Passion: Diaphonic Symphonia Novel - Chapter 29 - Bonus track

One afternoon, Kyle was leisurely sitting in his study, sipping tea on a rare free holiday.

He pressed a button on the component, and Bach flowed from the speakers. Listening to the magnificent opening notes, he picked up the empty album case he had left out a few days ago.

BWV 244.

Though Catholic, Kyle wasn’t particularly religious or devout, yet it was one of his favorite albums.

“Erbarm dich unser, O Jesu…….”

Lost in thought, Kyle found himself humming along to the chorus, feeling utterly content. He unconsciously gestured with his hand and only snapped his eyes open when he felt tea slosh out of the teacup he was holding.

“Oh dear… I made such a mistake…”

Fortunately, he had almost finished his tea, so only a few drops spilled. But seeing the tea drops roll onto the open book spread beneath, Kyle quickly put down the teacup with a look of dismay and pulled out a tissue.

“Tsk, tsk, on this precious book…”

Kyle clicked his tongue as he carefully picked up the old, yellowed book, which looked as though it belonged in a museum display case, and gently dabbed at it with a tissue.

Not just this book, but most of the books lining this study were acquired with immense effort. Among them, a few were so rare that he might never find them again in his lifetime. They were truly treasures. And the book that had most recently brought him joy was—

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Kyle’s complexion turned pale. It felt as though the headache that had just subsided would return.

From distant Egypt, through agent after agent, Kyle, growing impatient, had personally traveled to Cairo to retrieve a particular book. That had been just a short while ago.

But now, that book was not in his possession.

“My book… my precious Einar Miersh…”

The thought made his stomach ache again. The devilish face that had brazenly stolen his precious book came to mind.

Kyle rubbed his aching chest, hoping the book would safely return to his hands.

Anyway, he wondered if his highly anticipated prodigy had managed to find the book safely. Or rather, even before that…

Kyle hummed to himself as he put the book back into its empty spot.

Just then.

His phone began to ring with a quiet sound.

He glanced at it, and a familiar number was displayed on the screen.

“Ah, what’s this friend up to now?”

Kyle lowered the volume of the component and pressed the button on his phone. Soon, a familiar face appeared on the screen.

‘Yo. How’ve you been?’

“Still the same old me. What’s up? Any good news?”

‘Well, I just called to check in. If there’s any good news, it’s that the joint training is over, and those rascals from Europe have finally gone back.’

“Ah, you must have worked hard.”

Kyle observed the face of his old friend on the screen.

It seemed the UNHRDO’s regular joint training had just concluded. The training sessions for the European and Asian branches were notoriously rough, and the instructors, who had to bear the brunt of the troubles, naturally suffered a great deal during that period.

However, this friend, an instructor at the UNHRDO’s Asian branch, showed no signs of hardship; his expression was simply bright and cheerful.

“It must have been easier this time.”

‘Yeah. Since there’s no more famous lunatic like a certain someone, there’s nothing much to fret over.’

Kyle calmly chuckled along with his friend, who was smiling mockingly and casually badmouthing his own younger brother.

“Of course, that’s true. If that famous lunatic weren’t sitting in my house, I would purely rejoice in your good fortune.”

‘Hahahaha, what can you do? It’s in his nature. The world is truly fair, isn’t it?’

His friend laughed nonchalantly, yet his words carried a sting. It was only sad that Kyle couldn’t refute it.

Kyle had a younger brother whose personality was second to none.

Family, by nature, cannot be chosen. Children cannot choose their parents, and parents cannot choose which children to have. The same goes for siblings.

The parents given to Kyle, without choice, were excellent. Even setting aside the external factor of being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he considered them good parents.

However, it seemed a person couldn’t have everything; quite fairly, and again without choice, the sibling Kyle was given was utterly unsatisfactory, as if balancing out fortune and misfortune.

His younger sister was fine. That bright, spirited, and beautiful child met a solid man, married well, and is now living happily across the sea with her husband and their two equally beautiful daughters. The problem was his other younger brother.

He had come to terms with it now, but that brother had been his greatest source of anguish for many years. He had almost died at his brother’s hands numerous times.

‘Right, speaking of which, how’s Rick doing?’

“No news is good news, so he must be doing fine.”

‘Still in Dresden?’

“That’s right. …Surely he wouldn’t harm him there, would he?”

If he could, Kyle wouldn’t mind if he did, but not there, of all places. That was the nature of the deep-rooted relationships between families that had endured for generations.

‘Haha, is he the kind of person who’d easily be harmed? So, how’s our nephew, who’s finally free from his grasp and leisurely playing around? Is he doing well?’

“Hmm? Ah—…You mean Taei…”

Kyle’s words trailed off. It was only a fleeting hesitation, but his friend was not someone who would miss such a short pause.

‘What’s wrong? Is there a problem? Is he sick?’

“No, no. He’s perfectly fine. Very healthy, no pain anywhere. …At least, he was when I last saw him a few days ago.”

‘A few days ago? Then now—’

Just as his friend was about to speak with a puzzled expression.

As if deliberately timed, a call waiting beep, beep, beep, beep, interrupted his friend’s words.

“Ah, I have another call. Just a moment… This guy can’t be a gentleman either.”

Kyle, about to put his friend’s call on hold, instinctively frowned upon seeing the blue flashing numbers below his friend’s face on the screen.

It was his younger brother.

And now, Kyle had an inkling why his brother was calling out of the blue at this hour.

“This guy’s going to eat me alive again. You’d better join in so I can survive.”

‘What?’

Ignoring his friend’s bewildered face, Kyle pressed the conference call button.

After a short mechanical tone, as soon as the call connected, a low, dry voice spoke bluntly.

‘You sent that guy here, didn’t you.’

Kyle understood the context-less words perfectly.

“So you’ve finally met, huh. You managed to run into him in that huge mansion. I thought you might manage not to meet him until the end.”

‘Why did you send that guy here in this situation? Have you lost your mind?’

“Let me tell you in advance, I have no other intentions whatsoever. Chris took my book, so I just asked him to retrieve it for me. Do you even know what he took? It was Einar Miersh‘s 1908 first edition, no less!”

He must have spoken too passionately. As he spoke, emotions surged, and his voice had risen a tone by the time he finished.

“Or you can recover the book from Chris and send it back with Taei.”

As Kyle composed himself and lowered his voice again, silence briefly returned from the other end of the phone. Only now, his friend, who had been silently listening, occupying half the screen, seemed to grasp the context of the conversation and was nodding in understanding.

‘…I’ll burn that book.’

His low voice sounded so clear.

Kyle almost let out a hiccup.

“Hey, you idiot!!! What are you burning, what!!!”

‘If you didn’t want that, you shouldn’t have done something like this in the first place.’

In contrast to Kyle’s voice, which had become ear-splittingly high, his brother’s voice on the other end of the line was slower, as if he had calmed down a little.

Only Kyle’s ragged breaths, sharp as a blade, and his cold brother’s silent stillness flowed.

And in between, his friend, who had maintained silence, suddenly began to chuckle softly.

Finding the situation quite amusing, his laughter gradually grew louder, becoming irritating to Kyle’s already vexed ears.

“What’s so funny to you?”

‘No, rather than funny… Don’t you think you’re overworking our nephew too much?’

His friend’s voice remained consistently cheerful as he added, “Why send him into a den of lions when he could finally rest?” It was rare to find someone who would scold him for sending his nephew into danger, yet sound so lively. Could there be a more heartless uncle?

“Look, Changin. Speaking of overworking, let me tell you, no one cherishes your nephew more than I do.”

At least, he could guarantee he cherished him more than the heartlessly laughing uncle far away.

No, in reality, he had no way of knowing how much his friend truly cherished his nephew, as he hadn’t delved into his friend’s heart, but Kyle genuinely cared for Jeong Taeui. Such a diligent, upright, yet flexible young man was rare to find these days. Moreover, he now felt more like family than his own biological brother.

It was when Kyle was boasting of his affection for Jeong Taeui.

Suddenly, a muffled snort escaped.

The source of the sound was his brother. That bleak face, openly sneering without even attempting to hide his incredulity.

“…”

Kyle was silent for a moment.

His friend, whose mood was probably quite similar to that indescribable silence, eventually spoke quietly.

‘Rick… I don’t exactly want to deny your opinion, but isn’t it better to exclude misguided methods from the definition of ‘cherishing’?’

‘As you wish.’

His brother said readily, nodding his head.

Hearing that voice, which perfectly conveyed the meaning of “You interpret it as you like, I’ll interpret it as I like,” Kyle sank into a heavy mood. Only then did he realize what a terrible thing he had done to Jeong Taeui.

He should have let them be separated for at least a few months; why did he push him into a beast’s den where that guy’s jaws were wide open?

It was too late to mumble apologies to himself now. Besides, if he thought about it positively—

“See, Changin. What den of lions? With that guy holding the fort, who would dare harm Taei?”

The one who inflicted the greatest harm would prevent all other minor, trivial harms.

The unspoken words at the end seemed to have been heard clearly by his friend. His friend still nodded with a cheerful face.

‘Right, that’s true. Well, it’d be a lie to say I’m not worried at all, but at least it eases my anxiety a bit.’

Kyle felt a slight pang of guilt at his friend’s added remark, “May peace be upon my poor nephew’s future.” After all, the biggest culprit disrupting that peace was his own kin.

“Still, Changin, believe me. I truly care for your nephew.”

‘Ah, of course.’

Fortunately, his friend seemed to believe Kyle’s words and replied readily. And on the other side, his brother simply remained silent, making it impossible to tell if he believed him or not.

Kyle’s rock-solid friend then suddenly seemed to recall something and mumbled,

‘Right, so Taeui must be with Chris right now.’

The moment those words dropped, a brief silence fell once again.

Quietly replaying the hidden meaning in those words, Kyle muttered dismally to his friend again.

“…I’m sorry…”

Chris. Christoph Tarten.

A person notorious in the past as second to none in T&R’s private special forces. The protagonist of the European Killing Fields.

To abandon Jeong Taeui with such a difficult and unpredictable person, even though he knew what he was doing, his sin was great.

“Still, Taei will probably be fine… he’ll be fine.”

He repeated the uncertain addition a moment later, a little more firmly. Besides, Illy was there, too… he began to say, then stopped himself. And then, Christoph suddenly came to mind.

Come to think of it, Christoph wasn’t just Illy’s childhood friend. Although there was quite an age difference, they often met when they were young due to family connections. Both families would send notice when there were big or small events.

And so, Kyle, who was much older than them, would sometimes observe groups of children their age—mostly Illy and his peers—playing or fighting.

Among them, Christoph was certainly a striking child. Even now, in Kyle’s memory, Chris stood out vividly among those children of similar age.

It wasn’t merely due to his appearance. He had been strikingly handsome even as a very young child, but that wasn’t the only reason he stood out in Kyle’s memory.

Very occasionally, in brief, fleeting moments, Kyle would see it. What was—or wasn’t—in those cold, detached eyes that watched the children from a step away.

He couldn’t clearly grasp what it was. It felt graspable yet elusively out of reach. That was because the boy possessed something Kyle lacked, and Kyle possessed something the boy did not.

Only in unexpected flashes, brief as lightning, appearing as if unseen, did it leave a mark on his heart. As obscurely as those blue eyes that gazed fixedly at the children.

So Kyle was never surprised when news of Christoph reached him. When he heard that Christoph had gone as a mercenary to some civil war and killed many, or eliminated someone, or how he had resolved a certain incident controversially, he would mumble, ‘He really is different on the inside and out.’ Yet, in a corner of his heart, he would find himself instinctively accepting it.

Or when he unexpectedly offered his blood to a dying child he had never met, astonishing countless people who knew his true nature, Kyle nodded, thinking Christoph could do that. No, perhaps if it had been necessary, he might have taken out his own organs right there. Cutting open his own belly with an expressionless face. Not as a good deed or anything, but simply out of a whim.

Christoph could do that. Because he possessed some things, but lacked others. Different from others from the very beginning.

In the same vein as that inexplicable acceptance, Kyle had thought somewhere in his heart when he sent Jeong Taeui, that he would be alright.

“Yes. Taei will be fine.”

At least, he wouldn’t be harmed by Christoph, Kyle thought, though he had no reason for it.

‘Haa… If you say so, I’ll have to believe you.’

His friend, who had been quietly watching Kyle and listening to his words from inside the screen, eventually smiled and spoke. Hearing his old friend’s words, Kyle’s heart also calmed down considerably.

Yes, Taei will be fine. Even if he’s not, he’ll somehow make him fine again.

Besides, although it might not be fortunate for Jeong Taeui himself, at least that monstrous younger brother was by his side.

“Anyway, you’re there. If you’re there, there’s nothing to worry about with Taei.”

Kyle spoke to his brother as if it were nothing. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his friend narrowing his eyes.

Yes, I know. I know my ability to wield my tongue has become incredibly skillful compared to the past.

Kyle sighed inwardly as he reflected on his reality. Well, even if he said pleasant things, it wasn’t the kind of person who would be effectively swayed anyway.

Sure enough, there was no particular reaction from his brother. He merely replied disdainfully, as if he had heard something obvious, ‘So you’re saying I’m causing trouble?’

However, on the other hand, his brother, who was likely the one to be worried about, frowned and clicked his tongue softly.

‘If it becomes alright in an annoying way, then I’ll be bothered.’

“Annoying way? …Did Taei cause some trouble?”

He’s not the type to cause trouble first, more like he gets caught up in it, Kyle asked, but his brother, lost in thought, slowly tapped the table without answering. Only the tapping sound, tap, tap, was heard. Then, after a few seconds, he stopped his fingers.

‘No… never mind. That guy’s taste is for faces like candy, so it doesn’t fit his preference.’

Kyle frowned, muttering “Hmm?” at the incomprehensible words, but no further answer came. His friend also subtly raised an eyebrow and seemed to ponder the words, but said nothing.

A preference for faces like candy… Could this possibly be…

Kyle traced the direction of the conversation, arrived at a fabricated conclusion, and then shook his head.

It was true that Jeong Taeui seemed to have bad luck, but he didn’t seem to have absolutely no discernment when it came to people. He probably wouldn’t choose to carry firewood into a raging fire.

Whatever the case, for now, he could only observe. Praying for their peaceful return.

As Kyle silently wished, his brother clicked his tongue and said,

‘It’s become troublesome, but since it’s already happened, there’s nothing to be done. But you’d best give up on the idea of that book returning safely.’

With those words, the call was unilaterally cut off. And simultaneously, Kyle’s peace ended.

“Hey, you idiot!!! Just touch that book and see, don’t touch it!” he shouted repeatedly, but his voice couldn’t reach beyond the disconnected call, only hollow echoes reverberated.

In contrast to the stormy Kyle, his friend calmly muttered,

‘It seems some minor things have happened in the meantime. It makes calling to check in worthwhile sometimes.’

Had his friend’s laughter ever been so irritating?

“My friend. It’s Einar Miersh… It’s the first edition of Einar Miersh…”

‘Ah, my Einar Miersh is safely tucked away in the vault. You’d best try your best to protect yours too.’

Never had his friend been so vexing. Kyle now thought that perhaps his friend was secretly enjoying his own misfortune of his nephew suffering.

Now, he could only count the days until Jeong Taeui safely completed his mission and returned.

[End of bonus track]