New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 46

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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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Chapter 46. Giant Killing (1)

Suddenly erupted negative news from Japan.

Wall Street had been considering Japan’s economic recession as a risk already reflected in the market.

However, the Japanese Government’s official announcement brought the hidden anxiety factors back to the surface.

In this situation, CEO Oh Chang-jin exploded with the anger he had been suppressing.

“Why does it have to be now! They could have announced it next quarter! Arghhhh!”

“Not only the United States, but global Technology stocks are falling across the board. It’s not a crash yet, but some Financial Companies are showing signs of pulling out.”

“Cowardly bastards. What kind of hyenas run away with prey right in front of them? They’re worse than puppies!”

Harsh profanity poured from Oh Chang-jin’s mouth.

Anger was surging at the situation not flowing according to plan.

“We need to modify the plan a bit.”

“Right, exactly. If we spread the front line, it’s hard to concentrate firepower. Let’s stop targeting Short Squeeze on all three stocks. Instead, let’s pour all our firepower into just one stock.”

“Which stock do you plan to focus on?”

“Obviously we should target MicroStrategy.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin was someone whose instant judgment alone was recognized even on Wall Street.

During his Financial Companies days, he had recorded high returns through Day Trading.

“Compared to Yahoo or Amazon, the trading volume is small, so if we just concentrate, we can create a rebound.”

“Let the Market Forces know the direction too. Make them stick close to us.”

“When do you see the attack timing?”

“The market will be chaotic for at least two days because of the negative news from Japan. So let’s set two days from now, March 15th, as D-DAY.”

“I’ll leak information so the Market Forces can prepare targeting that day.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin barely composed his emotions.

But his pride was cracked, and there was only one way to heal that wound.

Inflicting an even greater wound on Kang Dong-ju.

“Two days should be enough, right? Gather all the funds scattered in other stocks and inject them into MicroStrategy.”

“I’ll secure the maximum possible cash.”

“If necessary, bring more even if we have to use the companies we own as collateral.”

“The risk burden is huge.”

“Kang Dong-ju bet everything, but we’re going to win without betting anything? Not much, just one shot, one clean hit and the game is over. So what is there to be afraid of?”

Anyone could see it was a fight advantageous to them.

The battle of David and Goliath.

Moreover, it was a situation with multiple Goliaths.

Market Forces, Wall Street’s Large Funds.

A war where Kang Dong-ju could only become the victor by defeating them all.

So there could be no retreat.

If rumors spread that Goliath had fled in fear of David, that would be a humiliation worse than death.

Having started the war, they absolutely had to crush Kang Dong-ju.

***

Two days really passed quietly.

Going to work, taking English Lessons after work, briefly checking the Stock Price situation – and the day would end.

It was two days where I could live with a perfect routine, but today was different.

As soon as Class ended, Song Sang-yeon came looking for me with a serious expression, and I had a premonition that my routine would be disrupted.

“It doesn’t seem like Market Forces have completely given up. There are rumors going around that they’ve changed tactics and are concentrating on one stock.”

“What’s the source of the rumor?”

“From the Prime Broker side. And unlike other stocks, MicroStrategy’s decline is weak.”

It was amazing where such information leaked from.

The Branch Manager, of course, and Song Sang-yeon were both scraping up various high-grade information from Wall Street, and I could access that information just by being nearby.

“Hmm, it looks like they’re planning to pull funds from other stocks and concentrate on MicroStrategy.”

“If firepower is concentrated, even in a declining market, a short-term rebound could emerge.”

“That’s right. A short-term rebound isn’t difficult.”

“Right now would be worth considering Profit Taking. Previously we would have had to take losses, but now we can exit with profits.”

Song Sang-yeon didn’t enjoy fighting.

If market conditions were flowing favorably for us like now, he thought there was no reason to take on unnecessary risks.

“What do you think, Employee Lee? Would it be better to take profits and exit? Or would it be better to wage all-out war?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer.”

“I’m just asking for your opinion, so don’t feel burdened and tell me what you think.”

Actually, if it were any other stock, accepting Song Sang-yeon’s proposal would be right.

But MicroStrategy was different.

The central Axles had already collapsed, and the gears were just rotating from inertia.

Other stocks might hold out a bit, but this Company was barely hanging on with just an Oxygen Respirator attached.

Beyond dissonance, a high-frequency sound that seemed to tear eardrums could be heard.

It was a signal that went beyond simple stock price decline to threaten the very survival of the company.

“We need to maintain our position right now.”

“You’re saying we should clash head-on with the Market Forces. What’s your reasoning?”

“I visited the MicroStrategy booth at COMDEX. They claimed to provide big data, but there was absolutely no value worth paying money for.”

Companies don’t spare money when it comes to core information.

But MicroStrategy’s analytical data didn’t have that level of influence.

Their visualization and analysis capabilities were decent, but they weren’t at the level of providing corporate strategy or direction.

“So profitability will inevitably continue to decline.”

“It’s strange that they’re even making this much profit right now. If I were a company owner, I wouldn’t have contracted with them.”

“Song Sang-yeon, we also had a contract with MicroStrategy before, didn’t we?”

“Yes, Headquarters made a short-term contract, but we didn’t renew it when this quarter ended.”

It was still a premature company.

They had sufficient technology, but their profit structure was incomplete.

They lacked the substance to maintain their current high valuation.

“So we have solid evidence that their profit structure is terrible.”

“It was a profit structure dependent on one-time contracts. I think it’s difficult to realize a sustainable profit structure by providing solutions or receiving consulting fees.”

“Their fixed costs relative to sales were also excessively high. Especially marketing and sales expenses rather than R&D.”

A company that only advanced in technology.

They had grown in size within a structure that didn’t generate money, and this imbalance had eaten away at the central axles of the cogwheel.

“What do you think, Song Sang-yeon? Do you still think we should take profit on this stock?”

“I also know that MicroStrategy’s situation isn’t good. But is there really a reason we need to fight?”

“We shouldn’t fear the fight itself. There can only be spoils of war when there’s a fight. And the bigger the fight, the bigger the spoils.”

Their personalities were completely different.

But they were an ideal combination that complemented each other’s weaknesses, and I could feel how much the Branch Manager cherished Song Sang-yeon.

“More importantly, how much did stock prices fall over these two days?”

“After two consecutive days of decline, the NASDAQ index dropped to 4,698. About a 7% decline, with a 70% return rate and profits exceeding 420 million dollars.”

“70% profit in just two days… that’s not a bad pace.”

The Branch Manager saying 70% was just not bad.

Even with the enormous profit of 420 million dollars in two days, over 460 billion won in Korean currency, he wasn’t satisfied.

That’s why I wanted to know. What scale of spoils of war the Branch Manager was aiming for.

“What do you consider an appropriate profit, Branch Manager?”

“Shouldn’t we aim to make at least 10 times the profit? We’ve put everything on the line, so we need to earn that much to make it worthwhile.”

“10 times would mean you’re targeting 6 billion dollars?”

“Why? Does it seem like an impossible goal?”

Making 10 times profit with small money was possible.

But making 10 times profit with 600 million dollars was never an easy task.

However, since it wasn’t entirely impossible either, I just accepted it.

While we were having this brief chat.

Song Sang-yeon, who was checking the market situation, urgently raised his voice.

“Branch Manager! The Market Forces have started moving in earnest.”

“So the full-scale war has finally begun. What’s the scale?”

“The exact scale hasn’t been determined yet, but the downward trend has completely stopped.”

“They’re finally pulling the stupid move of going against market conditions.”

The Financial Industry I had experienced so far was not a place that operated on common sense.

Of course, in the long term, it wasn’t much different from common sense, but in the short term, all kinds of irrationality ran rampant.

“Use our information lines to determine the scale of the Market Forces.”

“I’ll do that. But we might be short on funds.”

“Don’t worry about that. If we use the remaining 9 stocks we’re holding through Short Selling as collateral, we can easily secure about 400 million dollars.”

The Branch Manager intended to use all the profits earned so far as war funds.

Song Sang-yeon had hoped for Profit Taking because he didn’t want to experience this situation, but since the Branch Manager chose war, he had to follow.

“I’ll mobilize all information lines to check the scale and funding of the Market Forces.”

“I’ll also activate my lines.”

Song Sang-yeon collected information through various methods.

He showed the skill of making phone calls while simultaneously sending emails, and seemed to call everyone working in the Financial Industry, whether they were School alumni or former workplace colleagues.

After collecting information for about an hour like that.

They roughly figured out who they were waging this war against.

“It looks like Cali Fund Headquarters is leading this operation.”

“The information I confirmed shows the same. I’ve confirmed that Cali Fund Korea Office and Headquarters combined are moving funds worth 500 million dollars.”

“Emerald Capital is moving as a sub-force. Their funding scale has been confirmed at approximately 300 million dollars.”

“The Pension Fund also seems to have joined as a sub-force. They say they can secure funds worth 200 million dollars.”

Various Financial Companies were mentioned.

When all the information was compiled like this, an enormous number emerged.

“If we add up the funds from individual Market Forces, the total funds would be around 1.2 billion dollars.”

“That’s much more than the funds we can mobilize.”

“Still, they won’t deploy all 1.2 billion dollars at once. They’ll drag out the time appropriately and wait for us to get exhausted.”

“Even so, we need cash available for immediate use.”

“Let’s contact the Prime Brokers.”

The Branch Manager made several phone calls to secure cash liquidity.

To be precise, three prime brokers were able to secure substantial funding in just a few minutes.

“We have 420 million dollars in unrealized profits but can only get 200 million dollars in financing.”

“The appraised value is $420 million, but we can only raise $200 million.”

“That’s because it’s not realized profit.”

“It’s probably because the profits haven’t been realized yet.”

“They’re taking 20% interest too. We do all the hard work but the brokers make the money.”

“They’re charging 20% interest too. We do all the hard work, but the brokers are the ones making the money.”

“The collateral risk is high, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“The collateral risk is too high, so there’s nothing we can do.”

“110,000 dollars flies away in interest alone per day.”

“We’re losing $110,000 a day just in interest.”

120 million won per day in Korean currency.

It was completely insane.

But executing such madness without batting an eye was exactly who the Branch Manager was.

“Let’s deploy 100 million dollars to block it. How much Leverage is possible right now?”

“10x is difficult, but up to 5x maximum seems feasible.”

“Good. Secure Short Selling volume as quickly as possible and press down with maximum Leverage.”

MicroStrategy’s stock price fluctuated.

Watching that scene, I found myself muttering without realizing it.

“With the same funds, Short Selling would be advantageous. Since we can use Leverage.”

“If the long position funds are $1.2 billion, they could build positions up to a maximum of $3.6 billion. In that case, if we use 10x leverage, we could defend with just $400 million secured.”

It was simple arithmetic.

Of course there would be more complex variables, but I tried to summarize the situation as simply as possible.

“The problem is time.”

“The problem is time.”

The branch manager glanced at his watch.

At that sight, I instinctively caught on.

“Is it because of the interest? With over 100 million won going out daily in interest, the longer we drag this out, the more we lose.”

“That’s right. Right now we borrowed at 20% interest from the Prime Broker, but if we end up using Hong Kong funds, it’ll get much more serious.”

“What’s the interest rate on the Hong Kong side?”

“36% annually. In ten days, that’s 2 million dollars in interest alone.”

Time was absolutely not on our side.

We had nothing, so we had to borrow to fight, and with each passing day our blood was drying up.

If the war dragged on like this.

A situation could arise where the interest exceeded the principal, and the moment that happened, it would be over.

“The opponent will also target that and drag out the time.”

“That’s highly likely.”

“How about considering liquidating MicroStrategy even now? We can make up for it sufficiently with other stocks!”

Song Sang-yeon desperately tried to dissuade us.

But the Branch Manager answered with an even more resolute expression.

“This is a war we’ve already started. We can’t retreat.”

“If rumors spread now that we’re short on funds, even the Market Forces that were watching will move.”

“That’s why we need to push hard early on. Pour in the remaining 100 million dollars with maximum Leverage too.”

The Stock Price Window fluctuated again.

A curved graph that shot up like a heartbeat, fell, and bounced back up again.

We applied 5x Leverage to 200 million dollars and poured in a total of 1 billion dollars.

Even so, the tide of war didn’t turn.

The one fortunate thing was.

The fact that the stock market wasn’t 24 hours.

“Today’s market has closed.”

“We poured in 200 million dollars, and we’re barely back to square one.”

“We barely held on. In this state, we can’t last more than a few days.”

“Let’s hold on just a little longer. That’s all we need to do.”

It was nothing short of hell.

Even so, the Branch Manager didn’t give up, and perhaps to reassure us, he maintained his composure.

But I found it difficult to maintain composure.

A thirst as if my whole body was drying up.

No matter how much water I drank, I felt empty inside.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

I thought I just needed to endure for a few days.

But I didn’t know those few days would feel this long.

What if MicroStrategy never collapses in the end?

The worst-case scenario wouldn’t leave my mind.

Each time that happened, I recalled MicroStrategy’s structure, and that terrible sound a machine makes just before destruction flowed out.

I listened to that sound while trying hard to calm my mind.

Annual Salary 1 Trillion New Employee Chapter 46

E-book Publication Date | 2025.11.27

Author | Seo Oh

Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won

Published by | 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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