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“Whatever the fuck this is,” Alex spat, whipping his hand out at the garage around them.

Closing the distance between them, Alex confirmed he was slightly taller. It had to be him. Alex sneered, gritting his teeth. “I know it’s you, Jun. What the fuck is going on? Why are you here? And why is Hal calling you Connor?”

Jun, or Connor, or whatever he was called, gave him a blank stare until he shrugged. “When I started here, they started calling me Connor for some reason.”

“And you just let them?”

Jun shrugged again.

Never in a million years. This thin, oil-slicked mechanic could not be Jun. But Alex was certain. Same shy kid who’d been obsessed with Japanese cartoons, video games, and grandpa music. He never understood what Ayase saw in him—couldn’t imagine his reaction if he saw Jun now.

“So, why do you need a car for this job?” Jun’s emotionless voice cut through his thoughts.

Alex exhaled, moving his hands to his hips, shaking his head at the ground. He closed his eyes to clear his mind. He was not here to ask what happened to Jun. He had to push that desire away and put the job at the forefront.

He was safe. That was enough, for now.

When Alex opened his eyes, Jun had walked to the workbench at the other end of the garage and hung his bandanna on the pegboard.

“Don’t really know the full details,” muttered Alex. Jun leaned against the workbench’s edge and started removing his dirty leather gloves, revealing his long pasty fingers. “All I got is that we meet up with someone at Norms. But if things get real bad, we need a getaway driver.”

Jun pulled off the other glove by the middle finger. “Who gave you this job?”

Alex exhaled through his nose, unclenching his jaw. Not the time. “Dunno. Just a messenger that calls themselves Robin.”

Jun threw the gloves behind him on the desk and gripped his palms at the edge of the workbench, biceps flexing. “Why did they ask you?”

Alex observed Jun, knowing that whatever he would say next would really show if this truly was the same Jun or this boring mechanic Connor. “There’s been rumors going around that Durden is making its way around the market again, ’specially here in Sunshine Hills. Some say that the dope is coming from the Garras.”

Jun widened his eyes for a split second, then darted his gaze at the ground. That was unexpected.

“So, this weekend, we go to Norms, get the info from the benefactor, and find out if the rumors are true that the Garras are back in business.”

Jun kept staring at the floor. “Why does it matter to you if the Garras are involved?” When Alex didn’t answer fast enough, Jun looked up. “You really are part of the Garras,” he muttered.

Alex flinched. He could have sworn that with how close Ayase and Jun were, he would have known something. But he didn’t. Jun had no idea he grew up in that life. The reaction was completely different from when he first told Ayase of his home life, and he responded with, “Figures.” Now, Alex couldn’t take it back.

“Was,” he said, scrunching his nose. “Anyway, they asked me to take on this job because they know I had connections with Ayase.”

Jun’s fingers gripped the bench, knuckles white. A shudder running through him. His dry, frayed hair fell over his face, hiding his expression. Alex’s lips curled into a sly smile. A tiny victory.

“Where were you, Jun?”

“Wh-what?” That sounded like the Jun he knew.

“What the fuck happened to you? I looked for you after the whole mall fiasco, and you just disappeared. You weren’t at home. Yoona and I searched the entire town. Also, you’re a fucking idiot for leaving your phone at home.”

“Sorry,” said Jun, looking away. He shuffled his feet towards a different direction even though they both knew he had nowhere else to go.

“You disappeared for a whole fucking month! Do you know how suspicious that looks after Ayase shot himself—”

Jun turned his back to Alex and rested against the bench, shoulders rigid. Alex watched the tension lock through his frame and felt the conversation dying between them. After an uncomfortable silence, Jun answered, “I was here.”

“Huh?”

“You asked where I was for a month. I was here. Hal let me stay here.”

“Doing fucking what?”