Dear mom,

I know being a part of a circus isn’t where you’d expect I’d end up.  Trust me it isn’t what I expected either, but being here has taught me so much that I could never learn anywhere else.

 I’ve met the coolest people; take for instance the Magician, Jaehyo. When I first met him he was mysterious and would rhyme every sentence he said, I got so sick of it. But after you get to know him you realize that the façade he put on was only to cover up how much of a goofball he really is. I realized he is the type of person to make you feel really safe no matter what the situation is.

I also met a man that could eat anything. And when I say anything I mean anything, he could eat anything from a cockroach to nail. He recently left the circus with my former roommate of mine Jane, and they still send me cute postcards from time to time.

And then there’s Ukwon, the trouble maker. He always plays pranks and tricks on everyone. Lately he’s been focused on Taeil as his victim.  Yesterday he slipped hot sauce in Taeil’s coke. It was so funny watching Taeil drink from the garden hose. Taeil is the ticket collector and money manager at the circus. He was really cold when I first met him but he warmed up really fast.

Zico and Kyung own the circus. The story is that Kyung won it in a poker game and almost lost it a few years later if it hadn’t been for Zico that is. From that point on Zico has always banned Poker at the circus. Zico really cares about the circus and everyone in it; he was the first person to accept me in the circus just when I thought I’d given up. Now I’m part of the family.

I’ve met triplet midget acrobats, clowns, and a robotic cook but none of them can compare to B-bomb, the newest addition to the acrobatics unit. B-bomb gave me the confidence to come all the way out here and join the circus in the first place.

The circus is becoming more popular ever since we impressed this big investor. He granted us money for new equipment and costumes and he added the circus as a tourist attraction for the area. It’s so weird though the tourists all seem to get lost on their way here.

Hope you can visit soon.

                              Your daughter,   Jihae

-

Minnie folded up the letter and stuck in into the envelope.

“Minnie! What’s taking you so long? What if they run out of pizza?” B-bomb whined.

“Coming!” Minnie grabbed her coat and put the letter on the night stand.

“What are you doing in here anyway?” B-bomb walked over to the letter and tried to open it.

Minnie snatched it from him. “Hey that’s private!”

“Lemme see” B-bomb attempted to snatch the letter back but missed.

Minnie ran from him and B-bomb chased her around the room. When he caught her he wrapped his arms around her waist.  

“If you don’t want me to see it I won’t look”

Zico walked into the trailer and B-bomb immediately let go.

“What are you two doing? Dinner is ready”

“I was waiting for Minnie she’s so slow.” Minnie punched B-bomb in the arm. “ow”

“What’s that” Zico pointed to the bed.

“What’s what?” Minnie asked following his gaze.

Then she saw it. Little Minhyuk Jr. was curled up and sleeping on the bed.

“oops” Minnie said.

-

“We can explain!” B-bomb argued “I… That…It’s not a cat”

Minnie face palmed. “I’m sorry Zico”

Zico looked at her “Sorry for what? It’s adorable!”

He walked over and began to pet him.

“Excuse me? I thought you had a No Pets rule?”

“Rules are made to be broken, besides how can we throw this out on the streets?” Zico was gesturing to the kitten.

-

Minnie climbed to the top of the dumpster after dinner.  The city was bright as ever in the distance.

B-bomb climbed up and joined Minnie. “How did I know you’d be here”

Minnie laughed.

“So I guess things just sort of worked out huh?”

Minnie nodded. “I’m glad we did it, I’m glad we left.”

“You don’t regret it”

“Nope. Not at all” Minnie leaned her head on B-bomb’s shoulder.

“I love you Jihae”

“I love you too Minhyuk”

They stayed up and watched the sunrise behind the city knowing that they would always be together from now on.