Chapter 4: The Ring That Changed Everything

“Kid.

I get how you feel, but think carefully.

That money-obsessed ringmaster has poison running through his veins these days.

I’m telling you, he looks ready to tear up blankets and sell those too.

You know that fellow, Kkaesal—he couldn’t pay his debt and got sold off not long ago, right.

Staying here won’t bring you any good.”

This time, I couldn’t argue back at all.

Because I knew he wasn’t wrong.

Lately, the way the money-devil ringmaster and the pig-like vice ringmaster looked at me had grown noticeably harsher.

Honestly, the fact that they had kept someone like me—good for nothing but errands—until adulthood was close to a miracle.

Of course, much of that was thanks to Gyesa protecting me as the circus’s star.

Still, it seemed Gyesa was beginning to feel his limits too.

That was probably why he was clinging so desperately to saving money, trying to pay off his debts and leave.

“Here, this one’s a rat brat.

His parents died of illness, so he was sold off—teach him some kind of useful trick.”

Suddenly, I remembered the first time I met Gyesa.

I had entered the circus at seven.

Small, scrawny, and filthy, the boy everyone called a rat had eyes filled with venom far beyond his years.

Thinking back, maybe even then he had been planning to pay off his debts and escape this wretched circus.

“Anyway, think it over carefully and talk to Gyesa too.

That guy must have some kind of plan.”

“Yes….”

I don’t even know if I’m part of that plan.

I’ll be lucky if I don’t just get in his way.

I swallowed the truth that rose to my throat.

He was speaking out of concern for me, so I didn’t want to oppose him any further.

True enough, just as Obaltan said, Gyesa always talked about leaving the circus.

He used to tell me grand plans about how he’d live afterward.

But in those plans, there was never a word about leaving together with me.

Not even once.

‘If… if I left the circus on my own and followed Gyesa…

If I asked him to take me along, even as a servant—wouldn’t he agree, out of affection?’

With a heavy heart, I headed back to the barracks.

I had thought before that maybe when Gyesa left the circus, I would leave too.

But that was nothing more than a vague guess.

Nothing was certain.

“Haa….”

A sigh slipped out on its own.

Obaltan’s words about having no future drifted through my mind.

Come to think of it, I had never imagined my own future either.

All I ever thought was that I wanted to stay by Gyesa’s side.

“Mister really didn’t need to bring up family and all that….”

Chunrak Circus had been my home and my family for my entire life.

Of course, what kind of family beats you, belittles you, and tries to sell you off whenever they can.

But then again, my own parents had abandoned me in front of the circus to be fed to beasts, so it was all the same in the end.

Still, Obaltan was rarely wrong.

Even if I didn’t want to find my family, I should at least think about what to do next.

Jeonsang was a big city.

Finding some kind of work there and earning even a little money wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

“As long as it’s not selling my body or doing something dangerous, it’ll be fine.”

The only work a wandering circus performer could do was always filthy or dangerous.

And Gyesa utterly despised the ringmaster, who constantly looked for chances to push me into that sort of work.

“I really have been helped by Gyesa so much.”

When we were younger, I thought we’d always rely on each other like that.

Until he became an adult and started going out at night to earn money.

When Gyesa began performing privately in his spare time to pay off his debts,

when I realized he wasn’t including me in his plans for the future,

I learned that the things I took for granted had never been guaranteed at all.

Everything was only possible because someone worked for it.

So I needed to do the same.

While we stayed in Jeonsang, there had to be something I could do.

I might not earn much, but at least I could pull my own weight.

Then maybe, when Gyesa left the circus, I could ask him to let me follow with a little dignity.

Lost in thought, I realized I had reached the barracks.

I took a deep breath, clenched my fist, and pulled back the tent flap.

“Gyesa, are you back?”

Thankfully, he was.

Sitting on a chair in comfortable clothes, Gyesa looked oddly energized.

His eyes sparkled, and his cheeks were faintly flushed.

I didn’t know what had happened overnight, but something had clearly changed for him.

“Have you eaten?

If not, eat this.”

Hiding my unease and questions, I pulled out a small sweet pastry and handed it to him.

“Obaltan gave it to me.”

“And you?”

“I already ate.”

“Liar.

Just eat it yourself.”

“But… then let’s split it.”

I broke the pastry in half.

It didn’t look pretty anymore, but it was still sweet.

Only then did Gyesa accept the half I offered and put it in his mouth.

Watching him chew quietly, I wondered how to start the conversation.

It didn’t seem like Gyesa planned to speak first.

“…Did you hear?

They say we’re going to Jeonsang next.”

“I know.

I heard.”

“They say we might stay there for a while.”

“Really?

That’s good.”

“Why?”

“I’ve got something to take care of.”

As he said that, one corner of Gyesa’s lips curved upward.

Seeing that light, buoyant expression—one I hadn’t seen in a long time—I gathered my courage and asked.

“What is it?”

At my question, the smile vanished from his face.

He pressed his lips together.

After a brief silence, he glanced around and finally spoke, looking uneasy.

“…When we get to Jeonsang, I’m going to sell this.”

What he took from his clothes was a bundle of cloth.

More precisely, something small wrapped in slightly worn fabric.

Carefully, Gyesa unfolded it.

The moment I saw the bright yellow gold ring gleaming inside, I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

“W-what is that?”

“…….”

“Gyesa.

Where did this come from?

Don’t tell me—”

Seeing my trembling face, he frowned and cut me off at once.

“Don’t get weird ideas.

It was given to me.”

“Given?

By who?”

“…That’s….”

When I pressed him, he fell silent again.

His eyes looked complicated as they met mine.

Knowing he was hesitating, I felt a bit petty, but I deliberately drooped my brows and looked at him gloomily.

When I stared at him with pleading eyes, his gaze wavered.

After a long moment, Gyesa finally spoke.

“Last night….”

“…Yes.”

“An old lady bought me.”

Ah.

I hadn’t expected him to say something like that.

I was shocked that someone as proud as Gyesa would speak so plainly about it.

At the same time, just as I’d feared, an ugly jealousy crept up my spine.

Thankfully, Gyesa seemed too lost in thought to notice my awkward expression.

“She was strange.

Unlike the other ladies, she didn’t demand performances or try to humiliate me.”

“…….”

“She said I reminded her of her son.

She lost him to an epidemic.

Just like I lost my family.”

He looked at me slowly.

Gyesa had never once spoken of his family since childhood.

Hearing him mention them now made my eyes drift restlessly.

After watching me for a moment, he continued hesitantly.

“She said she wanted to adopt me.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes.

When I told her about my situation—my debts and all—she gave me this ring.

She said if I had the will, I should sell it, pay off my debts, and come find her.”

“I… I see.”

Now I understood why he had looked so elated.

For someone who had longed to leave the circus, this was a godsend.

He wouldn’t need to perform in a shabby tent anymore,

or endure nightly humiliation,

or listen to the money-devil ringmaster’s abuse.

It really was a good thing.

But to me, it felt like a bolt from the blue.

“Then… if, just if, you decide not to be adopted—what happens?

Do you have to return the ring?”

“Of course I’d go.

What kind of stupid question is that?”

“I mean, just if.”

Gyesa frowned.

His beautiful brows knit together, and his voice dropped into a low, wolfish growl.

“You’re not about to say something stupid like wanting to stay in the circus together, are you?”

“No!

Of course not.

I just got nervous seeing something so valuable.”

He still looked at me suspiciously.

I met his gaze with the most harmless, wronged expression I could manage.

After studying me as if weighing the truth, he finally relaxed.

“She has a nephew living in Jeonsang.

Apparently he runs a business there.

I just need to find him and return it.”

“I see.

That’s a relief.”

“What is?”

“That it’s nothing strange.

I’m really relieved.”

“You worry about the oddest things.”

Gyesa let out a short laugh.

He didn’t seem upset.

Having found a real chance to leave the circus at last, he was more generous than usual.

I, on the other hand, grew anxious.

If he truly became the old woman’s adopted son, it would be hard for me to follow him.

No wealthy household would want a slow, limping servant.

“Why do you look like that?”

Gyesa frowned again, irritation creeping back in.

Seeing the crease form between his brows, I forced myself to act calm and asked back.