Chapter 24

Bold: The characters are speaking in English.

Secrets?

There were secrets hidden everywhere but it would be up to me whether I could find them or not.

What was this hottie talking about?

That said, this didn’t mean I was going to switch roles and become detective Phachara Kindaichi, tasked with rummaging through bookshelves and turning over carpets in hopes of finding hidden secrets. After imprinting his words into my mind–and completely forgetting them moments later–I turned my attention back toward journeying into the magical land of books that was this library. Letting loose, I became enamoured in a timeworn war strategy book bound in cow leather from the 18th century, an ancient medical book, and even a Russian bible published in the year 1822, as well as a cla.s.sic history book about photography, I felt exhilaration every time I flipped open the covers to look (only at the photos) and fantasized various things about who it was that collected all these books. The hottie’s ancestors were most likely a group of exceptionally well-educated people because the books which filled these shelves to the brim were in Latin, French, Italian, Russian, and by majority German. It made me suspect whether these people had bought out an entire national library somewhere or what?

Suddenly, my eyes tripped on a stack of plastic containers sitting to one corner of the room, along with a black tarp that seemed to be intentionally hiding it from view. What could it be…? I placed back an animal dissection manual published in 1879 and quickly climbed down the ladder which I had used to navigate the bookshelves, heading straight towards the pile of black objects with curiosity.

Would this be considered as rummaging through other people’s personal belongings? It can't be, also, didn't that hottie already give his permission? I lifted up the black tarp with a loud swoosh. Underneath were eight twenty-litre plastic containers stacked on top of each other. On the lid of the top container was a message written in German (I presumed so from the umlauts), to which of course I couldn’t read. Turning it left and right… hm, how do you open this?

“Petchhhhhhhhh… where are youuuuu?”

The long drawn-out voice belonging to Jessica pierced my ear drums from a mile away. Jessica entered into the room with a delighted child-like smile. “Petch, come look what I found.”

“You found… um… giraffe eggs?” Uh, I wasn’t intentionally trying to be cheeky but the words had already escaped from my mouth.

Jessica beckoned with a finger.

“Do you remember Mr. Yeti?”

Ye-ti? As in Eisbär? Of course I remember! I wanted to meet him so badly!

“Your Mr. Yeti sent me a photo alb.u.m of my wedding, it may be a little late now but… oh Petch, the photos are gorgeous, I almost mistook myself for Miss Universe."

“Wait… he's here?” My heart was pounding… I missed that kind caring person so much. “Where is he? Is he here? Or is he in Astana?”

Jessica shook her head slightly. “I don’t know, Viktar didn’t say. He just said it was entrusted to him.”

My previously pounding heart wilted instantly. “What do you mean? Viktar won’t tell you? I’ll go ask him myself.”

Without realization, I had already run over to stand panting out of breath in front of Viktar. The man had the usual look of indifference on his face, explaining that it had been delivered by post and to whatever the case, just look at the photos.

To which I believed him, G.o.d dammit!

I carefully flipped through the alb.u.m of Jessica’s wedding, studying each photo at a snail’s pace. Images from three years ago on Jessica and Baum’s wedding day gradually surfaced in my hazy memory… I could recall the fragrant smell of the old-rose colored flowers decorating the ceremony… recall the light delicate feel of the pure white wedding gown on my dearest friend… and recall Jessica’s smile on the day she had felt the happiest in her entire life…

A person entered the bride’s dressing room, his figure large and weighing somewhere similar to a boxer from the super heavyweight division (over a hundred kilograms). He had a thick dense bushy beard–as if it had never been shaved before in it’s life–and a travel suitcase perfect for three days. The large figure wearing a clean pressed white suit squeezed past me, leaving behind a faint smell of cigarettes. He went in to give Jessica a hug with his chubby pair of hands and a genuine smile.

‘You look truly beautiful, Jessica…”

Who was he…? I merely stood there confused.

However, the newly-arrived person turned to give me a smile as well and wrapped his arms tight around me like we were instead close friends for many decades.

What color were the eyes beneath those sungla.s.ses…? Blue…? Or… Green…? Nevertheless, his smile was what was etched into my memory…

‘What’s your name…?’

‘Petch…’

‘Petch… Petch…’ He recited my name several times as if attempting to memorize it.

For someone terribly afraid of foreigners like me… it wasn't like I could raise my voice and ask for his name. So in my heart, I called him Mr. Yeti instead–due to the size of his body which was thick all around, his dense beard, and his white suit…

Ah… who did Mr. Yeti come together with…? A blond-haired man with clear blue eyes like marbles and a warm tender smile resembling a gentle morning’s sun.

I flinched abruptly, flipping the photo alb.u.m back over again… before nearly using the sole of my feet to slap my own forehead. For G.o.d’s sake Petch!!! Are your eyes defective? This guy was no stranger, rather he was a friend of the dashing looking groom. This guy who flaunted his charm 360 degrees and nearly caused all the female waiters to melt into a puddle was none other than the golden retriever, P’Pun’s beloved darling!

“You just remembered Sasha didn’t you, Petch? Confess it.”

I laughed abashedly at my own forgetfulness. I happened to be acquainted with Sasha for so many years but didn’t remember his face at all. Circ.u.mventing my embarra.s.sment, I made a poor excuse about working with tons of good-looking people on a daily basis and that Sasha was just one of the many handsome people stored in my memory catalogs. Hearing this, Jessica made a dissatisfied ‘tch’.

“Well do you remember this person?”

On the following page… was a gorgeous photo of someone's side profile, it looked beautiful, almost dream-like even. The thin smile resting upon that face resembled that of an angel’s. Subconsciously, I used a finger to outline the left-half of the face.

It felt like a fleeting moment…

“This photo, it was taken by Mr. Yeti right?”

“Yeah… really beautiful isn’t it…?”

The giant man who was far too big for the size of the room had difficulty talking to me, for no matter what language he spoke, I couldn’t comprehend any of it. Eventually, we settled on communicating to each other through hand gestures and smiles instead.

Despite my terrible English, which still hasn't improved to this day… Mr. Yeti earnestly tried his best to  offer me advice on taking photographs all throughout those three days…

His photos were a hundred times more beautiful than what I could take…

Filled with a thousand times more happiness…

In truth, his photos… made mine look minuscule and insignificant like a dog flea…

Yet it was his smile… which made me feel proud at this dog flea skill of mine.

Turning to the final page of the alb.u.m, it was a group photo of everyone who attended the wedding. I studied every face carefully, Baum and Jessica the groom and bride, Pa, Ma, Jessica’s parents, me… followed by Sasha… Viktar (hah?)… and…!!!

“What is this person’s name?”

His eyes were a gorgeous deep blue like the ocean… upon that clean white face, freckles danced across his slender nose… as a pair of lips smirked amicably…

“That's Ethan, he’s a friend of Baum and came along with Eisbär and Sasha.”

“And…?”

“Your hottie didn’t attend the wedding.”

From the instant I heard this, I breathed a sigh of relief that at least my memory wasn’t so horrible as to forget about someone like that hottie. Eh…? Or was I relieved at the fact that Ethan and Alexey didn't come to the wedding together?

“Do you remember? Mr. Yeti was the person who separated you when you had that fight with the waiter.”

Of course I remembered… he lifted my body up off the ground and slung me over one shoulder just before I could rip apart that waiter into pieces.

“He took such a pummelling from you that it left his body black and blue all over, weren't you embarra.s.sed?”

Ugh… of course I was embarra.s.sed. Although I may be thick-skinned and Thai, I still felt shy in front of foreigners.

“Sasha nearly gathered you onto his lap when I was tending to your wounds, it's a good thing that Baum was there to stop him first.”

Thank the G.o.ds almighty, thank you that I didn’t lose my virginity right then and there.

“Mr. Yeti… where is he right now? Ever since your wedding I haven’t met him even once, does he not like visiting Thailand?”

“He’s hard to track down, don’t bother wasting your time, seeing his face once within a span of ten years is already considered unbelievable luck.”

I laughed brightly alongside Jessica… in spite of the unsettling feeling deep down inside my heart.

I wanted to see my Mr. Yeti, or whom people referred to as Eisbär, once more…

Just to show him that my dog flea-like photographs had grown to become a teenager flea now.

Just to see Eisbär’s smile once more.

Sorry Alexey… hope you don't mind that I’m being a bit unfaithful.

…

Bangkok, Thailand.

Hua!

Smack!

Thwack!

K.O.! You Lose!!!

Ahhhhhk! He losttttttttt! He got knocked out thrice in Tekken, how ridiculous!

“P’Pun, the food’s ready.”

The j.a.panese kitty wearing a grey tartan-pattern ap.r.o.n poked his head out from behind the beverage bar stocked full with cans of beer. “P’Pun the kare-raisu is ready now.”

Pun frowned… he lost. Hmph! Fine, he'd best eat before the food turned cold anyhow.

The person who had carefully plated the kare-raisu and garnished it with pickled vegetables met his eyes and smiled. “Did you have fun?”

“That game is cheating!” Pun's answer sounded self-centered like an elementary school kid as he sat down in front of the mouthwatering plate of j.a.panese curry rice.

Haru simply smiled, not knowing what he himself was thinking, inviting the depressed P’Pun back to his luxurious condo in Asok along with the excuse that… he had just bought the newly released Tekken game and was finding someone to play it with.

P’Pun’s ears twitched, the handsome fair face which seemed dispirited a moment ago brightened at the prospect of Tekken. “Then.. I’ll drive you back to your condo tonight, okay Haru?”

P’Chid stared at the two of them with green eyes of disapproval. Naturally… the broken-hearted (?) man immediately recovered and began to work diligently, as a result of wanting to play the new Tekken! Haru couldn't tell whether it was P’Pun’s heart or body that was actually sick, however, right as the car reached the underground parking lot of the condo, P’Pun appeared to have tossed away any sign of having a cold, not to mention flinging himself into Haru’s apartment with a surprisingly cheerful mood. Was this the true powers of the Tekken fist revealed?

“I was beginning to feel hungry too.”

Seeing the return of P’Pun's cheerful self, Haru’s worries were also lifted from his perspective as this man’s underling (?). Surely, work would proceed without a hitch now; so long as P'Pun didn't get bored of the game.

P’Pun was so cheerful that he asked for seconds despite still having mouthfuls of food in both cheeks, making Haru–the person who had cooked the meal–very pleased at himself. In a way, this scenario felt like a newlywed couple whose husband would hurry home to eat his wife’s cooking.

“Delicious… oishi ne?”

That said… P’Pun was actually pretty handsome… he was right between good looking and very good looking in fact, especially when he smiled and showed off the dimples on either side of his cheeks. How fascinating and cute…

…Haru was beginning to understand Sasha a little now.

“Haru… did you take all these photos by yourself?”

Haru turned to towards the photos adorning the walls. “P’Pun you’re very forgetful, I just explained to you the other day that they were bought from an auction in Germany and shipped back to Thailand.”

“Oh, I forgot, sorry for repeating the question again.”

P’Pun admired the photos hung on display, walking around and around the room in circles, as if entranced. He didn’t even realize when Haru approached him.

“Your reaction is the same as Haru's when Haru saw his photos for the first time.”

The person beside him nodded slowly. “He's really gifted.”

“Say that to his face and he'll get really angry.”

“Oh really?”

“When Haru broke into his house and said ‘I admire you very much… you're really gifted’, Haru was nearly thrown out mid-sentence.” The boy recounted, chuckling. “Gosh, but Haru admired him a lotttttt…”

“Sounds like a difficult person to handle.”

“Something like that. He's as fierce as a grizzly bear, you know?” For those who don’t know what this cute animal is, it’s recommended that you turn on the Discovery Channel and find out for yourself.

“His body is huge like a bear, not to mention the thick unruly beard which makes him look like he had just come out of a forest. Haru really has no idea how he went to take photos in the middle of the Serbia battlefield without getting mistaken for a bear.” Haru laughed once more. He felt inexplicably at ease when near the cheerful P'Pun. “Other than his appearance that’s similar to a bear, his personality is somewhat similar too. If it’s towards someone he loves, he will cherish and protect them like an egg. However, if it’s someone else… don’t dream of getting closer than twenty meters near him, he’s prepared to throw anyone into the middle of a road and has done it before too.”

“Have you been thrown into the middle of a road yet?”

Haru shook his head, smiling with squinted eyes. “Haru came close, he’s very cruel. One time when he was holding the opening ceremony for a photo gallery in Bern, Haru chased his car all over the city just so he could have a look at Haru’s photographs.”

P'Pun was amazed. “And… what next?”

“It turns out… the person driving the car… was his personal model. As for the man in question… he was sat watching a ballet performance on the other side of the city instead, isn't that infuriating!? To add, what's more infuriating was that… that model, Ethan, told me to… go home, with photos like these, they wouldn’t even be able to catch the corner of that man's eyes–in the end causing Haru to eat food seasoned with tears for many weeks to follow…”

P’Pun smiled slightly… then burst into a fit of tearful laughter to the point where Haru had to rectify that in the end, he managed to meet his grizzly bear in the flesh.

“Although we got to talk and Haru was allowed to tag along to a few locations, he still refused to teach and offer Haru even a single piece of advice, what a total meanie.”

“Hua… photography isn’t something you can teach.” P’Pun stopped laughing and sat down, heaving desperately for air. “But your photos aren’t bad, not just ‘not bad’, you could even show them off without embarra.s.sment.”

Haru smiled with pride… his tiny fangs poking out a little.

RRR…RRR

Half past three in the morning, Haru drowsily woke to the sound of an unfamiliar phone ringing. He initially thought he was dreaming but the noise showed no sign of stopping, eventually forcing him to get up and wander around the entire condo until discovering that the sound of the ringing phone was coming from the refrigerator…

How did P’Pun’s white BlackBerry end up in this cold place? It seemed the man had accidentally left it here when he was taking some of the beer back home with him. Oh P’Pun!

“Moshi mosh…” Whose number was this? It was displayed as an unknown number as well.

“I never knew you could speak j.a.panese too. Pun… it’s me, Sasha…”

!!!… This was his inner reaction but his mouth simply said: “Un…“

“Sorry for not contacting you back…”

“Un…“

“Were you sleeping…? It’s almost four in Thailand isn’t it? Nevermind, I’ll call you again later.”

“…And, where are you now?” Haru had to confess, he honestly had no intention of poking his nose into other people's business, but uh, his mouth was a step quicker than his brain.

“I’ve arrived at Vienna now… the current situation demands that I attend an opera, it’s Vivian’s Nazarbayev’s concert.”

Yes, there was no mistake.

But to refer to your own wife by her full name, isn’t that a bit too distant Sasha Gilliseva?

“Are Vivian and the kids well?”

“Ah…!” The man on the other end of the call was startled, going silent for a full minute. “What do you mean, Pun?”

Hey… this is bad, what did you say out loud Haru! Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off, where’s the disconnect b.u.t.ton?

…Beep, beep, beep.

He wanted to slap his own mouth about three hundred times, why did he ask that question!?

…

Isakov observed the pale chubby bodies of the two twins, Kiril and Nikolai, sleeping soundly in their children’s bedroom. Nikolai’s small hand gripped his index finger tight to prevent him from going anywhere. As for Kiril, the boy was snoring softly from exhaustion after running and playing for the entire day. He rested the Russian fairytale book face down and slid his hand out of its restraint so very carefully as to not wake up Nikolai.

Everything in Vienna was proceeding well. Vivian's plan to make her big comeback into the cla.s.sical music industry laid un.o.bstructed. Isakov wanted to be person 'there'. The person who would walk hand-in-hand with her down from the performance stage amidst the long resounding sound of applause. But 'there' was not his place… Although he despised the man currently holding her hand out of necessity to maintain social status…. he also didn’t want her to stand all alone.

Rather, it was 'here'… that he was meant to be, behind the scenes… as someone who would never cause her any concern.

Moonlight from outside the room cascaded gently through the thin curtains… a large man with a menacing scar… sat watching over two small bodies as they slept soundly on their beds, his eyes filled to the brim with overflowing love.

…

Fifteen minutes later… Haru eyes faltered, on the verge of falling asleep once more.

RRR…RRR

Haru flinched, nearly dropping the white BlackBerry in his hand onto his feet. Sensing an unusually bad premonition, he darted to the iPhone which was resting next to his bed, however, it didn’t seem to be the device ringing.

RRR…RRR

The caller didn’t seem to be faltering in their efforts either. Just then, the j.a.panese boy suddenly remembered that he had another phone, one which he had registered during his time in Germany, therefore quickly extracting it from a drawer. His metallic blue BlackBerry Curve was crying feebly… Naturally, since arriving in Thailand, he hadn’t charged its battery at all. Whose number was this…? +43…

“Haru am Apparat. Guten Morgan.” Good (early) morning. They were calling from a German phone, so he might as well speak German back.

“Kitty, do you remember me?”

The caller called him Kitty!!! Who was this person calling from +43? Not to mention speaking English too. Importantly, what language was he supposed to reply in? Thai, German, Dutch, or… Tagalog?

“I don’t think so…”

This was only audio communication, how was he supposed to figure out who the caller was, the number wasn’t familiar either.

“I’m certain you know me very well. Actually, I vaguely remember seeing you at the airport a few days ago… the flight from Osaka.”

Hey! Who was this man? He even knew Haru had flown from Osaka, was this guy a stalker? Somebody send help, quick!

“I thought I was seeing things… and I’m very curious as to why… you're in a place you shouldn't be…”

Hua, why shouldn’t he be here? There were more than a hundred thousand j.a.panese people living and working in Thailand, what's wrong with adding Haru into the mix?

“…And I’m very surprised… that you were the one to pick up Pun’s phone… not to mention asking a question that shouldn’t be asked.”

Bullseye! He was correct! But wasn’t this man unable to differentiate between Haru and P’Pun’s voice earlier?

“…Where is Pun, tell him to pick up his phone right now!”

“What Pun? Who? I don’t know a person with that name. Who exactly is speaking?”

Better to act clueless for now, otherwise this guy might murder him… these Russians were absolutely merciless, especially the members of this family.

“It’s Sasha Gilliseva speaking, don’t act like you don’t know. Where is Pun?”

“You don't need to act so stern, jeez. Then again, Sasha, how did you know it was Haru?” Eventually, he agreed to confess in a weary voice that P’Pun had come to play games at his apartment. The careless man had hauled some beer back with him and accidentally left his BlackBerry in the refrigerator; as unbelievable as that sounded.

The person at the end of the call was slightly stunned, probably thinking to himself: Pun forgot his phone just because of some beer, really?

“Coincidentally, in this world there happens to be a man named Mark Zuckerberg who founded Facebook little Kitty.” The tone in the other’s voice was clearly more relaxed now. “Someone tagged a photo of Pun at a party the other day, so I noticed a certain feline face like yours wandering around in my life yet again!”

“I’m not here to mess with you.” Haru retorted back loudly. “Haru followed father here for work, it has nothing to do with you.”

“Don’t you dare let me find you near Pun ever again.”

“Haru’s father is the boss of P'Pun's boss, and more importantly, you're the one who should be taking better care of P’Pun, explain to him too why you’ve been gone for several days, it’s not like I want to get caught in between you lovers.”

“Whether we’re lovers or not isn’t something an amateur detective like you has any right poking your nose into. With that said, from your tone it sounds like you hate me quite a lot, do you have a problem with me, Kitty?”

Kitty! What kind of person was so ill-mannered? Though admittedly, these men rarely called him by his name. ‘The pestering kitty’ became his real name, while ‘Haru’ became a name that no one remembered.

He hated Sasha…? No, he didn’t have an issue with Sasha, however… um… Haru thought he himself was acting strange as well. Despite usually a very polite person, he had raised his voice at the other party.

“You know it…”

“Are you still looking?” The voice shifted, sounding almost irritated.

“Tell me… in exchange for me not revealing your secret to P’Pun.”

“You think to intimidate me? Ooh, I’m very scared.” Sasha made a ridiculing voice. “Are you resentful? That I sent you to look for him on the Silk Road?”

These words snapped Haru’s patience in twain as the boy roared deafeningly: “Of course! I should hate you. There’s no way Eisbär would go there. He told me that after coming back from Serbia, he would take me along to a.s.sist Ethan’s modelling job in Budapest, he promised me, and I’ve always been waiting for him…” It wasn’t because of the shouting which caused his throat to constrict, but rather the feeling of disappointment which welled up from deep inside. This was not the first time that Haru had let himself be overcome with such feelings. “I've been following him for a long time, and I know Eisbär well enough to know that he’s not someone to break promises… Someone like him doesn’t abandon things so easily and abruptly decide to go to the Silk Road! You knew where he went but kept it from me. You observed and laughed as I ran around like an insane person, all of you, Baum, Ethan… everyone!”

“You’re overthinking things, I had no idea where he disappeared to. That day Ethan was shocked. All of us were shocked. I'm the one who was very busy trying to clear Ethan’s work schedule."

“How about Isakov?” Haru asked sternly. “And Viktar? And Leof? They all vanished alongside him, you knew where he went!” He wanted to cry at his fruitless efforts…

“The situation’s changed, Haru.” Sasha sighed. “For G.o.d’s sake, I don’t want to talk about this matter but know this… He-Is-Dead …Listen well Kitty, He-Is-Dead. You can ask anyone you want, Isakov, Viktar, Leof, Baum, even Vivian, they were all there to witness the event…”

“…And… where is Ethan? Is Ethan with him?” His heart trembled… feeling light-headed…

“It was Ethan who killed Eisbär. And know this too, that man will never come back again.”

He was so shocked he couldn’t think straight. Haru sat on the side of the bed, eyes wide… staring up at the sky until morning dawned.