Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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51. That bastard. In the end, he’s just merchandise.

Daehung Securities Headquarters on Yeouido.
Morning sunlight pushed back the darkness, and a new day dawned.
With Liberation Day falling in between, there had been one day off, and this was the fourth trading day since the implementation of the Real-Name Financial System.
People who had arrived at the Daeheung Securities trading floor early in the morning were sighing as they stared at the stock index board frozen at yesterday’s closing price, or gathered in small groups whispering about what today’s market would bring.
Though there had been a day off during the holiday, everyone remained trapped in the shock of two consecutive days of plummeting stocks.

“What if it drops again today?”
“It won’t. The securities companies announced yesterday that they’re extending the margin loan period to support the market.”
“Damn it. What good does that do? If stock prices fall and we can’t meet the collateral ratio, we end up with empty accounts anyway.”
“I’ve already maxed everything out. If it drops any further, it’s over.”
“I poured in all my deposit money. If this goes under, the only way out is the Han River.”
“Sigh.”

Amid the sighs and anxiety filling the trading floor, there was one man sitting alone in a chair at the back with a relaxed demeanor.
Dressed in a black suit with one leg crossed, I stood in stark contrast to those around me.
Unlike the others who anxiously watched the stock index board with fearful eyes, wondering what would happen if it crashed again, my gaze held anticipation.

“It’s already dropped enough over the last two days, and the government announcement about strong stimulus measures came out. Today should be the timing for a rebound.”

Indeed, several market stabilization measures were scheduled to be implemented, including the issuance of market stabilization bonds and the allowance of stock trading by securities company executives.
Most importantly, I was confident in a rebound because I had confirmed through Landon Shore in New York that large amounts of foreign capital were flowing into the domestic market.
Of course, initially, individual investors still gripped by fear would frantically dump their stocks.
But if foreigners absorbed all of it and the index didn’t fall any further, the sentiment would inevitably shift.

“The moment you think ‘Is this the bottom?’ is precisely when the index reverses and surges—that inflection point.”

How much time had passed?
The opening bell rang, and the market opened.
The numbers on the large stock index board installed on one wall changed in the blink of an eye, and the trading floor instantly became a battlefield.

“Damn it! It’s dropping again.”
“At this rate, I really will end up with an empty account.”

Though not as severe as the previous two days, the market opened with a slight decline, and people spewed curses and sighs, or grabbed their hair in despair.
Some could no longer endure it and rushed to the counter, urgently placing sell orders.

“Sell all of Hyunwoo Automobiles!”
“Dump ST Telecom at market price!”
“It keeps dropping. Why aren’t we selling faster!”
“Please bear with us, sir. We’re processing your order right now.”
“Damn it. My hard-earned money is evaporating and you’re just sitting there!”

The securities company employees accepted sell orders with exhausted expressions as the irate customers hurled their demands.

“Hyunwoo Automobiles sold at 24,000 won—780 shares executed.”
“Your order has been filled. Please confirm.”

The sight of ashen-faced investors venting their frustrations at the securities employees in front of the counter was an exact replica of the past two days.
But there was one crucial difference: buy orders, which had vanished entirely from the market, were now being executed in steady succession—stocks that couldn’t be sold no matter how much was offered were now finding buyers.
Moreover, the index, which had been wavering downward, had even begun to climb slightly upward.
Those who belatedly noticed this development murmured in confusion.

“What’s happening?”
“Could it be rebounding now?”

A man in a short-sleeved shirt who had just sold his stocks spoke as if it were nothing remarkable.

“Nah. Since it dropped so much, it’s probably just a brief flash.”

A man wearing glasses immediately disagreed.

“No. Look—buying orders keep coming in.”
“Right! The index isn’t falling anymore.”

As others chimed in, the surrounding crowd grew noisier with murmurs.
But the short-sleeved man, glancing at the market board, let out a dismissive snort.

“Some idiots are buying thinking it’s cheap, but how long will that last? They’ll throw in the towel soon enough.”
“Exactly! You should sell when someone’s actually willing to buy. Otherwise you’ll regret it later.”

A middle-aged man holding a rolled-up newspaper in one hand loudly agreed with the short-sleeved man’s assessment.
Those who had taken losses and liquidated their positions displayed skepticism, while those who still harbored hope or had missed their window and continued holding wavered uncertainly.
As people remained indecisive, someone raised one arm and pointed at the market board.

“Look! Pohang Steel and the bank stocks are skyrocketing!”

A sudden shout erupted, and every head in the trading floor snapped sideways in unison.
The ticker board, which had been awash in blue, began bleeding red like spilled ink, and the number of stocks reversing upward was steadily increasing.

“Yes!”
“This is real! It’s actually going back up, isn’t it?”

Seeing this, people immediately began uttering words filled with hope.
In place of the anger and despair that had filled the trading floor, anticipation was slowly rising.
But unlike them, the man in the short-sleeved shirt and those who had already taken losses and sold their stocks contorted their faces in anguish.

“What is this?”
“Surely it’s not actually going up?”
“Damn it! I just sold all my stocks and now I’m going crazy! How much is my loss?”

The middle-aged man who had been enthusiastically agreeing just moments before was now fidgeting and muttering to himself.

“Shouldn’t I buy back in right now?”
“Ah, but what if you get caught holding the bag?”

As the man in the short-sleeved shirt stubbornly insisted it wouldn’t happen, the middle-aged man hesitated.

“It’ll drop again soon, just wait and see.”

The moment he withdrew, the index couldn’t possibly rebound at such perfect timing—or so the man in the short-sleeved shirt seemed to insist, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear while glancing around.
Regardless of his words, because the index had plummeted so terrifyingly over the past two days, people welcomed the rebound but couldn’t decide what to do.
The index that had been surging upward soon settled back down, fluctuating erratically.
As the index continued its ups and downs throughout the morning in a tug-of-war between buyers and sellers, after noon, massive buying from institutional investors and foreign investors erupted, causing the index to skyrocket by over twenty points in a single stroke.

“It’s going! It’s going!”
“We really did hit bottom.”

As almost every stock listed on the ticker board turned bright red and surged, only then did those who had confirmed the rebound let out great cheers.
It was natural to rejoice when, after losing chunks of money with every breath you took day after day, things were finally recovering.
Among them, the quick-footed rushed frantically to the trading floor counters, thrust order forms at the staff, and poured out sell orders.

“Buy 600 shares of Sasung Electronics at market price!”
“I got here first.”
“Who do you think you are, cutting in?”
“Get out of the way.”

Among the crowd of people pushing and shoving in front of the Trading Floor counter, each desperate to buy stocks before the others, was the short-sleeved man who had boasted so confidently that the index would plummet soon.
While the Trading Floor descended into chaos, Seok-won stood alone and quiet to one side, gazing at the price board awash in crimson, a deep smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“If I’d been able to execute a proper short sale, I would’ve made a killing. What a shame.”

He murmured with a light shrug of his shoulders.

“Since this is my first investment, I’ll settle for this much this time.”

With that, Seok-won turned quietly and left the Trading Floor, leaving the others still locked in their frenzied struggle behind him.

* * *

Park Tae-hong, seated before a broad mahogany desk reviewing documents, looked up at the knock on the door.
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho entered and approached, respectfully extending the approval clipboard he carried.

“It’s a consolidation plan for the supermarkets and convenience stores currently operated by the department store.”

Park Tae-hong straightened his posture and accepted the clipboard, unfolding it.
He scanned through the plan inside and nodded slightly.

“It’s unfortunate, but convenience stores are clearly the future. We should shut down the supermarket business quickly before losses mount further.”
“I agree entirely.”
“The new convenience store brand name is Star Metro, correct?”
“Yes.”

Park Tae-hong examined the newly designed logo in the plan and wore a satisfied expression.

“Looking at it again, it’s clean and striking. It was worth the considerable investment to have the United States design firm handle it.”
“The employees’ reactions have been excellent—they say it’s refined and visually appealing.”
“That’s good to hear.”

Park Tae-hong leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his teacup.

“The number of convenience stores opened nationwide has reached about 1,000, hasn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”

Park Tae-hong tapped the clipboard with his fingertip as he spoke.

“We’re already lagging behind as a newcomer, and with brand recognition suffering, isn’t opening just twenty stores this year far too conservative?”
“That figure was calculated conservatively. According to the plan, we’ll maximize franchise locations through an aggressive marketing campaign.”
“In any competition, momentum is everything. We’re relaunching with a completely redesigned brand logo—we need to push hard from the start and seize the narrative. We can’t afford to be lukewarm about this.”

Park Tae-hong’s deep voice continued.

“I want fifty stores open by year-end and a hundred by next year.”

Year-end meant only four months remained.
To suddenly demand more than double the originally planned number of stores was an unreasonable directive by any measure.
Yet within the Daeheung Group, the word of owner Park Tae-hong was absolute, so Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho answered without hesitation.

“I’ll convey your instructions immediately.”

Park Tae-hong picked up his fountain pen, signed the document, and slid the approval tray back across the desk.
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho accepted it respectfully with both hands and opened his mouth.

“There is one more matter I need to report.”
“Go ahead.”
“The stock market closed just now.”

Park Tae-hong turned to glance at the clock on the wall, capped his fountain pen, and spoke.

“Time flies. Did the index fall again today?”
“After an uncertain start with significant volatility, foreign and institutional buying pressure surged in, driving a recovery. The market closed at 691.67.”
“Interesting. I see.”

Noticing his keen interest, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho elaborated.

“We’ll need to observe a few more days, but given that retail investors joined the rally at the end and actively purchased, it appears we’ve hit bottom.”
“Two days ago, didn’t we expect the shock to last considerably longer?”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho quickly responded to the pointed question.

“While there’s certainly a technical rebound from the steep declines over recent days, the primary driver appears to be market confidence in the government’s aggressive stimulus measures aimed at containing the market shock early.”
“Hmm. Anyone could make such observations after the fact. These so-called experts draw hefty salaries yet can’t outperform a fresh college graduate.”

Park Tae-hong snorted derisively, his tone dripping with mockery.
The financial subsidiary experts who had submitted the analysis report would have felt their pride deeply wounded by such words.
However, since all the so-called experts—those with doctoral degrees or long careers in the stock market—had been proven wrong while only Seok-won’s predictions had proven accurate, there was nothing they could say in protest.
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho maintained a composed silence, pretending not to hear, while Park Tae-hong’s initially displeased expression gradually softened.

“You said Seok-won bought back stocks before the holiday, didn’t you?”
“Yes. As it turned out, he essentially repurchased at nearly the bottom of the market.”

Park Tae-hong’s lips twitched as he struggled to suppress a smile.

“Then he must have made quite a profit.”
“Today’s gains alone are approaching 4%, and as the stock price continues to rise, the profits will only increase.”
“That fellow. He’s truly a remarkable talent.”

Park Tae-hong spoke with evident satisfaction, his expression warm with approval.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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