Chapter 50

Chapter 50: “Even working for three or four years might not earn this much!”

“Nan-ni? They actually made such a demand?”

The public relations director of BURNING Agency, Kikuchi Etsurō, received a call from his trusted subordinate Arai Masato.

He reported that there had been a problem with the acquisition of CATS: the creator of the girl group had set conditions. In addition to a transfer fee, they also required access to television distribution channels.

“Damn it, does that Hino Ken’ichi guy not even control his own subordinates?!”

The plan to acquire CATS had been initiated by Kikuchi himself, and even the head of the division was already aware of it.

As public relations director, advancing further in his career required real achievements in profit-making.

But within BURNING Agency, the traditional idol business—from auditions, to debut, to record releases and concerts—was firmly controlled by the planning department.

Acquiring a new-style girl group like CATS had been intended as a breakthrough into a new field. That was why he had assigned his trusted man Arai Masato to handle the matter.

“If this turns into a mess and becomes public, and I get mocked by that guy Koda Masato from the planning department, that would be disastrous.”

Kikuchi Etsurō closed his eyes and weighed the gains and losses between the transfer fee and distribution channels.

In the workplace, being mocked by a planning director was not something that could simply be laughed off. It meant one’s reputation and capability would be downgraded—at minimum, promotion would be delayed by two or three years.

Earlier that day, Yoshimura Daitomo was sitting across from President Hino Ken’ichi.

“Yoshimura-san, do we really have to go this far?” the president’s expression was grim. “You should understand, if I make that phone call, our ten-year relationship will end.”

Yoshimura Daitomo had explained CATS’s current situation, as well as the conditions set by Nagayama Naoki and the others.

The president’s “long-standing relationship” referred not only to BURNING Agency, but also to his ten-year employment relationship with Yoshimura Daitomo.

“President Ken’ichi, there’s no other choice. Those are mandatory conditions from the other side.”

Yoshimura Daitomo was already prepared to resign.

In truth, ever since the agency had thrown him into an entirely unfamiliar new business area, and then, just as he started producing results, coldly decided to sell it off, he had already realized he was being gradually marginalized.

After CATS was sold, what would he even do in the agency?

The advertising business was already being handled by a new planning director. Would he, as a “department head,” be demoted to working under his juniors?

Or return to being a mere talent manager?

Or become a bureaucratic figurehead in administration?

But even that position was already taken!

There was simply no place left for him in this small agency.

For Japanese employees under lifetime employment culture, changing jobs in their forties was a major decision.

But the time spent working with Nagayama Naoki and Itō Shūichi had been full of passion—days filled with anticipation for tomorrow.

Once you had tasted that, returning to the dull life of a corporate salaryman was unbearable.

More importantly—

The transfer fee coming from this deal would be split among the three of them, with Yoshimura Daitomo receiving half!

Even if each person’s share was only 5 million yen, Daitomo alone would receive at least 12 million yen!!!

Even working for three or four years might not earn that much!

In the end, Kikuchi Etsurō agreed to the transfer fee, but instead of increasing media distribution channels, he raised the fee to 6 million yen per person.

He could distinguish between “windfall profit” and “long-term revenue streams.” In exchange, the GG shell company transferred all operational and distribution rights of CATS to BURNING Agency, and even allowed exclusive unlimited use of the cat-ear headband patent for CATS.

After signing the contract, all three parties finally relaxed.

“Daitomo-san, you haven’t had a proper long vacation in years, right? Take some time off for now,” Nagayama Naoki said, noticing Daitomo’s exhausted expression.

“After that, we’ll think about rebuilding Girl’s Group again.”

This shell company created on a whim would become the three of their true long-term project.

After all, they had just received 15 million yen.

To say Yoshimura Daitomo was deeply heartbroken would be a joke.

But some sense of emptiness and uncertainty was unavoidable.

Itō Shūichi also said, “Yes, Daitomo-san. A trip to Hawaii sounds good this season.”

“Hawaii is a bit much. My English is terrible,” Daitomo laughed.

“But I can go back home. Nagano in summer is nice and cool. It’s been a long time since I went back…”

Go home?

When people feel uneasy, they tend to return to their original place of comfort.

So there really was some instability after all…

It would take time to recover.

After parting with the two of them, Nagayama Naoki went to the Shibuya shop.

The real estate agent had called earlier saying the store was fully cleaned and the paperwork completed, asking when he could come for inspection.

When he arrived, the agent was already waiting inside. From the outside, everything looked freshly renovated: the large display window spotless, the facade repainted, even space cleared for a new signboard.

The agent went through a checklist, but the shop was only about 50 square meters—adding a few display shelves for accessories didn’t require much inspection.

Naoki looked around briefly and paid the remaining balance without hesitation.

Next was ordering a signboard and hiring a clerk, then the shop could open.

Originally, it was planned as a CATS merchandise store. But now, it would start with cat-ear headbands, and later expand into all GG agency idol merchandise.

The recent patent income and transfer fees had made his wallet considerably heavier again.

The idea of buying land started to stir once more.

But with 15 million yen, he still couldn’t afford anything particularly good. He would have to wait until he earned more.

Seems like he was idle again.

Around noon, instead of going home, he went to his house in Bunkyō Ward to practice piano.

That place had almost become his personal music room.

The house was quiet, as expected. The room was on the second floor: a simple layout with a living room and bedroom. Outside the sliding glass door was a balcony facing a lush cherry tree.

The room had few furnishings. The largest object was a piano by the window.

There was also an old desk left by a previous tenant, still usable, and a few chairs with a kettle for boiling water.

A futon lay in the tatami room where he occasionally napped.

He opened the window and the balcony door. Fresh air filled the room, rustling the papers on the desk.

The house was kept relatively clean from frequent use.

After boiling water and tidying slightly, he sat down at the piano to practice.

The neighbors, having realized the house had a new owner—apparently someone from a music school—sometimes heard beautiful piano melodies drifting out.