The Next Day.
On the fifth floor of the Daehung Securities headquarters in Yeouido, the trading center was as noisy as ever, filled with the constant ringing of telephones and the loud voices of traders shouting orders into their receivers.
Riiiing! Riiiing!
"Baekje Financial, sell 1,200 shares at 11,000 won!"
"What's going on with Hyunwoo Motors' stock? Check if there's any news!"
"Buy 2,000 shares of Hyunwoo Heavy Industries at 11,200 won."
"Check the price of Brent crude oil!"
"Confirm the order for Saseong Electronics I just placed!"
The Investnt Team 4, occupying one side of the large office, was just as busy executing trades.
Deputy Manager Jung Hwan-yeop, wearing a short-sleeved dress shirt with his tie loosely knotted, furrowed his brows as he focused intently on the CRT monitors in front of him.
Two bulky monitors sat side by side on his desk, displaying constantly shifting numbers. As he stared at the screens without blinking, he fumbled inside his desk drawer and pulled out a round tin of candy.
Without taking his eyes off the monitors, he unwrapped a piece and popped it into his mouth, crunching on it loudly.
Just then, a stock he had bought showed a slight rebound, only to lose montum and slip back down. He clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Tsk."
Hesitating for a mont on whether to hold or cut his losses, Jung Hwan-yeop rolled the candy around in his mouth and muttered to himself.
"Hesitation only leads to bigger losses."
With that, he sold off his entire position.
Fortunately, a strong round of bargain-buying had co in, so his sell orders were quickly executed.
Still, the trade had cost him over 20 million won, and his face twisted with frustration.
Thanks to the profits he had made earlier that morning, his overall return for the day wasn't in the red, but realizing that his efforts had essentially amounted to nothing left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Sigh… At least cutting my losses quickly was the right call."
Seeing the stock continue to slide downward after he had sold it gave him a small sense of relief.
Just then, Team Leader Choi Ho-geun approached and gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
"How's it going? Made any money?"
"Oh, don't even get
started. I just cut my losses and barely broke even."
Deputy Manager Jung Hwan-yeop leaned back in his chair, waving his hand dismissively.
Team Leader Choi Ho-geun glanced at the monitor and let out a small exclamation.
"Wow, you're right."
"The market's terrible today. I bet I'm not the only one having a rough ti."
Jung Hwan-yeop shook his head and grumbled.
"Hey, you know we have to make money no matter how bad the market is, right?"
It could have sounded harsh, but stock traders were expected to generate profits and hit their targets regardless of market conditions.
Jung Hwan-yeop understood this all too well, so he didn't take it personally.
Still, it was frustrating to have wiped out the gains he had worked hard to earn due to a misjudgnt.
Sensing his disappointnt, Choi Ho-geun gave him a small nod of encouragent.
"It'd be great if we won every day, but you know how it is—so days just don't go your way."
"Yeah, well, the Director always hits ho runs."
"That's because the Director is on a different level. Ever heard the saying, 'A crow trying to walk like a stork will break its legs'?"
"Are you saying I'm the crow?"
"What, you thought you were the stork?"
Jung Hwan-yeop closed his mouth, unable to argue.
Even he had to admit that Seok-won's market insight and decision-making skills were astonishing.
He was so exceptional that even senior team leaders—who had survived countless market crashes and prided themselves on their experience—followed his decisions without question.
"Yeah… The Director really is in a league of his own."
Jung Hwan-yeop scratched his head and accepted the reality without further protest.
"If you rush in recklessly, you're bound to make mistakes. Don't try to force a coback in the remaining ti—just wrap things up for today at a reasonable point."
"Understood."
Seeing Jung Hwan-yeop's half-hearted response, Choi Ho-geun considered saying more but decided against it.
He wasn't a rookie, after all—he should know well enough by now.
Instead, Choi Ho-geun gave him a reassuring pat on the back.
"Let's grab a drink after work at that odol-bone (spicy cartilage stir-fry) place near the office. What do you think?"
"Oh! Are you buying, Team Leader?"
Jung Hwan-yeop's eyes lit up with sudden enthusiasm.
"Tch. Yeah, yeah, it's on ."
"You really are the best, Team Leader."
"Don't butter
up, punk."
Choi Ho-geun responded gruffly, folding his arms as he turned away.
Still, seeing Jung Hwan-yeop shake off his slump and perk up again, he couldn't help but smile faintly as he walked back to his desk.
Just then, Yoo Seok-hyun, who had been sitting at his workstation, suddenly widened his eyes at sothing on the screen and looked up.
"Oh! Team Leader, big news just dropped about Hujeong Construction."
"Huh?"
At the ntion of Hujeong Construction, Choi Ho-geun stopped in his tracks and turned toward Yoo Seok-hyun.
"What kind of news?"
"They just sold their Jongno headquarters for 13 billion won."
"They sold their headquarters?"
"Yes."
Jung Hwan-yeop quickly typed on his keyboard to check Hujeong Construction's stock price, then let out a low whistle.
"It was in a slump just a mont ago, but now it's rebounding—already up 300 won."
Choi Ho-geun imdiately turned back and stared at the screen, where the stock chart displayed a sharp uptick.
"You're right."
[Hujeong Construction 4,530 ▲ 300]
Then he rembered—just a few days ago, at a eting, Seok-won had predicted a bullish event for Hujeong Construction and instructed them to buy the stock.
Internally, he couldn't help but admire the call.
"Looks like this rebound is going to be strong. This was another pick from the Director, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Wow. The Director is really on another level."
Jung Hwan-yeop shook his head in disbelief.
It was astonishing how he always managed to pick stocks that were about to surge.
Just then, Hong Jae-hee, holding a phone receiver in one hand, called out.
"Team Leader! It's the Director on the line."
At that, Choi Ho-geun quickly walked over to Hong Jae-hee's desk and took the receiver.
"Yes, Director, I have the call now."
[You saw the news about Hujeong Construction, right?]
"I just checked."
Seok-won's voice was calm and composed, showing no excitent.
[Once it surpasses 5,000 won per share, sell off all the stock we acquired.]
"But the stock just hit bottom—it's likely to climb higher. Isn't this too soon?"
[13 billion won is no small sum, but it's not enough to completely resolve Hujeong Construction's underlying financial troubles, which caused the stock's decline in the first place.]
At that sharp analysis, Choi Ho-geun imdiately understood his reasoning.
"So, you're saying this is just a temporary rebound."
[Exactly. That's why I'm telling you to cash out while it's up.]
"Understood."
[Relay the instructions to the other team leaders as well. If we dump everything at once, the stock price might collapse, so make sure to offload the shares in incrents.]
"I'll handle it accordingly."
As the call ended, Choi Ho-geun once again found himself impressed.
Seok-won wasn't just thinking one step ahead—he was always two or three moves ahead of the ga.
Seok-won set the receiver down and stared at the monitor displaying Hujeong Construction's stock price.
"If you get too greedy or misstep at tis like this, you end up getting stuck."
The stock had montarily rebounded due to optimism, but if disappointnt led to a sell-off, it could plumt even further. It was a warning sign rather than a good one.
Just then, Na Seong-mi knocked and entered, placing a neatly stacked pile of newspapers on his desk.
"Here's the first edition of today's evening paper."
"Ah, thank you."
Na Seong-mi gave a slight nod before turning to leave.
As the door clicked shut, Seok-won picked up the top newspaper.
Fresh off the printing press, the ink's strong scent still lingered.
Before his regression, he would have relied entirely on internet searches for information, but since online news wasn't as developed yet, he had no choice but to depend on newspapers and televised reports.
That's why he had gotten into the habit of reading the early edition of the evening paper every day.
Flipping through the pages carefully, his eyes caught an article:
[Sampoong Departnt Store to be Demolished by Explosion -
Following a structural assessnt that deed it at risk of collapse due to excessive expansion and design modifications, the bankrupt Sampoong Departnt Store has been scheduled for demolition via controlled explosion on the 29th of next month.
Opened in 1989, Sampoong Departnt Store is a massive shopping facility with four basent levels and five above-ground floors, ranking as the largest single-store departnt store in the country.
Located in the heart of Gangnam, it gained a reputation as a top-tier luxury departnt store. However, illegal expansions and design alterations rendered the building structurally unsound, shocking the public when the danger was exposed.
Investigations also revealed that company executives had engaged in bribery to push through design changes, among other illegal activities. As a result, the managent team is currently on trial, and the departnt store has declared bankruptcy.
Recently, Daehung Group won the bid for the bankrupt Sampoong Departnt Store's land and has announced plans to demolish the existing structure through controlled explosion and construct the Mido Departnt Store Gangnam branch in its place.
Concerns have been raised as a large residential complex is located just 400 ters away. However, both the Seoul city governnt and Daehung Group stated that due to the high risk of collapse, swift demolition is necessary to ensure public safety, which is why they opted for an explosive demolition.
Additionally, authorities and experts are implenting thorough safety asures and reviewing protocols before proceeding with the demolition…
"The demolition date is June 29th, huh..."
Seok-won had already heard from his father that the old building would soon be torn down to make way for a new departnt store.
However, seeing the exact date—June 29th—gave him an odd feeling.
And for good reason. Before his regression, the horrific Sampoong Departnt Store collapse had happened on that very date: June 29th.
"They say fate has a way of trying to revert to its original course, no matter how much you try to change it. Maybe this is one of those cases."
Knowing that the crumbling Sampoong Departnt Store would finally be demolished ant that the possibility of the disaster repeating itself was now completely erased. That thought brought a sense of relief.
Leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, Seok-won gazed down at the newspaper photo of the Sampoong Departnt Store building.
"The real problem now is that the IMF crisis is coming soon."
The construction costs for the new Gangnam branch, including interior work, were a staggering 228 billion won.
That was nearly equivalent to Mido Departnt Store's entire annual revenue.
Although the company planned to take out bank loans to cover the costs, it wasn't hard to predict that the interest paynts would be no small burden.
"On top of that, they already drained their cash reserves just to win the land bid, and even that wasn't enough—they had to borrow more from the bank."
At this rate, all the money they had painstakingly saved by restructuring their struggling subsidiaries would end up going straight toward repaying bank loans and interest.
For now, they could sohow manage by tightening their belts. But the real crisis would co when the IMF financial ltdown hit.
With billions in debt, the group would be in serious jeopardy once the IMF crisis unfolded.
"Actually, even if the IMF crisis doesn't hit just yet, the real threat could co as early as next year—a hostile takeover."
If the aggressive expansion of the Gangnam branch weakened Mido Departnt Store's financial standing, it would give rival companies the perfect excuse to attack.
Not only that, defending against a hostile takeover required massive cash reserves, and if their pockets were empty, they would be vulnerable.
"But at the sa ti, if we want to stay competitive in the departnt store industry, we can't afford to pass up the Sampoong site… This is a real dilemma."
Furrowing his brows, Seok-won pondered the situation for a long mont before letting out a quiet sigh.
"There's no other way. If it cos to it, I'll have to step in myself."
Reviews
All reviews (0)