Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 149

Paper Can’t Hide Fire

“Did you agree?”

Seeing her timid reaction, Kurosawa didn’t know how he managed to squeeze out this question.

“Hikaru-kun, are you mad at me?”

Ichinose noticed his subtle expression, different from his usual calm and gentle demeanor. There was a hint of fear in her eyes.

“No, why would I be mad at you for such a trivial matter?”

“But your expression doesn’t look good… Is joining Miss Itsuragi’s agency a bad decision?”

“Well, this matter is a bit complicated. Didn’t you see that I rejected her before? So it’s a bit awkward.”

Kurosawa realized that he hadn’t controlled his expression well and hurriedly explained.

“I see… I didn’t consider it thoroughly; I didn’t expect this aspect of it.”

Ichinose was momentarily stunned, then she understood.

Upon careful consideration, during their seaside date, Kurosawa had shown a very cold attitude towards Itsuragi.

“Moreover, I used a pseudonym in front of her. If this gets known later, it will be even more awkward when we meet. ” Kurosawa nodded slightly and added, attempting to make her reconsider through this explanation.

“Indeed, but I don’t think Miss Itsuragi minded that at all. She’s really a good person.”

“Is that so?”

Kurosawa noticed that Ichinose had a surprisingly positive impression of Itsuragi. He wondered what conversations or interactions had taken place between them.

But it wasn’t surprising; after all, even in his brief encounter with Itsuragi, he also felt she was a good person.

“Hikaru-kun, do you want me to join another agency?”

Seeing his reaction, Ichinose felt he might not be very pleased.

“No, not at all. It’s your choice. I was just considering Star Group.”

Kurosawa shook his head, explaining.

Interactions between people should be based on equality. While opinions can be offered, it’s important not to deprive others of the right to make their own choices.

“I actually checked Star Group today. Although it’s large, it’s too big for me. That’s why I agreed to Itsuragi. I heard she recently switched agencies, and currently, there are very few people there.”

Seeing his understanding attitude, Ichinose felt a bit embarrassed as she shared her thoughts.

She wasn’t socially anxious, but she knew one thing very well: the more people, the more conflicts. Star Group had over five thousand employees and three hundred artists, which sounded terrifying to her. 

After all, her school didn’t even have that many students and staff combined.

“Do you resist places with many people?”

Kurosawa, hearing this expression, was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected that her choice of Itsuragi was influenced by this factor.

Could it be that she had been bullied before, and that is why she avoided crowded places?

For Ichinose, the incidents during middle school were probably a dark period that would be difficult to erase for a lifetime. 

She even took a year off from school because of it, indicating how painful the experience was. 

“It’s not exactly resistance… Hikaru-kun, didn’t you mention it at the hotel that day? The larger the scale, the more rules, the more people, the more seniors. You said it’s best to find a medium-sized company. You even said to not consider Illusion Star because it has too many rules.”

Ichinose nodded slightly and continued.

“Yes, I did say that,” Kurosawa nodded.

The social hierarchy in the Neon was strict, emphasizing seniority, and had many rules. 

While he didn’t know the situation in other agencies, he was well aware of how things worked at Illusion Star.

Newcomers had no qualifications to negotiate terms. Even if they held a high opinion of you, you had to follow the company’s rules. 

The company’s attitude was quite arrogant, and the relationship felt more like being employed rather than signing a collaborative contract.

“Then, Miss Itsuragi said she’s no longer with Illusion Star; she has opened her own agency, just started, and has very few signed artists.”

Seeing his contemplative expression, Ichinose, no longer with a frowning sensation, pressed her hands together and continued.

She spoke at length, hoping Kurosawa would approve and understand her choice, rather than responding with casual remarks like ‘as long as you’re happy.’

“Oh, is that so?” Kurosawa smiled with a feigned look of surprise. 

Although the sense of danger in his heart had not disappeared, the situation had reached a point of no return. 

Unless he was willing to swallow his pride and completely deny Ichinose’s decision, there was no turning back.

In reality, setting aside his personal concerns, signing with Itsuragi was indeed a good choice for Ichinose.

“She also mentioned that if I’m willing to join, she’ll focus on cultivating me.”

Seeing him finally smile, Ichinose’s worries were swept away, and she spoke positively.

“Is she that good to you?”

“Yeah, she said I’m photogenic and have great potential.”

“Well then, sign with her. But let’s make it clear in advance; I don’t want to meet her.”

Seeing that Ichinose genuinely believed that signing with Itsuragi was the best choice, Kurosawa nodded.

In reality, he was harboring a bit of wishful thinking.

This was because Itsuragi had explicitly stated that she would strictly keep the identities of both him and Ninomiya confidential and would try to minimize his interactions with other artists.

In other words, as long as he could address the issue of Ichinose accidentally revealing information, this matter could still be smoothed over.

“Is it still because of the previous attitude, feeling awkward? I don’t think she cares about it at all.”

Hearing this perspective, Ichinose wanted to ease the tension between them.

“She doesn’t care, but I do feel a bit awkward. And don’t tell her about me, don’t let her know who I am, and don’t call me ‘Hikaru-kun’ in front of her.”

Kurosawa certainly knew she wasn’t concerned about it. 

With Itsuragi’s broad-mindedness, how could she care about such a trivial matter?

“Okay… Actually, she wants to invite you to be my photographer. Just by looking at those few photos, she thinks your skills are amazing.”

Ichinose made an effort to speak well of Itsuragi. In reality, she thought highly of Itsuragi and had this reason as well; the other party recognized Kurosawa’s talent and excellence.

“She doesn’t need to invite me; I’ll be your photographer regardless. If there’s any endorsement shoot in the future, I can privately help you with it.”

“Mm-mm, Hikaru-kun, thank you.”

After careful consideration, Ichinose decided not to insist on having them meet.

Calmly thinking about it, Ichinose didn’t know if Itsuragi was married. If she was single and found Kurosawa attractive, it might be troublesome.

“No problem.”

Kurosawa didn’t repeatedly emphasize or caution, but instead smiled. 

Some things, when talked about too much, can arouse suspicion.

“Oh, by the way, Hikaru-kun, how’s your handwriting?”

Finally settling the previous matter, Ichinose beamed with joy and then asked.

“How is it… like an ordinary person’s, I guess? Do you want to practice handwriting?”

“My handwriting looks terrible now. When people ask me for autographs, I feel embarrassed to sign.”

“Just buy some handwriting practice books. If you just want to practice your signature, I’ll design one for you next time, and you can learn from it.”

“Mm-mm.” Ichinose nodded.

It was still early, and they chatted until around ten o’clock. With Ichinose’s mother calling her to take a bath, they stopped the conversation.

“Phew…”

After hanging up the phone,Kurosawa slumped on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling.

“Paper can’t hide fire. Life is so long; it’s impossible to keep it a secret forever. This matter will be exposed sooner or later. I need to figure out a solution.”

Thinking about how Ichinose would officially join Zero Hour Agency shortly, he felt a strong sense of danger. He pinched his nose, feeling a bit of a headache.

Although he had made up his mind to figure everything out, how to do that was still a problem, and he couldn’t come up with a good solution. After all, he really lacked experience in handling such matters.

After pondering for a while and not finding a temporary solution, Kurosawa stood up and went to take a shower.

After finishing the shower and returning to his room, he picked up his phone and found a new message on Line. However, it wasn’t a private chat but a group chat.

Runa: “Good news, that hot JK agreed to join our agency.”

Runa: “Unfortunately, the talented photographer she mentioned didn’t agree to join.”

Runa: “Anyone here? Anyone? Why am I the only one talking today?”

Zero Hour: “Doing homework.”

Runa: “Fine… by the way, did you see the messages above? Various big V’s are helping with free promotion. Besides, I’ve started finding people to promote you today. The video’s views have already exceeded six million, and at this rising trend, it’s insane.”

Zero Hour: “Saw it.”

Runa: “Come on, can you get excited? This is something worth celebrating.”

Zero Time: “Let’s get excited on Wednesday. I’ll continue with homework now and then think about new tunes.”

Runa: “Alright, you do that.”

Having settled this matter, Kurosawa closed the group chat and opened another friend’s page, that of Ninomiya.

He didn’t forget that he had something to ask.

“What are you up to?” he quickly asked.

Ninomiya, who had been silent in the group chat, responded promptly.

“Didn’t you say you were going to do homework?”

“I knew you were peeking. I said that just now, but I feel bad ignoring her, and if I respond, it never ends,” Kurosawa said, smiling as he noticed her quick “read” receipt.

“There’s no way around it. Runa is too excited. She talks about many things I don’t understand, and as long as I reply, it never stops,” Ninomiya agreed.

“She has indeed been too excited lately. It should settle down after a while.”

“If your next song is as amazing as the previous one, she might find it hard to calm down.”

“Do I need to tone it down a bit then?”

“No need for that. The name ‘Zero Hour’ has just started gaining popularity. It’s time to soar.”

“Indeed.”

“You’ve only shown up now. What have you been busy with?” Ninomiya asked at this moment.

“I went shopping with Miyazaki Yuta, helped him pick out some outfits, styled his hair, and bought a few sets of clothes for myself too.”

“No wonder you’re late.” Understanding the reason for his late appearance, Ninomiya remarked.

“Aren’t you curious why I suddenly took him to pick out clothes and get a haircut?”

Noticing her lack of reaction, Kurosawa decided to initiate and draw her into the conversation.

“Why?” Ninomiya was very accommodating, following up.

“Can we talk via video? It’s a bit cumbersome to type,” Kurosawa continued to build momentum.

With the successful setup, Kurosawa pressed on. 

Text alone often failed to convey many emotions compared to face-to-face interactions, even though video and voice were not as good as being physically present.

“Can we do it over a call?” Ninomiya had been marked as read for quite a while, and after about a minute, she replied, as if she had hesitated for a long time before making up her mind.

“Of course.”

Kurosawa was very pleased with this outcome. Sometimes, to open a window, you had to advocate for tearing down the roof – a principle often attributed to Lu Xun. (1)

The effect of this “tearing down the roof” was indeed powerful and very useful in negotiations.

TL Notes:

1. The principle “to open a window, you have to tear down the roof” is often attributed to Lu Xun, a prominent Chinese writer, essayist, and literary critic of the early 20th century. The metaphor implies that in order to achieve progress or create positive change, one may need to challenge existing structures or conventions.