Page 71 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 13-16

Damian

Ellisandre stood beside Damian in the wings of the stage, their tablet open to the tracking software following Bak Sahyuk so Damian could see it.

“He’s headed for the subway station,” Damian relayed to the police lieutenant in his headphones. Beyond the conversation, the crowd was spellbound by 5N. The energy was infectious. Damian forced himself to be calm.

The lieutenant asked a question.

“We can send you the tracking, if you have the application, or we can mirror the screens,” Damian said.

Someone complained that 5N’s security hadn’t shared the tracking software before.

“We’re sharing now,” Damian snapped back, stepping further into the wings and towards the dressing rooms to get away from the absolute roar of the crowd as the first song thundered towards a finish. This was taking longer than Damian had hoped. Sahyuk’s blinking dot on Ellisandre’s screen was already entering the subway station. He was going to be a difficult target surrounded as he would be by early evening congestion. No police officer was going to want to risk a shoot-out inside a crowd. They’d have to track him to somewhere quieter or risk civilian loss of life.

Cedric would have been wonderful to have on hand. But he was keeping watch over Armada, Alice, and the rest.

Maleko checked in. “Everyone is accounted for inside. No other interlopers found.”

“Thanks,” Damian said. “I’m working with local officers now.”

“We’ll keep you updated,” Maleko said.

Too bad Jun couldn’t perform behind bullet proof shields. It probably wasn’t necessary. The Merchari were watching this performance and counting their unearned won at the same time.

“Do we know where Bak Gyeong is?” Damian asked Ellisandre.

They looked down their nose. “Holed up in BBB3, unless there’s a secret exit.”

It took three songs for Damian to be able to hand off tracking Bak Sahyuk to the police. He moved closer to the stage. Mi Hi was there, gripping her tablet in front of her chest with both hands, her knuckles white and her face bright.

“They’re doing it,” she whispered to him.

“You’re doing it,” he said.

She shot him a bright smile and shook her head. “I just helped.”

“You helped so much.”

Her teeth played with her lip and she looked to where Yohei kicked and spun in the air. “I don’t know how they do it. When we’re just doing things, writing posts, all that, I forget they’re this. They’re so normal, and then…”

“Then they’re this.” Damian watched with her. It was in him too, the sense of a glow in his chest from being so close to magic.

Assistants moved past, preparing for a costume change in the next few seconds. Jun and the others bounded off the stage, dripping with sweat and grabbing the water bottles being thrust at them. Jun threw Damian a thumbs up and raised an eyebrow. Damian pushed into the swirl of activity and leaned into his ear.

“He’s out. Police tracking him. Everyone’s safe.”

Jun took a quick breath and gave Damian a relieved nod, and then he was gone, back to being the idol up on the stage, brighter than life.

A call came in from the police lieutenant. “We have eyes and video in the subway car where the tracking says Bak Sahyuk should be. Can’t see him.”

“Unless he dropped the tracker on someone else, he’s there,” Damian retorted. “He took the earring like a trophy.”

Why the hell weren’t they seeing him?

Jun

The stage lights lowered, focusing on Su-jin at the center as the opening notes of “Haunted Doll” started. Jun steadied his breathing, standing back in relative shadows. Behind them the video screen showed images echoing the feel of the music video: dark streets, rain on cement, cloud covered night skies.

Su-jin sang from his knees in the spotlight at the center of the stage.