NOVEL NEXT 16
“Lee Chang-jae, working at the headquarters’ IB Division. Fifth-year assistant manager.”
As Dokyung’s interview concluded, he observed the next participant being interviewed. It was the turn of the person who had laughed loudly during his own interview earlier.
“If you’re in the IB Division, what kind of work do you do?”
Lee Seong-hyun asked, seemingly for the benefit of the YouTube viewers.
“Investment Banking. We handle investments in companies, manage IPOs for listing company stocks, and so on.”
“So it’s financial services for corporations.”
“That’s correct.”
Lee Chang-jae’s tone and demeanor exuded considerable confidence.
“May I ask why someone from the IB Division is participating in this mock investment competition?”
“Probably for the same reason as everyone else here. The prize of a job transfer was tempting.”
Most participants had mentioned being drawn to the competition by the prospect of a job transfer.
“Isn’t the IB Division already a good department? It’s where everyone wants to be.”
Due to its focus on corporate clients, the IB Division dealt with substantial transaction volumes. Employees who facilitated deals received significant performance bonuses from transaction fees.
“That’s true, but like that person over there, I also dream of becoming a fund manager or trader. A job directly involved in stock investments.”
Lee Chang-jae pointed at Dokyung as he spoke.
“Well, you laughed the loudest when Yoon Dokyung-ssi chose Yuseong Semiconductor earlier. The reason for that…”
“Because it was amusing.”
Lee Chang-jae smiled, genuinely seeming to find it entertaining, as he began to speak.
“That person mentioned macro analysis and fundamental analysis as strengths, then said Yuseong Semiconductor was their main pick. Wasn’t that funny?”
“Could you explain for our YouTube viewers…”
“I think the viewers probably understand better than I do.”
Lee Chang-jae continued, looking directly at the camera.
“Currently, there’s explosive demand for semiconductors worldwide. However, I believe we’ve recently hit a peak. In fact, I think the stock prices of all semiconductor companies globally are reflecting that.”
“Ah, so if we’ve hit the peak, it’s only downhill from here?”
“Yes. I believe the talk of winter coming for the semiconductor industry is true.”
Everyone nodded at Lee Chang-jae’s words. It was something everyone in the industry believed to be true.
While semiconductor companies’ performance was at an all-time high, signals kept emerging that this was the peak.
In the end, sentiment was crucial in stocks. When everyone shakes their head, that atmosphere is reflected in stock prices, and investment psychology becomes cautious.
“This is about the macro aspect that person mentioned, so they probably know this too, right?”
“So, Lee Chang-jae-ssi, what stock are you looking at?”
“I’m bullish on Hanseong Shipbuilding.”
Hearing Lee Chang-jae’s recommended stock, Dokyung nodded. He understood where the man’s confidence came from.
Dokyung had also been thinking that the shipbuilding industry, which had been in a slump recently, might be entering a new cycle. He figured everyone would include Hanseong Shipbuilding in their portfolios for this competition.
“Unlike that person, I combine macro factors with technical analysis. I can’t go into details, but a shipbuilding cycle is coming.”
Lee Chang-jae pointedly referred to Dokyung. Dokyung felt that his tone was dismissive.
At Lee Chang-jae’s words, Dokyung briefly looked at him before turning his attention to his phone. He didn’t have time to get upset over someone he’d rather not associate with.
He thought it would be more beneficial to find out why the message had recommended Yuseong Semiconductor at times like this.
“Good job, everyone.”
After several more participant interviews, Lee Seong-hyun addressed the group.
“Shall we move to a different location?”
As Lee Seong-hyun suggested this, everyone gathered their belongings and followed him. Dokyung also picked up his bag and began to leave the waiting room.
“Was it really necessary to go that far?”
Hearing a voice beside him, Dokyung turned to see a woman speaking.
“Excuse me?”
“That jerk. I’m asking if it was necessary for him to go that far.”
The woman pointed at Lee Chang-jae walking ahead, and Dokyung chuckled.
“You’re right. He seems a bit on edge.”
While Dokyung hadn’t paid much attention to Lee Chang-jae, he saw no reason to disagree with the woman who was being considerate towards him.
“I don’t know why securities firms are full of jerks like him.”
After saying this, the woman extended her hand to Dokyung.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Yeon-ji, an RA from the Research Center. I don’t have an official rank, but I’m treated as an assistant manager.”
Dokyung shook Lee Yeon-ji’s hand as she introduced herself.
“Yoon Dokyung from the Operations Team at Seongnam Branch.”
“You’re in your second year, right?”
“Yes, second year.”
“I’m in my fourth year.”
As Lee Yeon-ji said this, Dokyung smiled.
An RA (Research Assistant) worked in the Research Center, helping analysts with company analyses.
Typically, if one worked diligently for 3-5 years, they could become an analyst.
“I’ll call you sunbae then.”
When Dokyung said this, Lee Yeon-ji chuckled.
“I didn’t say that to be called sunbae. Anyway, I found your comments about Yuseong Semiconductor interesting.”
“Didn’t you find it ridiculous?”
“Pardon?”
“Lee Chang-jae-ssi up there and the others were laughing.”
“Come on, how could I laugh when I don’t know your reasons for choosing Yuseong Semiconductor?”
Lee Yeon-ji continued talking as she walked beside Dokyung.
“I’ve been here for four years now. I’ve noticed that people who mock others’ insights tend to wash out pretty quickly.”
Dokyung looked at Lee Yeon-ji thoughtfully. He had believed that not everyone would be like Lee Chang-jae, but it felt good to meet someone like her so soon.
“So… is there something on my face?”
“No. I’m just listening carefully to what you’re saying, sunbae.”
“Ah… well, what I’m saying is, don’t worry too much about that guy, Dokyung-ssi. If you just focus on doing your job, he’ll wash out on his own.”
“Haha, aren’t you being a bit harsh?”
“Watching him, I could tell he’s really unpleasant. Was that too much?”
“No. It was refreshing to hear.”
At Dokyung’s words, Lee Yeon-ji snickered and continued walking alongside him.
The participants, guided by Lee Seong-hyun, entered a room and were left slack-jawed.
“Wow…”
Not just Dokyung, but everyone let out exclamations of awe.
Each desk was equipped with two computer monitors, and various amenities were available inside.
“We can’t slack off when it’s going to be on YouTube, right?”
Lee Seong-hyun said this as he looked at the participants.
“Here, you’ll be competing for 4 weeks, 20 business days.”
While the mock investment competition used virtual money, it followed real stock market indicators. Therefore, it would take place on weekdays when the stock market was open.
“You need to select 10 stocks within a limit of 10 million won each.”
As Lee Seong-hyun began explaining the rules of the competition, everyone started taking notes.
“And every morning from 8:00 to 8:30, you can choose which stocks to sell. Of course, you don’t have to sell if you don’t want to. However, no additional sales are allowed during the competition, and once you sell a stock, you can’t buy it again until the end of the competition.”
It was simple. If you thought a stock in your portfolio had risen enough, you could sell it.
“The winner will be determined by the average return rate of the stocks you’ve sold and those you’ve held until the end of the competition. In case of a tie in average return rates, the total profit will be used as a tiebreaker.”
In other words, you could sell stocks you thought would fall to lock in your return rate, and keep holding stocks you judged would be good until the end of the competition.
The return rate for sold stocks would be fixed at the time of sale.
“Detailed rules are prepared separately on each desk, so please read them. Your names are marked on the desks, so you can consider that your seat.”
Lee Seong-hyun gestured for them to go ahead, and the participants, including Dokyung, began to find their seats.
“Oh, we’re neighbors?”
As Dokyung sat down at the desk marked with his name, a familiar voice came from the adjacent seat.
“Sunbae.”
Lee Yeon-ji was sitting in the seat right next to him.
“Let’s do well.”
As Lee Yeon-ji made a fist and struck a fighting pose, Dokyung responded by clenching his fist in return before turning to face forward.
Like any securities firm employee’s desk, there were very high partitions between the seats.
It gave the feeling of an independent space.
‘This is my first time sitting here…’
Dokyung felt a sense of novelty. Although it was just a seat he received for participating in a mock investment competition, he felt as if he was in the place he had always dreamed of.
He was determined to win this competition and take a step closer to that dream.
Clap clap-
Just as Dokyung and all the other participants were composing themselves, a sound broke through everyone’s thoughts.
“Now, our staff will hand out papers. Please write down the portfolios you’ve prepared on them. There are no restrictions on the stocks. Just make sure to fit 10 stocks within the 10 million won limit.”
As Lee Seong-hyun spoke, several staff members who had somehow entered the room began distributing papers to the participants.
“The computers in front of you have a trading system installed for the mock investment competition.”
At those words, Dokyung moved the computer mouse and double-clicked the icon on the desktop.
He had thought it was just a competition for YouTube promotion, but it seemed quite well-prepared.
“Please write down the prices of each stock based on last Friday’s closing prices.”
Since it was too early for the stock market to open, the starting prices for the stocks in the portfolio were the closing prices from last Friday’s stock market.
“The submission deadline is 30 minutes before the market opens. So please submit everything in an hour. Let’s begin.”
As soon as Lee Seong-hyun finished speaking, the sound of keyboards clacking filled the room.
Dokyung also started searching for information about Yuseong Semiconductor using both his phone and computer.
While he was frustrated that the message always threw out stock picks without explaining the reasons, he had faith that Yuseong Semiconductor would rise.
‘I see why they thought it looked good.’
After researching Yuseong Semiconductor for a while, Dokyung wrote it down first.
Then, he removed the stock that seemed likely to yield the lowest profit from his prepared portfolio and started crafting his portfolio to match the amount.
[1. Yuseong Semiconductor 98,500 won 30 shares]
[2. Hanseong Shipbuilding 23,000 won 50 shares]
[3. ST Oil 110,500 won 20 shares]
.
.
.
[10. Shinil Retail 44,500 won 25 shares]
‘It’s quite challenging to create a portfolio within 10 million won.’
Dokyung thought this after completing his entire portfolio. Of course, rankings would be determined by average return rates, but when those were tied, the deciding factor would be total profit.
“Ten minutes left. Please hurry.”
At the voice announcing 10 minutes until the deadline, Dokyung stood up and submitted his portfolio.
“Am I the last one?”
“Yes, the others have already…”
The other participants had already submitted their portfolios, probably having prepared them in advance.
Dokyung scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he returned to his seat.
As Dokyung returned, Lee Yeon-ji poked her head over the partition and spoke to him.
“You were working really hard, weren’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“When I came back after submitting my portfolio, I saw you were so focused I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.”
“Ah… when I concentrate, I usually…”
“Now, we’ve displayed the portfolios you’ve submitted on the large screen.”
As Dokyung was chatting with Lee Yeon-ji, a voice from the front interrupted, and everyone stood up and approached the screen.
All the submitted portfolios were displayed on a large TV screen.
Dokyung read through the portfolios with an interested expression.
“Not confident?”
As he was focusing intently, a voice came from beside him. Dokyung turned to see Lee Chang-jae standing there with a contemptuous expression.
“Excuse me?”
“Hanseong Shipbuilding.”
Lee Chang-jae smirked as he looked at Dokyung.
“You bought it after hearing me mention it as my main pick in the interview, didn’t you?”
“Hey, Lee Chang-jae-ssi. Why do you keep…”
Lee Yeon-ji, who had been watching from the side, tried to intervene first, but Dokyung raised his arm to stop her and addressed Lee Chang-jae.
“Your self-consciousness is too strong. That’s not helpful when investing in stocks. I experienced this in high school, but it seems to have come to you a bit late.”
Dokyung gave a slight bow and returned to his seat, while Lee Chang-jae clenched his fists and glared at Dokyung’s retreating back.