Chapter 14

Over the next few days, Naoki Nagayama lived a very decadent life, with his only exercise being going out for strolls and visiting temples to pray for blessings. As for his grandfather's side, his father just made a phone call to pay his respects; that was how things had been for the nearly 20 years since they had branched out from the yakuza.

However, after the izakaya reopened, only his mother and Tsuruko were left in the house, and Naoki felt embarrassed to keep staying at home doing nothing, so on the fifth day of the New Year, he boarded the train back to Tokyo.

Before leaving, he had promised Tsuruko that she would come to Tokyo in April to see the cherry blossoms, and as her older brother, he would need to host her properly.

The New Year's atmosphere still lingered, but Tokyo had long since shaken off the laziness of the holiday.

Pedestrians on the road looked hurried; for the sake of their livelihoods, it seemed they wouldn't stop their pace for even a moment. Only the occasional young child, still lingering in the joy of the New Year, ran back and forth happily.

After exiting Waseda Station, Naoki Nagayama dragged his suitcase and merged into the endless stream of people.

After approaching the residential area, the pedestrians thinned out significantly. In the small flower beds by the road, some snow still remained—in Tokyo, this was the last stubbornness of winter.

Less than 20 minutes later, he returned to the apartment he had left for a week. There wasn't much dust in the room, so he just gave it a quick wipe with a rag, and the cleaning was done.

To be honest, he had only lived in this apartment for two days, but as soon as he stepped inside, he already felt a sense of home.

"I probably won't sell it even if I get rich in the future..." Naoki Nagayama thought to himself while holding a cup of hot tea in the living room.

Getting rich was something that would definitely happen; that was never in question.

It would be a while before lunchtime. His mother had actually prepared a bento, which he could just heat up later to eat.

There wasn't anything else particularly important to do.

He called Genta Nakai, but he was still back in his hometown~

Naoki Nagayama prepared to turn on the television to continue his decadent and leisurely life from back home.

"Doo~ doo~ doo~~~"

The phone in the apartment rang...

"Moshi moshi, is Naoki Nagayama-kun home? This is Taisei Miwa from SunMusic Agency."

The financier is calling!

Naoki Nagayama picked up the phone: "Hai, Happy New Year, Miwa-kun~"

"Ha, Happy New Year to you too, Naoki-kun. I was worried you hadn't returned to Tokyo yet." Taisei Miwa exchanged a few pleasantries before getting to the point. "Naoki-kun, the recording of the song is almost finished. Regarding the upcoming promotion and marketing, there are still some issues that need to be discussed in person. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to meet?"

"So desu ne, no problem. We can meet this afternoon. Is 2 o'clock okay? Should I go to the agency again?" Naoki Nagayama agreed readily. After buying the New Year's gifts, he only had about 500,000 yen left in his wallet, and he was really looking forward to the royalties~

"Hai, then I will wait for your arrival at the agency." Taisei Miwa remained very respectful; perhaps the habit of dealing with people was already ingrained in his bones.

A bit of anticipation in his heart made Naoki Nagayama feel refreshed, and his decadent and lazy mood was swept away. As it turns out, a person still needs to have some pursuits~

He went to a small shop near the apartment to buy some vegetables, fruits, deli food, and drinks, stuffed them into the apartment's refrigerator, and then started heating up his bento.

He had been able to eat the bento his mother made every day before school, but he hadn't expected that eating it again this time would feel like years had passed... Eating a bite of bento and taking a sip of cola, the dream of his student days was fulfilled just like that.

There was still a long time before the appointed time in the afternoon. Naoki Nagayama walked on the street; the shops nearby had long since opened for business, and New Year's activities were in full swing.

Occasionally, he would be attracted by the products in the display windows and the photo magazines on the shelves, mainly to see the fashion trends; it had absolutely nothing to do with pretty young ladies.

When he arrived at the agency, the appointed time hadn't arrived yet, but Taisei Miwa probably wouldn't mind if he was a little early. It seemed the agency was holding a New Year's audition, and many young artists were waiting in the lobby of the reception hall with number tags pinned to them.

Naoki Nagayama found the young lady at the front desk and greeted her: "Good afternoon~"

The agency's receptionist clearly didn't recognize Naoki Nagayama, as he looked quite different from the last time he came. After taking a look at him, she said: "Hello, you are here for the audition, right? Please provide your specific information. Please also keep this number tag~"

She was about to hand a number tag to Naoki Nagayama...

"Ano, I'm not here for the audition. My name is Naoki Nagayama, and I have an appointment with Taisei Miwa-san."

"Ah, is that so... Sumimasen, I will take you to the reception room right away." Of course, a large agency had more than one reception room. After the young lady led Naoki Nagayama inside and served him a cup of tea, she went to inform Taisei Miwa.

It was still a bit cold on the way, so Naoki Nagayama sipped his hot tea while guessing the origin of the New Year's audition.

"Knock knock." "Excuse me, I'm coming in!"

Taisei Miwa walked in with some documents and couldn't help but laugh when he saw Naoki Nagayama: "No wonder Rina-san mistook Naoki-kun for an artist. Naoki-kun has really changed a lot during this time."

"Haha, you could say I'm an artist; I happened to film a commercial a while ago~"

"Hontou ni? That's truly incredible~ You can write songs and film commercials; Naoki-kun, why don't you consider entering the entertainment industry!"

"Hahaha, then I'll have to ask for your guidance, Miwa-senpai." "Of course~"

Once the jokes were made, the relationship instantly became closer, and the atmosphere in the room became friendly and harmonious. Then, the two began to discuss the main topic.

"Naoki-kun, the song you created, 'Cherry Blossom,' was recorded by Seiko-chan at the studio a while ago. The demo tape is here; please have a listen, Naoki-kun... If the creator has any suggestions, we will also seriously consider them."

The capability of SunMusic Agency went without saying, and record producer Muneo Wakamatsu was indeed a famous producer who had discovered Seiko Matsuda single-handedly. The entire song was light and sweet, perfectly embodying Seiko Matsuda's vocal characteristics.

After listening to the song, Naoki Nagayama praised it repeatedly: "Sugoi, Miwa-san, it's very pleasant and excellent! As expected, Seiko-san is the best~"

"Hearing Naoki-kun say that, I'm relieved~" Taisei Miwa was also very happy. "The production of the record will still take some time, but it is expected to be officially released in late January."

"That's great~" Naoki Nagayama was also quite happy to hear that, but this kind of thing could have been notified over the phone; why did they need to meet in person?

So he asked directly: "Miwa-san, is this meeting just to notify me about the record release date? There should be something else, right?"

"Hai, this is one of the things. There is another thing I was just about to discuss with Naoki-kun." Taisei Miwa paused for a moment.

"Actually, it's like this: before releasing the record, the agency plans to promote it on television programs first."

"Isn't that good?"

"Hai, but Naoki-kun, as a fan, you created such a good song for Seiko-san, and this story is also a key point in the promotion plan."

"So?"

"I'm very sorry, but I would like to ask if Naoki-kun would consider making an appearance on the program? To tell the story between the fan and the idol."

"Of course, we will definitely show our sincerity regarding the compensation!"

"I see~" Naoki Nagayama didn't really care about being on television; it was just filming a segment for work anyway, not to mention there was compensation.

"I can do it, no problem at all. But what program is it?"

Many people in Japan were very resistant to appearing on television programs. Hearing such a prompt reply, Taisei Miwa also breathed a sigh of relief: "It's Fuji TV's 'Night Hit Studio' next week."

"Sou ka, my family often watches 'Night Hit' too." Naoki Nagayama thought of Tsuruko sitting in front of the television.

"Then it's settled, Naoki-kun!" Taisei Miwa felt much more relaxed. Afterward, he chatted with Naoki Nagayama about the promotion rhythm of the record and some of Seiko Matsuda's activities, and finally agreed to drive to pick him up for Fuji TV that night.

Before parting, Naoki Nagayama suddenly remembered the matter of royalties.

"By the way, Miwa-san, after the record is released, is the royalty settlement done in the same month?"

"Ah, no. Royalty settlement is done once a quarter. For a record at the end of January, the royalties won't be settled until March."

"Is that really how it is?!"

This is a disaster!

Does this mean there will be no cash flow in February and March!!!

Has the capital chain for getting rich just snapped like this...