Chapter 16
Translator: Dreamscribe
Since the weekend, the team leaders had been frantically looking for someone with fire in their eyes.
Jung Jin-ho.
Where is Jung Jin-ho!
Not only was he under the CEO’s protection, but he was also boosting profit rates, truly a goose that laid golden eggs for Kwangwoon Securities.
However, Jung Jin-ho did not show up for work over the weekend.
"Well, after achieving such a profit rate, it would be crazy for that team to make him work on weekends."
“We don’t make the top earner of the week come in on weekends either.”
It was a sort of tradition.
In this field, seniority didn’t matter.
Profit was everything.
Whether the person was a Senior Staff, Deputy Manager, or Team Leader.
In front of profit, everyone was equal.
‘Just wait until he shows up on a weekday.’
‘Before someone else snatches him, I’ll be the first to...!’
All the team leaders in the Prop Trading Department had the same thought.
They were trying to lure that talented parachute hire into their teams with all kinds of sweet talk.
He was an unprecedented monster who achieved a 60% return in just five days.
If someone like him joined the team, performance wouldn’t be a concern for the time being.
But on the Monday they had all been anticipating, a thunderbolt-like announcement arrived.
"Jung Jin-ho as team leader?!"
They had already heard that a new team would be established after one of the teams collapsed due to the nickel incident. But no one had imagined that Jung Jin-ho would be the team leader of that new team.
“Wow. The CEO is really pushing hard.”
“He’s a parachute hire, and he proved his ability with profits. It’s like a bulldozer charging forward.”
“What a shame. I was on standby to snatch him today. And now he’s a team leader.”
“Like he’d ever have gone to you.”
The team leaders clicked their tongues in disappointment.
But it was also a personnel change they could accept.
He had the CEO backing him, and he was the newcomer with the highest short-term trading profit rate in the company’s history.
If the company valued ability, of course they would place him in a high position.
That way, they’d make even more money!
"Team Leader nim."
“Oh? Manager Seo. You’re here?”
“Yes. But today there was a sudden personnel change. What’s all this about?”
“Ah. What? Manager Seo, are you going to the new team this time?”
Manager Seo Jae-pil was bewildered by the personnel change order that had come down first thing in the morning.
New team.
Fine. That part was okay.
But the team leader of that new team was someone who had only been with the company for three weeks.
“I’ve heard bits and pieces. That new hire is a parachute, right? One placed by the CEO himself.”
“That’s all you heard?”
“Huh?”
“No, I mean. Besides the parachute part, didn’t you hear anything else?”
“What do you mean...?”
“Well, if you didn’t, that’s fine. Honestly, I envy you, Manager Seo, you know? Ha. You won’t have to worry about performance for a while over there.”
“Sorry?”
Did the team leader eat something strange this morning?
He already knew that the team the new hire had been in was selected as the best performing team of the month.
And not only that.
The new hire was chosen as the best trader of the month.
Because of that, there were already rumors going around that the parachute hire was being favored.
And in the midst of all that, Manager Seo was transferred to the new team.
Could it be that the team leader thought the company was going to heavily support the new team, and that’s why he said that?
Well, getting a bigger performance bonus would be nice, but...
To think he had to support a parachute hire who had only been with the company for just over two weeks.
How was he going to endure that pressure...
"Are you all still thinking that parachute hire is just coasting along? The Department Head wasn’t wrong. Maybe we really should go back to the old days and set up a display board again?”
“......?”
“You think this company is that trashy? He was selected as the best because he really brought in the most profit in the department.”
“What? Then you mean that new hire was actually the best trader?”
“That’s right. So go and learn a lot. You know in this field, seniority means nothing. In the end, this is what matters, right?”
The team leader made a circle with his fingers to show him. [TL Note: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-hand-gestures/#:~:text=Money%20hand%20sign,-In%20Korea%2C%20it's&text=For%20both%2C%20first%2C%20place%20your,creating%20the%20other%20money%20sign.]
More than experience, it was money.
That was the truth of this world.
As Manager Seo Jae-pil watched the back of the team leader who had patted his back and walked off, he tilted his head in confusion.
“......That new hire is really that good at investing?”
That was something he would have to find out for himself now.
* * *
Today, I realized for the first time that there could be a day even more nerve-wracking than the first day at work.
Now I was not just a employee or a Senior Staff, but a Team Leader.
I had only ever led raid parties in games, and now I was a team leader in a real company.
“There are a few facilities that only elite-grade employees can use. You can access them with your newly issued ID card.”
“Ah, yes.”
“And the Equipment Team staff should have already set up new gear in your personal office. Since new equipment has been added, you’ll probably need to get a separate explanation.”
I received the newly issued ID card from the HR Team staff.
On it was written: Kwangwoon Securities, Team Leader Jung Jin-ho.
“Congratulations, Team Leader Jung Jin-ho.”
My body trembled slightly at being called “Team Leader” for the first time today.
“Yes. Thank you.”
Just as I was about to leave the HR Team office with the newly issued ID card hanging around my neck.
“Team Leader Jung Jin-ho~!”
The HR Team Leader, Kim Moon-sik, who had been watching me intently from the back, stood up and came over.
“Looks like our introduction is a bit late? Haha. I’m Kim Moon-sik, Team Leader of the HR Team.”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”
“You know I was the one who first placed you in the Trading Department, right?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“I knew a day like this would come. Although... it came much faster than I expected. Anyway! Let’s stay in touch and work together often, okay?”
“Yes.”
After parting ways with the HR Team Leader, who kindly walked me all the way to the elevator, I arrived at the entrance to the Trading Department.
“Phew.”
Prop Trade Department Team 7, Team Leader, Jung Jin-ho.
That was my title starting today.
“Oh.”
As soon as I entered the department, I ran into none other than Team Leader Park Hong-seo.
“.......”
Team Leader Park also stopped briefly like I did, then gave a faint smile and patted me on the shoulder as he passed by.
It felt a bit strange.
Like I was being acknowledged in a significant way.
Outwardly, he always looked blunt and unapproachable, but if I thought about it, he was the one who had supported me the most in the team.
The reason I was able to become a team leader was because Team Leader Park had given me the opportunity.
‘I should buy him something as a gift later.’
Maybe I should get him something like a dumbbell for those burly muscles.
‘This is my office.’
A private office that only the team leader of the team could use.
When I opened the door and went in, the Equipment Team staff I had seen before was standing there.
“Team Leader nim. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Hello. We meet again.”
“Yes. Haha. I didn’t expect to see you again this soon. And as a team leader at that. I’ve never seen a promotion this fast. Congratulations.”
I looked at the newly set-up equipment and slightly opened my mouth in awe.
No way. The monitors had increased from six to nine!
“Okay. It’s similar to what I explained last time. But now you’ve got three more monitors. As a team leader, you can monitor your team members’ investment trends and real-time performance, and you can do that with these monitors.”
So that’s why Team Leader Park had nine monitors too.
“Oh, right. And the left mouse button was almost completely destroyed. So I replaced the mouse with a new one. I know things get hectic with short-term trading, but if you keep going like that, you’ll hurt your hand. If you think the mouse is going to break again, just let us know anytime. We’ll replace it right away. Time is precious for a trader.”
No wonder it felt like the clicks weren’t registering well lately.
I must have broken it from frantically clicking like crazy whenever I got the feeling.
“Well then, good luck today! And call us right away if anything goes wrong!”
Only after the Equipment Team staff left was I finally alone in the Team Leader’s Office. Rather than feeling overly excited about becoming a team leader, I felt tense and, more than anything, unsure of where to begin.
“I need to analyze the materials from Research before the market opens, hold a team meeting to set up strategy, and oh yeah. I haven’t even greeted my team members yet.”
My team members were probably all flustered today due to the sudden personnel announcement.
I had already received a list of who my team members would be.
Naturally, they were all people I didn’t know, but there was exactly one person I did know among them.
Knock knock-
“Team Leader nim. May I come in?”
Just in time, a familiar voice was heard.
“Ah, yes. Come in.”
Before long, Deputy Manager Lee Hye-rin entered the Team Leader’s Office with a bright smile.
“Team Leader Jung Jin-ho~. Good morning.”
“Ugh. Hearing that from you, Deputy Manager, feels kind of strange.”
“Hoho. It’s awkward for me too. But calling you Team Leader Jung Jin-ho, it somehow rolls off the tongue so well. Wow. But to think you’re a team leader now! Our Jin-ho ssi... oh wait, sorry. It’s such a habit.”
She said "our"...
No, what am I even thinking.
“You can just call me Jin-ho ssi like usual.”
“Oh no. Absolutely not. You’re now the team leader who’ll be leading our team. Congratulations, really. You totally deserve it, Team Leader nim!”
Deputy Manager Lee Hye-rin is on my team.
I couldn't be more reassured.
On top of that, when someone who was once under your position suddenly leaps ahead, it’s natural for envy or jealousy to arise. But this angel of a person seemed utterly immune to such feelings.
“And here’s today’s research material. I’ve marked the important parts separately. Just going over this should cover everything you need for the meeting today!”
As expected of Deputy Manager.
She must’ve been swamped this morning with the personnel reshuffle.
“Well then, take your time going through it. I’ll see you at the meeting, Team~. Lea~. Der~. nim~!”
She cutely emphasized “Team Leader” before stepping out.
Right. I knew something was missing from this morning.
Turns out I was lacking this dose of vitamin.
“Ah, now’s not the time for this.”
There was no time to get lost in sentiment.
“Meeting prep. Meeting prep first!”
It’s not like before, where I just dropped off materials and that was it.
Now, I was the team leader who had to lead the meeting.
* * *
“All the money is flowing into China right now.”
Manager Seo Jae-pil began the meeting.
It was our new team’s first meeting.
One Manager, two Deputy Managers, one Senior Staff, and one Regular Staff.
Including myself, the team was made up of six people.
“As you probably know, Team Leader, the Chinese stock market started at 2,000 points last year and is now at 5,178. That’s massive. It’s a 150% increase in just one year.”
Just looking at the chart, it was overwhelming.
Given their large population, the firepower was no joke either.
“So, since the domestic market is frozen, it looks like other teams have decided it’s better to bet on the Chinese market and are buying ETFs like crazy.” [TL Note: ETF = Exchange-traded fund https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange-traded_fund ]
We’re a team that only deals with domestic stocks, not international ones.
But that didn’t mean we were strictly banned from investing in foreign stocks.
We could still generate profits through derivatives distributed by asset management companies.
“Let’s enter this as well and grab some gains. I’ve heard it’s rising several percent a day. ETFs are good, and since China’s economy is booming, the steel sector is also likely to benefit, so it looks like a good area to jump in and out of.”
Following Manager Seo Jae-pil, this time it was Deputy Manager Kim Chung-hyun who gave some advice.
Just like the material we received from the Research Department stated, the Chinese market was currently the hottest in the world.
Because of this, raw materials and steel were performing strongly, and with the increase in Chinese tourists, sales in cosmetics and hotels were skyrocketing.
“If the yuan strengthens, the won also strengthens alongside it, while the dollar weakens. So placing a small short here wouldn’t be bad, Team Leader.”
“Among the representative H-shares in Hong Kong, there are names like the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, Ping An Insurance, and Sinopec. With the Chinese government backing state-owned enterprises, the projected returns are substantial.”
Right now, the meta was the Chinese stock market.
It was the kind of place where the earlier you entered, even by a single day, the better returns you’d get.
‘Good thing I studied in advance.’
Even in the last research material, there was plenty of data emphasizing that the Chinese stock market was the one to watch.
Some people were saying it was a bubble, but experts generally believed there was still plenty of time before it would pop.
“Even the Research Team and investment experts are all saying the same thing. They’re saying it could even go up not just 150%, but 300%.”
Predictions were surfacing that the Chinese market, not the U.S. stock market, would soon be the one to move the world.
‘Even I think this one has the highest win rate right now.’
The domestic market, true to the term “Box”, wasn’t reaching new highs or lows but was just maintaining the average.
It was inevitable. Even foreign investors, and even domestic individual investors, had already packed their money and moved into the Chinese stock market long ago, leaving the domestic market with almost no volatility.
In times like this, the best strategy is to simply do what everyone else is doing.
That’s exactly why the Research Department exists.
To tell us to ride the same upward trend that everyone else is following.
‘Nothing in particular is catching my attention.’
Maybe because it was just too obvious.
Meta, trend.
Following those, that’s our job, isn’t it?
“Then we should also......”
Just as I, as team leader, was about to give my first strategic instruction to the team.
‘Hm?’
My gaze stopped on a document I had quickly skimmed over earlier, lying haphazardly on the table among the other materials.
[China Stock Market Bubble Collapse Scenario]
It wasn’t a recommendation to invest immediately, but more like a reference document included just in case.
That’s why I had only glanced over it at first and moved on.
“.......”
I picked up the document as if drawn by a spell.
It listed several products.
[KOLEX China H Futures Inverse ETF]
[LION China H Leverage ETF]
All of them were derivatives betting on the decline of the Chinese stock market. [TL Note: I don't remember if I made a note about derivatives, so I am adding the wiki link here just in case I didn't. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_(finance)]
Products that no one would dare touch right now, that everyone believed would only lead to losses.
Normally, I would’ve just ignored them, since they were for reference only.
“......!”
But why?
“Team Leader?”
A powerful thrill surged through me, so intense that my fingertips holding the paper tingled.
*****
For 30 or more extra chapters, you can check out my Patreon here --> patreon.com/dreamscribe
If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊
To receive the latest update notifications or report mistakes, join our Discord server linked below.