Translator: Khan

  Editor: RED

  The next Tuesday, I got an email from 12 Hours After. First, the remaining subscription period was noticeable. Seven days. One week. When this was over, I had to put in another ten thousand dollars.

  ‘I want to increase a lot before then.’


  Now, ten thousand would become a hundred thousand, a million, and ten million dollars later. However, it would be a little unfortunate if ten thousand dollars was spent purely on expenses before it was increased a few times. Before the subscription period ended, I hoped something would come out in a week. I first clicked on the Economy and Entertainment categories.

  [AlphaGo dominates the stock market.]

  [ZM’s big new idol GRAY. Debut countdown.]

  A bummer and a bummer, back-to-back bummer. Well, I was used to it now. I just checked the title with my eyes and moved the mouse cursor. The highlight of the day was Politics. I took a short breath and clicked on Politics.

  [Seoul mayoral election. Distribution chart of approval ratings by region.]

  When I saw the title of the news, I was half-disappointed, half-satisfied.

  “Well.”


  What was disappointing was that it was not news that would earn money. What was satisfactory was that the Seoul mayoral election was on the news as predicted. It was not today, but the expectation that money-making news was coming soon made me excited. 9 p.m., when the stock market opened, I then turned on the MTS to search for three stocks: Dongbo Construction, Endo Biologics, and Yurim Industries.

  [Dongbo Construction $4.6 (+1.2%)

  Endo Biologics $64.20 (-0.5%)

  Yurim Industries $54.10 (+0.2%)]

  The political theme stocks of the Seoul mayoral candidates were breathing for a while after soaring around the time they registered their candidacy a month ago. That was because the approval ratings of 50 percent for Joo, 35 percent for Lee and 15 percent for Jung remained unchanged. The current situation would have to be reversed in order for the approval rating to rise and fall, and the stock price to change, but that had yet to come.

  I made a category called ‘political theme’ in the watchlist and put those three stocks in first place.

  ‘If I hide in the bushes like a lion in the savannah and something comes up, I will rush in and bite.’


  But the article that followed Wednesday made me a little disappointed.

  [Gyeonggi governor candidate Kim Hee-chang’s 70% overwhelming approval rating. There’s no counter-offensive.]

  The news of Gyeonggi governor was understandable. It was the second largest after the Seoul mayoral election. But I was a little nervous. From now on, there six days left in the subscription period and twenty-eight days left for elections.

  ‘There’s got to be something going on before that.’


  I closed my email with that thought. Fortunately, my wait was not long.

  ——————-

  Thursday, I was sitting in my seat early in the morning, and Choi approached me.

  “Hey, Han Sang-hoon. It’s payday today. I’ll buy for you once, as promised!”


  I blinked. “Oh, has it come to that already?”


  “Has it come to that already? Hey, you’ve been waiting for your payday.”


  If there was a single day to wait for in a hellish job, if there was a day when the blessing of a saint came down, it was payday. I had never forgotten my payday before. But I forgot that, and I was focusing on receiving an email. I nodded.

  “Oh, I see.” I was late. I had been going to quit before this payday.

  Choi looked at my face and said cautiously. “Uh, you. What is it? Did you fight with your girlfriend?”


  He had never seen so calm a look on my face on payday. I waved him off. “It’s OK. Go to your seat.”


  To be honest with me, it was no longer important for me to receive a few pennies. The money in my current stock account was exactly $217,156.

  It was the sum of the money I received from OH Entertainment President Kwon and the money I earned from the merger and acquisition of Jiwoo Entertainment. Just because the stock price moved 2% a day, I earned more money than my salary.

  ‘Better than that, something has to be come up.’


  I clicked on the Politics as I grumbled inwardly. The news that came out today made me suspicious.

  [The former secretary of Mayor Joo Sung-won declared “Me Too.” Seven years ago, she was sexually harassed by Mayor Joo Sung-won.]

  I looked around in amazement because it was such a shocking news.

  ‘No, that decent-looking guy?’


  But the more shocking the news, the stronger it was. I clicked on the article.

  _

  Seoul Mayor Joo Sung-won’s former secretary, Kim Soo-hyang, declared “Me Too” through the media. It has caused a huge stir in society. Kim Soo-hyang, who had worked as his secretary, asked the mayor to make an official apology, saying that the mayor had tried to hug and kiss her in the private chambers of the National Assembly when he was serving as a lawmaker.

  _

  It was an article big enough to drop my jaw.

  ‘No, is this real?’


  But I didn’t have time to think about it. First of all, I had to buy stocks first. I turned on the MTS quickly. I then confirmed the stock price of Dongbo Construction, the leading stock of Seoul Mayor Joo Sung-won.

  [Dongbo Construction: $4.70 (+0.2%)]

  Dongbo Construction was trying to make a slight rise.

  ‘It is the stock market that is more sensitive to information than anywhere else. When a rumor starts to spread, the stock market first understands and reacts before any media, faster than any Internet site.’


  In other words, this information had not yet been released to the market.

  ‘This is a huge opportunity to sweep.’


  Confidently, I checked my present time with a glare. It was now 8:57. There were still three minutes left before the market opened. I came back to 12 Hours After and read the news over and over again.

  _

  Mayor Joo Sung-won held an official press conference and denied the allegations.

  ‘It is true that when I was a lawmaker, Kim Soo-hyang served as a short-term secretary in my office, but I have never done anything to humiliate her.’


  Former secretary Kim Soo-hyang’s claim and Seoul Mayor Joo Sung-won’s claim are in disagreement. The controversy is expected to escalate as Joo is now on the verge of re-election.

  _

  ‘He has denied the charges.’


  But it wasn’t really important. Once one was caught up in a mudslinging controversy, the image of the subject of controversy was bound to plummet. It was inevitable that the approval rating of Mayor Joo would drop.

  ‘It was seven years ago. Besides, there’s no witness at all in the private room. Then, this is not something that will come to light in a day or two.’


  No matter what the truth may be, this scandal would not easily fade. It was a sure card to shake up Mayor Joo Sung-won. I thought fast.

  ‘Who will benefit most from the collapse of Mayor Joo Sung-won? Lee Hee-chul, who is definitely second in the list, is his strong opponent. No wonder Lee Hee-chul will rise to No. 1 if Mayor Joo Sung-won loses his approval rating due to the controversy. I have to buy Endo Biologics.’


  I went into the watchlist and immediately looked for Endo Biologics’ current price.

  [Endo Biologics $64.00 (0.0%)]

  Endo Biologics remained the same. The good news was not out yet. It was the right time to buy. According to a preliminary survey, Endo Biologics was a healthy company that had been increasing in sales, making profits and paying dividends every year. I only used 40 percent of credit because it was a small to medium-sized company, but I did not have much trouble even if I went all-in.

  At nine o’clock, the market opened. As always, I started buying Endo Biologics little by little. Unlike in Jiwoo Entertainment, no one was moving to compete. It seemed to reflect that the ‘Me Too’ incident was something no one expected. Good. The rarer the information, the more valuable it was.

  Having gained some room, I took about an hour and slowly purchased the stock without raising the price. Around ten o’clock, an hour after the market opened, the shares in my account at the end of the purchase were as follows:

  [Endo Biologics

  Shares: 8,840

  Purchase Price: $64.30

  Purchase Amount: $542,692]

  I had about $210,000, but with 40 percent credit, I was able to buy $540,000 worth of stocks, 2.5 times the amount.

  ‘Hoo, $540,000, I’ve never held this much……’


  I took a deep breath for a moment and watched the trading window. At that time, some stupid person sold off the stock at the market price. The stock price fell to $64.00. My account, which held 8,840 shares, lost $2,652 in an instant. I lost more than my salary today.

  ‘Oh, it’ll be hard to watch.’


  My courage could not keep up with the money I had invested. I turned off the MTS on purpose. I didn’t have to spend all my time on it. That was for ants whose entire wealth depended on stocks, who couldn’t see ahead. However, I was different. I had seen the future. No matter how much the closing price was, by this time tomorrow I would be laughing!