New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 45
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 45. Madness (5)
Tiger Fund Headquarters.
An emergency meeting was convened under the leadership of the executives, and Chairman Robertson also attended.
“Chairman! The Korea Branch has completely crossed the line. Did you know about this situation in advance?”
“Each branch of Tiger Fund follows the principle of independent operation. I also received the report only after the short selling position was established.”
“It’s a massive 6 billion dollars. This isn’t simply a problem of just the Korea Branch. The balance of the entire headquarters’ operating funds could collapse!”
The executives’ voices grew louder.
It wasn’t simply due to their antipathy toward Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju.
The ‘heretical action’ of taking a position completely opposite to headquarters’ official strategy made the executives anxious.
“If we leave it like this, it will negatively affect headquarters’ investments as well.”
“That’s right! What reason would there be for headquarters and the Korea Branch to fight? Please give orders to liquidate the short selling position even now.”
“The losses aren’t that big yet. If it’s now, there’s a possibility of recovery!”
Chairman Robertson quietly listened to the executives’ words.
In fact, as they said, it might be right to stop Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju’s actions now.
He too had been advocating for technology stock long positions.
However, he couldn’t easily step forward.
He himself had experience of achieving great profits by executing large-scale leverage when everyone tried to stop him.
Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju’s current appearance was perhaps too similar to himself back then.
Like the last chance he had received in his youth.
Chairman Robertson hoped that this time, that opportunity would be given to Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju.
“Why are you all so sensitive? The funds operated by the Korea Branch are merely 3% of the total. What influence could 3% have on 97%?”
“The story changes when you consider leverage. The actual short selling scale is 6 billion dollars, about 30% of total operating funds.”
“You speak as if you don’t use leverage. If anyone hasn’t used leverage while building long positions, raise your hand.”
No one raised their hand.
Leverage was used not only for short selling but also for building long positions.
“Even so, we can’t just leave the short position as is! Short selling has a structure that allows for unlimited losses!”
“So headquarters should step in and crush the branch? If we set such a precedent, who would want to go work at overseas branches?”
“But Branch Manager Mike hasn’t just crossed the line. He’s erased the line itself.”
The executives were thinking of bringing down Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju with this opportunity.
However, Chairman Robertson was not easily swayed.
“In the end, Wall Street is a place that speaks through results. It’s right not to move hastily until the results come out.”
“This is an issue that could shake the very foundation of Tiger Fund.”
“Hey. Keep it quiet. I’ll take responsibility, so you all just focus on your respective management duties. If you don’t like Branch Manager Mike, crush him with results. Isn’t that Wall Street’s way?”
A place where results prove everything.
That was exactly what Wall Street was.
Whether you got help from astrology or lived by luck, as long as you made profits, everything was not only allowed but you could even earn respect.
“Still, the problem is that market forces have already caught the scent.”
“That’s Branch Manager Mike’s responsibility. You can team up with the forces and attack if you want. The judgment is yours to make.”
“Are we really allowed to attack?”
“You hyenas sure talk a lot. Do it if you want to. On Wall Street, only survival is truth.”
Infinite competition.
That was the reason Chairman Robertson had been able to climb to this position.
Through aggressive investment and fierce competition, he had grown Tiger Fund into one of America’s Top 3 Funds.
And even now, he still trusted his own methods.
The executives, who knew Chairman Robertson’s methods well, could no longer continue speaking and quietly returned to their respective teams.
But their inner feelings were hotter than anyone else’s.
They were even plotting cooperation with external forces to bring down Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju and protect their team’s profits.
There was no longer any reason left in their eyes.
Only obsession and madness were flickering there.
***
English lessons after work still continued.
If there was a difference, it was that one routine had been added after class ended.
The time when English lessons ended coincided with when the US market was just opening.
Thanks to that, we came to check the trends of our short selling positions together every day.
“The situation is taking an unusual turn.”
“Still, it’s moving below 5,000.”
“But money has started flowing into the stocks we invested in. Especially the stocks we invested in using Goldman Sachs as a broker are showing an upward trend.”
Yahoo, Amazon, and MicroStrategy.
These three stocks were showing strong buying pressure, different from the overall market flow.
Unlike IT stock prices that were maintaining a downward trend after breaking through their peaks, these three stocks were gradually rising.
Of course, they hadn’t recovered their peak prices yet, but signs of a rebound were clear.
“Still, it’s only three stocks, so couldn’t we hold out for a while?”
“We’re making profits on other stocks, and Rollbook and Nexfin that we hold as collateral are serving as support. The problem is the rebound speed is faster than expected.”
Indeed, the rebound speed was getting faster and faster.
Sell orders were being filled before they could even accumulate, and it felt like someone was competitively snatching up the volume.
While analyzing charts to find the cause.
Song Sang-yeon rushed over and raised his voice.
“Wall Street financial companies have started moving in earnest. Some have announced they’ll openly purchase Yahoo, Amazon, and MicroStrategy stocks.”
“Information must have leaked.”
“It seems so. But it’s difficult to confirm where it leaked from.”
“Wouldn’t it be Cali Fund?”
The Branch Manager spoke without hesitation.
But Song Sang-yeon was cautious.
“Tiger Fund Headquarters is also taking a short squeeze strategy on these stocks. We can’t rule out the possibility that the information was leaked from headquarters.”
“From our side too? Hmm, but it seems there aren’t that many forces that have jumped in earnestly yet.”
“They seem to be catching their breath momentarily to secure cash. But there’s a high possibility that large-scale forces will start moving in earnest tomorrow or the day after.”
The probing battle was in full swing.
A stage of confirming who moves first and whose side they’re on.
It seemed some impatient forces had thrown themselves in first.
“Which side is coming in strongest?”
“For now it’s mainly small-scale operational forces. But there’s also a possibility that large funds will form alliances soon. If that happens, it won’t be easy to block them.”
“We’ll need to launch a strong counterattack before then.”
“If Cali Fund Headquarters moves, it’s only a matter of time before other large funds join the battle.”
Even while we were talking, stock prices were rising rapidly.
Yahoo and Amazon didn’t move much since they were large-cap stocks.
But MicroStrategy had extreme volatility due to low trading volume.
“For now we’ll have to hold out. Is there still no contact from Goldman Sachs?”
“There’s no contact since we’re not short on margin yet, but if this trend continues, it’ll be soon.”
“We need to start securing funds right now.”
“Actually, Cali Fund contacted us first. They said to contact them anytime if we’re willing to sell Rollbook and Nexfin. They even offered to buy at a higher price than current market rates.”
The moment he heard those words, the Branch Manager gritted his teeth.
Who had leaked the short selling information – now it seemed close to certainty.
“Cali Fund definitely played games. They must have deliberately leaked information to get Rollbook and Nexfin.”
“I can’t confirm whether information was leaked, but it’s true that he’s showing strong obsession with Rollbook and Nexpin.”
This news also got on my nerves.
Because I didn’t want Nexpin’s environment to change.
The ownership changing from Tiger Fund to Cali Fund wasn’t part of my plan.
“Well, it’s not unexpected. If it’s CEO Oh Chang-jin, he’s more than capable of doing that.”
“What will you do now? How about just liquidating those three stocks? The losses aren’t that big yet, and we can recover enough with the remaining stocks.”
The Deputy Branch Manager suggested cutting losses.
Liquidating stocks that became targets of Market Forces wasn’t something to be ashamed of.
Rather, it was a rational judgment.
But the Branch Manager suddenly looked in my direction.
And casually passed the Deputy Branch Manager’s proposal to me.
“What do you think, Employee Lee? Would liquidation be better?”
“I don’t think this is a matter for me to decide.”
“Still, I’d like to hear it. How would you judge this, Employee Lee?”
I thought of the gears again.
Yahoo, Amazon, and MicroStrategy.
They were all companies with twisted central axles.
Though they looked fine on the outside, fatal cracks were already forming inside, and they wouldn’t be able to withstand just a few more shocks.
And today’s gear structure looked even more unstable than yesterday’s.
A structure with discord pouring out from everywhere.
It was certain that parts of the structure would collapse within today or tomorrow.
“I oppose cutting losses. I don’t know much about Market Forces or Wall Street, but these are companies that won’t last long.”
“Is that so.”
“Branch Manager!”
The Deputy Branch Manager raised his voice, but the Branch Manager had already made up his mind.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ve already coordinated with several Hong Kong Funds. If needed, we can immediately raise about 200 million dollars.”
“You’ve even connected Hong Kong funds? In that case, we can hold out a bit.”
“200 million dollars should be enough to put out the immediate fire.”
The Branch Manager had even considered the current situation.
The possibility of an unexpected rebound, and even CEO Oh Chang-jin’s potential betrayal.
He had already coordinated with Hong Kong Funds for that very reason.
“We need to inject funds now. We have to inject them before it’s too late to put out the fire.”
“That’s what we should do. We need to extinguish it before the fire spreads further. If this starts spreading like a wildfire, there’ll be nothing we can do.”
The moment the Branch Manager took out his mobile phone,
a notification sound rang from the computer and a small window popped up.
“Wait! Breaking news just came up.”
“It’s news from Japan. The Japanese Government is officially announcing entry into economic recession!”
It was a private economic report received from the Prime Broker.
It was highly reliable information that was among the most trusted on Wall Street.
“If Japan officially declares a recession… the situation will change significantly.”
“The entire NASDAQ has started declining since just now! Technology stocks in particular are rapidly turning bearish!”
“How are the three problematic stocks doing?”
“It’s not a crash, but the soaring upward trend from just before has been completely broken. Buying interest is noticeably decreasing.”
Everyone looked at the Bloomberg Terminal.
It was expensive professional equipment that provided real-time financial information, with monthly usage fees alone reaching tens of millions of won.
“SELL volume is surging.”
“The index is also dropping rapidly. It’s already broken through the 4,930 line.”
“The downward trend is expected to strengthen further when the Japanese Government’s official announcement comes out.”
“Hmm, then… we don’t need to inject funds right away. Let’s watch a little longer.”
Was Japan the source of the discord?
The situation turned out more favorably for us than expected.
However, since the contents of the private report hadn’t become reality yet, everyone kept their mouths shut and focused only on the breaking news.
And finally!
Japan’s recession announcement became reality, and the market reacted more sensitively than expected.
“The Japanese Government has officially declared an economic recession!”
“The crash is finally beginning.”
“All technology stocks have simultaneously turned to a downward trend. Even the stocks we were worried about are all declining!”
“Don’t let your guard down until the market completely closes. Variables can arise at any time. We might need to urgently inject funds.”
So we silently stared only at the stock price window.
Would there be a rebound? Would sudden positive news break out?
We couldn’t leave our seats while maintaining the tension.
And finally, at 10 AM when the US Market closed.
Only then did everyone simultaneously let out sighs of relief.
“It dropped quite a bit.”
“The NASDAQ index fell from 5,048 to 4,776. That’s a 5.4% decline.”
“Our return exceeded 50% in just one day.”
“While there are differences by stock, based on NASDAQ it’s over 53% return. And the profit alone exceeds 300 million dollars by far!”
This was the power of leverage.
Even when stock prices fell by just 5%, the return reached 50%.
We earned half of our initial 600 million dollar investment, a whopping 300 million dollars, in just one day.
But even in front of such tremendous profit, the Branch Manager’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest.
“We’re still far from done. We didn’t pull off this crazy stunt just to earn a mere 50%.”
“Thanks to today’s profit, we now have the strength to withstand even one major rebound! Even when I was at Tiger Fund Headquarters, we rarely recorded this level of profit in a single day!”
“Calm down. It’s not over yet. Since the situation has changed, the opposing forces will also attack us with different moves.”
Winning one battle doesn’t mean it’s over.
To achieve final victory, we had to endure until the enemy completely raised the white flag.
New Employee with 1 Trillion Won Annual Salary Chapter 45
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 contract with the author, so unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————