'He's looking at me with pity.'
People lie with their mouths.
But the eyes rarely lie.
If there ever comes a day when I meet someone who can lie even with their eyes—someone who can deceive me completely—then I will have no choice but to suffer.
No, anyone would suffer.
Such people become either heroes or traitors.
But right now, President Nakamura is simply asking:
What does it mean to be rich?
"I think being rich means eating whatever I want, whenever I want."
"Hahaha, so simple."
"If I have more than enough, I share with my family. If there's still more, I share with those who have nothing. If even then I still have leftovers… isn't that what being rich truly is?"
A simple dream.But simplicity is necessary here.
If I sound too grand or arrogant, he'll think I'm just bragging.
Right now, this moment feels like a job interview with President Nakamura himself.
I answered carefully.
"Is that so?"
His gaze changed again—another strange shift.
Miss Rie, who had been silent, glanced at her father, then at me.
Something was definitely happening.
'Their pupils shook at the same time.'
Maybe… what I said was exactly what President Nakamura once believed.
If so, then I've struck gold.
"There was once a young clerk who said the same thing."
President Nakamura murmured this softly, almost to himself.
"Is that so? What happened to that clerk?"
Most likely, that young clerk became the Nakamura standing before me.
That would explain the look in his eyes.
"I became rich… but along the way, I became more greedy."
It was clear.
He was talking about himself.
"When your bowl is full, isn't it natural to look for a bigger bowl?"
Time to show a bit of wit.
"You think so?"
"No one calls that greed. I think greed is wanting a bigger bowl when you don't even have enough to fill the one you already have."
President Nakamura nodded slowly at my words, almost unconsciously.
'That young clerk was President Nakamura himself.'
He was projecting himself onto me.
Reminiscing about his own past through my answers.
In other words, he too must have climbed up from nothing.
'Perfect… he's hooked.'
Each time I speak, I show a piece of myself.And he sees himself reflected in me.
Naturally, expectations begin to form.
And expectations create opportunity.
Of course, all of this only matters if I can actually get a job at Nakamura's rice shop.
And from the look in his eyes…
He was beginning to consider using me.
The suspicion was fading.
"Good. Good."
It was done.
"If you've helped us, then let's leave it at that. You need a job, and I need to repay you. Why don't you work at my rice shop?"
It sounded like the voice of heaven descending upon me.
I finally got a job in the land of Bibill.
"Thank you."
"Yes. In these times, a Korean should indeed be grateful."
It was the harsh reality.
Finding a job as a Korean was like trying to pluck a star from the sky.
Most Koreans survived by farming, becoming porters, or becoming beggars.
"Yes, thank you. And if you tell me to be your servant, I will be the best servant. If you tell me to serve you, I will serve better than anyone."
"Best?"
The words I used were the same ones Toyotomi Hideyoshi used to say to Oda Nobunaga.
"Yes."
"Hah! Hideyoshi?"
He knew the line.
Though in this world, Hideyoshi is Totomi Hideyoshi.
"Yes. I will become the best servant, like Totomi Hideyoshi."
"You're mistaken. It's Totomi Hideyoshi, not Toyotomi."
Right.Both Joseon and Japan have similar histories in this parallel world—but with different names.
"I learned something today," he said.
And with that, I got the job.
The lowest-ranking clerk at Nakamura's rice shop.
Technically a clerk… but in reality, a servant.
'Then I'll become the best servant.'
But I would not remain one.
Totomi Hideyoshi served Ohna Nobunaga.
And became the shogun who united Japan.
'Did you understand the meaning behind my words?'
Probably not.
If he had, he would never have given me the job.
Three Months Later
June 20, 1940
With Rie's help, I became an errand boy at Nakamura's rice shop.
If you think about it, it was practically a temp job.
Anyone could run errands.
But I managed to secure a room in the clerks' dormitory.
And from the very first day, I observed the people and the business with sharp eyes.
'The earliest person wakes up at 7 a.m.…'
To become the most diligent worker in the shop,I woke up at five every morning.
The dorm didn't even have running water.
There was a well, but it had dried up in the last drought.
So we had to carry water every day.
Every morning, I hauled water and filled the kitchen jars.
I swept the area in front of the rice shop until the sun rose.
"That bachelor Cheol is such a hard worker."
I swept like crazy just to hear things like that.
Because sooner or later, those words would reach President Nakamura.
'And one more thing.'
The translucent text above most clerks' heads was simple.
Nothing special.Just normal people.
People living day by day.
"That's what I'm telling you."
"Our work has been reduced because of that bachelor Cheol, hahaha!"
I did the chores of both the cleaning lady and the kitchen helper.
Their compliments increased, and the amount of rice they served me also increased.
'Perfect bait.'
The older ladies shaped my rice into neat balls like rice cakes.
They liked me because I did their work.
And they spread rumors.
Rumors that I was reliable, hardworking, diligent.
When three women gather, the plates break.
And those broken pieces become gossip.
That gossip becomes reputation.
'A form of public opinion manipulation.'
Every move I made was calculated.
What can I say?
I'm a clever guy.
Of course, the cleverness must remain hidden.
A fool has no enemies.
Better to have no enemies than ten friends.
With more food in my stomach, I gained more energy.
And worked even harder.
'I have to wake up early.'
Why?
To work harder than everyone else.
To be trusted more than everyone else.
Three months passed this way.
They started calling me "the sleepless clerk."
Corruption
Eventually, I discovered something.
The manager and several clerks were cheating the customers behind President Nakamura's back.
A merchant's greatest virtue is trust.
But these men…
They were secretly using smaller grain containers to steal rice and barley little by little.
And Nakamura knew nothing about it.
Or he didn't want to know.
'Let's watch for now.'
The rice shop was small, but its profits were steady.
And these tiny acts of fraud added up.
Small but enormous over time.
Most customers bought just one bucket of grain at a time.
Poor people.
People with no power.
Even if they realized they were cheated, they couldn't complain.
Pitiful people.
And these clerks were stealing from those who had nothing.
Naturally, customers who sensed the deception never returned.
A small difference to some,but a life-and-death difference to those who measured rice one bowl at a time.
'If they didn't steal, more customers would come.'
A generous shop always prospers.
Giving a little extra seems like a loss.
But at the end of the month, the profits are always higher.
That's how business works.
And the corruption of this one manager was rotting everything from the inside.