April 24, 1991, Wednesday, 3:00 PM.
Gakushuin University, Economics Research Department activity room.
The window close to the corridor was open a crack.
The wind from the end of April slipped in from under the curtains, fluttering a few freshly copied documents on the table. Kojima Naoki hurriedly reached out to press down on one corner, his other hand still holding a stapler.
There were a lot more things in the activity room than three weeks ago.
The names and faculties of this year's new students were pasted along the wall, the topics for the next issue of the department journal were left on the blackboard, and cardboard boxes near the door were still piled with handouts that had not been distributed on the day of the public research seminar.
The sign that originally read "Has Seibu Really Been Saved?" had been taken down, leaving only the chart of the business relationship between the two parties, with new correction slips covering several figures.
The fourth-year Department Chief sat at the end of the long table, checking the revised draft page by page.
"This part still will not do."
He circled a section of text with a pencil.
" 'Seibu, pressed by cash flow pressure, was forced to cede the commercial management rights within the station'—the cash flow pressure can be found in public reports, but 'forced' is a judgment. Move it to the following analysis section."
The female student responsible for recording lowered her head to correct the words.
Kojima stapled the last piece of new student material, looked up, and glanced at the wall clock.
"Will Takahashi-senpai really come today?"
"He had someone pass a message yesterday."
The Department Chief turned to the next page.
"He said he would be free in the afternoon."
"On which day recently has he not said that?"
Kojima put down the stapler.
Ever since the public research seminar ended, Takahashi had only appeared in the department once.
That day, he took away all the original survey data, copied the words "Seibu will benefit long-term" from the blackboard into his notebook, and before leaving, only said he needed to redo it.
For the next ten full days, Takahashi almost disappeared from campus.
Kojima occasionally saw him in Faculty of Economics classes, but as soon as class ended, Takahashi would hug his materials and leave in a hurry. Some saw him go to the Japanese Parliament Library, and others said he stayed in the dormitories for several consecutive nights organising data.
Not only did he fail to recruit those three girls, but his own ace often "stayed out all night."
On April 7, the day the Tokyo gubernatorial election votes were counted, he went to Marunouchi again carrying two document bags.
This matter caused quite a bit of discussion in the Research Department.
Everyone knew he was holding a business card personally given by Saionji Satsuki, and that the card could grant him entry into the Saionji Group. As for who he met once inside, whether his report was approved, and why he appeared less and less at school ever since, no one could say for sure.
At that moment, the door to the activity room was pushed open.
Kojima immediately turned his head.
Takahashi stood outside the door, with the schoolbag he usually used for classes slung over his shoulder, and a dark brown briefcase carried in his right hand.
His coat was draped over his arm, and his tie was still neatly tied, except for a faint ink stain on his shirt cuff. The brass clasp of the briefcase was fastened, and a thin string used for sealing documents was wound around the opening.
What was most eye-catching was the white envelope wedged between his books and the briefcase.
The upper left corner was printed with the silver logo of S.A. Entertainment.
"Takahashi-senpai!"
Kojima stood up from his chair, speaking in a delighted tone with a grin.
"Big elite, you still know how to come back."
"You brat, how are you talking to your senior?"
Takahashi casually closed the door and scolded with a smile.
"Besides, did I not have someone tell you yesterday?"
"That only proves you still remember the address of the Research Department." Kojima walked up, glanced at his face first, and then looked down at the briefcase. "We almost thought you had dropped out of Gakushuin and gone straight to work in Marunouchi."
Someone by the table chuckled.
"Or maybe he has already become the Department Chief, just too busy to notify us."
"Promoted to Department Chief in fourteen days?" Takahashi walked around Kojima and placed the briefcase next to the chair. "The Saionji Group should not be lacking people to that extent."
"Fourteen days?"
Kojima caught onto this number.
"Are you really working over there?"
Takahashi placed his books onto the tabletop.
Kojima's gaze followed onto the white envelope, and then quickly shifted to the briefcase at his feet that obviously did not belong to student supplies. Everyone else stopped what they were doing one after another, and even the female student responsible for transcribing the revised draft put her pen down.
Takahashi pulled out a chair and placed the envelope next to the books.
Noticing countless burning gazes, Takahashi could not help saying,
"Stop looking at me like that first."
"Like what?"
Kojima returned to his spot, but did not sit down, supporting himself with both hands on the edge of the table.
"I have not even asked a single question yet."
"You already have seven or eight questions written on your face."
"Then you pick the ones you can answer."
The Department Chief walked over at this time, closing the revised draft in his hand.
"Was the report submitted?"
"Submitted on the 17th."
"Did it pass?"
"The first judgment passed."
After Takahashi answered, the activity room fell silent for a moment.
Kojima blinked.
"Wait a minute, what does 'the first judgment' mean?"
"It is the first judgment in the report."
"I know it is the first one." Kojima became a bit anxious. "I mean, are there a second and a third one afterwards? Did she leave you assignments again?"
Takahashi did not answer immediately, instead taking out several course materials from his schoolbag, stacking them one by one at the corner of the table.
Kojima stared at his actions for a few seconds.
"There really are more?"
"What I am doing now is follow-up work."
"Follow-up work..."
Kojima repeated those words, and suddenly turned to look at the Department Chief.
"Department Chief, is not this him showing off on purpose?"
"It is."
The Department Chief replied very calmly.
"And by only telling half, the effect is better than telling everything."
A burst of laughter rang out in the activity room again.
"Eh—senpai is too cunning."
"Clearly he only said half, and he deliberately put on a look of 'you asked yourselves'."
"This does not count as an answer at all, it is just keeping people hanging."
Several people chimed in one after another. The female student responsible for recording even dragged out her voice, repeating in Takahashi's tone from just now:
"What I am doing now is—follow-up work."
Kojima immediately picked up:
"Did you hear that? He refuses to even say 'what kind of work it is', but he insists on letting us know there is a follow-up."
"You guys asked yourselves."
Takahashi raised a hand to push up his glasses, trying to keep his tone as normal as usual, but the corners of his mouth could not be suppressed no matter what.
"Look, he still will not admit it."
"Having only been to Marunouchi for fourteen days, he has already learned this way of speaking."
"How awful, Takahashi-senpai—"
That last sound was dragged out especially long, and the activity room instantly burst into laughter again.
"So you really met Saionji-san?"
A third-year department member nearby finally could not help cutting in.
"I met her."
"At the group headquarters?"
"Mhm."
"Just the two of you?"
Takahashi raised his eyes and glanced at him.
The other party immediately changed his tune:
"Can not ask this?"
"This question is meaningless, and very dangerous."
"That means there were other people."
"Kobayashi-senpai, fishing for words like this is useless."
Takahashi bent down and pushed the briefcase further into the chair.
Kojima's gaze drifted toward under the chair once more.
"Senpai pushing it so far inside just makes people even more curious."
"It is just work materials."
Takahashi lowered his head to tidy his books, conveniently pressing the thin string of the briefcase back into the opening.
"So, what kind of work is it exactly?"
"If it could be said, I finished saying it just now."
"Eh—this kind of answer again."
Kojima dragged out his voice and turned back to greet the others at the table.
"Did you hear that? Senpai is now starting to sound just like a corporate employee even when rejecting people."
"Indeed." The female student responsible for recording smiled and agreed, "Next, should he not say, 'For details, please refer to the official announcement'?"
"And then 'no comment externally under any circumstances'."
Another department member added another sentence.
Takahashi raised his eyes.
"What on earth do you guys view companies as normally?"
"Senpai has been running over there every day lately, so of course we have to ask senpai."
As Kojima spoke, his gaze suddenly shifted to the tabletop.
"Fine, we will not ask about the briefcase, but this one is fine, right?"
He reached out and pointed at the white envelope.
"The logo of S.A. Entertainment is so big, and senpai has kept the front facing us ever since entering the door. Saying we are not allowed to ask now is a bit too much."
"I just placed it there casually."
"Eh—really?"
Several noticeably meaningful agreements immediately sounded around the table.
"It is placed so neatly."
"The books are all crooked, only the envelope is facing straight toward the middle."
"Takahashi-senpai, is not this a little intentional—"
Takahashi lowered his head and took a look.
The envelope was indeed arranged much neater than the few books next to it.
He reached out to press the envelope further under the books, and Kojima immediately burst into laughter.
"Too late, we have already seen it."
"So who gave it?"
The female student nearby also leaned closer.
"Saionji-san."
As soon as Takahashi finished speaking, the few people who were originally just watching the fun could not sit still either.
"Saionji-san gave it to you personally?"
"Why would it be S.A. Entertainment?"
"Could there be a performance invitation inside?"
"I have not opened it yet."
"Wait a minute."
Kojima raised a hand, stopping the others' voices first.
He looked back at Takahashi, his expression much more serious than before.
"Saionji-san handed the envelope to you, and then you just brought it all the way back to school like this without even looking?"
"She told me to open it after returning to the Research Department."
After these words fell, the table fell silent for a moment.
Afterwards, several people made prolonged sounds almost simultaneously.
"Eh—"
"This makes people way too curious."
"And she specifically designated for it to be opened in the Research Department..."
"Senpai, you actually held back until now without saying anything?"
Kojima slowly sat back in his chair, looking at the envelope and then at Takahashi.
"So, Saionji-san even knew you would return to the Research Department today?"
"We mentioned it before."
Takahashi's tone remained calm, but his fingers pressed against the edge of the envelope.
"You guys are already chatting about this kind of thing now."
"It was just mentioned in passing."
"Mentioned the Research Department in passing, gave you an envelope in passing, and told you in passing to open it after returning."
Kojima counted them item by item, and finally could not help laughing.
"Senpai, is not this 'in passing' a bit too much?"
Another burst of laughter arose around the table.
"Then what else do you usually talk about?"
Someone seized the opportunity to follow up.
"Work."
"Besides work?"
"Occasionally, we talk about things at school."
"Occasionally?"
Kojima immediately seized upon this word.
"Takahashi-senpai has actually started using 'occasionally'."
"Is there a problem?"
"Of course there is. In the past, as long as you remembered numbers, you would definitely state clearly how many times, which day, and how long you talked. Now suddenly there is only 'occasionally', how is that not suspicious no matter how you look at it."
"Exactly."
The female student responsible for recording smiled and nodded.
"Senpai used to hate such vague expressions the most."
"So how many times was it really?"
Takahashi looked at the circle of people waiting for an answer, and finally pulled that envelope closer to himself.
"Some numbers cannot be told to you."
"Sigh—senpai is being too evasive—"
Kojima was the first to cry out.
"Clearly not saying anything about the most crucial part, yet purposely telling us that 'some numbers' do exist."
"This kind of wording is what makes people care the most."
"Having only been to Marunouchi for fourteen days, you have already learned how to keep people in suspense."
Jeers and catcalls came one after another from both sides of the long table.
Takahashi raised his hand to push up his glasses, trying to make himself look just like usual, but the corners of his lips still curved upward slightly.
"You asked too many questions yourselves."
"Look, you are making that expression again."
Kojima pointed at him immediately.
"The senior is obviously very happy right now."
After letting them make a fuss for a while, the department head brought the topic back on track.
"Alright. If you keep questioning Takahashi, today's activity will turn into a job information session."
He closed the revised draft and his gaze swept across the table.
"Some things are inconvenient to talk about, so everyone should not keep pressing. Takahashi being able to sit here at least shows that Saionji's side does not mind him continuing to participate in the Economics Research Department."
"Does that even need to be said?"
Kojima glanced at the white envelope on the table.
"Saionji-san even sent a gift all the way to the Economics Research Department."
"It has not been confirmed as a gift yet."
Takahashi moved the envelope closer to his books.
Kojima immediately followed it with his gaze.
"Senior, moving it like that is useless. The words S.A. Entertainment are still visible."
"That is why I told you not to look first."
"Eh— It has been sitting right here since we came in, and now you say not to look? Is not that a bit too late?"
A few more echoing voices sounded around the table.
Takahashi ignored them, reaching out to take the revised draft handed over by the department head. As soon as he opened the first page, a girl sitting at the end of the long table suddenly sighed.
"Since Takahashi-senpai is already Saionji's person, can you do a very small favour for me?"
She put her hands together and tilted her head playfully as she looked at Takahashi.
"When did I become Saionji's person?"
"You have even sat right outside the head of the family's office, and you still want to deny it?"
She smiled, pushed aside the folder in front of her, and pulled out a multi-folded flyer from underneath.
"Rest assured, there is no need to ask about company secrets. Just help me get two tickets for Sakai Izumi."
After the flyer was unfolded, the photo on the dark blue paper surface was revealed.
The girl was standing in front of a microphone wearing a white shirt, her long hair falling over her shoulders, but her gaze slightly avoided the camera, as if she were a bit shy.
Printed next to the photo were July 20th, Seibu Stadium, and the words "First Large-Scale Public Performance."
"You have not bought it yet?"
Another girl leaned over to take a look.
"Did not telephone reservations start the day before yesterday?"
"That is why I am sitting here complaining."
She rested her chin on the back of her folded hands.
"Starting at ten o'clock, I called from ten-three until eleven-forty, and I could not get through even once. In the afternoon, I finally heard the ringtone, but when I picked it up, only the outermost part of the stands was left."
"You at least got through. My brother used the company phone, and as soon as he dialled twice, the Section Chief chased him back to his seat."
"Did not they say you can also go to KTV to get a number?"
Kojima asked casually.
"Get the reservation number first, and go to the designated counter to pay within three days. The entrances of those S.A. stores near Mejiro all have instructions posted."
"Do not even mention it, that side is even more exaggerated."
The girl raised her head, her tone full of resentment.
"Last night, the line had already stretched from the container entrance to the street corner. Some people did not sing at all; they just wanted to borrow the reservation phone inside. The clerks later had no choice but to distribute numbered tickets, registering a maximum of two people per private room."
Takahashi lowered his head and glanced at the flyer.
"Are these tickets really that hard to grab? Seibu Stadium should be able to hold quite a few audience members, right?"
The area around the table fell silent for a moment.
Several people looked at him simultaneously.
"Senior."
Kojima turned his chair a bit toward him.
"Do you really not know?"
"Know what?"
"How popular Sakai Izumi is right now."
Takahashi looked at the photo again.
He did know this name.
In the company materials of S.A. Entertainment, she was listed under the column of main signed artists. When Takahashi was previously investigating the group's history, he had even seen earlier records: before her official debut, this singer had long recorded demonstration tapes of new songs for karaoke.
But the entertainment company only accounted for a very small part of that report. He remembered the artist's name, contracting company, and record release dates, but had never paid attention to how many records a single album could sell, nor was he clear on what young people were listening to lately.
Wait, was not he a young person himself...
"Good-bye My Loneliness."
The girl at the end of the long table tapped the song title on the flyer with her finger.
"Have you been to a record store recently, senior? The most prominent positions at the entrance are all her. There is another shop in Shibuya that replaced its entire storefront window with this photo."
"It has been playing constantly on the radio too."
The person next to her picked up the thread.
"I took a taxi yesterday, and after listening to it once, the driver rewound the newly recorded tape to play it again. Even though he is an uncle in his forties, he actually sang along with the chorus."
"The chorus of that song is easy to remember to begin with."
Kojima softly hummed a couple of lines, and as soon as he reached the second line, the department head tapped the table with a pencil.
"This is not a karaoke."
"I am just helping Takahashi-senpai recall."
"He does not look like he remembers at all."
The girl in charge of taking notes held back a smile and pulled the flyer in front of herself.
"When hearing it for the first time, many people will feel her voice is very familiar. Later on, someone dug out the old demonstration tapes and discovered they had already heard her sing dozens of songs in KTV."
"So as soon as the record came out, everyone felt like they had known her for many years."
"And that kind of voice, huh."
The girl at the end of the long table thought for a moment before slowly continuing.
"It sounds gorgeous, yet with a bit of a feeling that it is about to end. Have not people always been saying lately that Tokyo cannot go back to how it was a few years ago? But the moment she opens her mouth, the lights of Ginza, company banquets, and midnight taxis you could not queue for seem to all come back."
"My sister says it even more exaggeratedly."
Another department member laughed.
"She says that as long as she listens to Izumi's singing, she feels like that era of lavish spending has not truly passed yet."
"Similar words were written in magazines too, right?"
"Last week's Oricon."
"Ah ah, I know that too, but I thought it was just promotional phrasing."
Kojima said.
"Someone must be pushing behind the scenes; Saionji must intend to make her famous."
"Train stations, record stores, radios, and KTVs are all playing the same song; it is hard not to hear it."
"Even with a lot of promotion, people have to be willing to listen a second time."
The girl at the end of the long table folded the flyer back up.
"If she does not sing well, the more advertisements are posted, the more annoying it becomes."
This sentence won unanimous agreement.
Sakai Izumi's official appearance had not been long, but the things revolving around her were already too many for people to ignore.
Aside from records and radio, S.A. Entertainment recently launched an activity named "Campus Voice '91" near a dozen universities in Tokyo.
Publicity staff distributed application cards at school gates and student streets. Participants could go to a karaoke store under S.A. to record a song, first have each store select nominees, and then participate in public preliminary rounds among universities.
Initially, many people just treated it as an activity thought up by KTV to attract business.
Until an extra line of text appeared on the second batch of flyers.
The winners in the Tokyo region will gain official audition qualifications at the S.A. Entertainment recording studio and participate as opening act guests in Sakai Izumi's Seibu Stadium performance.
"Someone from our school signed up too, right?"
Takahashi asked.
"Someone?"
Kojima could not help laughing.
"The light music club does not even have enough club rooms these days. The women's choir originally said they would not participate in pop song competitions, but upon hearing that the winners could go to Seibu Stadium, they sent people to grab twenty application cards the next day."
"Even the tennis club is practising."
The girl in charge of taking notes added a sentence.
"They said the competition requires three or more people to sign up in the school's name, so they casually found a few people who could sing to make up a team. Every evening lately when passing by the west gate, you can hear them singing 'Good-bye My Loneliness' in the club room."
"Why is the tennis club participating in a singing competition?"
"Because teams that pass the preliminary rounds can use S.A.'s private rooms for free practice for a month."
"I see."
Takahashi nodded.
This reason was obviously much easier to understand than getting on stage.
Even if they only passed the preliminaries, it was a full month of free use rights for a private room.
And the finals... Who says tennis players cannot sing well? What if they could?
Looking at his expression of finally understanding, Kojima suddenly sighed.
"The company senior goes to every day has almost dragged all university students in Tokyo to sing lately, yet you yourself are completely unaware."
"The work I am responsible for has nothing to do with artists."
"But S.A. Entertainment is also under Saionji, right?"
"There are so many companies under the group, it is impossible for me to participate in every single one."
"Your answer sounds more and more like a formal employee now."
Kojima let out a laugh and picked up the flyer again.
"However, since Takahashi-senpai really does not know, let us drop what was said earlier about pulling strings."
The girl at the end of the long table immediately raised her head.
"Why drop it?"
"Because he does not even know who the most popular person is. If you let someone like that ask for tickets, he might earnestly run to the head of the family's office and say the Economics Research Department is investigating Seibu Stadium, hoping the company can provide two samples."
"That is fine too."
"And then hand us a ticketing procedure and audience admission instructions?"
"As long as there are tickets in the end."
The more they talked, the more serious they became, as if they had already started discussing how to draft the survey application.
Takahashi placed the revised draft on the tabletop.
"Stop thinking about it, I will not look for people for this kind of matter."
"Senior is too merciless."
Kojima said with a grin.
"It is just two tickets, oh."
"Staff-related seats are fine too."
"We do not mind standing tickets either."
"You guys were just saying that ordinary tickets are completely sold out."
"That is why senior needs to make an appearance."
The department head raised his hand to quiet them down a bit.
"Do not cause trouble for Takahashi. Keep working relationships and Economics Research Department activities separate; this point will remain the same in the future."
After speaking, he glanced at Takahashi again.
"The materials you brought back are the same. The report can only use content that the Economics Research Department can obtain itself. Even if you have already seen the contract or heard certain numbers from Saionji's side, you cannot use them to revise our conclusions."
"I understand."
Takahashi pulled the document bag at his feet slightly further under his chair.
"Group internal materials will not be brought into the Economics Research Department, and today this document bag will not be opened either."
Kojima subconsciously glanced at it.
"What about the white envelope?"
"That can be opened."
"Now?"
"Saionji-san asked me to open it after returning to the Economics Research Department."
As the words fell, the few people who had just been discussing the concert stopped simultaneously.
The girl at the end of the long table reacted first.
"Wait a minute."
Her gaze fell on the silver logo of S.A. Entertainment.
"Senior, could this letter..."