The year was 2023.

Six friends sat in a house, watching tv.

The youngest of these friends, a boy named Nishimura Riki, looked up from his phone.

"Check this out.", he said.

The others looked at his phone.

"The circus is in town this week."

"Are we going?", another boy asked.

"I don't know. This is the first time in like...over a decade they've come to this city. I heard they have a new leader."

This intrigued the other boys in the room.

The oldest of the friends, Lee Heeseung, decided to look it up himself.

"It would be exciting.", Riki said, "We don't go out much. Plus, they might have a giraffe."

"We don't need a giraffe when we have you.", said Park Sunghoon.

"I fight penguins."

Heeseung was looking through the promotional photos for the circus.

It looked exciting.

"He would have loved this...", Heeseung said.

They all turned to him.

"You mean...Seonwoo?", said a boy named Jake.

Heeseung sighed.

"It's been a year. A year since he just...disappeared."

A boy they called Jay stood up from the couch.

"Then let's go to this circus. For him."

Sunghoon and Riki stood up.

"Let's do it!", they said.

"When is the first show Riki?", a small boy named Jungwon asked.

"Tomorrow night. Tickets are almost sold out. So I'm going to go buy us some before they do."

Riki took his phone and went to a separate room.

Heeseung sat back in his seat, and Sunghoon went to sit by him.

"One day we'll find him Heeseung."

"I want to believe that. But it's been a year. The police stopped looking over ten months ago. Seonwoo could be anywhere..."

"No one ever explained it to me.", Jungwon said, joining them on that couch.

"Explained what?", Sunghoon asked.

"The day Seonwoo disappeared."

Everyone in the room tensed up.

They all turned to the one they call Jay.

"I was the last person to see him..."

Flashback - January 8th, 2022

"Jay come onnnn, I want cotton candy.", Sunoo said.

"Okay okay. Where is the booth?"

"Over by the carousel. Come on."

Jay and his younger friend, the third youngest in the group, a boy named Kim Seonwoo, were walking around the carnival.

Recently, downtown Seoul has allowed a carnival to be temporarily placed in the parking lot of a shopping center.

There were food booths, rides, and lots of people.

The pair stood in front of the cotton candy booth.

"What flavor do you want Sunoo?", Jay asked.

"Ummm, can I get lemon?"

"Sure. I'll pay for it."

"No you don't have to! I can pay."

"No no no, save your money for your school items."

"Are you sure?"

"I am very sure Sunoo."

"Thank you."

Jay asked the lady running the booth for one lemon cotton candy.

He paid for it, handing it to Seonwoo.

"Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome."

Jay's phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw a message from Jake.

Jake had arrived at the entrance to the carnival, and didn't know where the others were.

"You stay here Seonwoo, I'll be right back."

"Okay!"

Jay ran off to go get Jake.

Seonwoo stood there, eating his cotton candy.

After about five minutes, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Oh, hello sir.", Sunoo said.

A tall man, wearing a thick winter coat was standing behind him.

"Hi there kid. I heard someone was looking for you."

"They are?"

"Yes, they are. I cam bring you to them."

"Ah, okay then sir. Let's go!"

The man had a devilish smile, and took hold of Seonwoo's hand.

The two walked off into the crowd.

End of Flashback

Jay had tears in his eyes.

"The lady at the booth saw the man. She did the best she could to give the police a description...but nothing. I shouldn't have left him alone..."

Jungwon went over and hugged Jay.

"He's so innocent, and caring. He probably didn't even recognize it was something bad.", Sunghoon said.

"I hope he's still alive.", Jake added.

Heeseung closed his eyes at those words.

Even a year without Seonwoo was too much.

But the rest of his life?

He loved him. But as fate would have it, he never got the chance to tell him that.

How could he live, not being able to see him ever again?

Riki came back into the room.

"I got the tickets. Kim Family Circus. Tomorrow night. We're on the third row of the tent.", he said excitedly.

The boy named Jungwon let go of Jay, sitting up straight.

"I can't wait to see the animals.", he said.

"Me either. I heard, circuses have lions!", Niki yelled.

Heeseung completely zoned out on the couch.

He was excited, but a deep feeling of fear settled in his chest. He couldn't explain it, but the mention of the circus gave him a bad feeling.

Jay of course, noticed.

"You good Hee?"

"I'm good. Excited."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Jay decided not to pry further.

The rest of the day went on like this, with the friends talking about what they expected of the circus.

Not once, did Heeseung's feeling go away.
.
.

"Hey Riki! Do you have my hat?", Jay yelled.

"You are not wearing that travesty to the circus.", Riki said, coming down the steps.

The friends were all ready to go.

They had on matching overalls, with different colored shirts underneath.

"Let's go! It's already 5 o'clock. We're gonna be late.", Jungwon said.

The boys quickly left the house.

Jake had a van that he bought from a used car shop. It wasn't much, but it held all six boys easily.

They drove off.

It took less than fifteen minutes to reach the location.

It was a large circus tent, with hundreds of cars outside. People were walking in, and the boys climbed out.

They were walking to the entrance when Niki directed them another way.

"Surprise. Our tickets...are VIP. We get to meet the family."

The boys high-fived, excitedly following Niki to the VIP gate.

He handed the tickets to the security guards, and the six boys went inside.

Circus performers, dancers, and all types of people were walking the halls.

They were surprised that so many people worked for the circus.

"This is amazing! Look at all these people!", Jay said.

"It's so pretty in here.", Niki said.

"Hello."

The boys looked in front of them to see a tall man, with a bright circus outfit, standing there.

"You must be some of our VIP guests."

"We are.", Sunghoon said.

"Well its nice to meet you. My name is Tae-Jeong Kim. I'm the owner. And you are?"

The boys looked at each other.

"I'm Riki."

"I'm Jake."

"Uh...Sunghoon. Park."

"My name is Jungwon!"

"I'm Jay."

"Heeseung."

The man smiled.

"I hope you all have a good time. Enjoy your VIP access. Our son is the only person available right now, everyone else is about to go out to perform."

"Okay. Thank you sir.", Niki said.

Tae-Jeon walked away.

The boys looked around for the room of the son.

They were excited to meet him.

Around a corner there was a sign.

It said Family and Staff Trailers Outdoor Access.

It was a doorway covered by a curtain.

The boys went outside.

They saw lines of trailers, with animals walking around.

"Whoa...", Jake whispered.

Niki laid eyes on the trailer in the front. It had a star on the door.

"That must be the sons trailer.", he said nervously.

They all walked up to it.

Heeseunf knocked on the door.

There was a few seconds of silence, followed by movement.

Then, the door opened.

A shorter boy stood there, with a mask over his face.

"Come in.", he whispered in a low tone.

They all stepped into his trailer.

It was beautifully decorated with flowers, music posters, and books.

"It's nice to meet you all. I've never gotten to meet the VIP guests.", the son said.

"Well we've never been to a circus.", Jay said.

"You'll like it. We have spent the last eight months in between different Asian countries."

"Why do you wear a mask?", Heeseung asked.

The son tensed up.

"Father told me too."

"Why?"

"Because."

The boys looked at Heeseung.

He was staring directly into the eye holes of the mask the son wore.

"Because what?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Heeseung walked up to him, bending down a bit to his height.

He looked directly into the mask.

To the others surprise, he reached up, grabbing the edges of the mask.

The son grabbed his hands.

"Don't...please..."

"I know it's you.", Heeseung said.

The others looked at each other in confusion.

"No..."

"It is. I can see your eyes. I'll never forget those eyes."

Heeseung pulled off the mask.

He stood back, hearing the other boys gasp out loud at what they saw.

There, in front of them, shyly looking away...

was Seonwoo.

Heeseung immediately pulled him in for a hug.

He couldn't help but cry.

Seonwoo held back his tears. He wanted so badly to hug Heeseung back, but he couldn't.

"Let me go please."

Heeseung let go.

"Is this where you have been?", Jay asked.

Seonwoo sighed.

"Yes."

"Seonwoo, its been over a year! What's going on, how come you never reached out to us?", Jake asked.

"I couldn't. They wouldn't let me."

"They're keeping you here...aren't they? How do we get you out?", Niki asked.

"You can't. So don't try. And do not tell anyone you saw me, okay?"

The boys stared at him.

"They'll hurt me...if you do. I can't leave."

"Yes you can. Seonwoo we need you home!", Sunghoon said.

"No I can't! Just go back in the tent please. The show is about to start."

Seonwoo picked up his mask.

He walked past the confused boys.

He slipped a piece of paper into Niki's hand as he walked by.

He left the trailer, putting his mask on as he did.

Niki opened the paper as the group gathered around him.

"In case someone finds me...this is for you. Father and Mother are not kind people. If I try to run away, they will hunt me down, and bring me back."

Heeseung was growing angrier.

"But I want to go, so badly. This trailer has cameras. That's why I can't break my persona. Meet me after the show, when this area will be clear. We can make a plan then."

Niki turned the paper over.

"P.S. if the people who find me are my friends, and you are reading this...I love you. I may have seemed angry, or like I didn't care that you found me, but I had to. I'll see you soon. With love, your sun."

There wasn't a dry eye in the trailer.

Seonwoo was trapped with these people, and had been for over a year.

They had to get him out. They just didn't know how.

But one thing was certain...

"We are bringing Seonwoo home. Tonight."