Page 77 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 13-16
“Okay, okay, this is a look,” Jaewoong preened in front of the mirror. He didn’t have a vest or a jacket, but a short cape and a loose, purposely ragged knit shirt.
“My man has skillzzzz,” Jun slapped Jaewoong on the back. “Let’s move.”
It helped that the styling perfectly covered the bullet-proof vests each of them were wearing.
He didn’t dare ask while there were so many people around, but he needed to know, was the plan still on? Had Sevastyan and Rei made it into position? Would the Merchari agent take Damian’s bait and be at the after party? Was it going to work?
Was freedom almost in hand?
In the van on the way to the afterparty venue, some of his questions got answered. All passenger seats except the front one pointed inward like a limousine. Ellisandre rode with all of 5N. Collin and Richard were in another vehicle, but Damian stayed with Jun. For the evening, Ellisandre had gone almost completely masc, except for the icy makeup around their eyes, making them look vaguely dragon-like, if dragons were from the far north. Their suit was white, with a white stone-encrusted waistcoat that buttoned up to the throat. There was no tie. Two white flowers were pinned to the side just below the collar. The shoulders jutted out with massive shoulder pads. It hung from them like they were on a runway, the sleeves left empty and loose, as if it were a cape. The cut of the back of the jacket was duster length. White glittering threads made long lines up the fabric of the pants. Pointed boots in white leather and a square heel finished it off. All they needed was a sword to go for a fantasy knight photo shoot. Jun wasn’t entirely sure they weren’t carrying one. The duster/jacket combo had the structure to hide any number of impolite objects.
“The Merchari agent is at the venue, still under his Neumann alias,” Ellisandre reported. “There’s an old but active international warrant out for him from South Africa. Authorities are cooperating. Things will move fast, starting as soon as we arrive.”
Mi Hi jumped in. “Pictures first with the press, a few questions, we’ll keep it to fifteen minutes.” She glanced at Ellisandre. “Or whenever you give the signal.”
“As soon as Sevastyan sends word he’s in position,” Ellisandre said. “Everyone else has already checked in.”
Mi Hi nodded and turned back to 5N. “Raffle tickets for a private karaoke song with one of you for the charity fundraiser have been selling for the last thirty minutes, so everyone is primed for your arrival. Fans that purchased afterparty tickets are being bussed in now. They should be there ten minutes before us, so about…now.” She checked her phone to be sure
Ellisandre picked up the thread again. “The sooner we start moving raffle winners into the karaoke rooms, the sooner we can get these arrests started. None of you should be alone in the rooms at any time. If you are…”
“Trigger our panic buttons,” Su-jin nodded, serious.
“There should be eyes and ears on you at all times while you’re in there. Remember, you’re bait, not part of the operations. Let the police and the other agencies do their work. Each arrest will go out the back entrance. All the karaoke rooms are in a back hallway, with a secure entrance from the party space and a secure exit to the loading dock. All arrests will leave the rooms while all other doors are closed and go through the loading dock. Guests will see people go in for their songs at staggered times. Most people won’t realize not everyone is coming back until it’s too late.”
“Brilliant.” Jaewoong sighed. “Just promise me no one is arresting us.”
“Richard’s security is watching, as well as the police,” Ellisandre said. “We have safety protocols in place on both ends.”
“Mr. Su just used his ticket to enter the venue,” Damian said, checking his phone. “We have judicial oversight on the ground.”
Jun put a hand on Jaewoong’s arm and pressed. We’re good.
Jaewoong shot him a tired smile.
“We do this, then we can sleep for two days,” Jun said.
“Until Busan,” Jaewoong sighed. Then smiled. “I need to send pictures for Armada and Betti. Everyone get over here. Geun, your arm is longer.” He pulled out his phone. Everyone crowded to one side of the limo for the picture. Mi Hi snagged a copy for their social accounts.
“All right,” Jaewoong hit send and shoved his phone into his pocket. “Let’s go get some fuckers arrested.”
Jun grabbed Jaewoong’s face and kissed him hard on the forehead. Jaewoong squawked and thrashed and the rest laughed. Geun gave Jun a high-five.
“Let’s do it,” Jun said.
Security surrounded them and cleared a path to the door of the venue. Just ahead of them Richard and Collin walked the red carpet, Richard raising his hand in a reserved wave and nodding at the cameras, Collin following him stoically, completely unaware that there were as many photos being taken of him as Richard.
Jun met everyone’s eyes in the car, hand on the door handle. “Show time.” He let the euphoria of the concert come back to him and grinned as he stepped out of the vehicle. Cameras instantly stole most of his vision, but he stepped forward onto the red carpet, waved, smiled, and nodded, then looked back to make sure Su-jin didn’t get stopped. People took more liberties with their maknae. Yohei and Geun had it well in hand, though. Jaewoong stepped forward to walk with Jun.
“Damn this feels good,” Jaewoong whispered to Jun. “Eight months ago, I didn’t think this was ever going to happen again.”
Jun gave Jaewoong a tight smile. “We have friends, and we have amazing fans.”
“And everyone loves a good story.” Jaewoong stopped to shake hands. Jun joined him. A few minutes later, they were inside, fans were waving merch and calling their names. Mi Hi popped up to point them to the interview and photography area. Blown up images of their latest album art, drawn by Geun, hung on the walls. They stood in front of the canvases while more cameras snapped away, the sound loud and the light bright. Mi Hi kept them moving, ushering forward various reporters, and allotting them time.
“By all accounts, this first concert back has been a success,” one reporter said, pushing a microphone towards Jun. “As the leader of 5N, how do you think it went?”
“I’m just grateful to our fans, to all the support crew, everyone who came together to make it happen,” Jun leaned into the microphone. “This was a big departure from some of our earlier work and we’re really happy it’s resonating. There’s so much more to come.”
