New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 53
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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 53. Missing Puzzle Piece (3)
I returned after finishing the meeting.
Exhausted from the conference that lasted over half a day, I collapsed onto the sofa and buried myself in it.
“It took quite a while. Did they have that much to say about the DVD rental system?”
“At first I thought it was just a simple DVD rental Service Provider, but after talking with them, it was definitely an IT company.”
“Looking at your expression, you seem quite pleased. What did you like so much about it?”
It wasn’t that I liked Netflix as it is now.
But through my conversation with CEO Reed, I could see the future Netflix.
It was a Corporation with infinite growth potential, and it was just standing at the starting line.
“Right now they focus on DVD rentals, but it’s a Corporation that can provide much more services in the future.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Employee Lee praise something this highly.”
“And there were many areas where we could connect with Rollbook. We could do University Student-targeted DVD advertising, and we could create movie-related communities for collaboration.”
What Netflix needed was our customized system.
Rollbook could provide more content through Netflix.
Of course, right now there’s no other content besides DVD rentals, but Netflix was a Corporation that would continue to grow, so we needed to join hands early.
“Since you put it that way, we should secure Netflix Equity Shares in advance.”
“We also need to establish a collaboration contract with Rollbook.”
“Is there really a need to collaborate that far?”
“It’s a Corporation we can grow together with. Right now Rollbook might be at a disadvantage, but we can gain greater benefits later.”
I didn’t bring up these words during the meeting.
Because the conditions could change.
In contract Negotiation, you have to guide the other party to extend their hand first.
I had to pretend to be as indifferent as possible and raise my value to seize the initiative.
“Let’s proceed with the collaboration contract.”
“And I also learned a lot through this meeting. Especially, I think we can apply the subscription system to Rollbook as well.”
“Where are you planning to introduce the subscription system?”
“Right now music listening is only possible in Background Music format, but if we introduce a subscription system, people can listen to much more music comfortably.”
Many ideas I proposed to Netflix.
Most of them were also ideas that could be applied to Rollbook.
“Are you saying you want to add a Digital Music File Website to Rollbook?”
“Currently, there’s no legal way to listen to music online. Only dark channels exist. So we need to be the first to secure a legal distribution structure.”
“Then we’ll need to prepare a means to resolve copyright issues first. Well, that shouldn’t be difficult.”
I only needed to create the ideas and systems.
The Branch Manager would handle the rest of the problems, so what a convenient structure this was.
“While updating Rollbook, I’m thinking of writing Code that can also be applied to Netflix.”
“If you do that, we might be able to lead the Negotiation even more favorably.”
“By the way, how was the market situation today?”
“Today was very calm too. Since it’s the weekend starting tomorrow, rest comfortably.”
What would I do to rest in the United States?
Since Coding was my only hobby, I quietly went into my Room and turned on my Laptop.
***
I don’t even remember how the weekend passed.
Being absorbed in Coding, the weekend was just deleted.
If it weren’t for the Branch Manager’s cheers, I wouldn’t have known today was Monday.
“Wow! That’s right!”
“Is something happening?”
“A massive positive news broke.”
“When you say positive news, do you mean positive for us? Or did positive news break for the market?”
“It’s negative news for the market and positive news for us.”
The Branch Manager turned one Monitor toward me.
The screen was densely filled with news headlines.
[Microsoft, Stock Price plummets immediately after antitrust ruling]
[Federal Court, MS is a monopoly Corporation]
[Technology Stocks begin collective sharp decline]
[Department of Justice, Windows and Internet Explorer must be separated.]
[Microsoft breakup possibility?]
This was unexpected news.
Who would have thought the US Federal Court would rule Microsoft as a monopoly Corporation.
Of course, there had been some cracking sounds from parts of Microsoft’s gear structure, but it was hard to predict such a result.
“What’s happening? Why did the US Federal Court make such a ruling?”
“It’s a ruling that’s hard for Korean people to understand. But the United States is a country very sensitive to monopolies. That’s why such a ruling came out.”
“If I understand correctly, does this mean MS could be broken up if they don’t follow the court ruling?”
The Branch Manager slowly nodded his head.
The US Federal Court could potentially dismantle the world’s number one corporation.
MS, the company that’s been driving not only IT Technology Stocks but also NASDAQ itself.
“Stock prices are collapsing faster than expected. At this rate, NASDAQ could fall more than 7% in just one day.”
“Did the market completely fail to anticipate this ruling?”
“There was a possibility of a guilty verdict, but no one expected it to be this severe. Most people anticipated fines or warnings at most.”
Who could have predicted it?
That Microsoft would take such a direct hit from the court.
“By any chance, was this ruling the major event you mentioned, Branch Manager?”
“This is something even I didn’t anticipate. But it’s definitely a variable that will accelerate the IT bubble collapse.”
“Then, are you saying there’s still an even bigger event remaining?”
“It’s difficult to make an exact comparison, but there’s at least one more event that will deliver a shock similar to this one.”
NASDAQ was falling at tremendous speed.
But the NASDAQ index was child’s play compared to the Technology Stocks crash.
For every 1% drop in NASDAQ, Technology Stocks were plummeting two or three times more.
MS, the representative leader of the IT ecosystem.
MS’s decline meant the decline of all IT Technology Stocks.
“With such a ruling against MS, the center of the IT ecosystem, could there be anything worse than this?”
“This time it was the US Federal Court, but next time an even more powerful institution will step forward.”
“Do you mean there’s a Government-level movement to clean up Technology Stocks?”
“They’re not moving with the intention of causing an IT bubble collapse, but that will be the result.”
Stock prices falling refreshingly.
Watching that sight, I realized one thing.
That the cause of my motion sickness wasn’t the Stock Price Window, but the market that had been boringly holding out.
Watching it collapse so refreshingly like this, I actually felt like my eyes were becoming clearer.
“Now people will finally admit that IT Technology Stocks were a bubble.”
“Technology Stocks were able to rebound after March because hope remained. But now fear will take its place. The moment fear spreads, bubbles collapse in an instant.”
“Are you saying there will be no more rebounds?”
It was a natural question.
I expected a positive answer, but the Branch Manager’s thoughts were different.
“Markets don’t move according to common sense like that. Rather, there could be several large-scale rebounds.”
“Are there still many people who can’t feel the fear?”
“There are many people who can’t admit that their choice was a failure. To prey on those people, the market forces will induce a rebound. Technical rebounds will occur as well.”
It seemed like difficult words, but I understood the overall picture.
In the end, I interpreted it as predators digging traps to catch their prey.
“In the end, it’s a fight over who gets stuck holding the bomb.”
“The more bearish the market, the more the stock market becomes a zero-sum game. If you don’t want to get eaten, you have to eat first.”
“Everything from hyenas to piranhas will come rushing in.”
“Still, we’ve secured the position of top predator. Since we’ve already secured short selling volume at the peak, no market forces can easily touch us. On the contrary, we’re in a position to choose our prey.”
A smile full of composure spread across the Branch Manager’s lips.
Though we were already confident of victory, we quietly waited for an even more perfect result.
***
Tiger Fund Headquarters.
Chairman Robertson went around each office to assess the situation.
Wherever he went, loud voices were exchanged, and in teams that had closed their short selling positions early, sighs of regret never ceased.
“Ah, why did you close the position!”
“The Director ordered us to cut losses! I said we should just wait!”
“Then you should have argued more strongly!”
“Who could have known the situation would change so suddenly like this?”
This team had closed all their short selling positions in surprise at the 5% rebound at the end of March.
They raised their voices, shifting blame to each other.
“So, how much is the loss?”
“1 billion dollars. If we had maintained our position, 100% profit would have been possible by now!”
“What’s the point of saying that now! Find a way to recover the profits immediately!”
People who couldn’t come to their senses due to the enormous loss.
They desperately rushed forward, screaming to survive.
“How do we follow the shorts? Or do we trade in the opposite direction?”
“Did you find out what position Branch Manager Mike took?”
“According to the broker, he maintained his short selling position.”
“Then, we follow him too! Throw away pride and everything else, and follow Mike!”
An executive who usually looked down on Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju was the first to seek him out when cornered by crisis.
At such a sight, Chairman Robertson let out a deep sigh and moved his steps.
However, the atmosphere in other offices wasn’t much different.
Teams that had been tempted by the rebound a few days ago and maintained long positions, expecting greater profits, suffered enormous losses from this crash.
“Why is the US Federal Court doing this! Do they want to watch people die or something!”
“Shouldn’t we cut our losses now?”
“Have you been trading stocks for just a day or two? What’s meant to rise will eventually rise again.”
“Then, how about buying more stocks? Shouldn’t we at least lower our average cost?”
NASDAQ dropped over 7% in a single day, and technology stocks plummeted nearly 17%.
Despite the situation being impossible to maintain long positions, it was a team stubbornly holding on.
“Branch Manager Mike is still short, right?”
“That’s what they say.”
“Damn! It was Mike who screwed us over. Use all the remaining money to buy more stocks! Somehow drive the stock price up!”
It wasn’t rational judgment.
How could Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju alone move the market?
Chaos reached its peak in every office.
After witnessing all this, Chairman Robertson silently returned to his room.
“I hear complaint calls from clients are pouring in?”
“Cumulative losses since March alone exceed 6 billion dollars. Other funds also suffered losses, but not as much as us.”
“Even considering the Korea Branch’s profits?”
“Yes, the Korea Branch recorded excellent returns, but the overall managed fund scale is small, so the absolute profit isn’t large.”
Chairman Robertson thought of Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju.
The young man who had presented opposing opinions head-on from his first day at work.
He still remembered how he had argued that Tiger Fund should convert from a hedge fund to a private equity fund.
“But why is Branch Manager Mike suddenly showing interest in short-term investment? It’s strange how someone who insisted on value investment and long-term investment changed like this.”
“We gathered information through Korea Branch employees, brokers, and people around them. In conclusion, we couldn’t find the reason. But there was one rumor going around.”
Operations Director Alex Peter.
The man called Robertson’s right hand hesitated to answer.
To him, Chairman Robertson spoke gently.
“Even if it’s a strange rumor, tell me.”
“…They say Branch Manager Mike has been keeping a twenty-year-old young employee by his side lately. There’s a rumor quietly circulating within the Korea Branch that this employee has special talent for short-term investment.”
“Hmm, I understand. You may go now.”
Chairman Robertson stood up from his seat and headed toward the window.
The view of Wall Street, which had always felt like his playground, came into sight at a glance.
But why did Wall Street look like a battlefield rather than a playground today?
Annual Salary 1 Trillion New Employee Chapter 53
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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