Page 92 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 13-16
Jun
Jun held out his arms, catching Habibi as he toddled away from Jaewoong and towards the top of the steps. The sun was out and warm in the late September afternoon.
“Thanks,” Jaewoong said. He came and sat on the opposite side of the steps, getting the container of goldfish crackers open and reaching for the toddler. Habibi launched himself from Jun’s lap to Jaewoong's, fingers curled towards the food.
“His favorite, eh?” Jun grinned. Habibi was a ray of sunshine with a side of trouble in the lives of the adults–and the teens– around him.
“I don’t know why he likes them.” Jaewoong made a face as Habibi stuffed his face.
Jun laughed and swiped one of the goldfish, cracking it in half with his front teeth, making Habibi giggle. Bits of cracker flew in a one hundred and eighty degree arc.
Jaewoong dusted off his pants. “I should have worn a darker color. Come on! Buddy! We have dance class after this. We need to look good.”
“You have a toddler with you. You should get a pass.”
“You’re telling me,” Jaewoong groaned, still looking down at the little one in his lap like Habibi was the most precious thing around.
“When does Armada get back?”
“She has class until six, so it’s the little guy and me until then.” Jaewoong snagged Habibi’s water bottle from behind his back and offered it to him. Habibi tried to grab more crackers.
“Water first,” Jaewoong said firmly in Korean. Habibi started to pout, tipping his head to look at Jaewoong. Jaewoong raised one eyebrow. Habibi reached out with both his chubby hands for his water. He sucked at it loudly, glaring at Jun.
“Look, I didn’t say you had to drink water, JaeJae did,” Jun remonstrated.
Habibi dropped his water bottle. It rolled down the steps.
“I’ll get it.” Jun popped up and fetched. It reached the last stair before he snagged it. He jogged it back up the steps to Jaewoong. “Armada really seems to like the classes.”
“She’s going to be a CPA.” Jaewoong gave the bottle back to Habibi.
“So she chose a track already? I thought she was still considering her options.”
“Nope, made up her mind last night, after talking to May and Hypatia.”
“I thought Hypatia was trying to convince her to be a doctor.”
Jaewoong shrugged. “I think she’s going to be more successful with Ruby.”
“Oh, Ruby worships her.”
Jaewoong chuckled and let Habibi have more gold fish crackers. “Have you heard from Yohei?”
“Landed in Narita this morning and texted me. He’s making a stop to confirm the new dates for the tour. I think he’ll be at his family’s farm tomorrow.”
Rescheduling the tour had been easier than Jun had feared. Mi Hi and Damian had had most of the heavy lifting done by the time Jun and Geun had been allowed to travel home to Chicago with their injuries. Fans had been sad but supportive. Vids from the first performance had kept the excitement alive.
To be fair to fans and secure dates at the venues, they’d pushed all shows out to the end of October and November, with more scheduled to pick up again in January and February. It hadn’t been obvious at first how fast Jun and Geun would heal. Fortunately, they’d exceeded all expectations. The break, though, was more than welcome. It felt like breathing again, after months of only taking tiny sips of air. Every ticket sold would be honored, just at different times. Demand had been high enough they’d preemptively added a few dates.
It helped that multiple world governments had come out thanking them for helping to return kidnapped individuals and capture human traffickers. The credit felt a little misplaced, but 5N had become the face of the much larger operation, most of whom did not want the spotlight. That included Richard. The billionaire and papa dom had spent so much money taking down the Merchari and providing security not just for 5N but many others that Jun wasn’t sure he still retained his billionaire status. Not that Richard seemed at all concerned. He was still helping fund the mop up operations.
“You waiting on your alpha?” Jaewoong tilted his head towards the church.
Jun nodded. He caught a cracker as it fell from Habibi’s fist and helped him get it in his mouth. “He’s talking to contractors with Collin. Something about running heating through the floor in the lower level. And I think someone else is visiting to help with ideas.”
“Oh, the secret project.” Jaewoong waggled his eyebrows.
Jun chuckled. “Yes, the secret project. Big, big secret. That everyone knows about.”
