Rivalry Part 13

Rivalry part 13

Rivalry part 13

An enemies-to-lovers Chenle x reader au (ft Haechan x Mark, Jeno x Jaemin)

Summary: Y/n and Chenle’s parents have rival companies. They’ve been enemies their whole lives, always competing on everything. It seems as if the rivalry will go on forever, but fate has different plans. What could possibly make the two have a civil conversation and not turn everything into a competition?

Warnings: swear words here and there

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@itsyaapollochild  @zcl01​ @peachzen27

Rivalry part 24

Rivalry part 24

An enemies-to-lovers Chenle x reader au (ft Haechan x Mark, Jeno x Jaemin)

Summary: Y/n and Chenle’s parents have rival companies. They’ve been enemies their whole lives, always competing on everything. It seems as if the rivalry will go on forever, but fate has different plans. What could possibly make the two have a civil conversation and not turn everything into a competition?

Warnings: swear words here and there

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Taglist: (if you want to be added lmk!)

@itsyaapollochild​    @zcl01​   @peachzen27​ @prdshobi

Rivalry part 22

Rivalry part 22

An enemies-to-lovers Chenle x reader au (ft Haechan x Mark, Jeno x Jaemin)

Summary: Y/n and Chenle’s parents have rival companies. They’ve been enemies their whole lives, always competing on everything. It seems as if the rivalry will go on forever, but fate has different plans. What could possibly make the two have a civil conversation and not turn everything into a competition?

Warnings: swear words here and there

Previous part / Next part

Rivalry Masterlist            

Taglist: (if you want to be added lmk!)

@itsyaapollochild​    @zcl01​   @peachzen27​

Partners for the night

Swinger!Bangchan x Swinger!reader

Summary: Your husband, Minho, and you attend swinger parties and exchange partners for the night. Would this night be the lucky night you get with president Changbin, who always seems to find a partner rather quickly, but has been dying to get his hands on you? Or will you find someone else? Genre: Smut Warnings: swear words, swinging, drinking, oral (m & f receiving), fingering, overstimulation, cum eating Word count: 2.5k (2502 words) A/N: You can read every part individually, since it’s just different p.o.v.s of the same night.

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"What did you say was the theme of tonight’s party?" You asked your husband, Minho.

"I'm pretty sure it's titanic, or something about ships anyway. This time the club presidents rented a place where usually rich people do pirate themed parties for their spoiled kids."  He answered, buttoning the last buttons of his shirt.

You finished doing your eye makeup and grabbed the setting spray, spraying all over your face and letting it dry.

"You look amazing." Your husband complimented and you smiled at him, reaching to hold his hand. "I'd kiss you, but I have to wait until my face is dry. But you look very handsome as well. Whoever gets with you tonight is gonna be so lucky." You complimented making him blush.

After your face dried, you gave Minho the promised kiss, grabbed your set of keys and walked out the door, towards the car.

"Do you remember the address?" You asked as you started typing on the gps. He fished in his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper with the address and handed it to you.

After a short drive, you reached the place and walked towards the entrance, the club presidents waiting there, greeting every guest.

"(Y/n), Minho, it's so good to see you again!" President Changbin said giving you a hug as a greeting, his hand dangerously low on your waist, before doing a respectful handshake with Minho. His wife copied his actions greeting the two of you.

"It's good to see both of you too."  Minho said before wrapping his hand around your waist, guiding you in.

"I'm almost sure you've casted some spell on Changbin, because this man seems to be dying to get his hands on you" Minho whispered in your ear making you giggle.

"If I don't meet someone new, then I'll probably go up to him. But he always finds a partner too quickly." You said and Minho nodded.

"I'm not very into his wife to be honest. I'd rather try and talk to Hyunjin's wife." He said.

"That woman is hot as fuck. I'd want to talk to her too." You said making him chuckle.

"I'm gonna grab a drink and explore the place." You said and he nodded. "See you later" he said and you waved at him, before walking towards the bar.

Surprisingly you seemed to have arrived to the party quite late, as most of the people you knew had already started finding their partners for the night.

"Hi there. Long time no see." You heard a voice come from next to you and turned your head to look at the source of it. Your eyes met the eyes of a beautiful woman you haven't seen in a long time.

It was a previous partner of Minho, you had met at one of the first parties the two of you attended. She had seen the two of you from the moment you walked in and had a goal to get with your husband. She and her husband, Chan, used to be presidents of the club, but they are both busy people, so they soon asked Changbin and his wife to replace them.

"Hi, it's a pleasure to see you again. Did you just arrive?" You asked, seeing as she hadn't found a partner yet either.

"Yeah, I had to stay later at work. Seems like everyone has already partnered up." She said and sighed, before pouring herself a drink too. You took a sip of your own drink looking around.

"Yeah, many people have already partnered up. I don't know about Minho though." You answered the question she probably wanted to ask and she gave you a soft smile.

"Well then, I should probably start looking around for him then." She said and winked before leaving you alone at the bar. You chuckled at her, before taking another sip of your drink.

You decided to walk around too, glancing at the entrance to see if the presidents were there. You fought the urge to frown when you saw none of them there.

As always, Changbin had already found a partner.

You walked up a set of stairs, seeing couples talking, couples talking with other couples, probably having switched partners already.

Chan's wife was surprisingly in a corner talking with Changbin and you cursed her lucky ass.  "Maybe next time" you thought.

You threw the red solo cup in a trash can that was near you, having finished your drink. You started to walk away but you bumped into a taller figure.

"I'm sorry" you said and glanced at the person in front of you. That person was no other than Chan, probably also not interested in Changbin’s wife, much like your husband.

"Oh, hi Chan" you said reaching for a hug, your usual way of greeting. "Hello, how have you been?" He kindly asked.

"Good, a little tired because of work but other than that I've been doing good. How about you?" You replied.

"I've been pretty busy too, but I'm used to it." He answered finishing up his drink. He stretched his long arm towards the bin to throw the now empty plastic cup. However, he didn’t miss the chance to get closer to you, resting his hand against the wall behind you, making you take small steps back because of the proximity, your back leaning now on the wall.

"Oh," you said out of surprise making the man smirk at your reaction. "I've been trying to corner you at a party for what feels like ages (y/n)," he said and slowly lowered his head trailing tiny kisses in the crook of your neck, his hands slowly wrapping around your waist.

"I have to admit that I've been meaning to do so too. But you always arrived either too early or too late." You admitted, making the man sigh. "I was late today too, but luckily you were too," he said, his arms tightening around your waist, bringing you closer to him.

"Shall we find a room for us, baby?" He asked, raising his head to look into your eyes, but you avoided his gaze out of shyness. "Yes, please" you whispered, making him chuckle and interlock his fingers with yours.

Being a ship themed area, there were many doors supposed to lead to cabins, some of them being fake, while some were real rooms.

Chan and you easily spotted a real handle and reached for it. Luckily the room was empty. You walked in slowly, exploring the big room that looked much like a hotel room. You had never seen a building like this before in your life and you wondered where Changbin and his wife found it.

You felt Chan’s arms wrapping around your waist once again, pulling you to his chest.

"Finally, after so long," he whispered, before he turned you around, pressing his lips to yours. He carefully moved you towards the bed, letting you lay down comfortably, before he moved over your body. He opened your legs, laying between them and wrapped them around his waist. He kissed you once more, his hands softly grazing your body, your hands reaching to his hair.

He moaned in the kiss, his hands slowly reaching towards your chest. He pulled back, silently asking for permission (TO DANCE, sorry i had to) to remove your top.

You nodded and sat up, raising your hands, to help him. Your fingers quickly started working down the buttons of his shirt, before you removed it, revealing his toned chest.

You threw the soft material on the floor and connected your lips to his once again.

"God, you're so hot, Chan." You groaned against his lips.

His hands quickly worked behind your back, removing your bra, before throwing it over his shoulder and for some reason you found the motion even hotter. His lips wrapped around your nipple, softly sucking it into his mouth, while his other hand was massaging your neglected breast.

You pulled at his hair, not too harshly, but enough to make it messy. He got up from the bed to remove his pants, but you grabbed his hands before he could do so, wanting to remove his belt yourself. He smirked at you and let you lower his pants, until they pooled at his feet.

You played with the waistband of his boxers, before you lowered them too revealing his semi-hard dick. You almost salivated at the beautiful sight in front of you. You reached for it before he could stop you, making him moan at your touch.

You started pumping him slowly and then softly licked him from the base to his tip when he got fully hard. You kitten-licked his sensitive tip making him shudder and wrapped your lips around it, sucking it into your mouth.

He groaned and placed his hand on the back of your head, urging you to quickly take more in your mouth. You slowly moved down his shaft, taking as much as you could for the moment. You couldn’t take all of it yet, so you opted for jerking off what you couldn’t fit. You then started bopping your head, each time taking even more of him down your throat.

Chan's groans became progressively louder and he started moaning out a few praise words. You felt his hand pulling you lower down his dick, so you removed your hand and tried to bottom out.

You almost made it, so you raised to his tip, swirled your tongue around it and tried again, this time succeeding in taking all of it into your mouth, making him throw his head back and let out a loud moan. "You're so good at this, baby girl" he praised.

You rose back up and bottomed out again, swallowing around him, making him choke on air.

"I'm so close," he whispered, his hand not letting go of the fistful of your hair.

You let him slip out of your mouth, a string of saliva connecting your lips to his dick, before you jerked him off and angling him towards your face. He seemed to have understood what you wanted to do, because he replaced your hand with his own, jerking himself a little more, before cumming on your face, mostly on your lips, while groaning out your name along with a few praise words.

You licked your lips, tasting his cum and moaned at the taste. He scooped what you missed with his finger, placing it in front of your lips and you sucked his finger, swirling your tongue around it to lick all the cum off of it.

"You taste so good," you praised, making him smirk. His hands reached to your shoulders, pushing you back a little, signaling for you to lay down. Then he reached to undo your own belt and remove your jeans, leaving you just in your panties.

"It's my turn to taste you now, baby" he said, trailing his fingers from your chest, down to your panties.

He softly kissed your belly, before removing your panties too, making your breath hitch, as you were now exposed in front of the handsome man.

He spread your legs, placing them over his shoulders and littered your thighs with small kisses. Finally, he reached the area where you needed him the most, licking a stripe from your folds up to your clit.

He wrapped his lips around it, softly sucking, making you tighten your legs around his head, keeping him in place, your hands back on his hair and your back arching.

You shifted, finding the best angle and let out a moan at the pleasure of his skillful tongue.

"You taste so good too. I could do this for hours." He raised his head to say and dived back in. He rolled his tongue all around and then licked again and again at the same spot that made you shudder.

His hands squeezed your thighs, seemingly enjoying every second of it, maybe even more than you. He moved lower towards the source of your wetness gathering some of it on his tongue, groaning at the taste, the vibrations making you let out a loud moan of his name. He was so good at it, as if it was his job.

He raised his head to breathe and moved up your body, kissing your lips, letting you taste yourself. His fingers moved towards your clit, flicking it a little, before they moved to your entrance. He inserted one finger and started pumping it slowly. His other hand was holding himself up, trying not to crush you with his weight.

He added another finger in and you threw your head back once more, the pleasure soon making you unable to kiss him back, your brain having switched off. He chuckled at your fucked out state and sped up his fingers, his thumb now on your clit.

"I'm about to cum," you warned him and he continued to work his fingers in you, determined to make you cum around them. You groaned out loud at the pleasure, his fingers not stopping riding out your high.

He then removed his fingers making you whine at the emptiness and stuck them in his mouth, tasting your release, making you sigh at the sight. He then hovered between your legs again, before using his tongue to gather up some of the mess he made, making you wince at the overstimulation.

You pushed his head back when it became too much and he reached up to peck your lips for the last time. After the two of you caught your breaths, he let you go to the bathroom first to clean up.

You closed the door behind you and sighed, feeling satisfied with how the night went. You wondered if Minho enjoyed the night too. When you finished cleaning up, you gathered the discarded clothes, Chan entering the bathroom to clean up too. He was surprised to find you there when he exited the bathroom, but gave you a soft smile before guiding you out of the room with his hand on your back.

"Thank you for tonight," he said, kissing your hand like the gentleman he is, as you repeated the words back to him, letting him disappear to find his wife. You scanned the area for Minho and you spotted him talking to some couples, his hair obviously not styled as it was before, but a good enough attempt to fix his post-sex hair.

You walked towards him and he spotted you giving you a soft smile.

"Hi, did you wait long here?" You asked and he shook his head 'no'.

"Just came here five minutes ago," he said and you nodded.

"Shall we go?" He asked and you nodded, saying goodbye to the couples, before heading to your car.

"Did you have fun tonight?" You asked.

"Yeah, did you?" He asked back and you nodded.

You gave him a small kiss, letting your lips linger on his for a second too long, before entering the car.

~~~~~~~~

Part 2 (Hyunjin) | Part 3 (Lee know) | Part 4 (Changbin)

Partners for the night 4

Swinger!Changbin x Swinger!reader

Summary: Your husband, Chan, and you are former presidents of a swinger club. But, being a really busy couple, you decided to step back and let someone else replace you. This is where Changbin and his wife appeared. And they didn’t disappoint. Genre: Smut Warnings: swear words, swinging, drinking, dry humping, thigh riding, riding Word count: 1.8k (1878 words) A/N: You can read every part individually, since it’s just different p.o.v.s of the same night. ~~~~~~~~

"I hope we find partners today. Remember the time Changbin and his wife didn't find partners? That must have been awful." You said to your husband, Chan, right after walking in for the party. You were sure you were the last couple to come and you were so worried about not ending up with a partner. You've been pretty stressed with work lately and you really needed an escape.

"I'm sure I saw a couple walking in, when I pulled into the driveway. Don't worry, love." He reassured you with a kiss on the lips.

"I'll go now okay? Have fun!" He said. "You too" you said kissing him once more, before letting him go.

You walked towards the bar spotting no other than Mrs Lee. You had partnered up with her husband once in the past and you were pretty sure he had made your brain melt. You loved it when he got Chan to do your aftercare, because after that, the sex with him was amazing. You loved when he turned possessive.  If his wife was alone, then there was a high chance Mr Lee was alone too.

“Hi there. Long time no see.” You said catching her attention. She turned to look at you and smiled as soon as she recognized you. She was so sweet, you understood why her husband was so soft for her. "Hi, it's a pleasure to see you again. Did you just arrive?" She asked.

"Yeah, I had to stay later at work. Seems like everyone has already partnered up." You said, indirectly asking her about her husband, before pouring yourself a drink. She looked around a little, mimicking your actions of taking a sip, before replying.  

"Yeah, many people have already partnered up. I don't know about Minho though." She answered as if she read your mind, making you smile at her.

"Well then, I should probably start looking around for him then." You simply said and winked at her, before leaving her alone at the bar.

You started to look around for her man, walking up the stairs to get a better view of the room, but you were surprised to see President Changbin’s figure right at the top of the stairs.

“Looking for me?” He asked and you chuckled, rising your hand to take a sip of your drink but before you could, the man took the drink out of your hand and downed it all.

“I wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, but the surprise was pleasant.” You lied, but the surprise was indeed pleasant.

“Oh, really?” He smirked and threw your empty cup in a nearby bin.

“Of course, Mr President,” you teased back.

“Do you think I’ve done a good job as a president so far?” He asked and you inwardly chuckled. This man always fished for compliments.

“Oh, totally. It’s like nothing changed in the club. You’ve handled all the responsibilities perfectly and the parties are always excellent. You’ve even brought new people in!” You said, meaning every word and the man looked genuinely pleased at your words.

“Why, thank you,” He said and bowed the way princes do, making you laugh.

“So, m’lady, would you be interested in going somewhere a little more private for us to talk? The music is making it difficult for me to hear your sweet voice,” He said and held out his hand for you to take. You smiled, before answering, mimicking his way of acting.

“That would be lovely, kind sir.” You took his hand and let him lead you to a room.

He searched along the long hallway of closed doors, some obviously occupied, having ‘do not disturb’ signs on the doorknobs, while others didn’t. Careful as always, Changbin pressed his ear against a door before entering, because people often forgot to put the sign on the door.

He finally found a free room and opened the door for you to walk in. He put up the sign and closed it behind you.

“Isn’t it better now?” He said and walked further in the room, letting you inspect it for a little.

“Yes. You’ve rented an amazing building tonight! I love the ship style and the rooms seem very clean and luxurious.” You complimented, looking around. The man leaned against a wall and thanked you.

“It wasn’t even that expensive. There’s still money left from this month’s budget, which I’m planning to spend for the party next month. I’ll search a lot and try to top the Royalty themed party you did a few years ago.” He said and you smirked.

“Chan and I were searching and saving up money for it for months. I don’t know if you’ll be able to top this, but good luck with that.” You flaunted.

“We’ll see about that, princess.” He said smirking back at you and sat right in the middle of the bed, his back against the headboard. “Come here,” he ordered patting his lap.

Despite the act you had just put up, you followed his orders, knowing he wouldn’t like it if you didn’t.

You straddled the handsome man, looking right into his eyes. His cold hands instantly found your thighs, squeezing the soft flesh, making you hiss at the direct contact, as the bottom of your dress had risen up.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him closer, before kissing his full lips. He kissed back immediately, his hands moving to your waist, pulling you closer. You licked his bottom lip, asking for permission, which he granted. He started moving you back and forth, your center rubbing on his clothed thighs.

He unzipped the zipper on the back of your dress and patted your back to signal for you to remove it completely. He pulled at his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, looking so sexy in that moment.

You stood up to remove your dress and removed your panties too, making the man smirk as you straddled his thigh once more. For a second the fact that you’ll leave a stain on his pants crossed your mind, but you didn’t really care. You started moving again, moaning at the friction of your bare parts against his clothed thigh.

Changbin removed his shirt completely, giving you a chance to ogle at his strong arms. He was probably one of the most, if not the most fit man in the whole club, along with your husband and huge toned arms were always a weakness of yours.

“You like what you see, princess?” The corner of his lips rose up, forming a smirk that made you weak. He knew exactly the affect he had on you and you didn’t care at all.

“Fuck, yes, I do,” You admitted breathlessly, leaving the man’s ego satisfied. In the meantime, his hands were now gripping your ass, helping you move along his thigh.

After a little while he halted your movements, making you whine, but it was in order to lower his pants. He managed to kick them off completely making you chuckle, but it was cut short when he moved you right over his hard on.

You moaned and immediately angled your hips to rub your clit right over the wet spot his pre-cum had left on his boxers. Both of you whined, his hands pushing you downwards, trying to get you as close as possible.

“I’m so close already,” you warned making the man smirk. He thrusted upwards, making you roll your eyes to the back of your head and cum in an instant.

Your hips were moving on their own accord, seeking more contact, but also moving away at the overstimulation.

“Get on all fours, princess. I didn’t cum yet.” Changbin ordered and you complied. He moved and positioned himself right behind you, his hands instantly gripping your ass. He massaged the flesh, moving his hands up and down, before he moved his hand towards your wet entrance. He spread your lips, using his thumb, enjoying how ready you were for him, before slowly inserting one finger in.

He prepped you for him and when he thought you were ready to take him, he removed his fingers and wiped them on your ass. His hand traced the curve of it, before spanking you once. You groaned and he quickly spanked you once more, enjoying the jiggle, before positioning his tip to your entrance.

“Condom,” you reminded him, making him curse at his forgetfulness. “I’m sorry, I forgot completely,” He apologized and you nodded.

He rolled on a condom on his hard dick and quickly repositioned himself. His hands gripped your waist once more, before he finally pushed in slowly. Both of you threw your heads back at the pleasure. Once he bottomed out, he looked at where you were connected and groaned, before he started thrusting inside of you.

The angle felt amazing and you let out small moans every time he thrusted in. His hands didn’t stay on one place, moving up and down your back, gripping your ass or slithering to your front, squeezing your boobs.

You could feel your hands trembling, close to giving out and he must have noticed, because suddenly he gripped the hair on the back of your head and pulled you towards him, your back, now, against his chest. The new position made you moan out his name, your head falling against his shoulder, as he kissed your neck.

“I’m so close, baby,” he whispered and continued thrusting, his left hand gripping your waist and his other hand slid towards your clit.

“I’m-” you didn’t finish your sentence before you let go, Changbin soon following.

He pulled out of you, shuddering at the feeling and you whined, now being empty. He threw the condom on a nearby bin and helped you get up to clean up.

After you exited the bathroom, he walked in to clean up and wasn’t surprised to find you waiting, needing help to zip up your dress.

“Thank you,” you said and he smiled at you, before gesturing towards the door for the two of you to exit.

You soon found your husband and left the building after greeting some couples on your way out.  

“Were you with Changbin?” Your husband asked pulling out his car keys.

“Yeah,” you replied, getting in the car. Both of you were pretty open about who you had spent the night with. Some didn’t really wanna know, or didn’t care, but Chan and you always discussed stuff. Maybe it was because it was also a way to know if there was anyone who didn’t respect the rules of the club. You had asked every new person of the club to inform you if they ever felt uncomfortable around any member of the club and you had asked the new presidents to do so too.

“I was with Minho’s wife,” He said and you looked at him with wide eyes. “No way! I was actually looking for her man tonight, but Changbin found me first.” You laughed, but then noticed the dark look in your husband’s eyes. He probably remembered the last time you had gotten with Minho and you shuddered looking away.

“Maybe next time,” he said starting the car. “Yeah,” you only whispered back.

Part 1 (Bangchan) | Part 2 (Hyunjin) | Part 3 (Lee know) 

Turnabout Seventeen

Detective!Wonwoo (Wonwoo P.O.V.)

Summary: Wonwoo is a detective hired by a circus staff member in order to investigate the mysterious circumastances of another staff member's murder. Who did this and what was their motive? Will Wonwoo find the truth?

Genre: Crime fiction

Warnings: death/murder, mentions of blood, violence, swear words

Word count: 8.3k (8352 words)

A/N: Just as the title suggests, this story was inspired by the Ace Attorney game series and specifically the 'Turnabout Big Top" case. This story wasn't an attempt to copy from the game series.

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“You think you’re slick, huh? You think you’re so smart?” He said coming up from behind his co-worker.

“Huh?” The man turned towards him with a confused expression.

“You paint me out as useless and make you and your stupid friends seem sooo important?” He accused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I heard you say it. I heard you tell him that my role could be covered by someone else. Are you trying to get me fired?” He moved closer towards him, almost cornering him inside a toilet stall.

“All I did was a suggestion. I don’t agree with this at all! I offered other ways to avoid this.” He raised his hands in defense.

“Shut up you lying bitch!” He yelled and pushed him leading to him hitting his head on the toilet seat that was behind him. “This will teach you to be more careful when talking about me” He spat and closed the door behind him, leaving the bathroom area.

“Mr Jeon? I need you to come immediately. There has been a murder. One of my staff members is lying dead in the bathroom.” He said over the phone.

“Don’t let anyone move from where they are currently and if they ask, tell them that I’m an interviewer. I’ll be there soon.” I replied calmly.

“Hello. Are you the one who called me?” I greeted the man waiting by the door.

“Yes. My name is Choi Seungcheol.” He shook my hand.

“My name is Jeon Wonwoo, but since you called me, I assumed you already know me. Did anyone interfere with the crime scene?” I skipped the small talk.

“No, I locked the door as soon as I discovered the body. I haven’t unlocked it since then.”

Seungcheol led me to the room with the big ‘WC’ sign outside. Ugh, I hate when crimes happen in places like this. They always smell awful.

“Were you a witness to the murder?” I asked as the man searched for the keys.

“No, I wasn’t.” He sighed.

“Then how are you sure no one messed with it, before you discovered it?” I pressed. The man looked down before inserting the key.

“I guess you’re right. It just seems as if no one knows, because everyone seems to be busy with tomorrow’s preparations.” He opened the door gesturing for me to enter.

“Clearly the murderer knows. And what do you mean by ‘tomorrow’s preparations’?” I looked around the room. There are 3 stalls on the right side and 3 sinks on the left side. There’s a pool of blood outside the stall that’s in the back but the door is closed.

“For tomorrow’s show. If they knew about Mingyu’s death, they’d know we’ll have to cancel the show. His role is crucial!” Seungcheol cried.

I inspected the pool of blood. There seems to be a smudge, as if someone stepped on the blood and the half footprint found near it confirmed my theory. I sneakily checked Seungcheol’s shoes. No sign of blood, but he could have changed shoes. To me everyone is guilty until the opposite is proven.

I pried the stall door open and there lied the body of the victim. The toilet seat had blood too. So the victim hit his head on the side of the toilet seat.

“Can you tell me more about how you found the victim?” I turned to look at the man.

“His name is, well, was Kim Mingyu. It hurts to hear you call him a victim. I’m having a hard time believing he is now dead.” The man said looking wide eyed at the body.

“Please, Mr Choi. I need to you co-operate and reply to my questions directly and with nothing but the truth.” I pulled out a small notebook to take notes.

“I’m sorry. This team is like a family to me. I walked in the bathroom at my usual time. I get the sum from the person in the popcorn corner and then I clean the toilets. I’m in charge of the finances, the bookings and the cleaning in this circus.” He said and I scribbled down the information he gave me on himself.

“That’s an odd place for a circus to be.” I commented without looking up.

“Yeah, we rented this venue for a few shows. We had trouble with our tent and couldn’t set it up like we usually do. This place is used for theater groups, but we managed to make all the changes to our script and adapt to it.” He explained and I wrote down some more notes.

“So the popcorn corner… I noticed it when I walked in. It’s pretty near the crime scene. Was the person in charge inside of it the whole time?” I asked. There’s a possibility, if that guy isn’t the murderer, that he saw the victim coming in but never coming out and maybe saw the murderer himself.

“Yeah, he only leaves to bring me the sum to my office on the other side of the venue. He then comes back to clean the machines.” Seungcheol nodded.

“I have a lot more to ask you, but I need to speak to this person first. Lock the door. You can either go to your office or stay here. But do not speak to anybody. I’m supposed to be here as an interviewer.” I warned.

“Yes sir. I’ll wait right here.” He said and showed me out and to the popcorn corner.

There was someone sitting behind the cashier scrolling through his phone.

“Hello.” I greeted, making him jump.

“Oh, hi, who are you? What are you doing here? The corner is closed and there aren’t any more shows for today.” He said panicking.

“I’m an interviewer, I was invited by Mr Choi. I decided to start my interview by talking to each person in order of who they first see when they visit your circus. My name is Wonwoo.” I said and sat down on a 2nd chair that was in there.

“Oh, I wasn’t informed. Is this why he said we should stay put and wait? I would have been home by now…” The man whined. “By the way, my name is Vernon.”

“Vernon? Really nice to meet you! Could you tell me a bit more about your job here?” I asked and pulled out my notebook again.

“Well, I started working here recently. I make the popcorn, sell it, count the sum, bring it to the boss for him to work on the finances and come back to clean the machines.” He said and crossed his legs. My eyes widened when I noticed the large red spot on them and I failed to control myself before asking “What’s that?” I pointed.

The man glanced out at his feet and didn’t react at all.

“Huh? There’s nothing? WAS IT A COCKROACH?” He yelled.

“No! I mean the red spot on your shoes!” I said.

“What red spot?” He said and removed his red glasses. “Oh this? I don’t know. These red glasses are making some things hard to see. For example, the popcorn machine. It has red lines that I can’t see when I wear these. I was shocked when I found out. I thought they changed them.” He pointed out the lines he mentioned.

Is this guy toying with me or is he really as dumb as he seems? I need to risk and ask him about the blood. I wonder if this is a good idea.

“Did you happen to visit the bathroom today?” I asked. Can I possibly have caught the murderer this easily?

“Yeah, I did. Oh, this must be paint! I slipped on something and meant to call Cheol to come clean it up, but I forgot. I thought it was pee! I also have a hard time seeing yellow with these glasses!” He said putting them back on.

“By ‘Cheol’, you mean Mr. Choi, right?” I asked and he nodded.

“Approximately when did you go to the bathroom?” I risked asking. This is obviously not an interview, but if this guy is really dumb, he won’t figure it out.

“Right after I took the sum to Cheol. I don’t know what time it was exactly.” He replied casually.

I need to ask Seungcheol about the time. It would help figure out the time of the murder.

“Okay and who do people see after they buy popcorn?” I continued on with my ‘interview’.

“They see Joshua the magician. He is in charge of the ticket validation too.” He said.

“Great. I’ll go find him then. Thank you so much!” I said getting up.

“When will this air?” He asked and I looked at him confused.

“Do you see any cameras around?” I said and he looked around before replying.

“Oh, is this for an article? I’ll make sure to read it!” He smiled but he didn’t seem like a person that would actually sit down to read an article.  

This guy is really dumb. He stumbled upon the crime scene and didn’t even realize. Good thing it was found by Seungcheol, because Vernon would have handled it a lot differently. I don’t even want to imagine what he would do.

Seungcheol raised his head and looked at me, possibly hearing my footsteps coming towards him.

“So, was Vernon of any help? Did he see anyone?” He asked. Even if he had, why would I tell you? You’re still a suspect.

“He helped in a way. He said he brings you the sum, correct?” I avoided his questions.

“Yeah, he isn’t that good at math but it doesn’t matter, because I’m in charge of the finances here.” He shrugged.

“When does he usually visit your office?” I asked.

“Um, around the time that acts 2 or 3 are on stage.” He recalled.

“How many acts are there?” I said and scribbling down the schedule.

“There are five acts in total.” He replied.

“Was the vi- Mingyu in any of these?” I corrected myself. The man’s eyes seemed sad but he definitely appreciated my correction.

“He definitely was. But I don’t know which ones exactly. The director decides, along with the sound effect and music director. The program keeps changing.” He said. How many people work in this damn circus?

“What are these people’s names? I need to talk to them too.”

“The main director is Jeonghan, who is also in charge of the prop preparation before each act. Our music director and co-director is Woozi. You’ll find Woozi on the left side of the stage in his DJ booth and Jeonghan is exactly behind the big curtain on the stage. Here, I’ll show you how to get there.” He said leading me out.

The popcorn corner window was shut, so Vernon didn’t see us talking. Seungcheol lead me through a corridor to a tiny room with two doors on either side, both leading to different sides of the same theater-like room. There were plenty of seats and an elevated stage with a DJ booth on the left side, just as Seungcheol described. There were a few steps in front of the booth connecting the stage with the audience.

“And here is the corridor that leads directly backstage. We mostly use this to move instead of going through the stage in order to not interrupt the rehearsals that are going on.” Seungcheol pointed at a door on our left side behind all the seat rows.

“Thank you for your help. I’ll come to you if I need you again.” I said and walked towards the corridor. The DJ can wait. I need to inspect this first. I walked the long dark corridor in silence. My mind was racing with possibilities and I had a bad feeling a lot of people are involved in this circus.

“Excuse me? You’re not allowed back here. The show is over.” I turned to look at the source of the voice.

“Hi, I’m an interviewer. Mr Choi invited me.” I faked a smile and raised my notebook towards him.

“An interviewer? Why didn’t he say so? Oh my god, I’m so excited, I can tell you all about this circus. What do you want to know?” His eyes were gleaming.

“Oh should we start here? Is this were Mr Choi told you to wait?” I said looking around at the empty area that the corridor lead to.

“Well, this is where I was when he told me to ‘Stay put and wait!’. So I didn’t move at all. Though, I could use a chair…” He mimicked his boss with a deeper voice.

“We could start by… your name?” I said.

“Oh but of course, my name is Seungkwan! I’m the host of this circus!” The man said.

“The host? What exactly do you do?” I asked writing down his name.

“I’m soo important! I welcome the audience, I prepare them for the warming up act, well, I’m the warming up act, but act 1 is also considered a warming up act, so I guess it’s the second warming up act. I also take part in the second warming up act and help the director with the props. I just do so much around here…” The man rambled.

“Oh, so Act 1 is you and Act 2 is also a warming up act?” I asked to clarify and the man scoffed.

“The director doesn’t think so…” He said and I looked at him puzzled.

“Look, if you want to talk about the acts go talk to them. If you don’t have anything to ask me about me then go.” The man said looking obviously offended.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I was just trying to figure out the program of the show.” I apologized.

“Maybe you should have watched it first.” He snapped.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave for now, but I’ll come back to ask you more about you after I figure this out.” I said not wanting to annoy him any further.

“Yeah, you better.” He said and crossed his arms, turning away.

What a diva.

I walked further in the backstage area. There were curtains separating the rooms with the rest of the backstage area. Each curtain had a paper with the act number on it, except the last one that wrote “Finances”.

 That must be Seungcheol’s office.’ I thought. There were indeed five acts, as ‘Seungcheol said.

So this Seungkwan guy isn’t considered an act. But he said he does a lot around here. I moved towards the curtain of Act 1 to ask them about Seungkwan before a voice stopped me.

“Hey! No peeping in the backstage area!” He yelled, walking towards me.

I introduced myself as an interviewer again. I’m going to get tired of saying this phrase over and over again.

“An interview? As if we didn’t have enough problems today. Now I have you wandering around here. Do not touch a thing! I’ve had enough misplaced items today!” The man whined.

“I’m sorry, it won’t take long. I just want to ask some questions.” I said.

“Yeah, you better be quick. I need to go check each room for the props, because everyone keeps misplacing them and that damn idiot Mingyu disappeared during the last act and I had to improvise. Have you seen him around? We’re not allowed to leave until Cheol lets us, but I really need to find this idiot.” Woah another rambler.

“Mingyu didn’t appear in an act? Which one?” I asked.

“During the finale! He was supposed to move the props of act 2 and then prepare to be in the finale of act 5, but he was nowhere to be seen, so I had to take his place and light myself on fire!” He said exasperated.

“What? On fire?” I asked, shocked. Maybe Seungkwan was right. I should have watched the show first.

“Not actually on fire. Just my jacket. We light it up, well, light Mingyu’s jacket up on fire and then he runs to a bucket full of water, puts it out, comes out obviously without a scratch and we bow to the audience. But today I had to both fill the bucket and wear the jacket and go out on stage in his place. I almost didn’t make it.” He explained.

“Why would you do that?” What even is this show anyways?

“Our whole show is based on faux accidents. It keeps the audience on their toes. We pretend to fail magic tricks, to be attacked by tigers, to fall when dancing and to light up on fire.” He said as if all the things he listed were casual everyday things.

“What do you mean attacked by tigers?” I don’t know what to expect from them anymore.

“Act 3 involves a tiger. Maybe you should have watched the show today before the interview.” He said.

“Yeah, I couldn’t make it in time.” I lied. “About the program of the show, can you explain it to me in detail?”

“Ugh, you said it won’t take long, but it seems like you will need time. Okay, listen very carefully, because I’m not going to repeat it.” He groaned and I nodded, preparing to write down notes as fast as I can.

“After the audience is sat, Seungkwan, the host, welcomes them. As he is doing this, Dk, act 1, prepares his props with me. Then the host goes near the DJ booth on the stage and sits with Woozi, the DJ. As act 1, DK, is on stage, act 2, Joshua, the magician and Mingyu his assistant, are preparing their props. Dk also appears in this act for a trick where he comes out a tiny car. That’s when act 3, Hoshi and his tiger, are getting ready. Dk and Mingyu leave the stage earlier and the tiger pretends to attack Joshua who also leaves the stage after this. Act 3 inlcudes some simple dog tricks but on a tiger, but it’s fun because it’s a tiger giving paw and rolling over. Then act 4 is up. The acrobats, Jun and Minghao appear from the back of the stage, as Dino and I prepare the stage for this act. Dino, the flame spitter is a new act, act 5. He prepares both act 4 and act 5 and then Mingyu is supposed to be on the finale. Today he left me hanging. I didn’t see him at all after he got off stage during act 2.” Jeonghan explained in full detail.

“One more question. Why isn’t act 4 prepared in advance like the rest of them?” I asked.

“Because the tiger needs a lot of space to make sure it gets to his cage alright and the acrobats appear from the back, so the audience looks at them and not the stage getting prepared by Dino and me.” He explained.

“Okay, I’ll sum these up and let you be.” I said and looked down at my notes and the man nodded.

“Act 1 is Dk. Act  2 is Joshua. Act 3 is Hoshi. Act 4 is Jun and Minghao. Act 5 is Dino. Seungkwan is the host, Woozi is the DJ, Seungcheol is the boss and Vernon is the popcorn guy.” I said.

“And Mingyu is in Acts 2 and 5 and I’m the director and in charge of the props.” He corrected.

“Oh yeah, my mistake.” Whew I almost screwed up. “Thank you so much for your time. I’ll go talk quickly to the acts and the DJ” I said and the man moved back to where he was sitting at first.

‘So, Mingyu was there during act 2 but not act 5. The sum is brought around acts 2-3 to the office, meaning the murder took place during act 3, 4 or 5. But Vernon must have been back by then and Cheol must have gone to clean the bathrooms up, so it was probably during act 3. Also, since Mingyu went to the bathroom, if it was act 4 he and the killer would have overlapped with the acrobats preparing in the corridor. Mingyu obviously used this corridor to move to the back. If it was during act 3 that means that tiger guy had an alibi.

Finally, I’m starting to list off people. But, I haven’t talked to any of the acts yet so I can’t decide just yet. Also, if the DJ is constantly on stage along with the host then, that means they also have alibis. I should exclude them first then. Where is the DJ booth again?’ My mind is working overtime trying to digest the new info.

“Hello, I was told the DJ and the host would be here?” I greeted the man who removed his headphones as soon as he noticed me.

“Oh, hello. You’re finally here.” He said and pointed at a chair for me to sit down.

“You knew I was coming?” I asked, shocked.

“Who do you think gave Seungcheol your number? He panicked and immediately called me as soon as the show finished.” He said leaning back on his chair.

“Oh. Well, I’m here as an interviewer in order to find the truth about today.” I admitted.

“Good. We need to find who did it.” He said and reached for a water bottle.

“So, I hear you were here all the time, so you have a pretty solid alibi.” I said as he drank some of it.

“Yeah, I don’t ever leave the stage until it’s time to go home. Cheol and I usually stay longer. He figures out the numbers and I make music.” He explained.

“Did anything unusual happen today?” I asked.

“No, at least on stage not. Other than Mingyu’s disappearance during act 5. Were you informed on this?” He asked.

“Yes, by Jeonghan.” I replied.

“Good. Then I don’t know how else to help you. I was here the whole time, I couldn’t see anything happening in the back.” He shrugged.

“I was told the host is usually here with you during the shows. Why isn’t he here now?”  I asked.

“He comes near the booth after his welcoming act. Today he didn’t. He said he’d go help or something. He always wants to do more. He wants to be busy at all times. If he could, he’d perform all the acts and help with the props backstage too.” Woozi joked.

Jeonghan didn’t mention he got help from Seungkwan today. I should go ask them about it later, though I’d rather not annoy any of them with my presence.

“Did he tell you where exactly he wanted to go help” I asked.

“Maybe the new hires? I really don’t remember.” Woozi said.

“New hires?”

“Yeah, the popcorn guy and act 5. They’re both pretty new. It’s a bit tough financially, which is why Cheol stays until late, but they were needed around here.” He said.

‘Problems with money? That’s new. Let’s ask Seungcheol about this first before talking with the acts.’ I thought and rushed to the bathroom area through the audience area.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Woozi knows about this?” I asked as soon as I spotted the man.

“I’m sorry, yes, he gave me your number. I don’t know how he knows you.” Seungcheol avoided eye contact.

“Anyway, can you tell me about the new hires? I heard it caused you financial difficulties.” I changed the topic.

“Well, yes, but I needed them. Act 5 was a great addition, everyone thinks so too and we all agreed before hiring him. About the popcorn corner, we had no choice. I used to do it and manage the finances in there. Then I cleaned the bathrooms. But one person from the audience noticed I did both jobs, said it was unhygienic and threatened to rat us out. I lied and said it was only for that day and he said he’d bring someone to check, so we hired Vernon within a day. Mingyu told us about him actually. About both the new hires.” He explained. Woah, why did he keep all this from me?

“Were they all friends?” I asked.

“Vernon and Dino didn’t know each other before working here. They just shared a mutual friend, Mingyu. Vernon needed a summer job badly, because as he said ‘no one would hire him’ and Dino had troubles with his old team and manager, so he had to leave.” He explained. I wonder why no one wanted to hire Vernon. The man didn’t even notice the blood in the bathroom.

“So, finances?” I pressed.

“Yeah, at first I cut everyone’s, including a big part of mine, paychecks in order to create paychecks for these two. I promised to raise it as soon as we get the tent fixed, but money is still tight. I guess without Mingyu’s paycheck I can raise it earlier but… He was just as important here. I can’t find a replacement. Not in the team and definitely not in my heart.” He looked down and took a deep breath.

That’s it. The motive! Money was tight and someone thought Mingyu’s role was unimportant.

I moved backstage quickly. Behind the curtain with the paper reading “ACT 1” sits DK. I sigh, before moving the curtain to the side. I’m greeted by a man with a puppy-like expression. Just like the rest, he seemed confused by my presence. I introduced myself the same way I did with the others.

“Um, I’m really unprepared, I didn’t know you’d be coming today.” He admitted looking around at the messy room.

“It’s alright, I just want to know how a regular day goes like for you here. Let me help you, describe your day today and I know what to ask you after that.” I said calmly.

“Well, I got breakfast, I came to work and did my usual warming up act with the help of Seungkwan. He comments on my ‘fails’ on stage in a ‘funny’ way to warm the audience. I don’t know if you know this, but our whole show seems like a bunch of accidents with happy ending. We ‘fail’ at our own tricks, when it’s actually even harder to fail on purpose.” He explained, gesturing with his hands the whole time he was talking.

“Yeah, I’ve been informed on how the show goes. I didn’t find time to visit you today, but I could come tomorrow.” I said fishing for a reaction at the mention of tomorrow’s show.

“Oh yeah, it would be great. If I wasn’t working here, I’d totally come watch the show. The result is beautiful.” He said seemingly calm. So they really don’t know? Is he this good at lying? No jittering? No reaction? Just as Seungcheol said, they all talk about tomorrow’s show. Someone has to know about it.

“About your co-workers? I heard there are some new hires. Have they been welcomed by the team?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, they are good guys and really understanding. I like all my co-workers!” He replied with a smile.

I complained about the ramblers I faced, but the conversation with this guy seems really like just an interview. Should I be direct with him too?

“So, after you finished your act, did you come back here?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’re supposed to put the props back in their place but… I usually don’t do it. I like my organized mess.” He admitted shyly. He is of no help for now. I should just move to the next act.

“Well, thank you for your help. Since I’m still figuring out how this whole circus works, I’ll come back if I need you.” I said.

“Oh, this quick? Okay, I’ll be here. We’re not allowed to leave unless you’re done, I guess.” He said and got up to shake my hand.

I nodded and moved to the next room.

“Why hello. I sensed your presence. I felt a magnet drawing me towards you. Oh, never mind! I was pulled by this coin behind your ear!” The man said, indeed pulling a coin behind my ear. The way he moved it really felt as if was stuck on me.

“Hello, are you Joshua the magician?” I asked.

“Do you have a card inside your notebook?” he asked and I looked down seeing, indeed, a card between some random pages of my notebook.

“I take this as a yes. May I sit?” I asked, without actually waiting for a reply.

“Be my guest.” He gestured for me to sit, before sitting down himself.

“I don’t know if you’re informed, but I’m here for an interview.” I said.

“Yeah, I figured it by the notebook. Unless you’re a detective.” He said, but I managed to control myself and laughed.

“So today, I just want to talk about what you do. Describe a regular day. Today for example.” I said.

“Regular day of dazzling the audience. Tricks, props, DK and Mingyu, sometimes comments by Seungkwan and sometimes I bring some people from the audience on stage. I do that, because some people said I only do tricks with my co-workers, ‘who could actually have a coin behind their ear’. This way I ensure that the audience realizes my true powers.” He said pulling a flower from inside his hat.

“Oh you do tricks with co-workers? How are they of help?” I asked.

“DK comes out of a tiny car, Mingyu is cut in half, simple tricks really.” He said casually.

“DK said he doesn’t really like to organize the props he uses on his act. Does he help you with your props? Or is it just you and Mingyu.” I asked.

“They both do! I know DK doesn’t organize his stuff and Jeonghan, the director, always yells at him for this, but he wants to be a good co-worker to me and helps me. He knows I want things to be a certain way. After all, we, magicians want to know everything and control the situations.” He said getting up from his chair and pulling out a live rabbit from where he was sitting, before putting it on his lap and petting it. This guy is good.

“Mingyu didn’t help today though. He left the stage before me as always, but he wasn’t here when I came back. It doesn’t matter, but since you asked about this day specifically, why not tell you.” He shrugged. Now, this is important information.

“Did he rush to help act 5? I know he is part of it too.” I asked.

“I assume, yes, or went to the toilet. We don’t get many bathroom breaks in between the shows and he drinks a lot of water so… It doesn’t matter. He helps a lot. I’m satisfied with my job here, if this is the answer you’ve been fishing for.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, you caught me. Co-worker drama is always a scoop! But I’m here to spread good stuff about the circus. Not sabotage it.” I must be hired in this circus as well by how good I am at deceiving the audience.

“Yeah, I saw right through you!” He laughed. If only you knew… Or… do you know?

“Well, I better go visit the others. I’ve been here for a while, I don’t want to keep everyone here until late. You have shows first thing in the morning.” I said fishing for a reaction.

“Even the best magician needs a good rest. I enjoyed the interview. But before you go, don’t forget to return my hat!” He said pointing at my head. When did he put this on me?

“Wow. Can you make money appear in my pockets sometime?” I joked, making the guy laugh before leaving the room.

“Can I come in? Is the tiger in its cage?” I asked moving the curtain of act 3 just a tiny bit to the side.

“It’s sleeping, come in!” I heard a voice say. “Oh, hi! Who are you?” Hoshi greeted me.

After my usual reply, we sat down before I asked the same questions.

“So, after you finished with your act, what was going on backstage? How does it work with the tiger and all?”

“To ensure no accidents happen, no one except Jeonghan is there. The next act is already waiting at the end of the corridor in the back, ready for their act to start.” He said.

“And the rest of the acts?”

“They’re requested to be in their rooms. This is the most serious moment of the show, since the tiger is overwhelmed by the audience.” He said looking at the sleeping tiger with a bittersweet smile.

“Has any accident happened in the past?” At this point I was just asking random questions to make this seem like a real interview.

“No, but I know my tiger and I want to protect it.” He replied sweetly.

“So, you would say you enjoy working here? Is the environment good?”

“It’s really nice. I was welcomed from the start and still am. Everyone is so sweet to my baby too. I don’t like arguments a lot. They stress me out.” He shyly admitted. This could be a lie, but he isn’t helping me much. I didn’t want to waste any more time on someone who for now seemed to have an alibi.

I thanked the man for his replies, before moving to the next room. If everyone is ordered to stay in their rooms, that means every person working has a certain position and is not to cross with the tiger as it leaves. So this means the murderer went back to their position for the tiger, or stayed in the wrong position in order not to cross with it. So if they weren’t back by then, then they must have collided with the next act, or it was the people of act 4!

“Who are you?” A man asked, before I could pull the curtain of act 4 to the side.

“I-I’m an interviewer?” I replied.

“Come inside.” He said, pushing me towards the room.

“Don’t take long with this. It’s already late and we sure won’t get paid overtime for this.” The second man said.

“So who is who?” I started my questions immediately.

“I’m Minghao and this is Jun” the first man replied.

“What do you usually do?” I asked.

“We start dancing behind the audience and move towards the stage, as it’s getting prepared by Jeonghan and Dino. We dance on ropes, boxes, balls, balls on top of boxes on top of ropes, you name it.” Jun said.

“So today was just a regular day for you?” I risked.

“Yes. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except you.” Minghao said.

They both had really serious expression on their faces. Jun just gave longer answers than Minghao and that’s the only difference.

“One last question, how do you get to the back behind the audience without them seeing you?” I knew the answer to that already.

“Through a corridor, we always use this, even in rehearsals and for bathroom breaks. But no one is to go to the bathroom before and in the beginning of our act because the audience’s eyes are focused on the back of the room.” Jun said.

Hmm this is interesting. No bathroom breaks. The murder happened during the third act and the murderer was back before its end. I have one last person to talk to in order to start excluding suspects from my list.

“So, it’s been a while since you were added to the team? Have you adjusted? Did they welcome you? Tell me a bit about the story of it.” I said and the man smiled.

“Um, I knew about this circus long before I came to work here. That’s how I met Mingyu, the guy who brought me here. I have seen the acts and the changes they do every once in a while. I was working with a different team and… let’s just say they didn’t treat me very well. I once told Mingyu I wished there was a way I could switch teams with him for just a day, so he could see what I go through and that’s when the idea came. He told his boss, now our boss and after a bit of an interview with him, Jeonghan, the director and Woozi the sound technician, I got in.” Dino smiled as he explained the story to me. I wonder what will happen to the team after everyone finds out about Mingyu.

“Why were there so many people to interview you?” I asked and Dino laughed.

“It’s not just my talent and abilities that matter. It’s the character too. They wanted someone they could trust. What if all I wanted was to steal secrets and sell them to my old boss? I’m embarrassed to admit, but during the interview they asked me a lot about my old team and I really needed the job, so I kinda cried as I was explaining how life was with them. I think this helped prove I was genuine though.” He said looking away with a smile.

“So, how does a usual day go like? For example, describe today’s show.” I said.

“Why today’s specifically?” He raised an eyebrow. Fuck.

“Oh, I don’t mean just today. It’s just, the others seemed not to know where to start, so to help them I told them to just describe this day and this is how everyday goes.” I scrambled to find the correct words.

“I see, um, well I prepare for my act and between the shows, everyone rests while the rest of the acts are on stage. So, I finish the show, bow, the audience leaves and I have time ‘till the end of the next show to rest and re-prepare the props. Mingyu helps me, but he is in act 2 too, so he never really gets to rest or find time to go to the bathroom. He only has time during the middle acts 3-4 but that’s when everyone is supposed to stay put because of the tiger and the acrobats.” He said.

“You mention Mingyu a lot. Are you the closest one to him in this team?” I asked.

“Oh, um, I don’t think so. He’s a sweet kid and everyone wants to be close with him. Well, everyone wants to be close with everyone. We are one team after all.” He shyly said and scratched the back on his neck.

“Jeonghan mentioned him too, on today’s show specifically. He said he was supposed to help with your last trick, but he didn’t show up.” I risked.

“Oh, yeah, it got me a little worried. He didn’t come to help prepare during act 4. But he must have been tired. He’s a good kid, please don’t write anything on your article that will imply he is slacking off. Because he isn’t!” He said panically.

“Oh no, you made it obvious he is one of the busiest people in here and so have others. Don’t worry about it.” I reassured before getting up.

“It was a pleasure. Thank you so much for everything.” I said extending my hand towards him.

“The pleasure was mine. If you haven’t watched the show, you definitely should.” He shook my hand.

Now, I have to face that Jeonghan again.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you again…” I trailed off

“It’s fine. Ask away. I saw you visiting all the rooms so you must be near finished.” He said calmly and that surprised me.

“Yeah, I was just talking to Dino. He told me about Mingyu not helping during the preperations of act 5 and Joshua told me he didn’t help either. Did he face any problems with the team? Mingyu didn’t give me any information on this and I can’t ask him.” I said. Technically, I didn’t lie. I really can’t ask him anything. Well, I can but he can’t answer.

“He seemed stressed today, I have to admit. But he was only like this during the last show. He had visited the boss’ office before the show. Do you think Cheol fired him?” His eyes widened as he jumped to the conclusion.

“I don’t think he’d fire anyone during the day of an interview for the paper.” I said and the man hummed.

“You’re right. There’s something else. Just directly ask Cheol what they talked about in the office.” The man shrugged.

“Yeah, I should just talk to him a bit more and leave. Thank you again!” I left through the stage towards the bathrooms.

“How is it going? Will you need more days? I can’t do tomorrow’s show I need to break the news to people.” Seungcheol told me as soon as he spotted me.

“I’ll finish soon. What did you and Mingyu talk about today before the last show in your office?” I directly asked, just as Jeonghan told me.

The man sighed before replying. “Financial problems. I told you, he wanted to help and felt responsible for the lowered paychecks.”

“Did someone think Mingyu’s role was unimportant here?”

“No, quite the opposite. He always offered to take up on more stuff because he thought he caused problems to them.”

“Take up what specifically?” I pressed. Why can’t he give more direct answers?

“He took up the seating from Seungkwan in order to give him time to prepare for his hosting act, after hearing him complain about it once. He asked to take up the ticket validation to give Joshua time.”

Joshua felt threatened. That’s it. That must be it. I need to talk to him again.

I ran to the backstage area, almost tripping on the steps on the stage.

“Hey, Joshua, I have one last question before leaving.” I panted. “I’m sorry for barging in. I forgot something and I can’t leave without it.” I said.

“Of course, calm your heart before asking me. Or you’ll scare the parrot on your head.” He said and I felt something move on my head. How does he do this?

“Are you in charge of the ticket validation?”

“Yeah, but the one under your shoe is expired.” He said causing me to look down at my feet. There was a ticket lying there. Okay I could have done this too.

“Mingyu offered to take it up. Did you feel threatened by this offer?” I know I shouldn’t be this direct. But I can pull it off as co-worker drama, like I did before.

“Mingyu is really helpful around here. Okay, yeah, he didn’t today but he isn’t a bad guy. All he wants is to give me more time to prepare. He also would benefit from this by not having to help much backstage. Why would I feel threatened by him anyway? I’m an act.”

This moment. It was when everything clicked. In my mind. All the puzzle pieces are connected. The picture is now clear. But now, how do I handle this?

“Oh you’re still on Joshua? This interview is so long. Why couldn’t you just do it to everyone at the same time?” A voice came from my right. I didn’t go through the stage to the front of the building. I used the corridor, following the victims steps.

“Can I just go sit in the audience’s seats. I can’t be standing all this time. If you need me you can find me there, right?” The man said.

“Actually, I needed you just now.” I told him.

“I was informed about another role you had. You were in charge of the seating. What happened exactly?” I looked straight in Seungkwan’s eyes.

“Oh, well, I complained once about not having time to prepare then all of a sudden Mingyu did the seating. Doing the seating helped me read the audience. I’d comment on stuff as they walked in and use these on my hosting act. After Mingyu took up this part, it was so hard to read the crowd. It was technically during act 2 with DK where my jokes warmed them up. But I didn’t need DK’s help. I was doing just fine on my own before.”

He insists on calling himself act 1. I need more.

“Mingyu offered to take Joshua’s ticket validation part too.” I mentioned shrugging.

“I know! He takes the seating role, brings his two friends here and now he wants to do the ticketing? Might as well throw us all out and keep the circus with his two little friends. Then he’ll take their part too and do the whole program himself!” The man was clearly worked up by everything.

“So, I’m guessing you felt threatened by him?” I smirked.

“No. Why would I? I told you. I’m so important here. I run around and do everything. Mingyu is just copying me to act like he is busy too. I’m technically on the stage all day with Woozi. I get zero breaks!” He complained.

“Yeah, I heard he’s been slacking off today. Not helping Joshua after act 2 and he didn’t show up for act 5 during the last show. Did you see him around?” My heart was beating as I was saying this.

“No, I was on stage with Woozi the whole time.”  He shrugged.

*Flashback*

“I was told the host is usually here with you during the shows. Why isn’t he here now?”  I asked.

“He comes near the booth after his welcoming act. Today he didn’t. He said he’d go help or something. He always wants to do more. He wants to be busy at all times. If he could, he’d perform all the acts and help with the props backstage too.” Woozi joked.

*End of flashback*

“Oh, but Woozi said you weren’t there during the last show. And Jeonghan never mentioned you helping today with the props.” I smirked.

“I…” The man trailed off, eyes widened. He started looking around.

“I left for just a bit and helping backstage doesn’t mean only Jeonghan. There are other acts that need help.” He spat.

“None of the acts mentioned you helping. Are you really as important to this circus team as you claim to be?” I pressed.

“I am! I do everything around here! Was Mingyu involved in all of this? Huh? Did Seungcheol say he wants to fire me? Sure, let’s hire two idiots, but when it comes to Seungkwan money is tight.” He yelled. I was sure people could hear him. After all, curtains separated the spaces. Not doors and walls.

“Did you go to the bathroom during the 3rd act?” I gritted my teeth.

“No!” He cried.

“You did! And Mingyu was there too, wasn’t he?” I continued.

“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about! I didn’t! I never argued with him!” He cried.

“I never said you argued. You said it yourself. You argued and you attacked him!” I accused pointing my finger at him.

“So what? Why is this so important for your dumb paper? Will co-worker drama make your article any better?” Seungkwan said in a low voice. What? He…?

“You think I’m really here for an interview?” I asked.

“Why else would you be here for?” The man looked confused. He won’t get away with this.

“I’m here to investigate the murder of Kim Mingyu and you’re the one that committed it!” I yelled back. I hate when I can’t control myself.

“What??? I never killed him! I just pushed him. I pushed him! I swear. Yes we argued but I just pushed him. Why would I kill him? This will cause a huge problem to the circus and me!” He cried.

“So you are unaware of what happened after you pushed Mingyu?” I pressed.

“I pushed him. He fell to the floor inside a bathroom stall. I closed the door behind me and left. That’s all that happened.” His eyes were wide open and he was yelling.

“But that’s not what happened. Mingyu hit his head on the side of the toilet seat. Now he’s lying dead in that same bathroom stall!”

“NO! He can’t be dead! I didn’t do it! I pushed him and he was alive. He looked at me. He just….. said nothing back.” The man lowered his voice while saying the last part. His arms fell to his sides in defeat. I reached for the handcuffs in my pocket and put them on him without him resisting.

“I’m innocent. I just argued. I know what happened.” He murmured and I sighed.

I led him through the corridor and towards the exit.

Seungcheol got up as he saw us exiting and his eyes widened.

“N-no…” he quietly said. “Please, no…” he cried rushing towards Seungkwan.

“Please tell me it’s a mistake. Someone from the audience did it. It wasn’t any member of my team, please!” He cried as he hugged him.

“I pushed him Cheol. I just didn’t know he died from the fall.” Seungkwan admitted crying on Seungcheol’s shoulder.

“I’ll be there for you on your trial. I’ll wait for you to be out of prison. Come to me for work. I know you didn’t mean to, Seungkwan. I believe in you.” Seungcheol said, moving to the side, letting us pass.

“You can now let the others know. Think of what you’ll do from now on.” I said moving towards the exit.

The next day I went by the building. There were papers all around about that day’s show being cancelled. This will be a huge blow for Mr Choi. He already had difficulties with money. I promised myself I’ll visit them when they re-open. I’ll be there on Seungkwan’s trial too.

I can’t imagine how sad all of them were when Seungcheol broke the news to them. Turns out, they were all the sweet people they appeared to be. But that’s the way my job is like. I can’t let myself be emotionally involved in their story. I just wish the murder case I investigated involved actually mean people, so that I could feel like they deserved what they got. But not these people. I won’t forget them easily.