Page 85 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 5-8
Part of him didn’t want to. Eighteen years raised in that hell would leave their marks. She wasn’t going to be the infant he’d loved and cared for. He still had all the sweetness inside him of loving her as a child, but she wouldn’t.
He breathed through his nose and realized Collin was moving toward him—even though they were driving. His kink brother slid into Damian’s lap, facing him, his knees on either side of Damian’s thighs. He wrapped his arms around Damian’s neck and hugged him with his entire body.
Damian wrapped his arms around Collin’s waist and put his head on his shoulder.
Dalia was going to sell him out, but she’d done that before. He should be used to it.
Holding on to Collin, he texted Mi Hi.
Text sent, he closed his eyes and let himself hold Collin against his chest, breathing in all the warmth the hole in his chest from the past sucked out of him each time it was reopened.
Episode 8
Jun
The wall-length mirrors in the basement gym of the estate were perfect. Every dip, roll, and stomp reflected back at Jun as he danced. Beside him, Yohei and Geun kept pace, Jaewoong and Su-jin in front. Then they flipped, head over heels, back row moving through the front row and splintering off to the sides.
“And one and two and three.” Gigi bellowed the counts.
Jun breathed out hard, his heart pumping in his chest, sweat running down his front and back. After a full day of nothing but rest at the Estate, getting back to dance was good. His body had missed the movement even if he did have to be more careful than usual. Though it felt like more, it had only been about nine days since he’d been kidnapped and had escaped. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about. Fortunately, trying something new with Gigi was always a good distraction from thinking about anything else.
“Again, from the transition,” Gigi directed. “And one and two and three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One!!” she counted off. “Jun, can you get lower in that squat? Geun, I want those hips rotating, not popping.”
The new routine was rebellious, dramatic, and sensual in a way Bak would never have allowed. Guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. Jun leaned forward, doing a deep bend at the waist with his feet spread far apart, then snapped up, flipping back. Jaewoong and Su-jin leapt forward, taking center.
Gigi held up her hand. “Good work. Jaewoong, you nailed the transition that time.”
Jaewoong grinned and pulled up his shirt to dab at the sweat on his face. Jun panted. At least he wasn’t the only one. Geun was leaning forward, his hands on his knees, sweat dripping out of his hair.
“Jun, your phone’s ringing,” Yohei called.
Jun wiped his face with his sleeve and ran over to the bench where they’d all left their things. The caller ID said Damian. He answered, still out of breath.
“You okay?” Damian asked. He sounded pinched and worried.
Jun chuckled, grinning even though Damian wouldn’t be able to see it. “We’re practicing something new with Gigi. It’s fire.”
“I’ll let you get back to it, then.”
“No, I want to talk to you.” Jun turned toward his team and Gigi and motioned he was going to take the call outside. Gigi put her head down with Su-jin, probably to give him his steps for the next section. “It is too soon to say I miss you?”
“No, not at all. I miss you.” Damian’s voice, softening on the last phrase, made Jun melt inside.
Jun laughed, a bit of nerves seeping into the sound. “It didn’t used to be this hard.”
Damian seemed to have all the words tonight. “We weren’t letting ourselves want before.”
No, he hadn’t. Just thinking back and trying to imagine wanting more than what Bak had offered was hard. Everything Bak related felt like a gray-scale dream. Everything in the present felt like being alive. Something almost too intense to stay with, but too beautiful and frightening to leave.
Jun let out a gust of air. “True. It’s so good to dance again, Da. Thank you for the space, the house.”
“Richard’s just glad it’s being used.”
Jun grinned with his eyes on the floor. He scuffed his shoes. It still felt weird being offered so much for so little. “We’ll have to show you what we’re working on when it’s ready. That’s what we’ve been doing all day. Music and dancing. Tell me about you.”
“I went back to the church with Collin and Richard. Collin has things to tell you. I think they’re all good. I worked. Phone calls, emails. Researched some cases.”
“Your sister still blackmailing you?”
