Jongwoon sat in the audience, bewitched by the man on stage. He was captivating. Jongwoon was simply mesmerized by the grace and agility of his hands. His long beautiful fingers was all he could see. Not the puppets, not the show, nothing but the man's agile fingers.

Jongwoon was brought out of his daze when he felt a light shake on his shoulder.
"Sir," He deep rich voice said, with barely audible playfulness, "sir, the show has ended an hour ago. Was it my show that put you in such state of boredom?"
Jongwoon looked up, wide eyed, and saw a young man, in his early twenties, with golden brown hair and slight eyeliner.
"W-w-w-what?" Jongwoon stuttered.
The smile on the man's face began resembling a smirk.
"Was my show so boring it put you asleep?"
"NO!" Jongwoon said a little too forcefully. "I mean...it was very good I was just lost in my own thoughts, I didn't realize the-"
"So you're saying my puppet show was so good it hypnotized you?"
Jongwoon's eyes widened and he blushed furiously.
"I hit the spot, didn't I? Well, good sir, I apologize for teasing you, perhaps I could make it up to you by offering you a cup of tea?"

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"I swear he does something to his hands. It's not normal to have such attractive hands..."
"Hmm? Are you bored or just daydreaming, Jongwoon ssi? Normally people don't go see the same puppet show in the same week. Or is it that you have other purposes in coming here?"
The petite man jumped a feet in the air.
"Y-y-you!" He managed to blurt out, before placing a hand over his racing heart. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"Yes." The man said with a serious voice, "killing loyal spectators will definitely help my business. You saw through me."
He smiled at the petite man. "What can I do to help you today? Another cup of coffee?"
The young man gestured Jongwoon to follow him backstage, behind the majestic, yet simple scene where the puppet master had been standing not an hour ago.
"Well Jongwoon ssi, it's the second show you come to, was the first time better than the second time?" The young man asked, handing his guest a cup of warm liquid.
"Both were amazing. I don't understand."
"What do you not understand?"
"Your hands."
The young man quirked an eyebrow, "and what is so mysterious about my hands? My hands are not the prima donna of the show, what makes them more attention worthy than my puppets?" He asked.
Jongwoon shrugged slightly.
"And here I thought you went to my show for the puppets. So you say it's my hands?"
"They're....mystifying. I don't know how to explain it. They're so graceful and agile, to me, they're the star of the show." Jongwoon explained sheepishly.
The young man let out a bark of laugher. "Heechul won't be happy with that. Well, thank you very much, although I'd prefer it if my puppets were the star of the show. They deserve recognition for their hard work."
"Who's Heechul?"
"A puppet. A beautiful one, that is. In a way, one could say it's Heechul that brought me fame, with the price of a horrible middle aged woman's temper to deal with." The puppet master said with a melancholic smile.
"What?" Jongwoon muttered.
"I like to believe each of my puppets have a personality of their own." The man said with a mysterious smile, before emptying his cup. "Don't you think so, Jongwoon ssi?"
Jongwoon was puzzled by the behavior of the puppet master and was desperately trying to understand the true meaning of his words. "You're the one who knows them best." He replied with a smile.
"Good answer, Jongwoon ssi."

•

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"I came to the conclusion you wanted to see me, Jongwoon ssi."
Jongwoon's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't realized the puppet master was standing beside him.
"What brings you here today Jongwoon ssi? My coffee supply is getting low, perhaps I could tempt you with a cup of tea or hot chocolate?"
The smaller man nodded. "Wait!" He said as the puppet master began walking down the rows of seats. The young man stopped but did not turn around.
"I don't know your name, and I highly doubt it is Master Kyu. What can I call you."
A sly smile appeared on the young man's face as he turned to face Jongwoon. "What is your real name, Jongwoon ssi. Lee? Cho? Choi? Shim? Kwon?"
"I'm Kim Jongwoon."
"Cho Kyuhyun."

The two men sat at the table with a cup of hot chocolate.
"How old are you?" Jongwoon asked. Kyuhyun looked about his age, yet acted sometimes really childishly.
"No, I'm not going to call you 'hyung', I never do to anyone. I'm 24, what about you, Jongwoon ssi?"
The small man let out a scoff. "You have no respect for your elders! I'm 28, you should call me 'hyung'. It would make me very happy."
The younger man smirked and shook his head. "I never did, and never will."
Jongwoon pouted childishly, which earned him a genuine smile from the puppet master.
"Jongwoon hyung is very cute." The latter muttered.

•

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"You must be extremely wealthy or stupid. My shows are not cheap, Jongwoon ssi."
Jongwoon looked up and smiled upon seeing his friend, or so he liked to believe.
"But it's worth it."
A smile appeared on the puppet master's face. "Why, thank you."
There was a short silence.
"You're not going to invite me for a cup of something?" Jongwoon asked boldly, which made the younger man chuckle.
"I never thought you would be the bold type. I saw you more shy and reserved. No, I am not going to, and there is a reason for that; first I only have soju left in the fridge, which I doubt you'd want; second, I was going to invite you to see my puppets."

Instead of going to the right down the dark hallway, he stopped at a black door and pulled out a key. After knocking twice, he unlocked the door and pushes it open. There were several large black cases, which Jongwoon guessed contained the puppets. After a closer observation, Jongwoon noticed each of the cases had a small card with names written in elegant cursive.
"So, who do you want to see first?" Kyuhyun asked.
"I don't have a preference."
The young man smiled and approached a box. He knocked, then very carefully opened the cover, revealing a beautiful puppet. He had blond hair cropped relatively short and adorned the most adorable pout. Jongwoon let out a small gasp.
"That's Lee Sungmin. My first love. Such a cute but deadly puppet. Sure he looks cute and all, but he's quite a deadly opponent. It's with him I started my puppet show. He didn't accept me at first, but now he's gone soft, that fool." The young man said with a dreamy smile. Jongwoon swore he saw the puppet smile back at Kyuhyun. The young man lovingly ran a hand on the side of the puppet, almost in daze.
"He's very beautiful, Kyuhyun ssi."
The latter's head snapped back at Jongwoon, pulled out of his haze. "He is indeed."
He smiled once more at the puppet and gently closed the case. He moved to the larger case beside it, repeating the same strange ritual of knocking before opening the case. This time it was a childish looking puppet, with chocolate brown hair and matching eyes. Beside it was another puppet with bleach blond hair and a rather neutral expression. The most exceptional detail was the joined hands of the puppets, to which Kyuhyun frowned.
"This is Donghae and Eunhyuk, also known as the Fish and Monkey. Donghae was one of the few puppets to accept me right away. Eunhyuk on the other hand wasn't as willing, but wanted to be with his Fish, so he had to deal with me. Those two cannot be apart, hence the two compartment case." Kyuhyun said, "Foolish puppets indeed." He added with a heartily laugh. "Donghae and Eunhyuk are my closest friends. They were a decisive factor in the show's popularity, I'm really grateful to them." He added with a smile, before reaching in and separating theirs hands and quickly closing the case.
"Why did you do that?" Jongwoon inquired.
"To tease them. They're inseparable, they'll find a way to hold hands again without my help."
He skipped a case, but not before frowning slightly and running a hand on the surface of the case.
"A particularly difficult puppet I have yet to tame." He commented, indicating the closed case.
He knocked on another case, and immediately smiled. He opened the case and a large puppet fell out on him.
"Aish! You idiot!" The young man hissed as he pushes the large puppet back in the case. "I'm so getting straps for you, there's no way I'm getting glomped by you every time I open your case." He hissed angrily, lecturing the puppet. "That's Siwon, a very affectionate puppet. He was...interesting to tame." He explained to Jongwoon. "He's a big part in the show, since he's one of the visuals. He's actually been in several TV commercials. But he's annoying. And very affectionate. And it's annoying." He added with a teasing smile, gently shutting the case.
He walked over to the next case, with a worried look. "I hope Heechul behaves, since I have a guest," he sighed. He knocked and slowly opened the case, revealing the most beautiful thing Jongwoon had ever seen. The man had the most beautiful cat eyes and a smile ghosting over his beautiful face. His hair was dark brown and fell on his face in the most perfect way.
Jongwoon was speechless.
"He makes quite the impression, doesn't he?" Kyuhyun commented.
"I don't know what to say, he's so beautiful."
Kyuhyun let out a small chuckle. "You're right. Heechul is just...there are truly no words to describe this beautiful person. Our relationship is also unexplainable. All I have to say is that he was by far the most interesting to tame." Kyuhyun said, unconsciously his lips. He closed Heechul's case abruptly and turned to Jongwoon.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's almost midnight, we should call it a day. I have more puppets to show you, perhaps if you want to come tomorrow. There's no show, and I'll be training puppets, but if you want to come after lunch, I'd be more than pleased to show you the rest of my collection."

•

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Jongwoon entered the theater hesitantly, calling out Kyuhyun's name. There was no response.

He walked down the rows of seats and went onstage.
"Kyuhyun ssi?"
He noticed the blood on the floor.
"That damn puppet will be the death of me." He heard Kyuhyun's angry voice from the small kitchen backstage. "I swear I will tame you even if I have to break you!"
"Kyuhyun ssi?" Jongwoon asked hesitantly. He walked in the kitchen and saw Kyuhyun bandaging his hands. "Omo! Are you hurt?"
Kyuhyun stared in shock for a few seconds before his expression softened and he smiled to the petite man. "It's fine, I was just training that stupid puppet. You're early."
Jongwoon smiled shyly. "I wanted to see your puppets."
"Was it my puppets or was it, perhaps, me that you wanted to see?" Kyuhyun asked, enjoying the color appearing on the older man's cheeks. "I have some coffee, help yourself, I have a couple things to do before you continuing the visit of my collection."

Jongwoon settled in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, before the puppet master came back with a smile on his face.
"Ready to go?"
By the end of his visit, Jongwoon had managed to remember all of Kyuhyun's puppets. Leeteuk; the leader-umma-hyung of Kyuhyun, Kangin; the papa-bear-raccoon, Ryeowook; the best cook and crybaby, Zhou Mi; the fashionista-Chinese-giant, Henry; the cute-mochi-maknae and Kibum; the smiling-but-quiet boxer, Shindong; the endless-eater-and-funny-as-hell-guy, plus the puppets he had been shown yesterday. Kyuhyun told him he had one more puppet, but it couldn't be shown because it was still in training.
Jongwoon left the theater humming softly and promising to be there for the show the next day.

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"I do believe I've told you everything about my show and puppets. Why are you still here?"
Jongwoon pouted cutely.
"Fine, fine. Follow me, I'll show you my puppet building shop."
Kyuhyun lead the way, down a dark hallway and down sinuous stairs. He grabbed a flashlight from a shelve and light the way down.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Kyuhyun found the light switch.
The shop was relatively spacious. On the wall hanged designs and drawings of puppets Jongwoon had seen the day before. There was a large table in the middle of the room with what appeared to be the skeleton of a puppet. But it seemed far too accurate and real. This gave Yesung the urge to shiver.
"This is where I build them. That's the base of the puppet and the materials are in another storage room, but that's too boring to show."
"Wow, everything seems to real."
"I take pride in making my puppets near perfection." He replied with a most enigmatic smile. "It takes a lot of work, but it's definitively worth it."

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Kyuhyun glanced at the empty auditorium with a melancholic, almost bittersweet smile. He looked back at the stage, spotting a new black case. As he approached it, he gently ran his fingers across the elegant engraved name; Yesung. Glancing one last time at the empty theater, he closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I hope you'll understand one day."