Passion Raga Novel (Completed) - Chapter 33

Ling Xinlu, whose eyes opened as the towel disappeared, stared blankly at Yuri. His clear, dark eyes, invisible to his blurry vision, gazed steadily at Yuri, then closed again beneath the towel that covered them.

“Shall I? Just for a moment then.”

His low murmur was already half-submerged in sleep.

Looking at his closed lips, no longer speaking, Yuri also said nothing more.

Only quiet, peaceful breaths flowed out, regularly and slowly.

The Ling family’s main residence was in the suburbs, a short distance from the city center. Though only dozens of minutes away by car, it was a secluded and quiet village, far removed from the noise and bustle of the city.

The Ling family, who had been landowners there for hundreds of years, had lost most of their land during the revolution and suffered many deaths, causing their fortunes to greatly decline at one point. However, generations of continuous and tenacious effort had not been in vain, and now they had built a foundation stronger than at any time in the past.

Even now, from the moment one stepped onto their land, those bearing the Ling family name enjoyed an authority comparable to that of old royalty, and this was especially true for the direct lineage.

At first, Yuri had been surprised, though his face remained expressionless, to see people stepping back a pace and bowing slightly—in severe cases, some even bending deeply at the waist—whenever Ling Xinlu passed by. But now he was accustomed to it. Indeed, for the Ling family, whose influence, big and small, reached every corner not only of China but wherever overseas Chinese were active, it was not strange for them to be treated like royalty in their own domain. Now, words like ‘Elder,’ ‘Master,’ ‘Mistress,’ and ‘Young Master’ even felt familiar.

And amidst all that, Yuri.

He was thinking, ‘Is this how a servant feels, attending to a king closely?’

“Young Master Xinlu seemed a bit down today, did something happen? Is he unwell?”

“Hey. He went to the rehabilitation center today, so how could he be in a good mood? …Did they say anything about his progress there?”

“Can’t you tell the difference between a hospital and a rehabilitation center? He went to the hospital two weeks ago. Didn’t you hear they said there was no significant improvement but there was hope?”

Listening to the chirping voices of the young girls, Yuri let out a small laugh. No child recognized the laugh hidden behind his impassive face, and some even whispered, “Hey, Yuri-ajusshi looks angry because you’re too loud,” but Yuri looked at them fondly.

Most of these girls, not yet twenty, were children of servants who had been employed by the Ling family for a long time. It was simply adorable to see these children, who could barely breathe and kept their mouths shut like dead mice in the presence of the Ling adults, chattering away like this.

‘If my young first love had borne fruit, I might have a daughter their age…’ Such thoughts made him realize he was indeed getting old. After all, being past his mid-thirties, he couldn’t be called young anywhere. Not only his age, but the feeling of looking at these fresh young girls was somehow closer to how an old man would look at his granddaughters.

Perhaps because he was a foreigner, uncommon in this suburban area slightly removed from the city, at first they would only whisper, peeking at Yuri from a distance. But it had been quite some time since they started clinging to him and chattering whenever Yuri visited the main house. The fact that he was a foreigner who could communicate smoothly in Chinese was fascinating, and above all, the fact that he was a close attendant to the beautiful youngest young master, whom they could only admire from afar without daring to speak to, seemed to be attractive.

Even now, while Ling Xinlu was called by his father and playing the role of a good son, Yuri, strolling leisurely alone in the garden, was caught by them and listening to their chatter before he had walked ten steps.

Occasionally, a passing employee would scold the children, “You brats, why are you surrounding and bothering the adult, not letting him rest!” But then Yuri would wave his hand, defending them amidst their timidly closed mouths, saying it was fine. Then the children would immediately perk up and chirp again, “See! We didn’t do anything!”

‘Oh dear, that person is kind-hearted to put up with them,’ the employee would click their tongue and pass by, but in reality, Yuri didn’t dislike chattering with them—though it was unilaterally them doing the chattering. The chattering of the young girls was cute, and there were also many useful facts he could glean from their stories that couldn’t be ignored. Surprisingly, children sometimes knew more than adults.

“Speaking of which, the Junior Master’s uncle came earlier, and you know what? He shamelessly flattered Young Master Xinlu, saying he looked more handsome every time he saw him, didn’t he? And this is after he was whispering with the Madam about him being the son of a concubine.”

“He’s just jealous because his own son isn’t as good, that’s all. Ugh, I hate that whole family. I heard from Aunt Baek that the Master knows about the Junior Master’s uncle’s behavior too. He knows and just lets it happen.”

“Really? Well, when he kicked out the Second Master a few years ago, they say he even recited all the things he’d secretly done over a decade ago.”

“Yeah, so then Aunt Jong was so guilty she immediately…”

It was fine that children knew more than adults, but sometimes they couldn’t distinguish between what could and couldn’t be said in front of others, and to whom it could and couldn’t be said, which was truly awkward.

Yuri, thinking that there was nothing good for him to hear since he wasn’t there to gather information about the Ling family, subtly changed the subject.

“So, Young Master Ling Xinlu is playing Go with his father now, isn’t he? Who do you think will win?”

Then the children immediately followed the new topic.

“That’s hard to say. Until about two years ago, the Master usually had the upper hand, but for the past year or two, it’s been almost neck and neck.”

“But this year, Young Master Xinlu has won more, hasn’t he?” the girls chattered, their eyes immediately filled with admiration for the young master. To be able to stand proudly as an equal against the terrifying Master whom no one could defeat, even if only in a game of Go and not in reality, he was handsome, brave, kind, outstanding—truly a prince in his own right.

“Will there ever be another person like Young Master Xinlu? I pity whoever marries Young Master Xinlu later, no matter who she is.”

One girl, clasping her hands and sighing deeply, murmured with a hint of envy.

“I know. I wouldn’t even want to marry a perfect man.”

Amidst their cries of “Me too, me too,” Yuri remained silently.

Yuri also liked Ling Xinlu, and perhaps he liked him more seriously than these girls who awkwardly admired him. There were often times when his flaws didn’t even seem like flaws, so one could say he was a little bit infatuated.

But despite that, Yuri didn’t think Ling Xinlu was perfect and saw his flaws clearly. No, rather, he seemed like a person with more flaws than others. He was someone whose strengths and weaknesses both went to extremes.

Ling Xinlu wasn’t someone who desperately tried to thoroughly hide his flaws, and as Ling Xinlu himself said, people’s eyes aren’t knot-holes; when you’re close to someone, you naturally see both their strengths and weaknesses somewhat equally. Yet, these girls seemed to only see his strengths. ‘It’s scary how idealizing—in this case, almost idolizing—one person can be,’ he thought to himself.

As Yuri, who had occasionally interjected or agreed during their conversation, remained quietly silent, one child glanced at him, thinking something was amiss.

“Hey, Ajusshi, does Young Master have someone he’s secretly seeing?”

“Hmm?” Yuri just blinked. Then, at this new and exciting topic, they immediately brightened their eyes and clung to him.

“Most young ladies from decent families wouldn’t even compare.”

“Maybe that’s why he can’t tell the Master and Madam and meets them secretly. Honestly, is it even possible that such a wonderful Young Master is still single?”

“But why, a few months ago, when Young Master was having a hard time and didn’t even come out of his room, there was a rumor he’d been heartbroken. Maybe that’s why?”

‘Our poor Young Master,’ they said, making sad faces, as if a secret, poignant love story between a prince and a commoner girl was realistically unfolding in their minds.

“Huh? Yuri-ajusshi, what’s it like? What is it? You’re always with him, so you’d know, right?”

“I won’t tell anyone. We’ll keep it just between us, a secret, promise! Huh?”

Amidst them, rushing at him like hyenas discovering prey, Yuri looked up at the sky, troubled. He tried to live as honestly as possible, but Yuri was also capable of calmly lying if the situation absolutely required it. And he had no intention of spilling everything to them.

But the reason he was momentarily speechless was because Yuri himself couldn’t decide which answer was correct between ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

“He does, doesn’t he? You can’t answer, so he really does!”

“Really? Aww—, what kind of person is it?”

With half-sobs and half-anticipation, they huddled closer, pressing in. Just ten more centimeters, and Yuri would be buried in a human pile. At that moment.

“Why are you so curious?”

A voice dropped from behind him.

The chirping voices, like a flock of sparrows, instantly ceased. Even Yuri, who had committed no sin, imperceptibly flinched. Through the gaps between them, as they cautiously retreated from Yuri, Ling Xinlu appeared, smiling sweetly with twinkling eyes. He had been standing there, not even a few steps away, for who knew how long, and now approached with slow, pleasant steps.

“Aww, you were playing like this while I was away. Did you hear many interesting stories? I bet you heard a lot, didn’t you?”

“Things that the elders would be severely punished for if they heard,” Ling Xinlu added, not even looking at the girls, as if they weren’t there. But he must have known their expressions, as they flinched and exchanged glances.

“Is it true that Mr. Ling Xinlu has a red mole slightly above his tailbone?”

Yuri, amidst them, blinked for a moment, then calmly asked. At that, the girls who had clearly been talking about such things earlier—and had even whispered that ‘our young master also has a pretty bottom,’ making one doubt if they were truly naive children—let out a shriek and began to flee in a hurry. They must have been afraid Yuri would talk about his bottom too.

Ling Xinlu paused his steps and looked displeased at the fleeing girls, but seemed to have no intention of pursuing it further. He calmly approached and sat down next to Yuri. The way he narrowed his eyes, basking in the warm sunlight pouring onto the wooden floor, was like a content cat.

“How was Go?”

“I lost. By half a point.”

Ling Xinlu replied without much regret, his eyes curving into a smile.

“I have to let him win once in a while. The old man probably doesn’t have many good things happening these days. …But.”

His glance at Yuri held a subtle smile.

“Why are you being so cryptic and not answering? I’m sure by the end of today, the rumor that I have a secret lover will have spread throughout the whole house.”

Yuri quietly looked at Ling Xinlu for a moment. Meeting that steady gaze, Ling Xinlu gradually lost his smile, looking flustered. Only after Yuri quietly turned his head away as if nothing had happened, did Ling Xinlu open his eyes wider, blinking, and say, “Wait a minute.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? You almost made me suspect I had a lover I didn’t even know about.”

To Ling Xinlu, who spoke with a surprised, hollow laugh, Yuri ambiguously replied, “Is that so?” This time, Ling Xinlu indeed lost his smile and said again, “No, wait a minute.”

“Your answer is really lukewarm… Why is that? Did you hear something, perhaps? Like someone is trying to set me up for a blind date?”

Ling Xinlu wouldn’t bat an eye even if a hundred blind dates were presented to him, but he still overtly showed his displeasure.

It seemed that blind date proposals had indeed been coming his way occasionally these days. This was due to the highly credible rumor that Ling Xinlu had been so heartbroken a few months ago that he hadn’t even come out of his room for a long time.

However, after Ling Xinlu finally flared up recently, shouting, “I’m sick and tired of dating and having lovers for a while,” such proposals had sharply decreased.

Yuri shook his head, trying to vaguely gloss over it, but Ling Xinlu’s gaze, staring intently at him and scrutinizing every nuance of his expression, was sharp. Knowing how quick-witted this man was, and since it wasn’t a story that needed to be hidden, and Yuri himself was a bit curious, he slowly began to speak.