Chapter Text
Rumi shifted on her bed, kicking her legs and tangling up the sheets that had been pushed to the base long ago. The pleasant chatter from behind her closed door now nothing but a memory, whispering softly in her ear as the mere notion of her friends soothed her nerves.
She didn’t know why she hadn’t been able to sleep lately. She’d taken all of Zoey’s suggestions from soothing teas to boring movies, all the way up to discussing the possibility of getting her a cat.
She turned down Zoey’s offer, of course. With them constantly performing and being on tour, she didn’t trust herself to deliver the proper amount of care an animal needed, but she did get a plushie—a tiger in fact.
It currently lay at her side, nestled beneath her chin, its lifeless eyes staring blankly at her throat which bobbed as she swallowed another frustrated sigh.
It had been almost a month since Gwi-ma’s defeat, and the Honmoon was made new. They hadn’t achieved the gold they were initially aiming for but.. She thought they’d gotten something better. A stronger, more secure foundation.
When they tried for gold again—no, when they did, it would work this time. There were no secrets, no doubts, nothing to keep them bound.
Rumi hugged the plushie close to her chest, staring out at her windows, keeping the gleaming city just out of her reach. If she stared long enough, she could see the current of song, the canopy they’d cast over the world.
Her marks, jagged tendrils shooting across her skin, pulsed softly, bathing her sheets in white-lavender light.
It was easy to think about things like this. Her friends, the Honmoon, their lives…
It wasn’t easy to think about what they’d left behind.
Who she left behind.
Thinking about Jinu was a complicated thing—all thoughts of him seemed to only bring a throbbing pain that she could never quite stamp out despite all her efforts. And at the same time, she smiled at his memory, at the things he said, everything he did…
It was easy to see him through rose colored lenses. It was easier, but she didn’t do easy did she?
She couldn’t ignore his actions, the way he hurt her, but she also couldn’t dispel the sacrifice he made but then—
Was it selfish to wish he hadn’t done it at all?
He gave her his soul. He’d said it, whispered it to her with a smile so sweet and bright she thought she might just fall for him all over again.
But… She didn’t feel it with her. When she tried to reach, scouring her mind and heart to find him somewhere in the chinks and cracks, she only dredged up his memory.
Rumi squeezed her eyes shut, bringing her knees to her chest, her satiny pajamas rubbing against her skin in a soothing way.
All of this thinking, all of this missing made her want to get up and go. To do something, to sing again, but she’d promised the girls to actually take a break this time. A real one.
They deserved it after all, and she couldn’t go back on her word. Not after everything they’d been through.
Rumi, knowing better than to dwell on things that would only keep her awake for longer than needed, tucked her thoughts away and made some valiant attempt at forcing herself to go to sleep.
It didn’t work, but we can praise her efforts. She laid there in silence for perhaps thirty minutes or so, watching their current ripple across the city, a promise, a haven for all of humanity.
And against her will, her mind began to drift, and her eyes grew heavy, slipping off into a peaceful slumber.
And it was! It was perhaps the most wonderful rest she’d had since this issue popped up. But not all good things are meant to last, for just as she fell deeper into her rest, she was pulled into some place, a place quite far from where her mind usually wandered when it slept.
Rumi stretched, but instead of feeling a soft mattress and comforters beneath her, she felt grass pricking her skin. The scent of flowers wafted through her nose, wet dew upon her lashes.
She froze, pausing for a comically long time before scrambling to get up, her left hand reaching for her sword but finding it quite gone from her side.
She was in a field, a lush green one, in fact. Overflowing with flowers of purple and blue, white and green, carpeting the grass in heaps and clumps. The sky overhead seemed to be indecisive of whether it should be night or day, caught between the two of them. And across the unnatural heaven, an aurora, large and grand bled out across the canvas of the sky, creating a whirlwind of colors all distinct and strange.
In front of her, a large willow tree stood, its trunk bowing over from the weight of its hanging leaves, long strands creating a dome, a veil that just barely hid the clear grass it covered.
Rumi, who hadn’t won a fight against curiosity yet, found herself strolling towards it, minding the thicker patches of flowers until she reached the edge of the flora filled field, pushing aside the reeds and stepping under the willow tree.
“Oh..” She inhaled, her eyes suddenly locked on the base of the tree. It could have been for a number of reasons, perhaps for the symbols and images ingraved into the wood, the wrath of fireflies that flitted about it, or the shadow of a person who stood just behind it.
It was blurry, hard to make out but she saw them and she knew them. She knew it was him.
Rumi rushed over, nearly tripping over a root as she came to peek around the trunk… Finding no one.
“What…?”
“Were you looking for someone, dear?” A sugary, wondering voice whispered behind her.
Rumi would be quite ashamed to say she jumped, whirling around with her fists raised.
It wasn’t who she thought it was. It was a stranger, in every sense of the word.
A woman stood before her, blonde curls meticulously styled to frame her face hidden behind a porcelain mask depicting the cunning expression of a gumiho. She could feel her smirk through the ceramic, the heat of her gaze cutting down to her very essence.
There was nothing kind about her, yet, she did not seem cruel. Skin pale as a morning lily glistened as she leaned back against the base of the tree, splaying her fingers across the bark, flaunting claws dipped in red.
They complimented her dress, her sash. It fell past her knees, hugging her body yet pronouncing no softness, it only drew attention to her jagged edges.
Rumi frowned, her posture still defensive. “Who are you?”
The woman hummed, cocking her head to the side like a greyhound. “No one terribly important, I assure you. Just a traveler.”
“A traveler.”
“Yes.”
She clenched her fists. “O-kay… Um, where is—“
“Jinu?” She finished for her, startling her quite a bit. Another laugh pealed from this supposed traveler, gentle as a blade pressed to the sternum. “Oh, I would think you’d keep better track of your toys, my dear! He is yours after all.”
Rumi bristled. “Jinu is not a toy!”
“Would you prefer the term tool?”
“Listen, I don’t know who you are, and I really don’t care anymore. Just—“ a pause, considering. “What did you say?”
A red claw tapped thoughtfully against her mask, each peck ringing out like a bell. “Hm? Oh! I said you should keep better track of your toys.”
Rumi just barely kept from grimacing, her brows knitting together in frustration.
“Yes. I remember. But, you also said he was.. mine. How do you know that?”
The woman’s head snapped straight, sending her curls bobbing. “Mm.. Your recent triumph had a very prominent broadcast,” she began, slowly. “Let’s just say, I had the pleasure of tuning in and experiencing it for myself.”
“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”
Rumi thought she had heard her laugh before, but clearly, she hadn’t even scratched the surface. If she were a vase she might have shattered for the force of her laughter shook the fields around them, grass quivering as she bent over, overcome with the absurdity of such a suggestion.
“Would you stop that! There’s nothing funny about this!”
“Well that’s exactly where you're wrong my dear!” She cried, “there’s plenty to be enjoyed with this. Oh, I haven’t heard such a ridiculous question in so long!”
“You didn’t answer me.”
“Ahaha! I certainly thought I did, but if you need it in clearer terms the answer is: no.” She sniffed, turning her face away from Rumi who had since lowered her arms, but not her guard.
“Do you really think any old demon could get here? In your dreams? Imagine a Hunter being plagued by those scum even in her sleep…”
Rumi had long since decided she didn’t like this individual, and had a mind to strangle her even if she wasn’t a demon at all, but some part of her restrained her from expressing this animosity, instead extending grace. Limited, tested grace, but we digress.
She sighed, lips pressing into a thin line then parting once more. “Then, what exactly are you?”
“I’m surprised you don’t know,” the woman mused. “A Hunter should have insight on all beings of her realm… How odd. But I won’t hold you in suspense, I am merely a spirit. Gumiho.”
As if to further her point, she held out her hand, palm facing flat. Her pearly skin shuddered, iridescent patterns weaving beneath the flesh like veins, however, they held no jagged edges like the ones Rumi was accustomed to. They were smooth, almost akin to crescents in the way they wrapped around her slim wrists and shot down her fingers.
She could still be a demon.
Unconsciously, Rumi looked down to her own, a stark contrast to the woman’s patterns.
“Gumiho… Those are, uh, fox spirits, right?”
“Exact as an equation.” Came the reply, a feathery purr that rode the breeze.
“That.. That still doesn’t explain why you’re here or anything else.”
She retracted her hand; her mask’s cheerful expression no longer mocking, but rather, appraising.
“That is true, and I do feel just awful keeping you in the dark. So, I suppose I’ll leave you with something to consider-“
“Leave me?”
The woman chirped. “Yes! It’s almost time for you to wake up, I'd hate to encroach upon your time, so let’s make this quick.”
The woman beckoned Rumi forward, settling herself on the grass, nestled between the gnarled roots that protruded from the ground.
She knew she should be more cautious, more weary of this.. creature who claimed she wasn’t what she seemed, but she hadn’t hurt her yet. If she wanted to do any damage, she would’ve done it by now.
Rumi steeled herself and sat on her knees before the Gumiho, only now did she realize she was much smaller than she looked up close.
“I know you were looking for Jinu earlier.” Her voice was a caress on her ears, just as saccharine as when they’d first encountered each other. “It’s so strange… You’re looking for him but he’s already here.”
Rumi stared at her, eyes creasing at the corners, fending off the grief that threatened to spill over from her heart. “If he was here, I’d know it but it was just…”
“He’s here.” She soothed, the pads of her fingers grazing over her knee. “You keep digging for him, tearing yourself open to find him but all you have to do is invite him in.”
Rumi shook her head, nails digging into her palms. It couldn’t be that easy, she’d tried. She tried everything, he was just…
The woman sighed, withdrawing her touch. She had a feeling she was frowning at her.
“For once in your life, let your hope spill into this, Rumi.”
Sunlight pooled in from large glass windows, trekking slowly across the floor and beginning its perilous ascent up the side of her bed.
Rumi didn’t quite wake, rather, she almost peeled herself from the rest she had sunken so deeply into. She felt exhausted, and she almost wondered if she’d even slept at all until she remembered her dream.
Sitting up, Rumi relinquished the tiger plush from her hold, rubbing her eyes with a heavy groan.
What was that? She’d had some weird dreams but nothing like that, it almost felt…
“RUMI! OH MY GOD, YOU AREN’T GONNA BELIEVE THIS-“
Without warning Zoey, in all her energetic glory, burst into her room and jumped on her bed, scrambling towards her like an excited puppy, gripping her phone as if it was a grenade.
“Um- hey, what ever happened to good morning?” She tried, but that didn’t seem to slow her roll at all.
“Mornings later—well, I guess-??“ Zoey pouted, drawing back all of a sudden like she’d done something rotten. “Good morning! Now look!”
She whipped her phone out in front of her, the screen pressing against Rumi’s nose. She backed up, her brows arched in silent question but she knew better than to ask, it was best just to look.
Rubbing her eyes, Rumi yawned and squinted, looking at the colorful image on the screen.
Her eyes widened.
The Saja Boys?
—
Funny. Getting their status back as Idols was easier than he thought it would be.
All it actually took was someone coincidentally recognizing them once they’d cleaned themselves up and the internet did all the work for them.
Well, most of the work anyway.
Minhoo reclined lazily into a sleek armchair amidst a tiny cafe, staring up at the ceiling while the boys around him were busy talking about… Something.
He tuned them out once they started up again about Jinu. Talking about him almost always led to another argument, and he didn’t want any parts of that.
Really, he didn’t understand what the big deal was. Sure, he betrayed them, but that was just who he was. He was always selfish, it was just easy to look past since they all were too.
Besides, his pitfall managed to get them back to the mortal plane, which was a pretty decent perk in his opinion. Only downside was they were pretty weak in their current states, their magic limited under the full strength of the Honmoon.
So there were pros and cons. They were still free… As free as they could be without their masters there to command them.
Minhoo huffed, sinking further into the chair, his head lolling forward lazily.
It seemed he’d avoided the entire argument this time, but of course, he was left to piece everything back together.
His gaze flicked to Mystery who was staring at his phone. He didn’t know how he could see anything through those bangs, but.. Eh.
“Raejin.” He intoned; the other male’s head barely turned, but he knew he was listening. “Do you think you can find us an agent?”
“—That’s what I was doing.” Kairo huffed, casting his disapproving eyes on him. He blinked innocently, fluttering his lashes.
“You, were taking too long.”
“Finding an agent is more difficult than it looks, an agent is usually supposed to find you, or you get a connection-“
Taewon cut in, leaning forward to rest his arms on the coffee table in front of them, rolling his shoulders back in a not so subtle flex. “Why don’t we just, I dunno, hypnotize someone.”
Minhoo snickered, “hypnotize someone? With what, your abs? Have you forgotten we have virtually no power here?”
Taewon rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Skies, he needed to invest in some real shirts, the buttons were on the verge of bursting. “I didn’t forget, but working the charm might just get us someone gullible enough to help us out~..”
And of course he had to flex his stupid biceps. At this rate, Minhoo was sure he was going to have an aneurysm.
“We’re not doing that. Raejin, you got anything?”
His eyes flicked over to the quiet man at his side, ignoring Taewon’s gaze which held nothing but malice. He’d have to deal with that sometime, he wouldn’t want him to have a little outburst and act on those volatile emotions.
Unfortunately, knowing Minhoo, later more often meant when it was right in his face.
So, he brushed off the dark, festering thing growing in his companion and instead peered over Raejin’s shoulder to peek at his phone.
He was brushed off almost immediately, one slender finger being held up to his face. He flopped back in his chair with a groan.
“Might as well let em’ work Baby.” Taewon smirked, looming over him even from this distance. His flesh rippled, patterns cresting over his skin as if they were waves lapping at a shoreline. He stood up without warning, flexing his hand grimly.
“You want something to drink while we’re here?”
“I’m good-“ he didn’t even manage to get the full sentence out before his hand clapped down on his shoulder, talons peeking out from beneath a facade of perfect, tanned skin.
“C’mon. I’ll buy.” He husked, squeezing down rather too hard to be a mere gesture of friendliness.
Great.
Minhoo got up without another word, leaving Raejin and Kairo to look for their future agent while he was led off to get a drink.
Oh, he wasn’t an idiot, he wasn’t getting a drink. He probably wouldn’t even taste a sip of water much less a latte the way Taewon was clamping down on him.
When they were quite out of view of the other two demons, he made an attempt to swerve him in the direction of the bathroom, but Minhoo halted his tracks, digging his heels into the tiles, stopping them just in front of the display case.
“Have I upset you?” Intentional, his voice pitched towards a deeper timber, resonating within his chest like a gentle purr. His eyes widened, looking up at Taewon with practiced naivety.
“Don’t try that crap with me.” He drawled, leering down at him with that stupid smile. This was such a waste of time, but his eyes only shimmered, entirely precious.
“I’m sorry if I made you mad. This situation isn’t ideal for any of us.”
Talons dug into the woolen material of his sweater, puncturing the tender flesh beneath. Minhoo exhaled softly.
“I’m trying my best to help us stay on track, you know Jinu wouldn’t want us fighting, or making poor decisions..”
Taewon arched a brow at him, clearly unconvinced, but enjoying the show. He wet his bottom lip, gently massaging his shoulder.
“It’s funny, for a second there I almost believed you.”
“What do I need to do to make you believe me?”
His voice was a breathy whimper in his ear, holding not a modicum of sincerity. Even so, he pressed on, tentatively, with just enough hesitation to sell his veil of youth, he slipped his hand into Taewon’s, lacing their fingers together sweetly.
That seemed to do it for him, for he went from smug to confused all in a matter of seconds.
He’d never had anyone back away from him so fast.
Minhoo spun on his heel, facing him with a boyish grin. “What’s wrong?”
Taewon’s expression dropped, staring at him for a good minute before scoffing and shoving his hands in his pockets. “You're a real freak, you know that?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” He chirped, stalking towards the counter without another word. Thankfully, it seemed that the barista had missed their “disagreement”, for she came around from the back and took their orders without delay. If she recognized them, she certainly didn’t say, but she did take too many double takes while handing them their drinks.
Taewon had paid for his drink just like he’d said, some foaming concoction that was more syrup than coffee while he just got matcha. By the time they'd returned to their little private corner in the cafe it seemed as though Kairo and Raejin had made some progress as they pooled their findings and presented all the candidates they thought would work best.
Once they filtered to the end of the list, they ended up with five candidates total. At that point, that got nitpicky. That is to say, they were blowing off choices for stupid reasons—and despite how Minhoo or Raejin protested, they were left with one individual.
“Hanuel..” Kairo muttered, his eyes cutting as he evaluated the tiny photo provided with his resume. He hummed noncommittally. “He’s cute.”
“Right, because we’re looking for cute.” Minhoo snarked, looking further down the page. “He’s new to the industry, he might be inexperienced.”
“I don’t know about inexperienced, aren’t some of those people he’s worked with on the charts?” Taewoon commented, sipping his matcha.
He wasn’t wrong per se, it was just… Ugh.
“Raejin, what do you think?”
All eyes turned to him, for unsurprisingly, he hadn’t said a word about the matter. He stood up, coming to stand at Kairo’s stead, looking down at his phone in silent contemplation.
He shrugged.
“Eh, that’s good enough for me.” Taewoon yawned, stretching his shoulders with unnecessary exaggeration.
Minhoo gestured for Kairo’s phone, bringing it to his face once he’d handed it over. “Alright, all we have to do now is find him. Simple.”
The rest of the boys seemed to be less laser focused on this than he was, which was a bit disappointing if he was being honest. He couldn’t let them get lazy, not when they were actually making progress.
“Where can we find him?” Taewon mused, drumming his fingers against Kairo’s arm, the pink-haired man didn’t seem to mind very much.
“It didn’t say… It does have his address though.”
Minhoo choked back a laugh, his head snapping up at the implication. “That’s too forward, we have to be subtle. Isn’t there someplace we can bump into him?”
The soft glow of a phone screen illuminated the right side of his face, turning, he found himself looking at Raejin’s device, his screen pulled up to… A restaurant. Huh.
This should be fun.