The Illusionist

Chapter 1

HIS life was a dream. The snapping claps from the audience in the stadium sang loud as the ringmaster of tonight's performance announced his arrival. It would be his third night performing in Incheon. Seo Hyo took one glance in the mirror surrounded by a circle of lights and fixed his favorite navy blue tuxedo encrypted with several curves that shimmer when it is flashed by lights. He double-checked his living props by simply patting them under his vest, and white gloves.

He was ready to walk outside the room when he saw a figure in the mirror.

"Look how stunning my son is." His mother, Ji-a, grinned while standing beside the door. The shape-tight costume of a trapeze artist is girdled in blue, perfectly matching his.

He turned to look at her. As he walked towards his mother, his stiletto tapping on the tiled floor clicked like a sound matching his mischievous smile. "I am stunning every day, Eomma."

Napatawa naman nang mahina ang kaniyang ina. "Sure, you do."

Binigyan siya nito nang isang mahigpit na yakap bilang suporta bago siya hinayaang makalabas sa kuwarto. Naglakad na siya patungo sa entrance ng stadium. He stood inside the shadow as he waited for his name to be called.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The savior of the night, Kaspar the magician!" Another round of applause started by the ringmaster and start of a classical music served as his cue to make the passageway his runway to the ring. He snapped his finger to summon and cover half of his face with his feathery mask fitting that of a ball. 

Nobody knew him as Seo Hyo, but Kaspar, whenever he becomes one with the stage.

The stadium grumbled in excitement when they saw him hope to the ring with both arms open. The flashing light immediately followed him like a superstar, shimmering his favorite tuxedo. Ang mga ingay nila ang nagsilbing dahilan upang mas lumawak pa ang ngiti niya. Kumabog sa sabik ang kaniyang puso.

"Guess I'm the favorite part of the show." He chuckled. With his mic on, the audience heard his words making them laughed, eventually turning into a cheer.

They loved him so much after his exhibition of cutting his body in half last night.

He cleared his throat to silence them. "Last night was a little bit gore, don't you think? I love the horrified faces of yours though, but we will not be seeing that today, especially because we have too many kids watching tonight." Pinasadahan niya ng tingin ang mga batang nakaupo sa pinakaunang hanay. "I should be friendly, no?"

"Yes!" Humiyaw naman ang mga bata. He loved a responsive audience.

"Without farther ado, let's begin!" He slightly opened the side of his tuxedo and pulled a white handkerchief. Flexing it, he turned it upside down, allowing his audience to see there was nothing hidden in it. His white and complete pair set of teeth flashed the audience as they waited for him to ask for his signature line. 

"Is it magic or illusion?"

"Magic!" They shouted in unison.

Seo Hyo immediately crumpled the handkerchief like a paper while sipping through his thumb to the thin nylon on his vest and pulling the living prop caged in cloth with the same color of the handkerchief. Now it was behind the handkerchief without the audience noticing. With his fast hand, he immediately released the prop, allowing its feather to flap. The audience, especially his target for tonight--kids–-awed as they saw a dove.

"Correct. It's magic!" He moved his hand upward, pushing the dove to fly, at the same time, putting the handkerchief back to his tuxedo.

"Look at my hands. Do you see anything?" Binalandara niya ang kamay na may suot na puting gloves. "What do you think will come up next? Magic or illusion?"