Winter Hearts

Heavenly Bodies

N's eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he saw Hongbin sauntering up the avenue with Siana and her friend close behind.

It took him a moment to realise that although Hongbin was looking serious, he was in fact preoccupied with his self-recording and seemed unburdened by Siana's presence.

N wondered what could have happened so fortuitously that Hongbin's bumping into Siana had turned out to be for the better.

He looked over at Siana, who was arm in arm with her friend, a beautiful girl with curly hair that tumbled about her shoulders. Although Siana hadn't noticed that N and his camera unit were standing in the middle of Syntagma Square in front of the Guards, her friend was scanning them with curious, speculative eyes, until they finally settled on him.

He bowed his head from across the way, acknowledging her stare. She looked at him directly, making him feel like she was searching for some kind of confirmation of what she was trying to guess about them all.

He could see that there was a question in her eyes, and that maybe she wanted to know if Siana was amongst friends or foes. The girl looked ready to fight for Siana, stand up for her. Oh yes, he liked her immediately.

He made a beeline for them, leaving behind his camera director and keeping eye contact with the girl who never broke her stare. As he approached, she let a glimmer of a smile touch her lips as she watched him inquisitively. He smiled back.

"N!" Siana gasped as she noticed him. He turned his attention to her, holding out his arms.

"Siana-ssi!" They hugged, and Siana brought her friend up close to introduce them.

"This is Min. Minjani. She's a very good friend. This is N. N, we bumped into Hongbin! What a coincidence that was!" Siana was chirpy and cheerful, her eyes warm. N knew she would be wondering where Leo was, but she didn't ask.

"Minjani. My name is Hakyeon. You can call me Hakyeon or N," he said graciously, shaking her hand.

"You can call me Min," she said, her expression curious.

"Siana-ssi, the others are watching the new guards approaching from the side street. They are filming, so you may have to wait a little before Leo will be free. Perhaps it would be best for us all to sit apart so that we do not distract them."

Siana smiled and nodded, turning immediately on her heel to walk back the way they came, heading towards Hongbin who was near some outdoor seating at a cafe along the street. As she walked fast, N and Min followed behind at a distance. They slowed to a stop as they realised that Hongbin was not going to sit but was continuing his recording.

"Don't you need to be in the shoot as well?" Min asked.

"I was separate, feeding pigeons and therefore providing the comedy relief for the shoot," N said. He could tell Min had questions, her piercing gaze revealed all. Being someone who knew how to handle direct questions, he sensed she recognised he was such a person, as she was the same. He simply waited for her to ask.

"N, you look like someone who knows what is going on," she began.

"So do you, Min," he said politely.

"Well then, perhaps we could get straight to the point. I have three questions I would very much like to ask and I would appreciate it if you could give me some answers."

"Please go ahead," N said.

"Why is my good friend Siana acting like she has a guilty secret? Why is your friend Leo acting like he is ashamed of being with her? And why Leo and not Hongbin?"