Pandemonium | Hyunjin

Beneath the big top

"If you try to light me on fire again, I'm going to fucking kill you!" 

Laughter filled the empty air. The large red and white tent sat nearly empty. In a few hours, construction would begin to help create seating for the audience. A short ring barrier would be secured around the floor to separate the circus acts from the crowd. 

On one side of the tent, a man was holding a darkened torch. Thick rope soaked in lamp oil wrapped around one end. A grin stretched over his face as he mocked his fellow friend and co-worker. 

"Seriously, it's not funny!" Seungmin snapped. His scowl and crossed arms were a warning, but Minho couldn't resist the fun. After all, teasing Seungmin was one of the highlights of his day. Traveling was exhausting, so he might as well have fun where he could. 

"Don't!" 

Minho took a swig from a nearby bottle and lifted the torch to his face. The fiery orange roared on the soaked end of the torch. He tipped his head, raised the stick, and then- 

The loud spewing sound and scent of fire heightened Hyunjin's senses. He pushed open the shut flap of the tent and headed inside. Off to one side, a steady stream of flames was melting off Seungmin's face. He chuckled and headed over to talk to the pair. 

The heat was insufferable and instantly caused sweat to drip off the side of Seungmin's forehead. Minho wiped off his lips with a towel and Seungmin snarled. "You fucking asshole, I should fucking ki-" 

"Why didn't you just move?" Hyunjin asked. He stepped up beside the pair and looked between them. "Nobody told you that you had to stand there and take the heat." 

"Yeah," Minho agreed, "you're just a coward. Fortunately for you, I actually have talent when it comes to the circus." 

Seungmin tugged up the bottom of his cotton t-shirt and used the white fabric to wipe off the sweat on his face. "You think I don't have talent? I shouldn't be surprised that your stupidity surpasses your intelligence, but here we are." 

"I'm talking to the guy who shoves his head in a lion's mouth during his act." 

"And people find it way cooler than breathing fire." 

"I hope one day you get your head bitten off." 

"I hope you burn off that stupid smolder!" 

"Charming, isn't it?" 

"Hey, guys! Oh, Hyunjin, you're back!" A new voice joined the conversation. When Hyunjin glanced up, Felix was happily skipping over towards them. "How's it going?" Even when he stopped, he was still bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Where'd you go? You were gone for quite a while." 

Before Hyunjin could respond, he grew to his tip-toes and glanced over his shoulder. "What's that? Who's that little cutie?" 

Hyunjin handed him one of the flyers. "This is Lily Holbrook. Her older sister, Carmen, is looking for her. I told her I'd put up some flyers here to help people find her." 

"We're not the missing children's archive," Seungmin grumbled. 

"We could be," Minho spoke up. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be off now. I need to go practice and this torch won't extinguish itself. See you guys later!" In a matter of seconds, he disappeared from the tent. 

"I still hope you burn your face off!" Seungmin yelled after him. 

"Fuck off, lion chow!" 

Felix laughed and Hyunjin rolled his eyes. Another town and yet, nothing had changed, the guys were still the guys. They'd been like this as long as he knew them and he'd known them for quite a while. 

"It must really suck to be Carmen. I can't imagine losing a sibling," Felix frowned. "I've never had a sibling, but I'm sure it must be nice." 

"What are we then?" Seungmin questioned. 

"Seven pains in my ass." 

Seungmin and Hyunjin stared at each other. The usual scowl fell across Seungmin's face, but Hyunjin pressed his lips together, trying to silence the laughter threatening to slip out. A pearly white grin expanded across Felix's face. 

"So where are the rest of the guys?" Hyunjin finally interrupted. 

"They're all hanging out and waiting for food. Somewhere in the north side of the parking lot. You might not want to go over there, Changbin's working on his voice again." 

Seungmin's head tipped back in a groan. "For what reason? He's loud enough! What could he possibly improve? If anything, he'll wear out his voice before the performance. He's such a fucking dumbass. Everyone here is a fucking dumbass!" 

"Lion chow," Felix whispered. 

"Hey!" 

He laughed and spun around. "I'm going to rejoin the other dumbasses. You two have fun. Maybe Minho will teach me how to spit fire." 

"You'll burn your face off!" 

"You wish." 

Seungmin let out another groan and scuttled away after Felix. Felix's arms swung as he began to skip to the exit. "Why do you always do this? You're not being smart about this! Remember what happened last time? You choked on lamp oil!" 

His words fell upon deaf ears. The more he whined and complained, the giddier Felix became. Hyunjin watched the pair disappear beneath the flap and let out a sigh. His eyes went back down to the face staring back at him. 

Lily's hair was a lot like her sister's, a caramel color that sat in a short bob, barely coming past her ears. Carmen's hair was longer and layered. It fell past her collarbone and framed her serious face. Brown bags sat cemented like shadows beneath her eyes. A certain unmistakeable sadness pooled in her eyes. 

With every glance around the area, Hyunjin knew she longed for her little sister. That overprotective and nurturing feeling hung over her like a dark storm cloud. Just because she was the older sister, it didn't make much of a difference. The grief and mourning was the same. 

That same feeling bubbled up in mother elephants. Everyone likes to say mothers are protective like mother bears. In some senses, it's true. A mother bear will do anything to protect her cubs. If anything happens to one, she will temporarily mourn or abandon her cubs altogether. 

Elephants are such social creatures, a mother will not hesitate to go to the end of the earth for her calves. When a calf goes missing for a mother, the mother will not stop searching. She will stop eating and her immune system will weaken, but she will keep pressing onwards to find her baby. If she cannot find them, she will let the sadness kill her. 

Hyunjin didn't know Carmen nor did he know Lily personally. Taking Carmen for hot chocolate and a walk was entirely a spur of the moment decision. The sadness hanging around her was too noticeable. He could physically feel it as he headed to the crosswalk. It was never in his plans to save a stranger and discover the source of their pain. 

Now he was here and the missing flyers were still in his hands. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but desperate times called for desperate measures. What's the worst thing that could happen? 

He needed a little distraction, the circus could be a bit unorthodox at times.