Page 82 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 5-8
“Mr. Bak, Mr. Gang is still in contact with his fans. And so are the rest of 5N. None of them have expressed worry for Jun’s mental health, only his physical injuries. Can you address those?”
“While we’re concerned for Mr. Gang’s physical health, we’re more concerned for his mental well-being. I’m not going to go into details that aren’t already public knowledge, but we have reason to believe Mr. Gang did not suffer an external attack. Those injuries we all saw on camera—they were likely self-inflicted.”
There was a collective moment of surprise, punctuated by gasps or silence. One reporter found her voice first. “Mr. Bak, can you explain why JunJun would be with Damian Sathers and Richard Reevesworth? He’s been photographed with both of them, both here in Seoul and in Chicago.”
“I can’t say I understand that, no.”
“And what about the rumors that Mr. Gang may have taken one or more of them as lovers? They’re both openly gay men.”
Bak raised an eyebrow and shifted uncomfortably. “Again, I would just repeat what I said earlier. A week ago, Mr. Gang was a model idol. His music and his fans were his entire life. He was a pleasure to work with. I’d never known him to have a romantic relationship, not even privately. Music and dance were his life. I can’t speculate at this time.”
There were a few more questions. Mi Hi let it play to the end but scrolled away to read the comments. A photograph of Richard sitting in the lobby of the hotel in Seoul appeared in one of the comments, followed by a note: Are we sure Mr. Reevesworth is gay?Mi Hi made the photo larger. Sitting on Richard’s lap was Jun in his skirt and boots.
“Well.” Mi Hi shook her head, smiling, looking both pleased and miffed.
Jun put a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Damian put his arms around Jun, hugging him from behind. “Émeric is going to be amused.”
“I give it one hour to three days before someone runs facial recognition on the photograph.” Mi Hi made a face. “Not quite sure what to do with that one.”
“Just be honest. Jun was trying to travel without being noticed. Something happened, and Richard was helping him.”
“By letting me sit on his lap?” Jun peeked out from behind his fingers.
“Let’s be honest, half your fans are just going to be jealous that the skirt looks better on you than it does them.”
Damian
Damian left for the city after breakfast. Before he went, though, he unlocked another bedroom for Jun. It didn’t have its own bathroom, but it was close to Richard and Émeric’s room and shared a bathroom in the hall with the room Geun and Su-jin had chosen. And if that bathroom was full, there were always more bathrooms elsewhere. The bed needed making. They found sheets in the mostly empty dresser. He left Bear with Téméraire on the bed for Jun. Artemis followed Jun around until they were done and jumped up on the bed, claiming the entire thing for herself. Jun laughed and stroked her ears. She allowed it with one soft flick of her tail.
Downstairs, everyone was hanging around to see him off. Su-jin gave Damian a hug. Yohei offered a handshake, and Geun and Jaewoong waved. Gigi fist-bumped him.
He made it back to the city a little after noon. Zia drove him straight to his office. Eleanor wouldn’t be back until the next day. He did a sweep, checking on his associates. There were a few messages he hadn’t been able to handle in the car where he’d sorted most of his morning business. Alice was in his office with Dana. Dana had her own laptop open in front of her.
Damian chuckled. “Are you teaching Dana to be a super sleuth?”
Alice grinned mischievously. “Don’t knock kids. She’s tagging photos.”
Damian looked over the girls’ shoulders. Dana was indeed sorting through photos on two screens. The photo program had made suggestions based on a list of who was in each photo; Dana was checking and correcting it against known photos.
“I think you’re using child labor, Alice.”
Alice chuckled. “Well, she was doing her matching game while I did this myself, but she liked my game better.”
“Is Ash at Richard’s office?”
“He got up earlier and went in with Collin. Chinese lessons started again today. He’s going to work from home on this once he’s done there.”
“Tell me if he’s running himself thin.”
Alice shook her head. “I think he’s enjoying it.”
“You don’t have to work here, you know.”
“It’s good for Dana and I to get out of the condo. Dana’s therapist says she needs to be comfortable leaving home and being around people. Hopefully next year, she’ll be comfortable being in school.”
“This one’s not English, is it?” Dana pointed to a name on her reverse image search. Alice leaned down. “No, that’s not English.”
