Melody of You | Yuzuru Hanyu

1.

"Heard Melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter"
John Keats

Sophia Jansen was a name widely recognized in the classical music world at just 24 years old. It's hard to say how her life morphed into what it was today. She started playing the violin because of her parents, who always thought music was important for a child's development.

It wasn't even her favorite instrument but over the years she ended up settling with the 4 strings and classical music, making a career out of it. These days she couldn't imagine doing anything else other than music, even if she often imagined herself playing different kinds of things.

Truth is, she was good at it. Her very first teacher was fascinated at how easily and quickly she picked up things on the violin. Other teachers complimented her natural skill and hard work.

All of her life was surrounded by music. She did her higher studies at the prestigious Royal College of Music in England and had a place saved at the London Symphony Orchestra ever since.

That's exactly where she was now, rehearsing at the Barbican Centre in London as she always did every weekday. She was a first violin and often a soloist in the orchestra.

Sophia knew almost every member of the group by first name and most of them respected her deeply, even if she was one of the younger members. A lot of the members had been professors of hers during college, showing just how much of an impact she made.

She rarely did any work outside of the orchestra. Not because of a lack of offers, but more so because of lack of time. Rehearsals and practice time took a lot of time in order to be at her level. This year though, summertime was an exception.

The Barbican Centre was entering renovations and since it was their main performance venue, the orchestra decided to take time off during the summer and allow members to rest or enter other projects. This left the violinist free for a while.

She was currently in the cafeteria having lunch with some of the other young musicians as she checked the propositions that were in her email.
A lot of the other musicians were doing the same, most of them invited for records or smaller ensembles.

Her eyes were strangely drawn to one invitation, one that was different than most of the stuff she was receiving.

The email was sent by a man called Kikuo Makabe, a foreign name that instantly enticed her interest. She was curious to see 'Ice Show invitation' as the subject and quickly opened the email.

Miss Sophia Jansen,

It's with great pleasure that we invite you to play at our ice show tour "Fantasy on Ice 2018" in Japan. We are one of the biggest Ice show Productions in the world and are proud to have the best Figure Skating stars along our lineup. We would be incredibly honored if you would consider performing with us on the tour this year. It feels right to have someone as talented as you join our superstar skaters for a certainly epic collaboration.
Please do reach out, we would gladly answer any questions you might have.

We appreciate an answer before the 10th for logistical purposes

Looking forward for your contact,
Kikuo Makabe

Sophia casually commented on what she just read with her friends, only to hear a few gasps.

"Doesn't Yuzuru usually do that show?"

"Yes! Oh my god, Sophia, you have to accept"

"What? Who?"

"Yuzuru Hanyu, two times Olympic champion, Goat of the sport, and most importantly, a hottie" Hilary, one of the cellists said to the agreement of the other girls and Josh, one of the violas who was as gay as they get.

Sophia snorted in reaction "I want a good job opportunity. If you think I would fly all the way to Japan to get laid then you are very wrong"

"It is an incredible opportunity. He is crazy famous. Everywhere he goes, the arenas fill. Seriously, you could easily get international recognition outside of classical music just by performing with him"

"And it wouldn't hurt to get laid in the process" Josh said laughing "I would do him in a blink". He completes, making the whole table giggle.

"I don't know... I guess it doesn't hurt to give them a call and see what they are offering. And seriously, I don't need sex. The last thing I want is getting attached to someone that lives miles away"

"You can still do the show...You even get to travel to Japan. It's such a cool country and we never get to go to Asia on our tours."

"Okay, I'll let you know how it goes."

Sophia only called later when she was already at her apartment. The call was answered almost immediately in accented English.
Mr. Kikuo explained everything that would be expected of her, including performances with a few of the skaters and possible participation in the opening and closing numbers of the show.
All the logistics and stay expenses would be covered by the show organization. Not only that, the pay was incredibly good, almost triple what she would make with her orchestra for a month.

The man also explained that the show went to different cities across Japan and that there would be a small two weeks break halfway that allowed her to travel along the country if she wanted.

This was one of those offers a musician doesn't refuse. It was literally an all-paid vacation with a bit of violin playing on the side. That with the knowledge of what her friends told her about the popularity of the show made her accept the offer.

She had to tell her friends. The WhatsApp group they had was active for the last hour with a few of her friends exchanging stupid music memes. She quickly broke that conversation.

'Guess what? I'm going to Japan'