Chapter 258

When he came to the studio again, Naoki Nagayama found that the way all the employees looked at him was different. Although they were respectful before, it was just the respect for a boss, but now, it was like they were looking at a god.

Every time someone saw him, they would be stunned for a moment, then their eyes would light up, and their expressions would be filled with worship.

"Naoki-san, you're here!" "How is your health?" "Naoki-san, you were very handsome yesterday!"... These were the normal ones.

"Naoki-san, please share some of your talent with me!"... Go back and re-read university first!

"Naoki-san, you seem to be glowing!"... Girl, you must have glaucoma.

Naoki Nagayama felt that if he were to wear ancient costumes now and sit in the hall with a majestic air, someone might really put out offerings and pray to share a bit of his spiritual energy or handsomeness.

However, in the culture of eight million gods, the status of gods seems a bit low...

Forcing a smile to brush off everyone's enthusiasm, Naoki Nagayama walked into the office as if he were hiding.

"Otomo-san, what's going on with the employees today? Why are they all so strange!"

Otomo Yoshimura slowly put down the morning paper: "Who told someone to do such 'extraordinary' things yesterday~"

Uh... It seems that the act of composing songs yesterday was a bit excessive.

Naoki Nagayama scratched his head, organizing his excuses:

"I didn't mean to, it was just... how does that saying go, 'a fountain of literary inspiration'!"

"Hai, hai," Otomo Yoshimura nodded in agreement. "Naoki-san, there's nothing to be done about sudden inspiration~"

"Right, right~" Such a reasonable friend made Naoki Nagayama feel relieved; no need to explain. "No one could have predicted it~"

Otomo Yoshimura gently pulled open a drawer and took out a pink notebook, which seemed very familiar.

"Naoki-san, since you composed these two songs in the studio, have you thought about how to arrange them?"

So he was waiting for me here.

"Ah, Otomo-san, these two songs..."

"Naoki-san!"

Otomo Yoshimura suddenly raised his volume and shook the notebook with a smile, completely ignoring how discordant it was for a middle-aged bald uncle to hold a pink notebook.

"These two songs are in my hands now!"

Does this mean I can't get them back without paying a price?

In a trance, Naoki Nagayama seemed to see a big villain image behind Otomo Yoshimura, holding a pink, pixelated object and rubbing his fingers to threaten the protagonist.

Such an Otomo Yoshimura was indeed hard to deal with.

After a psychological struggle for a while, Naoki Nagayama bowed his head in resignation.

"Ano, Otomo-san, I remember Yuki Saito's debut song is still in preparation, right? I think 'Drops of Dreams' is quite good and suits her voice." Naoki Nagayama continued, "That 'A Happy Ending' is only suitable for a male voice."

Only then did Otomo Yoshimura nod with satisfaction, pretending to flip through the notebook and take another look.

"Looking at it this way, it really is more suitable for a male voice~"

"Then, I'll thank Naoki-san for 'Drops of Dreams' on behalf of Yuki-chan~"

This notebook was handed to Naoki Nagayama, but Naoki Nagayama actually remembered the contents clearly; having this notebook was actually useless.

Otomo Yoshimura seemed to have just thought of something: "By the way, if the notebook is useless, give it back to Riko Hayano. Riko-chan still cherishes it very much."

Then why did you use it to threaten me just now?

Although he was extorted for a song by Otomo Yoshimura early in the morning, Naoki Nagayama wasn't unhappy; anyway, they were meant to be sung by others, and giving the idols under his agency a good starting point wasn't bad.

"Let's not talk about this. Otomo-san, is Masataka-kun in the editing room?"

"He should be. I haven't seen him in the lobby for a while, so he must be inside."

"Then I'll go find him to talk about the preview screening~"

Naoki Nagayama, who had already participated in several preview screenings, was very clear about the process, and Masataka Komori went without saying; many specific matters were handled by him.

"So Naoki-san, are we definitely going to have the preview at Iwanami Cinema?" Masataka Komori felt very excited. "That Iwanami Cinema!"

Naoki Nagayama flipped through a copy of the behind-the-scenes footage and said casually: "Yes, Shuichi-san said he would ask his mentor for help, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Masataka Komori was still excited by himself: "I really didn't expect that the first movie I edited could be shown at Iwanami Cinema!"

Naoki Nagayama found it funny: "So, Masataka-kun, hurry up and finish the opening and closing credits! Put your name in the movie production list!"

"Hai! I understand!"

Leaving the motivated Masataka Komori to work hard in the editing room, Naoki Nagayama said hello to Otomo Yoshimura in the office and then went out.

Besides coming to notify about the preview screening today, he also had to think of a way for the manager of the teahouse.

The students he found at the university were just graduates, and he was afraid they wouldn't be able to handle the job of a manager; as for the recruitment ads in the newspapers, he didn't know what kind of people would apply, and he didn't have the energy to distinguish them; and as for acquaintances, it was really hard to find people who managed teahouses...

So after thinking about it, a place popped into Naoki Nagayama's mind—the Public Employment Security Office.

This is a government agency in Japan. You can tell from the name that it is a public service to promote employment. The people here, if nothing else, are at least employees whose backgrounds are well-known.

Moreover, many unemployed workers also register here to receive unemployment insurance.

For Naoki Nagayama, if he could find a teahouse manager who happened to be unemployed, that would be the best.

Naoki Nagayama drove directly to the Shibuya Public Employment Security Office.

A two-story white flat-roofed building, hidden in a street with few people, was as inconspicuous as an ordinary apartment building, but the people entering this small building all had very solemn expressions.

In Japan, middle-aged unemployment is a very serious matter.

Naoki Nagayama parked his convertible not far away and walked alone into the Shibuya Payment Section of the Public Employment Security Office.

Public service agencies in every country seem to be very similar. After entering the door, there is a series of windows with "Unemployment Benefit Payment," "Career Consultation," and other different services written on them. There is also a lot of recruitment information on the bulletin board, bound into books, as well as regulations on wage standards for various professional positions, and posters promoting labor rights, etc.

When Naoki Nagayama came in, it made the receptionist's eyes widen.

"Is such a handsome person unemployed? Impossible, right? With these conditions, even if he went to be a host, he could live very well?!"

Naoki Nagayama nodded politely: "Sumimasen, may I ask how to go about posting a job requirement at the Employment Security Office?"

"Ah, are you recruiting?" The receptionist reacted and quickly returned to her professional demeanor. "Please come with me."

She took Naoki Nagayama to an empty meeting room and said, "Please wait a moment, I'll go call Section Chief Muramatsu."

Just to post a position, why is it so solemn?

Naoki Nagayama didn't know that in the era before the Internet developed, the matching of positions and job seekers relied entirely on manual labor. At the Public Employment Security Office, job seekers only need to pay a few hundred yen in consultation fees.

There are specialized personnel responsible for docking with the enterprise side, because enterprises have to pay introduction fees to find suitable employees!

Before long, a middle-aged aunt came in. Her eyes lit up when she saw Naoki Nagayama: "Sumimasen, sorry to keep you waiting. I am Section Chief Seiri Muramatsu."

"Hai, I am Naoki Nagayama."

Seiri Muramatsu put away a pile of documents and began to ask questions in an official manner.

"Nagayama-san, may I ask if you want to post a recruitment requirement at our Public Employment Security Office?"

"Yes."

"Then... if the Public Employment Security Office helps you find the required employee, you need to pay an introduction fee. Do you understand? It is about 30% of the employee's annual salary."

Seiri Muramatsu looked at Naoki Nagayama's young face, very worried that he was a greenhorn who came here on a whim. In fact, she met such novice bosses every year.

"Hai, I have already understood!"

Naoki Nagayama nodded, and Seiri Muramatsu, having received the answer, finally took out the materials and began to fill them out.

"May I ask what kind of company you are and what direction of employees you want to recruit?"

Why does it feel like an interview...

"Ah, I opened a teahouse here, and I am currently lacking a manager who understands teahouse operations."

Seiri Muramatsu glanced at Naoki Nagayama. A teahouse? It looks like he's a rich second generation: "May I ask the name of the teahouse? Where is the address?"

"The name is Sanmaiju, right in Ginza."

"Requirements for employees? Salary and benefits?"

"It's best to have experience in operating a teahouse or similar shop, and the age should be between 40 and 60. As for the salary, I can give 400,000 yen or more, which can be discussed in person."

Naoki Nagayama roughly described other requirements; in short, they must have the ability to operate a shop independently.

Seiri Muramatsu efficiently registered the information and then took out a standard contract, which was a contract entrusting the Employment Security Office.

"Nagayama-san, please sign this contract. When we match a relevant job seeker, we will call you."

Naoki Nagayama signed while stamping with his own seal, and then asked: "Uh, how long will it take specifically? The teahouse is waiting to open~"

"Usually, we will call you within a week. Even if we can't find a suitable employee, we will contact you."

"Hai, then I'll trouble you!"

Entering the Public Employment Security Office reminded Naoki Nagayama of his experience going to the talent market when he was young in his previous life. He was really green back then, going over with a resume, and then communicating stall by stall like a vegetable market...

The production bureau of a TV station has always been at the top of the entertainment industry.

Announcements, variety shows, interviews, activities... All agencies in the entertainment industry have to live by their breath.

But even in such an institution, there is a lot of internal competition. A program is usually a project team, with a team leader leading the members to plan and be responsible for the broadcast market share.

If the performance is good, the program is advanced, and the year-end bonus is doubled; if the performance is not good, the program is canceled, and they have to hurry to think of new ideas.

Taisuke Sugiura of the First Production Department of Fuji TV is very troubled now because the market share of their well-performing purchased drama "Tales of the Unusual" last year has begun to decline, falling from the original 15% in the late-night slot to 8% after the prime time slot now.

And it is still falling. If it continues like this, "Tales of the Unusual" will have to return to the late-night slot, and there is even a risk of being canceled.

His subordinate, Rumi Nishi, was telling him the gossip she heard on the side: "Team leader, I heard that the department head is considering producing a new program... If the new program has good results, it might occupy the position of 'Tales of the Unusual'."

It is really troublesome to encounter such a thing near the end of the year.

"Rumi-chan, what exactly is going on? Why can't the program's market share go up?" Taisuke Sugiura was very annoyed. "We clearly found popular stars to appear in it, and the scripts are all very unique little stories."

"When the department head handed this program to me, it clearly featured unknowns, and the production quality was very poor, yet the broadcast rate was so good..."

Rumi Nishi thought for a while: "Is it possible that people don't like these unique little stories anymore?"

"Fatigue period?" Audiences feeling tired and bored with the same program routines is indeed the reason why many programs are withdrawn. "But there are still many viewers calling in, and some are even asking where to buy 'Beauty Cans'... Hahaha~"

Taisuke Sugiura laughed, and suddenly understood.

"Are the fans of the program still thinking about the content of the first season?!"

Rumi Nishi also nodded. The first season was indeed very outstanding, and it should be remembered.

"Rumi-chan, I remember the first season of this drama was created by Tree Friend Films, right?" When he first took over, he watched every episode, so he naturally knew about the production side.

"Hai."

"Should we go talk to them?"

"Eh?"

Rumi Nishi was confused. Are they going to learn from the production side of the first season?

This had never happened before for the First Production Department of the Production Bureau.

"But team leader, I remember it was bought out by the department head at once..."

Buying out at once sounds good, but it actually means forcibly snatching the program from the production side.

"That's true, it feels very embarrassing~" Taisuke Sugiura scratched his head in annoyance. What they did before wasn't very authentic, and now it's a bit embarrassing to ask others for advice.

"But if we don't ask for advice, the program might be withdrawn..."

After all, if it's withdrawn at the end of the year, the year-end bonus will be much less...

Taisuke Sugiura saw that besides Rumi Nishi, the other team members were also looking over, with expectations in their eyes.

"For the program, for the bonus!"

Let's just forget about the face for now!

The last three paragraphs have been changed!

(End of chapter)