Chapter 3

Every morning, the Research Operations Team was filled with anxiety and pressure.

Which reports should they upload?

Which sector’s analysis should they trust?

What were their competitors pushing?

There were countless things they had to keep an eye on.

Even the slightest mistake in judgment could damage the company’s brand value and reduce the profits of its clients and in-house traders.

That was why the Operations Team was always agonizing over one thing or another.

But today, Team Leader Cheon Do-ah was troubled by something completely different.

“What does this mean?”

Cheon Do-ah stared down at a report sitting on her desk.

[Report Forecasting a Rise in the Korean Leisure Sector]

She patiently read through it once.

“……”

What a load of nonsense.

Anyone could tell that some analyst had scribbled this together just to meet their quota.

“The problem is that the parachute picked this one.”

The troublesome new intern who had joined today, Kang Suho.

Surprisingly, his first impression had been quite good.

She could tell that he was genuinely trying hard, and when she’d seen him listening attentively and taking notes during the meeting, she’d honestly been a little—just a little—moved.

It had almost felt as though her preconceived notions about the royal family were being shattered.

That was why she’d deliberately asked him to choose a report, intending to teach him by giving him some direct feedback.

“He can’t possibly be unaware that the leisure sector has been completely wrecked, can he?”

She had explicitly said it several times during the meeting.

The leisure sector wasn’t going to rise anytime soon.

That was because of China’s ban on Korean cultural content.

Casinos, resorts, hotels, airlines, duty-free shops, and so on.

All of these were grouped together under the term leisure sector.

When the Chinese government implemented its restrictions on Korean culture, it drove Korean cultural content out of China and even restricted tourism to Korea.

As a result, the leisure sector had suffered an enormous blow.

“And yet he chose this…”

It was clearly an expression of his own opinion.

An unspoken warning that basically said:

Don’t you dare try to lecture me.

“Am I reading too much into it?”

But it was hard to think that way when she’d clearly said several times during the meeting that the leisure sector was struggling.

And yet that intern had deliberately dug through all those reports and pulled out the leisure-sector report as if to make a point.

“……I was an idiot for expecting anything in the first place.”

A member of the royal family was still a member of the royal family.

They lived in a completely different world from ordinary people.

The best thing to do was simply not to get involved.

“Okay. You just gather everything we decided on during today’s meeting and upload it. Then send the emails to the clients as well. It’s not that difficult, right? The client list is already stored on the server, so all we have to do is click a few things. However…”

“However…?”

“You absolutely must not go past eight o’clock.”

“What happens if we do?”

“Hmm~. Actually, nothing much.”

Assistant Manager Kim smiled, but her voice soon became gloomy.

“It’s just that… you’ll have a one-on-one meeting with the team leader, write a written statement explaining what happened, get a lower performance evaluation, and so on.”

“I-I don’t think that’s ‘nothing much.’”

“Exactly. So you absolutely, absolutely, absolutely cannot be late.”

Even if the sky were to split in two, the uploads had to be completed before eight.

I wrote that down in large letters in my notebook and circled it several times.

There really is a lot to learn.

Even during the meeting earlier, I couldn’t keep up with the pace.

It made me wonder whether I’d ever be able to match everyone’s tempo if I stayed here for a long time.

“Suho, did you have coffee today?”

“Huh? No.”

“Perfect. We’ve finished the uploads too, so let’s go get some coffee.”

Assistant Manager Kim took me to the company’s break room.

As expected of a major corporation, even the break room was incredibly well equipped.

Hiss—

The sound of the espresso machine rang out as the fragrant aroma of coffee filled the room.

With practiced movements, Assistant Manager Kim quickly made two Americanos.

“Here. Have some.”

“Ah! Thank you.”

“Then, a toast to Suho’s first day at work~.”

Clink~.

At that moment, this was the best coffee in the world.

Sorry, noona.

“So, you’ve barely started working and it’s already pretty intense, right?”

“To be honest… yes.”

“It’s okay. I was exactly like you when I first came here. My mentor back then used to scold me so much, saying I was clumsy and had a terrible memory.”

“They scolded you?!”

How could anyone possibly scold someone as cute as a little hamster?

“So don’t get discouraged. You were flustered because of the team leader after the meeting earlier, right?”

“Ah…”

During the meeting, the team leader had suddenly asked me to choose a report, which had already caught me off guard.

Then the foul smells coming from the reports had made me even more confused.

I couldn’t bring myself to pick any of the reports that smelled bad, so I’d ended up choosing the one with the most pleasant fragrance.

“Still, choosing the leisure sector was a bit much.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. The Korean tourism industry is taking a major hit because of China’s restrictions right now. That’s why the leisure sector is basically dead. Even the report you chose only said there might be a very slight rebound. Analysts usually prepare two reports in advance—one negative and one positive.”

In other words, they prepared different scenarios in case something unexpected happened.

“I think I chose the wrong one because I was so flustered.”

“That can happen. If our team leader had asked me something like that on my first day, I probably would’ve picked something completely ridiculous too.”

Can someone really be this kind?

My mentor was like an angel who seemed capable of forgiving every single mistake I made.

“Still, you can’t make the same mistake next time. The team leader repeatedly said during the meeting that the leisure sector wasn’t doing well. From her perspective, if you then chose that report, she’d think you weren’t paying attention during the meeting.”

“……She must have marked me as a troublemaker, right?”

“It’s okay. You’re still an intern. But you can’t do it twice, okay?”

“Yes! I’ll study hard and make sure I don’t make the same mistake next time!”

“That’s the spirit. And if there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me anytime. Got it? Suho, you have to go from intern to full-time employee, okay?”

“Yes!”

There probably isn’t another mentor like this in the entire world.

I now had one more reason to make sure I became a full-time employee.

“Welcome, Team Leader.”

“Yes, Manager. Did you see the report Shin-Kwang Securities released yesterday?”

“Ah, yes. There were some points that were completely opposite to our own analysis. Especially regarding bonds.”

“Check that again. And see how things are progressing in the semiconductor sector as well.”

“Yes.”

Working hours at securities firms varied from department to department.

People handling overseas markets came in during the afternoon and worked later, while the Research Center came in early in the morning to check domestic and international news.

They also had to check what reports their competitors had released and how those reports differed from their own.

There was no room for dragging their feet.

“Team Leader! I brought your coffee!”

“Ah, thanks. Just leave it there.”

“Yes!”

Cheon Do-ah started every day with coffee loaded with extra shots.

Fatigue had accumulated, but she forced herself awake by pouring caffeine into her system.

Otherwise, she knew she wouldn’t be able to finish everything she had to do that day.

“Team Leader. This is the document you mentioned yesterday, and these are the reports you asked about earlier.”

“Thanks. And the meeting will start soon, so tell everyone to gather. We have a lot to go over today.”

“Yes.”

As soon as the team leader called for everyone, the team members hurriedly gathered the materials they needed to discuss during the meeting.

Cheon Do-ah thought she would be the first to arrive in the conference room.

But two people had already arrived and finished setting everything up.

Assistant Manager Kim Su-jin and the troublesome intern.

“……”

She glanced at Kang Suho before quickly turning her head away.

Hadn’t she shown him some goodwill after seeing how hard he was working, only to get slapped in the face?

Since then, she’d simply been ignoring him.

“Everyone’s here, right? Then let’s start with the overseas markets. How are things looking in Europe?”

“Looking at yesterday’s reports, it seems the effects of Brexit are still significant. The problem is that the standoff between the United Kingdom and the other European countries isn’t dying down easily. The new prime minister said they would handle Brexit firmly, but now that they’re actually facing the situation, it doesn’t seem to be so easy.”

“Still, the German stock market closed up 0.3%, and although the manufacturing PMI came in below expectations, the other European stock markets are still showing stability.”

“Then should we hold our position on Europe, as stated in our initial report?”

“Yes. I think it would be better to wait and see for now.”

One agenda item ended just like that.

But they had barely even begun.

“Next is the outlook for this round of Big Tech earnings. So far, it looks like…”

“There are also minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting. You should take a look at these as well…”

This was what an ordinary day in the Operations Team looked like.

A huge variety of events occurred every day, so information never stopped pouring in.

They organized most of it the previous day, but events happening overseas occurred during the early morning hours in Korean time, which meant they often had to deal with them hurriedly in the morning.

“So that’s everything, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief. We should just barely make the upload deadline. Assistant Manager Kim, please upload everything quickly.”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

And so, the war-like morning finally came to an end, allowing everyone to enjoy a brief break.

Sip—.

Instant coffee in a paper cup.

A small reward for all the hard work.

Its sweetness filled my parched mouth.

“Hmm…”

Then, when I stretched out at length, I finally felt as though my day had properly begun.

“Another crazy morning.”

Once the brief break was over, new reports would soon start pouring in from every direction.

From then on, the Operations Team’s job was to read them throughout the entire day.

But I didn’t dislike this hectic routine.

Someone might ask whether it wasn’t boring, but I’d actually found this work more interesting than trading.

That was why I’d come to the Research Center.

“Team Leader.”

Just as she’d finished her brief break and started checking the reports pouring in again,

one of the team members hurried into the room.

“What is it?”

“Apparently, money in the domestic market is flowing into the leisure sector.”

“What? Suddenly? Didn’t we say money would flow into biotech today?”

The Korean stock market was different from overseas markets.

Rather than money being evenly distributed across different sectors, it tended to gather in one sector and then suddenly shift to another.

This phenomenon was commonly called sector rotation.

That was why the Research Center and traders were most interested in which sector money would flow into each day.

“Yes. That was the original forecast. In fact, money really did start flowing into biotech. But the situation reversed after a rumor began circulating around lunchtime today.”

“What rumor?”

“There are rumors that China will soon lift its restrictions on Korean culture.”

Cheon Do-ah was startled.

“Lift the restrictions? Are you sure?”

“We don’t know whether it’s true, but the rumor is spreading rapidly.”

Whether the rumor was true or false wasn’t important.

The rumor was currently spreading through the media, and the leisure sector was rising because of the expectations surrounding it.

That was how the stock market worked.

Prices reflected people’s expectations.

“Tell the leisure-sector team to prepare a report. Get more detailed information as well. Quickly!”

“Yes!”

Cheon Do-ah also hurriedly began searching for information about the situation, but suddenly stopped.

“Wait.”

The leisure sector…

Why did that sound so familiar?

Then she suddenly remembered what had happened a few days ago.

Ah. That report the parachute had picked!

Nobody within the company, and not even the other companies, had viewed the leisure sector positively.

And yet the only person who had predicted that the leisure sector would rise had been that parachute?

“Su-Surely it’s just a coincidence?”

Cheon Do-ah calmed her excitement.

Yes. It must be a coincidence.

There was no way that parachute had managed to predict something that nobody else had expected.

But there had been something about his expression when he’d picked that report.

How should she put it?

He had looked absolutely certain.

“……It really is just a coincidence, right?”