Chapter 21
Translator: Dreamscribe
“Ah. I really can’t get any rest. Not a moment’s rest.”
After the typhoon had swept through.
Those who somehow survived had no time to rest.
They had barely managed to get a respirator on.
Because to return to their past glory, they had to start all over again from the beginning.
“What can you do? Everyone needs to work hard and scavenge even scrap paper. We have to make some kind of profit no matter what.”
“Last month was a loss because of nickel, and now with this situation blowing up again, there’s no helping it.”
“Sigh. I wanted to go to the Prop Trading Department too. Good thing I didn’t. At least we get a fixed salary regularly.”
“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you? Time to wake up from the fantasy. Everyone thinks prop traders make a ton of money, but it’s only the ones who know how to make it that actually do.”
“Still, if there’s one consolation for those people, it’s that they’re not the only ones hit by China.”
That guy over there, that side too, and also that guy over there.
Everyone was in the red together.
Wasn’t there a saying that miserable people feel happy just by looking at each other.
Traders were taking comfort in that, at least.
“But what’s Team 7 doing? Still no movement?”
“Yeah. Still no trading volume at all. It’s literally frozen solid.”
Everyone was jumping into the market now with the mindset of picking up even scrap paper.
Normally, it’s better not to trade during a bear market.
But if things stay this way, there’ll be no bonuses next month either.
Prop traders don’t live on salary, but on performance bonuses.
They couldn’t just sit around twiddling their thumbs and starve to death, so they were trading with desperation.
You could tell just how hectic it was by simply looking at each team’s trading window.
In the midst of this, Team 7 alone remained relaxed.
They were in the same department, but living in a completely different world.
Like they're spending a vacation alone on a treasure island.
“How long are they planning to hold that?”
The Trade Team could never know another team’s earnings rate, trading volume, or position.
But the Risk Management Team knew everything.
Because they were the monitoring system.
So they had full insight into what stocks Team 7 was holding.
“It’s been over a week already, but they’re still holding it all without selling. If it were me, I would have gone crazy and sold immediately even if it only went up 2x."
“That’s why he’s sitting in that seat. That guy... to me, he’s not even human. The fact that he bet alone on a bear market to begin with, he’s basically a monster.”
The team that the Risk Management Team was watching most closely was none other than Team 7.
From when they suddenly bet on a bear market out of nowhere, and even after the bubble burst, seeing them not release their holdings to the end, now the risk team was more nervous than the parties involved.
“Ah. I’m seriously the one getting nervous here.”
“But don’t you think they won’t sell for a while?”
“Yeah. With no signs of the Chinese stock market improving, they’ll probably keep holding.”
They were supposed to monitor traders overextending themselves on investments, but the Risk Management Team staff all had their eyes glued only to Team 7’s trading window.
“Is nobody working?”
Manager Kim Sang-gon, unable to bear it any longer, gave a warning.
“Traders are going crazy and dumping left and right. We have to stop them from losing more. Team 7 isn’t even moving anyway, so everyone just get back to work. Close all Team 7 trading windows.”
“Yes, sir.......”
The staff moved to close the trading windows with regret in their hearts.
“Uh? Uhh?”
“What now?”
“M-Manager. It, it’s moving! They’re moving!”
“What?”
“Team 7 is dumping all their volume!”
“!?”
Manager Kim Sang-gon dashed to his desk, eyebrows flying.
It was to not miss even a single moment of the long-awaited event.
***
Tak tak tak-!
Click-! Click-!
For the first time in a while, the sounds of frantic keyboard and mouse clicks rang out.
At Team Leader Jung Jin-ho’s sudden order to sell, the team members were disposing of everything they had been holding.
Of course, they didn’t dump everything at once like amateurs.
That could cause the price to crash all at once.
So they split the volume and proceeded with the selling.
“But... are we sure this is the right move?”
“Yeah. Feels like the price will go up more if we just hold out today.”
But the team leader’s instruction today was firm.
Sell everything.
Instead of selling half and watching the trend, he literally told them to sell everything.
They were following that instruction, but still couldn’t help but wonder, is this really the right call?
“Tsk.”
But every time such doubt crept in, bitter words flew from Manager Seo.
“I told you. Don’t you dare question him.”
“B-but, Manager. Just looking at the trend right now, it seems like it’ll only go higher. It really doesn’t look like it’s going to fall.”
“So what? Can you generate the same returns as Team Leader? He’s the one who bet on a bear market all by himself when everyone else was betting on a bull run. Can you do that?”
“No.......”
That was something even with two hearts, one couldn’t do.
That’s why to them, Team Leader Jung Jin-ho didn’t seem human.
If it were an ordinary person, they’d have agonized for days over whether to sell, and eventually, unable to withstand the pressure, dumped everything before the bubble burst.
"Honestly, I don't understand the team leader's judgment either. But he sees the world differently from us. When we see 1, he’s judging based on 10.”
They say true masters of investing have a different perspective.
But in truth, anyone who’s done some Prop Trading knows one inconvenient fact.
Everyone talks about insight and perspective, but in the end, investing comes down to luck.
"But our team leader isn't about luck, right?"
That’s what was most frightening.
Team Leader Jung Jin-ho’s decisions were never based on luck, but on some kind of algorithm so complex that ordinary people couldn’t even begin to comprehend it.
“Still, I feel relieved. I was getting so anxious wondering how long we’d have to keep holding this.”
“Wow. I’ve never seen this much profit in my life. And in just a week, too!”
The average monthly return for a prop trader is 5%.
This is a place where you're called an ace if you earn just 1% per day.
But look at this profit rate now.
“Amazing.”
Those were the only words that came out.
The money that started at 50 billion had grown to hundreds of billions.
In that short amount of time.
“Everyone, gather the data. I’m going to report directly to Team Leader.”
“Yes, sir!”
Manager Seo compiled the data he received from the team members and headed to the Team Leader’s Office.
He couldn’t believe how light his steps felt as he went to make the report.
***
I looked through the data that Manager Seo handed me with a big smile on his face.
Was he always someone who smiled this much?
“The ETFs were a bit disappointing. As you know, there aren’t that many types of China ETFs. And they only yield returns proportional to the market’s decline. But we hit the jackpot with the stocks we shorted and the put options.”
The price of the put options we were holding had increased by up to 20 times, and we sold all of them right at that point. Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say most of the profits came from there.
“It’s a shame, too. The steel sector we focused on as our main target had trading volume limitations."
Still, we squeezed in as much as possible and made a big hit.
After recovering all the ETFs and short positions and consolidating them in one place.
“It’s 250 billion won, Team Leader.”
Manager Seo’s voice was trembling.
“In my long Prop Trading career, I’ve only made 30% in a month once. But 500%...”
Even when I first received 50 billion KRW from the company, I thought that if I could just double it, no more, no less, that would be a huge success.
“You’ve worked hard, Manager.”
“Oh no, not at all. I only did what you instructed, Team Leader. You’re the one who really worked hard. Thank you, Team Leader. Please call me again if there’s anything else I can do.”
After the manager left, I stared blankly at the screen.
Even investing with 50 billion felt unreal, but now that it had grown to several hundred billion, all I could do was let out a hollow laugh.
‘The Team Leader receives 30% of the profit.’
On top of that, if the team hits a record performance, there’s an additional percentage bonus.
Then how much is coming in, exactly?
I still can’t believe my last paycheck was 700 million won, and now it’s going to be far more than that?
‘Maybe... I should’ve held out just a bit longer?’
But as they say, human greed has no end.
Even after making this much profit, the thought lingered, maybe if I’d held on just a bit longer, I could’ve earned more.
‘No matter how I look at the indicators, this doesn’t seem like a selling point at all.’
I’ve been studying investing diligently, but even with my still-lacking perspective, it didn’t look like the right time to sell.
‘The price is even going up more now. I really should’ve held on just a little longer...’
That was as far as the thought got.
I cut off the thoughts that were creeping up and turned off the monitor too.
It's already done, sold everything and finished.
Let's not regret it.
“.......”
Ah. But I really should have held on just a little longer.
***
As with most securities firms, no one had been able to recover from the China Shock.
Among them, the ones trembling nonstop in hands and feet were the staff of the Options Department.
“They are not going to release it today either, right?”
“Are you crazy? You think they are going to sell that now?”
“Even if they do nothing, the price will keep climbing on its own. They would have to be insane to release the volume now.”
“Seriously, who the hell is it? Who’s holding it?”
There wasn’t even any blood left to dry.
The one holding the volume seemed to be enjoying the sight of the Chinese stock market collapsing.
And why wouldn’t they?
As time passed, the Chinese stock market was only falling further.
Everyone had already given up.
“Sigh. There’s nothing to do anyway, might as well just have a smoke...”
“I-it’s up!”
“What?”
“The volume’s pouring out right now! Everyone buy, quick! Now!!”
The employees who had just been slumped over their desks all sprang up and started frantically clicking the buy button.
The one releasing the volume wasn’t dumping it all at once, but adjusting the price as he released it, so they couldn’t relax for even a second.
If they slipped up, there was a huge risk of losing the volume to another securities firm.
“Phew-.”
“Is it done? Did we get it all?”
“We didn’t get everything, but luckily, it looks like we recovered most of it.”
The staff let out sighs of relief.
They had already taken a serious hit, but it could’ve gotten far worse.
Maybe out of some twisted sympathy, the tycoon who had them on the verge of death had suddenly released the volume.
"Why did they do that?"
As the tension eased, question marks started popping up over everyone’s heads.
“Right? If they left it alone, it would rise more. Look even now. The price is gradually going up."
This was a time when you could just sit still and the money would flow in.
But to kick away such a honey pot like that?
“Who knows. Maybe he suddenly needed funds urgently.”
“Could there be something else going on? Remember before the China Shock hit, they swept up all the volume on this side.”
“Is there really anything going on? The Chinese government is staying quiet. Thanks to that, their market is getting destroyed even more.”
“I don’t know. Don’t even want to know. I’m just glad this is finally over. I thought my eyes were going to fall out watching volume for the past few days.”
Yeah. Let’s be glad it ended like this.
If things had gotten any worse from here, just imagining what would’ve come next was horrifying.
“Good work, everyone. Let’s be thankful it ended here. Now I’m finally going to grab a smoke-”
“T-Team Leader! One moment, please!”
But rest was not yet permitted.
The team leader, who had just tried to take a short break with a cigarette, turned around irritably.
“What now? Did the Chinese government pull some bullshit again?”
“Yes!”
“What?”
The team leader’s eyes went wide as he rushed toward the monitor.
The economic news anchor was delivering a breaking news update.
[The Chinese government has issued a ban on stock sales. Major shareholders holding more than 5% stakes are now prohibited from selling any shares, and all IPOs have been suspended. In addition, the government has begun market stabilization efforts by injecting national funds and announced plans to cut interest rates and increase the reserve requirement ratio for loans.......]
“A stock sale ban? Are they seriously insane? What the hell are these bastards doing now!”
An extreme regulatory policy banning major shareholders from selling, along with interest rate cuts and injection of national funds.
The Chinese government had finally begun efforts to normalize the market.
This meant the Chinese stock market now had the potential to rebound.
The problem was the options.
“If that’s the case... we did recover at the peak, right?”
“Yes.......”
Since that news broke, the price had already dropped by half.
No one could even predict how much further it would fall from here.
“If we’d held on for just ten more minutes.......”
If they had, they might’ve recovered at a much cheaper price.
No, maybe they wouldn’t have needed to recover anything at all.
“Who the hell is it?”
By this point, they were genuinely dying of curiosity.
“Who the hell is the bastard who stripped us clean!!”