Chapter 123 – Ordinarily – Part 3

Chapter 123 – Ordinarily – Part 3

No sound came from the cellphone. Then,

-Who is this person?

“Their specs are good. Don’t worry about that.”

-May I ask about your relationship with that person?

“I just received help once before, so I’m just trying to repay them. They don’t have much money at home, and it seems like they’ll just keep working hard like a squirrel on a wheel.”

-There are many departments in other affiliates, though.

Lee Hyerim’s voice sank low.

“I have to explain it now… That’s what this is, right?”

-No, you don’t.

“I just thought of the Strategic Planning Office, and the salary seemed better than other places, so I just decided. Do I have to explain my decision?”

-No. Just tell him to prepare his resume when he comes to work in a month.

Upon hearing the answer, Lee Hyerim abruptly hung up the phone.

Then she let out a small laugh.

When your position is precarious, your words become long-winded.

Anyway…

Lee Hyerim kept feeling suspicious.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that Woojin was trying to help her.

Conversely, it might not be the case.

Because Woojin had so many eccentricities.

If he wanted to do something, he did it, and if he wanted to experience something, he would eventually do it.

Lee Hyerim, who had been lost in thought for a moment, picked up her cell phone again and called Woojin.

“It’s me.”

-Okay, when should I start work?

At Woojin’s question, Lee Hyerim let out a breath and laughed.

She clearly told him not to expect anything, but he spoke as if it were obvious.

“You can start work in a month with your resume.”

-So, it’s a Monday.

“Yeah…”

As Lee Hyerim was speaking, something suddenly occurred to her.

“Woojin, what are you going to do about school?”

-I’m going to take a leave of absence.

Lee Hyerim asked, surprised.

“A leave of absence?”

-Yeah, a lot of other people take leaves of absence too. I don’t think I’ll have another chance to take a leave of absence if not now.

At Woojin’s words, Lee Hyerim covered her forehead with her hand.

Most leaves of absence are taken out of necessity, due to unavoidable circumstances, aren’t they?

But Woojin said this was his chance to take a leave of absence.

Lee Hyerim shook her head and repeated what she had said at the coffee shop.

“Woojin, I’m really okay.”

-I want to experience it. Thank you, Hyerim. The drama is about to start now. I’ll call you tomorrow. Thank you.

“A drama… Oh, enjoy it.”

At that moment.

Bomi, who was sitting on the sofa, shouted at Woojin.

“Brother! It’s starting now!”

Woojin came out of his room and plopped down on the sofa.

The TV was also really big, fitting the size of the living room.

As the drama began, Woojin let out a small gasp of admiration and started watching.

“Ohh…”

The main plot of the drama was about a power struggle within a chaebol family.

***

The next day.

Woojin visited Han Bora’s house.

When he pressed the doorbell, the door burst open without a word from the intercom.

The person who opened the door was Han Bora, who clung to Woojin’s leg with a bright smile.

“I missed you, Uncle, hehe.”

To Han Bora, Woojin was like a Daddy-Long-Legs.

Woojin stroked Han Bora’s head with a smile he couldn’t help but make and replied,

“I missed you too. Where’s Grandmother?”

“She said she went out for a stroll and would be back.”

“Did you get your health check-up?”

“Yes! Just like you said, Uncle, I held his hand and we went together. He’s healthy!”

“That’s my girl. Our Bora is indeed admirable and special.”

“Hehe.”

Woojin took out two candies from his pocket.

“This one is for Bomi. This one is for Uncle.”

Woojin unwrapped a candy himself and put it into Han Bora’s mouth. Then he also took a candy.

With one cheek bulging, the two talked about various things.

Han Bora did most of the talking, and Woojin was the listener.

“So what did you tell your friend?”

“I told her not to fall for rote learning!”

It wasn’t something you’d expect to hear from a child who was about to enter second grade of elementary school.

That wasn’t all.

‘Studying can also be a means to gain trust from the other party…’

‘I said studying is just an additional means to an end!’

“Then what did they say?”

“Heejeong’s mom said she misses me and asked me to come over sometime. She said she’d make me something delicious.”

Woojin gently stroked Han Bora’s head once more.

Because she spoke and acted in a special way, she also caught the attention of her friends’ parents.

The Law of Attraction.

Han Bora was attracting people.

“You’re learning to swim in physical education class too?”

“Yes! My teacher praised me, saying I’m the best!”

“Our Bora can do anything.”

At Han Bora’s joyful expression, a faint smile once again appeared on Woojin’s lips.

Bora, who had been abused, was a child who deserved to feel serotonin, also known as the happiness hormone, to her heart’s content.

And in the future too.

Having exchanged those words, Woojin changed the subject.

“Shall we look at Bora’s account?”

Han Bora replied confidently.

“Yes!”

Woojin immediately followed Han Bora into the room.

There were three monitors, and Bomi, who had turned on the PC, soon opened the account.

“I’ve cashed out everything except large-cap value investing. Hehe.”

The deposit in the account totaled 257,498,248 won.

Woojin said,

“So, a seed of approximately 2 million won has ballooned to 257,498,248 won?”

“I just followed what you taught me. Hehe.”

Woojin hadn’t selected the stocks for her.

Instead, he had taught her many things.

“What did this uncle say?”

“He told me that I shouldn’t hold onto stocks other than the large-cap stocks that drive our country’s KOSPI for too long.”

“Why is that?”

Han Bora continued clearly.

“Because companies might not be able to adapt to a rapidly changing world, the possibility of accounting fraud cannot be ruled out, and relatively, the time for money to grow can be limited.”

“That’s right.”

For example, the KOSPI index in 2012 was 1,948 points, and it fluctuated without breaking through the 1,948-point line and 2,033 points until 2016.

Then, in 2017, it turned around and started to rise sharply.

If someone had invested in value investing in 2012, waited five years, and saw a profit, and someone else had invested as 2017 was approaching…

The latter would have achieved the same profit in a shorter amount of time.

Of course, the amount invested by someone who put money into Value Investing every month like a savings account in 2012 might be different from someone who started investing in Candle in 2017.

But what if you understood the global outlook and industries, studied the domestic economy and the market conditions of companies, and invested the same amount as someone who did Value Investing in 2012?

The story changes a lot.

In just one year, you could match the profit of someone who waited five years.

This was also true for corporate investments, not just the KOSPI index.

That’s why it’s hard to see profits if you stop studying.

“Which companies are you interested in these days?”

Han Bora immediately showed Woojin the stocks she was interested in.

“This company is……”

Han Bora spoke with apparent enjoyment, and Woojin nodded, listening to her explanation.

Then, Woojin, who was listening to the explanation of the last stock, said,

“It seems like there are Stock Manipulators involved?”

Han Bora smiled faintly.

“It seems like a suitable company for the domestic industry outlook, and its financials are good. Most importantly, I’m planning to ride along with the Stock Manipulators and others.”

Woojin lifted his palm upwards.

Han Bora’s palm met Woojin’s.

Clap!

Woojin said,

“You’re doing well.”

* * *

The day arrived for the Strategic Planning Office, which Shinhwa Group had announced would be disbanded.

Woojin, in a neat suit, put on his shoes and said to his Mom, who was standing behind him,

“I’m leaving.”

It was Woojin’s way of saying he would return home again.

His Mom adjusted Woojin’s clothes once more and said,

“Have a good day, my handsome son.”

Mom and Dad didn’t say much when he told them he was taking a leave of absence.

They just wanted Woojin to live life as he wished and stay healthy.

Soon after, Woojin left and traveled by subway.

In a little less than an hour, he arrived at the Shinhwa Group Headquarters.

Standing at the building’s entrance, Woojin looked up at it.

The building soared as if to pierce the sky, making Woojin feel like a mere retail investor.

But it couldn’t intimidate Woojin’s stride.

As always,

Woojin moved towards the lobby with a calm expression.

In the lobby, men and women in suits were scattering, swiping their employee IDs.

As he was taking all of this in, a neat-looking man who appeared to be a security guard approached him.

“How may I help you?”

Woojin spoke as he had been instructed.

“I’m here for my first day of work today. My name is Shin Woojin.”

“Ah, this way.”

Woojin followed the security guard’s guidance and approached the elevator.

“Get off on the 15th floor and go into SH Strategy.”

“Thank you.”

Woojin blended in with the crowd and entered the elevator.

Women cast glances at Woojin.

All of them got off on different floors, but no one got off on the 15th floor where Woojin exited.

Getting out of the elevator, Woojin quickly found ‘SH Strategy’ as the security guard had mentioned.

It was right in front of his eyes.

However, unlike Shinhwa General Trading, the entrance was a bit different.

It was made of the same full-pane glass, but it looked thicker.

No sound came from inside.

Woojin pushed the glass door without hesitation. He felt a slight weight in his hand as he stepped inside.

“Hey! Assistant Manager Kim! Get out now!”

“This is driving me crazy.”

“We’ve located Director Oh. He’s at Yangpyeong Villa.”

“He was just hiding there?”

“He probably thought we wouldn’t find him if he released the article and then hid.”

“He’s such a greedy person. How much money do we have to shove into his mouth to satisfy that greed? Bring him here right now.”

“It won’t be easy. If he calls the police…”

“Hey, this bastard is getting worse at his job! Tell him it’s a negotiation. A negotiation!”

“The car accident victim demanded 30 million won.”

“Proceed.”

Different voices came from all directions, but Woojin listened to each one, forming the story they were telling with high probability and assumptions.

There were approximately 20 people.

Just then, a man who appeared to be in his late twenties approached.

Woojin’s eyes quickly scanned him.

He was 177cm tall, had thick eyebrows, double eyelids, and a slender jaw.

His face was paler than average, and he was about to speak to me.

“Who… are you?”

“Hello. I’m Shin Woojin, starting my first day today.”

“Shin Woojin?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

He looked Woojin up and down and then blurted out a question.

“Good luck with your work.”

Woojin said to him as he was about to pass by.

“Do you happen to know where my seat is?”

“Of course. Very well. It’s next to mine.”

He gestured to a spot and disappeared.

Woojin’s gaze returned to that spot.

[Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok]

The seat next to him was completely empty, and there was no PC either.

Woojin moved to the seat Cha Juhyeok had indicated, placed his bag down, and sat.

Then he surveyed his surroundings once more.

Everyone seemed very busy.

Many people were running their hands through their hair.

Such people only glanced at him and showed no interest.

No, there were gazes with one corner of the mouth turned up, gazes with narrowed eyes, and gazes openly sneering.

Several gazes swept over him and then disappeared.

Woojin thought such gazes were natural.

If one understood the situation of him sitting here right now, these were natural reactions from organisms.

Woojin felt a different emotion from what he felt at Shinhwa General Trading.

“I’m being ostracized.”

He smiled subtly, thinking it was a new experience.

And this could be changed.

Like opening a small floodgate.

Like this.

Woojin immediately spoke to Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok, who had returned and sat down, treating him as if he weren’t there.

“You must be tired. You came to work from the hospital.”

Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok, who was flipping through a folder, turned his head to Woojin.