Chapter 11: 011, If You Are Handsome, Life Will Be Easy

At 2:00 PM, with all matters settled, Nagayama Naoki dragged Nakai Genta, who had originally intended to rest, to an apartment near Waseda.

Walking about 20 minutes from Waseda Station, one could see the six-story apartment building. It wasn't far from the famous Waseda University, making it quite the "school district housing" of the Showa era.

It was a trendy, Western-style renovated apartment, even equipped with an elevator.

After entering, Nakai Genta remarked, "Not bad, this place." To Nagayama Naoki, the old Showa-era building was still missing quite a few things; it didn't even have air conditioning, a water heater, or a washing machine.

However, the space was quite large: two rooms and a living room, with an integrated kitchen and dining area, plus a small balcony. It was certainly enough for a bachelor to live in alone, and a family could barely squeeze in if they had to.

The previous owner had only left behind a few large cabinets; everything else had been cleared out. That was fine, as it made cleaning easier.

"Stop looking around and come help me clean!" Naoki called out to Nakai Genta, who was spinning around like a husky.

"How big is this place? How much did it cost?" Nakai asked, leaning in.

"20 tsubo, about 14 million yen."

"ε=(ο｀*))) Huh? Didn't you only have a budget of 10 million? How could you afford it?"

"Ah, didn't I tell you? I was very busy over half a month ago; I earned it by shooting a commercial during that time." Even close friends don't know everything about each other's finances. Yes, the payment had already been transferred. He had originally planned to borrow a little from the bank if he couldn't scrape enough together in time.

"Kuso, you brat, you're too good at making money! Am I the one who went to Hitotsubashi University, or are you?!"

"Nakai-san, do you know an old saying?"

"Nani?"

"If you're handsome, life is easy!" Nagayama Naoki wore a punchable expression.

"Kisama, konoyaro..."

They bickered while cleaning. After an hour, they had finished most of it. Hoshino Suzumi had arrived by then as well.

The two boys' definition of cleaning was: mop the floor, wipe the windows, closets, kitchen, and toilet, and that was it.

Naoki was still teasing, "Suzumi-chan, we've already finished cleaning, and you're only just arriving~"

After Hoshino Suzumi arrived, she gave them a look of disdain and then proceeded to order the two of them around.

Only then did Nagayama Naoki realize that under the sink, in the corners of the kitchen, in the blind spots of the cabinets, and in the drains—the room that had looked clean actually yielded so much trash.

When it was finally over, the room was thoroughly cleaned. Later, they would need to buy some daily necessities to fill it up, but that would have to wait until after the New Year.

Next, he had to treat the two of them to a meal.

This was firmly in the city center, and the restaurants on the street were as numerous as the stars. The three of them walked and stopped, eventually arriving at an izakaya.

Having been busy all afternoon, they were tired and hungry, so they ordered the fastest thing on the menu: ramen.

After a satisfying meal, they didn't feel like wandering around anymore and returned to the Makino residence together.

Eh? Why was Suzumi-san with them? Kids shouldn't know too much!

"Welcome back!" Mrs. Makino greeted them with a smile as they entered. She watched Nakai and Naoki head upstairs first, then turned to Nagayama Naoki, who was trailing behind, and said, "Naoki-san, there was a call for you this evening. It seemed to be from your mother."

Nagayama Naoki’s mind went blank for a second: "Mother?"

He immediately reacted and said, "Hai, Makino-san, sorry for the trouble. I'll freshen up and call back."

"Hai, it's no problem."

He went upstairs in a bit of a panic. In the nearly three months since he had transmigrated into the Showa era, although he occasionally thought of his hometown, it was nothing more than a label, a picture in his memory. Even when he talked about going home for the New Year, it was just a thought, with no real sense of reality.

The call from his mother back home suddenly broke through that sense of detachment, catching him off guard.

Nagayama Naoki took a quick shower. While cleaning up, he recalled the situation of the original body's family.

His mother, Nagayama Nanako, was a traditional Japanese woman. After marrying into the Nagayama family at 20, she became a devoted housewife, managing everything in the household. She was very good to her children, but since Nagayama Naoki wasn't the eldest son and had a younger sister three years his junior, he received less pampering.

His father, Nagayama Ken, 42, was the second son of his grandfather. When he was born, his grandfather's mind was entirely on the expansion of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Plus, his grandmother had passed away when he was quite young, so he developed a timid yet stubborn personality. Naturally, he wasn't favored by the yakuza boss. He had been separated from the main family for over 20 years, with at most one phone call a year.

His older brother, Nagayama Aoki, 21, didn't grow up to be a refined gentleman; instead, he had a burly build just like his grandfather. His personality was a bit impatient and simple-minded, very much in the style of a Showa man. His current plan was to inherit the izakaya in Shizuoka, and he wasn't married yet.

His younger sister, Nagayama Tsuruko, 15, was a middle school student and a top student. Her goal was to get into a top-tier university in Tokyo and become a social elite.

Overall, aside from the unexpected yakuza background on his grandfather's side, it was a fairly normal small-town family. Nagayama Naoki had come to Tokyo to make his way partly to be closer to Momoe Yamaguchi, and partly because the family izakaya business was too small—adding one more person would have been redundant.

In the past, Nagayama Naoki would usually contact home once every month or two. The introverted original owner didn't call often, and it had been nearly three months since the last contact, which was a bit long. However, since the person inside had changed, he had instinctively avoided contact with acquaintances. Nagayama Naoki felt a bit hesitant now, but he had to return the call regardless.

After changing his clothes, Nagayama Naoki went downstairs and dialed back using the living room phone.

After a few rings, "Moshi moshi, this is the Nagayama residence!" A young girl's voice came from the other end.

"Tsuruko?" Nagayama Naoki couldn't help but ask.

"Onii-chan?!" Upon hearing this, Nagayama Tsuruko immediately shouted toward the other side of the receiver, "Okaasan~ It's Onii-chan's call~"

That call instantly pulled the images from his memory into his mind. The siblings, the parents... every little detail of his upbringing merged into Nagayama Naoki's soul.

"Onii-chan, why haven't you called in so long? Okaasan was so worried~" Nagayama Tsuruko grumbled, tsundere-style, expressing her longing for her brother.

"Eh~~ Tsuruko-chan, weren't you worried too?" Nagayama Naoki teased her slightly.

Nagayama Tsuruko seemed to be choked up: "Urusai! Who said I wasn't worried? I was worried, worried about my New Year's gift~"

"Yabe, I completely forgot about the gift," Nagayama Naoki thought, startled. "Luckily, there's still time to make up for it."

"New Year's gift? Of course, I've had it ready for a long time~ Just waiting to go back and give it to you," he said brazenly.

"You'd better not forget, or you're dead when you get back!" Nagayama Tsuruko threatened. Then, he heard his mother's scolding voice over the phone: "Tsuruko, what nonsense are you saying?" "Hai, hai, here's the phone~"

"Naoki? Can you hear me?"

"Hai, Okaasan, I'm here."

"Have you been very busy lately? Are you coming back for the New Year?"

"Things have been a bit busy at the end of the year, but I can still come back for the New Year~"

"That's great." After that, his mother rambled on about his father, his older brother, Tsuruko, and the izakaya. Nagayama Naoki responded from time to time.

This mother-son relationship had always been like this: a talkative mother and a taciturn son.

Having never experienced familial affection in his previous life, Nagayama Naoki silently felt the warm current flowing through his heart.

(End of chapter)