First Step

It was once said that in life, a person encounters three chances. Some people pass by without recognizing that an opportunity has presented itself, while others fail to seize it. Then there are those who manage to grasp one out of a thousand opportunities, and these individuals have the potential to change the world.

Is it possible to recognize when an opportunity is approaching? Most believe they cannot, but I am confident in the belief that it can be known. I was certain that I wouldn't miss it if an opportunity appeared, and I had the resolve to seize it completely. If an opportunity arises, I will be ready. As long as opportunities arise...

Clatter, clatter.

Lee Sang-hoon, who had been gazing out the window of the subway as it crossed the iron bridge, suddenly plonked himself down onto his seat. The subway was free at this hour, around 10 am, just after the rush hour. Lee Sang-hoon surveyed his fellow passengers, pondering where each of them might be headed.

The woman with her hair elegantly arranged seemed to be meeting friends, and the man with a briefcase engaged in a phone call appeared to be off to conduct business with a partner. The person fixated on a book in a nearby seat resembled a fellow college student.

'Everyone seems so busy.'

Lee Sang-hoon couldn't help but gaze at the sharply dressed man without averting his eyes. How busy must I be to commute for work at this hour and then engage in business? Feeling both envious and sympathetic towards the man, Lee Sang-hoon glanced up at the subway's ceiling.

I entered university after making another attempt. Following my first year, I spent time leisurely until I enlisted in the army. Upon being discharged, time slipped away. It felt like a waste to return to school after playing through the first semester of my second year. Soon after my return, I found myself graduating in August, rather than in February along with my peers from other universities. I had been wrestling with worries for some time and made the decision to resume my studies immediately, hoping to join the workforce within half a year.

That decision was a defeat. While there were still employment opportunities available during the regular graduation season, my different graduation time seemed to close those doors. Perhaps it was also due to my lack of active pursuit, but the employment prospects were not visible to me.

All my friends who had attended university with me had graduated and entered the workforce. I found myself alone in my final semester. Despite only needing to complete 9 credits, this too felt like an embarrassment.

My parents had urged me to acquire practical skills, leading me to pursue science in high school and ultimately enroll in the electronics department in college. Unaware of what the department entailed, I had never held much interest in my four years of studies there. The curriculum included sudden programming requirements during semiconductor process lessons, followed by a communication class in the next semester. The majority of classes focused on problem-solving with mathematical formulas and using unfamiliar programs to create diagrams. After eight semesters, I felt unsure of what I had truly learned.

I also observed that merely attending the mandatory liberal arts courses and allocating the remaining credits to major-specific classes seemed insufficient for electronics department graduates. Following the lead of my peers, my grades and understanding suffered. My lackadaisical approach earned me two academic warnings from the university, which I disregarded. Eventually, just before graduation, my credit level fell below a dismal 1 point.

Phew, I don't know.

Despite continuing to attend school due to the tuition already paid, Lee Sang-hoon found himself mindlessly checking his resume. He gazed at a newspaper on the subway shelf as the train approached his school. In an attempt to stave off boredom, he picked up the folded newspaper. On the front page, there was a significant amount of news regarding the Korea-US FTA negotiations taking place in Seoul.

Although familiar with the term FTA, Lee Sang-hoon was momentarily perplexed by the mention and then moved on to the next article. He found a piece concerning nationwide protests against the FTA, with both ruling and opposition lawmakers expressing opposition to the negotiations. Additionally, there was a report mentioning that the President would not proceed with negotiations unless they were beneficial to Korea.

For Lee Sang-hoon, the FTA seemed like a distant tale, so he quickly turned the page and focused on the sports section. Newspapers to him were primarily about sports and entertainment. As a result, he tended to disregard politics and the economy since they were filled with things he didn't understand well.

After reading for a while, Lee Sang-hoon noticed an old man sitting across from him. The man's disheveled appearance, with a partially undone tie and wrinkled suit, contrasted sharply with the well-dressed man sitting next to him.

The uncle sat uncomfortably, legs crossed, fiercely marking or highlighting lines in the newspaper with a ballpoint pen. Lee Sang-hoon couldn't help but wonder what the man was so intensely focused on, treating the newspaper as if he were a student diligently studying for an essay. Puzzled, Lee opened his eyes wider to see which section the uncle was engrossed in, and did the same with his own newspaper.

To his surprise, he found a series of unfamiliar random checks filled on both sides of the newspaper, with small font sizes making it necessary to bring the newspaper closer to read the letters and numbers. Notices about stock prices grabbed his attention.

"Previous day's closing at - ₩2,500, today's closing at - ₩2,525, 1% increase, Union Electronics closing unchanged from previous day at ₩30,000, Huai Cosmetics dropped from previous day's ₩15,000 to today's ₩14,350, 5% decrease," he read.

Perplexed, he looked back at the uncle, who was reading these financial entries as if they were prophecies from another world. The man circled certain points and jotted notes down in his own notebook, seeming entirely absorbed in his task – a level of dedication that even rivaled that of high school students preparing for the SAT.

As he watched the man, Lee mused to himself, "What are you trying to convey with all this? That's why I'll never get ahead in the company."

For Lee Sang-hoon, stocks were synonymous with defeat—nothing more, nothing less. While aware that his parents and others around him invested in stocks, he had firmly resolved never to venture into that realm. He held onto the confidence that he wouldn't succumb to the pitfalls of gambling.

Lee Sang-hoon swiftly composed himself, folded the newspaper, placed it on a shelf, and disembarked from the subway—it was his stop.

"The weather is unbearable today. I have to go out on a date in this season..." he muttered to himself, thoughts lingering on his ex-girlfriend who had left while he was in the army.

As spring began to settle in, the weather exuded a refreshing breeze that brushed against Lee Sang-hoon's face. However, he couldn't fully appreciate it. Graduating from Cosmos, he now had the harsh reality of finding a job looming over him.

Back during his time at Eoyoung Booyoung School, the idea of getting a job hadn't crossed his mind. But as the inevitability of the real world drew near, the weight of time passing felt increasingly pressing.

"I have to go see the department head today. If there's an opening somewhere, I'll have to be persistent and make my case," he resolved, mindful of his previous teasing of friends who had secured positions through a professor's recommendation. From Lee Sang-hoon's perspective, he himself was at a loss. During his time at school, he had never imagined being in a position where he'd need to rely on the department head.

Cautiously, Lee Sang-hoon rapped on the door, calling out "anyone there?" Upon hearing no response, he pressed his ear against the door to listen for any sign of activity from inside.

Unsure whether it was occupied by a man or a woman who might not have heard his knocking, Lee Sang-hoon cautiously turned the door handle, opening it slowly to avoid interrupting any potential meeting. However, the scene inside was entirely different from what he had expected.

Inside the room, three women were gathered. A man stood in their midst as they chatted animatedly, seemingly oblivious to Lee Sang-hoon's initial attempt to announce himself.

"Hello," Lee Sang-hoon greeted them, drawing their attention. Despite the interruption, the women greeted him with smiles, though their expressions indicated they had been engrossed in their conversation before he arrived.

One of the men, a senior from the same department who was now pursuing a master's course in the department head's lab, seemed vaguely familiar to Lee Sang-hoon. They exchanged a few pleasantries. As for the women, they were classmates in the same grade as the male seniors. Passing by each other in the past, they only recognized each other's faces and names, sharing basic hellos.

Acknowledging Lee Sang-hoon's presence, the female juniors lifted their heads and greeted him, prompting Lee to nod in response.

With brief gestures to the male seniors, the women turned back to each other. "Ho ho. So? How did it go? Yeah? Quickly. Please talk quickly," they chimed in, continuing their previous topic with fervor.

The female juniors employed a voice filled with sweetness, almost whispering in a coquettish tone. Her attire, consisting of light makeup, a simple cotton tee, and a slightly faded jacket may have seemed modest, but her soft voice had an endearing quality that could easily captivate the listener's heart.

Her impact on the male senior was evident in the blossoming smile on his face, a response mirroring the effect that she had on Lee Sang-hoon.

"Oh, that's why I didn't buy it right away. You have to purchase stocks like this. That's the art of stock trading. After analyzing the charts and making calculated predictions about the company's future value, it's all about a gut feeling. You buy it right then and there. You have to have that instinct. Hahaha," the graduate student expounded, gesturing dramatically. To the female juniors, he appeared almost like a celebrity, their adoring eyes fixed on him.

In Lee Sang-hoon's perception, their gazes toward the graduate student looked almost like heart-shaped eyes.

"Do you guys understand my approach? I don't hesitate when it comes to making a move. I just buy it and let it be. Stocks require a long-term view. If you try to play it short, you won't profit. The money is in the long game. Have you ever heard of a man named Warren Buffett?" the graduate student continued. Lee Sang-hoon, familiar with the name through occasional news reports, knew Buffett was renowned for his stock market success, but the female juniors seemed to regard the name with blank expressions, indicating they might not be as familiar with it.