What the ringmaster had failed to mention was the fact that Hoseok was in no way fit to answer any questions whatsoever. As Jungkook entered the clown's dressing room, the empty bottles littering the floor were a dead giveaway. Behind the racks of costumes and the piles of hats and props, he found him, sitting in a chair, facing the large mirror of his rather fancy dressing table. "Mr. Jung?"

The clown did not move, eyelids half-closed. Was he sleeping? "Jung Hoseok?"

Still no reaction. Jungkook waved a hand in front of his face, to no avail.

"You won't get anything out of him," a woman said as she appeared out of nowhere.

"And you are?"

"Stella, the mind reader."

"Perhaps you can answer the few questions I have."

Jungkook introduced himself and pulled out a card. She took it without looking at it and stuffed it down her bodice. He raised a brow.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Is it true? Has he really lost the ability to smile?"

Stella sighed before turning around, motioning the young man to follow her. He didn't move though, wary. As if she read his mind, she added, "don't worry. I won't bite."

She walked over to the darkest corner of the room, and pulled on some heavy hangings that were covering the wall. Behind it was a poster. "You've probably seen these all over town."

Jungkook took a step closer to catch a better glimpse of the brightly smiling face he recognized as Hoseok's, despite the white foundation and the round red nose.

"That's his true self. A ray of sunshine on a gloomy day."

She traced the contour of the heart-shaped lips absentmindedly, lost in remembrance. Jungkook cleared his throat, startling her.

"I'm sorry, I just can't get over it. I mean, take a look at him now. A completely different person— Sure, I can read minds but I can't for the life of me figure this one out—"

"I don't know much about your profession, but I'm guessing such a drastic change in one's personality doesn't happen overnight."

"You're right."

"Perhaps he has lost a family member, or someone dear to him?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Were you two close?"

Stella looked away, displaying her unwillingness to answer.

"I'm sorry if my questions sound very personal. Please don't misunderstand. It's not that I'm interested in your love life. I just—"

"You don't have to explain yourself."

She shook her head while her gaze drifted away to some faraway place. "People say the eyes are the window to the soul. I disagree. It's the smile that tells you all you need to know about someone. And Hobi, he had the most precious, genuine, and angelic smile of all—"

She sobbed quietly. Jungkook waited a little before asking the next question. "Do you know if he had enemies?"

She looked stunned. "Did you not hear what I just said? Hobi is loved by all! Who would dislike such bubbly personality?!"

"The reality is, Stella, unless he gets his bubbly persona back, he's going to have to make some harsh career choices."

She wiped her wet cheeks and sniffed. "So you're implying someone did this to him?"

"I'm not implying anything. I just want some context to try and understand what happened and why it happened. Any leads are helpful at the moment."

But Stella had nothing else to say. Before Jungkook head out, he turned around one last time. "If you think of anything, be sure to let me know," he said, pointing at her cleavage where she had tucked his card.

He glanced again at Hoseok, slouched on his chair, and at his beautifully intricate dressing mirror, wondering where he had seen that design before.

♠

Hello? Yes, I would like to speak with Park Jimin please.

Sure, I'll hold.

Yes, Mr. Park, do you remember me? You said to call you if something new came up. Well, we had a visitor today and he asked a lot of questions—

His name? I have better than that. I have his name card.

Take me out on a date and I'll give it to you.

No, I really want to hand it to you in person.

I'm very fond of your smile, you see—

—

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