Chapter 44: Casting and Idols

“One, two, three, four, turn, hands up, very good, again…”

Under the guidance of her tutor, Aiko hopped and skipped, waving her little hands.

Bubble Witch’s “Mother” was already in the casting phase.
As the drama’s main star, Aiko’s debut would coincide with its broadcast.

Although debuting as an actress didn’t have as many requirements as debuting as an idol, and Aiko was a six-year-old “child actor,” she still needed a trick or two up her sleeve in case she had to appear on a TV program.
It was like how, during New Year’s, the more talented children are often pushed by their parents to perform for relatives and friends.

Thus, Seiko hired two tutors to teach Aiko singing and dancing one-on-one.

Seiko didn’t demand Aiko learn to perfection—as long as people would politely clap out of consideration for her being a six-year-old, that was enough.
But Aiko herself was learning with great enthusiasm, looking as if every strand of her hair was exerting effort as she hopped, shouting “heave-ho, heave-ho” to cheer herself on.

“How is the casting for the other actors going?”

After watching Aiko’s lesson for a while, Seiko turned to ask Ōmori Ryō.

Besides Aiko’s role as the child actor “Douki Reina,” “Mother” had four or five other main characters.
Among them, the most important was arguably Suzuhara Nao, the elementary school teacher who would later become Reina’s de facto adoptive mother.

“I came here precisely to report on this matter,” Ōmori Ryō said, handing a cast list to Seiko.
“We have invited actors for most of the roles in the drama.
For Suzuhara Nao, we plan to invite Ms. Otake Shinobu to play the part…”

“Otake Shinobu? Is such a famous actress willing to be in a TV drama for us?” Seiko asked, surprised.

Otake Shinobu might not be known to people in other countries, but she was a household name in Japan.
Otake Shinobu was a leftist actress whose works mostly focused on the suffering of the lower class or the lives of marginalized social groups.
For example, a leftist film she had previously shot, “Ah, Nomugi Pass,” had a strong social impact and directly led to revisions of Japan’s “Labor Standards Act,” raising the minimum wage for female workers.

“Our subject matter also focuses on marginalized social groups—unseen children who are abused and ignored, single-parent families, the elderly ‘forgotten’ by their families and society… This is perfectly in line with Ms. Otake Shinobu’s usual choice of topics,” Ōmori Ryō said with confidence.

“Oh, so our drama actually has such a profound theme.”

Seiko had a sudden realization; she had thought their drama was just pure melodrama.

The corner of Ōmori Ryō’s mouth twitched slightly, and he added, “Also, Otake Shinobu’s husband is ill.
I heard she’s been a bit short on money recently.”

“Ooh~~”

Now that made sense.

Seiko nodded and scanned the cast list.

Speaking of which, Otake Shinobu’s current husband was not very famous, but her next one would be quite well-known—Akashiya Sanma.

After skimming the cast list, Seiko had only one feeling—she didn’t recognize a single one.

“How come there’s no one I know?” Seiko thought and blurted out.

“Well…” Ōmori Ryō wiped his forehead awkwardly.
“Our budget is limited.
Hiring Otake Shinobu has already taken up most of our budget for actors’ salaries.
For the rest, we can only use second and third-tier actors, as well as actors from our own company.
It’s… it’s unavoidable that you don’t recognize them.”

“But…” Seiko tapped the cast list, feeling a headache coming on.
“The initial ratings for the drama might not look too good this way.
We were counting on the initial ratings to sell it at a high price.
Can’t we get a popular idol or someone to make a guest appearance?”

“A popular idol?” Ōmori Ryō looked troubled.
“A guest appearance by an idol would definitely boost the ratings, but I’m not very familiar with idol agencies.
Without some connections, it’s quite difficult to invite a popular idol…”

The peak period for most idols is relatively short—with the exception of top-tier idols like Nakamori Akina and Matsuda Seiko.
Therefore, when they are popular, their agencies pack their schedules to the brim.
A request from a third-rate film and television company like Bubble Witch would probably be rejected by the agency before it even reached the artist.

“Connections…” Seiko thought for a moment but had no ideas, so she turned and casually asked the few yakuza behind her, “Do any of you have connections to invite an idol?”

“Huh?
An idol?
Ah? Yes, yes…”

Ishiwatari Takashi had originally just come along to report on the recent sales at Oshin-ya.
He had zoned out a bit while listening to Seiko and Ōmori Ryō discuss the drama.
Snapping back to reality, he found Seiko asking him a question and nodded subconsciously.

“Ishiwatari-san, you do?” Seiko looked at Ishiwatari Takashi skeptically.

“Yes, yes I do.”
Ishiwatari Takashi came to his senses and realized he had misspoken, but his “standard yakuza” persona made him choose to be stubborn rather than take it back.

Seiko saw through his lack of confidence but didn’t expose him.
Instead, she smiled and patted his shoulder.

“That would be a great help.
I knew it!
How could a yakuza be completely clueless about the idol industry?
I’ll leave this matter to you.
Just invite any popular idol back.
If you can’t get it done, Ishiwatari-san, you can just debut as an idol yourself.”

‘Debut as an idol myself?’

Leaving the Yamagami residence and heading back to Oshin-ya, Ishiwatari Takashi was still mulling over Seiko’s words.
The thought of himself wearing a sparkly skirt, holding a pink microphone, and singing and dancing on stage sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.

“What am I going to do now?”

Ishiwatari Takashi was full of regret.
He shouldn’t have been so stubborn and bragged.
He knew nothing about idols.

“Morishita, tell me, if we wanted to invite a popular idol for a promotion, how would we do it?”

Ishiwatari Takashi randomly pulled aside the new store manager he had chosen, a young man named Morishita Nao, and asked.

“Boss,” Morishita Nao’s eyes lit up at the words, and he said gleefully, “Are you going to invite an idol to do a promotion for us?
That’s fantastic!
Speaking of popular idols, it’s gotta be Nakamori Akina!
Matsuda Seiko can’t even hold a candle to our Akina-chan now…”

“You idiot!
I’m asking you how to invite an idol, not which idol you’re a fan of,” Ishiwatari Takashi scolded, then felt something was off and added, “Also, everyone in the Ishiwatari-gumi is a loyal member of the ‘Seiko Faction.’
Anyone with divided loyalties will have to cut off a finger.
It’s decided!”

“Ah…” Morishita Nao’s fan allegiance had been inexplicably changed, but since Ishiwatari Takashi had escalated the matter to the level of cutting off fingers, what could he say?
His own finger was more important than an idol.

At the same time, Morishita Nao realized his boss wasn’t joking.
He thought it over seriously, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

“I heard from the guys that when they passed by the Isetan department store today, they seemed to see an idol filming a commercial, and there were a lot of fans gathered around.
Isetan isn’t far from here.
Why don’t you go talk to that idol in person, Boss?”

Ishiwatari Takashi thought about it and felt it was indeed a viable method.
To avoid debuting in a skirt himself, he had to give it a try.

“What’s that idol’s name?”

“I think it’s… Okada Yukiko.”