The door to the shop opened and Jonghyun quickly pocketed his phone, on which he had been playing games for hours. It had been such a slow day, no customers whatsoever. Getting off the small stool behind the counter, he heaved a quiet sigh and forced a professional smile onto his lips before he looked up to greet the customer. His eyes widened as his gaze fell upon Jessica.

“Um, hi?” he said uncertainly. “Can I help you?”

She smiled charmingly.

“I’m just looking around.”

Jonghyun frowned because her gaze never left him to actually ´look around´. Instead, she made her way straight over to the counter and they ended up staring at each other silently.

“Are you here to bring me to the Dome?” Jonghyun asked after a moment of awkward silence.

A puzzled frown fell on her brow and Jonghyun raised his eyebrows.

“Like Taemin and Minho did?” he clarified and a look of comprehension took over her frown.

“Oh, well… no,” she said slowly, fiddling with her fingers.

“Oh…” he said and the awkward silence between them grew thicker. Jonghyun rolled on his feet. “So… is there something you need?”

“Um.” She bit her lip and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, blushing faintly, before continuing quickly: “We arrived just recently and I’m not really accustomed to the town so I was wondering if… if you could show me around sometime?”

“O-oh,” Jonghyun repeated, a little taken aback by her straightforwardness. He cleared his throat and scratched his neck sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I have other plans tonight. Maybe another time?”

Her face fell and he bit his lip, feeling guilty. Still, going to see Kibum was more important than wasting time showing her around town. He needed to know what was going on with him and his bruises. He also wasn’t ashamed to admit Kibum had him wrapped around his little finger without knowing it. Jonghyun longed to be near him every second of the day and was ready to do anything for him. It was honestly a bit pathetic.

“You’re meeting Key?” Jessica asked quietly as if she had read his mind and Jonghyun’s face warmed.

“I planned to.” He gave an embarrassed laugh but the blank look she shot him made him frown. “Is he busy?”

She shook her head faintly, as if getting rid of a thought, and smiled sweetly.

“No, he’ll be done with practice soon I believe.”

Jonghyun smiled back and glanced at the clock.

“Great! My shift ends in a minute!”

“Then we can walk together,” she suggested, her smile widening, and he hesitantly agreed.

They ended up walking in painfully awkward silence. None of them had anything interesting to say and Jonghyun eagerly greeted a few people here and there on the street, thankful for at least some distraction. He let out a relieved breath as he took his first step onto the bridge, the ever present pull in his chest lessening a little. Jessica had seemed to be deep in her own thoughts most of the way, anyway, so Jonghyun didn’t feel too bad for not keeping a conversation going. The entire walk she had had a frown on her forehead and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She only seemed to wake up when they arrived at the entrance and sent a small, apologetic smile at Jonghyun before she took out a key to open the doors.

“Thank you,” Jonghyun mumbled.

She looked like she was about to something as they made their way across the entrance hall when a tall, dark haired man with eyes that almost looked black. He was making his way out of one of the corridors leading to the practice areas.

“Ah, Jessica,” he said in a dark, cold, and emotionless voice that sent shivers of fright down Jonghyun's spine.

He wouldn’t want to deal with that man in the near future, he thought as he glanced at Jessica, who now had an emotionlessly professional expression. He wondered what such a sinister man could want with her.

She bowed respectfully.

“Yes, Owner?”

Jonghyun had to stifle a gasp and quickly bowed down as well, afraid he would offend him.

“I was looking for you,” The Owner continued. “I have something you need to investigate.”

Jessica straightened up and Jonghyun followed her lead, trying to look serious as serious as her.

“Of course, Owner,” she answered. “Leave the details on my desk.”

The Owner nodded, seemingly satisfied, and turned to leave. Jonghyun was about to let out a breath of relief, since he hadn’t seemed to even notice him, when those pitch black eyes suddenly fell upon him, freezing him to his spot.

“Who might this be?” he asked, tone low and dangerous.

Jonghyun swallowed loudly. But when he opened his mouth to answer, Jessica cut him off.

“He’s a friend of mine that I met out in town,” she said quickly and The Owner’s dark eyes moved back to her, as well as Jonghyun’s, who was beyond confused. Jessica glanced at him briefly, her eyes clearly telling him to not speak. “I just wanted to show him where I work.”

The Owner narrowed his eyes at her and they stared at each other for a second. His gaze slid back to Jonghyun again, who was still rigidly rooted to his spot.

“Really, now?” he said in the same dangerously low tone and a few seconds of silence passed as he scrutinised Jonghyun. “Well, I am leaving on business soon and you know the rules; no outsiders in the Dome unless I’m present.”

“Yes, Owner,” she immediately replied. “I will make it quick.”

The Owner nodded and, after casting one last suspicious glance at Jonghyun, returned to where he had come from. Jessica bowed once again, Jonghyun hurrying to do the same. They didn’t rise from their positions until the Owner’s footsteps had faded away.

“Um,” Jonghyun couldn’t speak above a whisper. “Why did you lie?”

For a moment, Jessica stared down the hallway The Owner had disappeared in. Then she turned to him, face set in a hard expression

“It’s easier that way,” she answered shortly. “While you’re here you’re my friend, understand? The Owner won’t take it too kindly to knowing you’re here for Key.” She her heel and began to walk away. “I suppose you can find your own way to his practise room?”

She didn’t wait for an answer and Jonghyun could only stare at her retreating back in puzzlement. The Owner wouldn’t like it; what the hell was supposed to mean?

The creaking of a door somewhere close pulled him out of his thoughts and he jumped, looking around wildly in terror, half expecting The Owner to be back.

“Oh!” a pleasantly surprised voice said behind him and he turned.

A girl with long black hair and round, cute face and a quite boyish girl with short, blonde hair entered the Dome .

“Uh…” was all he could think to say, glancing around nervously.

“Hello!” the cute girl said cheerfully and bounced over to him. She took his hand and shook it enthusiastically, making his whole body quake. “Welcome!”

The other girl appeared beside them, peering at Jonghyun curiously.

“H-hi,” Jonghyun spluttered, blushing under their appraising eyes. “U-um, I… uh...”

The boyish girl’s eyes widened and she grinned.

“Ooh, I know who you are!”

“You– uh, you do?” Jonghyun stammered.

“Ooh,” the cute girl echoed, bouncing on her feet. “I do too! Come!”

She grabbed Jonghyun's arm and dragged him over to a staircase. He remembered he had taken it the first time for the show to get to the top floor.

“We’ll guide you!”

“Y-you will?” he stuttered in confusion and the boyish girl grabbed his other arm.

They just laughed, dragging him up to the second floor, through the door with the ´personnel only´ sign, and down the corridor hidden behind it. Giggling impishly, they pulled him over to the door at the end and opened it. They unceremoniously pushed him inside and he tripped over his own feet, falling to the floor just as they closed the door behind him.

“What the hell?” Jonghyun muttered and sat up.

He rubbed at his left elbow, which had banged against the dark wooden floor in the room quite hard. Why did everyone here have to behave so weirdly? He just wanted to spend time with Kibum in peace.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he looked up and blinked.

He was in what appeared to be a bedroom suite. A large king-sized bed stood proudly on a soft looking, wine red mat in the middle on a little dias, dark purple covers and pillows on it. The walls were a warm burgundy and there was tulle fabric in all colours imaginable decorating the walls, hanging around paintings, lamps, over the bed posts, and in front of the windows, whose blinds were drawn. A plush, navy-blue armchair had been placed to his right, in front of a marble-top table. The table was overloaded with books and papers, some had even spilled onto the floor. There was also a dark, wooden dresser in the far right corner of the room with some picture frames on it. The only light in the room was a warm, orange-ish glow coming from two kerosene lamps standing on a bedside table each.

Jonghyun realised his mouth had fallen open in awe at the dark but colourful room and quickly closed it, getting to his feet slowly. A door to his left he hadn’t noticed because of the tulle fabric hanging in front, opened and his heart skipped a beat. He unconsciously held his breath, expecting to be screamed at by whomever owned the room, though it wasn’t his fault he was even there in the first place.

His mouth fell open again when Kibum appeared from behind the fabric shielding the door. It had to be an ensuite bathroom since he emerged with his hair wavy from dampness, wearing only a towel around his frame, which Jonghyun only now noticed was too thin. His breath rushed out and his heart gave up on beating. Kibum flinched at the sound and turned to him with a wide-eyed, surprised expression that turned into a joyous, dimpled smile when he saw him by the door.

“Jonghyun,” he said, voice soft and happy.

Jonghyun swallowed harshly, feeling blood rushing to places it shouldn’t.

“Hey, I– uh, you– what?” he tried, but his brain didn’t get anywhere close to stringing together anything coherent. In his current state it was a feat he even managed words and it helped absolutely nothing when Kibum let out an amused, tinkling laugh.

“Do you need a moment?” he asked, his eyes glittering mischievously and Jonghyun could only blink rapidly at him, brain buffering. “Sit down wherever you like. I’ll get dressed quickly.”

Jonghyun swallowed again, his throat dry. Thankfully, the armchair was just two steps away and he sat down before his legs folded beneath him. He tried not to ogle Kibum, he really did, but it was like he had a gravitational force surrounding him and Jonghyun’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to his faintly glowing body. However, the excited tingles under his skin quickly disappeared as his eyes landed on more of those finger shaped bruises. This time they not only decorated Kibum’s upper arms, but also his waist and hips Jonghyun noticed as he let the towel slide down.

“Kibum,” Jonghyun murmured.

He turned around, a small smile on his lips. It faltered when his eyes fell upon Jonghyun’s serious expression, and a puzzled frown took over his face.

“What?” he murmured back.

Jonghyun stood up again and slowly, cautiously, made his way over, like he would to a scared animal to show he had no intention of hurting it. Kibum looked even more confused, raising his eyebrows at Jonghyun as he came to a stop in front of him. Jonghyun tentatively raised a hand and Kibum's eyes followed it curiously. He could hear him stop breathing as he gently let his fingertips caress his waist, where the bruises were blooming, down to his hip and he sighed sadly.

“Who is doing this to you?” he whispered.

“What?” Kibum mumbled, frowning again, and looked down at the place Jonghyun was touching. “Oh.”

Jonghyun watched as he struggled to come up with an answer, his hand resting on his hip.

“I’ve just been clumsy lately,” Kibum said uncertainly, chewing on his lip without meeting Jonghyun’s eyes. “I walked into the handle of a door today. It’s probably where I got the bruises.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jonghyun murmured. “These are bruises caused by someone’s fingers.”

Kibum's eyes snapped up to his, scared and guilty.

“I-I–,” He stammered and took a deep, shaky breath. “W-well, I–,” he tried again but cut off, closing his eyes. “I can’t.” He said quietly, almost whimpering.

Jonghyun's chest ached at the visible struggle inside him and reached up to cup his cheek with his other hand, making him look into his eyes again. He had no idea what made it so hard for Kibum tell him what had happened, but he definitely wouldn’t force him to speak if he felt that he couldn’t. Instead he would simply be there for him, if he ever needed help. That was really all he could do.

“You know, I somehow am hopelessly in love with you,” Jonghyun declared voice soft, lips pulling up in the corners. “So I’ll be here for when you need me.”

Kibum’s watery eyes grew as round as dinner plates. Then he blinked a few times and smiled tenderly at him. His gaze fell back to his bruises and he swallowed harshly.

“I am hopelessly in love with you too,” he whispered, his cheeks tinting. “Please remember that.”

Jonghyun's smile widened into a grin and he leaned forward to press a kiss to Kibum's lips. His arms circled Kibum’s waist carefully, avoiding the bruises the best he could. Kibum put his arms around Jonghyun's neck and shoulders, hugging him close, humming.

Still, there was a gnawing worry in the back of Jonghyun's head. Because why did Kibum have to ask him to remember that he loved him?

Yet again, the suspicion that something was definitely not as it should be grew and Jonghyun had no idea what to do.

A/N: I have been so ty at updating this story and I am extremely sorry to you readers! I just kind of lost the inspiration when I lost my USB and then I started another story to try and get on the right track again but got kind of caught up in it and well... this happened... I am going to try and focus on Cirque Fantasia now though, since it is quite an interesting story ^_^

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Because I really enjoyed describing Kibum's room! In my head it's really pretty and warm and colorful and I hope I managed to convey that! And also, could this be considered as a thickening of the plot? Hahaha xD

I love you all! <3

Bye~!

P.s. Can anyone guess who the two girls are? ;D