Chapter 24
Translator: Dreamscribe
“CEO-nim. This is a report on an unusual matter.”
An unusual matter.
If the secretary brought something labeled as 'unusual', then there could only be one reason.
It was something related to Jin-ho.
“What kind of big news is it this time?”
“He said he wants to open an FX market trading account.”
“What?”
FX all of a sudden?
“Asking to open that account means, don’t tell me...”
Like a veteran, CEO Hwang Dae-woon's mind quickly turned.
The FX market is the largest financial market in the world.
And right now, Jin-ho is holding 250 billion won in funds.
If he tries to operate all of that at once in the domestic stock market and takes a wrong step, the Financial Supervisory Service would come barging in.
Even large securities firms fear the Financial Supervisory Service.
So it seemed like Jin-ho was turning his attention elsewhere.
"Good grief. He could’ve just taken a break.”
If he had grown 50 billion won into 250 billion won, he could rest for an entire year and no one would say anything. But Jung Jin-ho, this guy is truly consistent.
He’s like a pine tree.
Even in the guild, he meticulously paid attention and cared for its management.
That’s why whenever Jin-ho didn’t log in, the guild members would make a big fuss.
It was the same here.
He doesn’t know how to take a break.
Just like in the game, he’s always searching for something.
In his own words, he says he’s looking for a dopamine hit or something like that.
“But if it’s FX, does that mean he’s planning to put it in long-term?”
Why does so much money gather in the foreign exchange market?
Because many places invest their money there for the long term.
It's true that FX is also a great market for day trading.
Unlike stock markets that close for a certain period each day, the FX market operates 24 hours.
That’s why Kwangwoon Securities has a separate FX Department, where traders take shifts to handle trading around the clock.
Isn’t the goal of a prop trader to earn even just 0.1% per day?
The downside is that the daily volatility of the FX market averages only around 1–2%, so it’s hard to expect massive returns.
“But I don’t think he’s planning to use leverage with a sum as big as 250 billion.”
Maybe if it were 25 billion won.
To pull leverage with 250 billion, he’d need a prime broker, and there’s no way someone would lend out trillions that easily. (TL Note: Leverage explaination.)
Not to mention, just preparing the margin alone would be a headache.
“How long does it take to open the account?”
“Yes. If we do it as quickly as possible, we might be able to move up the timeline.”
“Alright. Then let’s try to get it open within two days. Also, call in the executives. We need to discuss some things.”
"Yes sir."
Jin-ho kept trying to push forward, but realistic obstacles were blocking his path.
In that case, as the CEO who supports him, and as the Guild Master, he had to help clear the way so Jin-ho could move forward without obstruction.
It seemed necessary to create the strongest team in Kwangwoon Securities history, one that revolved solely around Jung Jin-ho.
***
“Oh. Team Leader. You’re here early?”
“Ah, yes. Luckily, the talk ended well. The Department Head said he’ll open the account as fast as possible. Did you complete all the buying?”
“Yes. I did exactly as instructed. I bought in parts to minimize price impact.”
“Good work. Then let’s wait for now.”
I entered the Team Leader’s Office and took my seat.
Then Deputy Manager Lee Hye-rin came in, carrying steaming coffee.
“Team Leader. Fighting for today as well.”
“Yup. You too, Deputy Manager.”
With that relaxed air, I took a sip of the morning coffee.
Right now, other teams were already clicking away at their keyboards and mice, busy with buying and selling the moment the market opened, but our team was just quietly watching the screen.
'The time difference between Greece and Korea is 7 hours.'
It’s currently early morning over there.
And for Greece to truly default, we’d have to wait until the repayment date, which still had some time left.
'Did we enter too early?'
What if, against my expectations, the default doesn’t happen?
No. I decided not to think such thoughts.
That’s because my intuition had never once been wrong until now.
It’s only natural for the heart to waver, since I'm human.
But I’ve gotten much better than before.
'So that means we might have to monitor for at least a few more days.'
Maybe Greece would ask for more time and extend the repayment date.
If that happened, then there would be no changes for us until then, and we would have nothing to do.
“Should I study.”
I took out one of the investment books I had bought for studying.
A book considered the bible of investors.
<The Intelligent Investor>
The author of this book is Benjamin Graham, known as the father of value investing, and he emphasizes a few key things to us.
[Look at the company's value.]
[Pursue only value rather than immediate price.]
And the part most emphasized in the book was this.
[Do not be swayed by short-term market volatility.]
[Short-term investing is speculation.]
In other words, he was saying not to do short-term investing.
“......”
Strangely, I felt a prick of guilt.
I understood the message of the book perfectly well.
It says it's good to look at a company's value and make long-term investments, but the problem is that in Korea, even if a company's value is good, the price doesn't follow.
That’s because Korea’s KOSPI is focused more on short-term gains than long-term returns.
“I know value investing is good too, but......”
To hold a stock for 10, 20, or even 30 years?
I shook my head.
I just didn’t think I could do that.
What I pursued wasn’t the value investing preached by all the legendary investors, but dopamine investing.
Besides, the Prop Trading Department despises value investing.
“Still, time passed quickly.”
Before I knew it, it was past noon.
Since there was nothing to do anyway, maybe I should suggest we go grab lunch.
Normally, traders rarely eat lunch around this time, but our situation was different.
"Then before I go out, one last time......."
Before leaving the Team Leader’s Office, I casually checked the stocks we had bought.
There shouldn’t be any signals coming in right now, but just in case... zap! Ouch, that stings!
I instinctively pulled my hand away from the mouse at the intense incoming signal.
‘Why is the signal coming now?’
Aren’t the Greeks sleeping?
***
The office felt cold today.
It wasn’t because of the actual temperature, but because the team members were nervous.
A whopping 250 billion won.
Even losing just 1% meant 2.5 billion.
That amount was equivalent to what a typical prop trader would handle entirely in one go.
“But what if both the short and long positions go wrong and we lose 10%, that’s 25 billion!”
“Quiet, Deputy Manager Ahn.”
“Sorry. I’m just nervous......”
“I told you that a prop trader needs to have strong mental fortitude.”
“But wouldn’t anyone be nervous in this situation?”
It felt good right after closing positions and having a team dinner.
But when we opened our eyes, we were fully armed with bullets and thrown back into the battlefield.
“In times like this, look at our Team Leader.”
Everyone simultaneously turned their heads toward the Team Leader behind the glass wall.
He was sitting upright, reading a book.
And not just any book, but an investment book!
“Wow....... Even someone like him studies investing. He probably doesn’t have anything left to learn.”
“You know what they say. Humility is learning. He keeps learning endlessly.”
"When I think about 250 billion won thrown into the market, the letters don't register in my eyes."
“Isn’t that what a true leader looks like? If the person above us were trembling like we are, everything would fall apart.”
But they all knew.
If anything were going to happen, it would have to be after the market closed at the earliest.
“Since it’s dawn over in Greece right now. Whether they default or pay, there’s still time left.”
“Hmm. Then should we do something else too?”
“Yeah, might as well. Everyone, read some investment books like the Team Leader. If even someone like that studies, we should too.”
And just then.
Suddenly, loud noises could be heard all around.
“What? Is it real?”
“No way. Did these crazy bastards really blow it up?”
Hearing the shouts from the members of other teams, they wondered what was going on.
Sure enough.
“Manager! It’s not Greece! A statement just came out from the IMF!?”
As the repayment date approached, the IMF offered to extend the deadline first to the Greek government.
But the response was a rejection from the Greek government.
They had no intention of paying the money back.
“It really happened. Greece defaulted.”
“Crazy bastards.”
Just like Team Leader Jung Jin-ho said, no just like he predicted, it turned out exactly that way.
“Everyone.”
At that moment, a sacred voice was heard from behind, and everyone turned their heads.
“It’s time to work.”
***
At the KRX, there is a separate body known as the Market Surveillance Committee.
A monitoring system designed to ensure fair and transparent trading in the domestic stock market.
Here, the first round of surveillance filters out what needs to be addressed.
Even so, sometimes signs of serious problems emerge.
Then it moves on to the next stage.
“Team Leader. A cooperative surveillance request just came in from KRX."
It was from the Special Investigation Division at the Financial Supervisory Service.
Since there are so many people trying to exploit the domestic stock market, Korea has a much tighter surveillance system compared to other countries.
This has completely suppressed market growth, but on the flip side, it has reduced the number of victims.
“Which firm?”
“It’s Kwangwoon Securities.”
“Kwangwoon Securities again?”
Kwangwoon Securities.
They have been under intense surveillance since the China Shock.
The only firm to make a profit during that disaster.
There were rumors of insider trading, but the issue was that China’s regulatory announcements couldn’t be used to justify insider trading charges.
And just when things seemed to have quieted down after they pulled all their money out...
They made a move again this morning.
“They probably couldn’t throw all 250 billion into one place, so it looks like they tried to spread it out as much as possible...”
"Even though they split it up, quite a lot went into each stock."
“Right. No wonder the KRX made a request.”
Still, it wasn’t enough to warrant a direct warning or sanctions.
If there were clear market manipulation, the Financial Supervisory Service could suspend trading, but...
“They’re riding the line pretty tightly.”
It was a truly ambiguous amount.
They had inserted just the right quantities, perfectly calibrated to avoid crossing the line.
It looked like a team operation, and it made one curious who the team leader was.
Could it be someone with deep knowledge of the Financial Supervisory Service?
Even a seasoned veteran would have trouble getting the quantities that precise.
“But strangely, there’s no significant movement.”
They put money in, and everything was quiet.
Usually, those trying to manipulate the market pump up the prices recklessly, but in this case, the purchases were made in parts to minimize impact.
Still, it wasn’t a time to relax.
They could dump everything with a sudden sell-off before the market closes and crash the prices.
“Huh? Team Leader. They’re moving.”
Then, after some time had passed.
The players finally started moving again.
The problem was that it wasn’t just them moving.
“Damn. Greece really blew it.”
The entire market was shaking due to the IMF’s announcement.
After the China Shock, now a Greek default?
Because of the psychological impact, some were dumping stock while others were scrambling to buy.
“......”
Team Leader Yoo Sang-gu closely observed the suspicious movement from Kwangwoon Securities.
With the Greek default now a confirmed reality, some stocks were rising, and others were falling.
But was it just a coincidence?
“They’re the only ones profiting, aren’t they?”
Long on the rising stocks, short on the falling ones.
Their positions from the morning were correct.
And what did that mean?
“They knew today’s default was going to happen.”
But after China, now Greece too?
Just how good is their information network?
Even the largest securities firms in the country seemed completely unaware.
“And they’re even doing day trading right now, moving money in and out while doing short-term trades?”
Even more astonishing, they weren’t stopping there but continuing to buy and sell, swimming through the waves of volatility.
Their trades were made at impeccable timing, walking the tightrope with precision.
Their sharp skills were enough to leave anyone speechless.
This clearly wasn’t the work of individual team members.
Someone was controlling everything from the top.
And doing it like magic.
“Just who is the conductor of this team?”
***
Before entering full-scale trading.
I assigned each team member their portion.
In order for us to do short-term trades, our coordination had to be perfect, but I couldn't just keep running out of the Team Leader’s Office to give orders every time it was time to buy or sell.
“.......”
At first, I thought I’d just send messages.
But after the IMF announcement came out and I stepped out of the Team Leader’s Office to face the team.
Suddenly, I got a signal.
Right in the direction I was looking.
So I approached Deputy Manager Lee Hye-rin and told her to dump the position she was holding.
And we made a profit from that.
Thinking it might not be a fluke, I kept moving among the team members.
And when I turned in a particular direction again, the feeling came.
This time it was toward Manager Seo.
“Manager. Sell.”
“Ah, yes!”
Just as I gave the instruction and turned my body, I felt a tingle crawl up the back of my neck.
“Manager.”
“Ah, yes. I’m selling rig-”
“Buy it back.”
“Pardon?”
“Quickly.”
“Ahh. Yes!”
I busily moved through the office.
“Deputy Manager Ahn, buy now.”
“Yes!!”
When the team members saw me approaching, they got tense, and when the command dropped, they frantically hit their keyboards and mice.
It felt like we were raiding a dungeon again after a long time.
In those situations too, the raid leader would issue real-time orders to the raid members for each specific pattern. It felt like I was experiencing that again.
“Deputy Manager Ahn, buy again.”
“Huh? I, I just sold it-”
As Deputy Manager Ahn hesitated, the manager’s scolding came crashing down.
“Deputy Manager Ahn! I told you to let go of your ego!”
“Ah, yes! Ugh! S-sorry! I hit the wrong button...!”
Even the raid had members who made mistakes from nerves, it was exactly the same.
“It’s alright. Don’t feel pressured. We can just earn it back.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry!”
With that, we entered the trade no, the raid, ready to defeat the boss named 'return on investment'.
***
“Whew. Finally!”
If there’s a beginning, there’s always an end.
When the market closed and I looked back, sweat was beading on my forehead, and my back was completely soaked.
“G-good work, everyone.”
“Ugh. I was so tense, my neck and shoulders are all stiff.”
“Same here.”
This was the craziest trading experience of our lives.
Tens and hundreds of billions were flying back and forth in an instant, and all we did was follow the Team Leader’s commands and click.
Whenever the Team Leader’s footsteps approached, our whole bodies would stiffen in tension. And the moment a command was given, we had to act without even a second of delay.
Maybe it was from being so tense.
We did make some mistakes here and there, but the Team Leader let it slide graciously.
He said it in that calm voice, “We can just earn it back” which helped ease some of the tension.
But still.
“I feel like the energy’s drained out of me from head to toe.”
“Is this because I’ve been soaked in dopamine too much, or just because the adrenaline exploded like crazy.”
“Ugh. Every time I made a mistake, my heart dropped. It hurt just from anxiety.”
We were all nervous, but also, had we ever had this much dopamine surge through us before?
We were doing short-term trading with 250 billion won.
Even after the market closed, our hands were still trembling slightly.
“How much did we make? Did we hit 5%?”
“5%? We hit 35%.”
“Wha-! Thirty-five percent!? In that short time!?”
“Is that for real?”
All we did was move our hands following the Team Leader’s instructions.
And we made a profit of 90 billion won from 250 billion.
“Wow. That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, really. Thirty-five percent on a short-term trade...”
“Can he really see the future? What’s the basis for his decisions? I still don’t get it.”
“Making a big profit is great, but... I’m so drained, I can’t even lift a finger.”
In all our time as prop traders, this was the first time we had been this physically exhausted.
It wasn’t like we had done some huge workout or anything.
All we did was click a few buttons.
“But, uh...”
At that moment, the Team Leader appeared behind us.
He was pressing his temples like he had a headache.
“The FX market runs 24 hours, right?”
“Uh... yes.”
Why bring that up all of a sudden?
A wave of unease crept in.
“Then once our account is opened, we can go even later than now, right?”
“Eh? W-well... yes?”
“Ooh-”
The Team Leader nodded with a satisfied look and returned to the Team Leader’s Office.
“Did he just say ‘Ooh-’?”
“He seems... really happy...”
“S-so, we’re going to be worked 24 hours now?”
“Gasp.”