Chapter 8: 008: You're so handsome, how about coming to do a photo shoot—no, I mean, how about doing an advertisement?

On the way back, Naoki Nagayama felt a little smug and also a bit surprised. Was changing one’s image really this dramatic? Was the attraction to the opposite sex this strong?

It wasn't as obvious when seeing Mrs. Makino or Youta Nakai every day, but those who hadn't seen him for a while could immediately spot the massive change in Naoki Nagayama.

An 18-year-old boy is in the prime of his life; just by virtue of his youth, he wouldn't look bad, and besides, Naoki Nagayama was already quite handsome to begin with. Recently, he had gained some muscle from working out, and with his fresh, short, bangs-swept hairstyle, his previously hidden eyebrows and eyes were now fully revealed.

Such a fresh, handsome, and upbeat young man was completely different from the timid and dull country boy he had been before.

The current Naoki Nagayama wore the comfortable styles of the future: a brand-new solid-colored T-shirt, a denim jacket, black cropped trousers, and newly purchased sneakers. Compared to the Showa-era men who were all into wearing suits, dress slacks, and heavy leather shoes, he could be considered very trendy.

If he wandered around the streets of Shibuya, he might even get a business card shoved into his hand by a talent scout~

To his surprise, the very next morning, Keiko Fujita called him—and it was a Saturday, too.

*Heh~ women.* They are so attentive and hardworking when faced with a handsome guy.

Wait, am I the handsome guy? Oh, never mind then~~~

He arranged to meet Keiko Fujita at the real estate agency, and then they drove to look at a few properties.

Keiko Fujita was quite capable at her job. In just one day yesterday, she had found information on six properties and had already obtained the keys for them.

This wasn't the 21st century with its lightning-fast internet; she must have spent the entire day yesterday making phone calls and running to the respective branch offices to pick up the keys.

Upon meeting, Keiko Fujita was full of energy: "Naoki-san, you're here! There are six properties to view today, I'll drive you to see them~"

She had even become more intimate with her address.

"Hai, I'll have to trouble you today, Fujita-san. I didn't know you could drive?"

"Hai, daijoubu! Just leave it to me today!"

Then the two of them got into an old-fashioned Toyota sedan—it was a manual transmission, too.

*Hm? Should I buy a car later?*

But after buying the house, there wouldn't be much money left. He would have to wait for his royalties to come in before he could continue shopping.

The factors for choosing a house are more or less the same everywhere, past or present. Once the budget is set, the most important thing is: Location! Location! Location! Everything else about a house can be flexible.

Of the properties Keiko Fujita found, two were in Nakano Ward, located in the middle of a residential area. They were ordinary 20-tsubo (approx. 66 sqm) apartments, and the transportation wasn't particularly convenient. Naoki Nagayama didn't like them; mainly because Nakano Ward would remain a lower-end residential area in the future, and the appreciation might not be as high as in other wards.

As for the remaining four, two were in Shinjuku Ward, one in Setagaya Ward, and one in Koto Ward.

Naoki Nagayama had already mentally written off the houses in Setagaya and Koto. They might be fine for living in later, but with a budget of just over 10 million yen, he couldn't buy anything too great. Right now, the priority was finding the highest potential for appreciation.

One of the Shinjuku properties was a detached house, 10 tsubo (approx. 30 sqm), but it had two floors and was better suited for a family. The other was an apartment near Waseda University on the third floor, 20 tsubo (approx. 66 sqm), with two rooms and a living area—more suitable for a white-collar worker.

For Naoki Nagayama, as a temporary transition that also considered future resale, the 3rd-floor apartment was more to his liking. So, without dragging it out, he said directly to Keiko Fujita

"Fujita-san, I quite like this apartment. Let's go with this one."

"ε=(ο｀*))) Ah, won't you take a look at the other two? Maybe they'll be more to your liking? We can still look around~" Her eyes fixed on Naoki Nagayama, and there was a hint of coquettishness in her tone.

*Is she here to show me houses, or to keep looking at me? Young women in Tokyo are really...*

"Hai, I've already decided on this one. Let's go pay the deposit!" The deposit and contract were signed directly at the Shinjuku branch, which was quite convenient. He also took the opportunity to decline Keiko Fujita's invitation for lunch.

He had to finish this quickly; an 18-year-old piece of "fresh meat" was too tempting.

It wasn't even noon yet. Since he had finally made it out, he naturally had to go for a stroll. Shinjuku's commercial shops were dazzling, but Naoki Nagayama, having just decided to spend almost all his assets, had no desire to continue consuming for the time being. It was better to look at something interesting. It just so happened to be the weekend, and the Harajuku Pedestrian Paradise was open. He had heard Youta Nakai talk about how lively it was there, so he might as well take this opportunity to check it out.

It was only a ten-minute train ride from Waseda to Harajuku. After exiting the station, Naoki Nagayama bought a serving of takoyaki on the street and wandered around while eating.

Inside the Pedestrian Paradise, one could see groups of people known as the "Takenoko-zoku" in bizarre costumes, dancing along to portable cassette players. Their bright red and purple outfits, featuring Chinese or Arabic influences, made the gathering look a bit like a flash mob or a carnival from the future.

Though, if they were a bit older, it would look quite a lot like square dancing.

At the intersections, there were also some street performers, some of whom had quite decent skills, and Naoki Nagayama tossed a few dozen yen in appreciation. However, there were others playing heavy metal rock who were simply dancing like demons.

The takoyaki in his hand was long gone, and he wasn't hungry yet. Naoki Nagayama wandered, enjoying the performances in the Pedestrian Paradise while looking for a restaurant that caught his eye. Suddenly, he received a flyer from someone in a deer-head costume—it was a poster for a live house, with a band performing that afternoon. It looked quite interesting~

Suddenly, *eh?* Why is that balding middle-aged man looking at me so lecherously?

Talent scouting is the entry-level job for entertainment agents, but it was also a field that Otomo Yoshimura had long since moved away from.

At over 40 years old, Otomo Yoshimura was already the planning director of a small agency. Although the agency was small, it relied on some connections with Dentsu to pick up minor advertising work and publish some gravure magazines, so they managed to survive.

But today, he had to return to the streets to act as a talent scout.

Because the old beverage company Tomomasu Drink had launched a new green plum-flavored soda at the end of the year, the president had used personal connections to secretly secure the contract for the commercial. Tomomasu Drink was a big sponsor; it paid much more than the borderline gravure magazines!

Usually, everyone was skilled at this kind of work: find a pretty young girl to film a scene drinking soda, add a "Wow~ so delicious!" exclamation, and the scene was done.

But this time, perhaps to create differentiation for the end of the year, the client requested a fresh-looking male model. The client wasn't satisfied with any of the candidates they had on file.

The popular male idols of the Showa era mostly focused on displaying a masculine, chivalrous spirit, with cold and hard features. Of course, there were fresh-looking types, but Otomo Yoshimura's small agency didn't have any.

He heard the client was already considering switching partners, which made the president so angry he laid down an ultimatum: "If we lose this deal, Yoshimura-san, your bonus for this year will be donated to the company!"

For the past few days, besides leveraging his connections at universities to find a suitable young man, Otomo Yoshimura had been searching in places where young people gathered, hoping to stumble upon a standout choice.

Why not use industry resources? The competition for advertising business was fierce, and for established companies, it was even more cutthroat. Revealing the news to the industry was no different than throwing lamb into a den of tigers. Otomo Yoshimura didn't believe the president's connections could withstand so many industry rivals.

"Why is it all just monsters and freaks..." Otomo Yoshimura, who had been searching the Pedestrian Paradise all morning, had only this thought regarding the performing groups. "Has the era changed?"

Ten years ago, street performances relied mainly on hard skills and vocal talent; dancing also required genuine ability. If all else failed, they would perform some comedy. Nowadays, the performing groups were heavily made up, each more bizarre than the last. They wore every color of the rainbow, desperate to cover themselves in every shade, while the performers' true selves were buried deep under layers of cosmetics.

Otomo Yoshimura, unable to find anyone, was growing anxious, his eyes constantly scanning the various groups on the street. Suddenly, a splash of blue caught his eye: a blue denim jacket, white T-shirt, black cropped trousers, gray sneakers, a handsome and quiet, slightly thin face, topped with a simple 4-6 parted hairstyle.

The first time Otomo Yoshimura saw Naoki Nagayama, the words that came to his mind were youth, sunshine, freshness, gentleness, and vitality. It was like a clear spring washing away the restless atmosphere of the Pedestrian Paradise.

When Naoki Nagayama looked over, Otomo Yoshimura even felt his heart skip a beat for a second (laughing). "Incredible, this is the one!"

Naoki Nagayama watched as the balding middle-aged man walked up to him, bowed first, and said, "Konnichiwa, I am Otomo Yoshimura from Gei-Gei Agency!" Then he handed over a business card.

"Konnichiwa, I am Naoki Nagayama. May I ask what this is about?" Naoki Nagayama took the card, looking confused.

"It's like this, Nagayama-kun, you are so handsome, have you ever considered doing some modeling?"

"Ha?"

(End of chapter)