Chapter 42

Chapter 42: 042, Who Could Refuse Cat-Eared Girls?

In the workplace, there is a saying:

“Whoever proposes the plan is the one who executes it.”

So Yoshimura Daitomo invited Nagayama Naoki to jointly create an “original girl group”:

“Without Naoki-san, I really don’t feel confident.”

Looking at the sincere, balding middle-aged man in front of him, Naoki Nagayama couldn’t help feeling he had gotten himself into something troublesome.

“What are you discussing?” Ito Shuichi walked in.

“Has Shuichi-san finished filming?” Naoki noticed that the staff outside were already packing up equipment. “We’re discussing forming a girl group.”

“Ah, finally done. Now it’s just editing left. Idols really are difficult to deal with~” he sighed. “What girl group? Like Hana no San-Nin Musume?”

As expected, Momoe Yamaguchi really was the idol of an entire generation.

Yoshimura Daitomo chimed in:

“Not that kind of idol group. It’s more like… a group with many members forming a girl unit. What was it you called it again, Naoki-san?”

“Ahaha, it is a bit hard to say,” Naoki replied, briefly pitching the idea again to Ito Shuichi.

After listening for a while, Shuichi summarized bluntly:

“So basically, a group of people who aren’t quite qualified to be solo idols, forming a unit and debuting together?”

That wasn’t wrong—but it definitely lost all the romantic framing. Both Naoki and Daitomo silently complained that this man had no artistic sensibility.

“Still… it’s kind of interesting,” Shuichi finally admitted.

The three of them were not the type to delay decisions, and soon began discussing execution.

Casting wasn’t a problem. Daitomo still had access to gravure models and could pick around five suitable candidates.

Naoki recalled Korean girl groups from his previous life and suggested roles like:

center member, dance lead, cute character, sexy character, etc.

Both others nodded, and Shuichi even offered to coordinate choreography and artistic guidance.

Next would be television appearances to test public reaction.

“So, what should we call this group?” Daitomo asked.

“Girls’ Generation? BLACKPINK? SISTERS?” Naoki casually threw out names of future K-pop girl groups.

“‘Girls’ Generation’ overlaps with ‘idol girl,’ and it doesn’t match our concept,” Daitomo said.

“BLACKPINK sounds like a copy of Pink Lady. SISTERS is too generic,” Shuichi added.

“Since our members are gravure models, emphasizing sensuality… how about SEXY SISTERS?” Daitomo suggested.

“That sounds like we’re making adult films,” Shuichi shot back.

After more back and forth, the idea shifted again.

“How about CATS?” Naoki said. “A cat theme would give them a versatile image, and they could even wear cat ears on stage.”

Who could refuse cat-eared girls?

Since the 1970s manga “The Star of Cottonland” and its character Chibi-neko, cat-ear aesthetics had already begun spreading in Japan and were popular among young people.

“That actually sounds pretty interesting,” both of them said.

Many major things in history often start from small conversations like this.

Perhaps seeing its potential, Daitomo suddenly suggested:

“Naoki-san, Shuichi-san, why don’t we establish a new label together? Call it GIRL’S GROUP. CATS will be our first debut girl group!”

Naoki’s HALO Studio, STARLIGHT Agency, and producer Ito Shuichi effectively formed a small joint production unit.

Their idea was simple: find each girl’s strengths, combine them, and package them for release.

After the discussion, Daitomo left energized, rushing off to the agency.

Shuichi returned to editing the commercial.

Naoki was left alone and drove his sports car toward Shibuya.

Cat ears clearly weren’t widely sold yet, so he would need to investigate or commission production.

Another possible business opportunity.

After browsing shops in Shibuya, he confirmed there were many hair accessories, but no cat-ear headbands.

Looks like custom manufacturing was necessary.

He considered asking an artist, but hesitated.

On his bookshelf sat the simple drawing from Nakamori Akina.

Maybe drawing wasn’t so hard after all.

He bought children’s drawing tools and tried to sketch a cat-ear design.

The result proved that some talents remain permanently hidden.

Looking at the strange, unrecognizable shape on the paper, he lost confidence in his drawing ability.

He glanced around for someone who might help.

His eyes landed again on Akina’s sketch.

“Moshi moshi, this is the Nakamori household,” a male voice answered.

“Moshi moshi, this is Nagayama Naoki. Is Akina Nakamori home?” Naoki asked.

“Please wait a moment.”

Soon, Akina’s voice came through, lively and youthful.

“Yes, Naoki-san? I’m here.”

After apologies and explanations, Naoki requested help drawing a cat-ear hair accessory.

“Umm… I’m not sure I can draw it well,” she said hesitantly.

“That’s fine. Just a rough sketch is enough,” Naoki reassured her.

“Of course, I’ll repay you properly.”

“I don’t need payment… it’s just a small favor.”

“If you say that, I won’t help you,” she insisted.

After some back-and-forth, they settled on a meal as compensation and agreed to meet on the weekend.

After hanging up, Naoki found the situation slightly strange.

Why had he asked Akina Nakamori for help in the first place?

The sketch on the bookshelf was a reminder.

Perhaps the idol girl group concept had triggered memories of Showa-era idols from his previous life.