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CH132 | GSI
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 03:40:00 +0000 UTCThe Next Day
The main hall on the first floor of Daehung Securities' headquarters in Yeouido was, as usual, packed with investors of all ages and backgrounds, radiating an intense energy.
Despite the crowd being so dense that people’s shoulders were brushing against each other, every pair of eyes was fixed on the large electronic display board mounted on one wall of the hall.
Staring intently at the screen, the crowd reacted with expressions of joy, disappointment, or exasperated sighs whenever the stock prices of their investments fluctuated.
"That's it! It's still climbing!"
"Ugh. They said Hyunwoo Construction was a good buy, but why isn’t it moving?"
"Damn it! It was rising nicely, but as soon as I bought in, it dropped 5%! This is manipulation, I swear!"
Amidst the murmuring crowd, a middle-aged man suddenly shouted in frustration.
He had just cut his losses and switched to a new stock, only to watch its price drop like clockwork the moment he bought in, sending him into a fit of rage.
Scowling and breathing heavily, the middle-aged man glared at the stock of Boseong Telecom, which was surging with bright red indicators on the board, before turning to the man next to him.
"Hey."
"What?"
The bald man next to him, also frustrated by his own declining investments, responded curtly.
The two had become acquaintances after frequenting the trading floor and realizing they were of similar age.
However, lately, it felt like both were cursed—every move they made resulted in losses, to the point where they joked about needing an exorcism.
"Boseong Telecom, wasn't that the stock that crashed recently because of delays in new product production?"
"Yeah."
The bald man lifted his head, eyeing the climbing Boseong Telecom stock as he replied.
"But why’s it suddenly spiking like that? Is there some good news I don’t know about?"
It was hard not to be suspicious. The stock that had caused retail investors to wail after its steep plunge was now on the rise again.
"Hmm..."
The bald man stroked his chin thoughtfully and muttered,
"Looks like the rumor might’ve been true after all."
"What rumor?"
The middle-aged man stared at him, curiosity piqued. The bald man glanced around, then leaned in and whispered,
"There’s a rumor that Boseong Telecom is finalizing an OEM supply contract with a French electronics company worth over 40 million dollars annually. It's supposed to be announced soon."
"Are you serious?"
The middle-aged man exclaimed, eyes wide, before quickly covering his mouth.
"You mean that kind of talk was going around?"
"Yeah. I only overheard bits and pieces, so I wasn’t sure. But seeing it climb like that without dipping since yesterday… it might be real."
Indeed, if it were just a baseless rumor, the stock might have spiked for a day, but climbing steadily for two days straight was unusual.
"Plus, there was the talk about production delays due to quality issues."
"Yeah."
“There’s talk that the issue wasn’t as serious as the news made it out to be.”
“So, it could go up even more, right?”
The middle-aged man's eyes sparkled at this, and the bald man nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. It should at least climb back to the previous high, don’t you think?”
“The last high was... 17,600 won.”
The middle-aged man turned his head to glance at the price board.
Boseong Telecom’s stock, which had bottomed out at 10,500 won, had been climbing since yesterday and was now surpassing 14,000 won.
The thought that it could still rise another 4,000 won made the middle-aged man restless, and he began shifting from foot to foot.
“Damn! I shouldn’t be just standing around.”
“Thinking of buying Boseong Telecom?”
“Of course! With this kind of good news, I have to buy!”
If the rumor had spread this far, it was only a matter of time before everyone else caught wind of it.
With that realization, the middle-aged man could no longer hold back and rushed toward the trading counter.
“I’m coming too!”
The bald man quickly followed suit.
After both placed their buy orders with the trading floor staff, they turned back with expressions full of anticipation.
As the rumor about Boseong Telecom’s good fortune quietly spread and the stock continued to rise, more and more investors began to show interest and started buying in.
There was someone observing this scene closely from one side of the hall—Seok-won.
Dressed in a dark navy three-piece suit, arms crossed and leaning against a wall, Seok-won listened as Boseong Telecom was repeatedly mentioned in investors' conversations. He muttered under his breath,
“They’re already buzzing, and the rally hasn’t even properly started yet. If the stock shoots up in earnest and rumors spread about a full-scale operation, retail investors are going to swarm in.”
Those retail investors, blinded by the sudden surge, would jump in too late and suffer massive losses, left to weep over their mistakes.
But this time, Seok-won planned to intervene before it got that far.
As he left the trading hall and crossed the lobby, his phone vibrated in his inner pocket.
“Hello.”
[Director, Team Leader Choi from Investment Team 4 is here with a report. How should I proceed?]
It was his secretary, Na Seong-mi, speaking with her usual clear, precise tone.
“Tell him to wait just a bit. I’m on my way up now.”
[Understood.]
Just then, the elevator arrived, and Seok-won stepped inside, heading straight upstairs.
When he opened the door to his private office, Team Leader Choi Ho-geun stood up from the sofa where he had been waiting.
“Did you wait long?”
“Not at all.”
As Seok-won unbuttoned his jacket and sat in the main chair, Choi Ho-geun also settled back into his seat.
“So, what’s this report you have?”
At that, Choi Ho-geun picked up a thin file folder from beside him and handed it over.
“The positions in Ogwang Industries and Cheonho Steel have been fully liquidated.”
“Oh, is that so?”
As Seok-won opened the file handed to him, Team Leader Choi Ho-geun spoke with an excited tone.
“Even while we were selling, the stock prices kept climbing, so we managed to unload our shares cleanly without any losses.”
“The average selling price for Ogwang Industries was 742,000 won, and for Cheonho Steel, it was 312,000 won.”
“Yes. That’s a return of 5.3 times and 10.4 times, respectively.”
Choi Ho-geun continued, his face flushed with excitement.
“In total, we secured 360.4 billion won from Ogwang Industries and 520 billion won from Cheonho Steel. After deducting the principal, that’s 292.4 billion and 470 billion won in pure profit.”
After reviewing the well-organized profit report, Seok-won looked up at Choi Ho-geun and said,
“Good work.”
At that, Choi, who had been struggling to suppress a grin, couldn’t hide the gleam in his eyes.
“I pride myself on having plenty of experience in Yeouido’s financial scene, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen such massive profits from a single investment.”
Choi’s gaze was filled with admiration and respect.
“You’re truly incredible!”
Of course, Seok-won was pleased as well, but unlike Choi, he maintained a calm demeanor, never getting overly excited.
And it was precisely this composure that inspired even greater admiration.
Despite achieving the largest profit in Daheung Securities’ history, Seok-won’s serene attitude suggested that this was no big deal.
Choi, inwardly awed, couldn’t help but think,
If it were me, I’d be shouting with joy. He’s on another level entirely.
Once again, Choi found himself genuinely impressed by Seok-won’s exceptional skill and composure.
“It must have been challenging to liquidate such large positions.”
As Seok-won closed the file and set it down, he spoke.
“With billions of won at stake, I was worried the prices would drop significantly during the sell-off.”
“Both stocks were overshooting their fair value, so that was a real possibility.”
Everyone knew the stock prices had far exceeded their appropriate levels.
But with prices continuously rising, no one dared to sell, nervously holding on instead.
“At that point, any large-scale sell-off could’ve triggered panic and a massive crash.”
“Exactly.”
Choi shook his head as he replied.
“That’s why we executed the sell-off in stages over nearly a month, but I was constantly on edge, never knowing when the prices might plunge.”
With billions of won to unload, even a slight misstep could have led to losses in the tens or hundreds of billions. The stress was inevitable.
“Fortunately, there was strong buying pressure, and they absorbed all the shares we sold, allowing us to complete the liquidation smoothly.”
“Are both stocks still holding their prices?”
“Yes. Though the momentum has noticeably slowed, perhaps because of how high they’ve risen—or maybe due to our sell-off. But both are still on an upward trend as of today.”
Choi Ho-geun smacked his lips regretfully.
“Looking at the stock prices, I can’t help but feel like we could’ve made more if we hadn’t sold so soon.”
“If you get too greedy, it always backfires.”
Seok-won smiled faintly as he spoke.
“And we’ve already made more than enough profit. No need to have regrets.”
Choi Ho-geun scratched the back of his head awkwardly and nodded.
“You’re right. A fivefold and tenfold return is a massive windfall. Once you sell off a stock completely, you’re not supposed to look back, but I guess I’m just a bit greedy.”
“Wanting to make more is a natural mindset for a trader. But when that desire crosses into greed, it clouds your judgment and leads to big mistakes. You’ll need to manage that balance carefully.”
It sounded like advice from a seasoned veteran who had spent decades navigating Yeouido’s financial scene.
(TL/n - Yeouido is similar to America's Wall Street for South Korea)
Given Seok-won’s youth, it could have felt out of place.
But in reality, it was Seok-won who, amidst a market driven by greed and soaring prices, managed to stay cool-headed and make rational decisions without succumbing to the temptation for more.
In an environment where countless people kept holding on for just a little more only to crash, very few could walk away cleanly after securing profits.
That’s why Choi Ho-geun nodded in agreement.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. By the way, how’s that thing I mentioned last time coming along?”
Knowing exactly what Seok-won was referring to, Choi replied immediately.
“Everything’s set. Just say the word, and we can release the article right away.”
“I trust you handled it smoothly.”
With a satisfied smile, Seok-won pulled out his wallet from his inner pocket and took out three 1-million-won checks.
“Take these.”
“Huh? Why…?”
Choi Ho-geun, caught off guard, looked at the checks in confusion.
“You’ve worked hard. Use it to treat your team to a nice dinner.”
Calling it just dinner money while handing over three million won left Choi staring, mouth agape.
“B-but this is way too much!”
“I’m giving you extra so you can splurge on some premium beef instead of just pork belly. Use whatever’s left for cab fare.”
“Really, just one check is more than enough. This is too much.”
Choi tried to return the checks, but Seok-won waved him off.
“Just keep them. And for the record, your bonuses will be sorted out separately once everything’s finalized, so don’t worry about that.”
Seeing Choi’s face light up, Seok-won teased him playfully.
“You didn’t seriously think I was going to cheap out and call this your bonus after all the money you made for us, did you?”
“N-no, of course not!”
Choi flustered, waving his hands in denial.
“Haha, I’m just kidding.”
“Whew… that’s a relief. For a second, I thought you might actually mean that, and I was about to be really disappointed.”
"As if that would ever happen."
Seok-won let out a hearty laugh.
“Anyway, use that to have a good time with your team. Order all the things you usually can’t because they’re too expensive.”
“Then I’ll gratefully accept.”
Choi Ho-geun tucked the checks away with a resigned smile.
“It’d be great if you could join us too, Director.”
“I’d love to, but I have plans this evening.”
“Ah, I see.”
Choi responded with a hint of disappointment.
“If there’s nothing else, you can head out.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Choi got up and left the office, Seok-won, now alone, picked up the folder again and flipped it open.
“If Dad sees this, he’s going to be thrilled.”
A deep smile spread across his face as he reviewed the profits from their recent investments.
