Chapter 20: Algorithm trading>

Yoon Gihwan couldn’t hide his delight when he returned to the office. He kept patting Woosung’s back.

“You were amazing as usual. Loved how you gave it to ST! Don’t forget about the bigger pay! If you continue like this, we’ll be able to get the account system contract for sure. We might even grow bigger than Daeyang and take over Nuri Finances.”

Park Junwoo asked with interest.

“What happened at the meeting?”

Yoon Gihwan explained leaving Park Junwoo dumbfounded.

“5..500,000 dollars?”

“Yes! He suggested it himself. If we do this well, the four of us would earn our company 1 million dollars.”

Kim Yonggun was also pleasantly surprised.

“So that would make over 300,000 dollars per person.”

“Yup. We can expect to get big bonuses, and you two will have additional incentives from your contracts.”

Park Junwoo remembered the recent contract and grinned.

“Oh yeah. That’s right!”

Yoon Gihwan looked at Woosung.

“Hey newbie, why are you so quiet? I thought you might ask to increase your fee by 50,000 dollars.”

“This increase in payment is all your work. You made it all possible.”

Yoon Gihwan asked confusedly.

“… I’ve never seen you act so modest before.”

“Haha. I’m only telling you the truth. You gave permission to a newbie to lead a brand new project. You also approved a bonus of 50,000 dollars for me. You made everything possible.”

“…”

“I know how much you’ve done for me.”

It was so heartwarming. Kim Yonggun felt emotional. Yoon Gihwan couldn’t hide his embarrassment. His ears reddened.

“R-really…?

“I am appreciative. You deserve the recognition for this success.”

Park Junwoo added.

“That’s right. You also made sure we get the bonuses…”

Kim Yonggun agreed as well.

“Yes! So let’s celebrate tonight!”

Yoon Gihwan nodded.

“For sure! It’s a celebration! You all better come!”

“Of course we’ll all join you.”

Park Junwoo nodded and asked Woosung.

“You can come too, right? We didn’t even get to throw a welcoming party for you. You have to come.”

“Haha, of course. Oh, and General manager, I have my graduation on the 21st so I need that day off.”

“That’s not a problem! I will take care of everything so don’t worry about it.”

It was clear Yoon Gihwan meant what he said before.

***

They drank. It was great to enjoy such an incredible success. They partied till two in the morning, and Woosung took a cab home afterward. In the taxi, he looked at the streetlights. The cold breeze felt great on his face. He looked at the cars passing by and thought.

‘It’s 10 years ago but… it’s still the same here.’

It has been three weeks since he traveled back in time. Every morning he woke up, he pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, and every time he did so, he felt a twinge of pain.

It was real.

He died and came back to life.

“But I… am different. I need to be different.”

Woosung sighed. He smelled the alcohol in his breath. He remembered the day he died. It was just like today. He was going back home drunk from an office party, but today was different.

“Yes… I need to be better to destroy that snake. I will make sure he loses everything.”

Choi Gichul.

Son of Daeyang Group’s CEO.

Woosung planned to destroy not only Choi Gichul but also Daeyang. He knew he could do it. For every level of the industrial revolution, there was always a person who broke the rules. Ford and Carnegie were two good examples.

This time, it was his turn.

The 4th industrial revolution involved keywords such as artificial intelligence, robot, big data, and blockchain. Everybody related all of these to software development, which was Woosung’s specialty. He still felt drunk, but his eyes sharpened as he enjoyed the view.

***

Woosung woke up with a groan.

“Ugh… I need to stop drinking.”

He felt like someone struck his head with a hammer. He drank a hangover drink, but he still felt nauseous. His head was pounding.

“Son, drink this cup of honey water.”

The door to his room opened and his mother handed him a cup of yellow drink. She used to two merciless nagging at him when he would come home drunk, but not anymore. After he gave her that big cheque, her actions changed.

“Ugh.”

Woosung moaned and stood up. It was good to be young, however. As soon as he drank the water, he immediately felt better. When he was 36, he took days to recover.

“Ouch, my head.”

Woosung massaged the back of his head and sighed. He could still smell the soju in his breath. However, he had to be productive every single day, so he couldn’t laze around even on weekends.

Woosung showered and sat in front of the computer. There was a lot to learn today. He planned to focus on algorithm trading today.

If he could find the time, he wanted to use this method in real life to make more money.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

As soon as he sat down, his phone vibrated. It was Yoon Gihwan.

“What does he want? We were together until only a few hours ago.”

Woosung answered the phone curiously. Yoon Gihwan’s voice was lively even after all the drinking last night.

“Newbie, what’s up?”

“Not much. I was reading.”

“Then come out. You need to learn algorithm trading.”

“… What?”

“Stop reading the books. I will teach you in person.”

His voice sounded enthusiastic. He didn’t sound hungover at all.

“You know my time is valuable, right? If you will teach me, you better do a good job.”

“Haha, of course. I have worked at Daeyang for 20 years. I spent many years focusing on algorithm trading. I will teach you what you can’t learn from books.”

Was it because of yesterday’s success? Yoon Gihwan was being very kind and helpful today.

“Then let me know the time and place. I’ll be there.”

Yoon Gihwan laughed and replied.

“Time is now. Place is my home. Come on!”