Winter Hearts

Elastic Spirit

Ravi walked on ahead of the others, who were filing out of the restaurant slowly, content from their dinner and feeling mellow. However, he was buzzing from a new energy, something that had taken a hold of him after their little brainstorming game.

The afternoon had been one of revelations for him - but he was used to the feeling of being out of the loop and suddenly dropping back into the know. Having nothing much to do work-wise for the last few days except being herded around for the shoot, he felt he had become a little cotton-headed and unfocused. Hearing about all the goings-on that were happening to his brothers, and then witnessing some powerfully emotional moments around the table, had inspired him suddenly, and all that unfocused energy he felt he had been wasting in the last few days, seemed to channel in one direction and set his mind abuzz.

He brushed past Ken and Hyuk and skipped up to Hongbin, putting an arm around his shoulders and looking at him earnestly as he squeezed him. Hongbin raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"When we get back I wanna spend some time with you in the studio. How's your voice?" Ravi said.

"It lives. A bit cold and unstretched, but it's there," Hongbin said, amusedly. "What do you have in mind?"

"We're writing a song together. Get in good condition, we can record something when we get back."

Hongbin laughed, pleasantly surprised.

"Don't you want to work with Ken Hyung? Or N? Or Leo? They know how to work fast."

"They're sentimental. Besides, I don't want fast, I want you. Your story."

Ravi ignored the implications of what he said, ignored the question, the sudden trepidation in Hongbin's eyes, as he gestured excitedly, drawing pictures in the air with his hands, and seeing ideas before his eyes as he and Hongbin walked briskly along ahead of all the others.

"You need to help me set the tone. How far do we go? What do we say is the end point? The point of no return that would break the bonds of brotherhood?"

"Why me, Shikkie?" Hongbin asked, serious.

Ravi looked at him, and for a split second was tempted to answer straightforwardly, that Hongbin would probably bring a raw emotion to the work process that noone else could right now, but he decided against it immediately.

He took a deep breath, pausing as if he were thinking.

"You said it. The test of brotherhood. But not just that, all the things everyone else said. What Siana said. Fate. We've been together so many years now, through good and bad times, and it still feels as if we were all fated to come together. I mean, if you look back, we did a small-budget talent contest. We could have ended up with some other combo of members. But it's us. And we're all going through things that involve each other and knit us and bind us closer together all the time. It's not just a business for any of us, is it? Even the worst of it, it just brings us closer and closer together, don't you think?"

Hongbin was already nodding before Ravi had even finished. Ravi was pleased to see a spark of excitement light up in Hongbin's eyes as he listened. He could feel that familiar happiness he felt when he knew he would be working soon, spilling out his heart or mind's content into a song, and he could feel pictures and colours building in the back of his mind, waiting, just waiting to formulate ideas, manifest images, create sounds, just waiting as if with bated breath.

"Now I can't wait to get back to the studio!" Ravi said, clenching and unclenching his fists as they walked along.

"Do you have to wait to be in the studio? Leo Hyung uses an app on his phone-"