Original subtitles

(All characters, organizations,and events in this drama are fictitious.)

(Desperate Mr. X)

(Episode 2: From Riches to Rags)

I couldn't fall asleep for five nights.

Not having enough time to sleephas always been an issue.

I've never struggled to sleep,so the situation had me perplexed.

For over 40 years,I've spent a third of my day sleeping.

I should be able to sleepeven with my eyes closed.

Right, you're supposed to sleepwith your eyes closed.

My mind is tangled upfrom the lack of sleep.

Why can't I sleep?

Right.

It happened after seeing those jerksthat evening.

Those darn jerks.

Stop frowning. Smile.

I'm a jobless man.

I'd look crazy if I smiled.

I never expected this day to come.

You graduated from SNU,worked for a prestigious company,

and lived in wealth.

But you've dropped to where we were.

Unbelievable.

Enough, man.

Are you worried about getting a new job?

Didn't you get your severance pay?You don't have any kids.

You have a home too.You don't need any big money.

Why are you so serious?

Who has a home?

They want to increase the lease,so I'm about to get kicked out.

You bought that apartment.

It was you who stopped me from buying,

yapping about the increasing populationand the house poor.

They want 300,000 dollars more.

It's too much for a jobless man.

If we move,we'll have to move away from Seoul.

Hey. You always ignore my advice.

Why did you listen to that?

You should've bought a place then.

- Did you buy yours?- I did.

You did?

It wasn't my decision.

My wife ignored my opinion until the end.

It's been four years now.

He married well.

We probably bought ours then too.

We squeezed out all the extra moneyfrom my in-laws.

I bought mine two years ago.

Right. You're in Cheongna, right?

The price rose like mad, didn't it?

Not as much as you.Your place is by the GTX line.

GTX or KTX, that doesn't matter.

I should have poured in my all...

to buy something in Seoul like him.

Hey, isn't your placeover two million dollars now?

I'm so darn jealous.

What's the point?Half of it belongs to the bank.

Don't complain.

You'll still get 700,000or 800,000 dollars when you sell it.

That only happens if I sell it.

Where am I going to go after that?All housing prices went up.

Are you telling me to drop dead?

I only made 500,000 dollars.

- That's about the same.- 500,000 dollars?

That's 200,000 dollars of difference.

That hurts!

I got 120,000 dollars as my severance...

for working my bottoms offat the company for 15 years.

Hey. If you didn't buy that place,

did you invest your money?

Pretty much.

What did you invest in?

Stocks? Cryptocurrency?

Savings.

What? Are you stupid?

You're crazy. That's not an investment.

Is that all you did?

Well, we're newlyweds...

so we kept trying for the housing lottery.

The housing lottery?

He's really clueless.

No one appliesfor the housing lottery now.

The competition is 100 to 1 or 1,000 to 1.

Why didn't you get a bank loan?

How did he get into SNU?

If you were aiming for a housing lottery,why didn't you buy stocks at least?

Cash is trash. Don't you know that?

Ever since 2008,the US has been printing so many bills.

The value of cash is garbage.

Why did you keep that piled up?Your brain is full of garbage.

Hey. Realty and stocks are the same thingsas gambling, you idiots.

Right. Do you remember Jong Geun?

During the financial crisis in 2008,all of his stocks were halved.

He tried to jump from a bridge,and we barely stopped him.

That's not all.

He also tried leveraged investmentbut lost the place to the bank.

He had 2 million dollars in debtbefore he turned 30.

Poor guy. I wonder what he's up to.

He's doing well. Really well.

He made 20 million dollars and retired.

Don't lie.

It was 18 million dollars.

- No, he's right.- What?

He made 12 million dollars with cryptoand 8 million dollars with stocks.

- No way. It must be a rumor.- It's true.

Look.

Jong Geun?

- Jong Geun.- He's such an idiot.

A Rolls-Royce.

Are you investing in stocks?

Of course.

I only buy American blue chip stocks.

Google, Apple, Amazon,

Microsoft, and Nvidia.

- Nvidia.- Yes.

Hey, nice work.

Did you make some money?

- Of course.- Me too.

As for me, I only focus on one good one.

You could lose big that way.

Yes, but what if it's Tesla?

Darn you. You're rich.

Which liquors do you have?

Stop overacting.

I didn't put in that much money.

How much did you make?

It quintupled, so 200,000 dollars.

Please give us a bottle of every liquor!

Sir, please bring a bottle of every beer!

- I'll have a German one.- Whatever.

- Gosh. You're so cheap.- I'll pay.

- It's so hot.- I know you're the richest.

- Lose some weight, man.- Is that Burberry?

It's my pajama.

Gosh.

It must be my wife.

Frowning won't change anything.

Just drink.You'll have fun when you're drunk.

I thought they were way behind me.

But when I looked up,they were already way ahead of me.

Those turtles...

Where did it start to go wrong?

Was I wrong about the pathsI trusted in taking?

It pains me the more I think about it.

Did I wake you up?

You should sleep some more.

No. I should live orderlyat a time like this.

An elite is differenteven when he's taking a break.

My sleep cycle would be messed upif I were you.

If I was a true elite,we would already have a home.

Come on. Don't be so depressed.

I'm just wonderingwhat I've been doing with my life.

You tripped and fell, but it's temporary.

What you've built up hasn't disappeared.

Not everyone has a career like you.

So take the time to rest up...

to prepare yourself.

Can you whisk four eggs for me?Let's make an omelet.

Let's get up.

Let's go.

Rest up?

But the rabbit lost to the turtlewhile resting.

He only lost once.

Do you think the rabbitwould've lost again after that?

It probably taught the rabbit a lesson.

In other words,

losing once was beneficial to the rabbit.

Do you think so?

Of course.

He just has to put his mind to it.

He only has to stretch his feet outto catch up. Don't you agree?

- Right.- See?

I'll catch up...

to all the turtles.

(Central Library)

Yes.

Even those guys made money.I can do it too.

I'll make enough from stocksto pay for the increased lease.

No.

I should buy us a home while I'm at it.

Without a home,I won't ever catch up to them.

(Central Library)

She would definitely be against it...

if I told her I wanted to investin stocks.

So I told my wife I was going to studyfor a new job.

Currently, investing in stocksis popular now.

Everyone dips their feet into itwithout preparing,

but I'm not like them.

(Invest in Great Corporations)

No matter what it is,

studying comes first.

(So before thinkingabout what stocks to invest in...)

You can't scribble on the books.

I'm sorry.

Warren Buffett, Philip Fisher,Benjamin Graham,

Jeremy Siegel, and Charlie Munger.

Investment masters who proved their skillswith their success...

left their know-how through books.

Among them all,

one investment strategyof a master captured my attention.

This is crazy.

(One Up on Wall Street)

Peter Lynch.

He's really something.

(One Up on Wall Street)

Legendary investor Peter Lynch suggests...

to find what you want to invest infrom around you.

If you enjoy Taco Bell, buy their stocks.

If you find Nike shoes comfortable,buy Nike shares.

It's the so-called "bottom-up" approach.

We get Nongshim ramyeon.

(De'Longhi, Carrier,Dong-A Otsuka, Nongshim)

Samsung is the best television maker.

(Samsung, LG)

What brand is your laptop?

LG.

When can I get myself a Macbook?

I'll buy one when I make the top 100.

- What about your glasses?- They're knock-offs.

You're wearing Lululemon.

They're also knock-offs.

You should wear nicer things.

I'm studying what's under my nose.

I'm a hipster with clear tasteand a pioneer of trends.

It's the perfect investment strategyfor me.

(De'Longhi, Carrier,Dong-A Otsuka, Nongshim...)

(Nongshim: 8,268 dollars)

(Samsung Electronics: 24,369 dollars)

(LG: 10,925 dollars)

(De'Longhi Korea: 13,753 dollars)

(Carrier: 12,687 dollars)

(Dong-A Otsuka: 6,392 dollars)

(Vitamin: 4,218 dollars)

Done. Purchased.

I think investing in stocks is easy.

- Are you doing stocks these days?- No, my friend.

He recently started,and he regretted not doing it earlier.

Which friend?

Someone you don't know.

He wants to be a full-time investor.

You shouldn't hang out with him.

He's a good friend. He's smart.

He used to work for a big company.

Did he make some money?

He's not too greedy.

He just wants ten million dollarsbefore retiring.

He wants to write a bookon his investment know-how...

and live a free and easy retirement.

He sounds crazy.

I have a feeling I'll be ableto sleep tonight.

Even when I'm sleeping,

the companies I invested inwill work hard to make money.

Warren Buffett said there was no needto check your stocks daily.

But since I'm only starting,maybe I should quickly check...

if my babies are growing well.

(Balance)

(Change: -8 percent)

What's wrong?

It's nothing...

This is impossible.

You idiot.

Peter Lynch is an American, not Korean.

You should go kill yourself.

Why listen to an American in Korea?

(Day Trading)

I was a fool.

Peter Lynch's investment strategy...

only works in the US,the leader in the global stock market.

Long-term investment in Korea...

only teaches you how to wait it out.

No wonder Warren Buffett failedand ran away from here.

I have to hold my bat shortand focus on swing trading.

I need to pick out stockswith strong rising momentum.

I must study its chart's moving averageand the number of trades...

and figure out its dip.

I need to jump inat its next upward trend.

This is the best strategyfor investing in stocks in Korea.

What? It looks exactly the sameas the graph I just studied.

An upward trend.

I have to act quickly.

(Buy)

Press it. Hurry.

(Purchase confirmation)

That's it. I'm sure of it this time.

It's okay.

Consider the 10,000 dollars I lostas a fee for the lesson.

It's not that big of a loss.

I just need to find the right oneto invest in.

I'll be back on my feet in no time.

(Trust in the Statistics and the Numbers)

(What is a quant investment?)

(Dividend Yield Ratio)

(Judgment, emotions)

This is it. I should have read this first.

Can you please keep it down?

Do you know how people lose moneyfrom stock investments?

Gosh...

It's because of their emotions.

Even someone who is reasonable...

is prone to get emotionalafter making an investment.

Why? Because emotions can sway humans.

Please keep it down!

- I'm going to have to ask you to leave.- Okay.

- Please leave.- I only found out now.

Gosh!

- What have I been doing?- I'm sorry.

Okay. Please go.

(Central Library)

You can't come back if you act like this.

Can one rule out their emotions...

and invest mechanicallybased on just numbers?

Yes.

Quant investing...

objectively puts together numbersand figures...

to select the stock to invest in.

You must also follow the given rulefor the time to sell as well.

This means you'll eliminate your emotionsand judgment with this method.

PER, PBR, PSR. In various combinations,

I ran backtests over and over again.

After another run...

I finally found my own formula.

What if I had invested the last 20 yearswith this magical formula?

What? It went up 300 times?

I would've made 30 million dollarswith 100,000 dollars.

Thirty million!

I finally found it.

This is it. This is what I'll do.

All I have to do now is go all in.

I'll bet the rest of my lifeon this magical formula.

All or nothing.

(Change: -27 percent)

Everything goes downhillwhen I go for anything in the negative.

Why am I losing more moneywhen I'm studying more?

What could be wrong with me?

I must be cursed.

I should cut off my wristfor touching that mouse.

I'll cut it off.

What are you doing?

I must be dozing off. I'm just confused.

Take it easy.

You're not studying for the CSATs.

Okay.

Should I tell you a surprise?

Yes.

The web novel I'm writingis earning ten dollars a day!

Isn't it amazing?

Not in a month, but in a day.

Honey, isn't it amazing?

How much is that a month?

I'm so happy.

Are you crying?

Why are you crying?

What?

- Are you moved?- Yes.

I cried when I saw it too.

(Mastering the Market Cycleby Howard Marks)

(Big Debt Crises)

(Manias, Panics, and Crashes)

(Black Swan)

Now I see what went wrong.

I invested without studying the trendsin macroeconomics.

Of course, I'd fail every time.

(Another realization)

(Read the Global Economic Trends)

The American business confidence indexis declining.

The number of weekly jobless claimsis climbing too.

Internal material purchasesare at an all-time high.

All numbers say the economy is declining,

but I invested cluelessly.I'm angry at my ignorance.

Idiot.

But there are still ways to make moneyeven at a time like this.

The great thing about investing in stocksis that some stocks...

actually make moneywhen stock prices are dropping.

Inverse.

Inverse ETF.

I'm certain this time.

The market will decline,

and I will make money.

(Inverse ETF)

Buy.

(Cash purchase: 65,131 dollars)

(Cash purchase: 65,131 dollars)

I'll earn as much...

as those turtles are losing.

(Change: -35 percent)

Someone is watching me.

It doesn't make sense otherwise.

It was dropping until yesterday.

Why is it climbing like crazyright after I buy the inverse stock?

It's impossible.

A security camera?

It's a sprinkler.

I must be going crazysince I haven't been sleeping.

Honey!

I earned 12 dollars today.

What is it?

What?

- Were you watching porn?- No.

Is AV porn? I guess I did.

Why are you watching porn?

Why would you?

We can just shoot one of our own.

Shall we do what they did?

- What kind of scene was it?- Do you think you can handle it?

You're such a pervert.Were you watching BDSM?

What was it like? Try me.

- Let's go.- Now?

Come on. Get up.

That jerk of a friend earned five timeshis investment with Tesla.

But I...

Minus 35 percent...

Should I kill myself?

Legendary stock traderJesse Livermore filed...

for bankruptcy three times...

but succeededin making his comeback three times.

However, he did kill himselfafter his fourth bankruptcy.

But still, he still resurrectedthree times.

Fine.

I see that I'm not so good with stocks.I acknowledge that.

But there's moreto the investment world than stocks.

(The most reliablecryptocurrency exchange)

Cryptocurrency,often called the coin market,

trades 24 hours a day.

There are no upper or lower limits.

It fluctuates so muchthat it makes you vomit,

so it's not only a place of opportunitiesbut a dangerous jungle too.

I'm not going into it in desperation.

I've been studying the major coins.

The price has been going down for monthsand has reached the bottom.

It's now record high in price.

Musk also invests in coins.

If it drops,

I'll use it on Mars.

All right.

This will be the last fight.

(Buy)

(Buy)

If I fail again this time...

I'm so nervous.

No...

Don't be afraid.

Without the heart of a wild animal,

you'll be ripped to pieces here.

(30 dollars)

(Buy 1,000 for 27,990 dollars)

(Buy 2,000 for 55,980 dollars)

(Buy)

(Confirmed)

(Change: 17 percent)

(Change: 27 percent)

Welcome.

- Pick whatever you want.- What?

It's not that expensive.

I don't really need anything.

It suits you really well.

Does it? I like it too, but...

It's too expensive.

What matters is that you like it. Get it.

Let's enjoy ourselves today.

Did something good happen?

You told me you're earning a lotthese days.

This is 1,300 dollars.

Check the tag.

It's 1,300 dollars.

Yes. It's crazy.

It's so beautiful.

It's perfect for me.

Just get it. It's fine.

You went through so much troublebecause of me.

Hard times are over.

What is it? What happened?

This is really nice.

It suits you so well.Let me see your back.

It's the last one left.

- Right? Get it.- Really? Still...

It's a lot of money.

I told you it was fine.

What's fine?

If we're frugal, we can last a month...

Please charge it.

- In installments?- No, all at once.

I'll charge it at once.

- Also, this too.- Are you crazy?

This one was pretty too. Try on some more.

- Are we really buying it?- Yes.

- You're crazy. My goodness.- Go in.

Tell me if you like it. We'll buy it.

- Should I try the white one?- Try them all.

- I'll pour you the wine.- Okay.

- Is this from 2015?- Yes.

Honey.

How much is this?

Are you crazy?What's wrong with you today?

It's just 70 dollars.

I'm okay.

Can I get a grapefruit soda instead?

Let's enjoy the mood.

Please pour some.

This dress alone is enough.

Call the landlord later...

and tell them we'll extend the lease.

Did you get hired? Congratulations!

You prankster. Why didn't you tell me?

Where? Is it a big company?

No. Let me guess.

- Lotte Chemical?- No, I won't go there.

Really? Then...

LG Chem?

I'll show you.

Hurry up and show me.

(Change: -7 percent)

What's wrong? Honey.

- What is it?- I didn't swirl it. You should too.

- You have to do it a lot.- Really?

Keep swirling.

No. I must be mistaken.

It couldn't be dropping so suddenly.

I guess expensive wine is different.Is that good enough?

- Keep going.- Okay.

Your steak is here.

Enjoy.

Honey?

- Yes?- Show me.

Okay.

I'm ready.

(Change: 21 percent)

I knew it.

Hurry up and show me.

Okay.

(Change: 21 percent)

(Change: 5 percent)

(Change: -7 percent)

Honey?

What's wrong?

(Change)

Why won't you give it to me?

Is it that good?

(Change: -28, -37 percent)

Does it make you that happy?

Honey?

What's wrong? You dropped your phone.

What?

(Change: -47 percent)

(Change: -56 percent)

(Change: -30 percent)

(Change: -39 percent)

What's wrong?

(Change: -52, -65, -73 percent)

What is it?

Gosh. I feel strange.

- Gosh... I can't breathe.- What's the matter?

What's wrong? Are you okay?

Gosh. What's wrong, honey?

Honey! Wait. Gosh.

Honey!

(Dongui Bogam Family Medicine)

Pull your shirt down.

It's panic disorder.

You had difficulty breathing,pain in your chest,

shaky hands, and cold sweats.

I was like that earlier, but I'm fine now.

I came because my wife was worried.I'll get going now.

Obsession, sociophobia, eating disorders,

and hallucinations.

What?

I don't have those symptoms.

Of course not.

These symptoms will show up later.

What?

When did you starthaving trouble sleeping?

About a week ago.

Your face says it's been two weeks.

Yes, sure. About that much.

Why did you only come now?

Is my condition serious?

How should I know? I'm not a psychiatrist.

You should go see one.

No one goes to see a psychiatristfor losing a few days of sleep.

Does insomnia sound funny to you?

About 30 percentof all mental illnesses...

start with insomnia.

I still think you're overreacting.

I have to search for a job.I can't let rumors go around.

Out of insomnia cases,

there was an American mannamed Trevor Reznik.

"Trevor Reznik?"

He was a middle-aged man like you.

He neglected the insomniathat suddenly came to him.

He lost 30kg of weight in just a year,

and he started to see hallucinations.

What happened to him?

He talked nonsense...

and said a named Ivan was stalking him.

It turned out that this man named Ivan...

was someone imaginary who didn't exist.

And?

This is where...

a twist happens.

The year prior,Trevor caused a car accident.

He hit a young boy and the boy died,

but Trevor ran away.

The guilt led to his insomnia.

In order to punish himself for the child,

he made up the man named Ivan.

Wait. This story sounds familiar.

Of course, it does. It's a movie.

It's called "The Machinist."It's a masterpiece.

I'm at a hospital.

I'm not here for a movie review.

That's how importantand scary insomnia can be.

Just keep shut your mouthand go see a psychiatrist.

If you don't want to go...

Then what?

Did you do something wrong like Trevor?

Maybe you cheated on your wife...

or invested in the stock market...

and lost all your money.

I cheated on her with the stock market.

So I was right.

Gosh. Just come clean.

You'll be able to sleep well againafter that.

Leave.

(Doctor's Office)

What did he say?

Let's go.

I'm sorry.

For what?

I should have paid more attention.

I didn't know you'd gotten so weak.

You didn't do anything wrong.I'm the one who's sorry.

Hey, I'm telling you I'm sorry.

Wait and see.I'll make you nutritious food from now on.

Okay?

Take a break from job hunting.

You can leave all the housework to me.

If you want to go on a trip alone,you can do that too.

Honey, I...

I have to tell you something.

Right.

We should finishwhat we were talking about.

Where did you get hired?

Come here so we can talk.

Okay.

Leave the knife there.

Gosh, I'm out of my mind.

So where did you get hired?

- Actually...- Yes?

I didn't get hired. I bought stocks.

You bought stocks insteadof getting a job?

So the crazy friend you mentionedwas actually you?

Yes.

- How much did you lose?- I might have made some.

Just look at you.

You look like a kid confessing...

he pocketed the moneyfor his afterschool academy.

It's not that much.

Tell me the truth.

About five...

- Do you mean 5,000 dollars?- No, 50,000 dollars.

What? Are you crazy?

How could you lose 50,000 dollars?

Does 50,000 dollars mean nothing to you?

Does it?

Bring me your bankbook.

Go get it.

Stop regretting it and bring it to me.

What are you doing?Get up. Don't joke around.

Hurry up.

You're not sleeping, are you?

Stop acting.

Get up. I said, get up.

Should I just kill you?

What?

What? I'm sorry, honey.

Are you sorry?

Did you get insomnia from the guilt?

Fine.

Just sleep.

You'll need to stock up on energybecause I'll be scolding you.

You better be ready to die tomorrow. Okay?

Got it?

Darn it.

I can't believe it!

Gosh.

(Desperate Mr. X)

They have a special allotmentfor newlyweds. Isn't it amazing?

Does this mean we have a home now?

On top of that, it's in Gangnam.

That means we'd make1.3 million dollars in profit.

- Wait, 1.3 million dollars?- Yes.

- We got 1.3 million!- We did it!

- We got 1.3 million dollars!- This is crazy.

- Wait. What is this?- I can't believe it.

But why does it say "reserve?"