Street 11

Liliana smiled sweetly and handed me a Post-it note.

"Since it's your first day, I figured you might not know where your department is yet. I came to let you know."

"Five tasks?"

"I need to talk with Mr. Ha Si-heon for a moment. Would you mind stepping out for a bit?"

"Oh, yes! Yes!"

Phuong, who had peeked at the Post-it note, scrunched up her face in displeasure, but with one smile from Liliana, her expression softened, and she turned into a bashful meerkat. 

Wall Street jungle or not, a beautiful woman's smile can disarm anyone.

"Phew…"

Liliana took me to a secluded spot and sighed for a while. 

It seemed hard for her to start the conversation, so I spoke first.

"Is it common to have five staffing tasks on your first day?"

"No, it's a very unusual situation."

"I thought so."

"This has never happened before. Requests have been pouring in since this morning, and I've already sent over 30 rejection emails!"

"Are they all MD requests?"

"…!"

Liliana's eyes widened in surprise. 

That was enough of an answer.

"How did you know?"

"They said HR manages my schedule. It's Monday."

"What?"

Every Monday, all departments have a weekly meeting. 

Most of the meetings start at 9 a.m. and end around 10 a.m.

"The staffing tasks were completed before 10. That means HR coordinated my schedule during the meeting time, and there's only one position capable of doing that."

Someone who can issue a directive to secure the new recruit even during a meeting. 

The highest-ranking MD in the department.

"So, I ended up with a schedule that pushes me to my limits, right? It's hard to refuse an MD's request."

"Well…"

"I'm not complaining. I would have done the same."

"Phew… You're very quick with calculations."

"Anyone could deduce this much."

In fact, there's something else one can deduce from this situation. 

The MDs looking for me now are all Pierce's rivals. 

How do I know that? 

Because humans don't prioritize meetings for the sake of friendship. 

This speed indicates competition, no doubt.

"Is that all you wanted to say? I have a meeting soon."

Having confirmed everything, I started heading back, but—

"Mr. Ha Si-heon."

Liliana, with a determined expression, stopped me.

"How about we cancel this bet?"

What is she talking about now?

"Why don't you seriously talk to Mr. Pierce about it?"

"Oh, come on. If I annoy him, I'll be the one who suffers."

"You don't get it, Mr. Ha Si-heon. This bet, it's not good for you at all."

"For whom?"

…

Yeah, you must find it bothersome. 

You're stuck in the middle, trying to manage everything.

Liliana surprisingly admitted it quickly.

"Yes, that's true. It's hard for me. Getting pushed around by MDs every day means I can't get my work done. But it's really not good for you either, Mr. Ha Si-heon."

Then she continued with her persuasion.

"This morning, a healthcare MD called me and was furious. At this rate, Mr. Ha Si-heon, you may never get to your desired department."

"Let's be honest, the attention you're getting right now isn't purely because of your skills, right? If expectations rise too high, you'll inevitably disappoint."

"They see this as mere entertainment, and to them, you're just a racehorse. Everyone's betting on your failure, Mr. Ha Si-heon. You don't want to be humiliated, do you?"

It's kind of cute that she's trying to threaten me as a senior in Wall Street.

"I have no intention of canceling the bet."

"Why not?"

"If I'm the racehorse, then the racetrack is already filled with excited spectators. They've even placed their bets. If the race is canceled at this point, and the reason is the horse?"

"…."

Right, I'd be the boring guy who ruined the fun. 

Backing out of the bet now would be the worst possible choice.

"Since it's already started, I need to see it through to the end, whatever that end may be."

"Phew… Okay."

Liliana slumped her shoulders and let out a long, exasperated sigh. 

I suddenly felt a little guilty.

"Cheer up."

I offered genuine encouragement, but Liliana narrowed her eyes at me and lifted her head.

"What's your angle?"

"My angle?"

"Then why are you smiling?"

"It's just a hollow laugh. I was just thinking about how hard I'll be worked going forward…"

"…"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just a poor analyst caught up in all this chaos."

"Alright, I really should go now. I have a meeting."

Saying I had a meeting was a lie. 

I still had 30 minutes left. 

I just needed some time to review my strategy.

'I don't feel like going back to the department.'

For some reason, I had a feeling Liliana would come back and try to persuade me again. 

So I went to the 14th floor, where the meeting was, and killed some time in the restroom. 

Looking at my face in the mirror, I could see why Liliana was glaring at me like that. 

The corners of my mouth were up, making me look like someone with ulterior motives.

'But ulterior motives…? That's going too far. I didn't set up this situation. I just found something useful in it.'

I opened my notepad.

[Goal] 

Establish a hedge fund of at least $10 billion within 2 years.

[Status of Investor Recruitment] 

Current MDs paying attention to me: 30+

This is why I smiled. 

A typical new hire gets assigned to one department and might meet three or four MDs at most. 

But I'm on 'dynamic assignment.' 

I'm being dispatched to various departments, and thanks to Pierce, all the MDs are interested in me.

If I play this right, I could make an impression on dozens, even hundreds of MDs. 

Not that I'm trying to impress them for the sake of climbing the corporate ladder. 

MDs frequently meet with clients. 

Their clients are CEOs, executives, institutional investors, billionaires, politicians, etc.

If an amazing story comes out of this bet, what then? 

I could spread my reputation among the elite through the MDs. 

Some of the wealthy might take an interest in me as a potential future investment.

'It won't be easy.' 

It's unlikely that MDs would gossip about me in front of their high-profile clients. 

The bet with Pierce is just a small spark. 

A spark that'll flicker for a while and then disappear in the confines of Goldman.

But what if I artificially nurture that spark? 

What if I keep feeding it logs and even pour oil on it to turn it into a blazing fire? 

The odds are slim, but it's not impossible.

***

I need to create a rumor that spreads beyond Goldman, reaching Wall Street and the elite.

[Improvements] 

Main character: I can't be overshadowed by Pierce. I need to make sure I'm the focus. 

Story/Attention: It has to be intriguing enough to catch the interest of people outside Goldman. (Increase the scale, add dramatic elements, sprinkle in some flair, etc.) 

Continuity: Make sure the story stays alive and keeps getting talked about, even as time passes.

As I carefully planned out each step—

Beep beep beep—

My alarm went off. 

It was time for the first meeting.

My first assignment was with the Industrial Group. 

This department deals with large-scale industries like aviation, security, automobiles, construction, capital goods, chemicals, and transportation. 

I arrived at the main conference room 15 minutes early, as stated in the email.

'What's this?'

There were more than ten people inside. 

A staffing meeting usually has only four attendees: 

MD, VP, associate, and analyst. 

If a new hire joins, they might add another analyst, but that's the max—five people.

'Did I come to the wrong place?'

I started backing out, double-checking the room number, when a young man inside pointed at me and shouted.

"Oh, there he is!"

"You're that Asian guy, right? Welcome party!"

"Come in, come in!"

'So I'm in the right place.' 

It looks like the seniors who missed the welcome party were waiting to meet me. 

They swarmed me like a pack of zombies and quickly surrounded me.

"So, why did Pierce pick you?" 

"You met him last year, right? What was your internship rotation?"

"Do your families know each other?"

Everyone's attention was focused on Pierce. 

'Shall I try to change that first?' 

The main character of this rumor is me. 

And I have to be "the exceptional new hire Ha Si-heon, discovered by Pierce," not just some "Asian" or "newbie" caught up with Pierce.

"I'm meeting Mr. Pierce for the first time. It's probably because of something I said…"

"Hey, hey! Quiet, quiet! What did you say?"

"I said that 80% of the biotech stocks I picked tend to have good news."

"Pfft! 80% success rate?"

"Well, I did go to med school. I think there are patterns only I can see."

"Yeah, yeah, rookies are always confident at first."

As expected, they don't believe me. 

Well, that's only natural. 

If every med school graduate were a biotech stock oracle, what doctor would stay in a hospital?

"So, are you trying to compete with Brent?"

"Oh boy, you're in for a rough initiation."

"It's too late to back out now. What are you going to do?"

Everyone is certain of Brent's victory. 

That's fine by me.

"Isn't there a chance I might win?"

"Pfft! You don't know this yet, but the actual field is much tougher. Reality is different from your ideals."

"Then why don't we bet on it?"

"What?"

"A bet?"

"Seriously?"

The tone of the seniors' gazes changed. 

Of course, Wall Street folks love a good bet.

"I didn't get to participate in yesterday's bet. I feel like I'll try harder if my own money is on the line."

"Haha, this guy's confident, isn't he?"

"Of course! The whole of Goldman is watching. You've got to have at least that level of resolve!"

"Alright, I'll put 200 on Brent!"

"400 on Brent for me!"

"500 on Brent!"

In no time, ten seniors had placed their bets. 

Every single one of them picked Brent. 

With the scales tipped so much, they started bickering among themselves.

"Hey, someone has to bet on the rookie too! Otherwise, there's nothing to gain!"

"At least we'll cover coffee money!"

"Looks like even that might not happen… 

…Wait a minute, the rookie hasn't said how much he's betting, has he?"

"True."

"How much?"

At that moment, all eyes turned to me. 

I waited for the noise to settle, then spread my fingers wide.

"Five thousand dollars."

"?"

"?"

"?"

A brief silence fell. 

While everyone had question marks over their heads, one senior barely managed to speak.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. But let's make the payment due on payday since I'm betting my first paycheck."

'As expected, this works well.' 

What's the most important thing in a bet? 

Money. 

The higher the stakes, the greater the prestige. 

If a mere rookie bets five times the amount Pierce did, I'll seem pretty impressive, right? 

But I'm not stopping here. 

I need to spread the rumor even more.

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm serious. I have to be prepared at this level."

"But still, that's quite a hefty amount for a newbie…"

"It's fine. It's not like it's my life savings, just one month's salary. If I lose, I'll consider it a learning fee."

Some seniors began to try and dissuade me. 

Throwing in a few bills is one thing, but betting an entire month's salary is another level of risk. 

Of course, they're not really worried about me. 

They're afraid of what comes next.

"This is what makes it exciting."

When I flashed a provocative smile, the seniors' pupils wavered even more. 

I could read emotions like 'No way…' and 'Please don't…' in their eyes.

Smiling sweetly, I finally uttered the words they feared most.

"Are you seniors sticking with your current bets?"

A rookie is betting his salary, and you're just going to sit there as seniors? 

You've got to bet your salaries too.