InkBound
patreon
CH6 | DI
🕑 Added 2025-01-26 06:55:01 +0000 UTCWhat’s the most important thing on Wall Street?
Money.
Thus, the hierarchy is divided based on the ability to make money.
The top tier is the front office.
These people are like nobles in the medieval era.
They meet clients directly, propose deals, and take commissions.
Since investment banks’ clients are corporations, there’s always an opportunity to make money.
In good times, they suggest M&A for expansion; in bad times, they recommend stock issuance for securing funds.
The next tier is the middle office.
These people support the nobles while they are taking commissions.
This includes the risk management team, ethics management team, client relations team, and legal team.
Wait, is it strange that lawyers are in the middle tier?
Sure, they are respected outside.
But on Wall Street, even lawyers are just one of the many support roles.
They have honor, but cannot wield a sword… like the clergy class, you could say.
The last tier is the back office.
These people are just commoners.
IT, administrative work, and human resources fall into this category.
Your rank is decided at the time of entry, and it’s not easy to rise in status.
A baron can marry a duke, but it’s rare.
A baker’s daughter marrying into a baron’s family is outright impossible.
“Should I stop gathering information here?”
I had roughly figured out the hierarchy.
Now I had to step in directly.
I ended the fake call and ordered a drink.
“One scotch, neat.”
After choosing an unremarkable prop, I jumped back into the jungle.
I approached the first target, met their gaze, and exchanged names, then came the expected question.
“Where are you from?”
“Baltimore.”
“No way, Hopkins? That’s unusual…”
“I’m a med school graduate.”
The guy flinched upon hearing about my alma mater.
It’s not a ‘target school’ favored by Wall Street, but it’s prestigious enough for him to nod approvingly.
However, a prestigious school degree doesn’t add much on Wall Street.
It’s barely like presenting your ID.
Now only the most important step remains.
Confirming the rank.
“I’m in the Industrial Group, how about you?”
“Emerging Markets Division.”
“Which group is that part of?”
“Wealth Management Group.”
A lot of question marks appeared on the target’s face.
He doesn’t know how to interpret my affiliation.
The Wealth Management Group manages and invests the assets of wealthy clients.
If you’re in charge of investments, you’re in the front office; if you manage, you’re in the middle office.
Am I a noble or clergy? Even I don’t know.
Anyway, I’ll have to change departments soon.
Whatever department I’m assigned to next will determine my rank.
In any case, I’m not a noble, not with this ambiguity.
Realizing this, the guy furrows his brows with a regretful look.
“Hmm… that’s unlucky, I doubt your division has much volume right now.”
“Right, especially now that they’re talking about tightening.”
‘This guy is out.’
Though he’s showing pity with his eyes, he’s smirking at the corners of his mouth.
Would a real noble act like this?
“Well then.”
I wrapped up the conversation and picked my next target, repeating the same process.
Then finally, I encountered someone whose face dropped upon hearing my ambiguous rank.
“Unlucky. But in this situation, wouldn’t they just transfer you to another department?”
These guys are the real nobles.
Because they’re genuinely sympathetic.
Of course, that doesn’t mean nobles have good character.
It just means they hold such an overwhelming advantage that they can afford to show sympathy to ambiguous guys like me.
I was making progress, filtering out the useful ones efficiently.
“Oooh! You!”
Without permission, someone placed a hand on my shoulder.
I knew this person.
I met him in my previous life.
What’s this guy’s trait?
He’s a penniless count.
A so-called noble who only feels at ease when he confirms there’s someone beneath him.
“Earlier, you were brilliant in the test! I’m Kent Harvest. And you?”
He extends his hand, pretending to be sociable, but his eyes are sharp.
‘As expected, he’s coming at me like this.’
I have to be careful when telling this guy my name.
He’ll use it to attack.
Childish as it is, his main weapon is ‘nicknaming.’
During the early stages of joining when lots of new hires come in, nicknames are easier to remember than real names, and he exploits this by giving rivals bizarre nicknames.
I fell victim in my previous life too.
My name is Ha Si-heon.
It’s impossible for a blonde guy to pronounce that.
But he exaggeratedly flattened his tongue and called me ‘Sham,’ and didn’t stop there—he added ‘Cat’ to it.
The problem was, I happen to have a cat-like face, so the nickname gained traction and stuck.
And my nickname evolved from Siamese cat to Kitty.
Why is this important?
Who would assign a major project to someone named Kitty?
Sounds childish, right?
Exactly.
But Wall Street is full of all sorts of childish schemes and dirty tricks.
And I wasn’t the only one who suffered.
Some of the past colleagues’ nicknames I recall include Widow, Sweetcheek, Bubbles, Gimp, Chica, and Dirty Sanchez.
But there’s something this guy is mistaken about.
‘I didn’t get picked on because I’m nice.’
There was only one reason I got caught in the previous life.
I just didn’t expect someone nearing their thirties would resort to such childish tactics.
But now, I know better.
“Call me Sean.”
“Sean? Is that an English name? What’s your real name?”
“It’s hard to pronounce.”
“But isn’t it a shame to waste the name your parents gave you?”
Parents, huh.
You’ve hit the wrong nerve, buddy.
I equipped my sad eyes and looked down at the floor.
The goal here was to look as sorrowful as possible.
“Both my parents… have passed away.”
Suddenly, there was silence.
Every conversation around us stopped.
“I see… Sean.”
He’s not a complete fool.
Yeah, if you had kept going, your nickname would’ve been ‘Insensitive Jerk.’
“I heard earlier, that you’re a med student. Doctor?”
But just when I thought he’d back off, he changed his approach and kept attacking.
“Oh, really?”
“Are you a doctor?”
“That’s unusual!”
Since he’s loud, others nearby chimed in too.
‘Doctor, huh…’
It might sound good at first, but it’s not.
You’d imagine someone boring, stiff, and stubborn, right?
“So, why did a doctor come to Wall Street? This place isn’t exactly noble.”
See?
The guy smirks, showing his white teeth.
‘I can’t just let this slide.’
He must think I’m easy prey.
If I ignore it, it’ll only become more troublesome later.
At that moment, the woman standing next to me was sipping a cocktail.
“Excuse me, let me borrow this for a second.”
I borrowed the decorative lemon from her and placed it on the rim of my glass, then raised my glass toward the fake noble guy.
“I was aiming to become a plastic surgeon. I take pleasure in packaging the ugly. Plus, it pays well.”
Yeah, I’m not a dull, rigid doctor—I’m a plastic surgeon obsessed with money.
“Ooh, a surgeon!”
“Hahaha! You’re perfect for Wall Street!”
“Is it because you’re a surgeon? I saw earlier, your hands are incredibly quick.”
“I’m confident in my speed. I’m Asian, after all.”
A few of the onlookers were already calling me ‘Surgeon.’
I wish this nickname would stick, but…
‘It won’t, will it?’
Cool nicknames never stick.
No one would give their rival a flattering nickname.
Anyway, I should return the favor.
“Nice to meet you, Ken Doll.”
“It’s Kent.”
“Oh, I misheard.”
His face hardened at my mistake.
In contrast, some of the spectators’ eyes lit up.
“Pfft! Ken Doll! It suits him, though.”
“Haha! It’s a perfect fit!”
Ken Doll refers to Barbie’s boyfriend.
It’s a term used for dull, bland white men.
It’s slang, but it also carries the meaning that something is missing where it should be.
‘Will that nickname stick?’
It’s up to him.
If he’s a decent guy, it’ll fall off within a day. But if he keeps being annoying, he’ll be stuck as Ken Doll forever.
‘At least I didn’t end up as Kitty in this life.’
Childish or not, a win is a win.
As I sipped my whiskey, celebrating the fact I had protected my name, I felt a sharp sensation on the back of my head.
I turned around to see a woman quickly turning her head away.
‘Liliana?’
She’s got it tough.
HR staff attending all the welcome parties.
I should approach her later.
Sometimes HR assigns ambiguous individuals like me to departments randomly.
‘I should’ve stayed still!’
Liliana was deeply regretting it.
She had been startled when Ha Si-heon suddenly looked her way and instinctively averted her gaze.
‘I hope he doesn’t misunderstand that I’m interested…’
Though, she was interested, just not in that way—his background was unique, and it caught her attention.
There aren’t many people who graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School and then joined Wall Street.
Especially after their earlier encounter.
—It seems I know more about my hometown I left 20 years ago than I do about the med school I recently graduated from.
When Ha Si-heon threw that jab, she was honestly taken aback.
‘At least you’re not in the back office!’
Most people who apply for the back office actually aim for the front office.
Liliana was the same.
But when she graduated, there was a job crisis, and Goldman’s HR department was the only one recruiting fresh hires.
Liliana naively believed that once she had her foot in the door at Goldman, she could eventually move to a better position.
But as she started working, she realized the truth.
Just as she suspected, there was no such thing as a back-office employee getting promoted to the front office.
She was no different from a baker’s daughter dreaming of becoming a noble.
Quitting and reapplying would have been a better shot, but… the salary was just too good to give up.
How many companies offer $70,000 a year to fresh graduates?
She thought she’d prepare her resume while working, but once you start working, there’s no time.
That’s the back-office trap.
She’d been stuck in that trap for three years now.
She’d met countless new hires at Goldman over the years, but…
Someone like Ha Si-heon was a first.
Most of the upper ranks regard the back office as mere background noise.
A useless existence that consumes oxygen.
They either look down on you or pity you—there’s no middle ground.
But Ha Si-heon…
—They said the operational staff would come to the welcome party. Is the healthcare department attending too?
He made a business proposal.
For Liliana, who was growing tired of the dull workload, it was a small but exciting event.
The upper ranks don’t see HR staff as someone to make deals with.
After all, they exist solely to serve them, so there’s no need to negotiate with them.
But Ha Si-heon…
Bzzzz—
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of her phone.
The name on the screen was James.
He was the instructor in charge of training the new hires.
—The venue for the welcome party is Red Velvet, right?
“Yes. Are you really coming?”
—It’s the last day, so I figured I’d stop by and say hello.
James had unexpectedly informed her a few hours ago that he would attend the welcome party.
This was unusual.
Training instructors are typically outsourced personnel who are paid to conduct short-term courses.
They don’t come to these events because they have no attachment or bond with the students.
—By the way, is Ha Si-heon attending too?
An unexpected name came out of his mouth.
“Yes, he’s here… is there a reason you’re looking for him?”
—No, it’s just that he got the highest score on the final exam, haha. I’ll be there soon.
After hanging up, Liliana tilted her head in confusion.
She felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the recent situation.
Last year, for sure…
This instructor had also attended the welcome party last year and asked about the presence of a new hire.
At the time, she wondered if something was going on, but nothing happened.
The instructor didn’t have any particular conversation with the new hire and left shortly after.
No matter how hard she dug through her memory, she couldn’t recall any other details.
Meanwhile, a familiar figure entered the lounge bar.
It was the training instructor.
“Liliana!”
“James! You really came!”
But the instructor wasn’t alone.
He was with a handsome companion dressed in a casual t-shirt.
‘Where have I seen this person before?’
As soon as she thought the face looked familiar, a name flashed in her mind.
“Mr. Pierce?”
“Shh! Keep it a secret that I’m here.”
“But why is Mr. Pierce here?”
She hadn’t recognized him in casual clothes.
Dave Pierce.
He was a managing director (MD) at Goldman.
MDs are at the top of the hierarchy at Goldman.
Above MDs, there are only executives and the CEO.
Goldman has about 600 MDs who are constantly competing on performance, and Pierce was among the top-ranked.
A legendary figure.
In many ways.
‘The instructor and Pierce… Wait, could it be like last time?’
Then it clicked.
Last year, the instructor had attended with a companion wearing a hat pulled low.
And a few days later, the new hire who ranked first on the final exam was transferred to a different department.
Pierce had pulled strings to move a new hire from the Retail Group to the M&A Group.
M&A is the best department at Goldman.
Pierce is the best MD at Goldman.
At the time, it seemed like an amazing opportunity…
But that new hire quit three months later.
Rumor had it that they left the finance industry entirely.
If this is a repeat of last year, there was no need to guess who this year’s target would be.
‘Should I warn him?’
For a moment, she thought about it, but…
She concluded it would be overstepping.
‘He already owes me.’
Wall Street is a world of cold, calculated deals.
Liliana had already tipped off Ha Si-heon about the final exam and prevented him from missing it due to an unexcused absence.
If it’s Ha Si-heon, he would surely come to repay the favor.
And now, she had a useful chip to play.
“Martini, very dry.”
Sipping her cocktail, Liliana couldn’t stop smiling.
She had a feeling something big was going to happen.
And this time, she wouldn’t just be a passive observer—Liliana felt she would be part of it too.
‘What’s going to happen?’
For the first time since joining, her job was starting to get interesting.
