NOVEL NEXT 5
“May I… take on this task?”
In the branch manager’s office of Yuseong Investment Securities’ Seongnam Branch, Choi Woojin was looking at the branch manager with a surprised expression.
“Yes, you’re currently the top performer in attracting client funds at our branch, Choi Woojin-ssi.”
Recently, Choi Woojin had been gaining the trust of clients at an alarming rate.
Even Choi Woojin himself was surprised by how many clients were entrusting their funds to him.
‘Can I give it a try?’
‘I’m keeping an eye on the paper sector.’
For some reason, the image of Dokyung boldly speaking to him came to mind.
A year ago, he had coincidentally shared a table with Dokyung at a restaurant they went to for lunch.
That day, he had casually mentioned how difficult his job was, and the next day, Dokyung cautiously approached him and offered a solution to his problem.
At first, he was taken aback.
And honestly, there was a part of him that looked down on Dokyung.
‘How much could someone from the operations team know?’
However, it didn’t take long for that perception to change. Dokyung’s analysis seemed to scratch an itch he didn’t even know he had.
Since then, he increased his interactions with Dokyung and received help from him.
Although he always felt uncomfortable and apologetic about the one-sided help he was receiving, Dokyung actually eased his concerns.
‘I wish everyone knew.’
He had always thought that at least everyone in the branch should know about Dokyung’s abilities.
After receiving Dokyung’s advice, the number of clients entrusting their funds to him increased, and he was gaining recognition within the branch.
But shouldn’t that recognition be directed towards Dokyung instead of himself?
“What are you pondering so deeply about?”
Lost in thought, Choi Woojin came to his senses at the branch manager’s voice and bowed his head.
“Thank you for giving me this great opportunity.”
“It’s a good opportunity for you, Choi Woojin-ssi. The vice president at headquarters is leading this transaction.”
“The vice president?”
“Yes, it’s not a small block deal. You know that processing a block deal transaction comes with a large commission, right?”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
The branch manager was giving him a huge opportunity right now.
People often wondered why securities firm PBs stuck around despite the poor work-life balance, but in the end, it all came down to money.
“The transaction size is about 8 billion won. Our agreed commission is 9%.”
A block deal involved trading a large volume of shares owned by a listed company managed by the branch after the stock market closed.
Since they found buyers in advance and conducted large-volume trades off the market, the securities firm managing the transaction received enormous commissions.
While a 9% commission might sound impressive, it was actually on the lower end.
“At 9%, the commission coming to us is 720 million won. According to company regulations, your share of the commission would be 150 million won. How much is left for your BEP, Choi Woojin-ssi?”
Securities firm PBs had something called a BEP (Break-Even Point).
Usually, they were assigned a BEP of about 3-4 times their annual salary, and if they exceeded 3 times their annual salary in profits, anything beyond that was the incentive zone.
In other words, if the annual salary was 50 million won, any profit earned from transaction commissions after achieving 150 million won would be paid to the PB as a performance bonus.
“20 million won left.”
“As expected of you, Choi Woojin-ssi! You’re already close to meeting your BEP. Once this block deal transaction is complete, you’ll max out the 49% cap and take it all.”
Of course, not all profits were paid out as performance bonuses.
There were performance bonuses paid out by tier, and in Choi Woojin’s case, 49% of the commission from the block deal transaction would be paid as a performance bonus.
“Thank you for this opportunity.”
“You’re the only one I can trust with this, Choi Woojin-ssi.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Choi Woojin bowed to the branch manager, but his face still held an expression of something left unsaid.
“Um… Branch Manager.”
As Choi Woojin called out cautiously, the branch manager looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“If I take on this task, I’ll need someone to help me with my regular duties.”
“Hmm… That’s true. How about passing some work to other PBs?”
“I’d like to, but the clients…”
The branch manager nodded at Choi Woojin’s words.
He too had risen from being a PB to branch manager. Clients were reluctant to entrust their assets to a different PB once they had chosen one.
After all, it was a matter of money, so they wanted to continue dealing with someone they had built trust with.
“Do you have someone in mind?”
“I’ll handle the work myself, but I need an employee to assist me with this task.”
“I know that. The problem is we don’t have a suitable employee.”
“May I choose someone?”
“Do you have someone in mind?”
At the branch manager’s words, Choi Woojin hesitated for a moment, then clenched his fist and opened his mouth.
“I’d like Yoon Dokyung-ssi from the operations team to assist me.”
“What? Yoon Dokyung?”
The branch manager’s expression crumpled at the mention of Dokyung’s name.
“Yoon Dokyung is…”
“From what I’ve observed, Dokyung-ssi is the hardest working person here. Of course, I know you have reservations about him.”
Choi Woojin recalled Dokyung’s image of confidently saying what needed to be said to the branch manager.
And he also remembered what Dokyung had told him.
‘Rather than being pushed around by the branch manager every day without being able to say what I want and then quitting, I feel like I should at least say everything so I won’t have regrets.’
It was an incredibly bold statement, but there was something shameful about Dokyung’s words. In the end, Dokyung was right.
And Choi Woojin himself was the representative PB of this branch.
If Choi Woojin were to move to another company, the branch manager would know very well whose loss would be greater.
“But Dokyung-ssi seems to be someone I can trust with work. Honestly, he’s also the most capable among the operations team staff.”
“Hmm…”
As Choi Woojin spoke boldly, the branch manager seemed at a loss for words and stroked his chin.
Although he didn’t like Dokyung, he was an employee with a good head for work.
“If any problems arise, you’ll be responsible, Choi Woojin-ssi.”
“Pardon?”
“If Yoon Dokyung causes any trouble, it won’t be just his responsibility, but also yours for recommending him.”
As those words flowed from the branch manager’s mouth, Choi Woojin smiled.
The Dokyung he knew wasn’t someone who would cause trouble.
“Yes! I understand.”
“Good. I’m allowing this because I trust you, Choi Woojin-ssi. Keep that in mind and handle this matter thoroughly.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“If we successfully complete this task, our branch will rise to the top performance spot among all branches nationwide this year.”
The branch manager spoke with a greedy expression, and Choi Woojin bowed his head.
“And as I mentioned earlier, this is a transaction that headquarters is interested in. You know Vice President Hwang In-yong, right?”
At the mention of the vice president’s name, Choi Woojin bowed his head with a surprised expression.
“I’ll work hard.”
“If you get stuck, make sure to get help from the deputy branch manager.”
“Yes, I understand.”
With the worried branch manager’s final instructions, Choi Woojin bowed and began to leave the branch manager’s office.
A smile spread across Choi Woojin’s face, perhaps due to the good news he had to deliver to Dokyung.
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[VIP service full member! We’ll send you premium information.]
[Stock to watch: J-On System]
[We’re here for your dream. We’ll provide more good information!]
‘Wow, this is crazy.’
Meanwhile, Dokyung was sitting at his desk, staring at the message that had arrived during lunch.
‘What’s this stock to watch now?’
This time, instead of recommending a stock, it was warning about a stock to watch, indicating that J-On System’s stock price would fall.
From the beginning, it didn’t explain why stocks would rise and made him find out for himself, but today it went even further, making it unclear how to judge.
‘Anyway, it’s saying J-On System is going to cause trouble, right?’
Having organized his thoughts like this, Dokyung searched for J-On System on the trading system.
Dokyung knew that the message wasn’t making empty claims, but he had no intention of judging based solely on the message.
Choi Woojin had recommended stocks to clients based on what he had said.
It was fine since it turned out right, but if it had been wrong…
The thought alone made him dizzy.
Dokyung decided to use the stocks mentioned in the message as hints for study.
He needed to gain confidence first.
‘Let’s see… J-On System. A common IT venture in Seongnam, listed about 5 years ago.’
Since the area where the branch was located had many IT ventures, most of the corporations they dealt with were IT companies.
J-On System was a company successful enough to be listed on the KOSDAQ market among numerous IT ventures.
‘There’s nothing particularly standing out.’
There was no special news in the stock charts or supply and demand situation that could be seen on the trading system, nor in the news.
It just had the price movement of a common small-cap stock.
“There is an article from two months ago saying they’re struggling with financial difficulties…”
Dokyung said this while also examining the materials directly disclosed by J-On System.
Knock knock-
Dokyung, who had been concentrating deeply, reflexively raised his head and opened his mouth at the sound of knocking.
“Welcome, customer. What can I… Assistant Manager.”
Choi Woojin was smiling and knocking at the counter.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Ah, I was just looking up various things.”
“So you’re idle because there are no customers, huh?”
Recently, the market had been bad, so they expected customers to visit, but now that prices had fallen to a point where even stop-loss didn’t make sense, customers weren’t visiting the branch.
It felt like they were waiting for stock prices to recover.
“Let’s go to my room.”
“…But it’s work hours now.”
“Don’t worry, I got permission from the branch manager. Come quickly.”
Choi Woojin said this and headed to his room, and Dokyung got up from his seat, tilting his head as he followed behind.
“Dokyung-ssi.”
“Yes, Assistant Manager.”
“From tomorrow, report to my room.”
Seeing Choi Woojin make such an abrupt statement without any context, Dokyung wore a puzzled expression. But Choi Woojin’s shoulders were raised high as if he was very proud of something.
“What do you mean…”
“The branch is handling a block deal, and I’ve been put in charge of it.”
At Choi Woojin’s words, a bright smile settled on Dokyung’s face.
“Congratulations, Assistant Manager.”
“This is all thanks to you, Dokyung-ssi.”
“What have I done?”
“What do you mean? It’s because of you that I became the top performer in attracting client funds at the branch, so I’m getting opportunities like this.”
Dokyung smiled as he looked at Choi Woojin, who was still attributing everything to him.
“So I said I needed someone to help me with my work, and I mentioned you.”
“Me?”
Dokyung looked at Choi Woojin with wide eyes.
“Yes, who else can I trust in this branch besides you, Dokyung-ssi?”
“I’m grateful for those words, but the branch manager…”
“He accepted when I strongly insisted.”
Dokyung seemed to understand why Choi Woojin was wearing such a proud expression. Choi Woojin felt like he had broken down some wall inside himself.
And it seemed he had wrested it from the branch manager.
“Thank you.”
Dokyung bowed his head respectfully. After all, Choi Woojin had given him this opportunity by even saying difficult things to the branch manager for his sake.
As Dokyung bowed respectfully, Choi Woojin said with a smile.
“Alright, alright, let’s save the thanks for after we finish the job. First, I should explain the nature of this block deal.”
As Choi Woojin sat down, Dokyung sat across from him.
“There’s a company called J-On System that does a lot of business with us…”
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat the company name…”
“J-On System. Why? Do you know this place?”
As soon as the name J-On System came out of Choi Woojin’s mouth, Dokyung’s expression rapidly hardened.