Page 12 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 5-8 (The Residency Boys #7)

Damian put his arms around Collin and pulled him into a hug. “You’re going to finish college. Have you talked to your professors? Did the university have any suggestions?”

“Not really. They hoped that maybe I would like to transfer to online classes. But I need to do labs. I can do some things online but…” Collin halted again, swallowing and blinking.

Damian rubbed his back. “If your university can’t work with you, Richard and émeric will find you another one.”

Collin leaned into Damian’s hug. “I know. It hurts anyway.”

Damian kissed him on the forehead. “Have you told Richard and émeric?”

“Not yet. It only happened a few minutes ago.”

“Take a moment and call them.”

Collin nodded. Damian pointed him at the empty conference room across the hall, making sure that Cedric, who had accompanied Jun and Collin over, knew where he was. Then he went back to work.

Collin came back ten minutes later, a little red around the eyes but mostly calm. He grabbed a seat and joined Ash and Alice again.

About thirty minutes after, Jun came over to Damian’s desk with what amounted to a dossier on Rei in Korean. “This is everything I could find quickly. Want me to translate it?”

“If you can, yes. Make sure to keep the original names and the translations of the names in the English file.”

Jun nodded and went back to work. Damian read over the copy of the Korean original.

Jun had done a good job, and the situation was extremely suspect.

He forwarded Jun’s write-up to Yun and decided to pass the English version on to Pearsen as soon as he had it back from Jun.

Then he made a note to himself to get his hands on a list of every talent who had gone through BBB3.

He didn’t just want to see who had been debuted but also anyone who had signed on as a trainee.

Public eyes weren’t on trainees as often.

It would be telling to see where they’d ended up or how many others had disappeared.

Richard knocked on the office door a little while later. Collin went to him at once and was immediately wrapped in his dom’s arms. They spoke quietly for a few moments, then Collin went back to Ash and Alice.

Richard caught Damian’s eyes and motioned toward the conference room. “Do you have time?”

“For you, always.”

Richard smiled but shook his head. “Genuine question. This can wait.”

“No, let’s talk. There’s nothing happening right now that won’t keep for an hour or two.”

They went into the conference room together and shut the door. Only glass stood between them and Damian’s office, but no one could hear them speaking.

Richard didn’t waste time. “I wanted you to know that I’m reaching out to contacts in China about finding Jun’s mother. And I wanted to ask where things stand financially. Between Yun and Pearsen, the fees for the next few months will be significant.”

“I’m okay, for the moment, as long as I put everything else on hold.”

“Like renovating the church property.”

Damian nodded. “I’ll need to sell off a significant portion of stock if this drags out, but for now, I can see it through.”

Richard tapped his chin with his knuckles, pacing the room. “If you feel a need to have your own space with Jun, you’ll have support. I hope you don’t feel a need for that.”

“I want to stay in The Residency. Jun is trying. I know it’s hard on everyone to be more circumspect.”

“I like what I see in him. The fact he went to you immediately about Collin’s phone call is a good indication that he can be a full member of The Residency. He’s picking up on how we do things. I think the distance can be closed with time.”

Damian nodded.

Richard let out a sigh. “You’re still my boy, you know that.

I don’t want to step on your pride, but I don’t want you to take this on alone.

émeric reminded me a few hours ago that Reevesworth Industries has a fund for prosecuting on the behalf of victims of sexual violence.

We used some of that money just two months ago for several people who were blackmailed in my office.

Jun more than qualifies. I’d like to make a deposit toward his fees from that account with Yun’s office. ”

“I’d be grateful, and I know Jun would be too. He’s stressed over how much he feels he needs to pay us back.”

“Someday, he’ll understand.” Richard met Damian’s gaze, then stood up, and paced away.

“And on that note, I had one more point of discussion. Collin can’t be back on campus this semester.

In a way, I rather understand the school’s position.

émeric made a few calls. What they are offering in return is to grant him credit for documented real-world experience and access to several professors as project advisers, a hybrid internship/apprenticeship, if you will.

Collin is already on my team for the railway project, but that’s not his main focus of study.

He prefers to design spaces that integrate with communities, and I already have architects and experts designing the train stations.

Collin can consult with them and do research, but he wouldn’t be completing any of the work.

Would you consider actually going forward with renovating your property, with him as one of the leads? ”

Damian opened and closed his mouth twice. “I don’t have the funds to start that project at the moment. Honestly, going forward is a misnomer. I still have no plans, just a need. It’s like this big weight. Buying it was honestly juvenile.”

Richard shook his head, looking fond.

“Based on what I’ve overheard your boy and my boy discussing, they have plans.

You’ll need historians, community members, preservation experts, and a few other types of experts to pull them off.

You would have to speak to émeric for details, but it’s possible that you could turn a significant portion of the project into a work study for multiple schools in the city.

Usually this would take years to pull together, but as Collin pointed out, the property is not that far from one of the planned local stops on the train line, which will be one of the first to open, due to how far north it is.

There’s a case to be made for using the area as a success story for the new line and revitalizing the local economy by reconnecting it with the rest of the city through bringing back students. ”

Damian rubbed the back of his head, starting to pace himself.

He could see what Richard was saying. Instead of taking on the renovation project by himself, he could turn it into a joint project, perhaps even selling non-controlling shares to investors to raise funds.

His role would be that of the originator but not the driving force or creative vision.

Imagining that immediately made him feel lighter.

“What if I really do want to turn part of the church into a dungeon, though?”

Richard smirked. “ That idea piqued your interest, boy?”

Damian grinned, blushing. “It has a certain rebellious appeal.”

“If you can make something truly unique and special, I would be happy to reach out to my mentor’s network and see who would want to be first ranked members in having access to such a space. You’re not the only one who would find such a dichotomy enticing.”

Damian laughed, half embarrassed. “Collin suggested dual-use spaces, which, legally can be difficult, but there’s almost always a way.”

“Depending on how you structure it, there can be multiple business entities within the same building, and one can rent space from another for set periods of time.”

Damian nodded. “In which case, we could even have enough indoor space for large-scale primal hunts or pony play within the city limits.”

Richard nodded, approval and a trace of dark pride in his eyes.

This project was going to be a major time sink unless he found someone to run it for him. Funding had to happen up front, but if Collin started as his point man, then they could probably get the money together, and if émeric knew people…

Damian’s head spun, but for the first time in a long time since he’d thought about his old neighborhood and the church property, he felt something other than foreboding.

“I don’t want Collin working for free. If he comes on the project unpaid, I want him to have a share in what’s developed.”

Richard nodded. “I would have advised him to ask for nothing less. Going back to discussing The Residency, I think you and Jun should take over the lounge as a studio apartment. I don’t imagine your bedroom has space for both of you.”

“We’ll lose the entertainment space,” Damian countered.

Richard shrugged. “In time, between Collin and Jun, I can see us needing to expand in some way. For now, we have the living room, and usually that is enough. We rarely host as many people as we did last night. And though I can see if it happens again, we can make the entrance space more suitable for entertainment or even take down the wall between the guest bedroom and the living room. Collin never uses his room except for clothes, and we can turn his space into a guest area if necessary.”

Damian chuckled and shook his head. “You won’t make guests sleep in my old room?

“Your room is a cave.” Richard quirked an eyebrow. “We let you take it because you wanted it, but I wouldn’t force anyone else to sleep somewhere without a window. If we use it as a storage room for out-of-season clothes, then Collin can move all of his things in with émeric and I.”

“What about everyone needing a room of their own?”