Iris And Wings | A Yuzuru Hanyu Story

8 | The interview

Ayame was at the door at 3 p.m. on the dot.
She took one last breath and pressed the bell button labeled "Office".

Only a few moments passed and the door was opened. There she stood, Yumi Hanyū, a small woman with an alert and clear gaze, open and friendly. Ayame bowed and greeted her, "Ebihara Ayame, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hanyū Yumi, very pleasant. I'm delighted that you've come all this way to talk to me today," Yumi replied and immediately invited Ayame into the house.

After taking off her shoes in the genkan, Ayame followed Yumi a little further down the corridor and they entered the small office on the first floor. Here Yumi did all the organizational work for her son that she didn't want to leave to his employees - the small but important team that Yuzuru had hired at her insistence since the preparations for the Asian tour.

Yumi was glad to have her last applicant in front of her. The previous interviews had been exhausting and unfortunately no one had been able to convince her completely. Now her hopes were pinned on this last candidate, with whom she had had a good feeling from the start.

Yumi began to question Ayame directly and without further ado.
"I see from your CV that you were a top athlete yourself? And that your career came to an abrupt end in an accident, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly what happened," Ayame reported. "I fell off the balance beam, the gymnastics equipment that was actually my domain... it was a terrible accident. My left leg was completely torn out of its joints, ligaments, tendons, everything destroyed. The pain..." Ayame faltered briefly in her very open and honest description of the accident. She was amazed that she immediately trusted this stranger and told everything so freely.

"You don't have to tell me anything else," said Yumi. "I know myself what pain does to the body. And to the soul!" She seemed to think about it for a moment when she finally continued: "You want to reorient yourself professionally now?"

Ayame continued to tell her all the important things she thought might be relevant to the job. Somehow it became more personal than she had intended. But Yumi allowed this in such a natural way that Ayame didn't find it difficult to talk about the crises in her life. About how she was still passionate about the sport. Even if she could no longer do it.

She talked about how she had lost sight of her goals after the accident, didn't know what to do next, had fallen into a mental crisis and then found herself again. Now that her life was slowly becoming more stable again, she wanted to find a new dream, a new goal for herself.

"And why do you think you might be the right person to work in my son's house?" was the last thing Yumi wanted to know.

Ayame thought about it. In fact, she hadn't even realized it herself yet. For a moment, she panicked that she wouldn't be able to give the right answer. But then she composed herself and replied:

"I think I understand your son!"

Yumi raised her eyebrows in astonishment. "What do you mean?"
"Well, he needs help around the house, doesn't he? Otherwise you wouldn't be looking for a housekeeper. As a professional athlete, he has to train and look after his health. For me, that means healthy, balanced food, a certain regularity in the daily routine, a clean, quiet environment so that he can regenerate well at home. Perhaps a nice chat over a meal to reflect on the training day - with someone who has been involved in top-class sport themselves and knows what it means to push yourself physically and mentally day after day. And, as a mother in all honor, you are still only standing on the sidelines and can only guess what has really been going on inside your son all these years. Perhaps he also feels alone because his sport and his work as a professional leave him no room to build relationships..."

Ayame was suddenly startled at herself. She had talked herself into a torrent of words that didn't look like her at all, and had been rude to boot!

"Oh... please, please forgive my intrusiveness!" she hurried and bowed to Yumi. Nevertheless, she secretly wondered about her analysis, which was apparently precise enough to leave Yumi sitting opposite her open-mouthed in amazement.

A moment of silence.

"You've expressed in a few sentences everything that's been going through my mind lately and exactly describes my concern about my son's condition." Yumi was almost beside herself as she openly admitted this to the young woman. "Did you already know my son when you applied?"

"Well... I was already aware of him," Ayame replied truthfully, "but I haven't explicitly followed his career, if that's what you mean. I am of course aware that he is a very special athlete and artist who has been at the height of his game for many years. I knew that he had won two Olympic gold medals and many more victories. And that he had set new standards as a professional figure skater with his solo shows. But I didn't follow the sport, probably because I was more than busy with my own career."

Yumi didn't need to know any more.

She summarized in short, concise sentences what Ayame would have to do at Yuzuru's house if she took the job.

"You live in my son's house, of course, you prepare all the meals and take care of the entire household. Laundry, cleaning, waste disposal, everything. You keep him company when he wants it. And you leave him alone if he whises. You would have one fixed day off per week and, by direct agreement with Yuzuru, you would also like to have several days off in a row. Surely you would also like to visit your family on holidays or special occasions?"

Ayame just nodded in constant agreement and was actually pleased to have the opportunity to travel home for a few days once in a while. All the tasks that Yumi described to her were neither surprising nor unexpected for Ayame.

When Yumi had finished, she nodded in conclusion and confirmed that everything was perfectly alright for her. When Yumi finally handed her a small piece of paper with a number written on it, Ayame was amazed. The payment was really good, and it was more than had originally been stated in the advertisement.

But Yumi wasn't finished yet.

"Please, listen to me carefully, this is very important now and absolutely must stay in this room," she began. Ayame just nodded.

"You and I will stay in constant contact, you don't need to handle anything on your own if... well... if there's ever a crisis," Yumi added a little hesitantly.
Now it was out! So there were crises. Somehow, it seemed only natural and very fair to Ayame now that Yumi mentioned it.

"The comparison may be a little off," she began, "but my work with children has taught me to react well to crises. In sport, too, I was very often the supporting one for training colleagues who weren't feeling well under the pressure that sport brings. And I'm a very good listener. I think I can manage that. With your help, of course!" Ayame bowed again.

Yumi seemed relieved that Ayame had not been put off by this. It was now clear to her that this young woman was the right person for the job at Yuzu's side. She would be able to entrust her beloved son to her with confidence.

"Well, I think I can trust you, Ebihara-san. But I'm sure you don't mind signing an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement, which will be included in your contract of employment, right?" Yumi wanted to know.
"Of course, Hanyū-san!" Ayame bowed once more.

"Good, in that case... do you still have some time today to get to know my son?" Yumi asked directly and without beating around the bush.

Ayame shuddered violently.
She was supposed to meet Yuzuru Hanyū, her future employer, today?
She hadn't been prepared for this.

"I understand, of course, if you have to return home quickly..." Yumi reassured her, realizing that this was unexpected and sudden for Ayame.
"No, no! I've booked a hotel, my train doesn't leave until tomorrow morning."

Ayame took heart and said: "I would love to meet your son today!"