Thursday morning.
Doyoon sat at the desk in his one-room apartment before heading to work.
He opened his notebook.
Aitek purchase plan. Timing: today. Amount: 50% of his Taeseong Electronics profits.
His hand was trembling.
This was different from Taeseong Electronics.
Taeseong Electronics had been his first stock. He'd bought it relying only on his memories.
Aitek was his second stock. He had verified his memories, built a rationale, and even received Han Taesik's advice.
And yet, he was trembling.
Why am I trembling?
Doyoon knew the answer.
Minseok.
Minseok was watching Aitek.
Minseok might buy it before Doyoon did.
Han Taesik's words came back to him.
Being the first to move doesn't mean you win.
The person who holds on the longest wins.
Doyoon closed his notebook.
Then he got ready for work.
He arrived at the office.
The moment he sat down, he opened his stock-trading app.
Aitek.
Current price: 2,180 won.
It was up 30 won from yesterday.
Trading volume was about normal.
The market still wasn't paying attention.
Doyoon placed a buy order.
2,180 won. 1,500 shares.
Total: 3.27 million won.
Half of his Taeseong Electronics profits.
The order filled.
“Order filled” appeared on the screen.
Doyoon exhaled.
His second stock.
This time, he hadn't bought it based on memories alone.
He had bought it after verifying the information, building a rationale, and confirming the evidence.
That difference steadied his trembling hand.
“Doyoon.”
Seoyeon approached.
She was carrying two cups of coffee.
“Want one?”
“Thanks.”
Doyoon took the coffee.
Seoyeon sat in the chair beside him.
“About that data,” Seoyeon said.
“The sales trends by industry that I organized.”
“Yes.”
“I looked at it a little more at home last night.”
Doyoon set down his coffee.
“What did you see?”
Seoyeon pulled out her phone and showed him the screen.
It was a screenshot of an Excel spreadsheet.
“I lined up the quarterly sales growth rates for companies that do business with the semiconductor sector.”
“Okay.”
“But whenever sales start to rise, one particular business partner always moves first.”
Doyoon's eyes stopped.
“Which company?”
“Seongjin Jeongmil. They supply parts for semiconductor post-processing.”
Doyoon couldn't say a word.
Seongjin Jeongmil.
The company Seoyeon had mentioned was one of Aitek's subcontractors.
Aitek supplied parts to Taeseong Electronics, and Seongjin Jeongmil supplied materials to Aitek.
The very bottom of the supply chain.
The fact that it moved first meant that preparations began at the bottom before orders made their way down from the top.
How far does this woman actually see?
Doyoon wondered.
Seoyeon didn't know Aitek.
She didn't know Taeseong Electronics' supply chain, either.
And yet, she was reading the supply chain's movements using nothing but business-partner data.
Someone who didn't know the future was drawing its outline from the numbers in front of her.
“Seoyeon.”
“Yes?”
“When did Seongjin Jeongmil's sales start rising?”
“This quarter. Starting in January.”
“They're still rising?”
“Yes. Up 12% from the previous quarter.”
Doyoon took out his notebook.
Under Aitek's verification checklist, he added another line.
5. Subcontractor sales as a leading indicator → Seongjin Jeongmil sales up 12%. Movement confirmed at the bottom of the supply chain.
“Doyoon.”
Seoyeon glanced at his notebook.
“What is that?”
Doyoon closed the notebook slightly.
“Just notes.”
“For notes, that's pretty organized.”
Seoyeon smiled.
“A verification checklist? Are you running some kind of experiment?”
It took Doyoon a moment to choose his answer.
“Something like that.”
“What are you verifying?”
“My judgment.”
Seoyeon looked at Doyoon.
“Don't you trust your own judgment?”
“I shouldn't.”
“Why not?”
“Because the moment I trust it, I stop checking.”
Seoyeon thought for a moment, then nodded.
“That makes sense.”
As she stood, Seoyeon said, “Maybe I should try that too. Doubting my own judgment.”
“You don't need to.”
“Why not?”
“Because you look at the numbers exactly as they are. You don't force your judgment into them.”
Seoyeon's steps came to a stop.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Yes.”
Seoyeon gave him a small smile and returned to her desk.
Two in the afternoon.
Minseok stood up from his desk.
Pretending to go to the bathroom, he passed by Doyoon's desk.
He snuck a glance at Doyoon's monitor.
It was an office-work screen.
But Minseok looked at Doyoon's expression.
It was different from that morning.
There had been tension in his face that morning.
Now, there was none.
He bought it.
Minseok knew it.
That face, with all the tension gone.
It was the face of someone who had made a decision.
Minseok went into the bathroom and opened his brokerage app.
Aitek.
Current price: 2,200 won.
It was up 20 won from the morning.
Trading volume had risen slightly.
Minseok pressed the buy button.
2,200 won. 800 shares.
Total: 1.76 million won.
The order filled.
Minseok slipped his phone into his pocket.
He looked in the mirror.
He was smiling.
Doyoon moved, so I'm moving too.
Minseok thought.
But, Doyoon.
Why do you always move before me?
After work.
Doyoon called Han Taesik.
“I bought Aitek.”
“At what price?”
“2,180 won. 1,500 shares.”
“Your basis hasn't changed?”
“No. And I confirmed one more thing.”
“What?”
“Sales at one of Aitek's subcontractors have been rising since this quarter.”
Han Taesik was silent for a moment.
“How did you confirm that?”
“A coworker analyzed data from the companies they do business with.”
“Does that coworker know about Aitek?”
“No. She discovered the pattern while organizing sales trends by industry.”
Han Taesik laughed.
“You have a lot of perceptive people around you.”
“Yes.”
“That coworker of yours.”
“Yes.”
“If she sees what you see, that means this isn't just something you've imagined on your own.”
Doyoon couldn't say anything.
Han Taesik continued.
“But be careful about one thing.”
“What?”
“If she starts trusting you and following your lead, you'll become someone who can't afford to be wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone who can't afford to be wrong can't admit it when they are.”
After hanging up, Doyoon stared at his notebook.
Someone who couldn't afford to be wrong.
In his first life, Doyoon had tried to become that kind of person.
He thought that because he knew the future, he couldn't possibly be wrong.
And when he was wrong, he couldn't admit it.
He couldn't cut his losses.
The result had been -83.7%.
Doyoon wrote in his notebook.
Aitek purchase complete. 2,180 won × 1,500 shares. 5 out of 5 verification criteria matched.
Seoyeon's data: Leading indicator from subcontractor confirmed. Seoyeon doesn't know Aitek. But her eyes see the bottom of the supply chain.
Han Taesik's warning: Don't become someone who can't afford to be wrong. Memories are reference material. Verification is a habit. Admitting you're wrong is the hardest thing.
At the same time.
Choi Minseok was staring at Aitek's chart in his room.
2,200 won.
+2.3% at the closing price.
Minseok opened his memo app.
Aitek. Purchase complete. 2,200 won × 800 shares. Bought later than Doyoon. I don't know Doyoon's fill price, but he was tense in the morning and relaxed in the afternoon. He must have bought early in the session.
Note: Kang Doyoon. Our second stock overlaps. It's not a coincidence anymore. There is something about Doyoon. Whether it's instinct, information, or something else. I don't know yet.
But one thing is certain. Doyoon is looking in the right direction.
Minseok closed the memo app.
Then he looked up at the ceiling.
Doyoon.
Where do you get that confidence?
Minseok envied Doyoon's confidence.
Minseok had instinct.
But he didn't have confidence.
Doyoon had confidence.
Minseok still didn't know where it came from.
Minseok closed his eyes.
I'll find out someday.
Until then, I'll stand beside you and look in the same direction.
Minseok wasn't Doyoon's enemy.
Not yet.
He was someone looking in the same direction.
They were simply moving at different speeds.
Doyoon moved first, and Minseok followed.
When the day came that gap between them narrowed,
Their relationship would change.