[CH.34] Piano, Swimming, and Reunion

I Reincarnated as a Beautiful Girl and Aim to Become a Top Actress! (WN)

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[CH.34] Piano, Swimming, and Reunion

**TL Notes: So as not to confuse you all, I made a list of the characters that get mentioned in this chapter that you may have forgotten before.   Sumire Matsuda: MC Yoko Ando (Yoko-san): Sumire's manager Kasumi Ito: A high school girl who auditioned alongside Sumire. She aspires to become a singer.

I've thought about wanting to learn the piano, but I never expected such a topic to come up in such a crucial context. I have no idea how much time I have, but for an absolute beginner to become proficient enough to play for a movie shoot, it seems like a challenging task.

Perhaps my feelings were evident on my face because Yoko-san chuckled.

"I suggested pretending to play and then overlaying the music from above, but I was scolded. The director said he doesn't want something so cliché."

"I had a vague idea, but it seems the director is unexpectedly particular," I replied.

If they have such high expectations, I'll have to do it. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the filming for the educational drama I was a regular in has ended. I still have regular modeling gigs for magazines, but the rest of my work consists of one-off jobs, which provides more flexibility for practice.

While I can't shake off the feeling that I'm too old to start learning the piano, I'm not aiming to become a professional pianist. I'll just have to muster up the motivation and overcome this challenge.

"By the way, will I be responsible for the cost?"

"Depending on the job, there may be cases where you have to cover the expenses, but this time, they'll cover everything."

Yoko-san's response brought me relief. I've been doing a fair amount of work, and my savings are growing, but paying for lessons from here would be tough, considering future tuition and living expenses.

It turns out that the piano lessons have already been arranged, and I'm scheduled to go there tomorrow.

The next day, after school, Yoko-san took me to a 10-story building located in a certain part of Tokyo. This place is a music school frequented by other talent agencies as well, and they have different floors for lessons based on the instrument or vocal training. The music school goes up to the 8th floor, with the upper floors being used for offices and staff locker rooms.

I wondered how Yoko-san knew all this, and she mentioned that when this music school was established, they had a presentation event for people in the entertainment industry, and she attended it. This was only about three years ago, and it's a relatively new concept to bring various genres of music lessons together in one place. They even hire instructors like budding pianists and band members who might not have many gigs. I think it's a good idea, but I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy thinking about whether band members could provide proper instruction in the basics. It might be a prejudice, but I have a feeling many of them became proficient self-taught musicians.

"Huh? Could it be Sumire-chan?"

We were heading to the 3rd floor for the piano department, and as we entered the building and walked towards the elevator hall, a voice called out from behind. I turned around, thinking, "I've never been here before, so I shouldn't know anyone," and there stood a high school-aged girl who looked surprised, gazing at us.

"Wow, Kasumi-san, it's been a while!"

The girl standing there was Kasumi Ito, with whom I had attended the beauty pageant audition. She had dreams of becoming a singer, and her singing performance during the audition was undoubtedly impressive. I hadn't heard about the results of the audition since then, so I wondered how Kasumi had fared.

"I didn't win the Grand Prix, but I received an Encouragement Award."

When I inquired about it, Kasumi spoke with a happy tone. Thanks to that recognition, she became a trainee with the production company and was here to receive vocal training. Although her debut had not been finalized yet, she seemed to be balancing her studies and lessons quite well.

I offered my congratulations, and Kasumi responded with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Isn't Sumire-chan more amazing than me? You've been in commercials, and I've watched your educational dramas. It's been just a little over a year since then."

Hearing her words, I found myself at a loss for words and responded with a wry smile. I appreciated the compliment, but I couldn't help but think that my success in the industry was not only thanks to Yoko-san's hard work but also a bit of luck. If they hadn't needed a child actor that day for the commercial shoot, it might have taken me even longer to land a job.

"Sumire, it's about time..."

As we chatted with Kasumi, Yoko-san checked her watch and gently reminded us of the time. It wouldn't leave a good impression to keep the new teacher waiting, so I waved goodbye to Kasumi and finally stepped into the elevator.

Exiting the elevator, we arrived at a glass door from which faint sounds of several pianos playing could be heard. It seemed they had proper soundproofing. We entered, and a receptionist behind the counter greeted us with a warm smile.

I nodded in greeting and Yoko-san began conversing with the receptionist. These situations can sometimes make you anxious if you don't have an appointment, but there was no need to worry since our reservation had been confirmed. The receptionist guided us to one of the lesson booths. Inside, there was a woman of about college age.

"Mimura-san."

the receptionist said to the woman, and then she smiled at me before leaving the booth. The woman called "Mimura" stood up from her chair, walked over to me, and even crouched down to meet my gaze.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kotone Mimura. I'll be your instructor for today. Please call me Kotone, and I'm looking forward to working with you, Sumire-chan."

"I'm Sumire Matsuda. Nice to meet you," I said with a slight bow, and the teacher seemed surprised by my response. Perhaps she had been initially cautious in her approach, expecting a younger student due to my youthful appearance. It seemed my more mature demeanor caught her off guard.

However, as first impressions are important, I offered her a warm smile. Seeing this, the teacher's initial surprise turned into an awkward smile, and she started discussing the curriculum with Yoko-san. For now, they were planning for a practice period of just under 10 months, which probably sounded like an ambitious goal for the teacher. She briefly tensed, but then mustered up a slightly awkward smile, saying, "Let's do our best together." In response, I squeezed her hand and enthusiastically replied, "Yes!"

Although I was also on the receiving end of an ambitious goal, I didn't want to dampen the mood. I was determined to give it my all.

It seemed my determination had reached the teacher. She relaxed a little, and with a comforting pat on my head, she offered me an important piece of advice. She emphasized that while techniques could be learned later, establishing a solid foundation was crucial from the beginning, as it would be hard to fix mistakes later. Hearing her words, I recalled the advice from my previous life's voice acting instructor: "What matters most is your heart. The rest can be handled with tricks later." It was a reminder that fundamentals were important in any field.

I immediately sat at the piano and received instruction on the basics, such as hand positions and finger movements, as well as how to play a short piece. I learned that there were rules governing which finger should strike which key, somewhat resembling practicing touch typing for a computer's blind touch input. I also discovered there were many things I needed to learn, like how to read sheet music and the layout of the keyboard. I couldn't help but feel a creeping sense of doubt about whether I could ever really learn to play.

Two lessons a week would probably not be enough. I needed to practice at the dorm. I wondered if anyone had an electronic keyboard, and I decided to discuss it with them when I got home.

We had an intensive one-hour lesson for the first day, and I was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. My right hand trembled, perhaps from using muscles I didn't typically use. Yet, it was one of the things I wanted to do, and despite feeling drained from the unfamiliar lesson, I felt strangely lighthearted.

"…How do you feel, Sumire? Do you think you can do it?"

"It's only the first day, so it's hard to say. But I'll do my best. Oh, by the way, Yoko-san, do you happen to have an electronic keyboard? I think I'll need to practice at the dorm, otherwise, there's no way I can catch up."

When I mentioned the electronic keyboard, Yoko-san thought for a moment while operating the steering wheel.

"I don't have one, but I can ask around. If someone is willing to sell one at a low price, we might be able to cover it as an office expense."

"I'm sorry to trouble you. I appreciate it."

"That's my job, Miss. Leave it to me."

We chuckled at her playful remark and I leaned back into the comfortable rear seat. Oh, I just remembered that the director's demands also included swimming. Well, I did some swimming at my local school, mostly playing in the water. Plus, in my past life, I was skilled enough that they called me the "Kappa of Miyazato," so I should be able to manage it.

With a somewhat optimistic mindset, I surrendered to the creeping drowsiness, slowly drifting into the realm of dreams.

---

"Sumire-chan, relax! You're sinking again."

Who was it that was all optimistic about this yesterday, saying things like, "Oh, it'll be fine"? What's this about the "Kappa of Miyazato"? In my past life, I was always a bit chubby from a young age, so I naturally floated, and I wasn't particularly skilled at swimming.

The next day, under Yoko-san's guidance, I found myself at a swimming school, struggling with a challenge even greater than the piano. I could deal with the tight school swimsuit that clung to my body and cramming my long hair into a swim cap, but the biggest issue was my slender physique. My body just wouldn't float in the water; it was like it had no buoyancy whatsoever. Personally, I attribute this to having less body fat in this life compared to my previous one, but according to the teacher, it might be due to "having too much tension in your body, making it rigid and more prone to sinking."

I was well aware of that, you say? Well, no, in my hometown school, swimming class consisted of things like treading water and playing tag in the pool. Besides, since I'm short, my head would be underwater in the pool, so I'd just hold onto the edge and chat with friends like Nao and Fumika.

Last year, when I moved here, the pool classes had already finished, and this year, they're renovating the pool, so all the classes were switched to regular physical education. So, I really had no idea that I couldn't swim this far.

"Alright, Sumire-chan, are you okay? We need to work on floating. Hang in there!"

I was barely managing to stay afloat, and the burly instructor in his muscle-hugging swim trunks lifted me up with ease. My cheek pressed against his muscular chest, and I felt a slight chill. It was more a fear of his overly developed muscles than aversion to men. I wasn't even sure what I was saying to myself.

However, since he had all those muscles and didn't sink, I wondered if I could learn to swim too if I worked really hard. No, it was necessary, considering my job would be affected if I didn't learn to swim. I resolved to do it.

Even with that determination, I couldn't help but feel frustrated by my inability to do something that my past self had been able to do. To vent that frustration, I lightly patted the instructor's chest, as if to let it out. He looked at me with a puzzled expression, tilting his head slightly. I'm sorry, I'll work hard on my practice. Please don't look at me with those eyes like you're dealing with a troublesome child.

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