Chapter 78: The Fan Manager

At the end of August, the summer heat in Tokyo had yet to fade.

Tokyo Television, in the parking lot, Kisaragi Kiyo was sipping an iced Americano as she gave instructions to the members of The Blue Hearts who were getting out of the car behind her. “You’ve just debuted and have too little experience. Basically, everyone you’ll see at the TV station is your senior. So, no matter who you see later, you’d better bow and greet them properly.”

“Hai, hai, we know, we know, Kisaragi-san. You’ve already said it three times.”

“Maybe four times.”

“Could be five times.”

The members of The Blue Hearts grumbled.

“Don’t think I’m nagging. Do as I say, and you’ll save yourselves a lot of trouble.”

“We really get it, Kisaragi-san.”

“Kisaragi-san, do you need to touch up your makeup? Your dark circles are a bit serious.”

“Yeah, Kisaragi-san, why are your eyes so red? Did you not sleep well last night?”

Kisaragi Kiyo couldn’t be bothered to waste any more breath on these young punks. She slung her tote bag over her shoulder and walked ahead. The band members, carrying their instruments, hurriedly followed behind.

Currently, The Blue Hearts primarily performed at underground venues and were not yet qualified to appear on television programs. This time, they were coming to the TV station by riding on the coattails of a senior singer, acting as his backing band.

Although it was just as a backing band, this was still Tokyo Television. For a band whose usual haunts were some bar or nightclub, this could be considered a leap in status.

The seemingly nonchalant members of The Blue Hearts actually understood this. Therefore, they completely followed Kisaragi Kiyo’s instructions, whether they met TV station staff or other artists, they were the first to greet them. Whether it was useful or not, they would first leave a good impression.

As they entered the elevator, Kisaragi Kiyo finally couldn’t resist. She took out a small foundation compact from her tote bag, checked her reflection in the mirror, and touched up her makeup.

“Kisaragi-san, did you go out for a night on the town last night? Actually, if you’re looking for a place to hang out at night, you can go to the Shibuya bar where we used to perform. We’re good friends with the owner.”

Kōmoto Hiroto smiled and recommended a place to Kisaragi Kiyo.

Kisaragi Kiyo put away her compact without explaining that she hadn’t gone to any bar last night, but had stayed home watching television.

For a thirty-year-old adult to toss and turn, unable to sleep all night, and even cry all night over a TV show, was a bit too embarrassing to admit. But last night’s drama was really good…

Last night, Mother had aired its penultimate episode. The plot had progressed to the point where the second female lead, “Nao,” played by Otake Shinobu, finally reconciled with her estranged mother. This deeply moved Kisaragi Kiyo, whose own relationship with her mother was also not good. At that moment, she had even wanted to call her mother, whom she hadn’t contacted for a long time. Although she didn’t make the call in the end, she couldn’t sleep well all night.

In addition, Aiko’s portrayal of Rena had once again brought Kisaragi Kiyo to tears.

While Nao was in prison for kidnapping, Rena kept calling her. Finally, on the day of Nao’s release, Rena’s call to Nao was finally answered…

After a long, stunned silence, Rena finally spoke:

“Mama, I made a friend here.”
“Mama, I’m having a good time at the orphanage.”
“Mama, I’ve learned to cook and do laundry.”
“Mama, I’ve washed my shoes and clothes clean.”
“Mama, my things are still in my suitcase.”
“Mama, Mama, when are you coming to get me…”

In the original plot, the script for this part was rather mediocre. Although Ashida Mana’s ability to cry on cue was still astonishing, the rest of her performance was relatively raw.

Seiko had made some modifications to the plot to make it more impactful.

Especially the silence that lasted for dozens of seconds when Rena discovered the phone had suddenly been answered, allowing the audience to immediately feel the bewilderment of this child, who had suffered so much, suddenly encountering a pleasant surprise.

Aiko’s acting, under the guidance of the award-winning actress Otake Shinobu, was also much stronger than that of the similarly debuting Ashida Mana. She babbled on about how well she was doing, but in the end, she couldn’t help but ask, “Mama, when are you coming to get me?”

That little look of hopeful expectation, yet afraid to hear the answer, was simply heart-wrenching for Kisaragi Kiyo to watch.

This thirty-year-old expired maiden who had drunk too much beer almost couldn’t stop herself from shouting out: “I’ll come get you, I’ll come get you!”

Ding-dong.

The elevator arrived at the floor where the studio was located, and the members of The Blue Hearts walked out.

The guitarist, Mashima Masatoshi, glanced at his watch and said, “We still have over an hour. Did we come too early?”

“You’re the supporting act, so you need to have the self-awareness of a supporting act,” Kisaragi Kiyo said with cold frankness. “As a supporting act, you have to come to the studio early and wait for the main act to arrive. When you become big shots yourselves, then you’ll have the right to make others wait for you.”

“Alright, alright…” Mashima Masatoshi无奈地收起手表, then looked up and saw a familiar figure, his eyes immediately lighting up. “Hey! Isn’t that Okada Yukiko?”

“Hey, hey, it is!”

“Yukiko-chan is here too!”

“Can we get her autograph?”

“I think we can, right?”

The band members immediately started buzzing with excitement.

Okada Yukiko’s image was that of a pure and cute girl-next-door. For a group of young men in their early twenties, this image was quite captivating. Even punk youths found it hard to resist the charm of such a girl-next-door.

“Can you guys have some self-respect!” Kisaragi Kiyo reprimanded them helplessly. “You are now artists about to debut, not idol fans. Okada Yukiko is your senior now. You should greet her as a senior, not ask for an autograph the moment you see her…”

The punk youths of The Blue Hearts lowered their heads in shame, feeling that their behavior was indeed quite immature. But as Kisaragi Kiyo was speaking, her attention was drawn to the two small figures giggling and running out from behind Okada Yukiko.

To be precise, it was one of the figures…

“Rena…” Kisaragi Kiyo murmured.

“What Rena?” Mashima Masatoshi looked up strangely, only to see that Kisaragi Kiyo had already taken out a pen and paper from her tote bag and was rushing towards one of the children.

“Rena, Rena, can you give me an autograph?”

Kisaragi Kiyo blocked Aiko’s path with her pen and paper.

“Um…”

Aiko was stunned, looking blankly at Kisaragi Kiyo, then at her good friend Rika, not knowing how to handle the situation.

The members of The Blue Hearts were also stunned.

‘Wait, didn’t you just say we can’t ask for autographs?’

“Rena, do you want some candy? Big Sister has candy here, this kind is delicious! And this kind! Rena, I have cookies here too… oh, sorry, I didn’t bring any today. How about you come play at Big Sister’s house, Rena? Big Sister’s house is a lot of fun, and Big Sister will make you lots of delicious food…”

Kisaragi Kiyo babbled on excitedly as she rummaged through her tote bag, pulling out all sorts of snacks.

“Is this the same Kisaragi-san who usually won’t even smile at us?”

Mashima Masatoshi asked his bandmates in shock.

“I don’t know.”

“Probably not.”

“Maybe she’s been possessed by a demon.”

“She looks like a strange auntie trying to kidnap a child.”

“We should find someone to perform an exorcism…”

His bandmates replied dazedly.