Chapter 5

"Where do you know Minho from?" asked Jinki as the two of them made their way across the wet grass to Minho's wagon. Puzzled, Taemin looked up at him.

"We first met yesterday." Jinki looked at the younger man with a puzzled look, but then had to smile immediately.

"You two seem like you're already very close, so I thought...It's nice to see that Minho can make friends so easily after all."

He was not much older than Minho but his look was like that of a father who was proud of his son. Taemin recognized that kind of affection in Jinkis eyes and wondered what the two of them had already experienced together that one could see and feel love for the other person in the look alone.

"Were you both born in the circus?" asked Taemin, trying to sound casual about it, and even though he could deceive himself, Jinki couldn't help but notice the nervous undertone in Taemins voice.

"Key and I were born and raised here. Minho we took in when he was ten years old."

The rain gradually subsided and only sporadic drops were noticeable on Taemins and Jinkis umbrellas. There was a small bench in front of Minho's wagon, which was colorfully painted like the others. Casually, Jinki went into the carriage, took out a towel, dried the bench and indicated to Taemin to sit down.

"He caught my eye back when I was a child. I myself was still a juggler then, even though I had already practiced on the trapeze." He continued to tell Taemin, sitting down and closing the umbrella in his hands.

"He used to come with his parents to every show when we were in their town. Can you imagine? Over 20 times they went to see our show, only to sit at all the performances again the next year." Jinki recalled with a smile, enjoying the warm drops that occasionally wetted his face.

"It fueled me, you know. I wanted them to see us getting better and better, so they wouldn't leave the circus disappointed one day." Tensely, Taemin listens to Jinki. And even though the clouds were clearing, he could not concentrate on anything else and continued to keep the umbrella firmly in his hand without taking his eyes off Jinki.

"But one day..." Jinkis gaze lowered.

"His mother had forgotten her gloves. I knew they were hers because I had admired them just the night before when she was petting the horses." Taemins heart tightened, he didn't know what Jinki was going to tell, but he had to swallow because Jinkis voice took on a tone that promised only sorrow.

"Of course they would have come back the next night, and I could have given her the gloves then..." Jinki took a deep breath and shook his head slightly.

"...They never came back to the circus after that night, as you can imagine. I grabbed the gloves and ran out to look for them. That's when I heard three gunshots."

Taemins eyes slowly filled with tears, stiff, unable to move, he sat there listening to Jinkis mirthless words.

"I guess the killer heard me, but by the time I arrived his parents were already on the ground. I'm thankful the third shot didn't hit Minho." Seriously, he looked into Taemins eyes, from whose the first tears had already rolled down.

"Minho certainly wasn't grateful for that, at least not then. I then took Minho to live with us." At that Jinki had to laugh sadly.

"I was still a child myself and didn't know what I was doing. But I knew that Minho was always happy in the circus and I probably thought he could have a happy life with us. When I took him into my wagon, I called the police. Every year when we come back to Minho's hometown we check with the police about this incident, but the culprit has not been caught until today." Tiredly, Jinki gave out a sigh.