Page 47 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 5-8
Jun shook it, feeling muted. “Gang Junseo. Pleasure to meet you.”
Ellisandre smiled and then moved on, letting the last two people of the party inside so they could close the door. One was a woman in her forties, though she could have passed for younger, in a smart, comfortable-looking beige pantsuit and gold jewelry, and the other was a teenage boy with dark-red hair wearing wide-legged black jeans and a skintight purple sweater with a rolled turtleneck. He had both of his ears pierced and was wearing gold studs. A beautiful German Shepherd followed him on a leash, but who was walking who was up for debate. The dog certainly didn’t need direction.
Jun touched his own ears. Maybe he could wear something more daring. Bak had always been against it, but this person made him envious. He wanted something more than studs or whatever a fashion magazine wanted him to model.
“Jun,” Collin said, motioning to the lady, “This is Linda, Richard’s younger sister, and Ash. Ash is…Ash. He helped me do research for you and Damian when Damian went to get you.”
Ash narrowed his eyes at Collin. He turned to Jun, hands in his pockets. “I’m the stray. Collin thinks I need to be civilized.” It came out almost like a joke and a dare all at once.
Dana came flying back down the hallways to the front. “Ash! Ash!”
The dog’s tail waved wildly, and Ash unclipped the leash, letting the dog catch the full force of the child’s rush. The dog sniffed her over, bracing her, while the child talked in tandem with expressive hands. “I want to show Uncle Émeric our cookies!”
Linda laughed and opened her purse. “Walk! Or they will get broken.”
Dana took the glass container with both hands, eyes wide. “I’ll walk, promise. Come on, Maribel!”
The dog took off after Dana, and they disappeared down the hall. Ash edged sideways as if to follow them.
Jun extended his hand without touching the prickly stray. “Thanks for helping Damian.”
Ash shrugged and nodded. He ducked his head. He didn’t shake hands.
Linda offered her hand instead. “It’s good to meet you, Jun. We’ve all been waiting for Damian to find his special person.”
Jun blushed. He shook Linda’s hand and mentally shrugged off Ash’s obliviousness. He was apparently not yet well socialized. There was a story there, but no one else seemed to think Ash was odd. They all moved back toward the lounge, Linda and Collin carrying the conversation.
It was loud, what with everyone mingling and dozens of new introductions being made. Jun hung back. It was almost too much. Artemis was nowhere to be seen now, so he didn’t have the cat to hide behind. Su-jin came over, and Jun grabbed him, putting him in his lap. Getting used as lap-pillow armor didn’t even slow Su-jin down. He was talking to Alice about music, and she merely followed him onto the couch. Dana bounded over and crawled into Alice’s lap, followed by the dog who flopped down, and Jun found himself firmly inside one of the groups forming around the room without even having to talk. He rested his cheek against Su-jin’s shoulder and enjoyed getting social points without having to move his mouth.
Su-jin was like a big teddy bear, nice to hold on to and safe to hide behind. At some point, the dog came up and sniffed Jun; he freed one arm enough to give the German Shepherd head scratches.
Alice and Dana were called away after a while. Su-jin bounced off for more food. Jun took the opportunity to grab Yohei. The other three 5N members picked up on the fact that they were going to talk and followed Yohei and Jun to the guest bedroom on the other side of The Residency. Dinner wouldn’t be served for another hour.
Jaewoong and Geun flopped on the bed, Yohei took one of the chairs, and Su-jin leaned against the dresser. A moment later there was a knock, and Mi Hi stuck her nose in. “Am I wanted?”
Jun waved her in. “You’re part of this now. I wanted to give everyone an update where we knew it was safe.”
She came in and closed the door, joining Yohei by the window.
As concisely as he could, he outlined what he knew and what had happened. With everything going on, he hadn’t realized they didn’t yet know the full story of the kidnapping, only the basics and what they’d been there to witness, so he started there, leaving nothing out, and finished with the discovery about his citizenship from a few hours before.
There was stunned silence when he finished.
Mi Hi broke it first. “Well, fuck.”
Su-jin laughed nervously. “Fuck, fuck.” Su-jin pretty much never cursed. His face was a little pale.
Geun raised his middle finger, this time with no humor. Jun snorted and sent his most laconic band partner a grin. Geun smirked back.
Mi Hi drummed her fingers against the table. “No wonder they’re going crazy.”
Yohei was deep in thought, hands folded behind his head, looking at the ceiling. “I want to know about this Russian man, the one who helped you.”
Jun shrugged. “I don’t know. Never saw him before.”
Jaewoong snorted. “Well, I was done with Bak and BBB3, but now I’m even more done.”
“Same,” Su-jin grimaced.
