in that small room.

“But wait. You worked on the weekend? A company that makes you work on weekends. Those are called shitty small companies.”

“No. It’s actually the opposite. It’s quite a good company.”

“Oh yeah? Business card?”

“Ah. Of course I have one.”

I proudly pulled out a business card.

“Don’t be too shocked.”

“As if I’d be shocked. How big of a company could it. Gasp!”

My younger sister’s eyes widened round.

“Wh-what? Is this real?!”

“Of course it’s real. Have I lived only being deceived?”

“N-no. How did you get into Gwangwoon Securities! That doesn’t make sense!”

“Like mother like daughter, saying the same thing.”

As if she couldn’t believe it no matter how many times she looked, my sister examined the business card meticulously this way and that, almost like verifying counterfeit bills.

“This is unbelievable. My brother is a major company employee.”

“It’s not quite a major company yet.”

“Gwangwoon is definitely a major company!”

Still, seeing my younger sister this happy, I felt good for no reason.

Enough to relieve all the fatigue accumulated from working on the weekend today at once.

“This won’t do. It’s too precious to just pass this by.”

“Huh?”

“You’re really treating us today.”

“.I haven’t even gotten my first paycheck yet.”

“So you’re just going to let this pass?”

“Ugh.”

I pulled out my emergency fund with tears in my eyes.

I had saved it up preciously to spend on the game.

“Right. You have to treat once for getting a job. At least to our family.”

“This heat! Beef?”

“Cut me some slack.”

“Hehe. I actually like pork belly more. I should call Mom and Dad. Tell them you’re treating.”

Watching my sister excitedly calling Mom, I had many thoughts.

How long has it been since our family went out to eat together?

My heart tingled for no reason, feeling like our family was returning to how it used to be.

Right. Let’s work even harder.

So next time, I can stuff them with beef, not pork belly, until their bellies burst!