Training room.
A lecturer in his late 30s, with a grim smile, throws out the final mission.
“From now, I will give you five years’ worth of financial statents from an anonymous company. Based on this data, complete a three-statent model.”
Every newcor goes through an Excel boot camp during the sumr.
And now, they’re being ordered to use all the skills they’ve learned over six weeks to create the ultimate Excel model.
The files provided: two in total.
One is an Excel template, the other is a whopping 400 pages of data.
From this massive docunt, you must extract useful information to create the inco statent, cash flow statent, and balance sheet…
[####][#REF!][#REF!][#VALUE!]
With one typo, the screen fills with nightmare symbols.
It's been a while since I’ve worked, so mistakes keep piling up.
Click-click-click!
Click-click-click!
The only sound in the room is the clatter of keyboards.
No one is chatting.
Everyone is too busy proving they are diligent Excel slaves.
‘But this isn’t the ti for this…
There’s a ticking ti bomb inside .
I need $50 billion to get rid of it.
Raising the money is one thing, but there’s also the pressure of ti.
The ti left is 10 years.
Can I find a cure within that ti?
‘It’s not impossible.’
This is the era when the FDA has introduced the ‘accelerated approval’ system.
So cases have completed clinical trials and received approval in as little as three years.
But considering the delays due to COVID…
‘By 2019, I’ll need to be in phase 3…
Then, I’ll have to finish phase 2 by 2017, and phase 1 by 2015?’
The calculator in my head quickly spits out the result.
I need $10 billion in two years.
Converted to Korean won, that’s over 10 trillion won.
“Whew…"
A sigh escapes .
Even with knowledge of the future, this isn’t easy.
Can’t I just make a fortune with a single bet on cryptocurrency?
Sadly, no. Cryptocurrency can’t save .
I have to spend the money.
I can’t just stash it in crypto and watch it grow like a snowball.
I’ll need to withdraw trillions regularly and inject them into biotech companies.
That’s a huge difference.
In my mory, the market cap of Bitcoin in 2015 was roughly 35 trillion won.
What would happen if I withdrew 10 trillion, one-third of that, all at once?
The price would likely plumt before I even finished withdrawing…
“Ahem!”
Suddenly, the instructor is standing right in front of .
His eyes sharp.
Like a supervisor coming to whip a lazy slave back into shape.
“Are you done?”
There’s no benefit in getting on his bad side.
I quickly put on my most apologetic face.
“Sorry, I’m not feeling well.”
“Then it would be better if you finish quickly and rest.”
“Can I… rest?”
“Once you finish the test, the rest is free ti.”
Freedom.
Suddenly, motivation surges through .
‘Yeah, there’s no need to worry about others here.’
It’s better to hamr through this Excel work quickly, win my freedom, and sip coffee while planning my next steps.
‘Coffee…’
Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
When was the last ti I had coffee?
I stretch my fingers lightly, then place my hands back on the keyboard.
Tap! Tap!
I wonder if I can still rember the skills I used to have.
Once you reach the top, you don’t have to do these nial tasks anymore.
But…
Tap-tap-tap!
My fingers faithfully press the shortcuts.
With Ctrl, Alt, and E, I activate the auto-coloring and confirm the hard-coded cells, formulas, and references.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
This ti, I press Alt, W, V, G, and turn on the grid lines.
And then began the series of countless shortcuts.
Shift, Space, Ctrl 1, Ctrl C, ALT, H, V, S…….
Tap-tap-tap-tap-
My hands, with increasingly fluid movents, are striking nurous shortcuts as if playing a tune.
It feels like I’ve beco a piano virtuoso touching the keys again after ten years.
“Wow, what’s with that guy?"
“Crazy… Look at that speed!"
I hear envious whispers from all around, but I don’t feel happy at all.
This is literally just manual labor.
Even if I possess this skill, it won’t help rise any higher.
What’s the use of rowing well as a slave?
Up on deck, you need to be wielding a sword.
Still, with this skill, I can at least earn myself a coffee break.
“I’m done.”
I raised my hand to request confirmation, and the instructor approached with sharp eyes, starting his inspection.
[OK][OK][OK][OK][OK]
The template had built-in auto-checking formulas.
My screen confird that I had completed the mission properly, but the instructor wasn’t letting his guard down.
“Press F2 from B239, please.”
It seems he’s checking for any foul play.
=(IF(logical_test,[value_if_true],[value_if_false])
But there was no foul play.
I was already preparing to leave, packing my bag.
And then,
“You’re an exceptional talent.”
A single sentence, tinged with ominous overtones, reached my ears.
I looked up and saw the instructor smiling at .
In his pupils was greed.
That’s the face of a slave owner who’s found a sturdy slave.
‘That can’t be right.’
This training center is an outsourced institution.
This instructor has no ties to Goldman, and from today, we will never et again.
So why is he so pleased to discover a capable slave?
A bad feeling crept over , but
“You may leave now.”
“Thank you.”
I hurriedly dismissed the feeling and quickened my steps.
Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee.
At the Starbucks near the training center,
“One Java Frappuccino, one Iced Aricano, one Iced Mocha Latte, a slice of Cheesecake, and a slice of Red Velvet Cake, please.”
“How many forks would you like?”
“Just one.”
After preparing this small reward for myself, I headed to the restroom.
Finally, it was ti to check my face.
In the mirror, a rather handso young man greeted .
‘It’s really the sa face from back then.’
The dominant genes of my mother, who was known to be an incredible beauty, combined with my father’s decent fra to create .
And now, at the age of 28, I’m at the peak of my youthful pri.
‘Not bad at all.’
On Wall Street, appearance and physique can be powerful weapons.
If a shabby-looking person rubs their hands, they appear pitiful, but when a tall, striking person does the sa, it looks like savvy negotiation skills.
“Attention! Your Java Frappuccino, Iced Aricano, Iced Mocha Latte, Cheesecake, and Red Velvet Cake are ready!”
I picked up the tray and found a spot in the most spacious area to sit down.
‘Have my taste buds reset?’
Everything tastes so delicious I almost want to cry.
Savoring the soft texture of the cheesecake in my mouth, I lifted the Iced Aricano.
Slurp, slurp, slurp-
Yes, this is the taste!
With fresh caffeine in my system, my brain started working at full capacity again.
‘I must have been out of my mind earlier.’
Did I really think I would personally earn $50 billion and develop a cure?
That’s like saying I’d buy real estate with cash on hand.
‘Of course, the answer is hedge funds.’
The $50 billion required for developing the cure doesn’t have to be my money.
That money already exists in this world.
The quickest way is to tell the owners of that money, ‘Entrust it to .’
Rember, I don’t have ti.
I opened a new file in my mo app and began outlining the necessary steps.
=
=
[Survival Plan]
1. Establish a hedge fund worth at least $10 billion within two years.
To establish a hedge fund, I first need to gather investors.
In that regard, I am in the best possible situation right now.
Why is Goldman considered the best among investnt banks?
Because of their performance? Their size?
No.
These guys are masters of networking.
From the president’s closest aides to Saudi royalty, Goldman has uniquely strong ties with top-tier clients.
I must fully leverage Goldman’s network to gather investors.
=
[Target: Colleagues, Boss, Clients]
1. Befriend wealthy colleagues.
2. Impress a capable boss to et Goldman’s big clients.
3. Make sure the big clients rember ……………..
=
As I continued to organize my plan,
Bzzz–
A call ca in.
It was the number I saw earlier, Liliana.
"Mr. Ha Siheon? Surely, you haven’t gone ho, right? I’m about to head over…"
Looks like the final exam is over.
Now it’s ti for the new hire welcoming party.
Ti to filter out so useful connections.
The welco party started with dinner.
It was quite a fancy restaurant, but,
‘There’s nothing to gain here.’
While seated, I could only talk to the people on either side, but unfortunately, there weren’t any useful connections near .
Well, at least I could focus on eating.
The dinner nu was lamb steak.
It had been a long ti since I had eaten sothing with a firm texture, and I almost teared up again.
Truly, chewing food is a massive privilege.
“If everyone’s done eating, let’s move to the next location.”
The next place was a lounge bar.
It wasn’t as noisy as a club, but my hearing is more sensitive than most.
Boom, boom, boom!
The bass under the music pounded my eardrums like a drum.
Enduring it, I checked the ti.
It was 9 p.m.
The senior staff wouldn’t show up until after 10.
Until then, I needed to filter out any decent connections among my peers…
‘No one really stands out.’
In my previous life, I wasn’t close to my colleagues.
I was too busy trying to impress my superiors, and in the middle of it all, I switched to a hedge fund.
Because of that, I barely utilized Goldman’s network… but I can’t let that happen in this life.
“One draft beer, please."
I started with my order.
After shivering from the refreshing carbonation hitting my throat, I raised my smartphone to one ear.
“I can’t hear you well, can you repeat that…?"
I pretended to have a phone call while circling the lounge.
I even wore a suitably serious expression to block any conversation attempts.
‘First, I need to scout.’
Wall Street is a jungle.
It’s full of various interests, predators, herbivores, insects, and pests all mixed together.
Acting without information is not only inefficient but dangerous.
It’s best to pick out the most promising targets and approach them.
“Man, that exam was brutal.”
“I sat for three hours straight.”
“But do we really need to know all that?”
A group sitting on a sofa in one corner of the lounge.
They aren’t bothering to mingle with new people, just relaxing among themselves—they’re traders.
‘I’ll pass on them for now.’
It’s good to know them, but approaching them too eagerly at this point will make them look down on .
I turned and moved through the people standing around.
“You’re at HQ, right? I’m Jefferson.”
“I’m Harvey.”
Everyone was actively introducing themselves.
No one’s shy.
Networking is important on Wall Street.
There’s even a process to self-introductions.
“Where are you from?”
“Cambridge.”
“Harvard?”
“Yeah, how about you?”
“Pennsylvania.”
“UPenn?”
After exchanging nas, they share their school nas.
No one is surprised when Ivy League nas are ntioned.
More than 80% of Goldman’s new hires co from prestigious schools.
‘Let’s exclude that guy.’
Sotis, there are guys who get overly proud just by ntioning their school’s na.
That ans it’s the greatest achievent of their life.
“My brother went to Harvard too, do you know him? Brad, majoring in Applied Economics.”
“Haha, there are so many Brads at Harvard! Which frat was he in?”
Those are the real deals.
They don’t ntion their school to brag about their degree, but to check if their connections overlap.
While making my rounds, I did a preliminary filter of useful people.
Now, the next step.
‘I need to filter out the aristocrats.’
Wall Street has a class system.
The three main classes of the Middle Ages—nobles, clergy, and commoners—still exist here.
Of course, the nas have changed slightly.
On Wall Street, the three classes are called:
Front Office, Middle Office, and Back Office.
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