Page 65 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 13-16
The other four looked towards him. Whatever they needed to see in his eyes, they saw. Su-jin smiled tightly and fist bumped Geun.
Mi Hi jogged up, dressed for the show in a black suit and soft flat shoes. She’d be backstage during the show. The less that could be picked up by a mic, the better. “Go, get dressed, do your make-up. They’re opening the doors any minute.”
The opening act, a local group of up-and-coming rock stars, walked past, heading for their set up. Jun waved to them, wishing them well. Two of the kids looked shellshocked to see him.
“Don’t scare the babies,” Geun whispered.
“I didn’t try to.” Jun put up his hands.
Su-jin shook his head and looked back. “We were them once.”
Jaewoong gave another shiver. “Don’t remind me. I feel old. Better have those six kids soon.”
“Three. Max.” Geun slung an arm over Jaewoong's shoulders. “Uncle duties are expensive.”
They parted, heading for their respective dressing rooms. There were only three, Jaewoong and Su-jin were sharing, Geun and Yohei had the other, and Jun had the last one, but Gigi, Mi Hi, and Damian all had stuff there as well.
Jun checked the clock on the wall. He didn’t need to be on standby for the sound tech for an hour. The opening act was a thirty-minute set and the audience would be sitting for the next hour. They could show up for sound check as the opening act started and still have extra time.
Jamal ghosted behind him down the hallways. Jun gave the bodyguard a nod and then ignored him. That music was running under his skin again, not quite ready to come out. He touched bases with Gigi, said hello to a dozen of backstage visitors, signed a few album covers, and checked in with Ellisandre.
Damian passed him. “You don’t have long to dress.”
“Two minutes,” Jun said. “I’ll see you there.” He glanced at Damian’s laid back slacks and shirt. He knew for a fact that Damian had something much more stylish for the show and a separate three-piece suite for the afterparty.
“Two minutes,” Damian said.
Jun nodded. He finished signing items for Gigi’s friends and saw them off, then turned the corner in time to see Damian disappear into the dressing room. Jun put some speed into his walk. He really shouldn’t have lingered as long as he had. He pushed open the door to the dressing room with one hand as he started to unzip his jacket with his other. Jamal nodded and moved to stand by the door. The zipper stuck. Jun pushed the door shut with his foot as he unhooked it. “Sorry, DaSu. We still got time.”
“Junseo.”
Not Damian.
Jun looked up straight into Bak Sahyuk’s eyes. He sat at Jun’s dressing table, a gun pointed at Damian, who stood just a few feet inside.
Jun looked between Damian and Sahyuk. Damian was quietly burning with fury.
“Da, relax,” Jun said, his voice dropping half an octave. He finished pulling off his jacket and dropped it over a nearby chair.
“I told him not to move,” Sahyuk said, lifting the gun a little higher.
“Your timing fucking sucks,” Jun said. He started untucking his shirt and took off his tag, putting it down on the edge of a counter. “We have a show in a couple minutes.” Outside, the sound of the crowd was growing.
“Not my problem.”
“You sure?” Jun raised an eyebrow. “If this was a murder spree, you’d have been shooting already. And when we don’t show for mic checks, someone is going to come knocking. Going to kill them too? This room only has one way in and out.” Jun pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it towards his discarded jacket.
“We need to talk.”
“You waited a damned long time for that. I’ve been trying to talk for years.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
Jun narrowed his eyes at his father. The years had been kind to the man. There was barely any gray in his black hair. He’d stayed in shape. The only things that showed how long it had been since he’d torn up Jun’s life were slightly deeper crows feet besides his eyes and marks of frequent tanning on his skin. “You waited too long. DaSu, get changed. We don’t have time for this.”
“We still have to talk.”
“Then talk while we dress,” Jun shrugged.
