Episode 15 #5
The music stayed under Jun’s skin as he showered and dressed, words starting to come to him as his hands moved, rubbing balms and serums into his skin.
It was almost there, like a dragon egg about to tear itself open inside his chest. He got through the morning, a light breakfast, security briefs, checking in with Mi Hi.
In almost no time, as far as his senses were aware, they were driving to the venue.
Cleaners were out in the seats setting up.
Last-minute checks were going on with the lights.
Yohei confirmed with everyone which parts they wanted to run one more time.
Jaewoong and Su-jin did some vocal warm up and left with Mi Hi to do a TV spot for an hour.
Jun took a podcast call in his dressing room for fifteen minutes with a host that squealed way too much.
He hoped, if she ever came to a concert, he had security on hand.
She seemed like the type who would try to throw herself over the ropes to grab people she hadn’t been invited to touch.
All it took, though, was Collin slipping into the room to make him forget the loud sounds and slide back into his peace, the music simmering just under his skin again.
“Ellisandre asked me to drop these off,” he said. “They’ve been…tagged. Your tags have been tagged.” He opened the box in his hand, showing all six of Jun’s most common earrings that served as his tags from Damian arrayed on velvet inside.
Jun picked one up and examined it. He could tell they’d had extra bits worked into them, but they were still perfect. “Thank you. They have a tracker on you, too?”
“Not a sex toy this time,” Collin gave a half-grimace. He touched his wrist and motioned towards his foot. “Believe me, there’s more than one. One more comment and émeric is just going to inject a tracker in my shoulder.”
Jun grimaced, then smirked. “You’d let him.”
Collin groaned and rolled his eyes. “Try getting kidnapped. Wait, you’ve done that.”
Jun laughed, stopped in surprise, met Collin’s eyes, then laughed again. He offered a fist bump and Collin met him, their knuckles tapping each other. They grinned in mutual ruefulness.
“To not getting kidnapped again,” Jun said.
“Yes, let’s do that,” Collin said. He looked around, as if suddenly anxious.
Jun held out his hand and pulled Collin in. “Nervous?”
“Shouldn’t be. You and 5N are the targets.”
“No, we all are,” Jun said. “I know you didn’t have to be here. Thank you.”
“You’re ours,” Collin said. He leaned into Jun, hugging back fiercely. Their kitten had muscular arms. All that construction work had changed him. “We don’t leave people behind.”
Jun’s chest swelled with that feeling again. He pressed his lips against Collin’s hair, either in a promise or a benediction, he didn’t know, but it was with his whole heart. “We’ll get through this together.”
Collin stepped back, but didn’t let go. “You’re going to be amazing. The rehearsals look even better here than they did at St. Elmo’s.”
“It’s the lights and the bigger space with the screens. They make us bigger and louder.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to do this tour in the new space?”
“St. Elmo’s is large, but it’s a different kind of space. Needs a different kind of performance. But we will. When the space is ready, we’ll do a program meant for just for what it is.”
Something intimate. Something sacred. Something that took them beyond idols and into poetry.
Poetry and rage. Poetry and despair. Poetry and redemption. He could see it. It flowed through him, an idea made of silk not yet cut into a garment.
He needed to stay in the here and now. This performance hadn’t even been done yet and his imagination was already flowing ahead. He was brimming with the magic that made things. Pressing his lips to Collin’s head one more time, he hugged him tight.
Run-throughs of different parts of the program went smoothly. Jaewoong shivered as they walked off from their last practice section. “Shit, I almost want something to go wrong. What if it all waits to break until we’re performing?”
Yohei shoulder checked him. “Don’t jinx it.”
“We’re ready. That’s why nothing went wrong. We’re good, guys.” Jun said. That place inside of his belly agreed. They were ready.
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.
Damian started to change his shirt. Sahyuk watched both of them uneasily.
Jun shucked his jeans. “Go on, time’s running out, Sahyuk.”
“That’s not how you speak to your father,” Sahyuk snapped.
Jun quirked up an eyebrow, standing in nothing but his compression underwear. “You’re not my father. You told me that yourself. Never came back and gave me your name, did you?” He reached for the pants for his first costume.
Sahyuk blinked at him. “I let you keep the stupid bear.”
“And my sisters, and your wife, evidently.” Jun glared at Bak and pulled on his shirt.
There wasn’t much more to the costume except his hair and makeup, besides the belts.
They were performing the entire new album.
Which meant Raw was the first song of the first set.
They were wearing slightly more glamorous versions of what they’d worn in the music video.
Jun started putting on the first belt, threading it through the loops of his pants.
“You took the house. They’re your problem.”
Jun had to run that through his head twice to find the logical jump in Sahyuk’s madness. “Funny how all your progeny become someone else’s problem.”
Sahyuk stood up, pointing the gun at Jun. Damian edged around the room. They were all one stupid choice away from Damian doing something heroic and tragic. Because he would. And Jun loved him for it, but today was not the day.