Chapter 2. New Securities Employee (1)

Bang!

“Sigh!”

The shock and pain of falling hit me.

Am I dead now?

But why does my whole body hurt so much?

I struggled to get up.

A blanket was wrapped around my body, and a bed was beside me. Anyone would think I had rolled off the bed in my sleep.

I looked around.

I was in a cramped room. It felt strangely familiar. It was exactly the same as the house I used to live in. Even the mold on the wallpaper above the bed was the same.

“Is this the afterlife?”

So, is this a recreation of where I used to live?

It’s quite amazing.

I thought death was the end, but there really is an afterlife.

But I urgently need to use the bathroom.

Do I still have to deal with bodily functions even in death?

I opened the door and headed to the bathroom.

As I was about to wash my hands after using the toilet, I was startled by my reflection in the mirror.

“Huh!”

The wrinkles on my face were gone, and my skin was smooth. Just by looking at my face, I felt like I had become at least ten years younger.

My hands were also clean, with no signs of burns from oil.

“What is this?”

I was at a loss, when I felt a vibration in my thigh.

I took out the smartphone from my pocket.

It was the Cosmic L7, released by Yuseong Electronics.

Since I used the L16, this phone must have come out about ten years ago. Does anyone still use such an old smartphone these days?

I saw a name on the screen and answered the call.

[Hey! Where are you now?]

“I’m at home.”

[What? Home? It’s past ten, and you’re not at work?]

“Work? Is the senior at our chicken place now?”

[What nonsense? Come to DA Securities!]

“...What?”

DA Securities didn’t go bankrupt?

[Get over here now, damn it!]

* * *

I pulled myself together, got dressed, and hurriedly got into a taxi.

While the taxi was heading to Yeouido, I examined my smartphone.

“This is so slow. Is it app-based?”

There’s no hologram, and voice recognition doesn’t work well.

I scanned the news and checked my SNS.

The old house, my younger face, the senior’s call, today’s date, the taxi model, the taxi driver holding the steering wheel instead of an autonomous vehicle, and the appearance of the streets.

Putting all these together, I came to one conclusion.

“Could it be... I’ve regressed? By ten years?”

The taxi driver asked.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Right. This can’t be real.

Such a thing can’t happen in reality.

I thought to myself as I got out of the taxi, swiped my card, and entered the building. It felt like it had been a long time since I was here, but I didn’t get lost on my way to the department.

After all, I had worked there for over three years.

My first job at DA Securities was in the Research Department.

It’s where analysts gather to analyze future economic forecasts, market conditions, and companies.

To be more specific, they forecast specific industries, discover promising stocks, analyze the management status of companies, and write public reports related to investments.

When I opened the door and entered, everyone’s eyes were on me. I saw familiar faces one by one.

And among them was a very welcome face.

“Hey! Senior!”

My shout surprised Dongho Senior.

“A new employee should apologize first for being late.”

“New employee?”

Could he be talking about me?

Unable to hold back any longer, Baekhyun Manager shouted.

“If you’re going to act like that, get out now!”

* * *

Lunchtime.

While others went to have lunch, I wrote a report.

While writing the report by hand, I kept thinking.

What exactly is going on?

Is this not a dream but reality? Is it really ten years ago?

It’s really unbelievable.

Isn’t death the end? Why did I come back?

Hit by a car? Saw a meteor?

Whatever the reason, the important thing is that I’ve returned to ten years ago.

The future that hasn’t come yet has become the past, and the things that haven’t happened have become experiences.

“Is this even possible?”

It’s not possible.

It’s something that could only happen in a novel.

“What’s not possible?”

Someone plopped down next to me.

I turned my head to see a young man in a suit. He wore glasses and had his hair neatly combed.

“Dongho Senior.”

“Call me Manager in the office, damn it.”

His name is Dongho Lee.

He is three years older than me and joined DA Securities three years before me. He is a manager in the Research Department and a securities analyst.

He graduated from the Economics Department at Seoul National University and is my senior. Therefore, I call him Manager in the office and Senior outside.

“What did you do on the weekend to be late and not focused?”

“Um, well...”

If I say I was hit by a car while delivering chicken, he wouldn’t believe me.

“More importantly, is Senior okay?”

“Huh? What’s wrong with my body?”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, not really.”

Indeed, there were no burn marks on his face and neck, and his voice was fine. His breathing also seemed very normal.

I sighed in relief.

“It’s good to hear you’re fine.”

“Are you writing the report well? A good employee should write a better report than a statement.”

“I wrote it roughly.”

Dongho Senior was surprised when he saw the statement I wrote.

“What? Why did you write it so well?”

Well, I’ve had accidents at work many times, so I’ve written statements to the point of being sick of them. If given a topic, I can write several pages on what I did wrong.

Dongho Senior asked, as if something came to mind.

“Oh! Is your friend who lives with you still working at LB Studio?”

“It went bankrupt...”

“Huh?”

“No, they’re still working there.”

Just like DA Securities, LB Studio is still fine for now.

“I’m writing a report on LB Studio this time. They’re launching a new game next month. Could you ask your friend what will happen?”

Each analyst is assigned a specific industry to analyze. Dongho Senior is responsible for IT and entertainment.

“It went bankrupt...”

“Huh?”

I brushed it off.

“No, it will probably do well.”

If it’s really ten years ago, the development team must be working hard on the game. I’m confident it will be a huge success.

“Then I should write, ‘Expected performance and valuation increase due to the launch of a new game amid strong sales of existing games.’”

“What if it fails?”

“It’s a risk.”

“...”

It seems like this is how it works with securities reports. They start with a positive outlook.

Dongho Senior went back to his seat.

Seeing him walk normally, I felt relieved.

“A new game?”

Something came to mind.

At this point, didn’t that company launch a new game?

I immediately searched for news. According to my memory, it is preparing for launch. Specifically, an open beta test will start in two days.

At that moment, I realized an important fact.

“So, if it’s really ten years ago...”

I’ve come back from ten years in the future.

In other words, I know what will happen in the future!

“What an unbelievable...”

Even if you’re not in finance, you can easily understand how incredible this is.

“I don’t need to fry and deliver chicken anymore.”

Currently, I’m a salaryman at a securities firm.

But ten years later, I become a chicken restaurant owner with Seonwoo.

We worked hard and were proud of our taste, but now that I’ve regressed, there’s no reason to aim for a chicken restaurant again.

If I go to the trading department, achieving a 100-200% return rate per year is no big deal.

I can buy promising stocks with my meager salary and hold onto them to make billions. Buying a few buildings and living comfortably is also possible.

No, why should I be satisfied with just that after regressing?

There’s always someone richer, and a bigger tycoon above a tycoon. The more money, the better.

My original future was to be a chicken restaurant owner, but now the situation has changed.

I’ve returned to ten years ago.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Haha... Hahaha.”

* * *

When I came back after lunch, the new employee was laughing happily after writing the report.

Seeing this, Manager Baekhyun asked an employee next to him.

“What do you think is wrong with him today?”

Manager Hong Changsu tilted his head.

“I don’t know. Maybe he was hit by a car on the way?”

* * *

I worked overtime and returned home.

I live in a two-bedroom apartment in Gangnam.

Originally, it was a place where a friend lived alone, but I subtly moved in when I got a job. It was too far to commute from my parents' house.

Living alone is a burden, but living with a friend means we can split the rent and living expenses.

I untied my tie and lay on the sofa when someone entered the house by entering the password.

He was wearing jeans, a shirt, and a thin jacket. He had a messy hairstyle, glasses, and a dirty beard on his nose and chin.

His name is Seonwoo Kang.

We met in middle school and stuck together until high school. He graduated from the Electrical Engineering Department at Hyeist University and currently works at LB Studio, a game company.

Despite the severe job market, IT companies are desperate for talent.

He chose a game company over other offers because he wanted to do what he loved.

And ten years later, he opens a chicken restaurant he loves.

“...”

Looking back, did he only do what he loved?

Seonwoo plopped down next to me.

His eyes were sunken, his hair was messy, and his skin was dry. He looked like he hadn’t slept properly for days.

“Did you work until now?”

“Would I have been out playing?”

Making a game is creating something from nothing.

Whether it’s programming, scenarios, or design, it’s all done by people, so when the launch date approaches, overtime is standard, and weekends are sacrificed.

No wonder they call it a crunch.

A game is the result of the hard work of many developers.

Exploiting people is the same in finance and game companies.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“Not yet. What about you?”

Seonwoo got up from the sofa.

“Let’s go out for chicken and beer.”

“Huh? Chicken?”

Seonwoo took me to a chicken restaurant near our house.

It’s the franchise we will open ten years later.

“Why this chicken?”

“What are you talking about? You love this chicken. You don’t even eat other brands.”

“...”

Was it like that back then?

We eventually sat down and ordered. Seonwoo grabbed a chicken leg with both hands and said,

“Chicken here is the best. If we don’t have anything else to do, let’s open a chicken restaurant.”

There must be thousands of people who start chicken restaurants.

I sighed.

“Even if we open one, we might go bankrupt due to the franchise’s bullying.”

“Huh?”

“No, keep eating.”

I casually asked Seonwoo, who was eating enthusiastically.

“What would you do if you had a lot of money?”

“How much is a lot?”

“A lot.”

“More than the lottery?”

“Yeah.”

It was a pointless question, but Seonwoo thought about it seriously.

“I’d probably start a game company and make the games I want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That’s my dream.”

I knew he would say that.

He loved making games more than anything.

If given a choice between ‘receiving 100 billion and doing nothing for life’ and ‘continuing to work at a game company,’ he would choose the latter.

Suddenly, I remembered a conversation we had before regressing.

We talked about our dreams.

“Dreams...”

When I first joined DA Securities, my dream was to become a world-renowned investor.

I thought it was a far-fetched dream and gave up on it ten years later, but at this point, I must still have that dream.

But now, I have a chance to make it come true!

Everyone hopes for an opportunity, but most people hesitate when it comes, giving various reasons.

Not knowing, not being able to do it, never having done it, lacking confidence, thinking it will be difficult, thinking it won’t work, etc.

They miss the opportunity every time and repeat the same regret.

So, what’s the conclusion?

I put my hand on Seonwoo’s shoulder and said,

“Sure. If it’s for your dream, you should risk everything.”

“Huh? Everything?”

When people think of rich people in Korea, they usually think of tycoons.

Even if I know the future, it will take a long time to start a business and become a tycoon.

There’s only one way to do it in a short time.

Start an investment company.

Although it’s not well-known in Korea, there are many famous private equity and hedge funds abroad.

K9 Group, KRR, Redstone Group, Blue Pearl Consortium, Bridge River, Lunstar, etc. They move tens or hundreds of trillions of won and swallow up promising companies worldwide.

Is this only possible abroad?

There are also examples in Korea.

Chairman Kang Myung-guk, who left K9 Group to start MKK Partners, is now the fifth-largest conglomerate in Korea and the largest private equity fund in Asia.

Why can’t I do the same?

“I can’t let this opportunity slip!”

Seonwoo nodded half-heartedly at my determination.

“Yeah. Sure. Don’t die. Hurry up and eat your chicken.”