< "Eyes Wide Open! Family of Stars!" Smashes New Ratings Record at 33.7%... Peaks at 40.1% Mid-Broadcast... Second Highest in History >
< Poisoned Chalice? The Production Team Feels the Weight on Their Shoulders... "Kaoi Couple Will No Longer Appear." >
< Kaoi Couple’s fashion items sell out online and offline... An unexpected shopping mall war >
< What brands are the clothes the three siblings wore? Parents flood the station with phone inquiries... >
< The public imitates the stars... The ponzu and ice cream bought by the Kaoi couple spark a sellout frenzy >
< We’re on the show too... Star families buried under the Kaoi couple’s buzz >
< Interest explodes in the luxury mansion where the Kaoi family lives... Nearby property prices soar as a result! >
After "Eyes Wide Open! Family of Stars!" aired, public interest in the Hoshino family only burned hotter.
Of course, the other star families who appeared on the pilot variety show also had their own charm, but none of them could compare to the Hoshino family’s unique appeal.
The appeal of being able to glimpse the daily life of Japan’s most famous celebrity couple and family on TV was on a completely different level from the other star families.
In fact, simply appearing on the broadcast had even caused the market value of the mansion where the Hoshino family lived, along with the surrounding real estate, to start moving.
Uminomori Park, which had mostly been visited by campers before, was also revealed to have been visited by the Hoshino family, and quickly established itself as a new tourist hotspot.
Even—
< [Exclusive] Koto Ward selects the 【Kaoi Bench】 at Uminomori Park as a special tourist attraction... revitalization plan now underway >
< The very bench where two stars whispered their love ten years ago... Visitors crowd in to take photos. >
< "So this is the bench?" Citizens sitting on the bench beam with delight >
Koto Ward, which administratively included Uminomori Park, also decided to strike while the iron was hot and announced that it would install tourist displays centered on the so-called 【Kaoi Bench】, featuring works and songs by Kaoru and Ai, in order to encourage more visitors.
The media once again rushed to cover the phenomenon, fanning the flames even further at the sheer power of the Kaoi couple, who had managed to move even the government with nothing more than a single variety show appearance.
"...Wow. At this rate, they’ll probably put up a statue too. A statue of the couple together... In that case, we’d need one in front of the troupe as well."
"..."
President Toshiro teased Kaoru playfully while looking at the newspaper.
Kaoru, sipping his coffee, deliberately ignored him and pretended not to hear.
Why was everyone making such a fuss over one TV appearance?
Kaoru’s stance, then and now, was exactly the same.
He hadn’t become an actor to get famous!
Of course, there were plenty of benefits to fame, but for Kaoru, who valued privacy and unlike his wife wasn’t born with a nature that enjoyed being watched, this situation was...
"Not exactly a welcome reaction?"
"If you already knew, then that’s enough."
With a hearty laugh, President Toshiro stuffed the rest of the donut into his mouth and took another sip of coffee.
Then as now, aside from having become a little more laid-back, he was the same.
People born to be actors really had no choice but to be like that.
For people with that kind of soul, [popularity] was merely one of the means by which they could climb higher as actors; it was never the goal itself.
In a world where starving stage actors were everywhere, if you became popular enough to reach a position where you could negotiate better pay and related work without hesitation, life as an actor naturally became much easier.
Thanks to Kaoru, the circumstances of [Rararai Theater Troupe] had grown beyond comparison with ten years ago, and the troupe’s actors were all benefiting handsomely from it.
"Sometimes being flooded with more than you need is better than struggling with too little. Maybe... [acting] is the same."
As President Toshiro muttered that while drinking his coffee, Kaoru quietly lifted his blue eyes and looked out the window at the snowy sky beyond.
As time passed and February arrived, Rentaro received an urgent phone call.
- K-K-K-Kaoru! Are you free to talk? No, wait, can you come to the office first?!
Wondering what was going on, Kaoru went over and found Rentaro sweating coldly as he welcomed him and hurriedly told him to sit down.
What he said next went far beyond anything Kaoru had expected.
"...The Cabinet Public Affairs Office wants to propose us as promotional models for a birth-rate encouragement campaign?"
"I-I... I-I-I feel like I’m about to throw up right now? What should I do, Kaoru?"
Seeing Rentaro’s hands trembling like a seismograph, Kaoru swallowed a dry laugh.
Not the frontline civil servants at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare handling the low birthrate problem... but the Cabinet Public Affairs Office, with the Chief Cabinet Secretary himself, the second-most powerful man in the cabinet, calling directly to Rentaro’s work phone—Kaoru had no idea how to process such an absurd situation, the kind you’d only see in a movie or drama.
Normally, the Cabinet Public Affairs Office that supports the prime minister is an institution with authority comparable to the White House Chief of Staff and the staff surrounding the president.
With the birth rate continuing to plummet like in neighboring Korea, the prime minister had said the country was staking everything on the issue, and Kaoru thought they really did seem serious about it.
'How am I supposed to take this?'
He had heard that in grave national security crises where the fate of a country is at stake, or during the execution of top-secret operations controlling such crises, agents sometimes make direct calls without going through the chain of command... but...
A promotional ambassador for a birth-rate encouragement campaign?
"......"
Misreading Kaoru’s silence, Rentaro’s face went even paler, his legs started shaking too, and he looked on the verge of tears.
"I-I-I-If we refuse— Kaoru?! You know— l-like, a n-n-national tax audit... or something— the p-p-prosecutors or the police— like, a-a-arrest or something... I, I, I—"
Worried he might faint if this kept up, Kaoru quickly waved his hands and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Relax, brother. I was just thinking for a second. We should talk it over with Ai first, right?"
"R-Really!? Really?!! Thank you, Kaoru! You’re saving your brother’s life again! Thank you!!!"
Kaoru broke into a sweat calming Rentaro down, who looked ready to drop to his knees in gratitude.
Just as Rentaro finally settled down and was gulping water from a mug, Kaoru’s smartphone rang.
"...?"
Seeing President Ichigo’s number on the screen, Kaoru got a bad feeling and answered immediately—
"Did the Cabinet Public Affairs Office call you too, President?"
"Pwaaaah! Cough! Cough-cough! Gah! Cough!"
At Kaoru’s voice, Rentaro, who had been drinking water, sprayed it everywhere and choked.
"I’ll do it★ I’ll do it★ Waaah—! I can’t believe it...! Kaoru and me, as ambassadors—!"
"Ugh!"
Delighted that she and Kaoru had been offered the ambassador role together, Ai’s starry eyes sparkled as she launched herself hard into Kaoru’s broad, solid chest.
Kaoru wrapped his arms tightly around his wife, who clung to him with both legs wrapped around him like a cicada on an old tree, nearly toppling backward from the sudden impact.
It had been a close call, but since nothing happened, they were lucky.
"You’re that happy?"
"Mm-hm! Mm-hm! Actually... I’d kind of hoped for something like this, you know? A promotional ambassador thing? Like... some kind of gentle influence?"
Gentle influence...?
Kaoru immediately understood what his wife meant and smiled as he patted her on the hips.
"If people look at our family and feel like they want to have children, or want to build a family and live happily together... then that alone means we’ve already succeeded halfway."
In other words, if even one more person changes their mind after seeing the couple chosen as ambassadors, that would be a very valuable thing.
"I wouldn’t be this happy if I were doing it alone. I’m so glad I get to do this ambassador role with Kaoru too."
"Ai."
"Heheh★"
Ai lifted her head, shining with a starry smile, then rubbed her face back into his chest again.
"A-a-ambassadors?!"
"Eh?!"
"Huh~? What’s an ambassador~?"
Hearing their parents, Aqua, who usually read the news carefully, was left speechless and held his head for a moment.
This wasn’t just any ambassador.
From the start, an official ambassador appointed directly by the prime minister, whose approval rating was over 50 percent, was on a completely different level from the usual public-agency mascots or cabinet publicity figures.
Ruby was also astonished that the high-ranking adults she normally only saw on TV were meeting Mama and Papa and appointing them to the role of ambassador.
She didn’t really understand it, but—
"S-so cool?!"
"So cooool~!"
As for Ame, she just liked it because her older sister liked it.
< [Breaking] Kamiki Kaoru♥Ai couple appointed as official ambassadors for the "Family Promotion and Low Birthrate Overcoming Campaign" >
< Prime Minister Yamamoto Naoto takes the first step toward solving Japan’s low birthrate problem, appointing the first-ever star couple as official ambassadors >
< 2030 is the last line... What path will lead Japan out of its collapsing population future? >
< A butterfly effect from "Eyes Wide Open! Family of Stars!"? The daily life of a happy family moves national policy >
< The first-ever star couple ambassadors... official appointment to be handed down at the prime minister’s press conference later this month >
News kept pouring in that Kaoru and Ai had been appointed official ambassadors, and the reaction was enormous.
- Never would have imagined this.
- Do people really not have kids because there aren’t any celebrity ambassadors?
- Seriously?
- Congratulations!!!!!
- This is insane wwww
- Honestly, they do look happy.
- Do you think this’ll make me get a girlfriend, get married, and become a dad?
- Yeah, why don’t you do something about youth unemployment first wwww
- Should I convince my wife to have one more~
The internet was just as heated. There were plenty of negative opinions too, but most reactions were positive, hoping the Kaoi couple’s appointment would actually help with the low birthrate.
Separately, as a rehearsal for the official appointment ceremony ahead of the prime minister’s press conference scheduled for the end of February—
Kaoru and Ai met the protocol secretary the day before and practiced directly on the special stage set up in the prime minister’s residence press room.
And then, the day of the ceremony arrived.
"I’m Kamiki Kaoru."
"I’m Kamiki Ai."
"Hehahaha. Nice to meet you. I’m Prime Minister Yamamoto Naoto."
On the special stage, where the camera flashes were twice as intense as they had been at press conferences years ago, Kaoru and Ai politely bowed to the prime minister and shook his hand.
"I’m more nervous getting to meet the two of you in person than I am on TV."
"Hahahahaha—"
With her starry eyes sparkling, Ai answered the prime minister’s joke with a soft smile and a slight bow in return.
Kaoru did the same, smiling as he listened carefully to the prime minister.
Appointed as official ambassadors for the Japanese government’s "Family Promotion and Low Birthrate Overcoming Campaign," Kaoru and Ai stood at center stage and took photos with the prime minister while holding the official appointment letter.
After shaking hands with Kaoru, the head of the Hoshino family, the prime minister wore a satisfied smile and said, "Thank you for making a good decision for the future of the country."
"Not at all. In fact, it’s a great honor for my wife and me to be entrusted with such a meaningful ambassador role."
"Hahaha—"
Kaoru felt a familiar tremor in the prime minister’s hand as they shook hands.
That tremor did not come from joy at having finally achieved a miracle at the brink of national survival.
In an instant, Kaoru’s blue eyes sharpened as he followed the prime minister’s gaze and looked toward the reporters endlessly snapping their cameras.
A familiar sight.
[Popularity] is an inseparable, fated relationship for both entertainers and politicians.
Even if it is not the goal itself, popularity is one of the most decisive means by which one can move toward a bigger dream.
Sometimes, being flooded with more than you need is better than struggling with too little.
And especially since a House of Representatives election that would decide the political climate was scheduled for October this year.
Just as his memories from his past life said, the ruling party’s overwhelming winning streak had continued without change, and that outcome was already all but certain.
Kaoru decided to play along with the prime minister’s plan, the one whose grip on his hand showed no sign of letting go.
The smiles on the two men’s faces grew even deeper.
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