Chapter 15

Chapter 15: 015, I’ve Been Waiting Forever, and Finally Met Matsuda Seiko-san!

The sudden bad news sent a jolt of shock through Nagayama Naoki.

His original “get rich quick” plan had been perfectly laid out:

— Live a decadent life through January with the 500,000 yen currently in hand.

— Once the royalties arrived in February, take the royalty contract and sales data to the bank as collateral for a loan.

— Purchase 2–3 apartments in central Tokyo to rent out, using the royalties to pay off the loan while enjoying life as a landlord.

— Use the newly purchased houses for a second mortgage to expand the real estate portfolio.

— Repeat the process. As long as property prices kept rising and the loans didn’t default, he could keep the rhythm going—much like “cashing out” credit cards.

— As long as he was bold enough, the snowball would grow bigger and bigger, allowing him to lead a wealthy lifestyle based on asset appreciation.

— By 1985, he would mortgage all the real estate and dump the money into the stock market, multiplying his assets dozens of times during the bubble!

— In 1990, he would sell everything and cash out.

If all went smoothly, ten years later, Nagayama Naoki would be among the top tier of Japan’s wealthy—and he would only be 28 years old.

Even if something went wrong midway, he could at least invest in Microsoft, Oracle, or Amazon to become a billionaire in twenty years at age 38. If things went even worse, he could just hoard some Bitcoin in advance and still be one of the richest men in Japan thirty years later at age 48.

No matter what, Nagayama Naoki wouldn’t have to work a day in his life. He could lead the life he had always longed for: wealthy and leisure-filled.

But now, what was he supposed to do about the gap in February and March?

Could 500,000 yen support him for two months? The fee for appearing on the TV show that Sanwa Daisei mentioned would be 100,000 yen at most…

Was he going to be forced to eat cup ramen every day?

“Could it be that my dream and insistence on not working are worthless in the face of reality?” On the way back, Naoki remained trapped in a gloom of shattered dreams.

—

The next evening, Sanwa Daisei arrived on time to pick him up.

Upon seeing Naoki, he asked, “Nagayama-kun, are you sick?”

It couldn’t be helped. Naoki had spent half the night agonizing over whether he needed to get a job and hadn’t slept well. He had been listless all day, looking weary and pale.

“I’m fine, Sanwa-san. Just a bit low on energy,” Naoki said, patting his cheeks. “It won’t affect the TV appearance at all.”

Around 7:00 PM, the two arrived at Fuji TV. Sanwa Daisei led Naoki directly into the studio of “Yoru no Hit Studio.” “Why must a nighttime program be recorded at night? Is this also part of ‘artisan spirit’?”

After Sanwa Daisei explained the situation to the production team, he brought Naoki to the dressing room for the makeup artist to style him. The artist was a trendy middle-aged woman. She looked at Naoki and said:

“Is this handsome young man a new idol? Your skin is wonderful; it’s so fair you don’t even need powder.”

“No, Artist-san. This is a guest from the general public. He’s the creator of Seiko-san’s new single.”

“Oh my! A songwriter at such a young age…”

“Haha, thank you for the compliment.” Naoki mused that it was funny his pale, sleep-deprived face was being praised as good skin.

Just as the makeup artist was considering applying lipstick, the dressing room door opened. A small entourage escorted a lavishly dressed Matsuda Seiko into the room.

She entered and said, “Daisei-san, I heard the creator of “Cherry Blossom” had arrived, so I wanted to come by early and introduce myself~”

Although she was speaking to Sanwa Daisei, her eyes were fixed on Naoki. “Is this Nagayama Naoki-san? Finally, we meet~”

“And you’re quite handsome, aren’t you?”

It had to be said that at this stage of her career, Matsuda Seiko—with her beautiful face, bright eyes, sweet smile, and fluffy “Seiko-chan cut,” combined with her coquettish tone—was indeed incredibly cute. It was no wonder she would later be known as the “Eternal Idol.”

Naoki’s current role, besides being the songwriter, was that of a “die-hard fan.” He had already thought about how to face his idol the previous night.

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Seiko-san. I am Nagayama Naoki. I’ve been looking forward to this… and finally, I get to meet you in person! Are you doing well, Seiko-san? Is your health okay? Are you working too hard?” Naoki acted a bit excited and urgent. “My apologies… seeing Seiko-chan—I mean, Seiko-san—I got a little over-excited!”

“Naoki-san, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you for your concern~” Seiko was very experienced in dealing with fans. “I’m so happy you like my performances.”

“And thank you so much for writing “Cherry Blossom” for me. I like it very much~”

“I’m so glad you like it, Seiko-san!”

“I will definitely keep your kindness in my heart, Naoki-san. I hope you continue to support Matsuda Seiko in the future~”

Seiko smiled radiantly, her eyes curving into crescents and her little snaggletooth peeking out. She was adorable yet possessed a hint of flirtatiousness—an image that in later generations would be called “pure yet seductive.”

“Yes, I definitely will!”

“Mm-hmm! See you in a bit, then~”

There was no further conversation. It seemed Seiko had only come by to say a few words to Naoki. She turned back to Sanwa Daisei and said, “Daisei-san, sorry to trouble you. I’m off to rehearsal~”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

She truly was an idol. As a quintessential top-tier idol, Matsuda Seiko’s professional persona on stage was excellent, and she seemed to carry it into all public spaces, maintaining that “cute” feeling at all times. It made some people find her a bit “fake.”

At the very least, Naoki felt that her coming over wasn’t because she was genuinely curious about the fan who wrote the song. Rather, “Idol Matsuda Seiko” had to be curious; the idol had to be moved by the sincere emotions of a fan, and so she had to make this trip.

This small interlude didn’t interrupt the makeup process. After repeatedly declining the makeup artist’s suggestions for eyeliner, blush, and lipstick, Naoki was simply given a light dusting of powder and a quick grooming of his eyebrows and sideburns before heading off to rehearsal, looking clean and sharp.

The rehearsal for Yoru Hit was actually quite boring. The director explained the flow, the hosts cued the segments, and a crowd of people helped coordinate below.

As for Naoki, sitting in the back row, he spent most of his time acting as a “background plate,” clapping when he was supposed to and cheering when prompted.

Only during the brief interview before Matsuda Seiko took the stage was he called up by the host. The host asked a few questions: “Standing before us is Nagayama Naoki-san, the creator of Matsuda Seiko’s new song. Today is your first time meeting Seiko-chan, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Seiko-san, it’s a pleasure to meet you…” “Nice to meet you. Good evening, Nagayama-kun~” Then the two bowed to each other.

The host continued: “I heard you specifically wrote this for Seiko-chan as a fan?”

“Yes, I’ve liked Seiko-san since her debut. Because of a certain moving moment, I suddenly felt inspired to write it…” A string of dialogue followed—turns out, it was all scripted!

“So, do you have anything else to say to Seiko-san today?” the host continued.

“Yes, I hope Seiko-san continues to strive for even greater success…” More scripted lines.

“Alright, then let us enjoy this song filled with a fan’s heart!”

The two bowed again, Naoki left the stage, and Seiko went to sing.

Two rehearsals and one official recording later, it was nearly 11:00 PM.

Seeing that Matsuda Seiko remained energetic and kept her sweet smile right until the very end, Naoki couldn’t help but marvel: anyone who makes it to the top of their profession possesses abilities far beyond the average person!

After the recording, Seiko seemed to have another engagement and left in a hurry. Sanwa Daisei drove Naoki home.

As Naoki stepped out of the car, Sanwa handed him a kraft paper envelope. “Nagayama-kun, thank you for your hard work. This is the payment for today. Please take it.”

“Yes, thank you. And thank you for driving me back, Sanwa-san.”

“Not at all. It’s part of a manager’s duty.”

Back in the apartment, Naoki went straight to the shower. By the time he was finished, it was nearly midnight.

He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the envelope. Inside was 500,000 yen!

It was significantly higher than the 100,000 yen he had expected.

“Heh, the entertainment world is indeed generous.”

After putting the money in his wallet, Nagayama Naoki fell into a deep sleep.