Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Girls’ Money Is the Easiest to Earn

After returning to his apartment, Nagayama Naoki did not go to bed immediately.

Turning on the television at that hour happened to catch late-night programming. Unexpectedly, he saw the Wildcat Group appear on one of the shows.

However, they were only briefly introduced as background guests and received very little screen time overall.

Indeed, Nagayama Naoki realized he had not seen news about the Wildcat Group for quite a long time.

What had happened?

Wasn’t the BURNING agency supposed to heavily promote them?

How had they fallen to the point of merely making background appearances on late-night shows?

After seeing that, Nagayama Naoki lost interest in continuing to watch. He went to bed, planning to ask Yoshimura Daitomo about it the next day.

Early the following morning, Nagayama Naoki drove to the studio, only to find that Yoshimura Daitomo was nowhere on set.

“Daitomo-san isn’t here?”

Ito Shuichi replied, “That guy seems to have gone to the TV station again.”

The contract had already been finalized. Was he discussing payment transfers? Or negotiating the sale of the program proposal?

Although television stations were wealthy, delayed payments were common—especially for small agencies without strong backing.

“Shuichi-san, do you know what’s going on with the Wildcat Group?” Nagayama Naoki asked directly.

“What happened? Did something occur?”

Ito Shuichi looked completely unaware. Recently, he had devoted all his attention to filming “Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari.”

“I saw the Wildcat Group making a guest appearance on a late-night program yesterday.”

“Late-night programming…” Ito Shuichi fell silent. Knowing that the girl group they had once built from scratch had reached this state left him feeling complicated emotions.

“Something must have gone wrong. The BURNING agency clearly said they would manage the group better.”

Nagayama Naoki nodded.

“I originally planned to ask Yoshimura Daitomo today, but even if we know the situation, there’s nothing we can really do.”

“True.”

They could not remain depressed like this.

“Forget it,” Nagayama Naoki said, changing the topic directly. “Season one of ‘Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari’ is almost finished filming. Do you have any plans afterward, Shuichi-san?”

“Huh, bringing that up so suddenly…”

Ito Shuichi looked surprised.

“A few scripts have contacted me, but unfortunately none of them are particularly good. After working with you, Naoki-san, my standards have become too high. I can’t bring myself to film ordinary stories anymore.”

“Haha, please stop praising me,” Nagayama Naoki said modestly. “But Shuichi-san, you should still try filming a regular script.”

“Why? Haven’t you always said not to take those kinds of projects?”

“For practice. You already have some reputation, but only in short dramas. If a truly good script comes later, you might lack either filming experience or industry connections.”

It sounded reasonable. The young man spoke like a seasoned workplace veteran.

“If Naoki-san says so, then I’ll choose carefully.”

“Preferably an urban drama,” Nagayama Naoki added. Most of the works he remembered from his previous life leaned toward urban themes, so future scripts might also follow that direction.

“I’m currently writing an urban drama story. It will probably be filmed someday.”

After finally persuading Ito Shuichi and sending him back to filming, Nagayama Naoki remained alone in the office.

The claim about writing a script was, of course, a lie. He had no concrete ideas yet.

If he really had to produce something, bringing out “Hana Yori Dango” would be possible. But such an excellent story would be a waste if poorly adapted.

While he was thinking, Yoshimura Daitomo suddenly returned.

“Daitomo-san, back so early? Weren’t you at the TV station?” Nagayama Naoki asked in surprise.

“The department head we scheduled with suddenly left,” Yoshimura Daitomo said, his expression unpleasant. That was the reality for small agencies. TV stations were powerful; they could meet you when they wished and ignore you without even notifying you.

“Leaving that aside, I heard you were asking about the Wildcat Group earlier?”

“Yes. I happened to see them on a late-night show.”

Since the girl group was Yoshimura Daitomo’s biggest investment of effort, he had continued paying attention to them.

“I checked before. They tried promoting them several times following standard idol strategies, but nothing gained momentum. After that, even the debut single never materialized, so there wasn’t much news.”

“I didn’t expect they’d fall to late-night appearances,” he continued. “I heard the public relations director and the planning director have been arguing fiercely over the girl group.”

“Internal conflict, then. Maybe they never figured out how to manage a girl group properly,” Nagayama Naoki said.

“But even if we know the situation, there’s nothing we can do for now. We should focus on ourselves first. Once GG gains enough strength, maybe we can take the girl group back.”

“Yes. That’s all we can do for now. What a pity… the Wildcat Group was the original girl group.”

Later, when discussing “Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari,” Yoshimura Daitomo said costs were not the main concern.

“The TV station seems to have already decided not to renew the contract.”

“It’s fine. We expected that long ago. The key is to sell it at a good price. If we can exchange it for distribution channels and resources, that would be even better.”

“Yes, that still needs negotiation.”

“I’ll leave those matters to you, Daitomo-san. Shuichi-san and I aren’t suited for negotiations.”

“You worry too much, Naoki-san. I’ll handle it properly.”

The Shibuya shop space, though slightly renovated earlier, remained closed.

Hearing about the Wildcat Group reminded Nagayama Naoki of it again.

He drove there, thinking about his original plan to sell cat-ear merchandise. He felt a bit sentimental. It seemed the merchandise store would never open after all.

However, the neighboring stores were open—one selling the latest women’s fashion, the other cosmetics.

It seemed people of this era had already discovered a universal truth:

Girls’ money is the easiest to earn.

Would opening a jewelry store be more suitable for his location?

The spot was excellent. Running a shop himself felt troublesome, but leaving it empty was also wasteful.

“Better to rent it out,” he decided. Being a landlord wasn’t such a bad life.

Since he was already on the commercial street, Nagayama Naoki decided to walk around.

Honestly, aside from certain high-tech products, the trendy goods here were not much different from the future. Household appliances were already quite advanced.

He bought several summer outfits for himself. Seeing sunglasses, he picked up a pair as well—useful while driving.

While carrying the clothes back, he passed through the electronics section. Newly released color televisions were already very close to future models.

While browsing electronics, he discovered Sony’s classic blue Walkman—the same type Star-Lord would carry in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” On impulse, he bought it.

Then, wanting music to listen to on the Walkman, he went to a record store and bought several popular cassette tapes across different music styles.

After purchasing the tapes, he realized he could only listen through the Walkman or in his car. He didn’t actually have a sound system at home.

So he went to an appliance store again and bought the latest high-end home stereo system.

And he still claimed girls’ money was easy to earn?