"HEY! HEY! HEY! Music Champ" is a high-definition music variety show launched by Fuji TV in October 1994.
And now in 1999, "HEY! HEY! HEY!" and TV Asahi's "MUSIC STATION" are the two leading programs in the music variety genre.
In this show, guests not only perform their signature works but also participate in game interactions and interviews with the hosts.
But Hisashi felt indifferent toward such shows, neither liking nor hating them.
Of course, in the past, he hardly had any free time to watch these kinds of programs anyway.
However, his daughter, Sasaki Ayano, loved watching them and enjoyed listening to songs.
So, whenever they had free time in the evenings lately, the whole family would sit on the sofa and watch TV with their daughter.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the show started on time, and Ayano immediately grabbed his arm and shook it excitedly:
"It's starting! Dad, look quickly!"
"Okay, okay, Dad is looking."
Hisashi responded helplessly yet dotingly, while his wife, Oriko, teased from the side:
"This is truly heartbreaking. Now little Ayano only thinks about her father and hardly pays any attention to her mother."
"No, I don't!"
Ayano's face immediately flushed red. She quickly let go of Hisashi's arm and opened her arms to give her mother a big hug.
But after the hug, she still moved back to Hisashi's side and gave her reason quite seriously:
"Because Mom is always at home, there are plenty of chances to hug."
"But Dad often doesn't come home at night, so when Dad is home in the evening, I have to make up for all the usual hugs!"
"Well..."
Hearing his daughter's words, the smile on Hisashi's face suddenly stiffened, becoming somewhat awkward and guilty.
In reality, it wasn't that he frequently didn't come home at night.
It was just that as an editor for the Shonen Jump Editorial Department, his usual work was indeed very busy.
Every day, there were not only a large number of manga submissions to review, but he also occasionally needed to meet and talk with newcomers who submitted their work in person.
More importantly, he had to coordinate with the serialized Manga Artists he was responsible for.
Shonen Jump promotes a model of deep one-on-one binding between Manga Artists and editors; therefore, during the entire creative process of a Manga Artist, the editor needs to be deeply involved.
How to design the storyboards for each chapter, whether to introduce new characters, how to develop the climax, whether the planning for new plotlines is reasonable...
In cases where everything went smoothly—for example, if the content drawn by the Manga Artist themselves had no major issues and only needed slight adjustments—it would be a bit easier.
But there were also many times when they would discuss things with the Manga Artist all day and night before finally polishing a qualified piece of content.
It didn't end there.
During the stage when the Manga Artist started drawing, the editor also had to constantly monitor the progress to avoid any delays in submission.
Sometimes, the editor even had to visit in person to supervise and urge for the manuscript face-to-face for it to work.
Finally, once the original manga manuscript was successfully submitted within the deadline, the next chapter had to be started immediately, and the editor had to repeat the same work all over again.
It was because of various situations like these that he often had to work until late at night before he could go home.
By then, his daughter had usually already fallen asleep, which was why she thought he often didn't come home at night.
However, the situation in the last two months had been completely different, and the reason for this was undoubtedly the existence of Akira.
The other party was simply a natural-born Manga Artist.
Whether it was the content or the artwork, the other party almost never gave him anything to worry about; it could even be said that he was too easy to manage, sometimes even making him doubt his own abilities as an editor.
But thanks to this, ever since he started being responsible for him, his workload in this area had decreased significantly, sometimes even becoming negligible.
That was why he had been able to go home early every day for the past two months and spend time with his wife and child in the evenings.
Sigh.
Thinking of all this, Hisashi's feelings toward Akira became very complicated.
As a husband and father, Akira's talent and ability had greatly reduced his workload, allowing him extra time to spend with his wife and daughter, for which he was naturally very grateful.
But as an editor, the other party's various actions outside of manga were truly a massive headache; sometimes he wished he could just grab him and lock him in a small dark room, only allowing him to draw manga!
Sigh.
Trouble, trouble...
However, just as his mind was filled with thoughts of Akira, the content on the TV program suddenly caught his attention—
"Well then, the next to appear is a new music group."
"Although they are newcomers, their recent debut single seems to be quite popular. Their song is playing everywhere in the streets and alleys; it's completely like a phenomenon!"
"This is what you call a dark horse in the music world, right?"
"Anyway, let us welcome the new music group that has become a hit right after their debut, Tsukirin—!"
Tsukirin?
I feel like it sounds a bit familiar...
Hisashi frowned, but before he could recall anything, the next moment, his daughter's exclamation interrupted his thoughts—
"Wow, what a beautiful big sister—!"
Hearing this, Hisashi instinctively looked at the television screen.
He had to admit, just as his daughter said, following the host's introduction, a quite young and beautiful girl walked out from backstage.
Her simple and plain dress did not hide her appearance; instead, it made her look clean, pure, and as beautiful as a first love.
And the acoustic guitar slung over her added a touch of coolness to her vibe.
"Hello everyone, I am Rin, the lead singer of Tsukirin. This is my first time performing on stage, so please give me your guidance, seniors and audience."
Although it was her first appearance, her expression didn't seem particularly nervous, and her voice was very pleasant, giving a very good first impression.
However, what made people a bit confused was that according to the host's introduction, Tsukirin was a music group, so why did only one person appear?
And in the next moment, the host asked the same question—
"Eh? That's strange."
"I saw in the introduction that Tsukirin is supposed to be a duo? Why is only Shimizu-san here now?"
Rin replied:
"Because the other member isn't used to appearing on camera, usually only I attend various events."
"I see, but that's understandable."
"And I suddenly realized that it seems many creators don't like exposing themselves to the spotlight. This shouldn't be my imagination, right?"
"That's true. By the way, the other member of Tsukirin is called Akira-sensei, right?"
"I heard that Tsukirin's debut single this time was entirely handled by him personally. So, about this song..."
Hisashi didn't hear anything the host said after that.
At this moment, his mind was completely occupied by the name 'Akira.'
Akira, Rin, Tsukirin...
So it was you!!
He had completely remembered now; on the single CD that Akira had sent him not long ago, these three names were engraved, along with the handwritten signatures of both of them.
So Tsukirin was the music group Akira was in, and this girl was his partner in music!
Dammit, he's even managed to get on TV?!"