Chapter 37: 037, Have you heard? Over at Takada Racecourse, there is a

Not long after the semester began, a rumor began to circulate among the students of Tokyo Fuji University, Waseda University, Japan Women's University, and others

"Have you heard? There's an incredibly fun disco over in Takadanobaba!"

Exiting Takadanobaba Station, walking through a commercial street, and turning into an alley, one could see the flashing neon sign: "DISCO!"

From the moment it opened on weekend afternoons, long queues began to form in this alley. Because the venue wasn't particularly large, the capacity was limited to 300 people; once that limit was reached, a "one-in, one-out" rule was enforced.

Yet, even until midnight, the lines remained long, with some people even waiting for two hours only to be denied entry.

However, with two burly men in black suits standing at the entrance, no one dared to cause trouble.

After paying at the door, a fluorescent stamp was pressed onto your wrist by a man in black, and then you could pull back the main curtain and enter.

Upon entering, the first thing you encountered was a massive, flashing "DISCO" sign acting as a partition wall; through it, the vibration of the music could already be faintly felt.

Passing through small doors on either side of the partition wall led to the actual disco.

As soon as you entered the hall, you were surrounded by rhythmic dance music.

At the start, it might be soothing slow jams, but during the true climax, you could see the rotating lights spinning dazzling colors across the dark blue dance floor. The DJ commanded the atmosphere of the venue, while several female dancers swayed freely to the music nearby.

On the background wall of the DJ booth, the music theme for the week flashed: "City Pop"~

The bar sold drinks, including cocktails, as well as a few snacks. In the few available booths, people would occasionally rest, only to return to the dance floor shortly after.

Once you had had your fill or simply couldn't dance anymore, you could exit through a side door, but once you left, you could not re-enter.

A disco that would seem quite ordinary to future generations was considered extremely avant-garde for this era.

Every night, waves of young people came here to vent their excess energy through the rhythm until the party ended.

In less than two weeks of operation, this disco had already ignited a massive craze among the student population near Takadanobaba.

After the first week of trial operations passed, the novel format and highly rhythmic music attracted over 300 people every day. Even the 1,000 yen entrance fee could not dampen the enthusiasm of the youth.

Nagayama Naoki did the math: with a daily turnover of 300,000 yen—even more on weekends—the monthly turnover was approximately 9 million yen. Since there was no rent, after deducting labor and other costs, the net profit was over 6 million yen.

Even after giving a 10% net profit share to Araki Shigeto, the remaining 5.4 million was practically highway robbery!

It was very necessary to recruit a capable partner. Since opening, they had indeed encountered quite a few Yakuza, but Araki Shigeto had managed to brush them all off.

By tying Araki Shigeto down with a 10% share, and having the land and the DJ under contracts with his own studio, Naoki didn't have to worry about employee rebellion in the short term.

Nagayama Naoki settled into the role of a stable boss.

What to do with the extra money on hand?

Spend it, of course!

But this time, he wouldn't buy a house. He had held his driver's license for a while now, and Nagayama Naoki planned to buy a car.

After browsing the early automotive market, Nagayama Naoki had actually set his sights on a black Mercedes-Benz R107 SL roadster—the kind of convertible frequently seen in Hong Kong films; it was even Bruce Lee's favorite type of car!

The retractable top, the black body, and the light yellow leather seats embodied low-key luxury to the fullest.

8 million yen—the price of a house!

He hadn't originally intended to buy such an expensive car, but after seeing the actual vehicle...

He simply couldn't control his hands!!!

After all, this was a sports car hailed as "cool" for over half a century.

Furthermore, 1981 could be considered the peak period for the R107 SL; it utilized the interior of the Mercedes W126 S-Class and featured the latest powertrain, with a maximum output of 240 horsepower.

Driving this car on the road attracted more than just the gazes of young girls.

At least for now, the middle-aged man Ito Shuichi was drooling over Nagayama Naoki's car.

"Naoki-san, please, let me borrow it for a drive~"

"No way!" Nagayama Naoki refused firmly. "Shuichi-san, this is a brand-new car I just got. We haven't even finished the honeymoon period yet. How could I let another man touch it!"

"So that means I can borrow it after the honeymoon, right!" Ito Shuichi said shamelessly.

"I say, Shuichi-san, you can clearly afford it. You made quite a bit from that last advertisement~"

"Damn it, do you think everyone is like you? My earnings were long ago taken by my wife, not to mention the mortgage, car loan, expenses for my wife and daughter, and business social expenses..." He spoke like a typical "middle-aged corporate slave."

"Yeah, yeah, expenses are high, so let's just get back to shooting the commercial." Nagayama Naoki took the opportunity to change the subject, otherwise, there was no telling how long Ito Shuichi would continue being thick-skinned.

Having collaborated with Ito Shuichi many times, Nagayama Naoki had discovered that beneath his usual persona of a producer or big-name director, his true nature was actually a very friendly and goofy "boy." The two had almost become "frenemies."

Nagayama Naoki drove to the studio this time, of course, to shoot the next phase of the beverage commercial.

The first quarter's advertisement had been extremely successful, and this white peach-flavored soda was also seasonal.

However, because the previous advertisement was so outstanding, Nagayama Naoki's image was becoming too fixed; naturally, the protagonist for this commercial had to be changed.

Nagayama Naoki had known beforehand that he was only serving as an introduction in this commercial, and the lead role for the upcoming ads might be handed to another idol actor.

This was, of course, the official explanation. Privately, Ito Shuichi had whispered

Because the advertisement was too successful, it caused a massive surge in sales for the cherry-flavored soda. During a company meeting, a manager argued that such a promotion model was now mature and could simply be replicated in the future.

Consequently, a Senior Managing Director had been parachuted in from the top to oversee all promotions for new products—commonly known as "picking the ripe fruit."

Generally, such high-level power struggles do not affect the execution below, but this time, the Managing Director brought his own confidants and personal connections.

It was said he had deep ties with the idol agency Johnny & Associates.

The business for shooting the commercial had already been signed, but since Nagayama Naoki had only signed a quarterly contract, the lead actor could certainly be replaced with someone of the company's choosing.

Hearing this, Nagayama Naoki understood. Ito Shuichi no longer had the final say and no longer fully represented the client.

His previous backer had been the manager; now that the final decision rested with the Managing Director, he was merely an advertising director.

"It's fine, Shuichi-san. Let's just shoot the remaining ads normally. After the success of the last one, I feel like I won't be able to produce a better story anyway. It's a good time to step back." Seeing Ito Shuichi's apologetic look, Nagayama Naoki immediately offered comfort.

By now, the monthly profit from the disco was higher than the share from a single commercial.

"I am truly sorry, Naoki-san. However, after this quarter's ads are finished, I don't plan to continue directing."

"Shuichi-san, don't worry about me. After all, the business with Tomomasu Beverages is still very profitable," Nagayama Naoki advised.

Ito Shuichi simply waved his hand with a smile: "Don't worry, Naoki-san. Part of it is due to connections, but more importantly, it's related to the success of the previous ads."

"Naoki-san, the previous ads were innovative in terms of creativity, filming, editing, music, and distribution. The response in the industry has been huge!" Ito Shuichi smiled with a hint of pride.

"Thanks to you, I can now be called a director with some reputation."

On the surface, Nagayama Naoki was just an advertising model; all the fame regarding the advertising production and filming went to Ito Shuichi.

Once you make a name for yourself in the industry, you don't have to worry about business; people were even inviting him to direct TV dramas.

"Besides, my original dream was actually to film movies and TV dramas. I had to start with commercials just to make a living," Shuichi-san said with a hint of longing. "Maybe I'll have a chance to realize my dream in the future~"

"That would be wonderful~"

(End of Chapter)