Prologue: The Man Nobody Believed In
At the luxurious entrance hall of “NexusTech,” a major IT company located in a prime downtown area, stood a man who seemed completely out of place.
His name was Kenichi Tanaka, thirty-five years old. His worn-out jacket had frayed cuffs, his jeans bore mud stains. Disheveled hair, an unkempt beard, and cheap sneakers. By all appearances, he seemed utterly unsuited for this first-class corporation.
“Um, I’m here for an interview…”
When Kenichi spoke to the receptionist, she displayed an obvious look of disgust.
“Do you have an appointment?” Her voice was cold.
“Yes, at ten o’clock for a mid-career system engineer position…”
Though the receptionist looked incredulous, she checked her computer. The reservation was indeed there. Reluctantly, she handed him a visitor’s card and said, “Please wait in Conference Room B on the third floor.”
Chapter 1: Contemptuous Glances
When he reached the third floor, other applicants waiting for interviews were lined up. Everyone was dressed in crisp suits and wearing expensive-looking leather shoes. When they saw Kenichi, they began whispering among themselves.
“Is that guy homeless?” “Why would someone like that come to a company like this?” “Well, he’ll be rejected immediately anyway.”
Kenichi, seeming accustomed to this treatment, quietly ignored their stares and sat down in a chair. He was used to being treated this way. In fact, he was even taking advantage of it.
When Manager Yamada, the interviewer, appeared and saw Kenichi, he also frowned.
“Well then, we’ll begin the interviews in order. Mr. Tanaka, would you mind going last?”
His attitude clearly said, “You’re going to fail anyway, so I’ll deal with you later.” Kenichi quietly nodded.
Chapter 2: Observation During the Wait
Three hours in the waiting room. The other applicants were called into the interview room one by one and returned. They wore confident expressions, saying to each other, “I think it went well” and “Yeah, it was easy.”
During this time, Kenichi sat with his eyes closed the entire time. But he wasn’t sleeping. He was observing the entire building.
Wi-Fi signal conditions, security system model numbers, internal information leaking from employees’ conversations. Kenichi’s brain was absorbing and analyzing all available information.
“Mr. Tanaka, please come in.”
When he was finally called, no other applicants remained.
Chapter 3: Silence in the Interview Room
In the conference room were Manager Yamada, Section Chief Sato from the technical department, and Ms. Suzuki from HR. All three looked at Kenichi with cold eyes.
“Well then…” The moment Manager Yamada looked at the resume, his eyes widened. “What? Tokyo Institute of Technology, Information Engineering Department, graduated top of class? Is this true?”
“Yes,” Kenichi answered flatly.
“But your work history… there’s a ten-year gap. What were you doing during this time?”
“I was working as a freelancer.”
“Freelancer?” Section Chief Sato laughed derisively. “And that’s why… those clothes?”
Kenichi said nothing.
“Well, whatever,” Manager Yamada sighed. “Let’s have you take a technical test. Sato, give him that problem.”
Section Chief Sato grinned. “Actually, our core system has been malfunctioning since this morning. No one can figure out the cause. If you’re really an excellent engineer, can you solve this problem?”
“Show me.”
Chapter 4: True Ability Revealed
Kenichi sat in front of the conference room computer. Section Chief Sato began explaining.
“Since last night’s update, the database response time has become extremely slow…”
But Kenichi interrupted the explanation.
“It’s the Apache Kafka consumer configuration. Partition reassignment isn’t functioning properly. Also, the PostgreSQL index is corrupted.”
The three interviewers froze.
“W-wait a minute,” Section Chief Sato panicked. “We haven’t even shown you the system yet. How do you know?”
“I observed the internal network traffic patterns through the waiting room Wi-Fi. Within legal bounds, of course.” Kenichi smiled for the first time. “And I also referenced conversations I overheard from technicians in the hallway.”
Kenichi’s fingers danced across the keyboard. Just fifteen minutes later, the system was back to normal.
“Impossible…” Manager Yamada muttered. “Our entire technical team couldn’t solve this in three hours…”
Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed
“Actually,” Kenichi began slowly, “six years ago, I was a founding member of TechnoSoft, the predecessor of this company. Before you acquired it.”
The three gasped.
“At the time, I was the CTO and was in charge of designing the entire core system. But the investors had issues with my appearance. They said, ‘We can’t let clients meet someone who looks like this.’ Eventually, I was fired and the company was sold.”
“So that means…”
“That’s right. All the systems you’re using now were designed by me. That’s why I could identify the malfunction immediately.”
Kenichi stood up.
“With all due respect, I won’t be accepting this interview. Actually, this morning I received a formal offer from a major foreign company. The annual salary is… well, I won’t say. But it’s far higher than a department manager position at your company.”
Chapter 6: Aftermath
One week after the interview, NexusTech was hit by another major system failure. This time, no one could solve it.
With trembling hands, Manager Yamada called Kenichi’s mobile phone.
“Mr. Tanaka, please help us. Even as a consultant is fine. Please lend us your expertise.”
Kenichi answered calmly.
“Understood. However, I have conditions. Never comment on my appearance again. And my fee is 500,000 yen per hour.”
“Yes, please help us!”
From that day forward, Kenichi became a legend in the industry. As “the genius in shabby clothes.”
Chapter 7: True Victory
Six months later, Kenichi founded his own company. The office was small, with only three employees. However, his technical capabilities became known as industry-leading.
One day, the receptionist from NexusTech visited Kenichi’s office. She bowed deeply.
“I’m truly sorry about that time. Judging you only by your appearance…”
Kenichi smiled.
“It’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes. What’s important is learning from those mistakes. You were able to do that. That’s enough.”
Tears glistened in her eyes.
Kenichi’s company would eventually grow into an industry-leading corporation. And to this day, he continues to dress simply.
Because that’s who he really is. And because he wants to continue proving that a world exists where people are evaluated by ability, not appearance.
Epilogue: True Value
“Don’t judge people by their appearance.”
Everyone knows these words. But few people practice them.
Kenichi’s story teaches us something important. True ability cannot be seen from the outside. Expensive suits and impressive titles don’t guarantee real competence.
And above all, the importance of continuing to believe in your own value, even when ridiculed and looked down upon.
Kenichi won in the end. But not to defeat others. His honest way of living was ultimately recognized.
This may be what true victory means.
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