Page 70 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 1-4
“Let’s ask Yun.” Damian nodded toward his lawyer friend, who had been quietly studying the documents on the table ever since Yohei had produced them.
Yun waved them off. “Need more time.”
Jun
Jun dressed with numb fingers, taking each article of clothing as Su-jin handed them to him. Mi Hi had outdone herself somehow: black slacks, a sharp blue button-down shirt open at the throat, and a leather jacket. She needed to moonlight as a stylist. How she’d pulled that together in the early hours of the morning and made sure the rest of the team was also in their colors was impressive. Granted, she’d had all their numbers and been able to talk to them ahead of time since the night before. Maybe that was when she’d gotten it done. He couldn’t ask because she was currently brushing makeup on his face. Thank goodness he and Su-jin had basically the same complexion.
There was general fussing. Mi Hi was practically shaking as she checked each of the five members of 5N, then pressed her hands together, and nodded at Damian. She bounced over to Gigi, whispering about how she had never, ever, in her life, dreamed she’d be prepping her favorite idol band for a press conference. Gigi wrapped her in a one-armed hug.
Jun turned to Damian, afraid to do anything for fear he’d mess himself up. Damian offered a hug. Jun leaned into it. But there was no time for more.
I can do this. Just don’t think about it. It’s just a press conference. A tiny one.
Or not so tiny. Mi Hi had sent out a message to the fan server right as Jun made his call to the police. It had included the time, place, and room of the press conference, so any fans nearby would be there. Some of them had been organizing their own informal search parties.
They took the stairs. Nothing felt real. This didn’t feel like a press conference. Bak wasn’t running around smiling at some people and making quiet threats to others when he thought no one important was looking. There were no BBB3 goons standing around, extra people who Jun had never understood the purpose of. They seemed like expensive extraneous bodies, but Bak never went anywhere without them.
Yohei and Geun took point, following Richard’s Samoan bodyguard. Jun wracked his brain because he’d heard the man’s name, but he couldn’t remember it right now. There was just static between his ears. Talking to the police less than half an hour ago already felt like some weird dream. This felt like some weird dream. He followed Yohei and Geun through the doors out of the stairs, Su-jin and Jaewoong at his back. He looked back. Mi Hi and Gigi were behind Su-jin, each giving him a thumbs-up. Richard and Damian were behind them, and in the very back was Yun, the lawyer. He was still looking at the paperwork in his hand, his glasses sliding down his face.
Jun wasn’t alone. He was very far from alone. One call to Damian had led to this.
There was a green room behind the space where reporters and fans were already milling. They filed in, and a member of the hotel staff informed Damian that everything was set up. Jun peeked through a hole in the door. The hotel staff had organized a podium and corralled the press and onlookers away from it on the other side. Mi Hi had more than done her job. Fans outnumbered the press three-to-one. The NowNows were in various states of dress, most looking like they’d popped in off the street.
Damian gripped Jun’s hand. “Ready?”
Jun swallowed. His legs were tingling, and his palms felt too large and too small for his body,. There was static in his ears. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”
“I’m right here.”
“Thanks.” Jun closed his eyes and mentally reached for his public persona, wrapping himself in years of training and coaching. He lifted his chin and glanced at the other members of 5N. They all nodded back, and Su-jin stuck in a thumbs-up.
He needed to do this. He owed it to the fans, if nothing else. What Bak had done by declaring him missing was cruel. “Let’s go tell the NowNows not to worry.”
A roar of noise hit him as he walked out. He went straight to the podium, acknowledged the crowd with eye contact and bowed a little, waving his hands after to be more casual. Cameras flashed, washing everything out in an explosion of light. But that was normal. After a moment, he raised a hand to quiet them down and leaned toward the microphone.
“I have to deeply apologize to all of our NowNows. I feel like I’m on the set of a drama right now, and I’m not quite sure how it happened. Usually, I have to audition.”
There was some giggling. He went on. “I’m not missing. I never was missing, and I’m very sorry that you were told that.” He smiled and shrugged, not needing to manufacture embarrassment. That was very, very real. “I can’t really tell you any more because I don’t understand how the word got out, but I wanted you all to know that I’m safe, I’m with friends, and I’ve gone on vacation. Actually, I was here last night, seeing a friend.” He looked around, found Damian, and nodded at him. Richard was standing right beside him. There were a few gasps from those in the reporting section who knew who Richard was. Those who didn’t know would know soon enough.
“Please rest assured I’ve already contacted the police to let them know there was a mistake, and I’m deeply sorry that you all had some hours of worry.” Jun bowed in apology, then leaned back into the mic, “Really, I’m very sorry. I would never want you all to have any sadness over my welfare.”
There was general clapping. Some of the fans yelled NowNow chants. A reporter pushed forward. “Mr. Gang, do you have any explanations for why your manager would report you missing? And why he’s not here?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t.” Jun gave her a wide, rueful smile and shrugged, looking a little bashful. A few fans sighed, leaning against each other. “I haven’t fully untangled what has happened yet, but I knew I had to at least put everyone out of their worry first. I could see how upset everyone was online, and that’s the last thing I would wish on our beloved NowNows while trying to celebrate the new year.”
“Where have you been?” another reporter shouted out.
“With friends.” Jun nodded toward Damian again, and Damian bowed a little toward the crowd. “Mr. Sathers and I have known each other for years. He happened to be in Seoul, so we met up to catch up, and then”—Jun nodded toward his bandmates—“we were all going to take a little break together. Su-jin had to go home for Christmas, of course.”
Su-jin grinned and waved.
Yohei ambled forward and put an arm around Jun, leaning into the microphone. “Seriously, you all think we’d let Jun get away from us? What would we do without him?”
There was general laughter. Maybe we can pull this off.
Jaewoong and Yohei took a few questions about their upcoming comeback, saying a lot without giving much away. They were naturals. Jun watched them with a smile. This felt normal.
A man from a financial website pushed forward. “Can we ask why Richard Reevesworth is here? Wasn’t it his representative that called the press conference?”
