Chapter 879

"Sizzle..."

On the scorching frying pan, the small red sausages sizzled in the hot oil, and the aroma of the fat wafted throughout the izakaya.

The ends, scored with a cross-cut pattern, slowly twisted, deformed, and curled, until the little sausages finally looked like tiny red octopuses...

Topped with finely shredded cabbage and salad dressing, the famous late-night dish from *Midnight Diner*, the red octopus sausage set meal, appeared on the plate just like that~

The customer waiting was a yakuza boss wearing sunglasses late at night, while the chef standing in the kitchen area was tall, somewhat serious, and had a dark red scar on his face that looked like it held a story...

"Alright~~ CUT!" Naoki Nagayama shouted from the side.

"Aoki-aniki... don't let your hands shake! Your facial expression is already perfect!" Naoki Nagayama still needed to coach his older brother a little; after all, he was a newcomer and always a bit nervous in front of the camera. "Remember, don't look at the lens!"

"Hai... I will control it~"

Boss Aoki nodded with a straight face, his expression still somewhat serious... This was what Naoki Nagayama had requested earlier; if he asked his brother to make any other expression, his facial management might collapse.

"Alright, Minna-san, one more time!"

"Hai~~"

Amidst the chorus of responses, filming for *Midnight Diner* began once again.

Today was the first day of filming for this program. The *Midnight* recipes that Naoki Nagayama had previously asked his brother and father to try were officially launched; who knows, they might even become the izakaya's signature dishes in the future!

A midnight diner that opened from nine at night until the next morning attracted a group of regulars because the owner was a good cook and a kind person.

The yakuza boss who frequented the underworld loved octopus sausages, the owner of a gay bar loved sweet tamagoyaki, the stripper wanted medium-rare sturgeon roe, and the mistress of a real estate developer fell in love with spaghetti...

Every regular had their own story, and every story collided within this midnight diner. In the dead of night, the distance between people seemed to grow closer.

Naoki Nagayama directed the filming in the shop while also training his assistant director, Munao Matsuo. One had to know that this drama would run for many seasons, so for future filming, Naoki Nagayama certainly couldn't exhaust himself entirely!

After four hours of intense filming, it was already one in the morning, and only then did Naoki Nagayama say:

"OK! Today's filming ends here!"

The entire crew let out a sigh of relief and began to relax.

"Oh oh oh~" "Off work, off work!" "..."

"Same time tomorrow, everyone, don't be late!" Naoki Nagayama instructed each member.

"Hai~~~"

Once the crew had left, he stayed behind to help his brother and father tidy up the kitchen before they all stepped into the small truck to head home.

"Naoki, will it be until one in the morning every day from now on?" Boss Aoki, who was driving the truck, asked with some concern. "I'm fine, but for Father to be out so late every day..."

"I have no problem!" Father Ken Nagayama said loudly from the back.

"No, today was the first time, so the adjustment took a bit longer," Naoki Nagayama said. "From now on, I'll make sure it's controlled to before midnight..."

Then he looked at his stubborn old father:

"Father, you don't actually have to stay with us so late at night..."

"How can that be!" Father Ken Nagayama shook his head stubbornly. "What if something unexpected happens in the shop..."

"Daijoubu, the production team has over a dozen people!" Boss Aoki persuaded. "Father, it's better to rest early!"

"..."

Seeing that his father in the back seat still disagreed, Naoki Nagayama could only change his approach:

"Father, Brother has to appear on camera now and will be busy until one in the morning every day... So, he definitely needs to rest a bit more every morning. You'll have to worry more about the shop's affairs... Father, going back to rest early is so you can be more energetic to open the shop the next morning..."

The izakaya was still operating, so buying ingredients in the morning and preparing food in advance would all fall on his father alone from now on.

Fortunately, the Nagayama family's izakaya wasn't a large restaurant, and the two of them were already somewhat redundant; otherwise, one person wouldn't be able to handle it!

Hearing his son's logical words, Ken Nagayama's face showed hesitation, but in the end, he nodded:

"Since that's the case, then leave the preparations to me!"

"Then thank you for your hard work, Father!"

Boss Aoki and Naoki Nagayama immediately heaped praise on him, finally managing to preserve their old father's self-esteem.

When they returned home, Mother had already gone to sleep. Eitaro heard the sound of Naoki Nagayama returning and came to greet him, wagging his tail... And in the corner, in the cat bed, a pair of green glowing eyes watched the late-returning master...

"Sorry to disturb you, Miaotaro, go back to sleep..."

Naoki Nagayama had returned to Shizuoka, but Tokyo would not stop its daily life just because one person was missing.

The hottest idol in the entertainment industry was on a national tour, so the exposure left behind became a battleground for the next tier of idols.

Akina's good friend Kyoko Koizumi began to attract market attention with her funny and surprising styles, musical talent Naoko Kawai was showcasing her talents on stage, and rumors of Yoshie Kashiwabara as the "Imperial Idol" were becoming increasingly famous...

On the other hand, junior idols were also making a name for themselves; Yukiko Okada was working hard to catch up as the second Seiko Matsuda~

Shizuka Kudo's popularity was rising, and she was being compared by the media to Yukiko Okada, vaguely giving the feeling of the next generation of "Seiko Matsuda and Akina Mori"...

There was also Sonoko Kawai, who also came from the Onyanko Club and had just debuted as a solo artist; her first single, "Namida no Jasmine LOVE," immediately climbed into the top five of the Oricon charts...

Coupled with the efforts of idols like Yu Hayami and Junko Ito, the idol industry was in an era where a hundred flowers were blooming.

During the day, in the Tree Friends building in Ikebukuro, Takeharu Kawahara once again brought Shizuka Kudo to Otomo Yoshimura's office.

"Shizuka-chan... how is the practice for 'I Want to Shout That I Love You' going?"

Shizuka Kudo answered somewhat nervously: "I've been practicing with the vocal teacher recently... but I haven't met the teacher's requirements yet..."

Takeharu Kawahara helped explain from the side:

"Otomo-san, Shizuka-chan is in a period of rising popularity, and there are too many announcements and performances, and her schedule is too tight... So every time she goes to the vocal teacher, it has to be at night, and at most twice a week... The practice time is a bit insufficient."

"That is indeed a problem..." Otomo Yoshimura rubbed his temples. "But the band's teachers have finished rehearsing, so Shizuka-chan needs to speed up too... Otherwise, we can't determine when to call Naoki-san back for recording..."

"Is Naoki-san personally handling this record recording?" Takeharu Kawahara asked in surprise.

"Yes, generally speaking, Naoki-san's songs require him to do them himself..." Otomo Yoshimura nodded. "Not to mention this time it concerns Shizuka-chan's 'promotion'..."

In internal discussions, this song "I Want to Shout That I Love You" was aimed at the year-end Record Awards, and they also wanted to try winning awards at various music festivals... Everything was to help Shizuka Kudo move up a level in the idol industry and become a top-tier idol.

Therefore, Naoki Nagayama and Otomo Yoshimura both attached great importance to the promotion of this song.

"Hmm..." Otomo Yoshimura thought for a moment, looked at Shizuka Kudo, and said, "How about this: apart from a few music shows... Shizuka-chan, don't arrange any TV station announcements in the near future... Use all the freed-up time for practicing 'I Want to Shout That I Love You'!"

"Uh... Hai!"

Takeharu Kawahara nodded quickly. As her manager, he was the one who contacted work for the artist, and Shizuka Kudo had many such announcements, so removing a few was no problem.

Shizuka Kudo listened to the arrangements for her from the side. At this time, Shizuka Kudo had no status to express her opinion. As a new idol, the agency was undoubtedly in a strong position...

But fortunately, the Tree Friends agency didn't squeeze idols like money-making machines and considered the artist's physical and mental health more... I heard that Yukiko Okada at the Sunny agency was so busy that she could only sleep for three hours a night~

After Shizuka Kudo went out, Otomo Yoshimura began to think silently again:

"Naoki-san should have started filming *Midnight Diner* by now..."

"*Our Little Sister* is already being edited; Chikako Aoyama, Yuki Saito, Momoko Kikuchi, and Rie Miyazawa..."

"... The arrangements for these people should also be considered..."

Thinking of this, Otomo Yoshimura scratched his thinning hair and complained bitterly:

"Can't Naoki-san just give us more songs at once?! These people still need others to create for them!"

In the new headquarters' editing room, which had updated and more complete equipment, Masataka Komori stared at the filming footage with a scruffy beard, selecting it over and over again with other apprentice directors.

Because of the training goal, *Our Little Sister* had a lot of filming footage, and each apprentice director even filmed a few shots from different angles according to their own ideas...

So it was very troublesome to select them now~

"How does Naoki-san accurately select the footage he needs!"

Masataka Komori recalled his experience of editing movies with Naoki Nagayama. Every time, Naoki Nagayama accurately found the footage he needed, then neatly cut the film and glued it onto the main track.

Although the editing operation was very complicated, every action was an effective act... Watching the movie take shape from his own hands bit by bit, that sense of accomplishment was incredibly exciting...

And now...

"This part doesn't work..." "Isn't it better to use this shot?!" "The transition here is too hard!" "Be careful, don't cut an extra frame of film!" "How about trying to fit this part in?" "..."

The apprentice directors kept taking strips of film and trying them on the movie, and every shot had to be repeatedly compared to find the one they thought was best... Even when they couldn't find it, Masataka Komori had to make the final decision...

In a whole day, it was a struggle to even edit five minutes of footage...

"When will this be finished editing!" Masataka Komori sighed, covering his forehead...

"It's expected to take about three or four months!" an apprentice director said. "Komori-san, don't worry, it will definitely be finished before the end of the year!"

"........ By that time, Naoki-san might have run back from Shizuoka and filmed an opening movie for a film festival himself!!!"

Masataka Komori roared,

"You guys, don't you know that Naoki-san can film and edit a movie in a month?!!"

"Have you all forgotten about *One Cut of the Dead* from last time?!"

"........"

The apprentice directors looked at each other and stopped talking... Comparing Naoki Nagayama to them was completely incomparable... That guy was already in a different dimension from them!

Isn't there a saying~

If you don't make movies, seeing Naoki Nagayama is like a frog in a well seeing the moon in the sky... If you make movies, seeing Naoki Nagayama is like a mayfly seeing the blue sky!!!

"In short, you guys!" Masataka Komori was also annoyed. "Before the movie *Our Little Sister* is finished editing, all of you stay in the company and edit the movie! Collective seclusion!!!"

"....... Then if we are sleepy, hungry..."

"Hmph!" Masataka Komori raised the corners of his mouth. "Don't worry, I thought of this long ago, so I made suggestions when the new headquarters was being renovated!"

"Right next door is a lounge, prepared with ten folding beds! There's also a toilet, a shower room..."

"In the cabinet in the corner, there are instant noodles, cola, coffee..."

"Don't worry, everything for overtime will be arranged!"

"........"

The apprentice directors looked at each other and couldn't help but swallow their saliva... It looked like this time, they had to be prepared to live in the company for a long time...

Naoki Nagayama, who had taken a shower at his old home, had no sleepiness at this time.

As a night owl and workaholic in his previous life... after a certain hour, his spirit would become even more excited...

He sat on a stool, looking at the notebook in front of him, thinking about what kind of yakuza movie to arrange for his grandfather.

"*Once Upon a Time in America* style? It seems a bit too obscure... It has a sense of history, but no legendary quality, and no fighting or action scenes to attract ordinary people..."

Naoki Nagayama pondered the pros and cons of Western gangster movies; after all, the story of the Nagayama Group wasn't that famous in Japan.

Unlike a country like the United States, which had only been founded for two hundred years and needed to describe the gangster generation in heavy strokes, Japan's history was much longer, and there were countless stories more famous than the Nagayama family.

"In this regard, it seems we can learn from Korean movies... After all, they are both in the Eastern cultural system..."

In the future era, Korean movies were actually very famous for daring to film; the country was very relaxed about movies, and movies reflecting reality could be filmed... Although the main point was that I can film it, but I just won't change it!!!

"As for the fighting scenes... it seems the elevator god of war scene is famous..."

The elevator god of war, Ding Qing, fought seven or eight opponents alone in an elevator and actually won in the end... It was very shocking to watch at the time...

And on platforms like Douyin and Bilibili, there were all kinds of edits... accompanied by very magical music...

Thinking of this, a call suddenly rang in Naoki Nagayama's ears—

"Hey, Yanbian!..."

A strong rhythm began to echo, the unique sound effect of a DJ scratching, and the hardcore gangster rap began to come...

Even though Naoki Nagayama didn't understand Korean, listening to the song, that feeling of everyone being a ruthless social person appeared...

"This one... what should I do if I don't know Korean..." Naoki Nagayama's head swayed up and down with the rhythm. "In short, let's write down the score first... lyrics... I'll match them later!"

The movie *New World* was about a police undercover agent in a modern gangster group who eventually rose to the top and completely became a gangster boss... It was different from the background of his grandfather Hayato Nagayama's era.

However, Naoki Nagayama had already decided to replicate the elevator god of war scene in his grandfather's movie.

As Naoki Nagayama, who had personally produced many movies, he also had confidence in directing a movie without an original work; at worst, he could make a mix...

*Once Upon a Time in Japan* + *New World*?

Or, *The Yakuza and the Family* + *New World*?

Or, add some police elements; didn't his grandfather have an intersection with Toshio Minami, a police superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department? Adding some police elements would make the interaction between gangsters and police look good too...

*Blood of Wolves* + *New World*?

"*The Legend of Hayato: New World*?"

Sounds pretty good...