PNB Chapter 34 | Spiritual Totem: itzy?
Chapter 34 | Spiritual Totem: itzy?
It was already late at night in Seoul, but the lights were still on in Cao Yisen's room. On the computer screen, Gamestart discussion threads were piled up high, and the comments section was buzzing with heated debate.
【u/justGotHere】：
Hey guys, I'm a newbie and I have a question: where can I buy this thing?
【u/noobTrader】：
I used to only buy funds and never touched individual stocks... Could someone explain the simplest way to enter the market?
【u/YOLO_420】：
Go all in, bro!! ...Just kidding, don't actually go all in.
Cao Yisen rubbed his temples as he read the string of replies. Retail investors were certainly fired up, but it was clear that many were complete novices who didn't even know where to place an order. He hesitated for a moment, then clicked on the forum's text-based live update.
Let's start with the title: [Guide] For first-time retail investors: Choose the right tools first, then talk about how to succeed on Wall Street.
"Let me preface this by saying: I'm not here to criticize any brokerage firm, nor am I here to teach you how to put all your rent money into your portfolio. Just think of me as a seasoned office worker who's been in the market for a few years, laying out the 'wrench' you need on the table, and you can choose for yourself."
As he typed, he mentally reviewed the platforms commonly used by retail investors: "The brokerage firms you see now can be roughly divided into two categories. One type is what your father's generation used—the interface looks like a 90s DOS interface, and the commission for each order could buy you two cups of coffee. The advantages are that they are established and stable; the disadvantages are that they are expensive, slow, and discouraging. The other type is the mobile apps that have become particularly popular in the last two years: the interface is like a game, the UI is beautiful, and you can buy stocks and options with just a few clicks, and the commission is listed as 0."
He paused, then typed below: "The Greenhood that you've asked about the most is this second one."
"The biggest advantage of apps like Greenhood for individual investors can be summed up in three words: low barrier to entry. Account opening is quick, you don't need to call any financial advisor, and you won't be asked ten questions beforehand: 'How much are your family assets? Do you understand derivatives?' The interface is simple; even your mom can buy and sell with a couple of taps, let alone you guys who use your phones like your hands. Most importantly—their slogan is: zero commission."
Someone quickly chimed in:
【u/stonksOnlyGoUp】：
In layman's terms: even the poor can happily become韭菜 (a metaphor for being exploited).
Cao Yisen's lips twitched slightly, then he continued writing: "Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Greenhood doesn't charge you a commission, but it will package your orders and sell them to a bigger 'player'—the market maker. This is called order flow."
You can think of it this way: When you press "Buy 10 shares of Gamestart" on your phone, it seems like you're going directly into the market, but actually, you're first sent to an intermediary who facilitates the transaction. The intermediary takes Greenhood's money and then profits from the bid-ask spread. What you get is: no fees and a smooth order process; what they get is: a constant stream of small retail orders, and all the data on your hesitation, panic, and greed.
He paused, tapping his fingers on the keyboard: "Is this good or bad? From my perspective, having worked in hedge funds—it's a double-edged sword. For retail investors, it gives you, for the first time, a truly 'rapidly assembled' army. Before, if you wanted to gather a group to buy a stock, each person had to overcome issues like opening an account, commissions, and not understanding the interface; now, with just a few taps on your phone, you can all fire your bullets at the same time. For institutions, it's also easier for them to gauge your sentiment, calculating where you'll panic and where you'll be greedy. What we're doing now is using this double-edged sword to stab back."
He emphasized that sentence in bold.
The comments section was scrolling by incredibly fast:
【u/noobTrader】：
So you mean that Greenhood is easier for beginners?
【u/BoringValueGuy】：
Don't fool newbies, the options interface looks too good; they'll get itchy fingers and click on those colorful buttons.
【u/apeTogetherStrong】：
I just downloaded Greenhood, and now it's encouraging me to "Try Options!" Is this some kind of drug app?
Cao Yisen added: "Here's the important part, newbies please read the bold text. If you just want to buy Gamestart stock, zero-commission apps like Greenhood are usable: small positions, only buy existing shares, and don't randomly click on those colorful buttons on the options page. Don't actually play a game just because the app looks like one. You're not buying skins, you're buying your mood for the next few months."
He thought for a moment, then typed again: "Those traditional brokerages are also fine, though their fees are a bit higher. But there's a reason for the higher price: they're unlikely to pop up a window in the middle of the night saying, 'Hey, want to try options? For just $50, you can control 100 shares.'"
As soon as he said that, everyone burst into laughter.
【u/YOLO_420】：
That's exactly me! I was the one who clicked that $50 button...
【u/justGotHere】：
OP, what do you use yourself?
Cao Yisen stared at the line of text, his finger pausing for two seconds before he honestly replied, "Me? I used to work in a fund, using a system that only institutions could use. Now, in this situation, I'll be using a traditional brokerage firm and an app similar to Greenhood. The former is insurance, the latter is an accelerator. But you don't need to follow my example. You just need to choose one—one you understand, one that's comfortable to use, and one you can afford to lose money on. Then, the moment you press 'buy,' ask yourself one question—'Can I accept losing this money to zero?' If the answer is no, then you should close this interface right now and go have dinner with your family."
He paused for a moment after typing that sentence. In his previous life, he wouldn't have said it like that; he would have simply told others, "This is an opportunity with a very good expected return." Now he knows that some money lost can be earned back, but some things, once lost, can never be regained no matter how much shorting or longing one does.
A few minutes later, a comment popped up at the top of the comment section:
【u/diamondHands69】：
Guys, this is the first time I've seen someone on WSB telling everyone to "have dinner with family first." This OP might actually be a bit interesting.
【u/mod】：
It has been marked as a featured post.
Whether it's trending or not is no longer important. Cao Yisen looked at the screen and slowly exhaled. On the forum, retail investors began to seriously discuss which brokerage firm was better. Some people posted screenshots of their Greenhood registration, some said they used "BlueBear Trade," and others said, "My dad opened a traditional brokerage account for me, and he's more excited than I am now."
The phone lit up again; it was Mike.
[Mike]:
Bro, are you serious? You're actually teaching them risk control on a forum?!
【Ethan】：
I'm afraid they'll actually think they're playing a mobile game.
[Mike]:
Dude, do you know what you're doing? You're telling retail investors not to go all in, while simultaneously teaching them how to shoot.
【Ethan】：
I know. But I just want them to at least enter the venue with their eyes open and understanding of the situation.
He tossed his phone aside and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. On the table sat the demo of fromis_9's new song and the newly printed storyboard for the music video. Tomorrow morning he was going to the film set to oversee filming and discuss the scene of "the girls talking on the phone all night on the balcony" with the director. When he got home that night, he would change back into his SeoulQuant_21 account and continue to fuel the flames of Gamestart with a group of strangers on the other side of the world.
As he turned on the kettle, he mentally calculated the time difference: Seoul and New York are more than ten hours apart. By the time he finished filming a street scene here, New York would be about to start its next stock market rally.
-----------------
The closer fromis_9's return date gets, the more abnormal the atmosphere becomes in the office building.
It's not the kind of "abnormal" tension that makes you feel like you're about to explode, but rather the kind of "abnormal" feeling where you might bump into a beautiful female idol in the break room at any moment.
Lately, fromis_9 has practically made PLEDIS his second dorm room.
My routine revolves around the practice room, meeting room, and recording studio. Occasionally, during lunch breaks, while changing clothes, or waiting for a car, I'll wander around the planning department area.
Of course, the one who appears most frequently is Lee Na-kyung.
At first, everyone thought she was just being polite. But a few days later, the planning department colleagues noticed a subtle pattern—
As long as Cao Yisen is at his workstation, the probability of Li Najiong appearing will increase dramatically.
That morning, after a short meeting about filming a music video, Cao Yisen had just sat back down in his seat, before he even opened any of the reports, when a cup of iced latte appeared next to him—of course, it was the kind without ice.
"Manager Cao—" Lee Na-kyung leaned halfway over the partition of his workstation, "Is this the one you mentioned last time, the one where 'not adding ice is to respect the taste of the coffee beans'?"
She spoke in a serious tone, yet her voice was soft, making it sound like she was imitating him.
"I didn't say I was that narcissistic," Cao Yisen chuckled, amused by her. "But thank you anyway."
"I also brought this along." As if by magic, Lee Na-kyung pulled out a bag of snacks from behind her back. "The sponsors at the practice room gave us a bunch of cookies. I was worried they would get soggy if left for too long, so I took some out to donate to the community."
"What society?"
"Planned Society, huh?" Lee Na-kyung blinked. "Didn't you just come back from America? Social responsibility, haven't you heard of it?"
"...Is there any necessary connection between these two?"
Colleagues at nearby workstations had already pricked up their ears to listen to the performance.
Someone coughed and said, "Hey, Na Jiong-xi, don't just keep feeding our little Cao, we need some carbs too."
"Of course!" Lee Na-kyung immediately turned her head, smiling like a little elf. "I can share whatever unnies want... but this one is his."
As she spoke, she pointed to the iced latte that wasn't filled with ice.
"Oh, a special edition, huh?" Park Ji-eun laughed. "We're drinking the company's machine coffee, but he's drinking fromis_9's exclusive coffee? Isn't that a bit too biased?"
Cao Yisen was about to retort with "Really not," but suddenly realized that whatever he said would be like protesting too much. He could only silently pick up his cup, take a sip, and show his intentions: I was just drinking coffee, nothing else happened, and I don't know anything about it.
This scene has been playing out almost every few days lately.
Sometimes it's coffee, sometimes it's banana milk that their manager buys for them, and sometimes it's just Lee Na-kyung herself carrying a bag of spicy rice cake flavored potato chips from the convenience store, snapping photos all the way to his workstation: "Agent Cao, what do you guys eat when you work overtime? It seems like you rarely leave your seat."
"All you can eat are the data reports," he replied without looking up.
"That won't do." Lee Na-kyung said seriously, "If you faint from hunger in front of Excel, our album will be missing an important brain."
These words sound like a joke, yet they're taken far too seriously. No wonder the rumors spread faster than the release of fromis_9's new song.
One afternoon during lunch break, Cao Yisen went to the tea room to get water. As he passed by, he heard someone inside whispering:
"Do you think Nagu has been a bit too...frequent lately?"
"Oh, they're just chatting, don't overthink it."
"I wasn't thinking anything, you're overthinking it."
"So, guess who came up with the 'Chhow Lee' CP name?"
……
He silently retreated into the corridor, pretending he hadn't heard anything. When he returned to his workstation, there was a small card on his desk that had appeared out of nowhere.
The back features a rainbow logo, while the front depicts a cat-eyed girl with a high ponytail, sharply drawn eyeliner, and wearing a black and red stage outfit. She tilts her head to the side, has a slender figure, and exudes an intimidating aura.
"Little Cao—" The older woman next door leaned back in her chair, smiling as she looked him over. "Has your workspace been a bit too tidy lately? Let me add some 'spiritual totem' for you."
"Huh?" Cao Yisen looked puzzled, picked up the small card, and asked, "Who put this here?"
"We have a girl in our marketing department who's a die-hard ITZY fan. She's bought several of their photocards, keeping the duplicates for herself and bringing them to the office to 'donate' them," the older woman said seriously. "You're a young male colleague; you can't have nothing at your desk, can you? That's so out of character."
"What's my setup?"
"Rich guy persona, wolfish guy persona, star-struck guy persona... you choose." Before she could finish speaking, her eyes suddenly darted behind him, and her smile became even more meaningful. "Oh, speak of the devil and he appears."
Cao Yisen had a bad feeling and slowly turned his head.
Lee Na-kyung was standing right behind his chair, holding two cans of soda. Next to her was her teammate Lee Chae-young, who was half a head taller than her. Her pink hair was tied in a half-ponytail, and she had a smile on her lips. She spoke softly, "Agent Cao, I just bought some downstairs—"
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly noticed the small card on the table.
In that instant, it was as if the whole person had been put on pause.
The soda was still dangling in her hand, her head tilted slightly, her gaze shifting back and forth between Xiao Ka and him.
"Oh—" the older woman next to me uttered a perfectly timed long syllable, "So you're a fan of ITZY."
"Wait, wait a minute," Cao Yisen tried to salvage the situation. "This really isn't—"
"Itzy's Yeji is so cool!" Lee Na-kyung said first, her smile still bright, but her eyes were a little too wide. "She's also cool on stage."
She gently placed two cans of soda on the table, pushing one of them towards him: "Should I bring an ITZY album for you to sign next time? I have a friend who knows someone in their company."
Cao Yisen: "..."
At times like this, whether he says "I'm not a fan of theirs" or "I prefer fromis_9," he seems extremely guilty.
To make matters worse, someone nearby added fuel to the fire:
"Oh dear, Na-jung-xi, don't misunderstand," the eldest sister laughed heartily. "Xiao Cao is very loyal. During the time fromis_9 was preparing for their comeback, he knew all your music data, videos, and variety show appearances very well."
"That's great." Lee Na-kyung nodded with a smile. "Our working relationship can continue for a while longer."
As she spoke, she reached out and picked up the small card with the lychee on it, glancing at it before nodding earnestly: "But this one is really well taken."
After saying that, she looked up at him and winked at him: "Don't worry, I won't be jealous."
The phrase "I won't be jealous" was spoken softly, with the last syllable lowered, making it sound more like a coquettish remark.
After saying that, she carefully placed the card back on his keyboard, picked up her can of soda, and pulled the bewildered Lee Chae-young beside her towards the front desk.
He took two steps, then stopped and turned back to add, "But remember to keep all the photocards fromis_9's new album safe, don't lose them."
Then came the same complaints she made with her best friend, like whether all men think the grass near their own nest isn't as appealing as it seems.
After everyone left, the air suddenly went silent for a second. Then the entire planning department erupted in chaos.
"Ouch—" The eldest sister was the first to pat him on the shoulder, "You're finished, Xiao Cao, you're really finished."
"Where is it over?" Cao Yisen said speechlessly. "Can you guys please stop playing murder mystery games while I'm at my workstation?"
"Think about it yourself," another colleague said, chuckling as he analyzed, "A female idol, whose manager isn't around, often goes to a male staff member's desk to bring him food and drinks. She sees other female idols' photocards on his desk and says she won't be jealous, even emphasizing that he should remember to keep their photocards safe—what's that called?"
"What do you mean by 'good business relationship'?" Cao Yisen insisted.
"It's called 'flammable material'." The older woman patted his monitor. "From now on, stop stirring up trouble on the forum and pay more attention to this fire in front of you, you hear me?"
Unable to speak, he could only pick up the soda on the table, take a sip, and watch the cool bubbles slide down his throat. Only then did he belatedly realize that his ears were getting hot.
In one corner of the screen, Lizhi's little card stands openly and honestly.
Next to it was fromis_9's project schedule and his recently written market analysis report.
Inside PLEDIS's office building, fromis_9's comeback is progressing faster and faster, and Gamestart's chips are accumulating more and more.
Between these two completely unrelated worlds, he suddenly found himself with a strange little card and someone who said "I won't be jealous," but whose eyes didn't seem to indicate that he was completely indifferent.
-----------------
The PLEDIS conference room has been opening its doors more frequently than the break room these past two days.
fromis_9's comeback song, concept photos, and rough cut of the music video are all finalized, and they've even received samples of the album packaging. Now they're stuck on the last hurdle—setting a release date.
"To be honest," Park Ji-eun sighed, flipping through the calendar while holding her notebook, "the scheduling lately is really something else."
A computer was connected to a large screen, and the entire month's calendar was projected onto the wall. Sections were circled in red pen:
Early, middle, and late part of the month; several "danger zones" are marked in red.
"IZ*ONE will have their comeback in early December," another planning colleague tapped on the screen. "They're a popular limited-time group, so CJ and Mnet will definitely push it hard. Let's not consider that week, okay?"