Winter Hearts

Ravi Miscued

It was after sunset. Ravi showered and dressed and went looking for Leo.

He could see that all of the members had watched the video on their chat group, but only Leo had failed to comment. The comments were basically verbal wolf-whistling, but they had kept it fairly tame, since everybody seemed to have put two and two together about Leo's interest in Siana.

He wanted to make sure that Leo wasn't taking it the wrong way, but he was fairly certain that even if Leo said he was fine about it, he would be saying so just to put him at ease.

Ken and Hyuk were draped over the sofas watching tv through half-closed eyes, whilst Hongbin was fiddling with coffee in the kitchen. He saw him lighting a gas burner, which he thought was odd. Wasn't there a stove?

Ravi knew N was still showering in Leo's bathroom, but Leo was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm going to the studio," he said to the boys, thinking Leo would be there.

He walked down the stairs, passing Siana's door. He could hear music playing inside, so he stopped, wanting to hear what song she was playing. He could hear it was a traditional song, probably in Greek. It was a lament, slow and sad - a strong female voice - and seemed to be a live recording of a concert. He was intrigued, both by the melody and by the fact that Siana was listening to such music.

He paused to listen, leaning his shoulder on the wall beside the door, a little smile on his face.

He had grown up hearing folk songs. And although he ended up loving different music, there was something about traditional folk music, even if he didn't recognise it as from his own culture, that moved him. Perhaps it was remembering comforting times as a child surrounded by family, or perhaps it was the beautiful themes of sadness, loneliness, love, regret. Folk and traditional songs always dealt with the sorrow and joy of being human. The effect on him was almost immediate, and he could feel himself getting emotional.

He sighed, standing back upright, only to find that Leo was standing on the stairs below, watching him with distrust in his eyes.

"Hyung," Ravi said with a start.

Leo looked at him dispassionately. Even though Ravi could see Leo's face held no expression, he felt waves of displeasure coming from him. Ravi felt flustered. It looked bad to be found hanging around Siana's door like this, and here he was trying to look for Leo to make sure he was okay about that video.

Not for the first time, Ravi cursed N's love for stirring things up.

"I was looking for you."

Leo took a step up and stopped.

"And you thought you would find me here?" He gestured to Siana's door. Ravi sensed a very strange tension in Leo. He seemed to be wound tight, like he would burst at the tiniest provocation.

"I was on the way to see if you were in the studio. But then I heard the music-" 

Leo began walking up the stairs, not waiting for Ravi to finish. On impulse, Ravi stepped in his way.

"Hyung, can we talk?" He put a gentle hand on Leo's arm. He could feel Leo was resistant and didn't want to hear what he had to say. 

Ravi felt that the moment would pass and he would lose his opportunity to settle this matter with Leo before their day trip in the morning. He didn't want to have the day marred by bad feelings, especially since Siana would be coming along. 

He also thought it would be a great opportunity for them to see Leo and Siana's interaction during a day of fun, without any pressure. Despite his misgivings about any one of them going into a relationship, Ravi was a closet romantic who liked the idea of a blossoming romance. And he certainly didn't want any misunderstandings to cloud the atmosphere, especially if he could clear the air himself.