Chapter 37

Chapter 37: 037, Have you heard? There’s a really fun disco over in Takadanobaba!

School had only just started, and among students at Tokyo Fuji University, Waseda University, Japan Women’s University, and others, a rumor began to spread:

“Have you heard? There’s a really fun disco over in Takadanobaba!”

Exiting Takadanobaba Station, passing through a commercial street and turning into a narrow alley, you would see a glowing neon sign that read “DISCO!”

Starting from Saturday afternoons, long queues formed in that alley. Because the venue was not very large, entry was limited to a maximum of 300 people. Once capacity was reached, a one-out, one-in policy was enforced.

Even so, the line remained long until late at night, with cases where people waited two hours and still could not get in.

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

After paying at the door, the men in black suits stamped a fluorescent mark on your wrist, and then you could push aside the curtain at the main entrance and go inside.

Inside the entrance was a large blocking wall with a glowing DISCO sign. The vibration of the music could already be faintly felt.

Passing through the small doors on both sides of the wall led to the main hall.

Once inside, you were immediately surrounded by rhythmic dance music.

At the beginning, it might be slow, mellow tracks, but at peak moments, the dark blue dance floor was lit up by a rotating light casting dazzling colors. The DJ controlled the atmosphere of the room, while a few go-go dancers swayed freely to the music beside the booth.

Behind the DJ stand, the backdrop displayed that week’s theme: “City Pop.”

The bar sold drinks—cocktails as well as a few light snacks. In the sparse seating area, people occasionally rested, but soon returned to the dance floor.

Once they were satisfied or too exhausted to continue, they could exit through a side door—but once out, they could not re-enter.

In modern eyes, it was a fairly ordinary disco, but for this era it was extremely avant-garde.

Every night, waves of young people came here, releasing their excess energy through rhythm until closing time.

Less than two weeks after opening, the disco had already sparked a major craze among students near Takadanobaba.

After the first week of trial operation, its novel format and high-energy music attracted over 300 visitors every day. Even the 1,000-yen entry fee could not stop the enthusiasm of young people.

After calculating, Naoki Nagayama estimated a daily turnover of 300,000 yen. On weekends it was even higher, reaching about 9 million yen per month. With no rent, and after deducting labor and other costs, net profit was around 6 million yen.

Even after giving 10% of net profit to Shigetomo Araki, the remaining 5.4 million yen was practically money being printed.

Hiring a capable partner was absolutely necessary. Since opening, there had been quite a few encounters with yakuza, all of which were handled by Shigetomo Araki.

By binding Araki with a 10% profit share, and having both the property and DJ contracts signed through his personal studio, there was little concern about employee rebellion in the short term.

Naoki Nagayama settled into his role as a boss.

Now that money was coming in again, what should he do?

Spend it, of course.

But this time, he wouldn’t buy real estate first. His driver’s license had been obtained for a while, and he planned to buy a car.

After initial market research, he had already set his eyes on a black Mercedes R107 SL sports car—the kind of convertible often seen in Hong Kong films, the same model favored by Bruce Lee.

Retractable soft top, black body, light beige leather seats—low-key luxury embodied perfectly.

8 million yen, the price of an entire house.

He hadn’t originally planned to buy such an expensive car, but after seeing it in person…

he simply couldn’t stop himself.

After all, it was a sports car hailed as beautiful for over half a century.

And in 1981, the R107 SL was at its peak, using the Mercedes W126 S-Class interior and a newly upgraded power system, with a maximum output of 240 horsepower.

Driving this on the road would attract more than just the attention of young girls.

At the very least, Shuichi Ito, that middle-aged man, was already drooling over it.

“Naoki-san, please, lend it to me for a drive!”

“No way!” Naoki Nagayama refused righteously. “Shuichi-san, this is a brand-new car I just bought. It hasn’t even passed its honeymoon phase yet. How could I let another man touch it?”

“So you’re saying I can borrow it after the honeymoon phase, right!” Ito Shuichi clung on shamelessly.

“Shuichi-san, you can clearly afford one yourself. You made quite a bit from the last commercial, didn’t you?”

“Damn it, do you think everyone is like you?

My pay goes straight to my wife! Then there are mortgages, car loans, my wife’s and daughter’s expenses, company social obligations…” he said, like a true middle-aged salaryman winner in life.

“Alright, alright, since you have so many expenses, let’s just shoot the commercial instead,” Naoki quickly changed the subject before he went on any longer.

Having worked with Ito Shuichi so many times, Naoki had already realized his true nature beneath the serious producer-director exterior: a friendly, slightly ridiculous “big kid.” The two had practically become mischievous friends.

This time, Naoki came to the studio to shoot the next beverage commercial.

The first-quarter commercial had been a huge success, and this time, the seasonal white peach soda was being introduced.

However, due to the previous ad’s success, Naoki’s image had become too strongly associated with it, so the main character of this new commercial would be changed.

Naoki already knew that his role this time would only be as an introductory figure, and the lead would likely be handed to another idol actor.

Officially, that was the explanation. Privately, Shuichi Ito had revealed that because the previous ad massively boosted sales of the cherry blossom soda, a director at a company meeting decided the strategy was mature and should simply be replicated.

As a result, a senior executive was brought in to take charge of all promotion for the new product—essentially taking over the project.

This kind of internal power shift usually wouldn’t affect execution, but this time the executive brought his own people and connections.

It was said he had close ties with the Johnny & Associates talent agency.

The advertising contract had already been signed, but Naoki only had a one-quarter agreement, so of course the main actor could be replaced.

Hearing this, Naoki understood that Shuichi Ito no longer had final decision-making power.

His previous backing was only a department director; now authority had moved to an executive. He was just a director.

“It’s fine, Shuichi-san. Just shoot the remaining ads normally. After that last commercial, I don’t think I can improve on it anyway. This might be a good time to step away.”

The disco business was already earning more per month than a commercial.

“I’m really sorry, Naoki-san.

But after this quarter, I don’t plan to continue directing anymore.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Shuichi-san. The beverage company still has plenty of potential.”

Ito Shuichi waved his hand with a smile.

“It’s partly due to connections, but more importantly, because of the previous results.

Naoki-san, your last commercial was innovative in concept, filming, editing, music, and distribution. It made a huge impact in the industry.”

He smiled proudly.

“Thanks to you, I can now be considered a somewhat well-known director.”

Naoki’s name only appeared as the model, while all production credit went to Ito Shuichi.

With fame in the industry, he would not lack future work, and even TV drama offers had started appearing.

“Actually, my original dream was to make films and TV dramas. I only started doing commercials because I had to make a living.”

“There might finally be a chance to realize that dream,” Shuichi said with a hint of anticipation.

“That’s great,” Naoki replied.