Chapter 40: 040, Ah! It's legal!

May 1981 arrived unawares.

Carp streamers were already increasing on the streets. In five days, it would be Japan's traditional Boy's Day, which is also Children's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, and can even be called Carp Day.

In short, it was a composite holiday gathering various meanings, and the festive atmosphere was very thick.

As for what related to Naoki Nagayama, it was probably eating zongzi.

Back in his previous life in China, among these traditional holidays, most had actually become quite weakened, with the exception of the Spring Festival which still retained some traditional customs.

Instead, foreign holidays were becoming increasingly popular. Tsk tsk.

However, as an orphan and a single man, there weren't many holidays for him to celebrate anyway, so he didn't care.

Just as Naoki Nagayama was agonizing over whether to buy some zongzi, a call came from his hometown. It was his mother, Nanako.

"Naoki, are you coming home for Children's Day this year?"

"Eh? I'm not a kid anymore, do people still celebrate Children's Day?" Naoki Nagayama was surprised.

"Not really, I was just asking." Nanako perhaps still viewed Naoki as a child. "I made some zongzi at home and sent them to you. Keep an eye out for the package in the next few days."

"Hai! Arigato~" Fortunately, he no longer had to agonize over it. Naoki Nagayama followed up by asking, "Is Tsuruko on holiday?"

"Of course. First spring break, then Golden Week. I don't know how happy she is during this time..." Nanako rambled on, then started talking about his father's izakaya and how it would be even busier during the holidays.

Naoki Nagayama was the only child in the family living away from home, so his mother always thought of him during holidays. Her occasional rambling was filled with warmth.

The call lasted for half an hour, and unexpectedly, as soon as he hung up, another call came in.

"Moshi moshi, Naoki-san. This is Yoshimura Otomo." A somewhat exhausted voice came from the other end.

Wasn't Yoshimura Otomo supposed to be at the height of his glory right now, having just been promoted from Planning Department Manager to General Manager?

Why did he sound so depressed?

"Hai, Otomo-san, I'm here," Naoki Nagayama responded.

"Naoki-san, do you have time to come out for a drink at noon?"

In Japanese society, going out for drinks after work in the evening is very normal, but it is quite rare at noon.

Though a bit confused, Naoki Nagayama readily agreed.

At noon, in a certain izakaya in Shinjuku.

By the time Naoki Nagayama arrived, Yoshimura Otomo had already started drinking.

Having not seen him for a while, his Mediterranean hairline seemed to have receded even further. His face was full of fatigue and loss; as he drank, he looked like a dejected, defeated dog.

"Otomo-san, did something happen? You look so dispirited. Didn't you just get promoted to General Manager?" Naoki Nagayama asked directly after sitting down.

"Ah, Naoki-san." Yoshimura Otomo did not answer directly. "Forgive me for asking you out for a drink at noon."

"It's just that I've encountered some obstacles with new business recently, and it's a bit frustrating, so I looked for someone to grab a drink with~"

In reality, the "new business" was far more than just simple obstacles.

Johnny & Associates had yielded a portion of their resources, but that was in exchange for the big names in the BURNING system. The truly profitable opportunities—such as contracts for producing the next record, resources for certain idols, and so on—had already been carved up in advance.

What was left for STARLIGHT Agency were essentially just some television program resources and a few appearances for idols.

STARLIGHT Agency used to be a small agency focused on gravure magazines and advertisements, with almost no idol business under its wing. The exchanged channel resources were equivalent to being given a mere crack in a door.

However, if one truly wanted to squeeze through the gates of the idol business, they had to rely on themselves.

The President had promoted Yoshimura Otomo to General Manager specifically so he could expand the new idol business.

A while ago, Yoshimura Otomo had taken the few "artist" resources at his disposal—those artists who did gravure shoots—and attempted to get them onto television programs. They appeared on screen a few times, but in the end, they failed to make any waves.

When he tried to discover new, potential idols, he found that channels like auditions and trainee groups were still tightly controlled; Johnny's had no intention of letting go.

STARLIGHT's idol-related business seemed to be stuck in mid-air, with no foundation before or after it.

With business going poorly, he couldn't tell the artists under him, he couldn't tell his former colleagues, and he certainly couldn't complain to his family. Thus, he could only find friends to talk to.

In the middle of the day, only the temporarily unemployed Naoki Nagayama was free.

After listening to Yoshimura Otomo's explanation, Naoki Nagayama understood him somewhat.

As one reaches middle age, indeed, everything becomes difficult.

With no one to lean on in front and the need to support those behind, one can only rely on oneself.

"Otomo-san, is the agency relying solely on you? As the President, does he not help with the new business?" they chatted while sipping sake.

"The President? The President never did idol business before, either."

After several quick drinks, Yoshimura Otomo was a bit tipsy.

"Aside from having a slight connection with Dentsu, he can't help with anything."

"Eh? Then among the agency's previous artists, can you really not find any high-quality idol prospects?"

"If they had potential, they would have debuted long ago. Why would they be doing gravure shoots? One by one, they can't sing, they can't dance—they have no talent at all. Aside from their faces and bodies being okay, they are good for nothing." Yoshimura Otomo complained about his own artists without mercy.

*Faces and bodies are okay, and you call that "good for nothing"?*

Naoki Nagayama was struck by this statement. In the future, as long as someone had those two advantages, MCN agencies would dare to hype them up as a "once-in-a-millennium" divine beauty.

Are the requirements for Japanese idols really this high?

"Uh, if they have a face and a body, they can't be considered completely useless, right?"

"Huh? What can you do with that? If I want to see faces and bodies, why wouldn't I just watch adult films?!" Yoshimura Otomo's face turned red, appearing somewhat bewildered.

Ah! Right! Adult films are legal in Japan!

It was as if a switch had suddenly been flipped!

(Naoki Nagayama's moral habits from his previous life had always constrained his behavior; he had actually been in Japan for half a year and hadn't even bought a single adult magazine!!!)

Having understood the reason, Naoki Nagayama also understood why there were so many girl idols in Japan.

When these idols grow up, they generally marry and retire;

If they have the conditions and ability, they can try to transition into professional singers and continue to be active in the music industry;

Some idols find opportunities to transition into the acting industry, filming TV dramas and such;

And some idols can become variety show personalities.

But as for the artists of STARLIGHT Agency, as girl idols, they lacked sufficient ability, and if they transitioned into other fields, it would have nothing to do with the agency's idol business, so the agency couldn't provide much assistance for the time being.

Naoki Nagayama complained silently: "Idols in this era are also very competitive! Clearly, in the future, with things like Rocket 101 or Idol Producer, as long as you know how to act cute, cry about your hardships, and participate in a reality show, you can debut~"

Eh?

Act cute? Cry about hardships? Reality shows?

(End of Chapter)