Chapter 17: 017, Going Viral! A Genius Creator in the Making!

The weather turned slightly sunny.

In the record stores of Ginza and Akihabara, the light and sweet melody of "Cherry Blossom" began to drift through the air.

Even the posters of Seiko Matsuda were in soft, tender colors, making it seem as though the cherry blossoms for two months from now had already bloomed early on the streets of Tokyo.

After Momoe Yamaguchi's retirement, the idol industry of these past two years had been the domain of Seiko Matsuda.

On the streets, one could hear female students occasionally humming the melody as they passed by.

The records in the shops were in such high demand that they were requesting reprints.

Naoki Nagayama, of course, didn't need to go out and buy them; as soon as the records were finished, Sanwa and Daishi sent him ten copies—the kind of "insider goods" that came with Seiko Matsuda's personal signature.

Naoki Nagayama, naturally, had not forgotten Hoshino Suzumi; he sent one copy each to her and Gentaro Nakai, and also sent one to Tsuruko at home. However, his mother, Nanako Nagayama, was not a fan of young idols; she preferred Hibari Misora.

Speaking of which, it seemed Gentaro Nakai had already decided to enter the banking sector to become a highly sought-after "Bankman" at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. Perhaps one could go to him for loans in the future.

By the end of the first week of release, the record had indeed claimed the number one spot on the Oricon charts; it could be described as a massive hit.

The songwriter and composer listed on the record was Naoki Nagayama, which naturally piqued the curiosity of the industry. Tabloids had already begun describing this overnight sensation as a "genius creator."

At this point, Naoki Nagayama finally let go of his long-standing worries. Even if he had disrupted the historical trajectory of the music charts, it was still a beloved song.

As the chart rankings appeared, Naoki Nagayama began his long-standing plan.

"Gentaro-san, how is work at the bank going?" On Monday, Naoki Nagayama contacted Gentaro Nakai.

"How could it be anything else? Just serving tea and running errands at the branch. Isn't that how every newcomer starts?" Especially in Japan, where seniority is strictly observed, a newcomer without connections generally wouldn't get a chance to handle actual business until they had put in at least a year.

"How is your direct senior? Is he easy to get along with?" The apprenticeship system was also a part of the corporate culture.

"Ito-kun... he's an experienced senior. He's very popular in the company and very kind to people..."

"Oh? He doesn't bully the newcomers? Sounds like he has strong professional abilities~" In the "too many wolves, too little meat" environment of Japanese banks, everyone wore a fake smile. Bullying newcomers was almost a tradition; the less capable the veteran, the worse their attitude toward newcomers.

"Maybe, but I haven't been involved in actual business yet, so I don't know the specifics~"

Naoki Nagayama then said, "Gentaro-san, if you were to bring a high-value loan client to him right now, would Senior Ito let you handle business ahead of schedule?"

There is a category of employees in banks called "resource employees"—those who can bring in massive amounts of business, capital, connections, and so on, and are highly valued by bank leadership.

The Japanese economy had been in good shape over the past two years, and banks were working hard to lend out money; the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi was no exception.

"High-value? How much?"

"At least 100 million yen~"

"That's not even that much... but, I suppose it should be enough to make Ito-senpai happy~" He felt like he was being mocked in some way.

*You rascal, Gentaro Nakai, you've only been at the bank for a few days and you're already treating 100 million like it's nothing!*

The next morning, Naoki Nagayama arrived with the copyright royalty contract to meet Gentaro Nakai, and was subsequently led to a VIP meeting room in the Nakano Ward branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Taking a few sips of the hot tea served by the bank lady, the fragrance lingered in his mouth; it was indeed much better than the tea at real estate agencies or talent agencies.

A moment later, Gentaro Nakai led in a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Upon entering, the man first bowed to Naoki Nagayama: "Nice to meet you. I am Masayuki Ito, a key account manager for Mitsubishi Bank."

"Nice to meet you. I am Naoki Nagayama," Naoki responded with a bow.

"Nagayama-kun, thank you very much for choosing our bank. I will do my utmost to handle your loan business moving forward." He bowed again.

"Yes, I will be in your care, Ito-kun." Naoki had to bow again; the etiquette was truly cumbersome.

Once both parties finally sat down, Masayuki Ito began inquiring about the specifics of the loan. "I heard a portion from Gentaro-kun earlier, but I would like to confirm it with you once more."

"Yes. It is actually quite simple. I previously composed a song, and thanks to Seiko Matsuda, the record has achieved quite good results. I now wish to use the copyright royalties of this song as collateral to take out a loan from your bank to operate a business."

Of course, he couldn't say directly that it was to flip real estate; otherwise, it would fall under a real estate loan. Even in Japan, mortgage scrutiny is very strict, requiring knowledge of personal annual income, personal attributes, credit information, and other projects.

For someone like Naoki Nagayama, who had no salary, no annual income, and basically no conventional income, it would be impossible to apply for a large mortgage.

In particular, if one already has a mortgage, it lowers their credit rating, making it extremely difficult to use the property as collateral for a second loan later.

However, if it is a commercial collateral loan, the scrutiny is much looser. As long as the commercial value of the collateral is affirmed, they generally won't care too much about where the money is used.

"Which song are your copyright royalties from? Have you determined the final scope of the beneficiaries?"

"It is the recently released 'Cherry Blossom' by Seiko Matsuda. It has already reached number one on the Oricon charts and is guaranteed to be a best-selling record."

"Ah, that is quite extraordinary!" Masayuki Ito clearly understood the profits of the record industry. "For a hit record like that, even calculating based on 500,000 copies sold, the royalties would exceed 100 million yen..."

Gentaro Nakai chimed in, "Sugoi na! I thought the 10 million yen copyright fee was the whole thing..."

"Yes, but that is the final long-term royalty. Currently, I want to take out a loan first to fund the operation of a business." Naoki Nagayama completely ignored Gentaro Nakai at this moment.

"Oh, then may I ask, Nagayama-kun, could you tell us the specific direction of the business you wish to operate?"

Naoki Nagayama was well-prepared. He pulled a business plan out of his backpack. "Using the currently popular cabaret as a model, combined with future development trends, I have drafted a plan for a dance hall."

Having been a long-time office worker in his previous life, making PPTs and drawing data analysis charts was child's play.

This plan was actually a depiction of what would later become a disco, but with a vision thirty years ahead of its time, combining the development of cabarets and KTVs, the plan looked extremely promising.

"This plan looks truly full of potential! Nagayama-kun, your vision is incredibly forward-thinking!"

Having served as a key account manager for a long time, Masayuki Ito was quite knowledgeable; even if he had seen many whimsical ideas, this plan truly moved him.

"Nagayama-kun, I wonder if you have heard of a 'Proper Loan'? I feel that with your plan, it might be possible to apply for a more flexible Proper Loan."

"Ah, I haven't actually heard of it. Please, Ito-kun, introduce it."

After listening to Masayuki Ito's introduction, Naoki Nagayama discovered that this so-called "Proper Loan"—a deeply customized investment loan—was actually similar to venture capital. The amounts were larger and the interest rates lower, but the bank would also participate in the profits. However, there were many additional clauses that imposed restrictions and required supervision of the project.

Having understood the specifics, Naoki Nagayama immediately declined. Wasn't this just the same old scheme of tricking young people into starting businesses, only to harvest them through financing and IPOs?

*I don't even want to work a regular job, and you want me to start a business? Working myself to death, going from 007 to 000...*

In truth, this business plan was just a front, primarily intended to use the pretext of opening a disco to secure a loan to buy commercial land.

"Thank you for your kindness, Ito-kun, but I am not currently considering a larger loan amount. I would prefer to proceed with the loan based on the copyright royalties first." In Japan, such a statement was a clear rejection.

"Ah, that is truly a pity." Masayuki Ito was also very regretful. If they had closed a Proper Loan and the project truly took off, he would not only receive commissions but might even be dispatched by the bank to serve as an executive within the project.

This wasn't a temporary dispatch worker, but something similar to a "holding position" leader in China, which would be a massive boost to one's seniority.

However, Masayuki Ito did not push further. Instead, he began checking the documents according to Naoki Nagayama's request to conduct the loan amount audit.

"Overall, there are no issues with your loan documents, Nagayama-kun. A limit of 100 million yen should be approvable," Masayuki Ito finally said to Naoki. "It will take about 3 to 4 days for the funds to arrive."

Because they had already been in contact through Gentaro Nakai, the documents were quite complete, though the copyright royalty contract still required further verification of earnings.

By the standards of this era, this was already very fast.

Of course, it was also because Naoki Nagayama's profile was clear and his collateral was of very high quality.

"Well then, Nagayama-kun, I will go and handle the relevant matters for this transaction. For now, I'll leave Gentaro-san to host you." Masayuki Ito bowed one last time. "If you'll excuse me."

"Yes, thank you for your help today!" Both Gentaro Nakai and Naoki Nagayama stood up and bowed in farewell.

With a soft *click*, the meeting room door closed.

Only then did Gentaro Nakai breathe a sigh of relief. "It's finally over..."

"The atmosphere just now was so tense. I've never seen Senior Ito conduct business like that; I didn't even dare to say a word while standing by."

*You clearly spoke up,* Naoki Nagayama looked at him with disdain, then said, "You still have a lot to learn, Gentaro-san~"

"By the way, why didn't you take that so-called Proper Loan? It sounded like it had a larger limit and lower interest rates?" Gentaro Nakai was somewhat puzzled.

*Of course, so I wouldn't have to work myself to death starting a business!*

"Do you think a Proper Loan is a good thing? Just from the introduction, you can tell they lend money based on the project's development. If there is no progress or if difficulties arise, they will immediately stop lending and then pressure you to repay the debt... and they even send someone to supervise every single one of your expenses," Naoki Nagayama made up a casual excuse.

"Isn't there a saying? A bank is an institution that 'lends you an umbrella when it's sunny, and takes it back when it starts to rain.'"

"Arre, Naoki-san, do you perhaps have some misunderstanding about banks..."

(End of Chapter)