Page 88 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 5-8
Yohei scanned the room, studying everyone’s faces, but kept his thoughts to himself. Jun checked on Geun, but the enigmatic member of their group was busy mixing two hot sauces together on his plate.
“How’s the online comments?” Jun asked, looking to Mi Hi.
She grimaced. “Lots of speculation. Some calls for all of you to be in Korea. A lot of support. A lot of confusion. If you could have a stellar comeback soon, that would be optimal. There are some hopeful fans who think you all have more potential than BBB3 was letting you show.”
“Oh, hard agree.” Gigi gave a short, sassy dance. “They’re men now, not boys.”
Mi Hi blushed.
Jaewoong pretended to make a muscle with one arm and then the other and puffed out his chest.
Mi Hi got back on point. “International fans hope that there will be more meet and greets and international tours.”
“We were always very focused on just South Korea and only short tours abroad.” Jun rolled the idea over in his head. “What percentages of our fans are outside of Korea?”
“Over half?” Mi Hi held up her palms and weighed them back and forth, uncertain. “I’ve been mostly monitoring Korean language sites.”
“You’re not saying de-prioritize Korean fans?” Jaewoong frowned at Jun.
“I’m wondering when we’ll be able to perform legally in South Korea again.” Jun grimaced. “If we can perform abroad, then we can keep working. Eventually, we all need to pay the bills.”
“What is the lawyer saying?” Yohei asked.
Jun shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about that from him. I’m planning on calling him tomorrow morning. Want to be there?”
Yohei nodded, and the rest chimed in with affirmatives.
Jun
Despite aching from exercise and full from the meal, Jun knew he wouldn’t sleep. He sent the rest up to bed and volunteered to clean up the kitchen on his own. It didn’t take long to put the leftovers in the fridge, feed Artemis, and wipe down the counters. By the time he’d finished sweeping, Artemis had finished eating. He picked her up and wandered upstairs to a large window with built-in seating. The cold outside could be felt through the glass, but the seat itself had a built-in warmer. He turned it on, and Artemis made herself comfortable beside him on the cushion.
Down in the driveway, lights appeared. Jun checked his text messages. Sure enough, he’d missed one from Collin.
Jun texted back.
The SUV stopped. Collin and Richard exited with their bags and went into the house. Jun waited. It felt a little odd to not greet them, but it was late. They might not want company.
His phone buzzed.
Jun checked the time. It was very late. The call was probably international.
Five minutes later, Collin padded over the hallway runner, bare feet making little sound. He had a plate of leftovers in one hand and two mugs of what smelled like hot apple cider in the other. He sat on the opposite side, facing Jun.
“Do you like mulled cider?”
“Whatever it is, it smells good.” Jun leaned forward to take it.
“Damian introduced me to it.”
Well, now he really had to try it.
Collin got comfortable. Their legs intersected in the middle of the seat. Jun stared for a moment. It was familiar in a way he wasn’t sure he was ready for, but Collin wasn’t looking at him or making a thing about it. He had his plate balanced on one thigh and was eating like he was starving.
“The church is amazing. I think I almost like it better the way it is now than how it probably looked before.”
“Oh?” Jun raised an eyebrow.
Collin shrugged, chasing a grape tomato around his plate. “There’s something honest about it, the way it is right now, with the hole in the ceiling and all the debris.”
