Chapter 29: 029, A Breathtaking Song, A Love to Remember

As expected, the rumors involving Naoki Nagayama and Kanako Higuchi appeared in the small magazine on Thursday.

Even for a small magazine, since it concerned the entertainment industry, it inevitably garnered some attention.

This weekend, whenever Kanako Higuchi entered or left her agency or went to various gigs, she was asked

"Kanako-san, are you in a relationship?" "Kanako-san, is the other person an insider?" "Kanako-san, how long has it been going on?"

Questions of that nature.

Naoki Nagayama also received a phone call from home. His sister, Tsuruko, asked excitedly, "Nii-chan, are you in love? And is she a celebrity?"

"Nothing like that. She's just a collaborator; we just had a meal and a walk after discussing work matters."

"Hmph? Don't lie to me~ If you have a girlfriend, you have to bring her home to meet us~"

"I said there's nothing. I'll tell you when there is. Father and Mother know too, right? Were they shocked?"

"Not at all, they're just waiting for you to bring someone home."

"Then you'll have to wait~"

"Nii-chan, have the cherry blossoms bloomed in Tokyo yet?"

"Not yet, it won't be until late March~"

"I'm going to visit then, you haven't forgotten, right?"

"Yeah, yeah~ I'll definitely host you well~"

After finally soothing his sister and explaining everything once more to his mother, he was finally free.

However, Kanako Higuchi's agency made no move at all, allowing the rumor to spread. For a time, it actually caused a bit of a stir in the entertainment industry, and Kanako Higuchi's name began to be known by more people.

On an afternoon in early March,

The sunlight had begun to grow brilliant, and the temperature was starting to become warm.

Along the streets of Tokyo, everything was turning lush and green, with nameless little flowers dotting the green carpet.

The flowers carefully tended by people were also competing to bloom—this patch of white, that cluster of red, this bush of pink, that tuft of purple; one side was in full bloom, while the other was still in bud.

Hanada Mayu, who had just entered high school, loved this season most of all.

Perhaps because of her surname, Hanada, she had been obsessed with flowers since childhood, and her future dream was to open a flower shop.

The annual cherry blossoms were her particular favorite.

On her way home from school today, she occasionally craved a drink—a sweet, warm red bean soup would be perfect for early spring.

But she discovered that a whole row of new drinks had appeared in the vending machine; this was a common practice whenever a new product was launched.

However, a pink color, cherry blossom flavored—soda?

A new soda?

What does cherry blossom flavor taste like?

Thinking this, Hanada Mayu bought a bottle out of curiosity, but before she could drink it, she was called over by her friends, so she could only put it in her bag for now.

After arriving home, her mother had already prepared dinner, so the soda had no chance to be used.

By the time she finished helping with the dishes and cleaning, it was already 7 PM. Her father was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper, and Hanada Mayu turned on the TV to browse the channels.

As she was switching channels, a moving melody suddenly played, followed by a sweet female voice

"sakura sakura aitaiyo iyada kimi ni ima sugu aitaiyo"

The catchy melody immediately caught Hanada Mayu's attention.

A new song?

The handsome man in the music video also immediately caught her eye—and the woman was very beautiful too~

Accompanied by the music, Hanada Mayu imagined the two falling for each other, falling deeply in love, getting married, and having children; this is how sweet love should be.

Until that sound of braking! During those few seconds of silence, Hanada Mayu truly held her breath. When the music rose again, it was the same female voice, but now it carried regret and sadness...

Until finally, the two returned to the eaves where they first met, and the image of the wife slowly faded away.

The image of the daughter overlapped with it...

Love, indeed.

It is sweet and romantic, yet it is also sad and full of regret.

That which cannot be attained, that which one cannot bear to let go of—that is what truly stays in one's heart~

With eyes slightly moist, Hanada Mayu suddenly remembered the drink that brought the man and woman together in the MV.

It was... cherry blossom flavored soda~

What did it taste like?

It turned out to be a faint acidity, a gentle sweetness, and then, under the stimulation of the bubbles, it faded from the tongue, leaving behind only the fragrance of cherry blossoms~

As expected, love should taste just like this~

A five-minute long commercial!

NHK's advertising department had never received such a request before.

Department Manager Takeda Hiroshi was startled when he received the order and confirmed it several times.

Was Tomasu Beverages really that rich?

They could almost buy three entire time slots, and during prime time at that.

Tomasu Beverages had indeed put down a massive investment this time. It was said that when Shuichi Todo went to the discussion meeting, he said: "President, department managers, what you will receive this time is the opportunity to completely bind Tomasu Beverages to a social phenomenon.

When people talk about Torii, they think of shrines; when they talk about skiing, they think of Hokkaido; when they talk about katanas, they think of the samurai spirit."

"And after this commercial, perhaps when people talk about love, besides the cherry blossoms of Meguro River, they will think of Tomasu's cherry blossom flavored soda."

After watching the sample footage, the managers of Tomasu Beverages agreed to the plan, and the promotion budget was tripled.

They moved the commercial time from the original afternoon slot to the prime time slot.

An unprecedented commercial, a stunning song, and a memorable love story!

The newspapers began to promote it this way the next day.

Was this using an MV to advertise? Using a song to promote soda? Or using a commercial to push a new song?

The subsequent simultaneous release of records, posters, and advertisements made it difficult to tell what the true focus of this project was.

However, after one week, the commercial's viewership rating actually reached a staggering 15%. The cherry blossom flavored soda became a new favorite among young people offline, and record sales exceeded 50,000 copies, with rankings on the public charts rising rapidly.

Everything reached the expected effect, and even exceeded it.

This integrated form of promotion left the industry marvelling at its creative novelty. It also caused the name of producer Naoki Nagayama to begin spreading throughout the entertainment industry.

"Naoki-san, it's a success!" In this project, Otomo Yoshimura was always the one providing silent support from behind the scenes, but everyone knew he was also the one under the greatest pressure.

One must realize that if something went wrong, Naoki Nagayama and Shuichi Todo wouldn't lose much, but Yoshimura Otomo could potentially lose the career he had fought for decades to build.

This middle-aged man with a receding hairline had actually relied on his sheer willpower to continuously support the antics of Shuichi Todo and Naoki Nagayama. Even for the earth-shattering five-minute commercial, it was only through his relentless persistence with the President and his use of connections that the discussion meeting had even taken place.

"You've worked truly hard, Otomo-san!" Naoki Nagayama bowed seriously this time. "Thank you for your support during this period, Otomo-kun. Without you, this project would have been destined for failure!"

Shuichi Todo also bowed to Yoshimura Otomo: "Otomo-san, thank you for your tolerance!"

Yoshimura Otomo spoke with genuine emotion: "A man with no talent like me was only able to participate in this miraculous project thanks to Shuichi-san and Naoki-san! This might be the most brilliant moment of my life. Arigato!"

"There will be even more in the future!" Naoki Nagayama said firmly.

(End of Chapter)