SALOME Ch 23

Thanks to his eyes being kept shut from fatigue, the sound dug even deeper around his ears, note by note. He had thought it was quite nice back then too, but listening to it again, it was still nice. No, it was great. Even to Yuri, who was completely ignorant about music, it was a good piece.

And the more he listened, the more it felt as though it was warmly heating his ears and the area around his chest.

To a temperature of warmth that was a bit too much for him to bear.

∞ ∞ ∞

December 31, 5:00 PM, Berlin Philharmonic Hall at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin

Although it was still early to be called evening, the pointed roof of the Berlin Philharmonic Hall was glowing golden in the fading twilight. And what made that golden light shine even brighter was the continuous procession of arriving people.

“Oh my, you’ve made it. It’s been so long.”

“Your beauty hasn’t faded one bit today either.”

“Thank you for saying so. The salon members are gathered over there…”

As they stepped out of cars driven by chauffeurs, whenever they ran into people belonging to the same faction, they greeted each other with bright smiles, quickly letting conversation bloom as they walked into the lobby. On the other hand, people from opposing factions quietly entered the lobby with expressionless faces, showing their invitations to the guards standing at the entrance.

Even so, every single one of them shared something in common. As if conscious of the “New Year’s Eve” title, the attire of those who arrived was quite extravagant. Reflecting the cold season, the women wore fine-grained brown furs over primary-colored, off-the-shoulder dresses, while the men, unlike their usual suits, wore white silk vests and white bow ties under black jackets that tailed behind. Or, if they belonged to the military, they came wearing uniforms adorned with medals.

Unlike Yuri himself.

Perhaps it was only natural. Leaning his body against a tree in the front courtyard of the art museum across from the Philharmonic Hall, Yuri pulled at a button on his useless navy duffle coat with his delicate fingers. For someone like him, who was publicly a student, there was no way he could afford clothing tailored at a high-end dress shop.

Even so, wearing the uniform of the Russian Embassy’s affiliated school was a bit… reluctant. Normally he wouldn’t have cared, but the person Cedric knew was entirely different. To Cedric, he was Daniela. A woman of Polish origin who made a living doing odd jobs.

“What a pain…”

I got dragged into this. Yuri let out a quiet sigh. For now, since he didn’t have to attend school, he could keep up this lie by not showing his school uniform, but it was bound to be exposed someday. When he received the invitation last time, he had foolishly accepted it without much thought, but when he looked at the invitation this morning before getting dressed, there was, as expected, a dress code. There was no way a male like him would have an off-the-shoulder dress lying around. It wasn’t as if he were a pervert. So he simply stared at the ticket, which had become a useless burden, and lay back down on his bed.

Figures.

Something he had never even imagined seeing in his entire life wasn’t going to come true that easily. Yuri turned his head on the pillow. The pillow was plush and warm, heated by his body temperature.

Well, it’s not like there aren’t tons of things like this in the world besides this.

Since his was a life where he had never truly owned anything fully, giving up and resigning himself to things were familiar to Yuri. If there was anything a bit different from usual, it was just that he felt a slight sense of regret.

Though he didn’t know exactly what he was regretting.

A corner of his heart felt a bit uneasy. Looking for the source of this lingering discomfort, he got up to take a walk. Are there a lot of people at the Philharmonic? Who showed up? He was also slightly curious.

Yuri barely pulled his body up from where it had been buried in the bed, only to end up right in front of the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. Upon arriving, a thought suddenly crossed his mind:

Did Cedric… come?

That was why Yuri was secretly watching the entrance across the street, hiding under a fir tree in the art museum’s front courtyard.

“Hmm.”

He took a deep breath, and his breath—at a different temperature—warmed the space in front of his face in white puffs. Is there really a need to hide, though? he thought. He had just wanted to see Cedric’s face, return the ticket, and tell him to give it to someone else.

“I just didn’t expect it to be so extravagantly crowded…”

Just in case, since he was going to meet someone after all, he had dressed in the cleanest and best shirt and sweater he owned among his belongings, but his attire was worse than even the guard keeping watch at the entrance, let alone those bustling through the door. So after coming near the entrance, he ended up standing with the large fir tree in the art museum’s courtyard as his friend—a tree no one paid attention to, which concealed his body generously.

I shouldn’t have come.

I should have just stayed home. They say leaving home is a hardship, and that’s spot on. Grumbling inwardly, Yuri kept searching with his eyes for Cedric, who was nowhere to be seen. Cedric wasn’t visible yet. Well, there’s probably about thirty minutes left. He had heard the church bells ringing nearby earlier. Roughly estimating the time, Yuri touched his numb nose tip with his leather-gloved hand.

Should I go home right now?

Just as he was debating, thinking that standing here merely watching the people going inside made him look ridiculous, the tightly shut door opened and a young man in a tuxedo stepped out.

“Oh…”

It’s him. Having already gone inside the lobby beforehand, Cedric—his hair neatly slicked back—checked his wristwatch and stood against the wall beside the round window next to the entrance. Perhaps because he was a Brit, the black-and-white suit combination suited his frame quite well. Yuri chuckled softly at the sight that was reminiscent of James Bond. Even in Yuri’s eyes, the guy crossing his arms looked quite handsome. And a small sense of envy crept in as well. It was because the relaxed demeanor unique to those who have everything stood out so clearly.

So very different from himself.

He must have seen only good things and learned only good things. Biting back his bitter feelings for a moment, Yuri quietly examined Cedric’s appearance in detail. When the entrance guard spoke to him as he stood leaning against the wall, Cedric smiled slightly and engaged in a brief conversation. That unreserved, easygoing appearance was somehow free.

He thought that different appearance might be the very reason Yuri himself had come here.

Because he was always drawn to things that were the exact opposite.

A deep shadow from the building fell over the spot where Yuri was standing.

∞ ∞ ∞

The internal lobby of the Berlin Philharmonic had its walls and floor decorated with colorful glass and tiles, giving a lively rhythm to the uneven plaster walls. Furthermore, the pentagonal light fixtures connected face-to-face in a rounded formation created a warm atmosphere that was neither overly dazzling nor dark.

Following that flow, people in the lobby were checking their coats on one side, while those whose hands and shoulders were already free from heavy loads were sharing light drinks and enjoying lively conversations with members of their respective circles. Jean was no different. Dragged here under his parents’ pressure, the moment he happened to lock eyes with Cedric, he hopped right over and began chatting away.

“Oh, you came too! I knew it! Hey, mate, when I invited you last time, why didn’t you come? You have no idea how much the girls complained…”

Unlike the person he had been looking for, Cedric’s eyes shifted slightly with disappointment as he met Jean. Oh boy.

“By the way, did you come with your family too?”

“Mm, no. Uh. My family came, but…”

Cedric gave a half-hearted answer, continuously glancing past Jean, who was standing right in front of him and blocking the view of the lobby entrance. Cedric had no room in his mind for anything other than Daniela. Jean raised an eyebrow at Cedric’s behavior and turned around to look. Hmm?

“What’s up, is there someone coming?”

“Mm… Yeah.”

Cedric briefly locked eyes with Jean again, but whenever the entrance door moved even a little, his eyes kept rolling to the side. Jean put on a look that said, Look at this guy.

“Aha, so… who is it? What country is she from? What faction is she with? Don’t tell me she’s French? No, if she were, I’d know…”

“Mm… I don’t know.”

Though he knew she was Polish, there was no need to tell Jean that. If he mentioned it, the rumor would spread beyond Berlin and reach all the way across the sea to London. At that, Jean’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was that exaggerated expression typical of the French.

“What kind of nonsense is that? You’re waiting for someone whose nationality you don’t even know? Do you even know her name?”