New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 48

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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 48. Giant Killing (3)

The long-awaited Monday had arrived.

All weekend, my mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of short selling, and I ran all sorts of simulations by myself.

Interest alone was already about 1.5 million dollars.

An amount equivalent to 1.7 billion won in Korean currency was already going out just in interest.

Even so, the Branch Manager was surprisingly calm.

“Let’s do our best today as well.”

“We only have 50 million dollars in remaining funds. It seems like it’ll be tough to even survive one day.”

“If the situation gets worse, I’ll use the last resort, so for now let’s try to hold out with just the remaining funds.”

He certainly seemed to have something he was counting on.

But as long as we didn’t know what that was, Song Sang-yeon and I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

The market situation on Friday in particular had been the worst.

“It rose 79 points on Friday. We couldn’t respond strongly due to lack of funds, so we couldn’t break the upward trend. Today the Market Forces alliance will push even harder.”

“With 50 million dollars, we can’t even hold out for a few hours.”

“It’s not a matter of a few hours – we might not even be able to hold out for one hour.”

A situation where we’d run out of ammunition and couldn’t continue the war.

If this were a real war, I’d pick up a wooden stick and fight, but in the stock market, you could only fight using money as your weapon.

“The market has opened. Stop the idle thoughts and focus on minimal response.”

“The Market Forces are coming out strong from the start! They seem to have caught wind of the interest rate hike announcement too.”

“It looks like they want to finish this today.”

A bull market had continued for three consecutive days.

The Market Forces had gained confidence, and their calculation to lock in profits before the interest rate hike was clear.

“The initial offensive is too strong. Just sprinkling small amounts isn’t enough to stop the upward trend!”

“What’s the rise?”

“It’s already risen over 2%. And individual investors are jumping in too.”

Not just Market Forces, but individual investors had also jumped into the war.

Their scale was small, but when tens of thousands swarmed in as a group, their power was beyond imagination.

“Try to hold out just a little longer.”

“We’d have to use up all our remaining funds to barely suppress it.”

“Deploy everything.”

I invested the remaining 40 million dollars in full.

Even mobilizing 5x leverage to barely suppress the upward trend, it was only temporary.

The allied forces poured in even more funds, as if mocking our financial power.

“It’s starting to rise again. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before it surpasses the price where we entered our short selling position.”

At that moment.

A spine-chilling phone ring echoed.

It was that call no investor ever wants to receive.

“A call has come from the Prime Broker.”

“I’ll take it.”

The Branch Manager picked up the phone handset.

We could hear the broker’s cold voice.

[We’re just before reaching the entry price. We’re notifying you that we’re approaching the margin call threshold.]

“We’re well aware of the situation.”

[If the stock price rises further, forced liquidation will proceed due to insufficient margin.]

“Yes, we’ll take action.”

A forced liquidation crisis.

Of course, we hadn’t completely exceeded the entry price yet.

But if this trend continued, forced liquidation could begin within an hour.

“Branch Manager, you need to do something now!”

“I suppose I should.”

Contrary to his words, the Branch Manager took no action.

He seemed to be pondering something, and just when he appeared to have made up his mind and was about to take out his mobile phone!

“Huh? An announcement has appeared. It’s an announcement related to MicroStrategy!”

“Wait, let me see!”

The Branch Manager threw down the mobile phone he was holding and rushed to the trading terminal.

Then, for the first time, he expressed emotion and shouted.

“Ahhh! It finally burst! We did it! We did it!”

“What announcement is it?”

“A MicroStrategy accounting error correction announcement has appeared! It says they inflated their profits!”

The Deputy Branch Manager who was reading the English disclosure shouted out.

I also got caught up in the atmosphere and clenched my fists tightly.

“So does this mean the situation is over now?”

“Deputy Branch Manager, what’s happening with the stock price right now?”

“The stock price is falling like crazy! It’s already dropped over 3%, buying pressure has completely disappeared. And all the Market Forces have pulled out!”

A 3% drop in just a few minutes.

The stock price that didn’t budge even when we poured in 200 million dollars was crumbling from a single line of disclosure.

“Related news is starting to pour out as well.”

“That’s a good sign. The market will shake even more if the coverage continues.”

[The Fall of Technology’s Representative Stock!]

[Accounting Manipulation, Concerns Over Tech Stock Overvaluation]

[Revenue Exaggeration Admitted. Investor Trust Collapses]

Articles bursting out as if they had made some kind of agreement.

Since MicroStrategy was a symbol of US technology stocks, the shock to the market could only be greater.

“New York Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, Financial Times – they’re all putting out breaking news.”

“This won’t simply end with MicroStrategy’s decline.”

“Amazon, Yahoo, Qualcomm, Cisco – all their stock prices are collapsing. The NASDAQ index is also plummeting!”

“You said something would happen that would shake the market, right?”

This was it.

The hidden card the Branch Manager had been holding.

And the true identity of the bursting sound that had been tormenting my ears.

“Branch Manager, did you know about this accounting manipulation incident beforehand?”

“I found out by pure chance. But I couldn’t trigger it myself. That would have put certain people in difficult positions.”

“If the disclosure had been delayed, what were you planning to do?”

“Then I was prepared to report directly to Media Companies and the SEC, ready to face not just retirement but even prison.”

There was a reason the Branch Manager hadn’t lost his composure.

It wasn’t simple confidence. It was the determination to go to prison if necessary.

That resolve had created the victory of this operation.

“Branch Manager! If it was something like that, why didn’t you leave it to me? I could go to prison instead of you 10 times, 100 times!”

“I appreciate the Deputy Branch Manager’s sentiment. But even if the same thing happens again, the Deputy Branch Manager won’t have to go to prison.”

Even while we were savoring victory, the stock price was falling terrifyingly fast.

It fell at an even faster pace with each blink of an eye.

“It’s already fallen over 7%. Honestly, I can’t even get a sense of how far it will fall in just one day.”

“So, would you all like to leave work early today? Or should we stay and have a beer while watching the stock prices?”

“It’s a day when we can watch the stock price window with a smile. There’s no reason to go home!”

“I’d also like to keep watching the stock prices.”

Song Sang-yeon and I spoke simultaneously with smiles.

We wanted to fully savor this victory.

And we also had the desire to see in detail what results the explosive sound from the structure would create.

“But it’s not over yet. The interest rate hike issue remains.”

“Then we’ll be setting off fireworks every night. I should buy beer by the case.”

“I’ll prepare the snacks!”

We enjoyed the victor’s feast.

It was just a few cans of beer and light snacks, but we felt a satisfaction that couldn’t be experienced at any high-end restaurant.

***

Perhaps due to the beer I’d had after a long time, my tension released and I fell asleep lying on the sofa.

Looking at the watch, it was exactly 6 AM.

Even though I was tired, my body reacted on its own, and I got up from the sofa to tidy up the surroundings.

“You’re already up? Why don’t you sleep a little more?”

“It’s fine. But has the market closed?”

“It just ended.”

The Branch Manager and Song Sang-yeon were still holding beer cans.

I’d heard rumors that people in the financial industry were strong drinkers, but the number of beer cans piled up next to the sofa was too many to count at a glance.

“How did the market close?”

“Very satisfactorily. Song Sang-yeon, please explain in detail.”

“Since I entered Wall Street, this is the first time I’ve seen a stock of this scale crash like this. It fell a whopping 60%.”

“Is a 60% decline in one day even possible?”

“It’s impossible in Korea, but it’s possible in the United States.”

The lingering alcohol made my mind work slowly.

Only after widening my eyes did the meaning of the 60% crash hit me.

“With a $600 million position in MicroStrategy, plus an additional $560 million with 5x leverage, if it fell 60%, the return rate would be…”

“Total investment was $620 million, total position was $3.4 billion. The return rate is 329%, and profits exceeded $2 billion.”

It was the Deputy Branch Manager speaking while twitching his lips.

He must have calculated it many times, as he recited the numbers while staring into space.

“It’s possible to earn 2 billion dollars in a single day.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this either. Even Tiger Fund Headquarters never had this kind of return rate. This is the first and highest record set by the Branch Manager.”

“I didn’t do this alone. It was possible thanks to the Deputy Branch Manager and Employee Lee being by my side.”

It was an amount that shattered any sense of reality.

But think about it. This was a 2 billion dollar profit from just one stock.

Of course, the other stocks, even without additional funds invested, would have recorded considerable profits.

“Did the other stocks also record high returns?”

“The NASDAQ index fell 5.4%. Technology stocks were hit particularly hard.”

“Yahoo dropped -15%, Qualcomm -12%, and all the rest fell around 10%.”

“So how much did we earn in total yesterday?”

“The profits from the other 9 stocks amount to about 540 million dollars. That’s 2.5 billion dollars in total.”

2.5 billion dollars overnight.

That was equivalent to earning about 2.7 trillion won.

“You know that Employee Lee’s and Nexpin employees’ money is also included in the investment funds, right?”

“How much do we get?”

“It’s not as much as you might think. If we realize profits now, we’d receive about 2.5 times our investment.”

“The Nexpin employees’ accounts had 80 billion won, so 200 billion won would be our share?”

“Exactly right. You’ve been in the fund office long enough that your calculations have gotten really fast. Very good.”

Half of the employee accounts were my equity shares.

Half of 200 billion, which was 100 billion, would be my portion.

The other colleagues would each take home 10 billion won.

“I’m not sure if we should accept this.”

“Of course you should accept it. This is the amount that all Nexpin employees invested under Employee Lee’s leadership. And I have no intention of taking fees or performance bonuses from Nexpin employees.”

The Branch Manager misunderstood what I meant.

I was worried whether we should give it to them because the amount was so large that employees might consider retiring.

Unaware of my concerns.

The Branch Manager and Deputy Branch Manager continued their conversation.

“Actually, it’s standard for funds to take 20% of profits as performance fees.”

“That’s compensation for managing the investments. But since Employee Lee directly managed Nexpin’s investments, we don’t have the right to receive performance fees.”

In fact, even if they took it, I wouldn’t have anything to complain about.

Even after taking 20%, a huge amount of 160 billion won would remain.

So just by being next to the Branch Manager, I saved 40 billion won?

“I don’t know what to say. I’m not even sure if I really did work worth 40 billion won.”

“Thanks to Employee Lee, I was able to push forward with Short Selling with confidence. Don’t feel burdened. We’ll continue to be investment partners going forward.”

The Branch Manager extended his hand.

It seemed to mean he truly considered me a partner, and I didn’t refuse the handshake and took his hand.

“I don’t know if such opportunities will come again, but if the Branch Manager wants, I’ll join you anytime.”

“I should be the one saying that. If Employee Lee has any investments you want to make, just say the word anytime. I really want to work together.”

“You can’t leave me out either!”

Song Sang-yeon covered my hand with both of his hands.

A slight feeling of discomfort was about to rise, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

Song Sang-yeon, who had been somewhat displeased whenever I came to the Fund Office.

But now I could feel camaraderie beyond trust, so I had to endure it.

“Alright! We still have work left to do. Shall we meet with CEO Oh Chang-jin first? Employee Lee, do you want to come along?”

“Would it be okay for me to come along?”

“Interesting sights are more enjoyable when shared. Song Sang-yeon, please handle the situation cleanup.”

“I’ll clean it up neatly!”

I was curious what CEO Oh Chang-jin’s expression would be like.

Of course, enjoying others’ misfortune isn’t right.

But who could blame me for enjoying the downfall of someone who drove us to the edge of a cliff?

Annual Salary 1 Trillion New Employee Chapter 48

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 work protected by copyright law.

This e-book is published under the author’s contract, and unauthorized reproduction, duplication, 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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