Winter Hearts

The Edge

Leo knew he didn't have much time.

He presumed that since Siana had already talked to him about her unknown Peeping Tom, she could possibly talk to any of the others about it too, and his identity as Tom would be revealed. It would definitely be in his favour to be the one to do it first, than be found out. He presumed Hongbin had kept the knowledge to himself, but Leo hadn't asked him to, and he may feel free to divulge the information to any of the others, or even to Siana, if she asked him.

He felt uncomfortably nervous for some reason, like it was a confession that could change things between them. He knew he had to do it soon.

Today. Now.

Or else he would never find the right moment, and, as was his usual habit, he would procrastinate until he was forced to confront it, which until now, he had been fortunate enough to somehow avoid. People often forgot, or it was a situation where he could bravado his way through, or pretend ignorance.

But he couldn't do that for this situation.

Somehow he felt overly burdened by this tiny secret that he should have exposed immediately.

I was too busy being overcome, he thought, glancing down at Siana as they walked along the pier back to the car. They got in, and she drove along the other side of the U-shaped dock into small road that followed the shored further along the coast. The road was lined with pine trees that lead up a small hill which they rounded towards the west.

He felt like he had wasted time spending a week apart from her. They had very little time to have to themselves, since, once he was back into his usual schedules, their time together would become other people's time.

It was hard enough doing that with his own family, whom he realised were better off keeping their private lives separate from his public life. When they attended any of his shows, they couldn't arrive together, couldn't leave together. His time at work was everyone's time, and he couldn't adequately pay attention to his loved ones while he was expected to attend to the business of being an idol. So, when they came to support him and cheer him on, he couldn't stand greet them, or walk them out in public after each show.

Life had become a series of transfers between cars and venues, airport runway walks and interplay with fan reporters, and rehearsals. He had a great passion for singing, performing and creating music - and did enjoy the adulation in his own way. But now, going back to that seemed a rather dull prospect.

Here I am, imagining situations that haven't happened yet, that I have no real control over from this far ahead of their time, he thought, helplessly. He supposed he would never stop being like this, but realised he could stop those thoughts and focus on actually taking some action instead.

They passed by a tiny bay with a narrow strip of a pebbley beach, and eventually came to a small promontory of rock that had been paved with the dead end of the road. At the very end, a small white building stood right at the edge of the water. Siana parked and they got out. She lead him towards the building, which he realised was not a building at all, but rather a concrete framework that looked like a monument, or a piece of architectural art.

Against the deep sparkling green of the sea and the brilliant blue sky, the stark white concrete made a beautiful contrast. It seemed such an unusual thing to be perched on the edge of the waters like this, out of sight from the rest of the world.

"I don't really know what this is. It looks like an unfinished shed, doesn't it? I think it is an outdoor setup for the hospitality academy," Siana said, indicating the hill behind them. Leo turned to see there was a hostel-like building perched on the top of it.