Japanese Entertainment: A Comeback Beginning from Bankrupt President

As night fell, the air grew slightly cool.

What's colder than the weather is the heart of the living.

"Kazuya... I'm sorry," Kazama Yumi stood in front of the office window, her gaze fixed on the direction where Sawashiro Kazuya had gone. "You have things you want to do, reasons you don't want to give up, but I also have my own difficulties."

The wind howled outside the window, and the sound didn't travel very far at all.

But for some reason, Kazuya Sawashiro, who was leading Aki Amano home, suddenly sensed something. He stopped and looked back at where he had come from without saying a word.

Amano Aki bumped into it without noticing, hitting his nose hard and wincing. He frowned and asked, "Why did you stop so suddenly? Were there paparazzi following us?"

Even has-been celebrities are followed by paparazzi; that's how scandals don't lose their value just because someone is no longer famous.

"It's nothing, I just remembered that I seemed to have forgotten something, but thinking about it, I think I remembered it wrong," Kazuya Sawashiro vaguely sensed that Yumi Kazama was acting strangely, but he couldn't tell Aki Amano, so he just made up an excuse to change the subject, "I can't afford to pay the rent at the agency, and the water and electricity have been cut off. Can I stay at your place starting today?"

"No!" Amano Aki said with obvious disgust. "Go back to your own home. What kind of company president lives in an artist's house?"

Kazuya Sawashiro did want to.

But his family sold the house and the land together, and now that house is someone else's property. Where can he go back to his home?

However, this was just an excuse that Kazuya Sawashiro used to change the subject. Of course, he had no intention of living under the same roof as Aki Amano, so he said as if nothing had happened, "Then let's find an internet cafe near your house. That way, it'll be easier for you to find me."

"Internet cafe?" Amano Aki stopped and looked Sawashiro Kazuya up and down. "Why don't you stay at my place? I'll tidy up and make room for you, and we'll split the rent."

Look at her silly brain, she almost forgot that this is the president of a bankrupt company.

Forget about home, in a couple of days there won't even be an office left, just the title of president.

But Kazuya Sawashiro refused her offer and pushed her shoulder toward the station: "I grind my teeth, snore, and talk in my sleep, so you'd better not think about it. Besides, internet cafes have computers, and it's too difficult to do many things without them. Hurry up and find me a cheap internet cafe."

"Okay, okay, please stop pushing me..." Every step Amano Aki took was not voluntary.

The two took a car to the vicinity of where Amano Aki lived.

Internet cafes that accept monthly subscriptions are everywhere, and the prices are much cheaper for Kazuya Sawashiro than the rent at his agency. Without hesitation, he bought a monthly subscription and then took the free drinks and snacks into the cubicle.

Amano Aki followed behind him, and even in the dark, he didn't have to worry about being recognized.

After sitting down, Kazuya Sawashiro immediately turned on his computer and searched for the idol group that Yumi Kazama had mentioned earlier. He quickly confirmed the authenticity of the information.

That idol project was launched by Watanabe Entertainment in collaboration with the well-known idol producer Jun-kun. Jun-kun is a big name in the industry, and the idol groups he created have been popular for more than ten years and have now become synonymous with idol culture.

Although he has recently been overshadowed by another producer, his own strength and status are still undeniable and should not be underestimated.

"If it's Jun-kun... then the situation is even worse," Kazuya Sawashiro muttered to himself, his brow furrowed as the page remained on the news introduction. "He's already ahead in terms of singing ability, and the lyrics and arrangement will definitely be done by masters. It's very likely that his debut song is aiming for this year's National Record Awards. We're in a bit of danger..."

"Isn't this completely hopeless?" Amano Aki tilted her head to look at Sawashiro Kazuya's profile, with an unchewed snack in her mouth.

She can be free because there is no one else in this room.

"Generally speaking, that's how it is," said Kazuya Sawashiro, his brows furrowed without any sign of easing. "So we need to make this debut song's promotion completely different from usual, creating explosive buzz to keep up with Watanabe Entertainment's promotional pace."

"Hmm?" Amano Aki put down her snacks, then picked up her cola, puzzled. "Shouldn't we care about the quality of the work? Or have you abandoned quality and only cared about viewership?"

She treated this place like her own home, eating and drinking to her heart's content.

When Kazuya Sawashiro turned around, he ran into Aki Amano, who wasn't good with carbonated drinks, and Aki burped right in front of him. It was a burp with a question mark on it.

"belch…?"

"Hehe..." Kazuya Sawashiro laughed after seeing it, his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxing. "Don't worry about the quality of the work. Ayase-san was the most musically talented person in my high school. I believe that after hearing your story, he will definitely give you the best debut song."

Ayase has a female classmate named Rila Itada. The two of them formed a music duo called YOASOBI.

"Eh—!"

"So what can we do to make this debut anything but simple?" Amano Aki's big eyes were full of questions.

Sawashiro didn't reply, but silently closed the news page, opened YouTube, found Otsuka Pharmaceutical's official account, and started playing their product GG.

One minute later, the video reached its end.

Kazuya Sawashiro turned to Aki Amano and asked, "Do you think a music video like this, if played on the GG screen at the Shibuya intersection, would attract the attention of passersby?"

"..."

Amano Aki felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't utter a single word.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical's Pocari Sweat series of GGs has been a model in the GG industry since its inception. It is also known for its high manpower and resources, often requiring the gathering of an entire school's students.

The one-shot technique, which most people don't like to try, is commonplace in this series.

Photographers have been getting creative lately, creating a single-shot shot with three different perspectives.

With only Kazuya Sawashiro as a person who was already living in an internet cafe, Aki Amano couldn't understand how he could accomplish such a grand and arduous task, let alone put it on play at Shibuya Crossroads.

"As expected... you're sick, aren't you?" Amano Aki reached out and placed his hand on Sawashiro Kazuya's forehead.

"Thank you, but I feel great now," Ze Chenghe said, not minding her behavior, and explained his plan, "We don't need to do this complicated one-shot film. We just need to capture the youth and passion of high school students. Doesn't that make the difficulty much lower?"

Amano Aki slowly withdrew his hand and shook his head: "No... it still seems difficult."

It's not that the planning is difficult, it's that it's very difficult to entrust this task to Kazuya Sawashiro.

"Really?" Kazuya Sawashiro stroked his chin, talking to himself, "How about we invite members of the dance clubs from 100 high schools to help us film the music video for our song? We'll invite everyone to watch it together; it'll be a grand spectacle."

"Dance club? Koshien is probably more famous in the summer." Amano Aki thought about it seriously for a moment, and still felt that Koshien was more exciting.

Summer, a sports field, a home run... the image immediately comes to mind.

She was thinking about it very seriously, but unfortunately, Kazuya Sawashiro didn't listen to her at all and was still thinking about the dance club: "It's decided then. I'll take care of the dance club. You just need to obediently follow Kazama-san to learn vocal techniques recently."

"You weren't listening to me at all..." Amano Aki covered her forehead, a helpless smile on her face. "But I'll do my best, I promise I won't hold you back."