New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 44

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Chapter 44. Madness (4)

IT technology stocks’ prices soared endlessly without knowing where to stop.

It was a situation that perfectly fit the word “madness.”

The Branch Manager also seemed surprised by this madness.

He quietly called me over to show me several US IT stocks.

“How do these stocks look to you?”

“These are companies I saw at COMDEX. They’re rising now, but they’re in a very unstable state.”

“As expected, Employee Lee thinks the same as me. Getting this kind of valuation without a single revenue structure is literally madness.”

“They’re barely holding on right now, but they’re companies that won’t last long.”

Since these were companies I already knew, the gears naturally came to mind.

They were spinning at tremendous speeds, invisible to the eye, but the central axles were on the verge of breaking.

It was a structure that would break immediately with just a light touch of a finger, and it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any moment.

“We’ll start short selling in March. I thought Employee Lee should know about this.”

“Do you have criteria for starting short selling?”

“When NASDAQ breaks through 5,000, that’s the signal. And the information from the Federal Reserve side is also concerning.”

“Is this information okay for me to know?”

“It’s already talk that’s spread through the market. There are rumors they’ll raise interest rates in March.”

Interest rate hikes and stock prices were closely related.

But in the face of madness, interest rate hike measures were nothing more than a passing breeze.

“The US Government raised rates multiple times in the second half of last year. But it had no effect on IT technology stock prices.”

“Even the toughest fighter will eventually fall if they keep getting hit.”

It was a hindsight observation.

But I could tell that the Branch Manager’s argument wasn’t wrong.

Just looking at the gear structure, I could see signs of collapse.

“Certainly, it seems like IT technology stocks won’t be able to hold on much longer next month.”

“That’s what has to happen. If the market flows in a different direction than our expectations, both Nexpin and Rollbook will leave Tiger Fund’s hands.”

“It would be quite a risky investment.”

Suddenly the word “stakes” came to mind.

I didn’t want to use gambling terminology, but it was the word that best described the current situation.

“In the financial sector, we’re always taught to manage risk. But this time, we’ve actually maximized the risk instead.”

“Are you that confident?”

“My judgment alone wasn’t enough, but Employee Lee’s opinion turned it into certainty.”

“While I’m confident about the decline of IT technology stocks, I’m someone who lacks financial knowledge.”

“I trust my eyes. And if this investment succeeds, would you like to go on a business trip to the United States together? I’d like to show you around Tiger Fund Headquarters.”

A business trip to the United States was something I’d have to do at some point.

MS, Apple, PayPal. There were many people and companies I needed to meet directly.

And I wanted to see with my own eyes how Wall Street operated.

“If the opportunity arises, I’d like to go together.”

“It’ll be interesting. Things you never even imagined will happen.”

“Is there some kind of event?”

“You’ll find out when you go there yourself.”

The Branch Manager smiled meaningfully.

I couldn’t tell what intentions were hidden behind that smile right now.

But I instinctively felt that smile was foretelling a major event.

***

Tiger Fund Korea Branch.

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju urgently called for the Deputy Branch Manager.

“NASDAQ has broken through 5,000! Contact Cali Fund right now, and start reaching out to prime brokers too.”

“Are you finally starting short selling?”

“At 5,000, the bubble has inflated as much as it can. Now it’s just waiting to burst. Move immediately!”

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju gave orders in an unusually forceful tone.

At this change, the Deputy Branch Manager actually smiled and acted quickly.

“I’ll move right away. But to contact prime brokers, I need to know the short selling targets.”

“We’re going after IT technology stocks. All 600 million dollars, with 10x leverage. We’re betting very aggressively on shorts.”

“10x means a position size of 6 billion dollars. …If there’s even a slight rebound, we could lose everything. And this is a completely opposite investment strategy from headquarters’ policy.”

The smile disappeared from the Deputy Branch Manager’s face.

He couldn’t have imagined short selling the currently hot IT technology stocks.

The media, financial companies, and the market were all betting on IT technology stocks rising.

Even Tiger Fund Headquarters had built massive long positions.

“If we’re going to move according to headquarters’ policy, there’s no reason for the branch to exist. The branch exists for risk diversification. The branch must be able to survive even if headquarters makes mistakes. That’s why they gave us autonomy.”

“Ah, understood. I’ll move right away.”

“I’ll call Cali Fund’s CEO Oh Chang-jin myself. You contact the prime broker companies.”

“With a $6 billion position, we need to work with at least three or more firms. I’ll contact Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank.”

All the branch employees picked up their phones in unison.

Without even having time to check the employees’ movements, Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju called Oh Chang-jin, the representative of Cali Fund.

“This is Kang Dong-ju.”

[You’ve finally contacted me. Is it time to borrow Cali Fund’s name?]

“That’s right. We’ll proceed with contracts with multiple prime brokers simultaneously. Please prepare.”

[The preparations were already finished last month. But to convince the brokers, we need to get our stories straight. We need to know which stocks you’re planning to short sell to proceed with the contracts smoothly, don’t we?]

Representative Oh Chang-jin’s voice was full of curiosity.

And finally, Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju gave him the information he wanted.

“We’re planning to establish short selling positions on IT technology stocks.”

[IT? Ha, there have been quite a few funds that went to hell shorting that sector. Just last month, three firms were liquidated.]

“I’m well aware. So don’t worry and proceed.”

In fact, many financial companies were moving while warning about the IT bubble.

It was a sensible response, but the market ignored common sense and raced forward with madness.

And the financial companies that moved according to common sense were swept up in the madness, lost all their operating funds, and were either liquidated or expelled from Wall Street.

[I’ll ask one last time. Are you really sure about this?]

“We’re going to build short positions. Just lend us your name.”

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju declared war against the madness.

Seeing this, Oh Chang-jin inwardly let out a sneer.

***

Today, as usual, I went to find Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju for English lessons.

The Branch Manager always greeted me with a bright smile, but today his face was full of fatigue.

“You look very tired. Is something wrong?”

“We started short selling from early this morning. $600 million with 10x leverage. We’ve fully established short positions totaling $6 billion.”

“You mean $6 billion in just one day?”

“My hands were shaking all day, I couldn’t even hold a coffee cup properly.”

$6 billion would be about 6.6 trillion won in Korean currency, wouldn’t it?

Once again, the Branch Manager had shown actions that exceeded my expectations.

“I can’t really grasp the scale of $6 billion. Is this kind of short selling investment common on Wall Street?”

“Even on Wall Street, $6 billion short selling positions aren’t common. I had quite a hard time convincing the prime brokers.”

“The amount is so large that it’s hard to even imagine.”

“This is my first time directly handling this scale myself. I’ve done it a few times as part of a team though.”

Could a person age that much in just one day?

The Branch Manager looked as if all the energy had drained from his body, and there was a metallic rasp mixed in his voice.

“May I know which stocks you invested in?”

“They’re mainly the stocks that Employee Lee recommended before. I’ve prepared the materials, so please take a look.”

The Branch Manager had built short selling positions in a total of 10 stocks.

Among them were famous companies like Yahoo, Amazon, and MicroStrategy, and Qualcomm and Cisco were also included.

They were all companies where the central axis of the technology industry was shaking.

Looking again, that center wasn’t just shaking but now seemed on the verge of collapse.

“These definitely look like companies that will collapse soon.”

“Hearing Employee Lee say that puts my mind at ease. But if they rebound even a little, the Prime Brokers will pressure us to put up more collateral.”

“By collateral, do you mean Nexfin and Rollbook?”

“That’s right. Thanks to Rollbook’s successful expansion into the United States, this transaction was possible. But we still lack sufficient collateral.”

With a scale exceeding 6 trillion won, naturally corresponding collateral was needed.

But for now, aside from Rollbook and Nexfin, there were no other assets worth putting up as collateral.

“If we double the number of patents Nexfin holds from now, couldn’t it receive a higher valuation?”

“You mean proceeding with patent registration through outsourcing companies? I received a rough report about that from President Cha.”

“At the current pace, there are limits. But if we increase the number of outsourcing companies, I think we can produce visible results within this month.”

The Branch Manager also nodded in agreement.

Nexfin was a company specialized in patents, and the more registered patents there were, the higher the company’s value would rise.

“I heard it’s not easy to find good outsourcing companies. And companies that specialize only in patent registration are rare too.”

“I know of a place. It’s a company that knows our company better than anyone and is familiar with all our employees.”

“There was such a place?”

“It’s a company started by former Patent Team members from Product Development Division 3 who quit and founded their own business.”

I had recently heard about their situation through Manager Kim.

They had boldly started their company but were struggling due to poor performance.

If that was the case, there was a high possibility they would be positive about taking on outsourcing work from us.

“What’s the company name?”

“Hwaseong Tech.”

“I’ll arrange to meet with them. Now, let’s stop talking about work and start our English lessons? We’ll need to go to the United States together soon.”

The Branch Manager opening his English book despite his exhausted body.

I was moved by his determination to maintain his routine even after investing over 6 trillion won.

Thanks to him, I also pulled myself together to memorize even one more word.

***

Oh Chang-jin, CEO of Cali Fund Korea Office.

Before joining Cali Fund, he had worked at a Wall Street bank, which allowed him to obtain very good information without much difficulty.

“I got some very good information from Goldman Sachs. They told me which stocks Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju invested in and how much.”

“Really? It’s thanks to you being a Goldman Sachs alumnus, CEO!”

“They said they only lent their name, but since we’re essentially investing jointly, they told me without much suspicion. Take a look yourself.”

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju had taken short selling positions in 10 stocks.

He invested in 3 stocks per prime broker.

Therefore, the information CEO Oh Chang-jin obtained was also limited to 3 stocks.

“He took short selling positions worth 600 million dollars each in Amazon, Yahoo, and MicroStrategy?”

“Looking at this, doesn’t it take your breath away? He’s completely insane.”

“60 million dollars was already called crazy, but 600 million dollars? Then does that mean Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju’s short selling position is around 6 billion dollars?”

“It seems so. It’s more than I thought. If this investment goes wrong, Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju won’t just retire from Wall Street – he could end up in prison, right?”

CEO Oh Chang-jin couldn’t hold back his laughter.

While he had wanted Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju to fail, he never expected him to cause such a massive disaster.

“Nexpin and Rollbook will come to us within a few days.”

“I’m giving it exactly 5 days. If they rebound even once, it’s over immediately. Won’t the prime brokers start demanding more money right away?”

“Still, if he hands over Rollbook and Nexpin, wouldn’t they tolerate about one rebound?”

“That would be possible if someone appears willing to buy them. If Kang Dong-ju grovels, I’ll save him once. If he keeps acting stubborn, I’ll just kill him.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin imagined Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju kneeling at his feet.

The imagination alone was so satisfying that his body trembled with excitement.

“We don’t really need to spread the information ourselves. There’s no way such an extreme investment could succeed, right?”

“Tsk tsk, that’s why you won’t make it. A tiger must do its best even when hunting a rabbit.”

“Then should we release the information?”

“Subtly pass it to the Market Forces. Just knowing how much he positioned will make the Market Forces swarm like a pack of dogs.”

The Market Forces move like piranhas.

When prey they can devour appears, they move simultaneously, waiting for blood to flow from their target’s body.

“It’s not just the market forces. Various institutions, financial companies, and major funds also have long positions in IT technology stocks. They won’t just sit still either.”

“What financial company on Wall Street doesn’t hold technology stocks? We’re holding quite a bit ourselves, aren’t we?”

“We’ve made quite substantial investments in IT companies. There are places where we’re major shareholders.”

“Leak the information to headquarters too.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin wanted to thoroughly crush Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju.

And he needed to pass information to Cali Fund headquarters, if only to showcase his own performance.

“Headquarters will be very pleased. They were already hoping to acquire Korean IT groups, and now they’ll get to crush Tiger Fund and acquire both Nexpin and Rollbook.”

“Cali Fund Korea Branch might be established in the first half of this year. Then I’ll appoint you as Deputy Branch Manager.”

“Thank you! Branch Manager Oh Chang-jin.”

“Hey! It’s too early for that. Go ahead and leak the information.”

Just two hours after Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju established his short selling position.

News that Tiger Fund Korea Branch had entered large-scale short selling was already beginning to spread throughout Wall Street.

New Employee with 1 Trillion Annual Salary Chapter 44

E-book Publication Date | 2025.11.27

Author | Seo Oh

Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won

Publishing House | Poten

Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

Phone | 02-6320-8500

Fax | 02-6320-8585

ISBN | 9791175305892

Price | 100 won

ⓒ Seo Oh 2025

This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law.

This e-book is published under the author’s contract, so unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.

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