Young & Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

A month flew through within weeks.

Nights after nights of attending the circus shows, sneaking after hours to watch rehearsals, and mapping out the area from the last dot to now being able to wander these parts with eyes closed - perfectly. No one has spotted them, found their attendance strangely frequent, perhaps it's due to their enthusiasm when the shows begin as a cover to their close observations to every detail lingering within the movements of the performers.

Various of moments the two have found themselves making eye contact with the said performers, especially Raven and Gold Kitten, but those are gazes that remain the same no matter how many times they spot one another so often.

Empty.

Emotionless marionettes.

But today will be different.

Today will be the day that Taehyung and Taemin make a move.

For the keys.

Based on their observations, those keys are mainly used on the marionettes whenever they - well, quite literally - collapse. Taemin and Taehyung has debated whether this is some form of magical voodoo, or it's a psychological conditioning that they underwent through with various forms of mind manipulation.

Whatever it was, it's dark and twisted.

Sickening, down right sickening.

And tonight, they are hoping to get answers.

After the show, they made sure to linger around the perimeter in the shadows. Instead of watching them rehearse, they went over their plan in greater details. Taemin was going to go search for the keys and Taehyung will go to where the marionettes are located and keep watch till Taemin returns.

So that's how it all went down the second every single lingering light in the circus flashed off.

By midnight, making sure the Ringleader was in the deepest waters of his slumber, Taemin immediately slid under the tent and went in a desperate search for the keys in the area where they treasure their props and clothing. All the while Taehyung returned through sneaking through the familiar main curtains, moving quietly within the dark and silent corridor before making it back to the golden curtains that leads to where they last saw the marionettes - appearing heavier and darker than the first time Taehyung has seen them before.

Yet pushing past his heavy anxiety, he goes through to only be embraced by the shadows.

Too dark to see, or even breathe without feeling as though someone is ready to jump and ambush him, Taehyung managed to fiddle with his hand around before finding a pole and a switch.

Please let this not be an alarm.

With the fear choking up his throat, he nervously flickers the switch up with eyes closed.

Flashing that familiar hue purple lights to the center of the room

Instead of three boxes, now it being six.

The six marionettes.

Now seeing them in this angle - smiling, posing and frozen - in place, Taehyung felt a shiver run down his spine just like the first time he first entered through these corridors.

They didn't move.

At all.

With hands now twitching his sides, Taehyung captures in detail every single one of them with his wide curious gaze looking at them from a closer perspective.

The supposedly twins are bent in bizarre positions in individual glass boxes, separated. The one with the blonde hair and gleeful smile is on a back bend position, but with a leg up and against the glass.

As though he was prepared to do a black flip bend but was frozen in place.

Unmovable.

Not even appearing as though he was breathing.

He's named Twilight.

The other twin is standing in his box but gracefully leaning backward, arms twirled as though it was in the middle of creating a wave motion but was paused mid performance. His eyes are closed, smile still faint with the red silk shirt bringing out the raven vibrance of his shiny hair.

He's named Nightly.

Both twins representing two sides of flexibility: clumsiness and gracefulness, in a beautiful form of art.

Beautiful.

Absolutely stunning.

A message is just completely genius.

Moving along the row, Taehyung flinches subconsciously to the one beside them - being the new mischievous male who were presented with the twins - who usually portrays the Ringleader in their acts, but cynically. His body is bent as though he was in the midst of sliding back after presenting something or someone before them, arms out with a staff in hand.

Wearing that cursed wicked smile on his unique features, his eyes wide and crazed as though he's plotting his next move of an assassination - or perhaps he is.

That's the frightening part, since it feels as though he was seconds away from leaping out of the glass, but he couldn't.

They both knew he couldn't.

His presence is simply overwhelming.

His name is Desire.

The one beside him is the only female in the puppeteer act, and out of everyone she seems the only one to be in a comfortable spot. She's on the floor, sitting with legs crossed, dressed in her usual attire with arms out, but her index fingers are pointing to her cheeks with a pout on her sugary lips.

Childlike, very childlike.

Hm, wonder what was the idea behind this?

Taehyung hums quietly to her stance and shifts his gaze to the one beside her, Gold Kitten.

In the box there's a ring, and he lays on it while being tangled in order to not fell from it. He's an odd one because it does feel as though he's staring directly at Taehyung, but not at the same time. He has a small tender smile gliding his red lips, almost as if he's ready to burst into giggles

The bruise on his wrist has now healed, but now he has a new bruise on his hand, freshly too.

Did he get hurt again?

Taehyung eyed the bruise attentively before glancing back to his face and lastly, looks to the final person in the row.

Raven.

The man is standing, legs slightly bent towards the center with elbows up, held by gold strings, with another latch of the strings twirling his wrists higher, just letting his hands dangle the air carelessly.

And he's smiling.

Widely.

Wider than usual.

All the while looking directly at Taehyung.

The man outside the box couldn't find himself shifting his gaze away from his, even if he tried desperately to break the spell. The other man's gaze held him captive, preventing him from moving just like his body, and Taehyung obeyed the silent command instinctively.

And as strange as it is, it felt as though Taehyung finally saw something flash his eyes.

A twinkle.

The faintest, deep, and quick flash of a twinkle of emotion.

Without the key.

It's difficult to express the sensation Taehyung felt blossoming in his chest, but he just knew a human laid under this artificial representation of a doll.

And that's something that needs to be uncover.

"Psst! Taehyung!"

The man jolts in his place, his heart leaping to the paranoia of being caught by the Ringleader but relaxes upon seeing his familiar best friend hushing through the curtains.

With a row of keys looped through one of his arms.

The man is a sneaky as it gets when it comes to theft, that's undeniable.

His eyes momentarily move to the glass boxes, studying each marionette in a matter of seconds, but then looks to Taehyung, rushing to his side while sliding one of the keys out of his arms, demonstrating it to him. The keys are wide, gold, and not as heavy as they expected, but definitely made of the finest gold in existence.

There are two loops to it, like some doll key to twist so they could activate, and the two boys definitely have grown familiar enough with the visuals of these objects that, strangely, now having it closely felt.... Surreal...

It didn't feel real.

Taehyung marvels the metal object in hand and glances to Taemin, who's staring at the one he looped off of his arm, "Should we really do this?"

Taemin snaps his eyes to his best friend, seeing the hesitation in his eyes, "If we don't, will they ever be free?" He asks, "We have to know their voices. Their role, if they truly desired this. We... We have to know."

Even though they both knew the answer to that, but they need the confirmation.

Others would say it's none of their business to intervene, but that's just it.

If no one gets involved, whoever will if these marionettes are being enslaved to the circus?

If they have the ability to do something, they should.

There's no turning back now to their previous life.

So, without more being discussed, the two immediately went with the keys and walked around Gold Kitten and Raven's boxes. There's a handle to the back, and thankfully no lock to hold them back.

Hm, they assume well that they won't escape?

No, they're positive.

That's how sure they are of this hypnosis.

Hm.

Taehyung carefully slides the box open, fearing it may shatter with the faintest of pressure, and suddenly felt the nerves trickling up his body by now seeing Raven close. So close without the other performing and being effortlessly still.

It made his hands clamp up on his sides.

His gaze glances to Taemin, who seems equally as cautious as Taehyung does, but he was bolder in reaching forward to the hoop and carefully gliding it back, placing a hand on Gold Kitten's arm.

The man didn't move upon contact, and strange enough.... He felt cold.

As though he was dead....

Taemin's lips dried by the observation, but he only went after his task and carefully detangles the man's body from the hoops. Taehyung after great hesitation managed to move past it and reached for the string against the ceiling and tugs on it off.

This automatically dropped Raven's arms, to his sides, but he didn't move. So, pushing every inch of doubt back in his mind, Taehyung wraps his arms around his waist and pulls him back. Just like a real makeshift and still doll, Raven didn't move and still stayed in position. To Taehyung's surprise, he's light, too light for what is the expectations for how the standard man should be, and he's cold.

Just like Gold Kitten when Taemin also managed to carry him off the ring, holding him bridal style in his arms.

The two glanced at each other and Taehyung nods to the rest, "Okay, we should just put them down here and open the rest -"

"Ring Leader? It's past night hours sir."

The two men snaps their heads to the curtain entrance, seeing a light suddenly flash up from the other side and footsteps approaching in. Hysterically glancing at each other, the two didn't even break a second in dashing to completely different directions, holding onto the marionettes in their arms and disappearing through different curtains - leading to different parts of the circus.

Just at the golden curtains snapped open.

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A/N:

Alrightttt in coming chapters are about to have different perspectives, first will be Taemin and Jimin and then the next one will be Taekook.

Let's go!

I PURPLE YOU! <33