《12 Hours After》Chapter 14: An Ant Looking Up At The Sky
Advertisement
"I ate well, thanks to you. I'll buy for you next time. Bang-bang!" Choi made a gun with his finger and shot me a couple of times.
"That's okay. Did you ever buy for me after you said you were going to buy?" I laughed at him.
"Hey, what do you think who I am? I'm going to buy for you next payday."
Next payday. I was not sure if I would stay at this company until then, but I said I knew for once,
"All right. Go in first. I'm going to go to the bathroom and return."
Choi leaned in and said to me. "Ah, do your business, chairman."
He made a fuss since I bought a meal once. He was a funny guy. Somehow, I stopped by the company lobby bathroom after sending him up first. I settled in the toilet and took out my cell phone. Then, I turned on the MTS. The stock price of Yuhwan Securities was fluctuating between –3% and -4%.
'The article said it ended at -3%... Then don't be greedy and let's sell it now and get out of here. Even if it's a dividend accident, even if it's a day's happening... It's bad news for the company. It may fall for the next few days.'
'Don't bet your game where you're not sure. It is a famous gambling maxim. In particular, it is dangerous to be greedy for a day or two when you have a full bet at the margin…'
'Then I will sell it without hesitation.'
I sold all my shares at a reasonable price. My account, which had only twenty-six thousand dollars in the morning, had increased by thirty-two thousand to fifty-eight thousand dollars.
'That's it.'
This would pay off all my debts and secure a monthly subscription of ten thousand dollars. This meant that I stood on a lever to raise money at a single queue.
'If this is the way it is, it will be quick to raise ten million dollars... What do I do when it is done?... I'll move to a nice house… A foreign car, I'll have to pick one of the best. No, no, no. Do I need to pick just one? I have to have two or three. Those famous hip-hop stars live like that, right? And... oh, yes, I should raise the grade to the Gold Class.'
Advertisement
The Silver Class I was getting was not bad, but if I went up to the Gold, there might be something else where I could earn more money. After I sold the stock, I looked at my watch. There was still about ten minutes left for lunch.
'I don't have to go back to work early, breathing the same air as Heo.'
I got out of the bathroom and bought coffee from a nearby vending machine. Then I touched my mobile phone and went to the Yuhwan Securities community on the portal site. There were countless postings in the community. They deserved it, as eight hundred million dollars worth of shares were sold in just one day.
[Wow, what was that? Order mistake? Which rich man put in the wrong number?]
[As if someone accidentally sold it to the low limit price. Only the one who bought at that time might get rich.]
[Who are you? The fool who sold $40 for $28?]
So far, people did not seem to know that it was an accident due to a mistake in dividends. I looked up the news, and even they were on the wrong foot.
[Shares of Yuhwan Securities are trading near the low limit price. Hidden bad news?]
[A sharp fall in Yuhwan Securities is found to be due to a mistake in ordering.]
They were generally aware that someone simply clicked the wrong price or misplaced the sale price. It was not common, but it happened sometimes. In Japan, a securities company sold 610,000 yen worth of stocks to the market, selling 610,000 shares for 1 yen, causing a huge loss. I'd read more.
[I should've bought it when it went down the low limit price. That was the best chance of my life. I didn't get it. Damn it.]
[Hehe, I – I bought some when it was -15%.]
[I, –7%... I should've seen it earlier.]
Some people were saying they liked it because they bought it cheap. To be honest, it was a bit of a laugh.
'Ha-ha. I picked it up at the low limit price and sold it already. You bastards.'
I read more comments. There were some people who were calm in this mess.
[It's usually hard to pick it up at the low limit price. If not for the strong of heart, it might be because of some bad news.]
Advertisement
[That's right, if you pick the wrong one, not only will it hit the low limit price on the day, but also the next. I heard that they are going to close the list, but the person who bought will eventually be the winner.]
[Why don't you just buy now? It's -3%... If you earn 3%, it's honey.]
[It is too much. We don't know yet what kind of hidden bad news it is.]
People talked about what happened today, but no one knew exactly why it happened as a whole. It was like touching an elephant's leg with their eyes closed and calling it a pillar, touching the waist and calling it a wall, touching the tail and calling it a rope. They would have to wait a few more hours to learn the whole story out of this case.
'This is… that's why they are ants… Just looking right in front of their nose… they can't see the sky.'
Actually, they could not help it. Ants were just ants. Few ants could look up at the sky like I did now. It would have been impossible for me, too, if it were not for the strange fate.
'Looking at this stuff, I did not see anything when I was a university student… It was so reckless…'
Lunchtime ended while I was eyeing the stock community. I threw an empty coffee can into the wastebasket, turned off the MTS, put my cell phone in my pocket and tried to go up to work. But the cell phone rang once more.
'What is it?' I picked my cell phone. There was a text on it. The sender was my mom.
"Tomorrow is Sun-young's first birthday party. I will go up to Seoul with your dad and stop by your house first."
Here, Sun-young was the daughter of my cousin. It had been a while since I went to my cousin's wedding, but she already had her first birthday.
'It's been a while. Since I'll see my mom tomorrow... That's great. If I'm going to leave the company anyway, I'm going to tell my mom and dad... I'll have to give them a hint tomorrow.'
I came back to work with that idea.
--------------------
The next morning...
"Ugggggh." I woke up early in the morning without an alarm. Usually, sleeping late on Saturday was my basic setting, but strangely today I woke up early.
'What's wrong with me?'
Coming to think of it, it had been from last week to receive an email.
'Oh, I see.'
For some reason, I was not tense today. Thinking of it, I used to be. The stock market was not open on Saturday and Sunday, so I couldn't have fun there.
'... People who bet on the horse races have fun only on the weekend of the game and not on weekdays... Why don't I race on the weekend? Well, if I think about it, the results of the race will be in the article… Where can I get tickets for the horse races? Culture? Life? Sports?'
Now that I was thinking about this side, I felt like I was only thinking about gambling.
'Hoo… Am I going to get into trouble like this?'
But if I thought about it, that was right. My life had to be a big deal. Otherwise, I would be kicked at work until I died at the company.
It was not just me. It was the case for all the people who were born with a plastic spoon in their mouths in Korea. Without this kind of life, they could not get out of a lower-class life by paying off a student loan, mortgage loan, and interest on those loans. In a capitalist society, they could not live as a master of their lives and had to die doing other people's work.
I decided to change my mind.
'Yes, I'd love a big deal. Besides, I received a strange fate. I'm going to change my life with this. From working as someone's slave, to being a person who manages someone else.'
Thinking of that, I sat down in front of the computer.
'Today, the stock market does not open, so what should I look at?... I'll give a click on the Lotto in Life/Culture…'
When I was thinking about that, the apartment doorbell rang. I remembered then that my parents were supposed to come today.
'Ah, just about when I'm about to do business.' I dressed quickly in a sweat suit and headed to the door.
Advertisement
- In Serial18 Chapters
The King of Avarice
And god declared there shall be 7 sins. But god was mistaken for all sins are greed. This is the Story of one such sinner. No Story about a heroic swordsman or an mighty mage. But one of someone who indulges in his greed. And others greed along his path. Someone who shall become the King of Avarice itself~ "Welcome to the 3 Cups 1 Winner. I am Nick Fallow the owner of this magnificent casino. Since the war ended times have been tough but I have been getting by. After all, Greed is still king. Money, women, riches, and fame are still in strong demand and I offer them all at my business. Even life can be gambled away here and I’ll get everything my heart desires, even if it means everyone else has to go without. My doors are always open to any who would push their luck to fulfill their greed. Bringing money to my own coffers" From the creator of RE:God and Metior. Member of Scribble. NOW ON AMAZON!
8 68 - In Serial42 Chapters
RETURN, A Dark Lord story.
Return, Synopsis In the Triangulum Galaxy, one of a number of galaxies controlled by the Empire of The DARK LORD, JENNA OF CHRISTOS finds herself on the run after she killed a patrolman. Becoming pilot on a pirate craft, several years later she and other pirates are devastated by attacks of the Imperial Legion and are now trying to regroup. Seeking funds that will help them hide out for a time, their leader THURGOD DRISTA and JENNA meet with a PROFESSOR of galactic history who gives them information, a map and an ancient artifact described as a singing stone. He tells them that this could lead them safely to a legendary treasure trove, called THE DARK LORDS HOARD, on the forbidden planet TRILLA. The hoard is supposed to belong to the ruler of the empire who vanished close to one thousand years before and is presumed to be gone. The treasure is believed to be hidden in a tunnel accessible from the planet surface but no one who has gone into the tunnel has ever come out alive or sane. Leaving the pirate hideout immediately after the meeting and avoiding a major attack by the legion, the pirates travel to the galactic rim for supplies and to leave a false trail. With them they take the PROFESSOR and ILISA, a serving girl. However CAPTAIN TRASKA the commander of a Legions task force called Detachment T, has guessed the pirates intentions and tracked them to the rim. The pirates leave on their next leg to TRILLA unaware that CAPTAIN TRASKA with his force of heavy cruisers, is already there and lying in wait for them. Allowing the pirates to land, including an unexpected second pirate ship, CAPTAIN TRASKA sends a force of troopers to capture both craft and their guards. Before they can do this, THURGOD, the PROFESSOR and others, numbering thirteen altogether and led by JENNA entered the tunnel complex. JENNA, warned by ILISA that she must be the one to hold the singing stone, carries it in the hope that it will guide her and her companions past the many dangers in the tunnel. Shortly afterward, VIS VISTRICER the Legions overall commander travels to Trilla in an armoured planetoid, a spacecraft as large as a moon. On his arrival at TRILLA, VIS VISTRICER meets with CAPTAIN TRASKA but before they can do much, they are both surprised by one of the LADIES OF THE CIRCLE who is waiting for the outcome of what is happening in the tunnels. In the tunnels, JENNA leads THURGOD and the rest of party through many dangers and tests. Four are killed in the tunnels but the rest finally come to their goal where, to their surprise, in a cavern they meet the DARK LORD who is alive and very well. He has been waiting for them so he can return to the Empire. JENNA finds out that the patrol officer is alive and that she and many others have been manipulated all this time by the DARK LORD. She also finds out that ILISA, whose real name is JURA, is a member of the CIRCLE OF LADIES and was sent to teach JENNA many years before on her home planet of Christos. The DARK LORD restores and fulfills a promise to release JURA from her service as a LADY. He next has each pirate declare their own fate and takes them to the surfaces of TRILLA. There, at their election, he executes two of the pirates while JENNA is pardoned and some have the death penalty reprieved. The rest will face the courts of the Legion. VIS VISTRICER is raised to the rank of STAR COMMANDER, the highest rank in the Legion while TRASKA becomes a COMMODORE. The DARK LORD returns to Tihab, the administrative centre of the empire. There he takes up his residence in a surprised and disconcerted imperial palace. JENNA is returned by COMMODORE TRASKA to the planet Christos where she is welcomed by the planets rulers and her family, some of whom were aware of some of what was happening.
8 253 - In Serial54 Chapters
Tales of Erets Book One: The Crusade of Stone and Stars
The Queen of the kingdom of Arx is having an affair with her oldest childhood friend, right under the King's nose. The King of Arx, however, is not only fine with that, but, in fact, is encouraging it, as the King is a lover of men. Arx needs an heir to the throne, and the King plans to claim whatever child his Queen and her bodyguard conceive is his own, but in Arxian politics secrets have a price, and affairs can tear a kingdom apart. Arx teeters on the brink of chaos, and all while the nearby kingdom of Nihilus threatens Arx with holy war.The Crusade of Stone and Stars is a cautionary tale about two kinds of leaders: the controlling and the irresponsible. Because of the actions of these two rulers, strife will befall both Arx and Nihilus, as well as upon those they love.
8 77 - In Serial72 Chapters
Syria Girl
Night falls for the three million Syrians waiting in refugee camps in Turkey. As they lie on rocky ground some of them dream of home, some of the day they’ll be reunited with their families, and some, like Ayamin, are sick of dreaming. Seventeen, independent, and hungry for more, Ayamin packs her tent and sets off on foot across the Mediterranean and Europe in search of a place to call home. But she’s got a problem, and his name is Danny Frey. Danny’s a juvenile delinquent from England, sent to Turkey to help out at the camps. He doesn’t like rules, and he doesn’t like the idea of Ayamin taking on the whole of Europe on her own. This is a love story set during one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our time. It tells of life and poverty and adventure.
8 189 - In Serial9 Chapters
Wandering Paradise
The heir is missing. The emperor, dead. So the story goes for many empires. On Deoch 7, the current heir of the Kilgore empire would be cursed to travel forward by royal decree. Forward, until there was a time when the word “paradise” can be realized. But eternity doesn’t last forever, not for the living or the dead. Sigrios, the heir of a forgotten empire, must now find his answer in this age. An age torn between warring lands of heroes and warlords. Where guilds and factions hoard treasures found only in deadly dungeons. But before he could step onto the world stage, he must adjust to his new body.
8 306 - In Serial6 Chapters
The Midori Cafe
What if All Might never found Izuku after the sludge incident? what if Izuku gave up on being a hero and opened a cafe instead?read more to find outAka a person who only reads/writes angst attempts to write fluff.Completed.
8 126

