12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

It was the last trading day, a day before the announcement of the Old City Regeneration Project on Friday. I was just looking at the calendar app today and paying attention to my money. I did not touch the two stocks, Bisang Construction and Jinyang Development. I just watched the movement, '+6%, +2%, -4%, -7%, -2%, +3%.'

Both stocks went up and down and were seesawing violently. I saw the stock window of Bisang Construction once or twice in the meantime. As I looked at the stock window, there was a sale on every asking price. That was the short stock sale, the sale just over the asking price. It might not all be ours, but a certain portion would be the short stock sale being made by the team set up by Vice President Jang.

'Well... they're doing great.'

I went to Jinyang Development this time. There was a considerable amount of short stock selling in Jinyang Development. I didn't know who was there, but some people bet on the decline of Jinyang Development.

'Anyone who knows that Bisang Construction will be chosen will do that.'

Both stocks were now up nearly 60% from the start. If they were not chosen here, the lower limit price should happen twice. If anyone was betting now, he was a man of pretty strong mind. Or, he would know the result in advance. It was the closing time of the market.

[Bisang Construction -7%]

[Jinyang Development -9%]

Both stocks closed lower with adjustments. It seemed that the ants ran away because they were afraid that they might go to hell as a result of the weekend. Both of them also had a significant amount of short stock sales. With this, the betting was over. The city government's ambitious announcement of the first operator of the Old City Regeneration Project would be at 3 p.m. tomorrow. Depending on the name of the company standing there, the joys and sorrows of the two stocks would be mixed on Monday.

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I looked at the screen with popcorn in my hand.

Ewan McGregor, whose feet were caught in moving trees said, "I've seen my death. I'm not dying like this." Then the tree let him go.

The movie on the screen was Tim Burton's "Big Fish". It was one of my favorite movies. I'd seen it ten times so far, but I saw it again.

'It's a masterpiece.'

I was absorbed in the movie.

'Sometimes false fantasies are better than the truth. Especially when it is made of love.'

I watched it all until the end. I was touched every time I saw it.

"Hoo... Tim Burton is a genius." I came out of my private theater after I finished watching the movie. When I came out, I found out my cell phone was ringing.

Woo-woong. I received the phone call; it was Secretary Seo. He said in an urgent voice, "Boss, we're in trouble."

"What's the matter?"

"It was announced as Bisang Construction was selected as the business operator."

Pretending to be slightly surprised, I said, "Oh, really?"

I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 3:43 p.m.

"Yes! That's why Vice President Jang called you several times, but you did not answer the phone."

"Ahh... yeah. I turned it off to focus on the movie."

"No, we're up to ten million dollars in our short stock sale."

"It's okay. It's common to lose money on the stock market. A stumble may prevent a fall. Last month alone, the total market capital of Kai Games went up by twenty million."

"No, but..."

"I'll call Vice President Jang again anyway."

"... yes, boss."

After talking on the phone, I picked up my cell phone. I'd got four missed calls while I was watching the movie.

-Vice President Jang-

-Vice President Jang-

-Vice President Jang-

-Secretary Seo-

I guessed Vice President Jang was a little surprised… I called right away.

Tiriri. "Yes, boss!" He answered my call this time just before the telephone rang twice. I thought he'd been waiting for my call. "Did you hear the news?"

"Oh, yes. I heard from Secretary Seo. Was Bisang Construction announced as a business operator?"

"... Yes. What should we do about this? We have to buy back the shares we put out for the short stock sale."

'If someone borrowed other people's shares for a short stock sale, he has to buy them back and pay them back. The problem is that we can't buy back the shares of Bisang Construction as from tomorrow, the upper limit price will march continuously upwards.'

"Next Monday... No, I can't guarantee it on Tuesday, either. It may go straight to the upper limit price and we will not be able to buy it again."

'When such good news comes out in the market, it goes up two or three times. In addition, there are people who wanted to scam it openly here, so it will go up higher than usual. After going up further, they will pass over the rest to the ants, who then will make an explosion.

'But before that, surely, the forces that are driving up the stock price as they want to sell it at a high price, so they will lead the stock price to the upper limit. The forces are trying to monopolize profits by making it impossible for ants to buy even a hundred thousand dollars. However, our company made a short stock sale worth ten million dollars. This means that we have to buy while crying and eating mustard only after the stock price goes up a lot.

'What if there's no other variable…'

I said soothingly to Vice President Jang, "I bet, but I lost... It's common for investors, is it?"

"Yes, but..."

'Jang seems a little shocked by the fact that my decision was wrong. I am sorry for the fact that since stocks have been rising according to my foresight, he has trusted me wholeheartedly.

'Didn't we have to put in a short stock sale?

But if I thought about it later on, this was also a necessary process. I spoke to Vice President Jang, "A general can't win every time. Let's shake off this failure and focus on our next investment."

Jang spoke in a way that seemed helpless, "... yes boss, but the amount of money that we put up for a short stock sale... "

"Just buy it back at a reasonable rate... We could lose ten million dollars, but there is nothing to do. We have to put up with it."

'A short stock sale is a very burdensome investment for those who make it. If you buy a thousand dollars worth of stocks and then get delisted at worst, you could lose a thousand dollars, but if the stock price goes up higher, you can lose more and more money. That's why the situation could be twice as bad if it goes up to the upper limit price for two days or three days.'

Jang spoke in a sad voice as if he had suffered a loss himself. "... yes."

'He's also loyal.' I liked that. I liked the way he thought about the company money as his own money.

'I'll give him an extra raise when this is over.' He was still getting the highest salary in the industry, but I would have to raise it a little bit more here.

"Yes, then, that's what you know, and don't get too upset."

"Yes, boss."

After I finished my phone call, I let out a long breath, "Hoo..." I pretended to be surprised, to be sad, I tried my own way, but I didn't know how good it was.

Because I knew in advance that Bisang Construction would be chosen.

"It's hard to lie, but that reporter did it very well." I went over the phone records.

Two days ago, I still had a record of talking to the reporter Kang Joo-hyuk. Newsmaker, this guy was good at lying without changing his face, "I don't know much about Director Tak Joon-gi."

I thought about him. 'You must be very excited right now.' Maybe he was having a big party. The operation was going well, as I had made a big short stock sale for Bisang Construction, and I told him that I had also bought Jinyang Development, which I hadn't actually bought, because I'd taken their short stock sale for Jinyand Development. So far, everything I had done had been according to the scenario they'd mapped out. But they couldn't have known that the scenario they had put together was just part of my scenario.

'Then, when do I pull the trigger?' I sat on the sofa and thought for a moment, when it would be the most dramatic, which would be most effective in destroying my enemies…

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That Monday,, at the same time the market opened, Bisang Construction ran to the upper limit price, +30%. Equally obvious, Jinyang Development came out at the lower limit price of -30%. It was no surprise as I watched it, hawking as I normally did. What I was worried about was that the forces in Bisang Construction were eating out of here, as Kang Joo-hyuk said, 'There's nothing one hundred percent in stocks.'

Bisang Construction hit the upper limit price, but they could sell it off here. But soon, I shook my head. 'No, that's impossible.' It was like not racing with a four-card, not getting a call with a jackpot, or not picking up a hard paddle on the floor.

When I looked at the volume of transactions, the stock was rarely traded. Even the luckier ants would not sell at this price.

'All right, so... I'll sign the queue today. Shall I watch tomorrow?' Thinking about it, I picked up my cell phone and sent a text message, 'Q'. Just one word to someone.

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Tuesday, it was the same. Bisang Construction was at +30% and Jinyang Development was -30%. If there was a slight difference, Bisang Construction was rarely sold, whereas Jinyang Development was being traded little by little. Now that the lower limit price had been hit twice, the price was back in its proper place.

I began to sweep up Jinyang Development here. Jinyang Development, which was at the lower limit price, fluctuated a little due to my purchases. They probably thought, 'Thank you for buying me at this price.'

The ants that had failed to make a bet put their shares right on my purchase. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and today when the result was announced to them, it must have been a hell of four days to get here. Well, there was nothing they could do about it, as they had put their money into a contest they had not been sure about.

I saw the stock price of Bisang Construction. It was stuck at the upper limit price. 'They are going to eat it all the way to the end.' I glanced at the clock. It was 9:30 a.m., and it was show time in a little while. I picked up my cell phone and called Vice President Jang.

"Yes, boss."

"What's the team for the short stock sale doing?"

"Oh, they are watching… they can't buy it because it's at the upper limit price. If the upper limit price is broken tomorrow..."

"Oh, come on, there's still a large amount of Stock Lending and Borrowing left, right?"

"... Yes? Yes."

"Please tell them to get ready for another short stock sale."

"Yes?"

I said this honestly, "I overheard a story coming out of the media... Maybe the situation will turn around."

"... but the result has already been announced..."

"I can't go into details. Instead..."

But then, for a moment, the upper limit price on Bisang Construction was broken.

I said urgently, "Now, tell them to put more on the short stock sale."

Vice President Jang said, "... Yes, sir."

However, perhaps our team for a short stock sale didn't sell much today. The stock price of Bisang Construction, which had just been at the ceiling, fell vertically in just a few seconds and plunged into the lower limit price.

'It's unexpected...' I tilted my head. It was faster than I thought. I thought it was going to take a few minutes, but it turned off in a few seconds. It meant that the impact of the article was intense. I tried to log on to the Internet. At the top of the portal site, there was an article: [Joo Sung-won, Mayor of Seoul, announced that there was corruption involved in a project to select a business operator for the Old City Regeneration Project.]

I looked at it and put my lips together. "Oh, did the Mayor himself announce it?"