Japanese Entertainment: A Comeback Beginning from Bankrupt President

The next day, Kazuya Sawashiro and Aki Amano arrived at the recording studio on time.

The people and equipment in the recording studio were still there, but the original person in charge, Kazama Yumi, was gone. In her place was a middle-aged man with a melancholy face who stopped the two of them outside: "Don't come here anymore. From today onwards, this place belongs to Watanabe Entertainment. You are no longer welcome."

The four familiar words instantly brought the two of them to their senses.

Ze Cheng didn't say anything, and left with Amano Aki, but the two of them didn't go far.

Under a utility pole on a nearby street corner, the two ate their discounted bento boxes while planning their next move.

but…

Amano Aki, who had been slow to realize, had dragged Kazama Yumi into this mess. As a result, she didn't even have the strength to eat and was just shoveling air with her chopsticks.

"We've dragged Yumi into this," Amano Aki said, taking three minutes to finish his sentence. "But now we can't find her, we can't get through to her on the phone, and I don't even know where she lives. We don't even have a chance to apologize."

"I know, but now is not the time to do this," Kazuya Sawashiro said, taking a bite of rice. "I'll handle things with Yumi-nee. Don't overthink it. Focus on practicing and preparing for the recording."

The more chaotic the situation, the less we should be nervous, and even more so, we must not forget our responsibilities.

At this point, Ze Chenghe would not agree to let one person disrupt all the plans.

"Are you really going to go? At a time like this when you're so busy?" Amano Aki turned her head cautiously, afraid that Sawashiro Kazuya would suddenly give her a hard time, because she was clearly doubting his attitude.

"What? You still doubt my credibility?" Kazuya Sawashiro stopped eating half of his meal, looked up and glanced at Aki Amano. "I'll go find someone after I finish eating. Just find any karaoke bar to practice singing. Their scoring equipment will be your new teacher."

"Eh—!"

"You're drawing that long note all the way to Chiba," Kazuya Sawashiro said impatiently, covering his ears. "So what's wrong with you now?"

"I'm broke," Amano Aki pouted, her hands empty. "I haven't been able to go to my part-time job lately because I've been practicing, so I haven't had any extra money coming in. I only have 43 yen left in my savings account."

"Huh?!" Kazuya Sawashiro also went to Chiba this time.

He thought he was in a bad situation, but it turned out that Amano Aki was even more pitiful, with only 43 yen left in his savings account... Sawashiro Kazuya couldn't help but point at Amano Aki's face and burst out laughing: "43 yen? I still have 58 yen on me... Hahaha!"

"58... yen?" Amano Aki's disappointment subtly shifted, instantly turning into disdain. "Why are you laughing at me with only 58 yen in savings?"

"Because 58 is bigger than 43."

"Even so, you... umm!" Amano Aki still wanted to argue, but Sawashiro Kazuya's hand had already pressed her down onto the bento box before she could finish: "Eat quickly, and after you finish, go find a job at a convenience store, don't starve to death."

"I?"

"I!"

If she goes to work, does that mean Kazuya Sawashiro will come to sing?

You idiot, the one who's going to debut is Amano Aki.

...

After a clever shift in mood, Amano Aki was finally able to eat by himself.

After finishing their meal, the two parted ways and continued on their journeys.

Two people whose combined savings aren't even enough to buy a train ticket obviously can't travel together.

Amano Aki took a ride back to the internet cafe where Sawashiro Kazuya was staying. After all, Sawashiro Kazuya had paid a month's rent there and could stay there to surf the internet, sleep, and drink carbonated drinks until the end of the month. Going back would be a good opportunity for her to rest.

As for Kazuya Sawashiro, he took a different route, making phone calls to other recording studios while walking to Azabu near Shibuya.

Kazama Yumi's house is here. He had been here a few times before and remembered it.

"Ding-dong~"

Kazuya Sawashiro rang the doorbell.

A short while later, the answering machine at the door responded. The person inside saw that it was Kazuya Sawashiro and came to the entrance to open the door for him, but did not let him into the house.

"Kazuya-kun, Yumi asked me to give you these," a middle-aged man said, his face unreadable, carrying a paper bag in his left hand. "You'll see when you look at it—that's what she told me. There's probably something written in here."

Kazuya Sawashiro remembers this man; he is Yumi Kazama's husband.

"Thank you..." Kazuya Sawashiro took the bag. He was about to bow and apologize when the man stopped him and said calmly, "There's no need for apologies. Tell her in person when she's willing to meet you."

"I see..." Kazuya Sawashiro slowly stood up, quickly glancing at the entrance from the corner of his eye, and nodded in reply, "I understand. I'll tell Yumi-nee in person after I see her in person."

He saw women's shoes outside, which proved that Kazama Yumi was at home at the moment, but she didn't want to see him.

However, knowing that she is alright is good news amidst a lot of bad news.

That's barely good news.

Just then, the man gave him the hint to leave: "It's getting late. Is there anything else?"

"Excuse me... no, there's one more thing," Kazuya Sawashiro originally intended to leave, but then thought it wouldn't be good, so he added, "Please pass on a message for me, just say that I know everything, thank you."

After saying that, Ze Cheng turned and left the doorway of Kazama Yumi's house.

There should be a message left by Kazama Yumi in the handbag. Kazuya Sawashiro can guess what she wrote, which is nothing more than an explanation of these things, but that's not what Kazuya Sawashiro needs right now, and he can't let this matter bother him.

The reason they came to their door wasn't to question anything, but simply to put Amano Aki's mind at ease.

It would be good for her to focus more on practice, both now and in the future.

...

In the middle of the night, Kazuya Sawashiro returned to Koenji.

He gave all the money to Amano Aki for the bus fare, so he didn't have a single penny left and had to walk back.

It's late at night, so let's not bother other people.

Kazuya Sawashiro found his cubicle, opened the door and went in without looking. As soon as he stepped on something soft, he realized something was wrong and fell to the side.

"what!"

"oops!"

After the chaos subsided, the truth became clear.

"Don't you have your own house? Why are you sleeping in my cubicle?" Kazuya Sawashiro sat on the floor, touching his head with one hand and covering his feet with the other, the places where he had been hurt by Aki Amano.

"It's gone... my house," Amano Aki said, clutching the stomach where Sawashiro Kazuya had stepped on it. She quickly explained to Sawashiro Kazuya, "When I got back, I found that the rented house had been turned into a construction site, and there wasn't even a door to go in."

"Construction site?"

"Yes, it's all cordoned off," Amano Aki described what she saw vividly, using her hands and feet. "There are also a lot of construction vehicles parked outside. I heard from people at the scene that there was a magnitude 3 earthquake, so they need to repair the houses. It will probably take about three months."

"So you're just taking over my place?" Kazuya Sawashiro tapped the floorboards beneath his feet.

"Hehe...it's only right for a manager to take care of their artist," Amano Aki said with a sheepish grin, scratching his head as his stomach pain subsided. "This cubicle is a little cramped, a little messy, and a little smelly, but I don't mind at all."

"...Don't take advantage of others and then speak ill of them, so where am I supposed to sleep?"

"Together?"

"..."

Kazuya Sawashiro is facing the biggest crisis since he was regrouped.