Passion Raga Novel (Completed) - Chapter 28

If there was work that needed to be entrusted for a particularly long period, they would sometimes make contracts for several years, but otherwise, they always renewed the contract annually. James waved his hand dismissively, as if he had expected as much.

Against a backdrop of an endless stream of faxes that seemed to gush out no matter how much was torn away, Yuri left James, who was rustling a sandwich bought by an employee because he didn’t even have time to eat, with a half-hearted “Good luck.” He wanted to help, but there was nothing Yuri could do in James’s current situation. Nothing, except perhaps discreetly slipping him a packet of granular vitamins from his pocket.

Waving goodbye to James, who was shouting for him to come back next weekend to sign the contract, Yuri left the office. Every employee he encountered until he exited the T&R headquarters building looked utterly exhausted.

This is why you shouldn’t have a bad superior. You always have to be careful when signing an employment contract… Yuri thought, as if it were someone else’s problem, and began to walk home, which, though a bit far from the company, was not an impossible distance to walk.

It took several days just to clean the house, which was thick with dust from being empty for so long. Yuri worked slowly but meticulously, patiently and thoroughly. Thanks to his efforts, the house, which had been so dusty that even the cupboards were daunting to touch, was now spotless in every corner. All that was left was to retrieve the curtains he had washed and hung on the rooftop to dry and put them up.

Yuri hoped that his next job would be somewhere close to Berlin so he could clean a little each day, and he turned into a back alley where cars couldn’t pass. The sunlight poured dazzlingly into the deserted alley, making his heart feel at ease.

“……..”

It seemed Jeong Taeui had ultimately fallen into Rick’s hands.

When Yuri heard that Ling Xinlu had snatched Jeong Taeui and disappeared right in front of Rick, who had just smashed up his villa in Serenge, Yuri felt a greater sense of crisis than during the bombing in Riyadh.

From the moment Ling Xinlu left to pick up Jeong Taeui, Yuri had expected that a peaceful and gentle development wouldn’t unfold. However, he had thought, and hoped, that at least he wouldn’t put himself in danger as he had before. He wished for a conclusion through the most rational and non-violent means possible, be it dialogue, a wager, or negotiation.

However, given that Ling Xinlu had practically hijacked Jeong Taeui, anyone could have expected at least one person to suffer a harsh fate. And even though who that would be, and any related matters concerning Jeong Taeui, no longer had anything to do with him, Yuri continued to keep a keen ear to that side.

Fortunately—or perhaps, depending on one’s perspective, an unfortunate ending—it seemed to have concluded with Jeong Taeui returning to Rick, and Ling Xinlu being left alone without suffering any major injuries.

When Ling Xinlu had snatched Jeong Taeui from Serenge again and transited through Johannesburg before heading to Hong Kong, it was ultimately only Ling Xinlu who boarded the flight to Hong Kong.

Upon hearing that he had returned to Hong Kong safely and unharmed, Yuri, just in case, estimated the time Ling Xinlu would have arrived home and contacted Ling Tangyun. Only after hearing the reply, “He came back a bit dejected,” and confirming his safety, did Yuri breathe a sigh of relief.

For Ling Tangyun to say that Ling Xinlu had returned dejected, when he wasn’t the type to show such feelings in front of others unless he was truly disheartened, meant he must have been genuinely very depressed.

Would he have cheered up by now?

“………”

Yuri fiddled with the phone in his pocket. He felt like calling Ling Tangyun again, but he hesitated, thinking that if he called without a specific reason, no matter how indirectly he asked, he’d probably be met with suspicious probing like, “Why are you suddenly asking about someone else’s well-being?”

But… It was okay.

Thinking about how he must have felt on the plane flying back to Hong Kong alone, his chest ached heavily, but he wasn’t overly worried.

The last time he had greeted Ling Xinlu, there was a faint sense of instability remaining, but more than that, there was a much stronger feeling that he had calmly sorted out his thoughts. As if he had resolved to tie things off if this last attempt didn’t work.

So, even if he was dejected and depressed for a while, he would be okay.

“Hmm,” Yuri nodded and quickened his pace, thinking he should come up with a good reason to call Ling Tangyun later. He continued to fiddle with the phone in his pocket.

The afternoon sun was warm. The cool breeze and bright sunlight blended together perfectly, creating a pleasant feeling. Walking down the bright, deserted alley, Yuri took a deep breath.

It was silent.

It was a strange feeling.

He had never thought about it before, but this quiet afternoon felt empty. As if he had lost his purpose in life.

He always fell into a momentary void after finishing a long-term project, but that was truly momentary. This was the first time he had felt such a prolonged emptiness that he kept dwelling on it. And Yuri knew why.

The living beauty he had tasted up close for the first time in his life. Even though it was fleeting, almost momentary, he had clearly felt its warmth with his hands, his body, his lips. He had been enveloped in a sweet and vibrant scent.

That graceful and beautiful thing had clearly been close to him, but now it was gone.

Just seeing it was enough. It really was. He hadn’t desired anything more. But.

He wanted to keep seeing it a little longer.

“…….”

It seemed he needed to somehow collect his dejected and empty feelings before calling Ling Tangyun.

He will go to the pool this afternoon. Go home, eat, hang the curtains, and then immerse himself in the pool for the entire afternoon. That would make him feel much better.

Germany was good in every way, but the sea wasn’t great; the Baltic Sea was too cold. Perhaps he should go down to Switzerland for the weekend and soak in a lake instead, he thought, as he arrived at his apartment building.

After a brief greeting with the old man from the end room on the first floor who was sweeping in front of his door, Yuri entered the building and stood in front of the mailboxes. In the corner of the mailboxes, where letters were sparsely and haphazardly placed, there was nothing in the mailbox with Yuri’s room number.

“………”

His hand, which had naturally reached for the mailbox, paused. Yuri blinked a few times, then tilted his head and put his hand into the mailbox, rummaging around, before finally opening the lid completely. There was nothing.

“That’s strange,” he thought, checking every corner of the mailbox, but it was still empty.

“Expecting a letter today, are we?” the old man asked, coming in after finishing his sweeping, seeing Yuri rummaging in the empty mailbox. He then took out a couple of letters from his own mailbox.

“No… not really.” Yuri glanced at the old man’s letters, then quietly closed his own mailbox.

He wasn’t expecting a letter from anywhere. But he had naturally assumed there would be letters. From various places Yuri didn’t even know.

There were many places that wanted to contract with Yuri Gable. He often received letters inquiring about contracts. Recently, as his contract with T&R approached its expiration, he had been getting one or two calls almost every day. And today, having just confirmed the contract’s expiration, he had naturally expected his mailbox to be full, as information travels frighteningly fast in this industry. So, without much thought, he had reached for the mailbox to take out the letters he assumed would be there.

“……….”

Yuri stared at the empty mailbox and turned around. He scratched his head, unnecessarily looking at other people’s mailboxes, each with a letter or two inside.

Well, since he would likely renew his contract with T&R unless something unexpected happened, there was no reason to be disappointed that he hadn’t received job offers. And since he wasn’t desperate for a job, it didn’t really matter. Still, it was human nature to feel a bit disappointed when expectations were so perfectly unmet.

He was already feeling down, and now it felt as if even the world was turning its back on him.

“I’ll stay in the water longer than usual today,” Yuri thought, as he made his way to his room on the top floor, the sixth. Before he had climbed a few steps of the spiral staircase, his phone rang. Yuri slowed his pace and took the phone out of his pocket. Seeing the familiar name on the screen, his heart eased a little.

“Annette?”

“Mon sucre, Yuri! Long time no see! How are you?”

Her voice, always clear and vibrant, rang out brightly. It was a cheerful tone that could make anyone who heard it feel bright.

“I’m doing as always. What’s up?”

“Did you meet James well? Did you get the confirmation stamp on the contract expiration?”

“News travels fast. I just got back and am on my way up to my apartment now.”

Yuri jingled the keys in his pocket and looked up at the long spiral staircase leading to the very top. The wooden stairs of the old building, over 80 years old, creaked familiarly with every step.

“Then you must have received our contract request? Did you open it?”

“Pardon? Contract request? No, it hasn’t arrived.”

“Really? That’s strange, I sent it express, so it should have arrived by now. Maybe tomorrow? Anyway, I’ll send it by email too, please review our contract.”

It seemed she had called to sound him out for employment. Yuri chuckled.

“It seems you’re short on agents. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll decline. I think I’ll renew my contract with T&R.”

No sooner had Yuri answered than she exclaimed with a click, grumbling.

“What? Why only contract with them? The employment conditions won’t be that different.”

“It’s just, it’s easier to work with a place we’ve already been working with, we already know each other’s styles.”

Moreover, T&R’s employment conditions were better than the intelligence agency’s—and most other places for that matter—but he didn’t bother to mention that.

Annette, who knew Yuri’s personality well and how difficult he was to persuade once he declined, grumbled for a while before sighing.

“Anyway, fine. That aside, make some time. We haven’t seen each other in ages.”

You’re free for a while, right? Let’s have a meal together, she said, and Yuri readily nodded. It was always a pleasure to meet a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Okay. When?”

“Hmm? Maybe tonight?”

“So suddenly?” he laughed, and by then he had reached the sixth floor. He thought about going straight to the rooftop to take down the curtains, but then decided to air out his duvet while the sun was good, and turned towards his room.

“Are you busy today?”

“No. Good—”

Yuri, who was readily answering, thinking he had no other plans for the afternoon besides going to the pool, stopped speaking before he could finish his sentence.

A person was leaning against his door.

He was stepping on scattered paper trash at his feet, and had a large bundle of papers tucked under his arm. He lightly raised his hand when he saw Yuri. Yuri stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared at him intently. He gazed blankly for a long time, as if seeing an illusion that shouldn’t be there, until he saw him tear one of the paper bundles he had tucked under his arm, and then he snapped back to reality.

“I’m sorry, Annette. I don’t think I can make it today. I’ll call you back later.”