Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Incredible! Let me say it again, Naoki-san is a true genius!

Across the long run of “Tales of the Unusual World”, many stories stood out, while quite a few were only average.

After all, numerous production teams had changed over time, so uneven quality was completely normal.

However, several stories were widely acknowledged as outstanding, and “Beauty Jar” and “Grandma” were among them.

Combined with the fact that the stories themselves were simple and involved only a small number of characters, Nagayama Naoki felt they perfectly suited the needs of an initial production.

The story of “Beauty Jar” was particularly novel: a young man forced into temporary singlehood because his girlfriend went on a business trip notices that the middle-aged man next door constantly attracts beautiful women, changing companions every day. Sneaking into the neighbor’s bedroom, he discovers a “Beauty Jar.” By following the instructions, it can produce a “beautiful woman.” After operating it according to the manual, the young man creates his ideal woman, and the two quickly fall in love. But when her expiration date arrives, she disappears. While searching for her, he ultimately discovers that he himself had also been produced by his former girlfriend.

“Grandma,” on the other hand, was deeply Japanese-style horror: a mother takes her granddaughter Mimi to visit a grandmother who is about to die. The mother keeps complaining while busily dealing with hospital matters. When alone with Mimi, the grandmother tells her she will soon die but wishes to see her long-lost younger brother one last time. She asks Mimi to switch bodies with her, promising to return the next day. Loving her grandmother dearly, Mimi agrees. Using the child’s body, the grandmother meets the person she longed to see, then rushes back to the hospital to return the body. The grandmother dies, and the mother takes her daughter home. It seems like a warm and touching story—yet the final scene reveals the dying grandmother murmuring, “Grandma, come back quickly, Mimi is going to die,” while Mimi at home hums an old tune from the grandmother’s era.

When hearing the first story, “Beauty Jar,” Itō Shūichi was captivated by its originality, and the final revelation left him astonished.

When he heard “Grandma,” the first half felt warm and emotionally engaging, but the final twist sent chills down his spine.

Itō Shūichi rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

“Naoki-san, this is incredible! I’ve said it before, but you truly are a real genius!”

Though the two stories appeared simple, their originality and narrative reversals were strokes of brilliance—the kind that most tested a creator’s instinct.

In Itō Shūichi’s eyes, there was no explanation for Nagayama Naoki other than genius.

Nagayama Naoki could only smile.

“You’re exaggerating, Shūichi-san.”

He still hadn’t developed thick enough skin to accept praise naturally.

If expanded into full scripts, such short dramas would definitely attract audiences.

At this moment, Itō Shūichi was filled with enthusiasm about filming short dramas and could hardly wait to begin.

But producing a television drama was naturally not something accomplished overnight.

Itō Shūichi even called Yoshimura Daitomo back from his vacation at his hometown.

“Damn it, Shūichi-san dragged me back just when Nagano was most comfortable,” Yoshimura Daitomo complained slightly upon arrival.

“How could an unemployed middle-aged man relax on vacation?”

Itō Shūichi responded carelessly. “Didn’t you rush over immediately after hearing about it?”

“…Damn it.” There was no arguing with that.

Changing the topic, Yoshimura Daitomo asked about the television production.

“Naoki-san, are we producing this drama independently again?”

“Yes. Since there are no outside investors, we have no choice,” Nagayama Naoki replied. “Fortunately, the production cost is small and the shooting period short.”

Even a low-budget project still required funding. After pooling their money, the three gathered twenty million yen as initial production capital. Nagayama Naoki alone contributed half, making him the true financial backer.

Although they had recently received a payout, investing five million yen each was still a heavy burden for Itō Shūichi and Yoshimura Daitomo.

Yet all three were deeply interested in the project and had developed mutual trust, which allowed them to make the decision.

“Daitomo-san, I don’t expect this short drama to land a prime-time slot. Please use the resources previously exchanged through Burning Agency and try to secure a better late-night time slot.”

Only Yoshimura Daitomo had sufficient experience to handle that matter.

At that moment, Itō Shūichi added, “By the way, both Naoki-san and Daitomo-san may need to appear on screen this time.”

Nagayama Naoki had already anticipated it, but Yoshimura Daitomo was clearly shocked.

“Me?! I’ve never acted before!”

As a traditional behind-the-scenes figure in the entertainment industry, Yoshimura Daitomo had never intended to appear on camera.

“There’s no help for it,” Itō Shūichi said again with the same reasoning. “With limited budget, we must save on actors. I might have to act too. Acting improves with practice.”

Remembering the dozens of NG takes during their previous commercial shoot, cold sweat formed on Yoshimura Daitomo’s forehead.

The sound of cicadas gradually filled the air, and the weather had become too hot for long sleeves.

Under Itō Shūichi’s efforts, filming of the short dramas progressed smoothly.

They first filmed “Grandma.” In this production, Itō Shūichi invited his own wife, Itō Kai, and his six-year-old daughter, Itō Kaiyi, to participate.

However, other roles still required experienced performers—especially the grandmother’s role, which demanded both elderly kindness and childlike innocence, a difficult performance.

Fortunately, there were only two main locations, and borrowing a hospital room proved easy.

After the sample cut was completed, everyone watched it together and was left with tingling chills from the final twist.

“Naoki-san, you should consider writing horror stories. Talent like this would definitely sell,” Yoshimura Daitomo said sincerely.

Meanwhile, Nagayama Naoki was playing cat’s cradle with Itō Kaiyi.

Although she had participated in filming, she appeared only in the earlier portion; the later frightening scenes were kept from the child, and she was not shown the finished cut. Bored, she clung to Nagayama Naoki and insisted on playing.

Why only him?

Children were innocent. She simply wanted to play with the handsome older brother.

As for why he knew how to play cat’s cradle—

he had learned it as a child while playing with Tsuruko.

“Spare me. If I had to calmly write hundreds of thousands of words, I’d collapse. Being an author is truly difficult!”

Nagayama Naoki silently expressed admiration for future web novel writers capable of producing tens of thousands of words daily.

“Grandma” turned out excellent, but “Beauty Jar” was far more complicated. If nothing else, the many beautiful women appearing in the story posed a major challenge. Fortunately, Yoshimura Daitomo came from the gravure magazine industry.

Nagayama Naoki was chosen as the male lead—after all, the final revelation that he himself had been produced required a handsome actor.

As for the two female leads, who should play them?

The first girlfriend should not be overly beautiful but needed strong acting ability. The second female lead had to be truly stunning.

“How about inviting Higuchi Kanako-san again?” Itō Shūichi suggested, recalling the idol they had worked with before. “If Naoki-san and Kanako-san collaborate again, it might generate some buzz.”

Everyone agreed it was a good idea.

Recently, Higuchi Kanako had been playing minor supporting roles in television dramas. Without a breakout moment, she would likely only gain recognition later in life after accumulating enough industry resources.

She was precisely at a stage where she needed exposure.