NOVEL NEXT 14
“This, I’m not sure if you’re interested, but if you are, I’ll recommend you to headquarters.”
“Th-This is…”
Dokyung looked at Ryu Tae-hwa with trembling hands holding the document.
“Let’s sit down for a moment. I have quite a few things to ask Yoon Dokyung-ssi.”
Dokyung calmed his racing heart and followed Ryu Tae-hwa to the sofa at the side of the room.
“It’s quite amusing to see your current state, compared to the Yoon Dokyung-ssi who spoke his mind freely in front of me before.”
Ryu Tae-hwa looked at Dokyung with a slight smile.
The operations team employee sitting in front of him was an interesting fellow. He had confidently spoken about everything when he was certain about something, but now he looked more flustered and shaky than anyone.
“I’ve looked into various things about Yoon Dokyung-ssi.”
“About me, sir?”
Dokyung tried to maintain his composure as he asked Ryu Tae-hwa.
“Yes, well. It’s not a background check, I just looked at your personnel records a bit.”
“Ah… I see.”
“It was interesting. You’re ranked first in customer satisfaction among counter staff.”
Dokyung was someone who never missed first place whenever customer satisfaction was surveyed at the Seongnam branch.
“But conversely, you’re last in product contracts.”
At Ryu Tae-hwa’s words, Dokyung sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
“Is that because of the personality you mentioned yesterday?”
“Yes, I recommend products to customers who want them, but otherwise…”
“Well, that’s fine. I agree with that part too.”
Ryu Tae-hwa’s attitude towards Dokyung had softened compared to before.
“Your reason for joining the company was interesting. You initially tried to join as a PB, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“May I ask about it in detail?”
It was something everyone at the Seongnam branch already knew. Dokyung opened his mouth towards Ryu Tae-hwa as if there was no need to hide it.
“As you said, I initially prepared for a PB position. Originally, I wanted to prepare as a new fund manager, but my educational background…”
Ryu Tae-hwa nodded as if he understood Dokyung’s words.
“The company is a bit old-fashioned, isn’t it? Shall we continue?”
“Yes, I interviewed for a PB position, but I guess I fell short.”
Dokyung had passed the document screening but had to drink the bitter cup of failure in the interview stage.
Honestly, after failing, he even resented the company, wondering if they had passed him in the document screening just because they needed someone to fill the numbers.
“The day after I received the rejection notice, I got a call from the company.”
“Interesting.”
“The interviewer from that time asked if I’d be interested in working in the branch operations team instead of as a PB.”
“The interviewer? Could it have been…”
“It was Vice President Sim Ju-won.”
When Dokyung mentioned Sim Ju-won’s name, Ryu Tae-hwa smiled as if his suspicions were confirmed.
“No wonder Vice President Sim Ju-won knows about you. Then he must have asked if you’ve ever traded stocks during the interview.”
“How did you…”
“It’s his signature question.”
Ryu Tae-hwa spoke as if recalling his own interview, then looked at Dokyung.
He was becoming more and more intrigued by Dokyung.
“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I know your answer?”
“I told him that I invest in stocks.”
“Of course, he must have asked about your returns.”
“That’s right. He asked about my returns and investment style, and later when he offered me the operations position, he said he liked that aspect.”
Sim Ju-won was indeed a remarkable person.
Although Ryu Tae-hwa himself didn’t yet know everything about Dokyung, he could tell that Dokyung was close to the ideal talented individual sought after in the securities industry.
Sim Ju-won had captured Dokyung’s strengths in that short interview.
“I can guess your style by looking at you, but what was your return at that time?”
“I was seeing about a 25% return.”
At Dokyung’s words, Ryu Tae-hwa’s eyes widened in surprise.
“25%? How many stocks were in your portfolio?”
“Six.”
“That’s impressive. I can see why Vice President Sim Ju-won wanted to hire you. But with such returns, didn’t you feel you didn’t need to become an operations employee?”
Ryu Tae-hwa asked Dokyung curiously.
“Don’t you think so? Even if not with our Yuseong, you probably had many options, like joining an asset management company.”
“Which asset management company are you referring to?”
“Like a private equity fund…”
“If you were the manager of a private equity fund, Branch Manager, would you want to hire me?”
At Dokyung’s question, Ryu Tae-hwa’s mouth snapped shut.
If he were in such a position, Dokyung would have been rejected at the document screening stage.
Private equity funds were even more focused on academic background than this securities firm. It was a place filled with people who had gone through MBA programs at Ivy League universities like Harvard in the United States.
Even talents from prestigious domestic universities couldn’t easily guarantee employment in private equity funds.
“I had already tried. I failed, though.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up painful memories.”
“It’s alright. I’ve forgotten about it now. At that time, Vice President Sim Ju-won told me that if I worked hard in this company, there would be opportunities for position changes.”
Dokyung continued speaking to Ryu Tae-hwa, sharing what was in his heart.
“I had thought about it too. Should I just become famous as an individual investor and wait for better opportunities? But I concluded that the end of those good opportunities would just be becoming a financial influencer.”
He wasn’t looking down on them.
Dokyung’s dream was simply to become a legendary fund manager like Peter Brown.
“Why a fund manager, of all things?”
Ryu Tae-hwa was truly curious. Fund manager wasn’t an attractive enough job to accept an operations position and just wait for an opportunity.
“Have you seen gold ore?”
“Gold ore?”
“Yes. When first mined, it’s just a rock with gold-colored patterns.”
Dokyung continued speaking, looking at Ryu Tae-hwa.
“But just as gold ore isn’t not gold because it doesn’t shine, I want to find the unshining golds and introduce them to clients. And I want to be recognized for it.”
“Couldn’t influencers do that too, as you mentioned earlier?”
“No, only fund managers can select companies that match my philosophy within legal boundaries, compose funds, and have clients profit from them. I want to share profits with both the clients and myself.”
Ryu Tae-hwa nodded at Dokyung’s answer as if it were an excellent response.
“Good. Then it seems that opportunity has come now.”
Ryu Tae-hwa smiled at Dokyung, and Dokyung looked again at the document in his hand.
His heart started racing.
“The WM Division at headquarters is planning to increase its personnel.”
Dokyung knew this from the news articles. Recently, headquarters had been showing movements to strengthen the asset management division.
It was probably because the number of individual investors entering the stock market had increased, and there were also predictions that this might be a way to support Sim Ju-won in the competition for the next president position.
“I wanted to give you an opportunity.”
“To me…”
“Yes, purely out of my curiosity. How far can Yoon Dokyung’s philosophy go?”
At Ryu Tae-hwa’s words, Dokyung looked at him silently. It was an incomprehensible statement.
“Can someone with such a philosophy survive long in this securities world?”
As Ryu Tae-hwa continued speaking, Dokyung began to feel offended.
It seemed as if he was treating him like some sort of curiosity.
“Branch Manager, I…”
“I hope you survive. I want to give you more opportunities.”
Ryu Tae-hwa nodded, looking at Dokyung.
“That’s my true feeling.”
Dokyung tried to find an appropriate response.
“May I ask why you’re showing me such favor?”
“Why? Well, why indeed?”
“…”
“I just liked the image Yoon Dokyung-ssi showed, and the words about how you think about customers.”
“…”
“And I too am someone who received recognition from someone and was given an unreasonable opportunity. I thought someday I should pass it on to a junior…”
Ryu Tae-hwa continued speaking to Dokyung.
“It seems like now is the appropriate time. That’s all there is to it.”
Ryu Tae-hwa spoke to Dokyung as if telling him not to think too hard about it.
“It would have been nice if I could directly give you the opportunity for a position change, but headquarters proposed the method written on that document.”
At those words, Dokyung lifted the document and read through it again.
The document described a mock investment competition that headquarters was holding for employees.
“You need a recommendation from a superior to participate, and that’s why I recommended you. I’ve received confirmation that you can participate.”
Ryu Tae-hwa continued speaking, looking at Dokyung.
“Besides the prize money, the attached prize is a position transfer to the department of your choice.”
That was what had surprised Dokyung when he first received the document.
“Of course, I thought if you worked a bit harder, an opportunity for position transfer would come to you, but is there any need to refuse an opportunity to speed up that time?”
Ryu Tae-hwa opened his mouth to Dokyung with an expression of certainty.
“This is the opportunity I can give to you. The choice is yours.”
Having said that, Ryu Tae-hwa closed his mouth as if giving Dokyung time to think. After staring at the document for a while, Dokyung seemed to make up his mind and looked at Ryu Tae-hwa, nodding.
“I’ll take it. The opportunity.”
Once again, a great opportunity had come to him, and Dokyung spoke to Ryu Tae-hwa with a composed expression as if he had no intention of missing this chance.
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“Whew…”
Two weeks later, Dokyung was standing in front of a building in Yeouido’s financial district.
The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, and a reddish dawn filled the sky, but securities firm employees were already heading to their respective companies.
“It’s been two years, hasn’t it?”
Dokyung muttered to himself as he looked up at the building.
Two years ago, after coming here for an interview with high hopes, he had vowed to return here someday.
[YUSEONG INVESTMENT SECURITIES]
Dokyung smiled as he saw the company name written above the main entrance.
He never imagined in his wildest dreams that “someday” would be now.
From the day he accepted the opportunity given by Ryu Tae-hwa’s goodwill, he could hardly sleep.
Although his dream hadn’t been realized yet, the days were filled with excitement at the possibility of being given that opportunity.
“Pull yourself together. You’ve prepared hard.”
Dokyung slapped both his cheeks with his hands. He had prepared harder than anyone for the month-long mock investment competition starting today.
Of course, everyone would come here with the same thoughts, but Dokyung was confident he could demonstrate everything he had.
“What an opportunity they’ve given me.”
It was a great opportunity given by Ryu Tae-hwa.
And not just that, but all the branch staff had cheered him on yesterday as he left work.
It was a path filled with the wishes of not just himself but all the employees at the Seongnam branch.
And the message that said it would accompany his dream, though it hadn’t rung yet.
“That’s right, I’m really not alone.”
Dokyung murmured softly and began to walk forward without hesitation.