Chapter 2: The first time I met the person who lived in the rumors
Le often heard his mother mention Yuzuru Hanyu since he was a child.
The youngest son of my high school best friend is a figure skater and even went to Finland to participate in competitions when he was a child.
But Le had never seen him, because she was either performing with the troupe or taking master classes and competitions everywhere, so she had never seen this legendary figure skating genius.
Until 2012, she transferred to the Finnish National Ballet and returned to Helsinki in October of that year.
I had just returned home from the tour group that day, and before I even entered the door, my mother stuffed a lunch box in my hand and asked me to help deliver it to the hotel in Espoo.
That was her first time meeting Yuzuru Hanyu, a figure skating prodigy so picky about food that even Aunt Yumi was at her wit's end and had to turn to her best friend for help. What a troublemaker, she thought at the time.
"Hello, Mrs. Hanyu, I'm Suginohara Raku. My mother specifically asked me to bring you these bento boxes. I'm not sure if they'll suit your taste."
"Thank you so much," Hanyu Yumi said, taking the bento with both hands. She turned around and called her son over to say hello. "This is Grandpa Suginohara's granddaughter. She came specially to bring you the bento. Go and thank her."
Yuzuru Hanyu hurried over and bowed, "Thank you. I often hear Grandpa Suginohara mention you. I'm sorry to bother you~"
"Of course not. It's just a small favor. Besides, Grandpa was often taken care of by you in Sendai. Thank you very much." I didn't expect this troublemaker to be so polite. I had to respond politely and bowed repeatedly. "You just arrived not long ago. You must be tired. The competition is coming up soon. You should rest and adjust your state. I won't bother you anymore."
After a few more pleasantries, they were allowed to leave. Having been away from Japan for many years, Le found it difficult to adapt to the Japanese people's meticulous etiquette, so he fled the scene.
In the next few days, considering that Yuzuru Hanyu needed to concentrate on preparing for the competition, his mother did not rush to invite them to her home. She just asked Aunt Yumi to deliver the prepared ingredients or lunch boxes to them on time every day according to her request.
After a few days, she quickly became familiar with Aunt Yumi and the kind Grandpa Kikuchi, but did not have much interaction with Yuzuru Hanyu who was preparing for the competition.
She often stopped by the sidelines while delivering lunch to watch the athletes practice and prepare for competitions. Of the athletes, only Hanyu stood out, immersed in his practice, mumbling to himself and rechecking his jumps over and over again. Heleshi was also the most engaged, easily caught in the act.
The competition went smoothly, and he won the championship. His proud expression as he leaped onto the podium was unforgettable, his gold medal in hand, waving excitedly to everyone around him. It was Le's first time watching Yuzuru Hanyu compete, and also her first time seeing him on the podium. Seeing him so proud yet trying so hard to appear humble was incredibly endearing and amusing.
How many times he later jumped onto the podium in various postures and left various expressions on the stage are all stories for later. But since then, this shining young man standing on the stage has made people unable to take their eyes off him.
After the competition ended that day, the Suginohara family held a celebration banquet for Yuzuru Hanyu.
It was more of a small gathering than a celebration banquet. Only the Suginohara family and Hanyu's mother and son attended. Even Grandpa Kikuchi did not participate.
It was at that simple dinner that Le and Yuzuru Hanyu really began to get to know each other.
Yuzuru Hanyu said he had heard about Raku's family before arriving in Finland. He said Suginohara's grandfather's daughter and his mother were high school friends. He also heard that they moved to Tokyo after getting married, but later divorced and remarried, again to a foreigner, and moved to Finland with their children.
The two younger generations had no chance to join in the conversation about the topics discussed by the elders during the dinner, so they simply went to the side to talk about their own things. The two of them stood on the terrace, leaning on the railing, chatting idly about all sorts of topics.
"So you call him dad?" It was not polite to use the finger directly, so Hanyu glanced in the direction of Le's stepfather.
"No, just Marrku."
"Are you calling me by my name? Is it because I'm a foreigner?"
"If you ask me that, I actually don't have an answer. Maybe it is. It feels like it has always been like this."
Yuzuru Hanyu kept saying "oh" for a long time with an expression that said, "I don't understand, but I'm deeply shocked."
"I heard that in Finland, people become adults at 18, right?"
"Yeah, so I'm an adult now~" Le looked at Hanyu with a proud look on his face, "I'm the older sister~"
"He's only one year older than me." Hanyu was unconvinced.
"But I'm an adult, I can drink~" But as an athlete, Hanyu is unmoved by the idea of drinking.
This reaction is not enough. Le thought for a moment, "I still have a driver's license~"
Yuzuru Hanyu lost this game.
Seeing his face puffed up with reluctance, Le wanted to poke him, but after thinking it over, he felt it was not appropriate and gave up. He felt a little stiff after standing outside for a long time, so he held on to the railing to stretch his neck and then his ankles.
"Are you a ballet student?"
"Yes, I'm in the dance troupe. How did you know?"
Yuzuru Hanyu imitated Le's movements, stood on tiptoe and pushed the back of his feet, "This seems to be a common habit among people who learn ballet. I also went to a ballet studio to study for a while before, and I often see it." There was that smug look again, and this time Le couldn't help it and finally rubbed his hair.
At that time, Yuzuru Hanyu was already a little taller than Le, and she needed to stand on tiptoe to reach the top of his head with a suppressive advantage.
Feeling that he was being treated like a child, Yuzuru Hanyu reached out to fight back somewhat unconvinced.
Le, who was standing on tiptoe to commit the crime, had no time to dodge. The final result was that the two young men with messy hair raised their hands at the same time to indicate a truce.
"But now I want to move behind the scenes."
"Eh? Why? Isn't it a pity?"
"Not everyone is like you, genius~" Le adjusted her hair, "You can't keep working on something that won't pay off, it's not worth it." This is what Le has always said to the outside world. After all, she has never mentioned the real reason to anyone.
"How do you know that hard work won't pay off? Hard work will definitely pay off!"
"Why don't you deny the genius part?"
"Because I am one." Yuzuru Hanyu laughed so hard that his eyes were invisible.
Arrogant little brat. Even though they were the same age, only a year apart, Suginohara Raku couldn't help but complain silently in his heart.
"Even though I won the championship in this competition, I'm still not satisfied." After saying this, Yuzuru Hanyu hung on the balcony, looking a little deflated. "I made a lot of mistakes in the free skating, and I felt a little tired at the end. And..."
When talking about the things he was not satisfied with, he immediately opened up and did not give Le a chance to interrupt. He spoke unilaterally, listing in detail the parts where he did not skate well, where he was a little hesitant in taking off, and where his landing was not clean.
As he listened to him, Le replayed his free skate performance in his mind. It was clear that his stamina wasn't up to par at the end, and the way he gasped for air at the end didn't look normal at all. "Do you have asthma?"
"Ah... I've been discovered..." Hanyu scratched his head, "How did you know?"
Le rolled his eyes. His breathing was so obvious, anyone who couldn't see it probably had no common sense. "You have asthma, and you're still a figure skater?"
"Yes, is there any conflict?" Seeing that he answered as a matter of course, Le didn't know how to respond for a moment.
There are many triggers for asthma attacks, and they can be life-threatening when they occur. Therefore, most asthma patients are carefully protected at home. Who would throw an asthmatic child onto the ice rink?
Unless you particularly like it.
"I believe that as long as you want to do well, there's no reason to stop yourself. If you give up easily, it means you're not determined enough." Seeing that Le didn't respond, Hanyu Yuzuru continued the conversation. However, after she finished, she suddenly remembered that she had mentioned earlier that she was planning to move behind the scenes, and immediately felt that something was wrong. "I didn't say what you meant."
Le shook his head and didn't intend to say anything more about this matter.
"Come to think of it, you just said you weren't too satisfied with this competition, but I actually quite liked your short program. I don't really understand the rules of figure skating, but from my perspective, the music selection was very stylish, and the choreography was very fitting. It was a nice program."
"Really?" The awkward moment was forgotten. "I think this program is well-written, but I feel like I didn't perform it in the style it should have."
"Style isn't something that's limited. I think you can express yourself boldly. Confident body language and music can create a resonant effect if it meshes well. I think you can do it. For me, every time I choreograph, I work with the composer to fine-tune the music to ensure the image I want to convey meshes with the music. After all, if you don't coordinate with the music, it's hard to achieve the desired effect."
"Can you compose music?" the 17-year-old boy's eyes lit up. "Can I listen to it?"
"I'm still a novice at arranging music. I need to collaborate with professionals to produce good music. Can I send it to you through Line?"
In early October, the night in Helsinki was slightly chilly. Hanyu was listening to the demo that Le had just sent him with headphones, and he would look up from time to time in surprise, as if he was responding positively to Le's processing of the effects.
It's really easy to build trust among young people.
The Finnish Cup was the first international competition of the season, followed by the Grand Prix of the United States. Hanyu rushed back to Canada without stopping and returned to the North American time zone in advance to facilitate his adjustment.
Le was in his dorm, curled up in a chair with his Moomin doll, catching up on figure skating competition videos. He had asked Hanyu for the doll, a gift from the audience who threw it onto the ice after the competition.
Although Moomin is also very cute, Yuzuru Hanyu still prefers Poosan, so when Le looked at the Moomin doll with envy, he immediately and generously gave it to his "meal supplier" for the past few days.
After chatting with Yuzuru Hanyu that day, Le became interested in figure skating and decided to learn more about it, perhaps to find some inspiration. While browsing, he found a video of his performance at the DOI Ice Show in Japan a few months ago.
[Raku: Hahahahaha, did you just inherit this body or did you all run away from home? ]
【Raku: Hahahaha, are you serious, Dogeza? 】
Yuzuru Hanyu, who had just woken up in the United States, touched his iPod and saw a Line message from Le. In order to help him recall which performance it was, he also thoughtfully sent a screenshot of him getting off the stage.
"Aa ...
Yuzu: I won't fail today! Watch carefully!
Raku: OK
Although he'd agreed to that, due to time difference, Le didn't get up early to watch the live broadcast. He only saw a video uploaded by a fan on YouTube a few days later. He saw it shake violently when Hanyu threw his clothes, probably because he was trying to grab them. But he was right; the performance was flawless and executed well.
It's just... she's so shy, so why would she choose a song like "Hello, I love you"? I don't understand.
The last reasonable explanation that came to mind was that maybe this is just a reserved and reserved attitude?
Thinking back to this, Le couldn't help laughing. The Line call came again, and Le hurriedly made the final arrangements.
I picked up the perfume and just pressed the first pump when I remembered Hanyu's asthma. I quickly put it down and fanned the air with my hands several times, trying to make the smell as faint as possible. I hurried downstairs.
It’s always hard to believe a girl’s five minutes, Yuzuru Hanyu thought as he wandered downstairs for a long time and even started counting the lines between the tiles on the sidewalk.
"Yuzuru! I'm here~" Le came out of the apartment door, smiling brightly, and called out to Hanyu, who was standing a few steps down, to look at him. He turned around on the spot, "How is it? Does it look good?"
Yuzuru Hanyu looked up at her and was stunned.
Suginohara Raku was wearing an ankle-length strapless mini dress. The smoky pink skirt had large patches of violet smudged across the chest and hem, as if she was wearing the sunset on her body.
Her makeup was simple and delicate, her hair was tied into a bun, with a few strands hanging by her ears and hanging on her shoulders. The irregular gauze embellished on her chest made the tube top not too sexy, but instead added a bit of girlish playfulness. The slightly puffy skirt made her waist more delicate. The skirt was not big, hanging a few centimeters above her ankles, and she matched it with a pair of light pink stilettos.
She didn't wear any overly shiny accessories, just a pair of feather-shaped earrings and a small teardrop-shaped necklace adorning her chest. Everything looked carefully prepared, but neither forced nor gaudy, just right.
"Yeah." It looks good, especially good-looking, but he didn't say anything, just smiled with his eyes curved.
"Eh, is that the reaction? I thought it would be, wow~" She lowered her head and adjusted the hem of her skirt. "I put a lot of thought into dressing worthy of Hanyu."
"Really?" He walked up two steps and offered her his hand to help her down the stairs.
These few steps couldn't actually stop Le from running down from upstairs, but she still readily placed her hand gently on Hanyu's palm and said, "Yes, you are a famous Olympic double champion, but I can't be too beautiful. What if I steal the bride's limelight?"
"Yeah, that's not good." Hanyu replied in a serious tone, grinning happily and looking very happy. He didn't have the nervous look he had when he did something wrong in the coffee shop yesterday.
"Can you two consider that there is someone here who doesn't understand Japanese?" Kate followed Le out and protested in English.
Le stuck out his tongue and quickly said that he would speak English later. Yuzuru Hanyu also smiled and said sorry. The three of them took a taxi to the wedding venue together.
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