Chapter Text
It has to be here, Sehun reasoned as he rummaged through drawers. His quick hands ran along everything in sight… bright hanging costumes, sweet perfumes, acrobatic equipment and trinkets like spun glass. It has to be in here somewhere!
The description Sehun had been given was very unique. A vivid jade stone set in a dainty gold ring. He would recognise it as soon as he saw it, they told him. It was a good thing the place was already in disarray, he thought, or else his frantic search would be rather obvious. Not that it would matter once he got what he came for. They would never see him again, if all went according to plan.
Outside he heard the hoots and cheers of the audience. The circus must have been nearing the halfway mark now. The thought made Sehun’s shoulders sag in relief. He still had plenty of time to carry out his mission.
He had snuck in through a small crawlspace in the ceiling of the troupe’s sleeping quarters – a grubby skylight no wider than the span of his shoulders that dug painfully into his sides as his shimmied down through it. Clearly they had sent the runt for a reason.
The audience seem to be getting louder , Sehun thought absently after a while, hands still rummaging through pockets. The excited conversation sounded as if it were spilling from the nearby tent. Perhaps people were leaving mid-show?
It took only a beat longer for Sehun to realise that the sounds were in fact coming his way. He squeaked and sprang up from his crouch, spinning around wildly in search of a hiding place.
“C’mon, Baek! Hurry it up.”
“We have ages!” came the breezy reply, “we’re not on again till the finale.”
“You know how Jongin gets though.”
“I know how you get, hyung.”
Sehun panicked and dived for a wardrobe, curling up at the bottom and pulling the doors shut from the inside with his fingers. Only a strip of light shone through at the hinges, but if he squinted he could make out a short figure barrelling into the room just behind the first voice. The other arrived hot on his heels and gave Sehun no time to prepare before he began to strip unceremoniously out of his costume. The other was soon doing the same and Sehun’s hands flew over his eyes as he felt his cheeks heat up. Nothing about this so far had gone according to plan, he realised with a sigh, settling back into a stack of towels and linen as he let the sea of talk wash over him.
“Channie used my hairbrush again!” one of them wailed.
“So?”
“So now my brush has red on it.”
“You told him he could borrow it!”
A pause, “I did?”
“I think ‘what’s mine is yours’ were your exact words.”
“So I did” he laughed, which caused the other to groan, “Aww Min Min, am I giving you a headache?”
“You are a headache” his friend chuckled.
“Then Robin shall restore amends,” he declared, the words followed by the smack of a kiss, “There! All better.”
Sehun wasn’t sure if it was the cosiness of the bundled fabrics around him or the lull of their playful voices, but he began to feel the pull of a nap difficult to ignore. It wasn’t long before he was sleeping soundly, none the wiser as the two voices once again retreated into the distance.
Many more arrived before long, and as the rumble of the engine started up, Sehun didn’t even stir.
“Maybe open the window next time you use that stuff,” Junmyeon choked through the thick cloud of perfume Yixing had just sprayed into the small space. It wasn’t long before everyone else was coughing too and Yixing moved to open the skylights, at least having the decency to look sheepish.
“What’s that even meant to smell like?”
“I can taste it!”
Chen and Baekhyun began to flap their arms frantically, dissolving into giggles when that proved ineffective.
“Shh! You’ll wake Jongin.”
It was Kyungsoo who came up with the bright idea to waft it out with pillowcases. He padded quietly over to the wardrobe, drew the doors wide…
And stopped dead in his tracks.
Nestled at the bottom with the sheets curled tightly around him he found a boy fast asleep, brown hair fluffed up with bedhead, features soft and burrowed against the nest of fabrics. He couldn’t be older than sixteen, Kyungsoo reasoned. Only a child, and a filthy one at that. He was covered in scratches and dirt, at least half of which must have transferred onto the bedding beneath him.
“Guys…” he spoke across the commotion, and everyone turned to face him, “We’ve got ourselves a little stowaway...” He took a step to the side to reveal the boy. Suddenly the room grew hushed.
“How did he even get in here?”
“And when?” Chanyeol wondered, coming and resting his chin on Kyungsoo’s head as he peered inside.
Baekhyun was the next to creep over, crouching in front of the doors as he peered at the boy. Whether it was the hushed voices or the movement in the air that did it the boy had begun to stir, and soon two doe eyes were fluttering open and staring up at him.
“Hello!” Baekhyun cooed brightly. The boy blinked back blearily, gaze shifting past the pixie to the many other sets of eyes locked on him. It only took a moment for sleepy confusion to tip over into alarm, and soon he was scurrying backwards and hitting the wall.
The last thing Sehun remembered before nodding off was the smell of fresh linen and the sound of sweet laughter filling the air. Next thing he knew he was surrounded by strangers, all eyes on him, feeling like a hunted animal.
Shit .
“What are you doing in here?” one of them asked.
“I…” he tried, but found himself lost for words.
“You realise these are private quarters, right?” they asked again, cat-eyes narrowing interrogatively.
“Minnie you’re frightening him,” Another chided softly, hair champagne pink and brows furrowed in concern.
“Frightening who?”
Sehun watched every head snap around to the far side of the room where a figure lay, one who had gone unnoticed until that moment. As soon as he rose to his feet Sehun wondered how that had ever been possible. He felt all breath leave him as soon as their eyes locked. The man wasn’t overly tall, but had an aura of intimidation around him that even the lanky redhead seemed to lack. His head was a shock of platinum blonde, dishevelled in a way that could have been purposeful or simply a bedhead. His full lips seemed to settle into a frown, eyes narrowed.
“And you are?” he said, white teeth bared in a way that made Sehun’s head spin. Beautiful, feral…
The mission. He still had a job to do, he reminded himself. Bide your time , a voice whispered, so he straightened out like an arrow and stared right back at the blonde
“Oh Sehun,” he answered, opting for honesty wherever possible. No point making the web harder for him to weave.
In front of him the pink-haired boy cocked his head to the side.
“Sehun…” he repeated thoughtfully, “Are you lost, little one?”
The blonde barked a laugh that made Sehun jump, arms folded across his chest, “So the kid found himself in a locked trailer because of poor navigational skills? How many punters has that happened to before, Junmyeon?”
He strode across to him then and the others around him unconsciously cleared out of his path. All except for the small brunette, who continued to observe them both quietly with a serious expression. The blonde sneered down at him, and Sehun knew he had about ten seconds to come up with a decent enough excuse before they threw him to the curb.
Ten.
“I’m sorry, I…”
Nine.
“I didn’t mean to-”
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
The blonde loomed over him waiting, but a glint of something had caught Sehun’s eye.
Five.
Four.
A single chain hung low around the man’s neck, stopping at his abdomen.
At the bottom hung a gold band set with cut jade. That was it!
Three.
Two.
Sehun’s gaze snapped up, knowing he couldn’t leave yet. Not when the treasure was close enough to touch.
One.
“I needed to talk to you b-but I nodded off while waiting,” he blurted out, “I thought you would be too busy packing away after the show to bother with me, but I needed you to listen to what I have to say.”
“And what’s that?” the blonde quirked his brow.
“Huh?”
“We’re all ears.”
“I…” Sehun swallowed, “I want to join your circus.”