Page 80 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 9-12
Just for today.
This was madness.
His receptionist came in, bearing the hot food. Damian laid it out with generous supplies of napkins and checked his watch. If there were any deities listening, let them bless this plan. Law offices were not for children. Understatement of the year. No, wait, there were too many things that were already understatements. His phone notified him of a message from Cedric. They were downstairs, getting in the elevator. Show time.
Everyone but Kimbo still looked sleepy. Habibi was in his pajamas and wrapped in a blanket in Armada’s arms. Anna waved goodbye to Damian, yawning herself.
Damian gave her a nod and immediately corralled Kimbo before he could take off down the hall in the wrong direction. “Breakfast this way.”
Even Betti perked up at the sight of food.
Damian held out his arms to Armada. “If you want a break, I can take Habibi and you can eat breakfast in my office. Alone.”
She smiled and glanced toward Betti, then shook her head.
Damian followed her eyes. Betti looked wrecked. Her clothes and hair were neat, but her eyes were bloodshot, and her body curved in on itself. “We’ll talk later.”
Armada nodded. They both moved on. There was nothing else to do.
The morning passed quickly between meetings and case reviews. He took a call with a client in Seoul and confirmed that everything had been satisfactory with the notes he’d sent back on their contracts.
All the kids, even Betti, got absorbed watching an animated film. Habibi was asleep beside Betti on his tummy. Damian and Armada slipped out into the hall with the curtain cracked so they could look into the room.
“How are you doing?” Damian asked.
Armada crossed her arms. “Rough. But knowing that I’m not pregnant helps. The kids are going crazy inside hotel rooms.”
“And Betti?”
“Blaming herself. She talked about finding Thaddeus, like giving him what he wants will put a stop to everything.”
“Does she know that it won’t?”
“She does, but…” Armada shrugged, looking over her shoulder.
The but hung there, so vaguely familiar. There were so many buts around Thaddeus, so much damage that couldn’t be undone, only survived.
Healing took time, and they weren’t even at that stage yet.
Jun
Midday Tuesday, Jun bounced Habibi against his chest, pacing up and down the hall of Damian’s law practice. Collin had everything in hand at the Parsonage, and Mi Hi was making a run up to the Estate, planning to come back that evening with Yohei, Jaewoong, Geun, and Su-jin to move into the temporary apartments. They were tiny studios all on different floors and rented month by month but in the same building of a place that said they could hold dance practices in their recreation room for the next two months. Meanwhile, with the increased threat profile against the kids, they were in Damian’s office again for the day. Richard, Émeric, and Collin were all moving around the city and needed their own bodyguards to stay with them. Keeping the kids with Damian meant less stress on the security team.
The novelty of a new location had already worn off by that morning. But at least Kimbo and Rue were napping after a long dance session around the conference table. Jun was still damp under his shirt from the sweat he’d worked up tiring them out.
His phone rang. He checked the caller ID: one of the investigators who had been in contact with him about the identity fraud in the US concerning his birth name. He answered, “Jun River speaking.”
“Mr. River,” the investigator started in, “this is Anderson. Wanted to let you know two things. First, you should be able to apply for your own ID and passport by next month. We’ve filed the necessary paperwork to clear that up for you. I’m sending some forms over now.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure thing. I can imagine you want to get that squared away. Meanwhile, we’re still combing through a lot of evidence. Sakyuk Bak did quite a lot under your identity. The good news is, it looks like you will be recovering some funds, at least in terms of hard assets. There’s a few properties under your name right now.”
“And they’re going to come to me?”
“They’re under your name. As far as we can tell, the funds transferred through SP4700Y and associated accounts. It will be up to a judge, of course, but these properties look like they’ve been bought with money he took out of the company that’s under your Korean identity, which owns the band that funds it, which is your band. Barring turning up another valid owner, these properties are yours, bought with your money, and already under your US name as well.”
Jun leaned against a wall. “I didn’t expect to see any of this.”
