Chapter 45: Who doesn't know that you are a creative genius, Naoki-san!

Nagayama Naoki could occasionally hear young people discussing CATS on the street, discussing which one they liked the most, and discussing the bright spots of CATS.

There were also many discussions about cat-ear hair accessories.

"But speaking of CATS,

"Yeah, I don't know where you can buy them."

"I heard you can only get them through a TV station lottery; it seems there are only 1,000 limited-edition ones."

"Actually, there are only 900-something; the first 100 were already taken by people with connections~"

"Really? Are the ones CATS wore during their performance the first five?"

"No, during their last interview, the visual member, Mikina Ohno, seemed to only have serial number 003."

"So that means the top two must have been taken by the producers, right? Damn it, those wretched capitalists..."

"You can't really say that. After all, they are the fathers of the cat ears. Without them, how could we see such cute creations~"

The top two, those two samples, had of course already been given by Naoki Nagayama to Akina Nakamori and Miho Nakamori; after all, they were the "designers."

As for Naoki Nagayama, he just framed the original design sketch and put it on his bookshelf. Otomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Ido also each took one from the first ten as a memento.

The other 1,000 custom-made cat ear hair accessories will be drawn from the fan letters sent in, and about half have been sent out as prizes so far.

After the first 1,000 are all sent out, the subsequent cat ear hair accessories will no longer have serial numbers.

CATS, whose fame was gradually growing, made some waves in the television industry, and the ripples spread slightly into the entertainment industry.

Once they had fame, collaborations naturally came one after another.

Otomo Yoshimura had recently started getting busy again; program appearances, big and small, were emerging one after another, all needing him to coordinate them one by one. If the agency hadn't transferred two helpers over, he simply wouldn't have been able to keep up.

Shuichi Ido did not continue to participate in the subsequent choreography, but instead hired a professional dance teacher; let professionals do professional work. As a producer, he would focus on building the overall image, filming promotional MVs, contacting songwriters, producing records, and so on.

So, what about Naoki Nagayama?

He bought a piano...

Yes, he just put it in the house in Bunkyo, and when he had free time, he would go and play for half a day.

He hadn't realized it before, but after learning music theory and how to play the piano, Naoki Nagayama discovered the charm of music.

Music by oneself is the purest thing, without any other impurities or falsehoods,

just like a confidant who understands us best, capable of expressing all the emotions within.

When playing the piano, even without sheet music, one can play freely according to the thoughts in one's mind. If one accidentally encounters a melody from memory, a wonderful piano sound will be produced.

From a complete novice to being able to play pieces decently now, Ms. Sachiko Tokunaga was also surprised by Naoki Nagayama's progress. During the last few lessons, she even said that if he had started learning from a young age, he might have become a pianist.

Besides practicing the piano at home, the rest was continuing to enjoy a decadent life.

"Naoki-san, at least come to the studio and take a look~!" However, Shuichi Ido called at this moment, "You're the man known as the father of the cat ears, how can you leave your own girl group alone!"

Naoki Nagayama was also helpless; the girl group had already entered a regular routine, and he didn't know what he could do if he went over now, looking very redundant on the scene.

"Ido-san, I feel like I have nothing to do whenever I'm at the studio... By the way, is the studio not filming commercials anymore?" A master of changing the subject.

"That business is gone for now. We plan to turn the studio into the base for the girl group, and in the future, it will become the GG agency."

"In that case, what about Ido-san's studio?"

Shuichi Ido seemed to be planning to change his career completely.

"If nothing else, we can just change it back~"

Bearing the title of the father of the cat ears, Naoki Nagayama naturally couldn't do nothing.

He drove to Shogo Processing and found the factory manager, Shogo Tsuchida, who was busy.

"Shogo-kun, I'm disturbing you again."

Shogo Tsuchida was very pleasantly surprised: "Naoki-kun, why did you come today? Did something go wrong with the previous cat ear hair accessories?"

"Haha, no," Naoki Nagayama laughed, "It's good news, Factory Manager Shogo. We plan to continue customizing cat ear hair accessories; it's an order~"

"Is that so?!" Shogo Tsuchida was very happy. The previous 1,000 hair accessories could only be considered extra income. If he continued to customize them this time, then the order might be a big one.

"Yes, Shogo-kun, do you remember what I said before? Besides black and white, this time the cat ear hair accessories can also be red, yellow, gray, patterned, etc."

"I remember, I remember. What is the quantity for this order?"

"Let's start with 10,000~ If the sales are good later, we'll add more." Naoki Nagayama directly increased it tenfold.

For a small workshop, this was a big order. Shogo Tsuchida diligently poured a cup of tea, then hurriedly prepared the contract and brought it over to be signed.

Naoki Nagayama also readily paid the deposit and agreed to pick up the goods once a week.

He temporarily used the shop in Shibuya as a storage location, but if sales were good, actually, just opening a merchandise store would also be fine~

The development of CATS was very good. In addition to the famous Cat Dance, the new choreographer lady also choreographed a dance with a very strong sense of rhythm based on the characteristics of the Wild Cat Group.

Paired with explosive dance music, it allowed Naoki Nagayama to see some shadows of the Korean girl groups of later generations.

"Ido-san, Otomo-san, this kind of dance is actually most suitable for offline events." Naoki Nagayama looked at the two people beside him; if they were always on programs, perhaps the audience would get tired of them.

"Should we organize an offline meet-and-greet?"

Shuichi Ido said: "But relying on two dances, it wouldn't be enough to support a concert, would it?"

"Of course, not that kind of large-scale concert. For CATS, it's very difficult to hold concerts in stadiums like those mainstream idols. After all, there are no works and no fans."

"Are you talking about records? Indeed, I contacted several lyricists and composers before, and none of them could create for the girl group." Otomo Yoshimura looked at Naoki Nagayama expectantly, "Naoki-san, can you create one?"

"Uh... Otomo-san, didn't I say, my creations are divine revelations, they can't be thought of just casually!"

"Who doesn't know that you, Naoki-san, are a creative genius!" Otomo Yoshimura went to Naoki Nagayama's house in Bunkyo several times to pick him up, and sometimes he happened to catch him playing the piano, hearing many very outstanding musical fragments.

But it wasn't easy to continue saying anything now.

"Otomo-san, I'm thinking, CATS can't follow the old path. Why not try starting from the underground stage first?"

"Do you mean like those underground bands?"

"Hai, first accumulate fans and popularity, and by the way, hone the team. After waiting until there are more of our own songs, then try holding concerts and the like."

For the Wild Cat Group, they suddenly had some fame, but their fan base and the ability of the GG agency behind them were actually still insufficient. If they continued to push hard, they would very likely lose their existing attention and then fall back to the bottom.

Naoki Nagayama suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "We can also hold a meet-and-greet in my DISCO dance hall!"

The encounter between DISCO and a girl group, isn't that very interesting?