MJ Capital. An asset management firm handling various financial tasks. Among them, Gang-hyeon, a member of the investment team, was clutching his head while looking at the charts today as well.
Haa... Why is it going the opposite way again?
This was already the third time this month. Whenever he analyzed and took a position, the chart moved in the opposite direction. At this rate...
[Ring—!]
The phone connected to the internal line rang. He felt like he knew who it was without even answering. He reached out his heavy hand to pick up the receiver.
[This is Kim Min-ju from the Risk Team. Please liquidate your position now.]
The Risk Team. A team that manages the company's risk. If they judge an employee's decision to be wrong, they demand immediate liquidation of the position. In short, they were like grim reapers.
"Can't you wait just a little longer? The earnings announcement is coming up soon. Once that comes out..."
[Then you should have taken the position when the earnings announcement came out.]
It was the correct logic. Why did he enter early and suffer this painful time?
[If you don't liquidate within 1 minute, we will proceed with forced liquidation.]
That was the end of it. If the Risk Team initiated a forced liquidation, it would slash the trader's track record within the company. In a situation where any further damage to his performance could be dangerous, Gang-hyeon had no choice but to move his hand.
[Click!]
A few clicks of the mouse. And then.
[Sold.]
The position was cleared.
[Today's P&L: -5,854,628 won]
5.8 million won. For a prop trader, it wasn't a high loss.
Percentage-wise, is it about 6 percent? Sigh... my operating capital is going to get cut again.
Only sighs came out.
There is a saying that misfortunes come all at once. Today seemed to be that day.
"Let's get a divorce."
"What? What are you talking about?"
When he returned home, his wife thrust a document at him.
[Application for Confirmation of Divorce by Agreement]
Seeing the words written at the top of the document, his breath caught in his throat. It was more absurd than being slapped in his sleep for cheating in a dream.
"I can't trust you anymore."
"What do you mean? Did you hear some strange rumor somewhere again?"
"Again? You always do that. You shift all the responsibility onto me. I'm sorry, but I've thought deeply about this."
"You said you thought deeply, yet you shove divorce papers at me without a single word of conversation? Does that make sense?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't see a vision in you."
At the word 'vision', he was momentarily speechless.
"I told you from the moment we first got married. I liked you because you would earn a lot of money. But how is it now? Your operating capital at the company keeps getting cut."
"Th... that's temporary. I'm just going through a brief slump..."
"They say it might be difficult for you to renew your contract at this rate?"
"Where did you hear that? No, who did you hear that from?"
"Who... who do you think I heard it from? Anyway, I can't live with a man who has no vision. Let's divorce."
Of course, he refused. They were in their second year of marriage. Including their dating period, they had been together for five years. Moreover, divorce was a significant issue in life. It couldn't be decided suddenly.
However, she was adamant. They started using separate rooms, and she wouldn't say a word when he came home from work. When she occasionally opened her mouth, only the word 'divorce' came out. As these days repeated, it began to affect his work as well.
[Purchased.]
"Huh?"
He pressed the wrong button. He ended up buying back the stock he was supposed to sell. At that moment, the phone rang.
[What did you just do?! You were supposed to clear the position, how could you buy?! We are initiating forced liquidation immediately!]
The Risk Team forcibly liquidated the position. This fact was immediately known to the entire team. A meeting with the Team Manager soon followed.
"Your recent performance has been poor, and now you're making trading errors?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Save the apology. This matter will be reported to the higher-ups. Just know that."
He had nothing to say. For a trader to commit a trading error that should never happen. All these events were hard to endure. It seemed he had to resolve at least one problem.
That was why.
"I signed it."
He wrote his name on the divorce agreement papers.
"You thought well. It would be difficult to live with someone whose heart has left."
"You're a really cruel woman, aren't you?"
"Call me realistic."
In her appearance, the woman he had loved was already gone.
The divorce happened quickly. Their only asset was the Jeonse (deposit-based lease) house, and he had brought the deposit money. There was no spouse at fault, so there was no need to determine alimony. If it was fortunate that there were no children, then it was fortunate.
They submitted the documents and entered the deliberation period.
"See you after the deliberation period."
She packed her bags and left the house immediately. There was not a shred of hesitation, as if she had been waiting for this moment. Thus, he was left alone in the 30-pyeong apartment.
"Was this place always this big?"
The dark living room. The kitchen light emitted a soft glow. A sigh escaped him automatically at the scenery that was as lonely as his heart.
"There was something I had to do."
Since the divorce was decided, he had to tell his parents. They say you should tell them before it's decided. But seeing his wife—no, his ex-wife—who had already checked out mentally, he thought there would be no point in telling his parents. So he decided to tell them after everything was finalized, and that moment was now.
[Ring—!]
[Oh, Son.]
After a short connecting tone, his mother's familiar voice came through, and emotions surged for a moment. He struggled to suppress those emotions and opened his mouth.
"What are you doing?"
[Just staying in. Did you have dinner?]
His mother's answer, which always started with asking if he had eaten, dug into his heart today.
"I did. Mom, actually, I have something to tell you."
[Hm? What is it?]
"I decided to get a divorce."
[What?! What are you talking about? Divorce, all of a sudden?]
It was natural for her to be surprised. But everything was already decided. He explained calmly. After listening to the whole story, his mother gave an unexpected answer.
[Okay, I understand.]
"...Are you okay?"
[What is there for me not to be okay about? You two aren't children, you must have discussed and decided well. Come down sometime soon and have a meal.]
"Yes, I will."
He hung up the phone and stared at his smartphone for a long time.
"She took it surprisingly calmly."
He expected a more intense reaction. But since she was calm, his heart felt at ease.
"I should visit home soon."
Thinking that, he finished the day alone at home for the first time since his marriage.
The deliberation period was short. It would be longer if there were children, but without children, the period is shortened. Plus, since it was a divorce by agreement and there was no need for legal battles, the divorce ended with lightning speed.
Is it usually this fast?
It was fast enough to make him think that. The day of the verdict. His wife, whom he met after a long time—no. Han So-ye, who had now become his ex-wife, looked more radiant than usual. She was holding a luxury bag he had never seen before, with a flashy appearance just like when he first saw her at the blind date.
"You seem to be doing well."
"Yeah. Let's go in."
There were no greetings. With an answer colder than a stranger's, they entered the family court and stood before the judge.
"Mr. Choi Gang-hyeon, Ms. Han So-ye. Is your intention to divorce still firm?"
If he could turn it back even now...
"Yes. It is firm."
The answer came from So-ye's mouth first, and the judge's gaze turned to him. Nothing had changed.
"Yes, it is firm."
"The intention for divorce by agreement has been confirmed as genuine."
After a simple procedure and receiving the confirmation form, they went to the community center and submitted it.
"It has been processed."
That was the end of it. The curtain fell on a marriage that was short if you call it short, and long if you call it long.
"Take care."
With those last words, So-ye got into the car she came in and disappeared. Ha, she was a selfish woman until the end.
"I'm a divorcee now."
Still, he felt relieved. Won't everything work out well now? He had such a thought. However, that was a delusion.
"Mr. Choi Gang-hyeon, due to internal company circumstances, we have decided not to proceed with the contract renewal."
"Excuse me?"
"Your recent performance has been too poor and there have been many mistakes, so we can no longer be together. Thank you for your hard work."
Notice of non-renewal. In short, it was a dismissal.
"Ha... Haha..."
First a divorcee, now unemployed. He thought he had hit rock bottom, but it turned out there was a basement.
He spent several days like a wasted person. He wondered if there was ever a time in his life when so many things crashed down at once. Today, too, he was lying in bed watching Shorts like a wasted person.
[Successful people always experience failure.]
His finger stopped on a video brought up by the algorithm.
[After experiencing this failure, they achieve unspeakable success.]
Laughter came out.
"If that's the case, wouldn't everyone in this world be rich?"
While he was watching a mediocre motivational video, a KakaoTalk message flew in.
[Im Gwang-ho: Are you alive?]
It was Gwang-ho, his childhood best friend.
[Me: Yep, surviving.]
[Im Gwang-ho: I'm coming over now.]
[Me: K]
He was a grateful guy who stopped by once in a while, perhaps worried about his wasted friend.
"Let's at least brush my teeth."
He got up, brushed his teeth, and sat on the living room sofa for a moment when the doorbell rang. When he went to the entrance and opened the door, Gwang-ho was standing there with heavy hands.
"What did you buy so much of?"
"My wife made some side dishes for you to eat."
"Tell her thanks."
"Sure."
He took the shopping bag from his friend's hand and organized the contents in the refrigerator. While the empty refrigerator was being filled one by one. Gwang-ho, who was sitting at the kitchen table, spoke.
"Our company is recruiting new traders this time. Try submitting your resume."
He was also a trader. He was in Quants, not daily trading like Gang-hyeon, but he was in the same industry anyway.
"If I trade with my current mental state, I'll definitely cause an accident."
"Tsk. By the way, a while ago I saw the sister-in-law... no. I saw So-ye."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was moving for a company dinner after a while. She was entering 'Haru'."
Haru was a high-end Japanese restaurant located in Yeouido. Although the price range was high, So-ye was quite capable and had a bit of vanity, so it wasn't strange for her to go to high-end Omakase. But Yeouido was unexpected.
"She was going in with some man. I wondered where I had seen him, and she was entering with David from Clebus."
"What? David? You mean Choi Chang-wook?"
David Choi. He was a black-haired foreigner (Korean-American), but he attended the same high school as Gang-hyeon and Gwang-ho. He knew that Chang-wook went to study in the US, got citizenship, and came back to Korea. He specialized in trading like Gang-hyeon, but the difference in size was incomparable.
"Yeah. Did those two have any connection?"
Why are human connections always so...
"Wait..."
Events of the past flashed through his mind.
"Come to think of it..."
"Why? Is there something bothering you?"
"So-ye came to our company briefly because of some documents before. At that time, she and Chang-wook exchanged greetings in passing."
"What?"
"But, it was really a formal greeting..."
"Hey, would there be smoke without fire? Did they hit it off then?"
It wasn't certain. But the reason that had been hidden in the fog became a little clearer.
"She asked me for a divorce because she found another guy?"
"Bastards."
Gwang-ho saying what he wanted to say made him feel refreshed inside.
"Are you just going to watch like this?"
It was already in the past. Besides, the divorce was over. Infidelity is also hard to prove. There was nothing he could do.
However.
"Are you going to stay a wasted person like this? What would they say if they saw you now?"
"They'd think I'm a loser."
He couldn't stay a loser.
Gwang-ho left. The living room where silence flowed again. Sitting alone lost in thought, he soon moved.
"Let's do something."
Staying still made his head complicated. Moving his body seemed likely to shake off the idle thoughts. So he started organizing his belongings. He went into the dress room and cleared out unnecessary clothes.
"If she was going to take them, she should have taken them all."
So-ye had packed her things, but traces of her still remained in the house. He put them all in a trash bag. He was going to get rid of everything.
You were seeing another guy while living with me? And you blamed me for it?
Anger surged. And it was despicable. He wanted to go find her right now and slap her cheek.
Thud!Thud!
He suppressed that anger by roughly throwing clothes in. After finishing organizing the dress room, he went to the pantry and cleared out miscellaneous items.
Besides, what is that guy Chang-wook? No matter how much he liked her, touching an old classmate's wife? Is he even human?
He didn't like Choi Chang-wook from the beginning. Since his family was very wealthy, he looked down on his classmates. It was the same when they met again as adults. As a successful trader from Wall Street, he didn't hesitate to say slighting things when he found out Gang-hyeon was in the same industry.
Was he the one who told her about what I was going through at the company?
This industry is wide yet narrow. It was common for this company's affairs to spread to that company if you cross one bridge. The fact that So-ye knew about internal company affairs seemed to have come through such a route.
"Son of a bitch...!"
Filled with anger, he picked up a box and threw it into the trash bag.
Thud!
The box that failed to go into the bag fell to the floor. The lid opened and the contents poured out. There were many miscellaneous items. It contained old photos, a mouse, and CDs or USBs that were no longer used. Most of the photos were taken with Gwang-ho.
"Ha... I miss those days."
Seeing the photo taken during college days brought back the past.
"So this was here."
It was an important box that contained his memories. He wondered where he had put it when he moved, and it was in the corner of the pantry. In this large house, this was practically the only place allowed to him.
"I should keep this safe."
He couldn't throw away old memories. So he put the contents back into the box one by one. Then, a Post-it note on a USB caught his eye.
[BTC]
Three simple alphabet letters. BTC. He could tell instantly what this meant.
"Bitcoin?"
(End of Chapter)
Read more on "novelshub.org"