"Akina, how was the trip?" her manager asked with a smile after picking Nakamori Akina up in the car.
"Huh? On the Shinkansen, the seats beside and behind me were all occupied by people from a Yakuza Organization. I was so scared I didn't even dare sit down!" Nakamori Akina couldn't wait to tell her about it.
"Oh? And then?" From her expression, her manager knew she hadn't run into any trouble.
"Then I switched seats with someone and met a businessman from Hong Kong Island. He was much braver than me. He stayed calm even around those Yakuza Organization people!"
As Nakamori Akina recounted it, what had struck her most was how GS had shown no fear of the yakuza members behind him when talking about gangs.
It had given her quite a fright and made her very nervous, but looking back afterward, she had envied his composure.
"He seemed like a very upright person!"
The disdain in GS's voice when he talked about gangs had also left a deep impression on her.
"And he was very young!"
Then, after thinking about it, she added something inwardly.
He was very handsome, too!
Nakamori Akina was still a teenage girl at this point, with baby fat on her cheeks and a bright, excited expression, unlike her later gaunt, haggard appearance with its fragile beauty.
"Wasn't he surprised to have a big star sitting next to him?" her manager asked with a smile.
"He's from Hong Kong Island. He didn't even know who I was. Besides, I'm not that famous!" Nakamori Akina immediately said.
She had debuted the previous year. Her first album had received a lukewarm response, but a single released in November had been a huge hit, going straight to number one on the Oricon charts.
Although she had