Chapter 42: 042, Who Could Refuse a Catgirl?

There is a saying in the workplace

Whoever proposes the plan is the one who executes it.

Thus, Tomo Yoshimura invited Naoki Nagayama to co-create an "original girl group"

"Without you, Naoki-san, I wouldn't have the confidence to do this."

Looking at the sincere, middle-aged man with a receding hairline before him, Naoki Nagayama couldn't help but feel like he was getting himself mixed up in something troublesome.

"What are you discussing?" Shuichi Idou walked in.

"Is your shoot finished, Shuichi-san?" Naoki Nagayama noticed the staff outside were already packing up the equipment. "We are discussing the establishment of a girl group."

"Ah, finally finished. Only editing is left. Idols really are a handful~" he remarked with a sigh. "What girl group? The Flower Trio?"

As expected, Momoe Yamaguchi was truly the idol of a generation.

Tomo Yoshimura interjected, "It's not that kind of idol group. It's more like a girl group with many members combined. Naoki-san, how did you put it?"

"Haha, it is a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?" Naoki Nagayama also tried to pitch the idea to Shuichi Idou.

"After listening for so long, to put it bluntly, you mean a group of performers who lack the qualities to be solo idols, combined into a group to debut?" Shuichi Idou went straight to the point.

Technically, he wasn't wrong, but it completely stripped away the high-end allure. *This guy Idou has absolutely no artistic flair whatsoever,* Naoki Nagayama and Tomo Yoshimura complained silently.

"Still, it sounds quite interesting~" Shuichi finally offered a word of affirmation.

None of the three were procrastinators; once the idea was set, they immediately began thinking about the upcoming operational plan.

As for personnel, there was no need to worry. Tomo Yoshimura had certain resources within the "gravure idol" industry, so selecting about five people wouldn't be a problem.

Naoki Nagayama recalled the configurations of former Korean girl groups, offering suggestions such as the "visual," "main dancer," "cute member," "sexy member," and so on. The other two nodded in agreement, and Shuichi Idou expressed that he could contact choreographers to provide artistic guidance.

Next would be contacting television stations to test the waters with appearances.

"So, what should this group be called?" Tomo Yoshimura asked.

"Girls' Generation? BLACKPINK? SISTERS?" Naoki Nagayama rattled off famous Korean girl groups from the future in one breath.

"Girls' Generation overlaps with 'shoujo idols,' and it doesn't fit our group's style," Tomo Yoshimura said, clearly unaware of the influence these groups would have in the future.

"Also, BLACKPINK? Isn't that just following the trend of PINKLADY? And SISTERS? It doesn't feel like it has any unique characteristics."

Shuichi Idou also had no idea what he was missing.

"Our members are all gravure magazine artists, so their characteristic is sexiness... how about SEXY SISTERS?" Tomo Yoshimura suggested.

"You'll make people think you're filming adult films!" Shuichi Idou retorted.

They needed to highlight the sexy characteristics of gravure models, yet also be cute, cool, and unconventional...

"Why not call them CATS? With such a versatile animal image, it would look great if the members came on stage wearing cat ears!"

Who could refuse cat-eared girls?

Ever since Kiby from the 1970s *Cotton Land Star*, cat-ear elements had been spreading in Japan and were deeply loved by young people.

"That sounds very interesting~" x2

Many major events in history actually stem from the discussions of just a few people.

Whether it was because he saw the future potential or simply for the sake of this collaboration, Tomo Yoshimura proposed

"Naoki-san, Shuichi-san, let's cooperate to establish a new label. Let's call it GIRL'S GROUP, and CATS will be our first girl group launch!"

Naoki Nagayama's HALO Studio, STARLIGHT Agency, and producer Shuichi Idou combined to form a simple shell company.

Find the shining point of each girl, combine them, and package them for promotion—that was the mission of GG.

After a round of discussion, Tomo Yoshimura seemed pumped up with adrenaline; he couldn't even wait to finish dinner and hurriedly took a taxi to the agency.

Shuichi Idou had no intention of staying for a meal either; he began editing the advertisement, wanting to finish this commission as soon as possible.

Only Naoki Nagayama was left alone, driving his sports car to the Shibuya commercial district.

Although the image of cat-eared girls already existed in this era, decorative hair accessories and clothing didn't seem to be in fashion yet. He decided to investigate if there were any ready-made products; if not, he would consider drawing design sketches to have a factory custom-make a batch.

*Wait, is this another way to make money?*

The shops in Shibuya carried the trendiest products from all over the world, and there were many different styles to choose from in the clothing section.

However, despite Naoki Nagayama enduring the strange looks of the female shop assistants while searching through the women's clothing section, while there were many hair accessories, cat-ear decorations were indeed nowhere to be found.

It looked like he really would have to custom-order them.

But for something like drawing cat-ear design sketches, finding a professional artist seemed a bit excessive. *Do I have to ask a friend for help again?*

Naoki Nagayama returned home in a state of indecision.

Seeing the simple sketches of Akina on his bookshelf, Naoki Nagayama felt that drawing wasn't actually that difficult.

So, he bought a set of children's drawing tools and attempted to draw a cat-ear hair accessory based on a reference book...

As it turned out, some talents are destined to remain hidden forever.

Looking at the ear-shaped blob on the cardstock, Naoki Nagayama lost all confidence in his artistic talent.

Thinking about his friends, none of them seemed to be professionals, but if their drawing skills were decent...

Naoki Nagayama's eyes drifted toward the simple sketches on the bookshelf.

"Moshi moshi, this is the Nakamori residence," a male voice answered.

"Moshi moshi, this is Naoki Nagayama. Is Akina Nakamori home, please?" Naoki Nagayama asked.

"Please wait a moment, I'll go call her." The male voice didn't ask anything else before hanging up.

"Moshi moshi, is that Naoki-san? I'm coming~" Akina's voice during this period was not too deep, still retaining a sweet, girlish tone.

"Hi, Akina-san. I'm sorry for calling so suddenly." He expressed his apologies first to make the subsequent request easier.

"Hi, it's fine, it's totally fine." Akina's voice was very energetic. "Is something the matter, Naoki-san?"

"Ah, yes, there is something I'd like to ask your help with, Akina-san." Naoki Nagayama went straight to the point. "You probably have some skill in drawing, right?"

"Um, actually, it's just so-so." Her voice sounded a bit soft and hesitant.

"Then, Akina-san, can you draw cat ears?"

"Eh???"

Naoki Nagayama then explained the requirement for drawing a hair accessory with cat ears and the reason he was asking for her help over the phone.

"That's about it. I really don't have anyone else around me who can draw. Do you think you can help, Akina-san?"

"I can help, but I don't know if I can draw them well."

"Don't worry about that. Just a rough sketch will do~" The factory would confirm details during customization, and there would be different samples, etc.

"There will be no shortage of compensation for you once it's finished, Akina-san~" Naoki Nagayama knew how to be polite.

"There's no need for compensation~ It's just a small favor. Besides, Naoki-san treated us to such expensive watermelon before~" Little Akina insisted she didn't need it.

"That won't do. One thing should be separate from another."

"If Naoki-san keeps being this polite, I won't help you draw them at all~" She was actually quite stubborn.

"Then, after it's drawn, let me treat you to a big meal. Will that work?"

After a friendly bout of mutual politeness, they changed the compensation to a meal and agreed that she would come to help over the weekend.

Hanging up the phone, Naoki Nagayama felt it was a bit sudden. Why had he asked Akina-san for help?

The simple sketches on the bookshelf were a reminder.

Perhaps it was the idol girl group project that had triggered his memories of Showa-era idols from his previous life.