Melody of You | Yuzuru Hanyu

19.

On the first day back to orchestra rehearsals, Sophia was flooded with questions in every single break.

Somehow, most of them were about the Japanese skater that fell asleep talking to her last night, not that she would ever tell them that small detail.

Josh made sure to interrogate her further than anyone else, making her regret slightly the earlier calls she had with him.

Once he managed to get her all alone the interrogation went even further.

"So, how did the cultural experience go?"

"Great, I loved Japan."

"Just Japan?"

"What do you want to know, Josh?"

"Just how familiar you got with a certain skater."

"As familiar as every single other skater on the show"

"Don't lie, Miss Jansen..."

"I'm not."

"I watched the Livestream, you looked cozy on those last hugs...one would even think you were both emotional because you were saying goodbye"

"We were... Maybe it's hard to believe, but friends still miss each other."

"You will tell me about it one day."

"Whatever... do you want the autograph or not?"

His eyes were wide open when she asked. "Are you serious?"

"It's in my bag if you let me get it..."

Josh reacted extra enthusiastically once he saw the photo book she got him signed by the two-time Olympic champion.
He was a hardcore fan of figure skating, having attended several competitions and a decent collection of signatures but the one autograph he never managed to get was Yuzuru's. The man was usually hard to reach.

He gave her a tight hug and jumped down the halls happily to her amusement. At least her adventure can make others happy too.

Getting back to the usual orchestra business wasn't as easy as she expected. A month of playing for a far less tougher crowd made her slack a bit on her practice routine, making the rehearsals extra intense.

After almost two months of rehearsals, everything got back to normal, feeling like the routine she had for so long.

Sophia kept contact with Yuzuru, texting almost every day about random things. The skater often said that texting with her was a way to practice his English and she simply couldn't deny any message.

A week prior to the first show, her nerves started raking up. It was nothing like the ice shows, where she had no problems covering up a missed note.

The problem was, being one of the 1st violins made it so that a lot of attentive eyes were on her, both from music enthusiasts to students, to other musicians who would fight for the place she had at any given opportunity.

Unlike what most people thought, the classical music world was tough and thoroughly competitive, especially at one of the biggest orchestras in the world.

Not only that, the crowd was usually far more knowledgeable about the music pieces performed.

Sophia shared her concerns with Yuzuru during one of their conversations and the skater somehow managed to calm her down within minutes.

'When is this first concert?' he asked after.

'Sunday, why?'

'Just curiosity'

'ok'

The conversation ended there and they didn't speak of the matter ever again.

On the other side of the world, Yuzuru carefully planned a trip with his agenda open. It would be hard, but he wanted to see her perform in her natural environment.

The skater ended up changing the dates of two different promo shootings in order to be able to fly to Europe.
This was not usual for him, he would normally only travel to skating competitions or between Toronto and Japan, usually doing so with either his coaches or his mother.

Still, and with great attention to the disguise he wore through the Shinkansen ride to Tokyo and then at the Narita Airport, the skater managed to safely get on the plane.

Throughout the flight, Yuzu wondered how she would react. Getting tickets had actually been incredibly hard. The first show of the year was one covered with excitement from the public.

The skater had missed a very important thing. He had only been in London once, in 2013, and had no idea how to navigate through the city.

If you would ever tell him in the past that he would have to make such an effort with his English vocabulary because he decided on a sudden visit to England to see a girl, the man wouldn't have believed it

It was a struggle but eventually, Yuzuru found his way out of the airport successfully and on his way to the hotel he booked, located conveniently very close to the concert hall of tonight's show.

He didn't joke around. One of the outfits he brought in the small cabin bag was his trustworthy-fitted black suit, one he rarely wore in public. He paired it with a simple white shirt, first buttons open, and formal shoes.

Googling a close flower shop, he managed to get a bouquet for his star.

Truth be told, he still wasn't sure if they were going to meet. So far she had no idea he was here and part of him was hesitant on giving her that knowledge. His brain and heart had a constant battle and didn't seem to come to a good enough conclusion.

Standing in front of a mirror, Yuzuru set aside his inner debate for a bit while slicking his hair back like he would on a rock program. It wasn't a usual style for him but seemed to fit the occasion.

Pleased with the result, he took his keycard, ID, and phone and headed out.

It was now showtime.