Chapter 153: Photo With Kumamoto Hometown Folks! Happy Times For Everyone!
Just as the pride belonging to an old father in Yoshiharu Oyama’s heart surged and boiled like the lava of Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, the lighting on the stage lit up again.
That brief disturbance seemed as if it had never happened.
On the stage, Shunsuke Kamiki surprisingly returned with a full smile on his face, sitting back down in his seat in the guest area.
Not a trace of his earlier arrogance and hysteria could be seen.
He even started chatting with others.
Occasionally covering his mouth with a light laugh.
As if he were a guest who had just arrived here, happily exchanging excitement with everyone about the upcoming program he would participate in.
“Brother-in-law! Look at that guy!”
Mogae Oyama’s big, shiny black eyes now flickered with undisguised contempt.
She jerked her chin toward the stage and disdainfully pursed her lips: “Look at that Shunsuke Kamiki, he actually came back! Smiling away as if nothing happened just now! My god, that thick skin must be thicker than the steel bars of Tokyo Tower!”
As she spoke, she pursed her lips, her pretty little face full of the purest sense of justice belonging to a young girl:
“I’ve decided! When I get back to Kumamoto, I’ll tell all the girls at our school who like him to see this guy’s true face! He’s simply a disgrace to the idol world!”
Hiroshi Nohara just smiled lightly and said nothing.
He understood now too.
Just this.
This was the basic level of entertainers.
“Hiroshi.” But Yoshiharu Oyama beside him had already put away the smugness on his face, replaced by a solemnity full of the experience of an elder who had been through it all.
He lowered his voice and said gravely: “You need to be careful of people like this in the future. They hide knives behind their smiles and seek revenge for the slightest grievance. Today you made him lose such a big face in public. He may not say it, but in his heart, he probably already hates you to the bone. Villains like this love to use insidious means behind the scenes.”
“I understand.” Hiroshi Nohara nodded calmly, his clear eyes showing no ripples at all.
Of course he knew.
But so what?
When a lion has the power to crush everything, why should it care about the venomous glare of the ant under its feet?
The future was on Hiroshi Nohara’s side!
“Alright, alright, the program is about to start!”
Mother Takao Oyama, as usual, stepped in to mediate. She reached out and gently patted the arms of her still indignant youngest daughter and her solemn-faced husband. Her gentle face carried a bit of expectation: “It’s rare for us to come watch live once, so let’s just enjoy the program properly.”
As her words fell, the brainwashing melody full of childish fun and magic once again resounded through the clouds!
The official recording of Super Change Change Change, after experiencing that harmless interlude, finally pulled back the curtain once more!
A relaxed smile from the heart finally appeared on Hiroshi Nohara’s face.
This was his first time examining the entertainment empire he had personally created, full of miracles and joy, from the pure perspective of an audience member.
No icy cold data from the monitor, no tense and busy clamor from backstage.
Only the purest, mountainous roars of laughter and applause from the audience seats, like the warmest tide, gently enveloping him completely.
He saw how the team from Hokkaido used the simplest white bed sheet and dry ice to create a tragic-colored, poignant love story between a snow woman and a human, with cultural resonance rooted in folk legends that moved the entire studio.
He saw how the team from Fukuoka used their bodies to vividly imitate a steaming bowl of Hakata ramen full of worldly life.
That imaginative comical performance drew explosive laughter from the whole audience!
Laughter is contagious.
Especially when this happiness stems from the hometown culture you are most familiar with and proudest of, that sense of pride is enough to reignite the edges in any adult’s heart that have long been worn smooth by reality!
“Kumamoto! Kumamoto! Land of Fire! Number One Under Heaven!”
“Go for it! ‘Land of Fire Taiko Drum’! Let those guys from Tokyo see the prowess of us Kumamoto men!”
The more than twenty support team members from Kumamoto Prefecture beside him had already become like a group of powder kegs with lit fuses, completely immersed in fanaticism!
They waved the red support flags printed with “Kumamoto Must Win” in their hands, shouting at the top of their lungs in hearty tones full of local flavor, the support slogans they had memorized by heart!
Even Yoshiharu Oyama, the dean of students who was usually as stern as the king of hell, had long abandoned his dignity.
His usually stern face was now flushed with excitement, his rhythmic shouts even more invested than when he scolded disobedient students at school!
Takao Oyama and Mogae Oyama, the mother and daughter, were also infected by this fervent atmosphere, waving their small flags and laughing heartily.
Their crisp and pleasant cheers blended into the ocean of masculine roars, appearing so harmonious and moving.
Hiroshi Nohara looked at this scene full of life, his smile growing even gentler.
He reached out and gently pulled the little woman beside him, who was watching intently, into his arms.
“Oh!” Misae instinctively rested her little head happily on his broad and solid shoulder.
The two cuddled together, watching the wonderful performances full of whimsical ideas on stage, listening to the familiar cheers full of hometown flavor by their ears. Their hearts, already filled by each other, seemed in this moment to completely merge with this ocean full of joy and emotion.
……
When the last performance ended and the host’s passionate voice announced the successful conclusion of this recording, the entire studio erupted in prolonged thunderous applause.
“Wow, that was so much fun!”
Misae was still leaning contentedly on Hiroshi Nohara’s shoulder, her rosy pretty face full of sweet satisfaction: “Hiroshi-kun, how come I never realized before that our Kumamoto Prefecture has so many interesting people!”
However, amid this atmosphere full of victorious joy, an untimely sigh full of emotion came from behind them.
“Sigh…”
Chairman Yamada, the chairman of the Aso City Agricultural Cooperative in Kumamoto Prefecture and deputy leader of the support team, was now looking wistfully at the already empty stage, his face full of regret.
“This time… we’re in danger.”
“Chairman Yamada, what do you mean by that?” Upon hearing this, Yoshiharu Oyama’s heart, which had just been floating a bit from his hometown team’s wonderful performance, instantly sank.
“Teacher Oyama, you’re an outsider and might not see it.” Chairman Yamada smiled bitterly and shook his head, his voice carrying a bit of helplessness: “Our Kumamoto Prefecture’s ‘Taiko Drum’ idea is good. But compared to Tokyo team’s ‘Snow Woman’ and Fukuoka team’s ‘Ramen’, it’s still… a bit lacking.”
“Their ideas are not only interesting, but also have story and emotion. Ours only has momentum, lacking… something that touches the heart. And I watched carefully earlier; our young guys’ coordination still has some flaws, a few moves clearly didn’t keep rhythm.”
This professional critique was like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads, extinguishing the flames just ignited in the hearts of the Kumamoto Prefecture support team.
“Then… then what do we do?” A young person who seemed quite clever instinctively cast a pleading gaze toward the legendary existence who had been calmly smiling throughout: “Minister Nohara! You… you’re such a big leader, could you… could you…”
“Shut up!”
However, before he could finish, he was abruptly interrupted by Chairman Yamada’s stern roar full of authority!
Chairman Yamada suddenly turned around, glaring fixedly at the ignorant young person with eyes full of unquestionable integrity on his face!
“We are people of Kumamoto Prefecture! The sons of our ‘Land of Fire’ must lose with dignity if we lose! How can we tarnish our hometown’s reputation with such underhanded means?!”
“Exactly!” Yoshiharu Oyama nodded heavily at this moment, his usually stern face full of agreement with Chairman Yamada’s words: “In a competition, the most important thing is fairness! If we break the rules ourselves, even winning would mean nothing. It would only make others look down on us from Kumamoto Prefecture!”
These words instantly made the young person who wanted to take a back door bow his head in shame.
They also made the hearts of all the Kumamoto folks around them, which had been somewhat shaken, firm up again!
They looked at Chairman Yamada and Yoshiharu Oyama with eyes full of heartfelt admiration!
“But well…”
Amid this air full of Bushido-like tragic and heroic atmosphere, Chairman Yamada suddenly changed his tone, a cunning and honest smile appearing on his dark face.
He rubbed his big hands full of thick calluses, a bit embarrassedly sidling up to Yoshiharu Oyama and said in an almost pleading tone:
“Um… Teacher Oyama, you see… competition is competition. But we’ve come to Tokyo with great difficulty. Could you… could you ask Minister Nohara to let our support team and those useless young guys take a group photo with him?”
“If we can bring back a group photo with Minister Nohara to Kumamoto, that… that would be more face than winning the championship!”
Upon hearing this, Yoshiharu Oyama’s usually stern face finally couldn’t help but show a faint smile. He turned to the young person watching all this and said:
“Ahem! Hiroshi, you see, everyone… it’s just their heartfelt wish. Just… fulfill their small request.”
“Of course.”
Hiroshi Nohara smiled and nodded.
This was a small matter.
He was actually afraid these Kumamoto Prefecture support team members would make some hard-to-fulfill requests, which would be trouble then.
Human relations have pros and cons.
For example, now.
If they asked for something, it would be the downside.
Thus, on the commemorative stage of Studio Number Three, a group photo full of historical significance, enough to make all of Kumamoto Prefecture proud, was born.
In the photo, Hiroshi Nohara and Misae Nohara stood like a perfect couple in the center.
Surrounding them were a group of the most simple and lovable Kumamoto folks with heartfelt proud smiles on their faces.
That image was full of harmony and warmth, like a triumphal song composed for victory, forever captured in this autumn afternoon full of miracles and joy.
PS: Keep asking for recommendation votes and monthly votes~ Brothers, don’t stop~
