There was a small tug on his pant leg and Jonghyun looked down. A little girl shyly peered up at him through her fringe, clutching a ragdoll rabbit to her chest with the hand that wasn’t grabbing onto him. Her long, chestnut hair drifted in the breeze and her baby-blue sundress fluttered.

Jonghyun smiled at her and crouched down.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted.

Her big eyes blinked at him and Jonghyun glanced around for her parents. His eyes travelled over people lounging on benches or taking a leisurely stroll across the bridge and around the Dome in the afternoon sun, chatting and laughing. The chatter was accompanied by shirll greetings from seagulls and the white noise of waves.

The benches had been his idea to make the place seem more inviting and not so forbidden. He was quite proud that it had worked, as people had taken to strolling to the dome and chatting with performers whenever they were out and about and it made the performers not feel so cut off from the world.

Some of which he spotted hanging out of a window and waving at the few people who noticed them. He couldn’t spot any frantic parents though.

“Where are your parents?” Jonghyun turned back to the little girl.

She squirmed where she stood, not answering. Jonghyun's heart softened and he picked her up, setting her on his hip. She was so small and light.

“Were you going to buy tickets to see the circus?” he asked kindly. She gave him another shy eye cast before shaking her head. “Do you want to see it?”

A nod.

Jonghyun chuckled and dug around in his jean pocket until he found a foreign, golden coin. He held it up for the little girl to see.

“This is a magic coin I got from a friend,” he said secretively and interest lit up her eyes. “See, if I do this…” He put his hand behind her ear and said some nonsense words. Then he pulled his hand back to reveal a golden ticket – a little amateur trick he had learned from their new illusionist. “It becomes this.”

The little girl giggled excitedly, clapping her hands, and Jonghyun chuckled with her.

“Here you go,” he said gently, handing her the ticket. “It’s a special ticket for you and your family.”

“Minji!” a woman’s voice called.

The little girl turned around in his arms, her face beaming. What appeared to be her mother and father hurried towards them from the direction of the Dome.

“Mama!”

Jonghyun put her down on the ground when they were close enough and she ran back to her parents. The father caught her as she jumped at them and the mother looked over at him apologetically.

“I am so sorry, she wandered off on her own,” she explained.

Jonghyun gave her a friendly smile.

“It’s okay. She was very well behaved.”

Minji’s parents shared a proud look.

“Are you here for the performance tonight?” Jonghyun inquired.

They sigh.

“We were going to get tickets since we leave town tomorrow, but it’s all sold out,” the father said, somewhat sheepishly. “We are passing through and heard the circus is amazing, but clearly you need to book months in advance.”

Jonghyun's smile widened and he nodded to the ticket in Minji’s hands.

“I just gave her a ticket so she could bring her family to the circus tonight.”

Surprised, the father and mother looked down at the golden ticket.

“Oh no, we couldn’t!” the mother started to protest but Jonghyun held up a hand to stop her.

“It’s nothing much. I’ve seen the performances many times.”

Never mind he was actually the owner of the circus. It kind of came with the job.

“But–,” the father started.

“Jonghyun!”

Turning around, he saw Jieun, their new illusionist, in the entrance door, waving him over. He nodded and turned back to the small family.

“I must leave now.” He smiled at them one last time. “I hope you have fun tonight and enjoy the show!”

He left quickly, before they could protest any more, waving at the little girl as he went.

“What was that?” Jieun asked when he reached her, eyeing him with raised eyebrows. “Did you kidnap their child?”

“No, I did not!” he said indignantly as the door closed behind them. “She was lost and I helped her! I even gave her a golden ticket for tonight!”

Her smile turned warm and she looked at the retreating backs of the family through the glass doors. Then she patted his shoulder and led the way to his office.

“She was cute.”

Jonghyun smiled and followed her.

“Yeah.”

Both of them fell into comfortable silence then, as they usually did ever since they had become friends.

A year had passed since The Owner and Jessica had died and Jonghyun took charge of the circus. They had been closed for the first few months, as he tried to accustom himself to his new life and gain control and an overview of what he had to do. The performers, who chose to stay despite him setting them free, helped him a lot and he would be eternally grateful for their patience.

It had started out very shakily, since he was still quite distressed over the fact that Kibum wasn’t waking up however much he tried. He had slept beside him every night and spent every part of his free time, which wasn’t all that much, beside his bed in hopes of bringing him back to the world of the living, telling him about all the things he had to do and learn.

He also had to quit classes, which actually saddened him a little. But he didn’t have the time and he was still undecided on what program he wanted to go, so maybe being the owner of the circus full time was a good thing for a little while.

When he had felt confident enough about what he was doing, he had started changing things around the circus. First of all, he had properly terminated the contracts and told all the performers they were free to do whatever they wanted. There had been a great change in the atmosphere inside the circus building and everything seemed brighter. The performers had taken some time off, going on smaller trips or just strolling around the small seaside town they never really had gotten the permission to visit.

As soon as his lease was up, Jonghyun had moved into the Dome to familiarise himself better with everything. He had found an empty room on the first floor, on the other side of the building from the previous owner’s office. After frequently using it for practicing and other things, it had naturally turned into his office and he spent a lot of time in there, exploring his new abilities. He still hadn’t found a bedroom though.

As Jinki previously had told him, he had some form of telekinesis. He could move objects and living things with his will. The living things bit he had accidentally discovered when a bird had gotten in the way of his focus on a tree branch. Even if it seemed like a very useful ability, Jonghyun had at first been reluctant to use it on people. But the performers, especially Minho and Taemin, had assured him it would help them a lot if they ever made a mistake, especially since Kibum was out of commission. So he resigned himself to using it in life threatening situations only.

He sighed as he threw himself in the armchair behind his desk, grimacing at the mess of papers on the desk. Jieun sat down in the armchair across from his.

Jieun he had found by chance when he had gone to hand in his resignation at his previous job. She had been wandering around, looking lost, and when he had asked if he could help she had lit up and told him she had just found what she was looking for, which was him. Apparently, she had had a dream about him and the circus and knew she had needed to go there. They quickly became close friends after that and ever since then she had become his right hand woman.

“What was the urgency?” he asked as he sank lower in his seat, yawning. He had stayed up all night watching Kibum again.

Jieun smiled impishly and shrugged, before fading away. Jonghyun let out a chuckle and shook his head. He should have known. She usually held up many illusions of herself so she could be in several places at once and of help to whomever needed. It made Jonghyun's job a lot easier, since she could always call on him in a matter of seconds if a problem arose.

“Oh, how nice of you!” he called into the air, knowing she could hear him from wherever she was.

Arms sneaked their way around his shoulders and a kiss landed on his cheek.

“You know, talking to yourself is often viewed as one of the steps to insanity,” a voice murmured in his ear.

Jonghyun turned his head to playfully narrow his eyes. Kibum grinned and kissed his lips this time.

“Where have you been all day?” he asked as he let go and sat on the desk, facing Jonghyun. “You were gone when I woke up.”

Jonghyun grinned and draped an arm over his thighs.

“Did you miss me?”

Kibum snorted, though his cheeks turned a faint pink.

“What if I did?”

Jonghyun's grin morphed into a tender smile and he reached up to cup Kibum’s cheek, it with his thumb.

“I was just outside checking up on things and watching people come and go,” he said and closed his eyes as Kibum combed his fingers through his hair. “The weather’s really nice,” he mumbled.

Humming, Kibum continued pulling his fingers through his hair. Jonghyun forgot about the world for a little while as they sat in silence, taking a moment of calm before they both would have to go prepare for the night’s performance. It was a habit they had developed over the past months.

Kibum had woken up a little over five months ago. He had been very confused and disoriented. A lot had happened while he was in his comatose state and he had spent the first few days crying and anxious. He hadn’t been able to voice his troubles most of the time as he could barely even speak in the beginning, and he had always needed someone to be with him as his limbs had been too weak to do much. But once he had realised Jonghyun was still alive he had done his best to improve as fast as he could, rarely letting Jonghyun out of his sight if he could avoid it.

Not that Jonghyun would have had it any other way. He had spent whatever time he could helping Kibum get better and ensuring he wouldn’t disappear into whatever place he had been again. He had also taken up the habit of staying up every night – like he had during the coma – for a few weeks after Kibum had woken up to watch him sleep in fear of him slipping away again.

Thankfully, Kibum had slowly but steadily recovered. It had been a great relief because they couldn’t bring any doctors to the circus unless they wanted to become subjects of experiments. His pale skin had gotten its lustre back and his eyes had filled with life again, his body had gotten stronger and he had been up on the tightrope within two and a half months. Jonghyun still had the habit of watching him sleep from time to time, though, which was what he had been doing last night.

Fingers poked his forehead and he looked up at Kibum, who smiled.

“You’re thinking too much,” he chuckled. “And loudly.”

Jonghyun wrinkled his nose.

“Sorry. Just reminiscing these past few months.”

Kibum's smile dimmed and he looked away guiltily.

“Oh…”

Jonghyun stood up and cupped his face to make him look at him again.

“It’s not your fault. I would have done the same if I was in your position,” he said determinedly and Kibum’s smile returned, although not in its full force.

Jonghyun leaned in to press a gentle kiss to hips lips and Kibum smiled into it, putting his arms around his shoulders to pull him closer.

“Jonghyun, I just want to inform you that mandatory final checks are in five minutes,” Jieun’s voice suddenly said from some distant room but sounding as loud and clear as she if was right beside them.

Jonghyun frowned and kissed Kibum deeper, ignoring her. Kibum laughed but pressed back with as much enthusiasm.

“You do not want me to come in there, I promise you. This was not the reason I took you to your office,” she continued threateningly and Jonghyun broke the kiss with a disgruntled sigh.

Kibum looked at him, amused, and he pressed one last kiss to his lips.

“Well, we need to go, I guess,” Jonghyun muttered sullenly.

Kibum laughed again and let go of him.

“Then we probably should.”

“Yeah.” Jonghyun sighed again and Kibum grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the office and through the Dome to the stage where the other performers were already waiting.

Jieun shook her head at Jonghyun, which earned her a stuck out tongue from him and chuckles from everyone else.

“The things I do for you,” she sighed dramatically.

“You’re just a ert,” Jonghyun shot back, grinning.

Her eyes flashed with dangerous mischief and she looked ready to jump on him. Jinki quickly stepped in-between them, stopping the oncoming chase.

“We only have three minutes left before the audience is supposed to be let in,” he said reasonably and the playfulness in the air immediately petered out.

“Right,” Jonghyun cleared his throat and looked around at all the waiting performers. It still felt a little strange being in charge of all of them. “Everyone knows their positions?”

He received unanimous nods and continued down the list of checks he knew by heart by now. It wasn’t long before the performers dispersed and he walked Kibum up to the top floor, which was also where he would be sitting in the shadows and watch everything with Jieun so that nothing went wrong.

“Good luck,” he told Kibum as they arrived at the platform that would rise to the ceiling.

He received a warm smile and a quick kiss in return. Then Kibum jumped onto the platform and waved at him as he disappeared upwards.

“You know, technically, you don’t need to wish him luck,” Jieun said from beside him.

Jonghyun smiled softly.

“I know.”

They looked at each other and broke into silly smiles.

“I think everyone is in their seats now,” Jieun said then, glancing down.

Jonghyun did the same and nodded.

“Yeah.”

He closed his eyes and all the doors closed, the lights dimmed. When he opened them again Jieun was looking at him expectantly and he grimaced. This always made him feel so silly, but all the performers had agreed that it was something he needed to do. Apparently it was a tradition.

So, he took a deep breath, trying not to mind Jieun’s amused smirk and the burning in his cheek as he, with the help of her illusion, opened his mouth, effectively hushing the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Children and adults! We welcome you to the magical show of Cirque Fantasia!”

~The End~