Chapter 38

Chapter 38: 038, Scum, Kondo Masahiko appears!

Naoki Nagayama had already been waiting for quite a while. He had chatted with Shuichi Ito for over half an hour, yet the newcomer still had not arrived.

“I heard the replacement this time is a rising idol from Johnny & Associates,” Shuichi Ito said. “The new manager even asked me to give this newcomer some ‘special treatment’ for the peach soda commercial.

And yet he’s late for his very first shoot.”

“Is that so? Johnny’s, huh. Big agencies really do like to act like divas,” Naoki replied casually. He had nothing else to do anyway, and chatting with Shuichi Ito was fine.

“Oh right, how’s Daitomo-san doing? Losing the commercial work must be a loss for STARLIGHT Agency,” Naoki asked, suddenly thinking of Yoshimura Daitomo, whom he hadn’t seen recently.

“He’s fine. STARLIGHT is under the BURNING system, after all. Johnny’s taking this ‘cake’ came with a lot of reciprocal deals,” Ito waved his hand. “Right now Daitomo-san is busy arranging appearances for new talents in the agency.”

As expected, having backing made things very different. Even when competitors took business, it still turned into negotiated exchanges of interests.

STARLIGHT Agency had effectively gained new distribution channels. If Johnny’s hadn’t backed down, given its influence in the entertainment world, those channels would have been nearly impossible for others to access.

“Hah, messy backroom deals,” Naoki said, disliking such complicated relationships. Luckily, in this life he was set to become rich, giving him far more freedom to choose.

“The entertainment industry is like that,” Ito sighed.

The two continued talking, but the scheduled replacement talent still hadn’t arrived, which was starting to irritate the newly rising director.

Almost another half hour passed before a white Toyota arrived at the studio. A man in a black suit—an agent—entered with a young boy behind him.

“Ito-san, sorry we’re late. Traffic jam,” the agent bowed deeply, very practiced in manner. The boy behind him simply stood there watching.

Ito’s expression turned cold again, just like when Naoki first met him.

“Mr. Matsuzawa Masayoshi, traffic jams are something you should anticipate in advance.”

The agent thought inwardly: of course we anticipated it—this idol insisted on going shopping. What could we do?

“Yes, I sincerely apologize. It’s my fault,” the agent bowed again. It was normal for agents to take the blame.

“I hope Ito-san won’t mind. We will definitely be punctual from now on.”

He then stepped aside and introduced the boy:

“This is Kondo Masahiko, the idol participating in this commercial. He previously appeared in ‘3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei’.”

Kondo Masahiko.

Naoki Nagayama immediately became interested.

So this was the so-called “ultimate scum” who supposedly dated three legendary female stars and had countless scandals.

The boy in the white tracksuit bowed.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kondo Masahiko. Please take care of me.”

Ito didn’t say much and led them straight into the studio with a cold face.

Naoki looked at Kondo Masahiko. He seemed like an ordinary teenager—nothing particularly remarkable. At most, he wasn’t unpleasant-looking; with some styling, he could pass as slightly handsome.

He couldn’t see any “scum potential” at all.

They exchanged brief greetings. The shoot setup was simple, with no direct interaction between the two performers.

Naoki would reprise his role from the previous commercial: buying a cherry blossom soda from a vending machine in a convenience store, saying a line like “Peach flavor?”—his role was essentially an introduction.

Then Kondo Masahiko would appear, buy peach soda, and the story would shift into a youthful romance centered around peaches and “memories of youth.”

Naoki couldn’t help thinking: have the ad agencies run out of ideas? Just recycling the previous concept? At least consider that cherry blossoms and peaches carry different symbolism…

Watching from the side, Naoki observed as Ito Shuichi began multiple retakes.

“CUT. Kondo-kun, there needs to be emotional transition between seeing the drink and picking it up!”

“Kondo-kun, your smile when recalling the past needs more nostalgia!”

“Kondo-kun, your eyes need more emotion!”

“Kondo-kun, this take is even worse than the last one—focus!”

Kondo Masahiko was only seventeen, and repeated NGs clearly started affecting his mood.

His experienced agent, Matsuzawa Masayoshi, noticed the tension and approached Ito.

“Ito-san, maybe we should take a short break so Masahiko can adjust?”

Ito didn’t respond directly, but said:

“I need a smoke break. Naoki-san, come with me.”

The staff also used the chance to rest.

Outside, Ito and Naoki talked.

“Ito-san, didn’t you say Kondo had acted before? Why is his performance so stiff?” Naoki asked.

Even without formal training, Naoki’s own acting during filming had gone smoothly—aside from that one emotionally intense scene.

“These idol dramas,” Ito said dismissively, “are mostly about fitting the idol’s personality. Just recite lines and don’t break expression.”

“After post-production and agency promotion, the hype is enough. How many idol actors actually deliver real performances?”

“Then don’t commercials also require acting?” Naoki asked.

“Normally no. Just smile and read lines,” Ito replied. “But this time we’re telling a story in a few minutes—that’s harder than many TV dramas.”

Ito added:

“Naoki-san, you actually have talent for acting. Your previous shoot went very smoothly.”

“Even acting alongside a professional like Higuchi Kanako, you didn’t fall behind.”

“Haha, you’re flattering me. That’s because the director is good,” Naoki laughed.

Ito also laughed.

“Still, your talent is important. If there’s acting work later, I’ll definitely call you.”

After the break, Matsuzawa continued persuading Kondo.

“This opportunity cost Johnny’s a lot of effort. Please push through.”

“I’m already acting seriously! All those NGs and they’re still blaming me. That director is clearly targeting me!”

Young and newly rising, Kondo was full of pride. His agent could only sigh inwardly: idols created by industry capital often lose their grounding.

He continued calming him down.

But Kondo’s anger only grew.

“And that guy Naoki Nagayama, watching all those NGs—he must be enjoying it. I’ll make him regret it someday.”

And just like that, Naoki was added to his list of grudges.

After more persuasion, Kondo finally regained composure and resumed filming.

Shooting still involved many NGs, but it gradually proceeded.

The commercial was expected to be three minutes long, with later outdoor scenes involving Kondo and another young idol.

The rest of the shoot would likely be even more difficult.