Chapter 125: It Is All a Setup

"Tsutsumi-san, please stop with the instigation."

"I am merely stating facts," Yukihiko Tsutsumi retorted, completely unfazed.

While the two of them were busy bickering, Tsuyoshi Domoto couldn't have cared less about the subject of acting fees. Even if they offered him the salary of an A-list actor, he wouldn't see a dime of it anyway.

This brings us back to the peculiar "Junior" system at Johnny & Associates. According to their regulations, until an artist officially debuts with a record release, they are considered trainees rather than professional performers. Juniors do not receive a cut of any earnings; regardless of how many appearances they make or how popular they become, they only receive a fixed salary.

Even after an official debut, the initial revenue split is notoriously brutal—a 9-1 ratio, in favor of the agency, of course.

The reason Kazumi Morohoshi of Hikaru Genji was so eager to jump ship was precisely because he felt his efforts were not proportional to his income. However, compared to a true man like Takuya Kimura, who fought against the system single-handedly and forced Johnny & Associates to change its wage structure, a guy like Morohoshi was merely a short-sighted clown.

As it stands, Morohoshi's departure from the agency is a foregone conclusion, and Hikaru Genji has already announced that they will officially disband on September 3rd of this year.

However, Morohoshi, who dreamt of showing off his talents and traversing the entertainment world like his predecessor Hiromi Go, found that before his final contract had even expired, television stations and print media had already received a notice from Johnny & Associates: any television program featuring Kazumi Morohoshi would see all Johnny’s talent withdraw.

When Hiromi Go left the agency, Johnny & Associates was not yet fully fledged, and his new agency, Burning, held power that was at least equal to, if not greater than, theirs. Even if Kitagawa was angry, he had no choice but to swallow his pride. Now the situation has reversed; Johnny & Associates possesses an unparalleled monopoly. For Morohoshi to jump out and challenge the bottom line that Kitagawa hates most—well, it would be a miracle if he wasn't crushed into oblivion.

With that decree laid down, Morohoshi's dreams were shattered before they could even truly begin.

...

With the role of Ryoa Maeda decided, the next task was to select the other important male character: Hiroki Kikuchi.

To put it in the crudest terms, Kikuchi’s defining traits are being tall and handsome. Whether he is "rich" is a matter of perspective, though he likely comes from a decent background; otherwise, he wouldn't enjoy the status he holds at the top of the school's social pyramid.

Kikuchi is good at baseball, but not to the extent of Kirishima, who could rely on his skills to secure an admission recommendation for the volleyball team. He is good at basketball, but it is merely a pastime to kill time while waiting for Kirishima. Despite being a top-tier figure in the school hierarchy, he is always a step below Kirishima, and he has grown accustomed to being a "B-list" character.

Because his life revolves around Kirishima, his life is even more severely affected than that of Kirishima’s girlfriend, Risa Iida, once Kirishima vanishes. Throughout the film, he remains in a state of aimless confusion.

Much like how the hard requirement for Risa Iida’s character is that she must look stylish and pretty, the hard requirement for Hiroki Kikuchi is that he must be tall and handsome. It would be ideal if he also had a knack for basketball; although the film doesn't show him playing baseball, there are several scenes of him playing basketball, which is why his loyal secret admirer, Aya Sawajima, climbs to the rooftop time and time again to watch him.

"Tall and handsome..." These two traits immediately made Sho think of someone. "How about Tomoya Nagase from TOKIO? Since we've already cast Tsuyoshi-kun as Ryoa Maeda, why not keep it in the family and find someone else from Johnny & Associates?"

"I'm afraid that won't work," Tsutsumi pointed out. "Kikuchi’s billing comes after Maeda’s. TOKIO members are already debuted artists and are Tsuyoshi-kun's seniors. Johnny & Associates won't allow a senior to play a supporting role to a junior."

Not letting seniors "wash the feet" of their juniors is just one of the many bizarre rules at the agency. Once Tsutsumi mentioned it, Sho remembered and nodded. "Hmm, if that’s the case, it’s truly a dead end. But looking within the Juniors, there doesn't seem to be anyone quite suitable..."

It wasn't that Sho looked down on the agency, but while finding a "pretty boy" at Johnny’s is easy, finding one who is both tall and handsome is a tall order. Perhaps because they’ve been practicing acrobatics since their Junior days, the agency's talent tends to be lacking in height; most are "average stature." Someone like Tomoya Nagase, who neither grew up to be unattractive nor failed to grow tall, is a rarity indeed.

Setting aside Johnny & Associates, Sho began considering other candidates.

"If we look outside the agency, what about Ken Kaneko?"

Ken Kaneko is currently eighteen, stands 183 centimeters tall, is handsome, and is an athlete proficient in various ball games. He fits the criteria perfectly. Coincidentally, he also appeared in the drama *Twin Teachers*. When you add Miho Kanno, Mai Hosho, Ayumi Hamasaki, and the aforementioned Tomoya Nagase, the cast for that drama was incredibly luxurious.

Tsutsumi didn't respond, instead asking out of the blue, "How is your basketball, Sho-kun?"

"So-so. At least I know the basic rules, and my shooting percentage isn't too tragic," Sho replied. In his previous life, he caught the volleyball craze and joined the school team. As for basketball, he played it, but only at the level of a hobbyist on outdoor concrete courts during summer nights; it had nothing to do with technique. In this life, he was a member of the "Going Home Club" and rarely touched a basketball outside of P.E. class.

"In that case, why don't you play Hiroki Kikuchi yourself?"

"Me?"

Tsutsumi argued his case persuasively, "First, your height is definitely sufficient. As for your looks, no one would object to you playing a handsome character. You can play basketball, and as for your acting, after seeing your performance in *Kindaichi*, I have a lot of confidence in you. Plus, if you take the role yourself, you can save on an acting fee."

"…I really have to admire the way you list these things out one by one, Tsutsumi-san."

"It’s precisely because I listed them out one by one that I realized you are the perfect fit for this role, Sho-kun."

"If I refuse..."

Tsutsumi gave a wicked smile. "If you refuse, I’ll have to ask you one by one: do you think you aren't tall enough? Not handsome enough? Or do you think your acting is so abysmal it’s painful to watch? Or perhaps the production budget is just overflowing?"

"..."

"Just a moment ago you were so stingy you wanted to save even 3,000 yen. Now that there’s an opportunity to save a million yen in one go, if you pass that up, I’ll have to start getting suspicious..."

"Fine, I get it, I'll try," Sho finally snapped, unable to take it anymore. "But before that, let's arrange an audition."

"The scene you did with Tsuyoshi-kun earlier was excellent. I don't think another audition is necessary," Tsutsumi replied instantly.

...So, he had been plotting this since the audition just now.

It was all a setup.