NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31: Get Out of Here!
Utaha had completely lost her opportunity.
She was feeling quite frustrated, realizing she should have spoken up earlier.
Who would have thought this seemingly ordinary Kato Megumi would be acting anything but ordinary?
She saw Haru pulling out his phone, preparing to make a call, and knew her plans were about to be interrupted.
Although a bit annoyed, she couldn't come up with any way to handle the situation.
As Haru was entering numbers on his phone screen, an excited voice suddenly came from the roadside: "Big Brother?"
The shout of "Big Brother" immediately caught Utaha and Kato Megumi's attention.
The three of them looked over, and a young man in a T-shirt and shorts, riding a Honda "delivery bike," was grinning in surprise.
"Is this your part-time job? I remember you were working at an ice cream shop last time?"
Haru recognized him. Though he didn't know his name, he remembered the young man as one of Koji's friends who had come to the police station as a concerned citizen that day.
"Yeah, delivering food is my side job. Gotta make some money."
The young man laughed, his gaze briefly scanning Utaha beside Haru, surprised. Is this Big Brother's new girlfriend?
Haru didn't notice the young man's thoughts. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Are you free today? I have some time now. Why don't you call Koji and the others? We can find a place and chat."
He had been planning to help them with their live stream plans soon, and it just so happened that he ran into them today. Might as well settle the matter.
"Sure, let me finish this delivery, and I'll contact them right away!"
After watching him leave, Haru turned to explain to the two girls, "He's a friend of mine. They're a group of really hardworking people trying to make a living through live streaming. I have a few ideas, so I was thinking of helping them out."
Utaha's earlier frustration disappeared, and she quickly responded, "So you're going to teach them now? Is it alright if I join?"
Kato Megumi looked over too.
Haru was unconcerned. "It's no trouble at all. Kato-san, if you're interested, you can join too."
Kato Megumi nodded. "Do they all call you 'Big Brother'?"
Utaha finally remembered the nickname and couldn't help but laugh. "Don't tell me you're some gangster boy from TV?"
Haru retorted, "If I were a gangster, I'd have made a name for myself at school long ago."
Before long, Koji and his group arrived. Haru led the two girls to a larger private room, where the group of over ten young men entered energetically.
Although these young men were surprised by Utaha's beauty, they were more focused on their careers, so they only glanced at her before their eyes locked onto Haru.
Their gaze was intense, almost as if they could drool at any moment, much like a popular meme from the internet.
"Thanks for helping us last time."
Haru spoke first.
"No problem, we didn't have to do much," the young man waved it off.
Utaha raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but she didn't interrupt.
Kato Megumi, on the other hand, sat quietly like nothing was happening.
After some pleasantries, Haru got to the point. "Koji, your live stream popularity is doing well, right?"
"Yeah, not bad. There are people who make clips of my streams, and in China, there are people saying 'my youth has returned,' 'Renaissance,' and all that. I'm thinking maybe I should join that pink app, like other influencers." The young man spoke excitedly.
Haru froze for a moment. "It's already gotten to that point?"
He quickly guessed what the "pink app" was.
He immediately reminded him, "It's great that your popularity is rising, means you can make money off this. But if you're really considering joining that site, make sure you don't do a certain type of show."
"What kind of show?" The group's eyes were eager.
"Don't do a 'laugh challenge.'"
"???"
Haru didn't explain further and instead asked, "Do you guys know about the 'replica person' track?"
"Replica person?"
Now even Utaha turned her curious gaze toward him.
"To put it simply, it's when others imitate your style and live stream it. Since you have so many friends, you could easily find three people to dress exactly like you, and the four of you could do some creative programs together."
Haru was recalling some of the high-traffic videos he had seen before his transmigration, from serious ones to celebrity impersonations, to abstract figures like Newton or Hawking—each one getting its share of attention and gifts.
Especially when they were "performing together," the heat only skyrocketed.
[You are teaching, (teaching experience) +27.]
[You are teaching, (teaching experience) +21.]
[You are teaching, (teaching experience) +9.]
Lines of experience notifications kept popping up, each with different amounts, reflecting the varying learning efficiencies of the group.
"I get it!"
A young man with a crew cut suddenly stood up excitedly. "Big Brother, you mean we should all dress up like Banana-kun, then have a real-life PK battle, and stream it?"
Haru blinked. "A real-life PK battle?"
The crew cut guy was thrilled. "Yeah, didn't you just say that? We should do something creative. We can have a real fight, like a full-contact battle. If we end up in the hospital, we'll still make a lot of money after deducting medical costs."
Haru was stunned. "Did I just say that?"
The crew cut guy suddenly realized and grinned awkwardly. "Maybe I misunderstood a bit, but my intentions were good, right, Big Brother?"
"Your intentions are great, but for now, stop. Someone get him out of here!"
Immediately, someone dragged him away.
Utaha stifled her laughter.
She had been so absorbed in listening, thinking she was about to learn something new, only to have a little genius pop up.
Kato Megumi's thoughts were more straightforward: fighting was illegal, and live-streaming a fight was even worse.
"Big Brother, go on," Koji and his friends laughed awkwardly.
Haru cleared his throat. "No real-life PK battles, that's illegal. But if you want to do something creative, you could write a script and create a story, like something based on 'Tokyo Vice.'"
"Tokyo Vice?"
The young men perked up, clearly excited.
That name sounded sophisticated and artistic, almost like a high-rating film.
Utaha couldn't hold back anymore and interrupted, "Are you going to write a script again?"
Haru shook his head. "This kind of story doesn't need a full script. You can explain it with just a few hundred words."
Listening to the conversation, the young men were even more intrigued.
See? That beauty asked "again," which meant Big Brother had other personas!
This was just like a drama—Big Brother had secret identities!
Haru didn't pay much attention to their brainstorming. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You guys can prepare today, and 'Tokyo Vice' is just for making videos. Try to make it into a series. The goal is to make it fun for the viewers who are interested."
"I get it!"
The same guy who had run off earlier came back, excited. "Big Brother, you want us to enter the entertainment industry, right? With a series, we could debut as idols!"
Haru was silent.
Utaha couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed aloud.
Hearing her laugh, Haru couldn't keep it together. "Get this idiot out of here!"
The young man was dragged away again, and the rest of Koji's group tried hard to suppress their laughter. Haru waved his hand. "Go ahead and laugh. It's no big deal."
"No, no, Big Brother, continue," the young men said, all pretending to be serious students. They were not only listening intently but also had paper and pens in hand, clearly taking notes.
Seeing how focused they were, Haru decided to simplify the plot of "Tokyo Vice" for them.
At first, the young men thought they were heading down a sophisticated, artistic route, and they had been nervous before Haru spoke.
But as he continued, their expressions turned from eager anticipation to stunned silence.
"What's with those faces?"
Haru had expected it, so he wasn't surprised.
"It's just that we thought 'Tokyo Vice' would be like 'Tokyo Love Story'—you know, artsy…"
"You've got quite the imagination."
Haru chuckled as he noticed the crew cut guy entering again.
The two locked eyes.
The crew haired guy understood Haru meaning and looked embarrassed. "I didn't say anything this time…"
"Ah, kids don't know any better. Alright, send him off."
"???"