Page 27 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 1-4
Fuck. How long could he hide his face before Bak found him? Forget Bak, before just some random person recognized him? He’d been on a live TV show doing a dance challenge only last week. There were hundreds of hours of video and thousands of photos of him online. He didn’t even know which campaigns for product promotions were currently running. He might be on a billboard down the street for all he knew. Or on a can of pop.
His stomach ached in reaction to the smell of the deli food the next aisle over in the fridge. He shuffled past cups of instant milk tea. If only he had a couple of won in his pocket. But he didn’t. Not because he was an idiot. He’d had a stash of cash. It had just disappeared, like his swipe card. And wallet.
He stared at various dried fruit snacks until it got weird, then shuffled around to brood over a display of socks and toothbrushes. He didn’t have a toothbrush. And his socks were wet.
Living on the streets really wasn’t something he’d planned out. He should have thought through his escape better.
Not that he’d dared pack anything. Not that he’d had time.
Maybe he was an idiot for staying as long as he had.
The woman behind the counter called out over the aisles. “Can I help you?”
“No… No, just…looking.”
She made a noncommittal sound.
He wrapped his arms around himself tighter. He wasn’t in any way close to dry or warm. He looked out the windows to the street outside. If anything, it was raining harder than when he’d arrived. The few lights on the main road played with the falling droplets, creating tiny refracting imagery. He couldn’t look away. This would be a good opening for a music video to a song he’d just started writing.
“Look, you can’t just lurk all night.”
Jun jumped. He hadn’t even heard her approaching. Had he started falling asleep on his feet? He took several steps back.
“You…” The woman squinted at him. “I know you? Where do I know you from?” She wore almost no makeup, and her shirt was a serviceable knitted pullover, something that would be sold in the hiking section of a superstore. Her apron was slightly stained on the bottom corner. She was classically good-looking in the way that made him wonder why she was working at a convenience store in the middle of the night, one of those people who wouldn’t have had to go to extreme lengths to be labeled as pretty. But she was certainly not making any attempts.
Jun pulled his shoulders in and turned away as if looking at the shelves.
She followed him. “Are you wanted? Police looking for you?”
Fuck. Bak would call the police — probably. Especially since the “date” he was ducking was with the chief of the police. It depended on how close Bak was ready to go public with a story about Jun being out of his mind. Jun adjusted the edge of his hood, wishing it could swallow him up, and he moved around the endcap of the aisle and into the refrigerator section.
“You can’t just lurk all night.” The woman was still following him.
He nodded at her and kept moving, pretending to look at the stock of soju. She huffed and moved back toward the counter.
Staring at a box of strawberry milk gave him a chance to think. His thoughts stubbornly kept swirling in the same direction: He needed to stay out of Bak’s grasp. He needed to maintain the ability to tell his own story. He needed information on the contracts. He needed to not freeze tonight.
He rubbed his face. Taking a risk was the only answer.
Slowly, he approached the counter and put one hand on the edge. “Hey.”
The woman looked up from her phone.
He nodded at it. “Could I borrow that for a few minutes? Someone took mine. I need to call a friend.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You won’t even show your face, but you want to borrow my phone?”
Jun grimaced. Slowly, he pushed his hoodie back away from his face. He’d just have to keep moving after this.
Her eyebrows went up, and her mouth opened a little in shock.
He grimaced and shoved his hands into his pockets. Of course, she recognized him.
“You want to borrow my phone?” She pointed at him and then her device.
He nodded.
She blinked several times and smiled. “Uh, sure.”
