12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

I clicked on the article without hesitation. Soon the text of the article came up.

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[Today, there was an incident where the stock price of Yuhwan Securities fell to the low limit price and returned. At 9 a.m. this morning, Yuhwan Securities, which had been trading steadily, plummeted around 9:30 a.m., plunging to the low limit price of –30%, and then returned to its normal price with the low price purchase, ending the rebound at –3%.

Today's sharp fall was considered a mistake of order by someone at the time, but the report said it happened due to the mistake of dividends. In the process of distributing dividends to employees, the bank paid 1,000 shares per share by mistake, instead of $1 per share.

The employees of Yuhwan Securities received thirty-five hundred dollars worth of stocks, not $1 per share. The low limit price today came about as a result of selling stocks by several employees who received tens of million dollars worth of shares in the market. The Financial Supervisory Service is investigating this case...]

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I read the article and put it together.

'Well... it's a ridiculous accident. It was a mistake that the employees sold shares which were accidentally given to them in large quantities. But I don't think a stockbroker wouldn't have known this was a mistake… Once he got tens of million dollars in his account, he was selling them like crazy over it…'

But whoever did it wrong or who did it right, it was up to the Financial Supervisory Service or the police. I only had to make money on this case.

'If I look at the fact, the volume is high at 9:30 and it hits the low limit price. And then it goes back and ends up at about -3%...'

Just thinking about it, I could get a 27% return. I looked at my watch. It was 8:58 a.m., two minutes before the stock market opened, and thirty-two minutes before the incident.

'I'll have to get ready soon.'

I manipulated my cell phone and transferred the twenty-four thousand dollars I had lent to my stock account. I also transferred two thousand dollars from my bank account to the stock account. Now, the amount of money I could use was twenty-six thousand dollars.

When I finished loading, I turned on the mobile tracking system (MTS) of my mobile phone. It was a system that carried the computer's HTS on its mobile phone. It was not like that four years ago, but because it was so simple, people who used MTS were more likely to use it than HTS these days.

Anyway, I put the current price of Yuhwan Securities on my cell phone. 9:00 a.m. came around and the market started. Yuhwan Securities started the sale at a –0.8%. It was an ordinary beginning. But I knew that the stock would hit the low limit price in half an hour.

'In a moment, hell is unfolding. It will be hell for a man who has shares, but heaven for him who wants to buy it. A stock is that game by nature, a cruel game that separates a person from his or her joy.'

I first checked to see if there were individual Futures of Yuhwan Securities. Unfortunately, it was not listed on the Futures market.

'Well... I can't sell it. Instead, the low limit price is aimed at buying.'

Having put my thoughts in order, I pressed the buy button. Oh, there was one more thing I needed to check on before then. I checked the article one more time. At the bottom of the article, the transaction price was written.

'Today's trading volume is estimated to be twenty million shares, worth eight hundred million dollars.'

'Eight hundred million dollars!' It was much bigger than I thought. The amount I would buy was less than one hundred thousand dollars, so it was like piss in the sea. It meant my order had no effect on the market at all. I put the order in without hesitation. After clicking "buying on margin," I bought it for twenty-eight dollars per share, which was the lowest price. It was widely-known that stock investors should not invest all the money they had in a stock.

'Buying on margin is an act of buying more shares on credit with the money I have. If my account has twenty-six thousand dollars, I can buy more stocks on margin. Usually, the smaller the fluctuation, the greater the margin is.'

As Yuhwan Securities was one of the nation's most successful brokerages, they allowed me to use 30% margin. That meant I could buy stocks equal to 3.33 times what I had. In fact, twenty-four thousand out of twenty-six thousand dollars was borrowed from a bank, so it was like making a debt out of debt. The brokerage lent me three times as much money as I had without paying any attention to whether I borrowed money, saved my salary, or sold my house to raise it.

'As can be seen in this incident, securities don't care a bit about the loss of ants, people, in the first place. Or rather, they hope people will lose their money and continue to pour it in. That way, they'll be profitable. If a bank is a devil who makes a gesture of temptation, a securities company is like a devil who takes away their souls. So, usually, margin trading is a short way to Hell.'

I had a knack for getting out of the devil's grasp, so I jumped into a fireplace.

'It's worth almost eighty-six thousand dollars… Buying.'

I put the maximum amount I could afford at the low limit price.

At that time, Heo called us together. "Hey, everybody, pay attention. We're going to have a meeting in five minutes about this month's performance improvement, so, everybody, get your ideas ready, okay?"

'Oh, that bastard... Will we get an idea just because we're having a meeting?'

Heo was a typical boss who thought that sitting at a desk for a long time would give him a good idea. It was awful to work for and to have worked for such a boss. I checked the last order I put in and then returned to work. I was still tied to the company, so I could not help feeling uncomfortable. But it did not matter. Soon I would be free.

"Our performance has deteriorated due to other companies' combined products..."

"It's a bit difficult because it's an industrial structural problem, but the more it is..."

In the course of the meeting, I felt a very short vibration in my pocket. 'Yiing~'

As I was in a meeting, I could not pick up my cell phone. I looked instead at the circular clock in the conference room. The clock struck at nine thirty. I laughed in secret. The vibration that just happened meant I was making a lot of money.

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At lunchtime, I was free again, and I turned on the MTS to check my cell phone. The stock price of Yuhwan Securities was surging after a sharp fall, trading in the –4% range.

'If it was bought at the low limit price...'

I searched for my stock balance.

[Shares: 3092

Buy Price: $28 (-30%)

Purchase Amount: $86,576

Current Price: $38.40 (-4%)

Valuation Amount: $118,732

Profit and Loss: +$32,156]

It went off properly. I earned thirty-two thousand dollars in one day. Considering that my money was only two thousand dollars, it was sixteen times more profitable than my cash alone. After applying for ten thousand dollars' Silver Class Subscription, I spent five days thinking about it, and I now had more than enough money to make up for it in a day.

'This is great!' I fist-pumped the air.

At that time, my lunch friend Choi came and said, "Hey, Han Sang-hoon. What about today? Will you go out and eat alone today?"

I shook my head. "No... No. Let's go. I'll buy for you today."

"You're buying? What for?"

"No reason. I will just buy for you. What do you want to eat?"

"Oh... really? Can I really eat anything?"

The money I earned today was thirty-two thousand dollars. It was larger than my yearly salary.

I said with a grin, "Today, this brother will buy for you. Let's get something delicious to eat."