12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

I opened the apartment door and went outside. The boulevard there was a city of studio apartments. Garbage bags were stacked under a utility pole with shoddy advertising and vomit on a long, rugged cement road. It was a landscape to offend someone, but I walked out of there with a light step.

“Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm-hmm.”

Then, realizing that I was humming, I stopped for a moment.

‘Why am I humming?’

Why was it coming out? It was because of a decent account. That’s right, was there anything better than this? I didn’t have to worry about my debts anymore. I didn’t need to be tied up in work anymore. I was no longer a slave. I became a master from a slave. I was so excited about that on the way to work.

As I was walking along the street, I suddenly touched my chest. A thin envelope was in the inside pocket of my suit.

‘I brought it, right.’

This was a letter of resignation. I didn’t want to use it right now, but I had it ready. I would put it in my desk drawer for a while, and when the time came, I would use it.

After doing that, the resignation letter felt like an amulet that made me excited to go to work. When I thought about, I didn’t want to go to high school. However, I enjoyed going to school, around the time of graduation. I also loved the friends I saw every day, and I bowed to my teacher I hated.

It might be because the college entrance exams were decided, and the class relaxed. It was when the hard work was over.

‘It’s all memories.’

This road to work now would be a memory soon. I walked towards the subway. Perhaps because of the Me Too incident that broke out yesterday, there were no women dancing on the subway today. I used to hate it so much, but now I was humming the song inwardly.

‘I love you. I love you.’

In a way, it was all about making money. I got in the subway and stood in line for a long commute. An old gentleman watched the news on his smartphone. On the screen, an announcer with neatly bobbed hair was reporting the news. “The sex scandal involving incumbent Seoul Mayor Joo Sung-won has emerged as a storm of the Seoul mayoral election, and by extension the local elections.”

The old gentleman was listening to the news with his arms folded, but he clucked his tongue. “Chut…”

Mayor Joo Sung-won’s sex scandal had turned the country upside down. It was a nuclear bomb, erupting about a month before the Seoul mayoral election, and made not only those interested in politics. but also those who were not interested in politics blind. Behind me were young people in their twenties talking.

“Did you see the news yesterday?”

“That? The Seoul Mayor?”

“Oh, that was ridiculous.”

“I mean. Life is one shot.”

“But it was cool when Joo Sung-won made a splash in the Seoul mayoral race four years ago. This is how it’s going…”

“When he goes, he goes artistically.”

In this situation, I was sure I would be richer today than yesterday.

———————

When I arrived at the company, I went into the stock bulletin board, waiting for 12 Hours After to arrive. First of all, I looked at the comments of the Endo Biologics I had bought. As it went to the upper limit price yesterday, they were all excited to praise Lee Hee-chul.

[The next mayor is Lee Hee-chul. Oh, yes.]

[When will Joo step down? He must get out of here and Endo Biologics will go to the upper limit price in a series.]

[With this situation, it will go to the upper limit price. There is no solution even if he doesn’t quit now. I wonder if Jung Kwan-soo will get 20 percent.]

[It is a little ridiculous to see people, who were not interested in politics in the first place, become enthusiastic supporters of Lee Hee-chul after buying this stock.]

‘If the stock price drops tomorrow, they’re going to swear. If they try to make money anyway, they have to be quiet in the meanwhile.’

I followed up on Dongbo Construction’s bulletin board. Dongbo Construction, the leading stock of Joo Sung-won, was at $4.60, but it went to $3.22, just above the lower limit price. Various people were venting their passion on Dongbo Construction’s bulletin board. I saw people in despair.

[I lost money worth a mid-size car. Oh, I want to go drink.]

[It is a car, it’s okay. I lost my apartment. I don’t even have the energy to drink.]

[What am I supposed to do? What should I tell my wife? Will I get divorced?]

There were people who were angry.

[Joo Sung-won, you son of a bitch, why do you touch someone’s butt? I’m going to cut off your hands.]

[Why cut his hands? You have to cut his cock.]

[Let’s go together. Can I go to Seoul City Hall?]

And there were people who were mocking those two kinds of people.

[I’ve come to see the mourning house here. Who’s the host? Come and get me Yukgaejang, spicy beef soup.]

[You’re the fools who bought the stock in the first place. Don’t blame anyone.]

[Guys, don’t do this here. Get on Endo Biologics right now! The next mayor is Lee Hee-chul!]

Sometimes I read messages to defend Mayor Joo Sung-won.

[Joo Sung-won is not that kind of man. Trust him and try to hold it.]

[Joo Sung-won is still suspicious. It doesn’t turn out to be a fact. Shareholders, get your cool back.]

They quickly got a rebuttal.

[What’s the coolness? You can find it when you eat the cold soy noodles. It will also go to the low limit price today.]

‘It’s a mess that’s hard to see, and I’m afraid, as I said before, if there’s anything going on in the stock market, and if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t start stock trading. This is a world where they can cut your nose when you close your eyes.’

I finally looked for Yurim Industries of Jung Kwan-soo, but it was a little different from the two stocks that were clearly divided into the upper and lower limit prices. Yurim Industries also hit the 30% upper limit price when the rumors spread yesterday, but it ended a little ambiguous at the 18% level as the volume of sales tapered out in late trading.

‘Why is that?’

When I thought about it a little, the answer came out because it was politically opposed to the support of Mayor Joo Sung-won and the support of candidate Jung Kwan-soo. If Mayor Joo Sung-won resigned, the remaining votes would go to Lee Hee-chul, but they would never go to Jung Kwan-soo. This was good news and bad news for candidate Jung Kwan-soo. This ambiguous rise was a reflection of the political calculation. Stock prices sometimes would represent these ambiguous social situations as prices.

‘Well, so it is. The best beneficiary is Lee Hee-chul. I did a good job buying Endo Biologics.’

Now I had only one problem… when would I sell Endo Biologics?’ Although the polls had not yet been released, the scandal had likely led to a sharp decline in the approval rating of the mayor.

‘It’s worth the upper limit price at least once more. Endo Biologics is still less than Dongbo Construction.’

Today I decided to aim for the upper limit price once more, and then, when the market was open today and this scandal turned out to be true, it would be perfect. Mayor Joo Sung-won would resign immediately, and Lee Hee-chul, who inherited the votes, would easily be elected. So, I would not sell Endo Biologics even if it were to go to the upper limit price today.

It was 8:55 a.m., as I was rolling my head. I got the email as always.

[Silver Class Member Mail, Subscription Period left: 4 days.]

I had four days left. I needed to get ten thousand dollars out of the stocks to extend it. I opened my email and clicked ‘Politics’ without any worries, but with such expectations. ‘If Mayor Joo Sung-won admits the charge, if there’s any kind of withdrawal from the mayoral race…’

But this time, a much more surprising title popped out than I had thought.

[Kim Soo-hyang, a former secretary of Mayor Joo Sung-won, is known to have secretly contacted a campaign camp member of Lee Hee-chul. More controversy.]

I froze for a moment.

‘What is this?’

After a while, the solid ice melted, and I was in a state of mind.

‘Yes, it’s not yet true that he sexually molested her, is it?’

I thought of the articles I had seen on the bulletin board earlier.

[Joo Sung-won is still suspicious. It doesn’t turn out to be a fact. Shareholders, get your cool back.]

Nevertheless, I had ignored it, as everyone had ignored it. I was unconsciously caught up in crowd psychology. It was dangerous to get caught up in crowd psychology in the stock market. There were times when they all fell down the cliff together while following the crowd. I rolled my head quickly.

‘If this Me Too movement was really planned, if it turns out, what should I do?

‘It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. Rather, it is important how the ants will move, and how I’m trading, keeping up with the situation.’

I clicked on the article in a hurry.