Chapter 49: THE FIRST TAKE!
"Ladies and gentlemen: This aircraft has come to a complete stop. Please disembark through the front (middle, rear) boarding doors. Thank you!"
Come to think of it, though it hadn't been long since he traveled to this world, he was riding planes every day. The film crew's private jet didn't have flight attendants or broadcasts, but he still heard them in his head until his ears grew calloused.
*Maybe I should buy a helicopter for commuting? I think I can afford one now, right?* In his memory, at the end of some series, President Shirogane bought one for less than a billion yen—but he'd only heard someone else explain the plot, so he couldn't be sure of its accuracy.
Hikaru Hoshino let his mind wander as he disembarked empty-handed. Having not arranged for a pickup in advance, he gritted his teeth and hailed a taxi again. Ever since becoming a car owner, he rarely took taxis. If it was an expense that could be spared, there was naturally no reason to waste money.
It wasn't that he was stingy, and it had little to do with how much money he had; it was purely a "freeloader's addiction" that he simply couldn't kick.
"Total comes to 4,860 yen. Thank you for your patronage."
The driver happily took the Fukuzawa Yukichi (10,000 yen note) Hikaru handed over. After digging through his wallet for change, he couldn't help but add: "Why don't you leave a contact number? I'll give you a discount next time."
"Next time for sure," Hikaru waved a dismissive hand and turned to walk into the residential complex.
He had returned to his home in Chiyoda Ward at light speed because he felt there might still be clues hidden here that he had failed to discover before.
Destroying all evidence after a crime is, of course, a good habit; but if there are accomplices, everything changes.
In a group crime, are the accomplices really brothers in arms with one heart and soul? The kind who would grit their teeth and protect their partners even if they themselves were exposed?
Of course not. It would be a miracle if they managed not to actively backstab each other. Out in the world of crime, everyone is just looking for a score; they argue for half a day just over dividing the loot, so who could ever truly trust someone at their back?
Destroying all evidence would mean losing the leverage needed to backstab a partner at a critical moment. If Hikaru were Kamiki, he certainly wouldn't destroy every criminal record; he would surely keep a backup hidden away.
On one hand, it would serve as evidence to counter an accomplice; on the other, he could take it out and "appreciate" it from time to time, couldn't he?
Hikaru rummaged through the house but failed to find any hidden evidence. The small apartment looked perfectly normal. He checked under the bed and inside the wardrobes—everything was clean. If he were to pull a passerby off the street and ask their opinion of the owner, they would likely think he was a highly motivated and disciplined young elite.
The "discipline" was evident from his good lifestyle habits—no tobacco, no alcohol, and a room that was orderly and spotless. The "motivation" was clear because he hadn't chosen to buy a house in the popular Chuo Ward, but specifically picked Chiyoda.
Settling here suggested an intent to move into politics, as a short walk south would lead to Nagatacho. The National Diet Building, the National Diet Library, and the official residences of the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors were all located here. Even the residence of the famous former Prime Minister Fujiwara was situated nearby. According to the grapevine, the eldest daughter of the Fujiwara family would be a strong contender for the next Prime Minister.
Young men hoping for a chance encounter often lingered on the streets, fantasizing about a sudden rise to power. Some lucky few might indeed see the pink-haired secretary, but they would quickly be shooed away like flies by the black-haired woman beside her. Those thick-skinned enough to refuse to leave likely vanished into the deepest parts of Tokyo Bay.
Frustrated at the lack of information on Ishigami, Hikaru began to wonder if his line of thinking was wrong. Perhaps Kamiki really was that meticulous, or perhaps he didn't need to admire cold, boring evidence—perhaps seeing the victim's misery in person had been enough to satisfy him.
With a dark expression, Hikaru walked back to the study and turned on the computer. Even though Ishigami's threat was imminent and his brain was processing countermeasures, his hand naturally clicked on the YouTube homepage. By the time he realized it, his own soulful face was on the screen.
"Hikari - Dry Flower (Dried Flower) / THE FIRST TAKE"
The publishing channel was **THE FIRST TAKE**, a YouTube channel dedicated to filming one-take performances by musicians and singers. The channel was immensely popular, with a whopping eight million subscribers—a number Hikaru couldn't hope to catch up to at this stage.
In other words, this was another successful "clout-chase." If his own channel's heat wasn't high enough, he could just use an account with a larger following to publish. As long as you were in the entertainment industry, the methods for riding the coattails of fame never went out of style.
If Hikaru were to develop on his own, he wouldn't be able to get onto such an established music channel yet. This was the work of Xini Entertainment, which had used internal negotiations to trade for a guest slot on a major music program for him.
The MV had also been sent back for a rework by Xini. Instead of the animated version Hikaru had originally made, they used a more primitive studio recording, which was the long-standing tradition of THE FIRST TAKE.
In front of a silver microphone, a melancholy boy began to sing after a brief self-introduction. He wore a simple brown shirt, his golden hair swept back by headphones bearing the "XINI" logo. His handsome face looked like a school heartthrob who had just graduated from high school, radiating an aura of youth.
The "persona" was established very successfully. Even if Kamiki's old acquaintances saw him, they probably wouldn't recognize him immediately.
The boy frowned slightly, keeping his eyes closed almost the entire time as if completely immersed in the world of music, finishing the song with deep emotion.
Looking at himself in the video, Hikaru felt a bit dazed.
*Wait, is this really the video I recorded?*
The pinned comment in the section was from the "Hikari" account:
"Thank you for watching THE FIRST TAKE. This time I sang with all my heart so that I could convey the lyrics to everyone in a single stage. Did you like it? I hope you liked it."
Since it was a veteran music channel, the view count was rising rapidly. As of now, it was almost breaking the twenty-million mark.
"Listening closely, this is truly a beautiful song to the extreme. The voice, the expression, the singing style are all so wonderful. I am completely conquered."
"Hikari's expressive power is amazing. Most importantly, 'Dry Flower' is a song you can listen to for a very, very long time. I really want this song to become a legend."
"This song made me discover Hikari, and I immediately became his fan. I will never tire of hearing his voice; it always calms me down and lets me restart my life."
"Genius!!! A precious voice and an extraordinarily moving interpretation. I'm writing in Spanish because music has no barriers! Greetings from Peru!"
Unlike the release of "Idol," this time Hikaru was the performer, not just the composer. This song could fully be considered his debut as a singer. As everyone knows, singers garner much more traffic than the songwriters hidden behind the scenes because they are the ones right in front of the camera.
Almost everyone who clicked on the video would naturally click on Hikari's channel and hit the follow icon.
The subscriber count was skyrocketing. Perhaps many people just clicked "follow" casually, but for whatever reason, these were real followers—traffic that could be monetized.
Hikaru looked at his account interface with a subtle gaze. Below the bio, it clearly stated: "598,000 subscribers, 2 videos."
In this small island nation, this subscriber count already put him on the map. If only considering the new generation of the past two years, he was undeniably number one.
At the beginning, because Japan lacked proper talent shows, Hikaru once thought it would take a long time to become famous, only being able to accumulate fans bit by bit in daily life.
But now, looking at his inbox overflowing with requests for collaboration, he realized one thing clearly.
He was about to blow up.
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