Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 84

Flight of the Bumblebee

“Please stand in that circle.”

The five girls walked into the circle together. Their outfits seemed light and fluttering, yet exquisite and sparkling with some sequins, displaying an idol-like style.

However, in front of the four assessors, they appeared far from radiant; they seemed like ordinary individuals.

At the same time, the auditioners behind the table began to go through the documents.

There were sounds of flipping paper and operating tablet computers.

“The idol group Five Stars, with the expectation of upgrading their resources to the second tier.”

“Their recent concert exceeded sales expectations, meeting all standards. They aim for a larger stage performance.”

“The audition requirement is a new song. Begin your performance.”

With a few exchanges, the woman with black hair and white temples behind the table started speaking.

“This is Hamada Miya, who is skilled in singing and dancing. She became famous a long time ago and is also one of the board members. Later, when you play the piano, she will be the primary assessor.” Seizing the opportunity, Fifta Itarumi introduced her.

“She looks very strict.”

Kurosawa felt that among the four assessors, Hamada had the most authority.

“Strictness is a good thing; it ensures fairness and speaks for itself.”

“Indeed.”

As the conversation continued, the idol group Five Stars was also ready.

They struck poses, and with the manager placing the sound system nearby, they began to sing.

“In that distant starry sky…”

This was a song that Kurosawa had never heard before.

Even though it was unfamiliar to him, he could still tell that their singing skills were mediocre. 

Whether it was the vocal range, pitch accuracy, or aspects like high and low notes, sustained notes, vibrato, and pitch bends, there were noticeable shortcomings.

However, their dance was quite impressive.

In less than five minutes, the song came to an end.

As the background music gradually subsided, the five beautiful girls stopped on stage but maintained their poses.

Singing and dancing had left them somewhat tired and out of breath, with sweat glistening on their bodies. 

However, after completing the song, they didn’t feel relieved; instead, they anxiously watched the audition panel.

“Congratulations, you’ve passed the audition. Two votes in favor.”

In the end, Hamada spoke up.

“Thank you very much to all four judges!”

Upon hearing this result, the five girls exchanged glances, expressing joy and relief. Immediately, they bowed neatly.

“Youth is wonderful.”

A middle-aged person with a Mediterranean look, slightly overweight, touched his chin and expressed his happiness for them.

“Your stage presence is good, but your singing skills need improvement, especially in terms of the coordination of pitch bends. If you want to elevate to the top tier, besides popularity and meeting various standards, you need to enhance your individual abilities.”

Hamada remained expressionless, speaking with a calm demeanor.

“Got it!”

With this acknowledgment, the girl group followed their manager out.

“Next group.”

After their departure, Hamada spoke again.

Her voice was clear, powerful, calm, and steady.

With this call, Kurosawa felt a nudge on his arm from Itsuragi and stood up.

In an instant, four pairs of eyes focused on him.

However, this level of scrutiny couldn’t make Kurosawa feel pressured.

“Please stand in the center circle.”

Calmly complying with the request, Kurosawa walked into the circle, facing the audition panel.

Observing his composed steps, calm expression, and demeanor, the audition panel silently nodded.

Once he was in position, the panel began reviewing pages and notebooks.

“This is the newcomer brought by Miss Itsuragi, directly participating in the resource review, specializing in the singer category.”

“Appearance, A-level.”

“Figure, A-level.”

“Demeanor, A-level.”

“20 years old, from the University of Tokyo, comes with the persona of a scholarly achiever.”

“What a promising talent! Miss Itsuragi has found another treasure.”

These evaluations and discussions were not concealed; they were stated outright.

Clearly, the audition panel had an extremely favorable first impression of Kurosawa.

Seeing this scene, the other artists who entered later couldn’t help but be amazed.

However, after observing Kurosawa’s image, even they couldn’t help but agree.

This guy was impressive, and he was a newcomer dug up by Itsuragi. Truly remarkable.

“Kurosawa Hikaru.”

Seeing this information, Hamada also showed some interest, calling out his name with a voice that, while still emotionless, carried a hint of anticipation.

“Here.”

Kurosawa knew she was the main assessor and responded with a slight smile.

“The application says you excel at playing the piano and singing. Please perform the piano first and choose a piece yourself, and then I’ll select one for you.”

Seeing his smile, Hamada nodded slightly and gestured to a nearby piano.

In this room, there was a complete array of various musical instruments, and the space was spacious enough to allow actors, singers, and dancers to express themselves freely.

“Well then, let me show my humble skills.”

Kurosawa nodded, then bowed slightly to the four reviewers and straightened up to approach the nearby piano.

Arriving at the piano, he didn’t sit down immediately. Instead, he ran a single hand across the piano.

For a moment, a continuous and resonant melody filled the room.

This wasn’t a performance or a formal piece. The piano sound was noisy, even jarring, as if it were a sound check.

Unlike the previous time in the restaurant, where he had just listened to someone else’s performance, he was not familiar with this piano and needed to check its sound first.

“What’s your selected piece?”

Although some others were displeased with his sudden action, Hamada paid no attention and instead watched his slender fingers.

“I’ve chosen Flight of the Bumblebee.”

After completing this, Kurosawa sat down at the piano, acknowledging with a nod, raising both arms, and slowly bringing them down into position.

The next moment, without waiting for a response, a passionate and intense piano melody exploded.

The melody of this piece was extremely fast and explosive, and the performance began.

This was a piano piece he had heard in his previous life while playing Rhythm Master, and it was also an enlightening experience for him.

Considering the audition, he had looked it up in the past few days, wanting to listen to it again. 

However, it seemed that this world did not have the pianist Maksim Mrvica, or many other modern pianists. Therefore, he couldn’t find Maxim’s version. (1)

But the original version of “Flight of the Bumblebee,” composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, still existed in this world.

Relying on impressions and memories, along with repeatedly listening and consulting piano scores online, he was confident in recreating Maxim’s rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee.”

“Wow…”

Itsuragi was staring in awe at Kurosawa sitting in front of the piano, her eyes shining.

She didn’t have much knowledge of piano pieces, so she didn’t know how powerful this piece was. 

However, at the moment when the piano notes sounded, she felt something in her heart exploding. A tingling sensation spread throughout her body.

Passion, surging, with an extremely fast melody, diverging from the classical and elegant feel of typical piano pieces, it gave her a sensation akin to listening to modern rock. 

The rhythm was intense yet not chaotic, and amid the running of the fingertips, her body seemed to be moving to the beat.

Sitting behind the table, Hamada though motionless, tightly held a pen and lightly tapped it. Her gaze remained fixed on those hands.

Genius!

At this moment, only this impression lingered in her mind.

Pitch, rhythm, dynamics, impact—this piano piece was based on a well-known composition, and the adaptation was flawless. The almost dazzling piano skills truly astonished her.

Such exquisite piano skills could even rival some pianists she knew.

What was even more formidable was that this young person was only twenty years old.

To be on par with those pianists at this age and even capable of arranging music, his potential seemed boundless!

TL Notes:

1. 1. Maksim Mrvica is a Croatian pianist known for his classical crossover music.