Chapter 229: Re-ignition
[KTalk LIVE] - @Kang Tae-joon | Followers: 161,982,199
LIVE - Leviathan Flight One, Goheung Space Center
Live Viewers: 5,892,923…… 6,273,921…… 8,521,777…….
The camera slowly pans along the launch pad at the Space Center.
Liquid oxygen frost, like mist, trickles down the insulation.
The massive craft stands tall on the launch pad.
But nowhere on the lower skirt are there any ‘landing legs’ visible.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ There really aren’t any.
└No…… if that’s the case, why even mention short-selling doom?
└No sea barge in sight either, does it even exist?
└Reusable? More like single-use confirmed.
└Still, the engine lines are clean.
└Who cares about the lines now? The stock’s dropping even more since the video came out!
【Pre-Market DJFT: $7.98 ▼-8.6%】
With every tick the stock slips, the comments fill with screams, mockery, sighs, and panic.
└I can’t hold on any longer.
└How much lower will the stock go if this fails?
└Short hold. D-Day!
└Legless reuse ㅋㅋㅋ Delusional to the end.
＊＊＊
Golden Edge Main Trading Floor.
“The live footage confirms no landing legs on the craft.”
“No sea barge appears to be prepared either.”
Lionel watches the ticker board with a satisfied expression as Sarah Morgan speaks.
“It’s clear now that everything Kang Tae-joon said was nonsense. Load up more put spreads, and keep shorting every time the order book thins out!”
“Based on current indications, there’s a buying gap down to the mid-$7 range.”
The options board lights up with ‘Put Option Volatility Spike (Put IV ↑)’ alerts.
【Pre-Market DJFT: $7.62 ▼-12.7%】
【Options Skew: Put IV +47%p (ATM)】
Lionel’s lips curl slowly upward as the premiums keep climbing.
Then, with certainty, he declares,
“Dojin Frontier ends today.”
＊＊＊
Goheung Space Center - Control Room.
Green lights flicker on one by one across the status board covering the wall.
“Range System - Green.”
“Weather - Green. Ground wind 3.8m/s, crosswind stable.”
“Flight Safety - Armed. FTS 2-channel independent confirmation.”
“Avionics - Primary/Redundant Link OK.”
“GNC - TVC Sweep complete. ±6° normal.”
“Thermal System - Pressure differential and heat exchange loops ‘Nominal’.”
Three countdown timers overlap on the monitor in front of the control station.
T-00:12:00 | HOLD: — | WINDOW: +02:30
Seong-hwan whispers quietly as he monitors the launch preparations,
“Hyung…… the pre-market situation looks really bad.”
Despite the serious tone, I just nod briefly.
There’s nothing more to be done for those still selling off.
‘The fates of those who believed in me and those who didn’t will sharply diverge.’
I glance sideways at the comments.
└Anyone still holding at this point is beyond belief, it’s like a religion, right?
└ㅋㅋㅋ I couldn’t hold on either and switched to short. Just explode already. I wanna make some serious cash.
└Return seems out of the question.
└No barge detected on AIS maritime satellite either.
The control room speakers crackle to life.
“All teams, final ‘Go’/‘No-Go’ poll in progress. Keep responses brief.”
“Structures. Go!”
“Propulsion. Go!”
“Avionics. Go!”
“GNC. Go!”
“Thermal. Go!”
“Range. Go!”
“Weather. Go!”
“Recovery…….”
A brief pause.
“Go!”
Once all departments confirm ‘Go,’ I grab the mic.
“Mission Director — Go!”
With my call, the HOLD indicator on the status board switches off.
The camera focuses on the massive tower beside the launch pad.
Two access arms slowly retract, and warning lights flash on the upper catwalk.
“Fueling — Complete. Topping finished.”
“Engine Chill — In progress. Main valve line temperature reached.”
“TEA/Ignition — Standby. Ignition command line ‘Green’.”
“Press — Tank pressure rising. Auto-pressurization loop engaged.”
The control room lights dim slightly.
Identical numbers appear on all monitors.
T-00:02:00
“Ignition System — Green.”
“FTS Safe-to-Arm — Confirmed.”
“Engine valve pre-flow initiated, chamber pressure replacement pending.”
The air above the launch pad shimmers faintly through the glass.
A cool breeze brushes past.
A faint reddish-brown haze of hypergolic nitrogen tetroxide begins to rise.
[KTalk LIVE] — Live Viewers: 13,402,117
└Here we go…….
└Bye DJFT ㅋㅋㅋ
└Please succeed…… Please…….
└Will it actually take off?
└…….
The control room speakers sound one last time.
“Final Abort Criteria — All cleared. No constraints.”
All systems, weather, and safety conditions are within launch parameters.
I take a deep breath.
A tingling tension surges through my fingertips like a faint electric current.
T-00:00:10
“Main engine ignition prep.”
“Main valve — Open.”
“Chamber pre-flow — Stable.”
“Ignition sequence loaded.”
“3…….”
“2…….”
“1…….”
“Liftoff!”
With my call, white vapor erupts explosively from below.
As we pass the ‘hard start’ threshold, a massive pillar of flame envelops the skirt, pushing against the ground.
Golden flames tinged with reddish-brown lick the pad, spreading concentric shockwaves of dust through the buffering structures.
The craft pauses for a beat, then slowly…… and vertically…… rises from the ground.
“Liftoff. Leviathan, Flight One.”
The warning lights on the tower’s side switch off as the camera follows upward.
Soon, the craft adjusts its heading southeast, the thrust vector shifting precisely as it expels exhaust gases.
[KTalk LIVE] — Live Viewers: 14,102,331
└Whoa…… It’s up…… It’s really up!
└Phew~~ Thank goodness it didn’t explode.
└The launch is stable…… but the landing? Without legs, how will it come down?
└My heart’s about to burst. Please…… Just this once…… Save us, Tae-joon hyung.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Everyone hold shorts. The outcome is already decided.
【Pre-Market DJFT: $8.21 ▲+3.4% (Spike) → $7.95 (Retracement)】
The price jumps momentarily on the successful launch headline, then quickly falls back as articles asking ‘But can it return?’ flood in.
.
.
.
Goheung Space Center, Control Room.
“Acceleration vector — Green.”
“Climate control — Handed off to offline.”
“Telemetry primary link reception strong, backup link standby.”
Through the window, the sky.
The Leviathan, trailing a long flame, arcs gracefully into the sky.
And a split-second later, the sound wave reaches the window, shaking it gently.
“Throttle down, preparing for Max-Q.”
“Maximum dynamic pressure reached, throttling to 72%.”
“Passed, throttle up!”
The craft smoothly breaches the wall of air.
Watching, the tension drains simultaneously from everyone’s shoulders.
[KTalk LIVE] — Live Viewers: 16,382,902
└Whoa, Max-Q passed!
└Oh thank God, thank Buddha……
└What’s Max-Q?
└It’s the point of maximum air resistance for the rocket. Passing it means the structure is safe.
└Dojin’s tech is solid for sure.
└The problem is how it will return. If it just crashes into the ocean, that’s the end.
└…….
“MECO-1 Expected in 2 minutes 41 seconds.”
“Separation pyro circuit — Armed.”
“Cold gas spin-up — Pressure normal.”
In a corner of the control room, beads of sweat roll down Director Kim Se-bin’s forehead.
Her face stern, she begins the countdown.
“3…….”
“2…….”
“1…….”
“Main Engine Cutoff (MECO)!”
The pillar of flame vanishes with a ‘pop.’
And the next procedure follows immediately.
“Stage Separation!”
A flash of light erupts from the heavy craft’s connection point, and the lower section severs cleanly.
The upper stage continues on inertia, while the lower stage (first stage) briefly pitches over, releasing a fine mist of attitude control thrusters like white feathers.
“Second Stage Ignition!”
Kim Se-bin’s call continues.
Long orange flames burst from the upper stage nozzle.
The screen fills with telemetry data.
“Altitude 69km.”
“Horizontal velocity 2.3km/s.”
“Downrange 118km.”
“Second stage combustion stable.”
“Combustion chamber pressure variance ±2%.”
[KTalk LIVE] — Live Viewers: 17,291,733
└Upper stage ignition success! Amazing!
└Re-ignition means it’s coming back, right?
└Without a barge, where is it even supposed to land?
└What…… is it trying to do?
The comments swirl with cheers and confusion.
The stock price, too, oscillates between rises and falls, unable to find direction.
＊＊＊
Golden Edge Main Floor.
Sarah Morgan scrolls through the screen, her face stern as she summarizes the situation.
“Launch, separation, upper stage ignition — all successful.”
Lionel asks briefly,
“Market reaction?”
“Still limited, but most agree return is impossible.”
In the meantime, the market opens, and the storm of stock price movements pauses momentarily.
“Should we close out some positions at least?”
It’s a suggestion to spread risk, but Lionel’s response is firm and cold.
“If word gets out that we’re closing positions, the market will take it as a sign that the situation has changed.”
In other words, neutral investors might seize the opportunity to buy back in.
“Then……?”
“Keep the put spreads. Keep adding shorts on every rebound.”
Keep the pressure on the stock price to prevent it from rising.
【DJFT: $7.88 ▼-9.2%】
Sarah Morgan watches the order book and replies,
“I’ll monitor the ticker. When the return failure headline hits, I’ll execute additional short sales.”
“Do it.”
Lionel glances briefly at the first stage data on the screen.
There are signs of re-ignition.
He dismisses it as merely a ‘craft control test,’ nothing more.
But in that moment……
Another re-ignition flares in the rapidly falling Leviathan first stage.