The Overly Competent Junior Employee

“He spoke as if he had prepared for this.”

After the meeting, Ryu Tae-hwa had called Dokyung to his office for a private conversation.

“I did prepare.”

“Is the DU situation really that appealing…”

“No, Branch Manager.”

Dokyung looked at Ryu Tae-hwa with a serious expression.

It was the same expression he had worn that day when he said he wouldn’t bend his convictions.

“I believe the clash between DU and foreign capital is a means for us to maintain our philosophy without having to compromise.”

Initially, Dokyung thought the message had informed him about the DU situation for his and his clients’ benefit.

However, Dokyung decided to change his perspective. The message was merely a device to help him achieve his dreams, and the path towards that dream was something he had to choose for himself.

‘What’s hindering me the most right now is…’

The performance pressure from headquarters.

And he needed to erase headquarters’ hostility towards Ryu Tae-hwa, who was protecting him from such performance pressure and supporting his investment philosophy.

From that point on, while looking for ways to persuade Ryu Tae-hwa and the other branch employees, Dokyung came across an article about Yuseong Investment Securities launching a new product.

“As you mentioned in the meeting, the wrap account product launched by headquarters gives clients a lot of choices.”

Some people described funds as group travel packages, while wrap accounts were likened to one-on-one guided tours.

These products had been introduced in Korea since the early 2000s, but they were unfamiliar because the minimum investment amounts were only accessible to high-net-worth individuals.

However, Yuseong Investment Securities had recently begun strengthening its WM (Wealth Management) division and prepared wrap account products with lower entry requirements.

“That’s right. Understanding the client’s tendencies before creating a portfolio is the priority, and they can intervene in various aspects of the investment.”

With products like funds, clients couldn’t interfere at all. They were simply investing in products structured by fund managers.

“That’s why I believe this product is essential for our Seongnam Branch, which is under performance pressure.”

“Then what you said in the meeting earlier…”

“Yes. The DU situation is the means to that end.”

As Dokyung answered confidently, Ryu Tae-hwa quietly observed him.

He truly was a remarkable person. Usually, he went around with a gentle smile, looking like a naïve scholar, but whenever investment-related topics came up, that scholarly image disappeared, and a confident individual stood before him.

“You seem… very certain.”

“It’s such a winning hand that I almost think someone pitied our situation and gave us this opportunity.”

Indeed, Dokyung had nothing to do. He just needed to buy DU stocks, which were at the center of controversy, and fill clients’ portfolios with them. Then the clown named Carl Sutton would take the lead in driving up the stock price.

Ryu Tae-hwa nodded at Dokyung’s words.

“But there have been failed cases too.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

The Korean stock market was known as a graveyard for fund managers and traders due to its high difficulty.

In particular, famous global hedge funds had attempted to attack domestic companies using Carl Sutton’s methods and their financial power, but there were instances where they left with tens of trillions of won in losses as stock prices fell from the moment they attacked.

That’s why the market’s reaction was split even though Carl Sutton and Steellife had thrown the first punch.

“I think the approach will be a bit different this time.”

“They’ll try to secure strong allies first. Previous failed cases lacked allies. Carl Sutton must have analyzed those failure cases.”

When a foreign asset management company dumped all their DU shares into the market, Steellife swooped in and gathered them up as if they had been waiting for this moment.

This meant they had been eyeing DU shares continuously, and despite the time difference, they had been closely monitoring the Korean situation from the U.S.

“As soon as they bought the shares, they designated a major domestic law firm as their representative. Then they sent a due diligence request, and Carl Sutton and Steellife’s CEO visited Korea. There was an exclusive article about it being top secret, but it was likely an intentional exposure.”

Carl Sutton was methodically targeting DU.

“And as I mentioned, they’ll look for allies. They’ll probably approach the Hong Kong asset management company that holds 4% of the shares.”

Ryu Tae-hwa was already drawn into Dokyung’s assumptions.

“The Hong Kong asset management company will likely follow Carl Sutton’s plan. The value of their shares will increase even if they do nothing.”

“But DU will secure allies too. Domestic institutions will support DU.”

“Yes. That’s not something we need to worry about from our perspective.”

Dokyung smiled as he spoke to Ryu Tae-hwa.

“It’s actually more exciting. Because when the two forces start fighting in earnest, the stock price will rise.”

“If the goal is just profit from stock prices, we need an exit strategy. We might be late in exiting if we don’t know the attacker’s target price.”

“If we enter now, we’ll see quite a large profit even if they exit before us. And I’ve already thought about the exit point.”

“You’ve already thought about it?”

“Yes. We’ll exit when the bear starts raising its front paws.”

Ryu Tae-hwa furrowed his brow, pondering Dokyung’s puzzling words, but then smiled broadly as if he understood what Dokyung meant.

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“How did it go?”

At Steellife’s Hong Kong branch.

Carl Sutton, the hedge fund maestro and M&A specialist known for his composure, asked his counterpart with uncharacteristic impatience.

The person who had just entered the room felt a twinge of resentment at Carl Sutton’s immediate questioning, but such emotions were irrelevant now.

“We’ve persuaded Core Partners.”

“Persuaded them?”

“They’ll be our strong black knight.”

At these words, Carl Sutton clenched his fist.

He thought that this thrill might be the reason why he couldn’t quit this business even after making so much money.

“Then our friendly shares…”

“40.51%. The opponent would have 42.24% if all Korean institutions become their white knights.”

They were trailing DU by over 2% in the share battle.

But that wasn’t important. There was still 6% of individual investor shares left.

“Our goal was never DU’s management rights to begin with.”

“That’s right. Our target isn’t in Korea, but in England.”

In truth, they were targeting a world-famous insurance company in England. However, their defenses were stronger than expected, and it was difficult to recruit investors.

As they were lamenting this, a chaebol company in a small Eastern country caught their eye.

Its financial structure was a mess, and the owner’s moral hazard was at its peak.

They had been investigating the company for seven months since then.

“Right. The purpose is to replenish ammunition to attack our original target.”

Management rights were never important to them from the start. This was all about securing funds to attack their real target.

And a perfect opponent appeared before them at just the right timing.

“You’ll go to Korea.”

“You mean to meet DU’s management?”

They had prepared for this for so long that they could understand each other’s intentions with just a few words.

“Yes. Go and show them all our demands. Make them as unacceptable as possible.”

“Understood.”

“And increase contact with Korean media.”

“Yes. Then Carl, you…”

“I’ll return to New York.”

Steellife’s CEO, who had been conversing with Carl Sutton, was surprised to see Carl’s eyes.

The legendary Carl Sutton was now being evaluated as a toothless tiger due to his age.

But now, a relaxed smile graced his face, and his eyes gleamed.

It was the image of Carl Sutton in his prime.

“I’ll conduct an IR (Investor Relations) session for our clients.”

Carl Sutton continued speaking like a predator excited at finding prey.

“Of course, I have no intention of accepting investments.”

“Then… you mean it’s a performance for external show?”

“Yes. A performance for the final finale.”

“When you say final finale…”

At his counterpart’s question, Carl Sutton stood up and adjusted his clothes.

Then, looking straight at the other person, he spoke.

“When a bear finds its prey, there’s only one thing to do, isn’t there?”

“What does that have to do with the IR?”

The other person spoke as if eager to learn, and Carl Sutton smiled.

“If you’ll be the bear, I’ll think about what comes after.”

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

“Dokyung-ssi, the signal has come.”

“The signal?”

Two days later, Choi Woojin rushed into Dokyung’s room.

“Yes, information is circulating that Steellife and DU’s management will meet tomorrow.”

At Choi Woojin’s words, Dokyung’s eyes widened.

He had been wondering why DU’s stock price had risen over 5% this morning despite no significant moves from Steellife’s side…

“So that’s why institutions were gathering up shares this morning.”

“Right. The reliability is 90%. They even mentioned a specific location—Four Seasons in Gwanghwamun.”

The information Choi Woojin brought had been quite accurate so far. He must have compiled and filtered various pieces of information before telling Dokyung.

Choi Woojin’s weapon was information, and he knew how to use it.

Skill lay in listening to information and filtering it properly.

“This is what you talked about, Dokyung-ssi. The bear hug.”

The bear hug.

It was a corporate raiding strategy where the attacker creates an atmosphere of fear, as if a bear is secretly embracing its target.

The corporate raiders would meet their enemies, make demands they couldn’t accept, create an atmosphere of fear, and then demand swift and quick decision-making from DU’s management in that fearful atmosphere.

It was an intimidation play.

“That means…”

“Yes, Core Partners in Hong Kong must have become their black knight.”

“Isn’t it time to pull out?”

At Choi Woojin’s words, Dokyung fell into thought. According to the original plan, this would be the time to sell the stocks and exit.

However, something felt hasty, and the fact that their moves were becoming known as information suggested they wanted their actions to be public.

“The fact that they’re making their moves public before the stock price has risen means there’s something else coming.”

Dokyung organized his thoughts this way.

“By any chance, did they say Carl Sutton is coming to Korea too?”

“There was no information about Carl Sutton?”

At Choi Woojin’s words, Dokyung continued to have a feeling that it wasn’t the right timing yet.

“What should we do? Isn’t it time to sell? You said the exit timing is when the bear raises its hand…”

“Assistant Manager Choi Woojin, just a moment.”

Saying this, Dokyung went to his computer and started searching for information.

“Carl Sutton should have come.”

“What?”

“It shouldn’t be Steellife’s CEO meeting DU’s management. It should be Carl Sutton. The bear isn’t him, it’s Carl Sutton.”

Originally, this strategy was about intimidating the opponent. What better intimidation than the name value and presence of Carl Sutton himself?

But Carl Sutton had stepped back, and his proxy had come forward.

This wasn’t intimidation.

It seemed like a move to divert attention.

“We need to find Carl Sutton’s movements.”

As Dokyung said this, Choi Woojin, sensing something, nodded and took out his phone.

For a while, only the sound of keyboard typing could be heard in Dokyung’s room.

“Dokyung-ssi.”

A moment later, Dokyung looked up at the voice calling him, and Choi Woojin was waving his phone.

“Found him. Carl Sutton.”

On Choi Woojin’s phone screen, a social media post was displayed.

“A Sutton Capital shareholder posted a photo on Twitter.”

“What kind of photo?”

“They say Sutton Capital is holding an IR. Carl Sutton will participate.”

“An IR?”

Dokyung, responding thus, took the phone Choi Woojin handed him and looked at the photo on the screen.

After thinking for a while, something flashed through Dokyung’s mind.

“Assistant Manager Choi Woojin.”

As Dokyung called him, Choi Woojin looked at him with a tense expression.

“There’s one more turn left in this.”

“What?”

One more turn left meant it wasn’t time yet.

“It looks like they’re preparing for a Saturday night show.”