Chapter 14
Translator: Dreamscribe
At the end of the month, smiles bloom on the faces of office workers.
What day do office workers like the most?
It's payday.
The same goes for prop traders.
It's the day they are rewarded for their performance, so of course they can't help but feel good.
Though, having to go to work even on Saturdays was unreasonably harsh.
However, today was a bit different.
“Is there even a team that hit the performance target this time?”
“This month, the market was a total mess.”
“It'd be a miracle if we hit even 5%. Most teams are said to be in the negative.”
Which team achieved the best performance, and which individual recorded the highest performance, can only be known at the end of the month.
The team and individual prop trader who achieved the best performance receive a hefty reward from the company.
But even that is only given if they meet a certain level of performance.
If a team records a loss or fails to hit even the minimum monthly target, how could the company give them a reward, even if they ranked first in performance?
The company’s minimum monthly target is 5%.
They say the desired range is 5% to 15%, but in reality, it’s rare for a team to hit 15% in a single month.
Unless it’s a bull market, achieving 15% is quite a tough condition.
Moreover, this month's market moved in the complete opposite direction.
There were even rampant speculations that no team might have achieved 5%.
“Even the options team, who used to make easy money, apparently got wrecked.”
“Those guys barely show up to work. But this month, they were working like crazy. Must've felt the heat.”
“Wow. I wonder how much they lost. They probably didn’t expect the market to swing this badly.”
“They must've gotten a proper taste of pain because of nickel.”
“Why are we even worrying about others? Our department is in the worst shape. I heard not a single team met the target return.”
So, everyone had given up.
There wouldn’t be any team receiving a bonus for top performance this month.
“But what’s this?”
Then an internal company announcement popped up.
It was about revealing the team with the best performance in the Prop Trading Department.
“There are people who made a profit in this bear market?”
“They met the target performance? No way.”
The traders, in disbelief, hurriedly checked the company homepage.
Monthly Best Team - Prop Trading Team 1
“Team 1? Wait. Team 1 means......”
“That’s where Team Leader Park is, right?”
“No way. Team Leader Park. How did you generate those returns? You didn’t even show a hint.”
He even skipped team leader get-togethers, saying it would cause muscle loss, and he normally kept to himself, so no one had any idea that Team 1 was generating profit.
“Wait a minute. Isn’t this possibly that thing?”
“What thing?”
“That parachute hire. He was assigned to Team Leader Park’s team, remember?”
“Ah. Don’t tell me it was favoritism?”
“Yeah. The funny part is, Team Leader Park promoted that parachute hire to senior trader. He really rode the right line.”
Now it made sense.
It was a reward for the parachute, and for Team Leader Park who actively pushed that parachute hire.
“Why don’t they just go ahead and name that parachute the best trader of the month too?”
“No. It's real.”
“Huh?”
“That parachute hire was actually selected as the best trader of the month!”
“W-what?”
What was said as a joke turned into reality.
No matter how much they favor a parachute hire, isn't this going too far?
What’s worse, the selection of the monthly best team and best trader is posted as an internal announcement that everyone in the Prop Trading Department can see.
The intention is to motivate other traders by highlighting the best team and trader, encouraging them to engage actively in the market, but this only caused a sense of deprivation instead of motivation.
“This is too much.”
“It’s one thing to push the whole team together, but the best trader is evaluated based on individual return. This is just absurd.......”
It seemed the company had crossed the line.
Team leaders, already extremely sensitive due to this month's disastrous performance, glanced at one another for a moment.
Their eyes shared a common understanding.
“We need to speak up about this.”
“Yeah. As team leaders, shouldn't we say something on behalf of our team members? What if another parachute hire comes in and causes chaos like this again? It'll just be a vicious cycle.”
There’s a saying that one must never go against the royal family.
However, if the ones who had been promoted to team leader status, classified as elite, banded together, they could at least voice a complaint.
To whom?
To the Department Head who was just above the team leaders.
“You must have too much time on your hands. Seeing how you're all swarming in like this.”
“It’s Saturday, Department Head.”
“Then why aren’t you at home? Why’d you come to the office and pack yourselves like sardines into my already small office? If you're here, start gathering data. You’re the very people who wrecked this month’s performance.”
The Department Head seemed completely relaxed, as if he already knew the team leaders would be coming.
“Department Head. We’ve got nothing to say about the performance either, but you saw the internal notice, right? This is seriously too much, isn’t it?”
“Too much? What is?”
“Team 1, to be honest, probably had similar performance to ours. But now you’re telling us that the rookie who came in through parachute and was instantly made a senior trader is the best trader of the month? That makes no sense.”
Lee Tae-ho, the Department Head, had already more or less figured out what was on the team leaders’ minds.
They couldn't storm into the CEO’s office themselves, so they wanted him to speak up on their behalf.
To take the bullet, like a true Department Head.
“Back in the day, we used to install a huge LED board in the center of the office and broadcast in real time who was earning more. It was full of passion and fun back then. Right?”
That’s how securities firms used to be.
But now, the culture had changed.
Displaying performance in real time and provoking competitive spirit only shook the mental state of traders, often leading to reckless investments.
“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden......”
“If we still had that, you wouldn’t be crowding in here like this. And I wouldn’t be wasting my time either.”
“What?”
The Department Head tossed a document to the team leaders.
“I figured you'd come charging in with fire in your eyes, so I printed this out ahead of time.”
The team leaders hesitantly flipped through the document.
They tilted their heads at the unrealistic returns listed there.
“Department Head, isn’t this too much, even for data manipulation?”
“You’re telling us this kind of profit was made in just five days? This is way too obvious.”
People who should know better were talking nonsense.
That just meant the numbers were that far removed from reality.
“Hey. Falsifying trade volume or returns is straight-up prison time. You think I’m insane enough to do that?”
“S-So you’re saying this is real?”
“No, seriously. A 60% return in just five days? That doesn’t even sound plausible.”
The magic of turning 5 billion won into 8 billion. (TL Note: 3.6 million dollar to 5.8 million dollar. 1 billion won = $723149)
And it wasn’t even from long-term investment.
From the first day to the fifth, the entire amount was made through short-term trades only.
“Yeah. It doesn’t make sense, right? I still don’t believe it myself. I’ve been through every kind of hell and met all sorts of traders, but I’ve never seen one like that.”
If the Department Head was saying that, then those returns had to be real.
“Wait. Wasn’t he a parachute hire? Part of the royal family?”
“I don’t know the exact relationship between our CEO-nim and that rookie. One thing that’s certain is that CEO-nim already knew about that rookie’s abilities before hiring him.”
Lee Tae-ho had heard it clearly in that meeting, where even the Senior Managing Director and Managing Director were present.
That the rookie was a capable guy.
It was something the CEO himself had said.
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, our CEO-nim doesn’t seem like the type to just stick in a parachute hire randomly.”
“Still, how the hell do you get 60% in just five days? All through short-term trading. That’s basically the same as seeing the future.”
The surprising part is, even getting a glimpse of the future wouldn’t make something like that possible.
In short-term trading where trades happen in seconds, by the time you come back from seeing the future, the price has already gone up or down.
“Alright. No more complaints now, right? What’s our company motto? You get rewarded according to your skill, don’t you? It’s the same for this parachute. He’s getting what he deserves based on his skills.”
“.......”
The team leaders were left speechless.
“So I hope no one has any complaints about what’s going to happen next, either.”
“Huh? What’s going to happen?”
“You’ll find out next week. Now get out, all of you. The new hire’s walking away with a fat bonus, and you team leaders are just going to sit here twiddling your thumbs?”
They were kicked out of the department head’s office with dazed expressions.
Then one of the team leaders muttered into the air.
“But... if a team member wants to transfer to another team, they can do that, right?”
“Huh?”
“!?”
The team leaders exchanged glances again, just like they had before entering the department head’s office.
Then, as if they had agreed in unison, they all dashed off to the office.
Because the goose that lays golden eggs was currently in the department downstairs.
***
Saturday is usually a day off for office workers, but for us prop traders, it wasn’t a holiday.
The company doesn’t force us to come in.
But with so much data to sort and so many things to prepare on Saturdays, weekend work was inevitable.
‘Jin-ho ssi. I’m seriously so, so grateful. You’re our team’s savior, savior.’
‘Yeah, Jin-ho ssi. We’ll take care of the data tomorrow, so get plenty of rest at home, okay? Hahaha.’
‘That’s right, Jin-ho ssi. Don’t tire yourself out coming in on Saturday. Please rest at home. I’ll compile all the data we sort over the weekend and send it to you separately.’
But yesterday, my team members insisted I shouldn’t come in, saying they’d take care of all the grunt work.
The team’s performance, which had been crawling on the floor, had shot up thanks to me, and we were now able to receive performance bonuses.
So now, when I go to the office, I’m basically treated like a hero within the team.
Dding~.
Just then, my phone rang.
-Are you resting well, Jin-ho ssi?
It was none other than Deputy Manager Lee Hye-rin.
Just receiving a message from her already brought a smile to my face.
-Yes. I feel a little guilty being the only one resting.
-Oh, come on. What are you talking about? You’re the backbone of our team, Jin-ho ssi! Don’t think like that and rest well. I also emailed you the data we compiled today!
-Thank you! (__) (TL Note: Kowtow Emoji)
-I should be the one thanking you >-< See you Monday
We only exchanged a few texts, but it felt like sweetness was in the air.
As expected, our company is the best.
Dding~.
But then, another notification came in.
Is it her again?
Thinking that, I picked up my phone.
But this time, the notification wasn’t from her, it was from the bank.
Depositor: Kwangwoon Securities.
Ah. My paycheck!
These people.
They worked us hard even on Saturdays, but they also make sure pay is deposited reliably on weekends, too.
With a pounding heart, I opened the app.
“......?”
And I stared blankly at the screen, like someone who’d just been hit in the head with a bat.
Wait a second. What is this?
Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand... hundred million?
Seeing a number I rarely even encounter in games appear in my bank account made me feel detached from reality.
I had heard that senior traders receive a share of the profits, and since I had significantly contributed to the team’s performance, I expected some money to come in.
“But 700 million?!”
My hands trembled at the sight of an amount I had never touched in my life.
Ddiririri-!
Then, this time it wasn’t a notification, it was a call.
I was so startled I nearly dropped my phone.
“Ah, geez. Who is it? You scared me... Huh. CEO-nim!”
I quickly answered the call.
“CEO-nim! I mean, hyungnim!!”
[Yeah. Did you receive your paycheck?]
“Uh, this isn’t some kind of system error, right? An absurd amount just got deposited into my account......”
[Well, you made an absurd amount of profit. For seniors, the profit share starts at 20%. And you were selected as the best trader this time. So with the bonus included, it probably came out to a bit over 700 million.]
So this is why people want to become prop traders.
[Oh, right. But just because you got 700 million, don’t get too excited and start spending it right away.]
“Huh? Why not?”
[You’ve never paid comprehensive income tax before, have you? Prop traders are treated like freelancers, so aside from the 3.3% deduction, you have to pay comprehensive income tax separately in May.]
The Guild Master let out a deep chuckle.
How much do they take that he’s warning me like this?
[They’re scary enough to take nearly half, so make sure you set some aside.]
"Ne, nearly half?!"
Sometimes in-game, the hyungs would curse the National Tax Service, calling them demons.
Turns out they were right.
[Also, it’s been a while. How about we grab a meal together? I’ve got something to talk about.]