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Chapter 5…
The next day, during lunch break.
The noisy footsteps of students heading toward the cafeteria filled the hallway.
I walked against the flow of the crowd.
My destination was, naturally, the Stock Investment Research Club on the third floor of the annex.
She’ll be here, right?
I didn’t even need to check.
Slide—
As I opened the sliding door, the hum of an old computer fan greeted me.
Just as expected.
Han Jaei had her face buried so close to the monitor that it looked as though she were about to be sucked into it.
“I knew it.”
I muttered quietly as I approached, but she didn’t notice me at all.
The rapid clicking of the mouse continued—rhythmic, yet almost irritated.
The screen was filled with complicated stock charts and an order book.
“Looks like you’re doing simulated trading.”
“Ahhh!”
The moment she heard my voice, Han Jaei jumped in surprise and shoved her chair backward.
The chair screeched across the floor as she clutched her chest and glared at me.
“Geez! What are you, a ghost? Make some noise when you walk!”
“I knocked. You just didn’t hear me, Sunbae. Your concentration was incredible.”
“…I didn’t notice.”
She cleared her throat once and straightened her messy bangs.
“It’s lunchtime. Why aren’t you eating? First and second years get into the cafeteria early.”
“I already ate. What about you, Sunbae? You’re a senior—you should be taking care of yourself.”
“Has it gotten that late already…?”
Only then did Han Jaei glance at the clock on the wall before smacking her lips.
“I didn’t even realize I was hungry. Whatever. Skipping one meal won’t kill me.”
She dismissed it casually before turning her attention back to the monitor.
Red and blue candlesticks danced across the screen.
“Do you practice with simulated trading often?”
“Yeah. Every day.”
Without looking away from the monitor, Han Jaei scrolled the mouse wheel.
“Whenever the market’s open. I can’t afford to lose my feel for it.”
“Then why don’t you trade with real money? If you’re doing simulations, you must already have a brokerage account.”
At my question, her hand stopped moving.
“Well…”
Her words trailed off.
She kept staring at the monitor, unable to turn toward me.
The brief silence made me realize my mistake.
That was insensitive.
A memory from my previous life surfaced.
An interview she’d given to a financial magazine after becoming wildly successful.
[CEO Han Jaei, the Heroine of a Rags-to-Riches Story.]
[Back in high school, she could only trade with her eyes because she had no money… After entering college, she worked part-time, and the 200,000 won she had left over after tuition became her starting capital.]
Han Jaei had grown up poor.
To her, stocks weren’t simply a way to build wealth.
They were a means of survival.
Losing money wasn’t an option.
That’s why she hadn’t dared step into real investing, settling instead for imaginary numbers on a monitor.
“…I’m just not ready yet.”
She answered after a long pause.
It sounded more like an excuse than a reason.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
I quickly changed the subject.
“The college entrance exam is coming up soon. Aren’t you studying?”
Han Jaei narrowed her eyes and shot me an annoyed look.
“Hey. Why do you sound like some middle-aged old man? You think studying for the CSAT is the only kind of studying?”
“A student’s duty is to study.”
“This is strategy too. Building my résumé.”
She gestured toward the monitor.
“These days, if you want to get into college, your school record needs something on it. If you’re applying for economics or business administration, winning competitions like this is practically mandatory. You’ve got to squeeze in even one more line on your application.”
Building credentials… through stocks?
“Who actually likes this stuff?”
“What?”
“You know how adults think. The moment they hear a high school student is investing in stocks, they’ll slap the gambling label on you before hearing anything else.”
I wasn’t wrong.
This was a time when the wounds from the dot-com bubble collapse still hadn’t healed.
Back then, people believed the fastest way to ruin your family was through the stock market.
Even many teachers disliked this club.
“…You’re not wrong.”
Han Jaei didn’t deny it.
She knew those judgmental looks better than anyone.
“But it’s still better than having nothing. Besides, the senior who founded this club got into Yeonhui University’s business program. Apparently, they pushed their simulated investment competition award hard during admissions. Since there’s already a precedent, it’s worth trying.”
“That does sound convincing.”
I turned my head and pointed toward an A4 sheet hanging alone on one wall of the clubroom.
[15th Mirae Securities National High School Simulated Investment Competition]
“So, Sunbae, are you entering that competition?”
I pointed at the poster with an intentionally cheerful voice.
Han Jaei followed my finger with her eyes.
“Huh? Ah…”
She shook her head bitterly.
“We can’t.”
“Why not? If it’s sponsored by a securities company, the prize money should be pretty good.”
“Look at the requirements. Team participation only. At least three members.”
She let out a deep sigh.
“I’ve entered smaller competitions before. Dragged along kids who didn’t even want to participate. But now, as you can see…”
Right.
The club was a mess.
“The only motivated people left are me and Minjae. If we enter a competition that big, we’ll probably fail again. Minjae might even lose interest in the club.”
“I’m here too.”
I interrupted casually.
“…What?”
“You’ve got me. That makes exactly three people.”
Han Jaei stared at me in disbelief.
“You? You joined yesterday. What could you possibly know?”
“I know enough.”
“You know stocks?”
“I do. I own a bit of Seonjin Group stock myself.”
She snorted at my joke.
“I don’t mean that kind of stock. I’m talking about trading. Reading charts, analyzing financial statements, finding the right timing to buy and sell. You think that’s child’s play?”
“Exactly. I know trading too.”
I shrugged.
Twenty years in my previous life.
How many hostile takeover attempts had I stopped?
I’d fought stock manipulators to defend our management rights.
Stocks?
I knew them well enough to be sick of them.
And on top of that…
I’d come from the future.
I didn’t remember exactly which stocks would soar during this period, but if I saw the news, I’d definitely remember.
Right. This was when that happened.
That much was enough.
“I know the basics. At the very least, I’ll pull my own weight.”
“Your confidence really does make you sound like a chaebol heir.”
Han Jaei clearly didn’t believe me, but I drove the point home.
“Let’s enter. I need the money.”
I tapped the bottom of the poster.
[Grand Prize: 3 million won scholarship and a full set of the latest computers]
“Three million won. Split three ways, that’s one million each. They even give you computers. Let’s replace these junk machines. The fan noise is so loud it’s impossible to concentrate.”
“…Hey.”
Han Jaei looked utterly dumbfounded.
“You need money? You’re the third-generation heir of Seonjin Group, and you’re entering a competition over a measly one million won?”
Well, I did have money.
But I needed to accomplish something in this club.
Otherwise, I’d have no excuse for everything I planned to do afterward.
“Yeah, I do. Just because someone’s rich doesn’t mean they walk around with cash stuffed into their pockets.”
I answered shamelessly while looking her straight in the eye.
Honestly, it wasn’t even a lie.
At the moment, my account only held the equivalent of pocket money.
“And…”
I continued.
“Don’t you need it too?”
“I…”
Her lips parted.
For someone who couldn’t even begin real investing because she was poor…
A one-million-won scholarship wasn’t just money.
It was the seed capital she’d always dreamed of.
“Come on. Let’s at least give it a shot. If we lose, we lose.”
This simulated investment competition was important.
It would give me the chance to prove my ability to Han Jaei.
A reason to keep her by my side.
And a reason for me to continue investing in stocks.
Everything depended on it.
“…Alright. Let’s talk it over with Minjae.”
“Great. Then let’s consider it settled. See you after school.”
Before she could change her mind, I finalized the decision and left the clubroom for my classroom.
* * *
After school.
As soon as homeroom ended, the three of us gathered in the clubroom again.
With only three people sitting around the small classroom, it almost felt like a strategy meeting.
Han Jaei crossed her arms and looked at Minjae.
“Minjae, don’t you have academy today?”
“Uh… It starts at six. I can be a little late today… or even skip one day.”
“A second-year who’s gotten comfortable, huh? Won’t your mom get mad?”
“It’s fine. If you and Sunwoo are doing this, I can’t be the only one sitting it out.”
Minjae answered with exaggerated determination.
Han Jaei shook her head as if he were hopeless.
Then she naturally looked toward me.
“One hour should be enough.”
I answered before she could ask.
Neither of them looked convinced.
I gestured toward the whiteboard.
“Let’s begin. The explanation.”
At my urging, Han Jaei sighed deeply.
She wore the expression of an older sister reluctantly entertaining two childish younger brothers.
Picking up a marker, she stood before the board.
“Alright. Listen carefully.”
Scratch. Scratch.
She began writing.
“The competition is called the 15th Mirae Securities National High School Simulated Investment Competition. It’s the biggest event in the youth simulated investment scene. If you place well here, it’ll be a major addition to your school record.”
She wrote 10,000,000 won in large numbers.
“The rules are simple. Every team receives a virtual investment fund of ten million won. You trade stocks with it for one month, and whichever team ends with the highest return wins.”
“What about stock prices?”
“They follow the real market exactly. Think of it as trading under real market conditions.”
She tapped the board while looking back and forth between us.
“You’re really serious about entering, right? If you’re just fooling around, quit now.”
Minjae nodded vigorously.
“If Noona and Sunwoo are entering, then I’m in no matter what.”
“…At least you’ve got the right attitude.”
Han Jaei turned to me.
I simply shrugged.
“I told you at lunch. I need the money.”
“Ha…”
She sighed once again at my hopelessness.
Still…
She didn’t seem to dislike it.
Compared to the days she’d struggled alone, having the room this lively wasn’t so bad.
“Alright. I’ll submit the application. We’ll think of a team name later.”
“What about our strategy?”
I asked.
Han Jaei’s eyes became serious.
“The competition runs from September 1st to the end of the month. Just one month. It’s short. Most teams will chase momentum stocks and hot themes, trading aggressively. If they’re lucky, they’ll rank near the top. If not, they’ll blow up their accounts.”
She drew a gently rising graph.
“But we’re doing the opposite. I won’t touch volatile junk stocks. We’ll build a portfolio centered entirely on fundamentally strong blue-chip companies. The goal isn’t hitting the jackpot. It’s making sure we don’t lose. We’ll keep risk below minus five percent while earning just a little more than the market.”
I folded my arms and nodded.
In a short competition, making money mattered.
But protecting what you had mattered too.
She’d clearly spent a lot of time practicing simulated trading.
As expected.
Her investment style had already taken shape.
She understood the value of money.
To Han Jaei, stocks weren’t gambling.
They were simply a means of steadily increasing capital.
That mindset was probably why she’d survived managing trillions of won without ever going bankrupt.
A good investment style.
But…
Not this time.
This was only a one-month competition.
With thousands of competitors.
Playing it safe would never win first place.
To take first, you needed to make the kind of reckless move everyone else called insane.
And only I, someone who knew the future, could afford that kind of madness.
“I agree with everything. Your style is impressive, Sunbae.”
“…Huh?”
Han Jaei looked surprised.
She’d clearly expected me to object.
“Risk management. The foundation of investing. There’s a lot I can learn from you.”
“W-What’s with you? So you actually know a thing or two?”
“So how many stocks are you planning to include in the portfolio?”
“Hmm… Diversification is the principle, so… about five.”
I pretended to think for a moment.
“Then let’s make it six.”
“Six? Well… adding one more isn’t a problem.”
“But give that extra spot to me.”
Her hand froze.
“What?”
“I want one slot where, no matter what, we buy when I say buy and sell when I say sell.”
Han Jaei frowned immediately.
“Hey, Kang Sunwoo. Our strategy is stability. How do I know what kind of stock you’ll pick? If you bring in some garbage stock, you’ll ruin the entire portfolio.”
“It won’t ruin anything.”
I answered calmly.
“In fact, that one stock will earn more than the other five combined.”
“Seriously…”
She set the marker down in disbelief.
“You need to give me a reason. You can’t just demand a spot out of nowhere and expect me to say, ‘Certainly, Young Master.'”
She was right.
I needed to convince her.
I had to explain why my choice was worth trusting over safe blue-chip stocks.
I stood and slowly walked to the whiteboard.
“Alright.”
I smiled.
“Let me explain.”
