Chapter 23: 023, Konan Higuchi: Are you planning to produce a song

When they arrived at the film set, Shuichi Itodo and Otomo Yoshimura were discussing Naoki's demo tape.

"As expected of the creator of the number one song on the charts, Naoki-kun is truly a genius!"

"Putting a song like this in a commercial... the record company is going to cry!"

Nagayama Naoki happened to overhear: "Then, wouldn't it be fine to just release a record?"

"ε=(ο｀*))) Huh? How can you say that!" Otomo Yoshimura was startled, as the agency had never ventured into the recording industry before.

Small to medium-sized Japanese agencies at the time were quite rigid; if one line of business was doing well enough, they generally wouldn't consider expanding into other areas. On one hand, established agencies with decades of history blocked the way and monopolized the channels; on the other hand, resources and capital simply didn't allow for it.

"What does it matter? Just treat the record as another promotional channel for the commercial. We can print the beverage brand on the cover. The song has to be sung by someone anyway!" Nagayama Naoki was quite casual. "At worst, we can just produce a few thousand copies to test the waters."

The two thought about it and realized it was indeed a viable method—using the commercial as a way to "borrow a chicken to hatch an egg." If the song became a hit, they might even make a fortune!

The omni-channel marketing mindset of the future gave Otomo Yoshimura great inspiration: "We can promote it in magazines too. We'll have the story and the gimmick; people will definitely watch it."

The three of them discussed it animatedly, and eventually, the conversation drifted toward the casting of the female lead.

"Naoki-san, do you have any recommendations for the female lead?"

"Arere, I only pay attention to celebrities. If we hire a star, the talent fee will probably be extremely high, right?"

"Doesn't Naoki-kun know Seiko Matsuda? Why not have her play the lead? Having a fan and an idol appear together is quite a gimmick," Shuichi Itodo remarked with a raised eyebrow. The logic actually held up.

Nagayama Naoki was speechless. *I'm not actually a fan.* "Seiko-san... Seiko-san is indeed very popular, but her personal image leans towards sweet and cute. Moreover, there is still a bit of resistance toward her among certain female demographics."

"Our commercial targets the general public, and the purchasing power of female audiences is definitely higher than that of males. We need to take that into account."

Shuichi Itodo and Otomo Yoshimura exchanged a glance. To be able to consider gains and losses so calmly when facing his favorite idol—was this really a nineteen-year-old? Ever since they learned he had composed a massive hit for his idol, both had been convinced he was a true die-hard fan.

Nagayama Naoki didn't notice their subtle exchange. "In our commercial, it doesn't matter if the male lead is handsome, since it's for women. If he's a tragic character, it won't cause much backlash. As for the female character, she should be a 'natural beauty'—someone whose image isn't aggressive, like a friendly passerby one might encounter in daily life. That's the only way the romance will feel relatable."

"If Momoe Yamaguchi hadn't retired, her image would have been perfect~" Nagayama Naoki sighed.

Shuichi Itodo looked toward Otomo Yoshimura. "Otomo-san, does our agency have any such artists?"

"Well, not at the moment..." Otomo Yoshimura said bitterly. *We're just a small agency; how could we have such a reserve of talent? You're making this difficult for me...*

"Then we'll have to look outside..." Shuichi Itodo also sighed.

Both understood that this commercial might be a leap in their professional careers. If done well, they wouldn't be dealing with small-scale commercial photo shoots in the future.

"Since we're looking, let's look for a singer at the same time," Nagayama Naoki suggested.

"Eh? Isn't Naoki-san's singing quite good?"

"That was just a demo; it's not professional enough. If it's in a commercial, a female voice is better. A male voice might overshadow the visuals, and the presence of the imagery might be weakened. After all, this is a commercial."

"Then how about Seiko Matsuda-san?" Shuichi Itodo brought her up again, somewhat trying to please him.

"Seiko-san's voice is indeed very sweet, like a sweet romance... but it lacks a bit of natural melancholy." This was a rejection.

"You're quite strict. Then we'll just have to keep looking~" Inwardly, Otomo Yoshimura thought, *What a cold man. Truly a descendant of the underworld.*

The casting for the female lead went very smoothly. The tiny STARTLINGHT agency happened to be one of the small agencies within the BURNING system. In the BURNING system, which could be said to encompass the largest number of artists in all of Japan, finding a suitable artist was too easy.

Otomo Yoshimura reached out to his old friend, President Kenichi Hino, and since this was a win-win situation, the other party was happy to cooperate.

Based on criteria such as a sweet appearance, a non-aggressive aura, and an age around twenty, a large group was quickly screened. Finally, Shuichi Itodo settled on a newcomer named Kanako Higuchi.

She had just debuted last year and had won the Newcomer Award at the Golden Arrow Awards for the film *Curfew Night*; she was currently in a hot rising period.

Nagayama Naoki had no objections regarding the female lead—Shuichi Itodo was very professional in this regard—but finding the singer was difficult. Someone sweet, yet possessing a hint of natural melancholy.

Miyuki Nakajima would be very suitable, but she was already a top star with a schedule booked two years in advance. If they tried to invite her, the commercial wouldn't even be out by the end of the year.

For the others, Nagayama Naoki sat in the studio office listening to the records of various candidate singers one by one. If this production succeeded, it would count as his first record as a producer.

While he was listening, Otomo Yoshimura led two strangers into the backstage area. "Naoki-san, this is Kanako Higuchi, the female lead for this project." The efficient assistant beside them didn't bother with introductions.

"Nice to meet you, I am Kanako Higuchi. I look forward to working with you." The elegant woman bowed. She had a very typical Japanese look, with soft, gentle features and almond-shaped eyes. Her petite nose gave her a gentle and refined expression, perfectly capturing the beauty of being twenty-one.

"Nice to meet you, I am Nagayama Naoki. I look forward to our cooperation as well." Nagayama Naoki also stood up and bowed.

He had never heard of Kanako Higuchi before. The stars in the entertainment industry were as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river; one might not even know all the domestic stars, let alone international ones.

However, Shuichi Itodo's eye for talent was indeed good. She was a beauty with a gentle temperament—not aggressive, yet memorable at a glance.

A moment later, Shuichi Itodo arrived, clutching several printed documents which he distributed to the two. They were already completed shooting scripts; he was indeed very fast.

"This is the script for this commercial's creative concept. Higuchi Kanako-san, please take a look first. I will explain it in a moment." Once it came to formal filming, Shuichi Itodo was quite decisive and efficient.

He turned to Nagayama Naoki. "Naoki-san, do we have a candidate for the singer yet?"

"No, they all have slight flaws. If we still can't find anyone by the end, we might have to make do with someone."

"Finding a singer isn't like specialized composition; you can't find perfection instantly," Shuichi Itodo offered a word of comfort. "If possible, try to find someone within this week. It's best to complete filming and editing within two weeks so the commercial launch isn't delayed."

Kanako Higuchi listened to their conversation while reading the script in her hands.

*Why is the director being so polite to this young artist?*

*Is he a 'resource artist' (someone with heavy backing)?*

*And what's with the song?*

It wasn't until she saw notations in the script like "Music starts here," "Music fades out," and "Background music," combined with the fact that there were absolutely no spoken lines in the script, that she realized... this was quite different from a typical commercial.

"Itado-san, are we filming a music video? Are we producing a record?"