Facts proved that when heaven bestows upon you a talent far exceeding ordinary people, there is a high probability it will take sothing back in return. And for Tetsuya, what was taken back was the ability to combine dance steps with music.
"...Huh? Rushing the beat? That ans I'm too fast, right? Okay, I'll go slower next ti..."
"Eh? This ti is too slow again? Mmm... it's so hard... I really am listening to the music properly."
"Ah! I'm sorry, Wakaba-san, I accidentally stepped on your foot..."
To all the girls present, although Tetsuya had decisive shortcomings in certain common sense issues, he had always been a genius with extrely strong comprehension skills who could learn by analogy. However, this ti, when they saw Tetsuya's clumsy dance steps that simply couldn't sync with the rhythm, and his blank expression of failing to grasp the main point, while finding it quite novel, they also couldn't help but start worrying about the Wakaba family banquet—
"Although it might be a bit rude to say this, Tetsuya doesn't seem to be very suited for dancing."
As soone who learned alongside him and mastered the basic steps within half an hour, Soyo couldn't help but say:
"Even though he's already been repeatedly practicing for an hour, Tetsuya can't even manage the most basic thing of combining the dance steps with the rhythm..."
"...Sorry."
Under the dual effects of continuous movent and psychological pressure, a blush of sha appeared on Tetsuya's face.
"I really am trying my best to listen to the music, but no matter what, I can't imdiately combine the dance steps with the music in my head..."
"This is probably because Tetsuya-kun's way of thinking has already completely solidified into that of a designer..."
Sakiko, who had been assisting with the instruction from the side, also shook her head rather helplessly.
As Tetsuya's designer apprentice and girlfriend, she could be said to know his way of thinking inside and out.
"Translating between images and abstract concepts is completely different from coordinating music and movent. Don't make things more complicated by doing too much aningless translation in your head, just take steps based on your intuition!"
Sakiko tried to correct Tetsuya's ntal misunderstanding through words.
"E-Even if you say that, sothing I can't do is sothing I can't do..."
However, Tetsuya, whose eyes were almost turning into swirls, was completely unable to easily resolve this problem.
"Hearing that waltz Wakaba-san just played, the very first things that popped into my head were completely evening gowns and European dieval artistic landscaping... Asking to forget these and focus on the dance steps is honestly a bit too difficult."
"In other words, after hearing the music, there are things with higher priority in your head than dance steps..."
Soyo helplessly shook her head.
"This is a headache. We can at least make you morize the dance steps, but how are we supposed to help with this kind of mindset problem?"
Faced with this unexpected and sudden difficulty they hadn't considered before, Sakiko and Soyo couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
On the other hand, after actually hearing the reason why Tetsuya couldn't keep up with the rhythm, Mutsumi, as the instructor, imdiately thought of a potentially effective solution—
"Sakiko, Soyo."
She didn't speak directly to Tetsuya; instead, she turned her head first to look at the two girls who were at their wits' end.
"I have a thod, but... I need to get both of your consent."
"Huh?"
"Our consent?"
Sakiko and Soyo both imdiately showed sowhat baffled expressions.
"Although I don't know what you're going to do, since you have a solution, by all ans, just give it a try."
Sakiko said with a wave of her hand.
"After all, our ti isn't that abundant. No matter what thod we have to use next, we must have Tetsuya-kun master basic ballroom dancing within a week!"
"Mhm, I think so too."
Soyo nodded.
"After [TGC], Tetsuya basically won't have any practice ti. If possible, it's best if we can build a good foundation before then."
"Mhm, I understand."
After receiving affirmative answers from both of them, Mutsumi first gave a shallow nod, then imdiately walked up to Tetsuya. To this completely bewildered man, she said softly:
"Then... Chihaya-san."
"Mhm?"
"Next, please hold my waist."
"...Eh?" All three people present let out sounds of extre astonishnt in unison. And perhaps influenced by the two girls' "ti is tight" rhetoric just now, before Tetsuya could even respond, Mutsumi proactively grabbed Tetsuya's sleeve, while simultaneously drawing closer to Tetsuya's chest herself-
"W-Wait a minute, Wakaba-san, before that, could you first explain why we have to do this!?"
Tetsuya, whose wrist was grabbed, hurriedly asked.
Hearing this, Mutsumi said in a tone devoid of any inflection:
"Because the standard posture for ballroom dancing requires the man to hold the woman's waist."
"But when you were teaching just now, you clearly said that when the ti cos, I only need to pose, and don't actually need to hold you—"
"But that's under the premise that you can independently keep up with the music, Chihaya-san."
Mutsumi shook her head expressionlessly.
"Since you can't independently combine the music and the dance steps, Chihaya-san, we can only rely on the guidance of a dance partner, turning what should be independent movents into following movents that don't require you to think."
"E-Even so... holding a girl's waist directly like this, no matter how you think about it, is a bit inappropriate..."
Thinking about how his girlfriend was right beside him at this very mont, Tetsuya felt cold sweat starting to seep out of his forehead.
Yet Mutsumi remained quite calm regarding this:
"It's fine, those two both agreed to it just now... Right, Sakiko, Soyo?"
"Huh? Ah... this..."
Hearing this, Sakiko first blinked, then glanced at the panicked expression on Tetsuya's face, followed by a glance at Mutsumi's calm expression that hid her true intentions. Finally, she passed the topic to Soyo beside her—
"W-What do you think, Soyo?"
"Eh, ...?"
Logically speaking, based on the principle of keeping things strictly business, Soyo shouldn't have hesitated about Mutsumi's proposal. But for so reason, when she saw Mutsumi's small hand tightly gripping Tetsuya's sleeve, she couldn't help but feel that Mutsumi's thoughts weren't as simple as she presented them.
From the banquet to finding a dance partner, to learning ballroom dancing, to this current slightly ambiguous posture, and her sowhat unusual proactiveness... Although the reasons were all very sufficient, they were perhaps a bit too sufficient and logical, as if she had already planned out this entire process right from the very beginning.
But... that shouldn't be the case, right? That was Mutsumi, the girl who was always taciturn and had few desires. Would she really sche to this extent? And... did she really harbor certain feelings for Tetsuya that she had never revealed to anyone?
...
"Well, anyway, the most pressing issue right now is still to get Tetsuya to learn ballroom dancing as quickly as possible. So... let's just do as Mutsumi says for now."
It just so happened that she also wanted to slightly observe what kind of reaction Mutsumi would have when the distance between the two of them was closed a bit.
And just like that, this makeshift dance class entered its second, advanced stage.
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