Chapter 45: An Invitation That Cannot Be Refused

Okada Yukiko won the championship of “Star Tanjō!” in 1983 and officially debuted in 1984.
Right after her debut, she won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist, held an autumn tour that same year, and followed it up with a nationwide spring tour this year.

She was, one could say, a popular idol who had a standard “peak-at-debut” career.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for taking care of us.”

“It was a pleasure working with you.”

“…”

Having just finished shooting a cosmetics commercial, Okada Yukiko and her manager exchanged warm pleasantries as they bid farewell to a group of staff members.
But as soon as they left the crowd and got into the artist’s van, Okada Yukiko, who always maintained a cheerful and energetic demeanor in public, immediately went limp, flopping onto the seat.
“Phew… Where to next?”

As mentioned before, popular idols always have their schedules packed.
Even though she had just finished one job, Okada Yukiko had no doubt she was about to rush off to the next one.

The car started and pulled smoothly out of the parking lot.

Seeing Okada Yukiko’s lazy posture, her manager, Hosokawa Kazuko, frowned and lightly kicked Okada’s foot with her high heel.

“Sit up properly. Don’t slouch.”

“But there’s no one else here…” Okada Yukiko grumbled as she sat up.

“What does it matter if there’s no one else?” Hosokawa Kazuko immediately began her lecture.
“You’re an idol now. An idol must…”

“Yes, yes, an idol must always demand perfection of herself!”
Okada Yukiko had heard these words countless times; her ears were practically growing calluses.
She quickly changed the subject, “You still haven’t told me my next appointment.”

Hosokawa Kazuko’s frown deepened.
The agency Hosokawa Kazuko belonged to, Sun Music, was grooming Okada Yukiko to be the “Successor to Matsuda Seiko.”
Okada Yukiko had a sweet appearance, a clear voice, and was obedient and sensible.
She would strive to meet basically any requirement the agency set for her.
From every angle, she seemed to be the perfect candidate for the “Successor to Matsuda Seiko.”

However, Hosokawa Kazuko had also been Matsuda Seiko’s manager.
Through her long association with both, she gradually discovered that compared to Matsuda Seiko’s sharp-edged, aggressive, “I must be number one” personality, Okada Yukiko lacked a certain must-win ambition for her idol career.

But this wasn’t a problem that could be corrected overnight.

Hosokawa Kazuko temporarily set aside her dissatisfaction and took out a small notebook, flipping it open.
“You have a vocal lesson at noon, then a book signing in the afternoon, followed by recording a new song at the studio.
If the recording goes smoothly, you can rest for an hour before the company’s tour planning meeting.
If the recording doesn’t go smoothly, there will be no rest.
Tonight, there’s a music radio show, and after the radio show, you need to do a photoshoot for tomorrow’s magazine.
After midnight, there’s also a late-night variety show…”

Hearing that there were so many appointments today, Okada Yukiko felt the urge to complain.

“How can there be so many appointments in one day?”

‘Huh?’

‘Did I say that out loud?’

Okada Yukiko was startled, but she soon breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out it wasn’t her who had spoken, but the driver.

“This many appointments is nothing,” Hosokawa Kazuko said dismissively.
“When Matsuda Seiko first debuted, it was common for her to have twenty appointments in a single day, and even then, she would complain it wasn’t enough.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Talent truly is no match for hard work.”

“What do you mean talent is no match for hard work? Our Matsuda Seiko is a genius herself!”

“Is she? I thought Nakamori Akina was the real genius…”

The driver’s words came to an abrupt halt, perhaps because he remembered his current identity as a loyal member of the “Seiko Faction.”

Okada Yukiko sensed that something was wrong.
Why had the driver, who had been quiet the entire trip, suddenly become so talkative?

Hosokawa Kazuko also realized there was a problem.
She looked around hesitantly, “Who are you? Where’s Nakano-san?”

“Who’s Nakano-san?” the driver asked.

“Our original driver,” Hosokawa Kazuko said.

“He’s in the trunk.”

From the passenger seat, a standard yakuza face with a scar leaned back and said, “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ishiwatari Takashi. I’m a chokusan of the Yamagami-gumi.”

‘Yakuza!’

Okada Yukiko and Hosokawa Kazuko both shrank back into the corner in fear.

“Wh-what is the meaning of this…” Hosokawa Kazuko stammered, trying her best to question them.

“Don’t be nervous. We mean no harm.”
Ishiwatari Takashi forced a stiff smile, but instead of making him look friendlier, the scar made him look even more terrifying.
“The Yamagami-gumi recently invested in a film and television drama, and we’d like to invite Miss Okada for a guest role.”

‘No harm, my ass.’

‘Mr. Nakano is in the trunk, and you call that no harm?’

‘Is Mr. Nakano still alive? He hasn’t been chopped into pieces, has he?’

‘And that film and television drama… it’s not an AV, is it?’

Thinking about the type of film and television drama that the yakuza most liked to invest in, Okada Yukiko felt even more hopeless.

Hosokawa Kazuko, on the other hand, felt a slight sense of relief.
As long as they weren’t planning to immediately assault and murder them, there was still a chance to negotiate.

“If it’s just a guest role in a drama, we can discuss it properly. Our Yukiko never refuses a reasonable offer of cooperation.
There’s… there’s no need to resort to such methods.
If the police find out about this, it will be troublesome for you too, right?”

Hosokawa Kazuko tried her best to persuade them.

“Heh heh, the police in Urawa are useless. We hacked so many people to death last month, and the cops didn’t even make a peep,” the driver said.

This driver was, of course, Morishita Nao, who had just been forced to change his allegiance to the “Seiko Faction.”

‘They really do hack people to death!’

All of Hosokawa Kazuko’s words were stuck in her throat.

‘Mr. Nakano, may your death have been painless…’

While mourning for Mr. Nakano, Okada Yukiko was already starting to consider what kind of “film and television drama” she would be forced to shoot.
‘I hope they don’t find a particularly rough male lead…’

‘No! No!’

‘I debuted to become an idol!’

‘Why has it come to this?’

‘Mom, Dad, you were right. I should have just studied hard. I shouldn’t have become an idol…’

Accompanied by the self-pity of a mentally collapsing Okada Yukiko, the car made a few turns and finally drove into a large compound.

Okada Yukiko and Hosokawa Kazuko were half-forced out of the car and pushed indoors.
Looking at the antique-style decorations and the tall, burly yakuza patrolling the area, the two were already imagining they were about to meet some white-haired yakuza boss.

However, the development of events was somewhat beyond their expectations.

“I told you to invite a popular idol, and this is how you invite them?”

Seiko stared, dumbfounded, at Okada Yukiko and her manager, who had essentially been kidnapped and brought before her.

‘No, this is a kidnapping, isn’t it?’

“Uh… more or less… right?” Ishiwatari Takashi scratched his head.
‘I’ve completed the mission, haven’t I?’

“You’ve really got some nerve, Ishiwatari-san. To go this far just to avoid debuting yourself. You idiot!”

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Seiko rolled up a document and smacked Ishiwatari Takashi on the head with it.