Chapter Text
The crowd’s cheering from Namsan Plaza was still ringing in Rumi’s ears as they left the stadium, her hand clinging tight to Jinu’s bracelet. She didn’t even remember him passing it to her, but right now it was the only thing holding her together. Had he put it in her hand as he burned, or before? She shook her head violently, trying to dispel the thoughts plaguing her mind, and from the corner of her eye, she could see the concerned glances coming from Zoey and Mira.
“Rumi, are you okay?” Zoey whispered, reaching over to grab her friend’s hand, gasping quietly at how much Rumi was trembling under the touch.
Rumi tried to shake her head, but felt totally stuck. “No.” She whispered, tears coming to her eyes as everything truly hit her. She shook her head, still numb from the shock. “No, I…I don’t think I am.” Her bare arms bristled as she admitted it, goosebumps raising on the surface of the skin causing the patterns there to ripple in the limo’s dim light.
Zoey’s eyes zeroed in on the marks and opened her mouth to ask the questions she was dying to, but Mira stopped her with a shake of her head. “Can you believe we just DID that?” Mira asked, brushing the strands of hair framing her face away from her eyes, expertly changing the subject. “We built a whole new Honmoon, and turned it golden in a single song!”
Zoey giggled. “That was pretty amazing. The flying was cool too!”
Rumi could only manage a weak smile. “Did you hear the fans? They were singing along without even knowing the words coming next.”
“We didn’t even know the words coming next, they just…came out.” Mira grinned, glad to see her friend engaging in the conversation. “But yeah, the fans were pretty great too. And we totally kicked Gwi-Ma’s toasty teeth in!”
“We couldn’t have done it without Jinu.” Rumi said, and the other two girls froze. “I know, he’s a demon, but he…whatever he did, it…”
“It helped.” Zoey cut in. “Rumi, I am so sorry. But is it okay if I say I’m grateful for what he did too?”
Rumi blinked. “Why?” She asked, her chest aching, resisting the urge to scream How could you be grateful that he died?
“Because he saved you.” Mira finished, taking Rumi’s other hand, finishing Zoey’s thought. “He protected you when we couldn’t and that means everything to us.” Rumi’s eyes welled up with tears, and a sob broke out of her throat, just in time for her friends to pull her into a hug on the floor of the limo.
And the sobs just kept coming.
Rumi cried, longer and harder than she had in a long while, and she was convinced nothing could stop it. Hot, salty tears rolled down her cheeks, smearing her makeup, while painful gasps for breath wracked her chest. She clung to her friends like they were a lifeline, and let the grief, and stress, and anxiety that had been building up for the past few weeks wash over her. At some point, the other two girls also started crying, devastated to see her like this, and all three clung to each other, desperate for comfort.
At some point the limo stopped, and Rumi started to realize she’d nearly cried herself hoarse. Her throat hurt, and her head pounded, and she could feel her braid loosening against her scalp, tugging awkwardly at the strands.
“C’mon Ru, let’s get you upstairs. I think you need our couch.” Mira whispered, and Rumi found herself being gently helped to her feet. Zoey tucked one of her shoulders under Rumi’s arm, half lifting her as the three stumbled into their apartment building, none of them caring as the building’s residents and staff watched them move.
Distantly, Rumi could make out that one of their phones was ringing, and almost on instinct she reached for hers, but Mira stopped her. “It’s Bobby, probably calling to tell us the concert was a massive hit. I’ll take care of it.”
“Mmm’kay.” Rumi slurred, exhaustion setting in, and she had to force herself not to dump all her weight on Zoey as soon as they reached the lift. “We should still talk about…”
“That can wait.” Zoey insisted, awkwardly pressing the button for their floor. “I think we’ve been through enough for one night. And we’re definitely in need of a break, so we can talk about it…” The elevator doors opened, and Rumi was dragged to the floor, surprised yelps emerging from her friends as a glowing arrow was embedded in the elevator wall behind them.
“What the…” Mira shouted, summoning her staff, only to recognize the source of the arrow. “Celine, what the hell?! Stop!”
“Girls, step away from her!” Celine ordered, drawing back her bowstring, which was humming with energy from the Honmoon. “Now!”
Rumi’s heart sank. By her, Celine meant Rumi herself. Celine was going to kill her.
“Celine, what are you doing?” Zoey cried, physically covering Rumi with her own body, Mira doing the same.
“What I should have done, years ago!” Celine shouted, tears streaming down her face. “Breaking my promise!”
“Stop!” Rumi’s protested, trying to push her friends aside. “Please, stop!” She pleaded, no longer sure that Celine wouldn’t kill all three to get to her, but neither of them moved, pressing their shoulders together to prevent Celine from having a clear shot.
“Celine, you don’t mean that.” Mira tried to reason with the older woman. “You love Rumi! You don’t want to kill her!”
“I loved Ryu!” Celine’s voice cracked. “She was my sister, and I wanted to protect what she left behind. But I took an oath as a hunter, and I let my personal feelings break that oath. She shouldn’t exist, she shouldn’t be alive, and my best friend should still be here! Now, I won’t ask again, move!”
“No.” Mira jutted out her chin, gripping her staff, threateningly raising it. “Because that’s my best friend you’re talking about, and none of us would be here without her!”
“She destroyed the Honmoon!”
“And she fixed it!” Zoey shouted back. “Look around you, Celine? The Honmoon is golden, it’s impenetrable, and stronger than ever! And so are we! Now, put it down, please!”
Celine wavered, looking down at her hunters, finally making eye contact with them. The two girls in front stared back at her with stubborn but terrified expressions, but Rumi’s face was neutral. No, Celine realized. It was acceptance. Rumi had been expecting this.
Celine dropped the bow, collapsing to her knees, keeping her eyes locked on Rumi. “I…what have I done?” The patterns shone iridescently on Rumi’s face, and Celine realized with a start that the girl’s eyes were the same color again, rather than split between her normal brown and demonic yellow. Whatever the girls had done, Rumi HAD managed to fix it. “Rumi, I…I’m so sorry.”
Rumi flinched, and the grip her friends had on her tightened. “I don’t know if I can forgive you.” Celine bowed her head, and covered her face with her hands. She rocked back and forth, on the verge of crying herself, and then fingers brushed her hair back. She looked up to see that Rumi had stepped forward, and was now standing inches from her. Rumi’s fingers weaved through the strands of hair, and then brushed down the side of Celine’s face, her thumb wiping away the tears.
“But I’d like to give you to opportunity to earn my forgiveness all the same.”
Celine let out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding, and pulled her daughter into a hug, clinging to Rumi’s shoulders. Rumi did the same, gripping tight onto her mother’s shoulders. “I’m so, so sorry.” Celine whispered, still on the verge of sobbing. Rumi pulled away, putting some distance between her and Celine.
“I have so much I want to say to you.” Rumi managed to keep her voice even, despite the fact she was seconds from falling apart all over again. “So much I need to talk to you about. And yet, right now it’s hard being in the same room as you. You caused this, Celine.” Rumi gestured to herself. “I nearly died tonight. I nearly let myself die tonight because you turned my mother’s mistakes, and your own, into my shame, and it was exploited.” Celine flinched, looking up at her daughter with despair. Rumi continued to say her piece. “Hundreds of people died, or nearly died at the hands of Gwi-Ma because of this secret you made me keep, and now we both have to live with that.“
Zoey and Mira got to their feet, placing a hand each on Rumi’s shoulders, gently pulling her away from Celine. Rumi grabbed their free hands with her own, staring defiantly down at Celine, who made for a pitiful sight on the floor. Her adoptive mother’s face was blotchy and red, her hair unkempt and her clothes stained and rumpled. The glowing bow she had been holding had long since dissolved, but Rumi knew her too well to believe Celine was now unarmed. Her face was full of grief and sadness, which was reflected in Rumi’s own expression.
A moment passed as the mother and daughter exchanged looks, and understanding coming between them.
“You’re right.” Celine chuckled wetly, getting to her feet. “Of course, you are.” Celine smoothed her clothes, trying to conceal her sadness, and recover her image as the poised hunter the girls had known for years. “The world turns on. And we must continue.”
“We’ll talk soon.” Rumi promised, and Celine nodded.
“We will.” The older woman made to leave, summoning the lift, and the doors opened. She stepped inside, but just as the doors were about to close, she turned around, and stopped them, looking back at the band with pride.
“For what it’s worth, you girls did well tonight. Your predecessors would be proud.” She said, and let the doors close.
Rumi’s knees gave out, and she hit the floor hard, accompanied by surprised yelps from her friends, feeling like she’d had the breath knocked out of her.
“Oh my gosh, Rumi, are you okay?” Zoey fussed, checking her friends immediately for injuries.
“I…don’t think my answer has changed since you last asked me that.” Rumi muttered, and Mira rolled her eyes.
“At least you still have a sense of humor.” The pink-haired girl said, walking away from the group into the kitchen, intent on retrieving snacks. “So, you’ve got patterns. You had a demon boyfriend. Any other surprises we should know about?”
As if on cue, the door to Rumi’s bedroom creaked open, slowly revealing Sussie and Derpy standing in the doorway.
The three girls watched in silence as the door awkwardly swung until it hit the bumper, and then tried to swing back closed. But Derpy, ever the awkward tiger, batted his paw against the wood too hard, kicking it back into the bumper, causing the door to bounce closed again. This repeated twice before Derpy finally got it right.
“I might’ve acquired a couple more friends.” Rumi gestured to the pair of animals, and Sussie jumped off of Derpy’s head, leaving the tiger to continue with the door, and landed on Rumi’s outstretched hand.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Zoey squealed, diving for the tiger. “They’re so cute!!!!!!” She immediately buried her face in Derpy’s fur, wrapping her arms as far and she could reach around the tiger’s neck, and the tiger settled down on the floor, content to be cuddled. Mira bent down to make eye contact with the magpie, but Rumi honestly wasn’t sure which eye she was looking at.
“What are they?” Mira asked and Rumi shrugged.
“I don’t know. Demon animals? They accompanied Jinu. I don’t know why they’re here.”
“Because they belong to you now.” A man’s voice cut through the room, and all three hunters startled, summoning their weapons to spot Baby Saja leaning against the wall of windows in their penthouse. Derpy chuffed menacingly, and even Sussie backed away, each one wary of the demon.
“How are you still alive?” Zoey asked, her blades glittering in her hands. “I stabbed you?”
Baby Saja moved, revealing the wound, which glowed a deep fuchsia, the energy emitting from the wound flickering like Gei-Ma’s flames. “You did,” his deep voice rumbled. “But it hasn’t killed me yet.”
“We can fix that.” Mira threatened, but he held his hands up in surrender.
“I’ll be dead soon enough anyways. I can’t survive cut off from Gwi-Ma’s power, unless I take souls of my own.” He explained, looking at them hollowly. “In which case, if I even tried, you’d kill me.”
“What do you mean, they belong to me?” Rumi asked. Baby Saja raised an eyebrow.
“Jinu gifted you his hon, before Gwi-Ma’s fire consumed him. The tiger and the magpie are parts of that too. Facets of him, split off into metaphysical manifestations.” Rumi glanced away long enough from Baby Saja to lock eyes with Derpy, who stared back passively with a grin still on his face. And in her heart, she finally understood.
“They’re…part of him?” She whispered, hope flaring inside her chest. “So, if they’re still here, is he still alive?”
Baby Saja hesitated. “I don’t know. I can’t sense him, or much of the demon world anymore. My powers are failing.” The marks covering his face glowed brighter and then flickered, almost going dark, and Baby Saja collapsed against the window.
“Then what do you want?” Mira interrupted. “Why are you here?”
“To give you a warning.” Baby Saja said weakly, and the light flaring from his wound started to spread, consuming him slowly. “Gwi-Ma may not be able to penetrate the Honmoon anymore, but that doesn’t mean he will stop. He’s been in your ears, I know.” All three girls flinched, recalling Gwi-Ma’s vile whispers. “You won’t ever stop hearing him now. In your weakest moments, in the loneliest parts of the night, when you think you are at your limit, he’ll be there. There is no escape, and eventually, you’ll give in. And so will they.” He gestured to the city down below, grimacing at the sight of the glittering Honmoon.
“Why tell us that?” Zoey readied her blade, and Baby Saja grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.
“To see the fear on your faces when you learned this to be true.” Baby Saja sneered cruelly, and Zoey’s knife flew through the air. The flames would’ve consumed him eventually, but the knife stuck true in between his eyes, and the body disintegrated into purple light.
“And to think, people were shipping me with him.” Zoey wrinkled her nose, shivering with disgust.
“What about what he said?” Mira gestured to where he’d been standing. “Do we just ignore that?”
“For now.” Rumi nodded. “I think if we think any more about it tonight, my head will explode. In the morning, we can talk about it then.”
“You promise?” Zoey begged, looking at Rumi pleadingly. “You’ll tell us everything?”
Rumi nodded. “Yes. Everything.”
“Okay,” Mira nodded, and flopped on the couch, where she was quickly joined by both the girls and the animals. “Now…what do you two say to falling asleep to some two second turtle videos?”
“That sounds super boring.” Rumi grinned. “I’m so in.”
Chapter Text
Rumi came to slowly, slowly registering her surroundings sense by sense. She was warm, there was music playing, the room smelled like food, and…she was holding something furry?
Opening her eyes, she blinked, taken off guard by the mound of furry blue hair right in front of her face. Derpy was curled up right next to her, from where she’d fallen asleep on the couch, and at some point in the night, she’d reached out to hold him. Sussie was curled up on top of Derpy’s head, still sleeping, and slowly, Rumi moved away from the animals to sit up.
She stretched out, her muscles aching from the events of the day before and sleeping in such an awkward position, glancing around the room for signs of Mira and Zoey, who were occupying the kitchen, whispering to themselves. “Hi.” Rumi called out, getting their attention.
Both of them whirled around and grinned, glad to see her awake. “Hey,” Mira said teasingly. “Get a good sleep?”
“Must’ve,” Rumi yawned. “What time is it?”
“Nearly 2pm.” Zoey answered, nonchalantly, sipping a cup of tea.
Rumi gasped, lunging for her phone in shock to check, which only confirmed Zoey’s answer. “How long was I asleep?” She asked, scrolling through her notifications, running one hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers snagged on the loose strands. She really needed to take this braid out. There were lots of messages from social media, news outlets, and multiple missed calls and texts from Bobby.
“About fourteen hours.” Mira answered, holding out a cup of coffee to Rumi, dragging her attention away from her phone. “You needed it.”
“Guess so.” Rumi mumbled, sipping her drink. “So, should we talk?”
“Food first. We’ve only been up a little bit ourselves, and I don’t know about you,” Zoey presented a plate full of Rumi’s favorites to her friend, holding a second plate for herself in her other hand. “But I’m starving!”
Rumi dug in, scarfing down the whole plate, not realizing just how hungry she was until this moment. The three girls ate quickly, occasionally dipping back into the kitchen for more, until finally they were satisfied.
Mira burped, causing all three to laugh, breaking through the awkward atmosphere. “So, Rumi…we have questions.”
Rumi wiped her mouth, setting the plate aside, and pulled her legs up onto the couch, sitting attentively. She nodded, and said “What do you want to know?”
“Are you a demon?” Zoey blurted out, having produced a notebook from somewhere, with a list of questions written down on the front page. They’d clearly had time to prepare for this.
“Half-demon. Ryu Mi-yeong WAS my real mom, and Celine did raise me from infancy, but my father was a demon.” Rumi explained. “I’ve known that since I was little.”
“And Celine?” Mira raised an eyebrow. “The two of you kept this secret the whole time?”
“We had to.” Rumi insisted. “You know what she says; we are Hunters, voices strong. Our faults and fears must never be seen.” She gestured to the iridescent patterns on her arms. “These were my faults."
“You know she was wrong to do that, right?” Mira asked. “It wasn’t your fault you were born like this.”
“In my head, I know that…” Rumi admitted with a sigh. “But my heart doesn’t really believe it yet. And I AM sorry I kept it from you. I wanted to tell you both so many times, and I begged her…but I was terrified that if I did, I'd lose you both.”
Mira grimaced, the memory of Rumi’s face when they’d seen her after the Idol awards haunting her. “I’m sorry, Ru.”
“Don’t be.” Rumi insisted. “It wasn’t your fault either.”
“Did the marks cause the problems you were having with your voice?” Zoey asked.
Rumi nodded. “Yes. Jinu…he thought that my rejecting of my demon side was causing them to grow and influence me, including turning my voice. He called it my shame.”
“Speaking of Jinu…what was going on between you two?” Mira asked, leaning forward.
“We…” Rumi hesitated. “After we started going after the Saja Boys, Jinu sent me messages. He wanted to meet up. He saw my marks in the bathhouse, and he hid them from you, but then implied that if I didn’t cooperate, he’d expose me.” She rubbed her arm from where he’d cut through her uniform. “He said he just wanted to talk. He told me about himself, and he said all of the right things to get me to trust him. I told him about the plan Celine and I had, about turning the Honmoon golden. We thought, that if the demon realm was sealed away, my marks would disappear, and so would Gwi-Ma’s influence. The demons wouldn’t be able to pass between the worlds, so if it was sealed off, Jinu would be saved from being a demon himself.”
“But your marks are still here?” Zoey looked confused. “If the Honmoon is golden, why aren’t they gone?”
“I don’t know.” Rumi shook her head, blowing strands of loose hair out of her face. “It might be because of the new Honmoon, or maybe Celine was wrong the whole time? Or, because I’ve embraced my demon side rather than rejected it. Either way, I’m not sure now if I ever would’ve been rid of them.”
“Do you have powers, like the demons? Like, can you teleport?” Zoey followed up.
Rumi gave her a smirk, and then teleported into the kitchen and then back to the couch, with more snacks in hand. Both Zoey and Mira startled, waking up Derpy and Sussie from where they were sleeping.
“Okay, that’s cool.” Mira deadpanned. “So, who is your dad? Like do you know?”
Shaking her head, Rumi wilted. “I don’t. I’m not even sure Celine knows. She never talked about the circumstances of my birth, or my mom’s death. I barely know anything about her at all, let alone him.”
“So, going back to Jinu,” Zoey interrupted, seeing Rumi’s eyes droop with sadness at the mention of her mother. “You liked him, didn’t you?”
Rumi blushed. “I…did. Yeah.”
“I KNEW IT!” Zoey squealed. “The way you two were acting at the signing, there was tension there. The fans were right.”
Rumi’s face got even redder. “I didn’t mean to…”
“Please, it honestly makes sense now we know about those,” Mira rolled her eyes, gesturing to the patterns. “You and your mom had a type.”
Rumi gagged. “Ei, I don’t even want to think about that, Mi!”
“Hey, you weren’t the one being shipped into a threesome.” Mira joked. “I was being lumped in with Abby and Romance!”
“You have to admit though, Abby was hot.” Rumi eyed her friend, teasing her back.
“His abs were hot. It’s a shame I had to destroy them.” Mira flipped her hair nonchalantly. “The rest of him was…”
“Fine as fuck.” Zoey interrupted. “And if you can’t admit that, you’re lying to yourself.”
“Woah, we’re swearing now?” Mira did a double take, laughing at Zoey, who just shrugged.
“Sometimes swear words are the right words. I stand by my choice.” Zoey deadpanned with a serious face, and the other two girls copied her for a moment, looking stoic, before falling apart in a fit of giggles.
The elevator dinged, and opened, and Bobby rushed into the room, interrupting the moment, and the girls quickly got ahold of themselves to sing in unison. “Hi Bobby!”
“Girls, oh my gosh, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all night! I…” Bobby looked at the sight in front of him, with all three girls still in their stage costumes, hair and makeup disheveled and smeared. They were surrounded by food wrappers and utensils, which littered the couch, floor, and kitchen. It was the messiest he’d ever seen them, and he’d seen them eat. “What happened in here?”
“Uhhh…” Mira vocalized, realizing she’d totally forgotten to call Bobby back after the show the night before. “Stuff?” She said weakly, causing the other girls to laugh.
“We’re sorry, Bobby.” Rumi said, standing up from the couch. “A lot happened yesterday, and we just kinda crashed after the show.”
“Yeah, a lot did happen yesterday,” Bobby joined the girls on the couch, walking through Derpy who was completely imperceptible to him. Zoey had to cover her mouth to stop herself from gasping, but Derpy didn’t even seem to mind, choosing to loaf on the floor and go back to sleep. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“We had a fight.” Mira explained, putting together the timeline quickly in her head. “At the idol awards. We’d been arguing about Takedown for weeks, and so we decided to perform Golden instead but…”
“But after we performed the song, they played the backing track to Takedown while I was still on stage.” Rumi cut in. “So, we performed that, or at least part of it. But the song wasn’t finished, and I was getting stuck on the lyrics, and I messed up.” Rumi put no effort into explaining how Zoey and Mira had gotten back on the stage, even though they had been running through the wings instead, knowing Bobby wouldn’t understand.
“Which led to a public shoving match on stage?” Bobby pointed out, and all three girls bowed their heads shamefully.
“The Saja Boys got in our heads,” Zoey said weakly. “We put a lot of anger and resentment into Takedown, and forgot why we loved doing this.”
Bobby softened. “I get it, I do, but the Idol Awards are a big deal, girls. What happened on that stage CANNOT happen at a show again. Your public image depends on that!”
“We understand.” Rumi nodded. “It won’t.”
“I believe you. But girls, seriously, are you okay?” Bobby asked, looking at all of them individually. “Yesterday was a mess, and a lot happened, especially at the Tower. Have you seen the news?”
“Honestly, Bobby, we only just woke up an hour ago, and we’ve just been talking about yesterday. I don’t think any of us have even checked our phones.” Mira replied, frowning. “Why?”
“There were casualties at the show last night.” Bobby frowned. “The set the Saja Boys had wasn’t just special effects, it was actual fire, and it got out of control. We don’t have an official count yet on the deaths, and so far no bodies have been identified. But the Saja Boys have been missing since then, so they’re all presumed dead. Some of the fans are too."
Guilt pooled in each of the girls’ stomachs. They’d known there would be deaths. Gwi-Ma had still gotten to some of the audience before Rumi arrived, but to know it was more than just demons that died that night still hurt, in the same way it hurt whenever they couldn’t protect someone.
“We’ll need to put out a statement…” Zoey muttered. “The Saja Boys obviously can’t, and people know we were there…”
“Our PR team is handling that. I’ve also committed you to a memorial event, which is not optional!” Bobby said firmly, and the girls nodded in agreement.
“Are we in trouble?” Mira asked.
“No.” Bobby assured her. “It was an accident, just a tragic one. Authorities are still trying to explain what happened. You three may need to give a statement though, which is why I’m asking what happened, because I need to know what to tell our team.”
“It was a collab.” Rumi interrupted, coming up with the lie on the spot. “Jinu and I wrote a song together. We were going to debut it at the Idol Awards, but then the Saja Boys had a fight and the schedule got messed up, and then we had the fight on stage…he invited us to Namsan Tower to reschedule the performance, but I guess things got out of control. We did our song, and then I just remember fire.”
“None of which Rumi had clued us in on by the way,” Mira explained. “She just insisted on working with the Saja Boys, which was part of the reason for the fight onstage as well.” Mira contributed to the lie, and from the corner of her eye, Rumi resisted the urge to glare at her, knowing all too well the contribution threw her under the bus, but would still help sell it.
“Wait, so there were two new songs, as well as Takedown, that you just planned to release without warning?” Bobby pinched his nose. “Girls, you know full well that’s not how this works in our business…”
“It was meant to be more of a tease than anything else.” Zoey covered, joining in. “And it was just Takedown and the song Rumi and Jinu wrote. The one we sang on stage, that was just us freestyling, when the cues started going wrong. We were coming up with the lyrics on the fly.”
Bobby’s mouth dropped open. “On the…that’s…” He stuttered, going over the performance in his head. He shook his head, dismissing the notion of what he’d seen, the girls literally flying over the audience’s heads without lines or rigs. It was too impossible. “That’s amazing! But next time, let’s record in a studio before we tease anything okay?”
“I could sing the song Jinu and I wrote, at the memorial? As a tribute single?” Rumi offered. “The money we make from streams and sales could go towards a victims fund?”
Bobby mulled that over. “That’s a good idea. I’ll pitch it, but who do you want to sing his part?”
“I will.” Rumi said. “I don’t want anyone else singing his role. It wouldn’t be right without it being him.”
Bobby just about melted with pity, noticing the devastated look on her face. Mira and Zoey reached over, pulling Rumi into a hug, and Bobby wondered if maybe he should’ve put more stock into the rumors about Rumi and Jinu’s purported romance. “Okay. Well, let’s talk about what happens next. What do you want to do?”
The girls exchanged glances. “I think a break, an actual break, would be good for us.” Rumi decided, and the other two nodded. “A hiatus, just to let things settle after what happened yesterday, not just for us, but for the fans too. Only select public appearances, no shows and no press. Meanwhile, we record Takedown, What It Sounds Like, and Jinu’s song, which we’ll release as EPs.”
“Okay…” Bobby typed that all out on his phone, nodding. “For how long?”
“A month.” Mira suggested.
“Three months?” Zoey added. “We did literally just finish a world tour.”
“I like the sound of three months.” Rumi mused. Bobby raised an eyebrow, surprised at her willingness to take a break.
“Three months is a long time. We can sustain it, especially if we record and release those EPs during that time, but we’ll need to be ready to get back into the game at the end of it. With new music, and a new performance.”
“We can manage that.” Zoey fanned her notebook, grinning. “I’ve already got tons of ideas for new songs.”
“I love the sound of that,” Bobby smiled enthusiastically. “So, what are you going to do first?”
“I thought we could go to a bath house,” Rumi asked her friends, hoping they still wanted to go. Both girls instantly nodded.
“Bath house with Rumi! Yes!” Zoey cheered loudly, startling Derpy awake again. Sussie cawed in annoyance, bothered by the fact his perch was moving.
“I’ll book a private session for you three now. And girls,” Bobby stood up, giving them all soft smiles. “I am really proud of you.”
“Thank you Bobby.” Rumi whispered, resisting the urge to tear up. “We’d hug you but we’re kind of a mess.”
“Oh, I don’t care.” Bobby threw out his arms, freely offering a hug, which all three girls took him up on, tackling him hard. But he stood his ground, squeezing all of the girls into his embrace, and tucked his chin over their heads, cherishing the moment.
The girls privately cherished it far more.
Chapter Text
Rumi fiddled with her robe as the other two removed theirs, both of them clearly itching to get in the heated pool of the bathhouse. It had only been a week since the night of the Idol Awards, and while she was slowly getting more comfortable revealing her patterns around her friends, some old habits died hard.
“Hey, are you okay?” Mira asked, noticing the struggle on Rumi’s face.
“Yeah, I ah…” Rumi faltered, glancing nervously towards the tub. “I don’t know what to do.” She admitted, sagging her head and shoulders. Mira’s mouth quirked, as if to ask what was so complicated about a bathhouse, but then she realized. Rumi had never been to a bathhouse before. Her heart broke for her friend, and she wondered just how many experiences Rumi had been denied from her childhood because of Celine’s control over her life. The desire to punch the former hunter grew even stronger, but Mira forced herself to push that aside for her friend, who looked totally lost.
“C’mon, it’s okay.” She assured her, taking Rumi’s hand, guiding her towards the pool. The girls shed their robes, and Rumi did the same, and Mira did her best not to stare at Rumi’s patterns, which were so much more prevalent than she’d expected.
Zoey let out a noise of contentment, easing into the steaming water and settling comfortably on the bench. Rumi copied her, sinking into the water, and Mira herself got comfortable, watching Rumi feel the heat soak into her skin. “Ah! Wow. This feels amazing!” Rumi remarked, eyes slipping closed as she relaxed.
Mira hummed in agreement. “We've been saying that for years.”
“Right? See what you've been missing?” Zoey grinned, enjoying the look of serenity on Rumi’s face.
“Oh, yeah.” Rumi nodded, settling even deeper into the water. “I wanna come here every day of our three-month hiatus.”
The girls barely got a moment of peace before the echoes of Namsan Tower seared through Zoey’s head, giving her a violent flashback to the moment when Rumi was fighting the will of Gwi-Ma alone. “Rumi, I'm so happy you didn't, like, die.” She blurted out, unable to help herself.
“Wow, Zoey, way to be super literal.” Mira raised an eyebrow, as if to ask her friend what the hell, but then noticed just how pale Zoey had gotten. “But same.” She tacked on in Rumi’s direction, who just nodded.
Zoey’s eyes burned. “I just... You guys just mean so much to me, and I don't really know what I'd do with you. I mean, I love you guys so much.”
Both Mira and Rumi sat up, noticing Zoey’s heightened emotional state. “We love you too, Zo,” Rumi whispered, tearing up herself. “And for what it’s worth, I’m really glad I didn’t die either.”
“Speaking of dying, don’t think we didn’t hear what you said to Celine that night.” Mira added, glancing down at the water, staring beyond the surface until her vision blurred. “You said you nearly let yourself die, Ru.”
Rumi’s face dropped. “I…guess I did say that, yeah.” She whispered, almost disassociating. “I think, what happened that night was the manifestation of my worst fears wrapped up into one. My secret was exposed to you, while on stage in front of our fans. We nearly lost our friendship, our fans, and our ability to protect the world. Jinu betrayed me, and Celine, well…she couldn’t even look at me. I felt like I was losing everything and everyone I’d ever cared about, and for a moment, it felt easier to…”
“Ru, stop.” Mira interrupted, as Rumi’s voice got more and more hollow. Zoey trembled from her side of the tub, devastated to see her friend so affected. “It’s not your fault, what happened. Or at least, not all of it.” She amended, catching Rumi’s attention. “I guess…what I’m trying to get at, is that if you ever feel like that again, just know you can talk to us. We’re here for you.”
Rumi gave her a smile. “I know. I just…old habits. I don’t feel that way anymore, in fact, I feel so much better now that the secret IS out, if that makes sense? Like, that, even though it didn’t happen in the best way, nor did we get the best outcome, but not having to hide it anymore feels like a huge relief.”
“You do seem happier, all things considered.” Zoey remarked. “Even though you’re still sad about Jinu.”
Rumi thinned her lips. “I am still sad about Jinu, but part of me doesn’t want to admit that he’s gone. Before he died, he gave me his soul, which enhanced my connection to the Honmoon. And I don’t know what that means.”
“It’s a little weird how much we don’t know about demons, or how the Honmoon works.” Mira mused. “I mean, we didn’t even know they could sing, and then it was like, soda pop, you’re my soda pop.” She sang the words, mocking the choreography with her shoulders.
The other two giggled. “Jinu told me once that all demons do is feel, and that’s how Gwi-Ma controls them.” Rumi remarked. “He said it after I made a comment about how demons can’t feel anything. But the more I think about it, they probably feel more than we do. After a while spent in eternal suffering, you end up having a lot of time for self-reflection and introspection.”
“They’re scared,” Zoey said quietly. “I’ve seen their faces, right before we send them back to hell, they’re scared. Not of us, but of Gwi-Ma. Losing to us is probably not going to end well for them, either way.”
“Especially after what Baby said.” Mira added. “In your weakest moments, Gwi-Ma will be there, whispering in your ear. You’ll never stop hearing him.”
Rumi gritted her teeth. “We’ll hear from him, I’m sure of that. It’s just a matter of when. But the more important thing, is that we don’t LISTEN to him. That we trust each other, and have each other’s backs.”
“Well, that’s easy.” Zoey sighed, relaxing back into the water. “We just carry on like normal.”
“Normal sounds nice.” Rumi settled back into her seat, feeling the tub work its magic on her muscles. And all three girls finished their soak in peaceful silence.
“So, what now?” Rumi asked, slinging her back over her shoulders as the girls left the spa, making sure her hair wasn’t caught under the strap.
“What we should have been doing ages ago,” Mira adjusted her glasses, giving Zoey a knowing glance, as if granting her permission.
“Couch!” Zoey started chanting. “Couch, couch, couch!” The other two girls joined in, walking along the street without a care. “Couch! Couch! Couch!” Soon enough, they were all dancing, and acting silly, and Mira sighed with relief.
“Three months of couch!” She sounded as though she couldn’t wait, and Rumi wholeheartedly agreed with her when something stopped her in her tracks. The sight of three girls on the street in front of them, decked out in head to toe with very familiar looking merch. The other two stopped, realizing what Rumi was looking at.
“Aww, look at them. They're so cute.” Zoey cooed, watching the girls as they started singing and dancing to one of their songs. Rumi watched their fans, completely oblivious to the band’s presence, and smiled. She loved this, seeing them celebrate their music, and for a moment she remembered just how much she missed seeing the fans like this. This whole time, ever since the Saja Boys had come into their lives, their focus had changed. They had had to prioritize being hunters and not Huntr/x, and yet, it was all for the fans in the first place.
“You know,” She spoke up, smiling softly. “I feel like we got a nice little break?” She could feel Zoey lean on her shoulder, the two of them wearing matching grins.
“Yeah, I definitely feel recharged.” Mira chimed in.
Zoey hummed in agreement. “Me too. I thought I wanted couch, but I think couch can wait.”
In unison, the girls stepped out of the side street, approaching the girls. “Hi, everyone!” Rumi waved, catching the fans’ attention. The three girls looked up, eyes widening and mouths dropping open, as they recognized the band.
“You…you’re Rumi! Mira! And oh my gosh, Zoey! We love you guys so much!”
“You guys are too sweet.” Mira said, reaching out to take one of the girls’ hands.
“You're the best.” One of them said loudly, catching the attention of some other passers by.
“No, YOU guys are the best!” Rumi said, watching as one of them pulled out a cell phone. “Can we take a picture with you?”
“PLEASE!” One of them was practically vibrating with excitement, handing the phone to Rumi, who immediately opened the camera. “This is the best day of my life!”
All six girls posed, and Rumi snapped a few pics, before switching over to her own phone to take a few of her own. For some reason, she wanted to memorialize this moment.
After spending a little bit talking with fans, the band left before they got swarmed, and walked home, animatedly chatting and waving to people as they were recognized on the street. After returning to their apartment, they crashed out on the couch, checking their phones to see that the girls had already posted the pictures they’d taken, with the comments section blowing up.
HUNTRIXX_FANZ: OMG I’M SO JEALOUS!
3RHUNTERZ: This is my dream! You are so luckyyyy! I miss them so much!
SUNS!5T3RZ_STAN: They look so happy! Especially Rumi!
Rumi paused, switching from social media to the pictures she’d taken, looking at the photo. “Can I ask you two something?”
Mira looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Am I really different, after everything?” Rumi wondered, absentmindedly reaching out to pet Derpy, who’d curled up on the couch next to her. “Am I happier?”
Zoey leaned forward. “Well, I don’t know about happier, but more…settled, I think?”
“Yeah,” Mira nodded. “And that’s not to say you’re not happy, because you are. I think you’re just more comfortable at showing it.”
“Was I not before?” Rumi asked curiously. “I mean, I don’t really notice a difference, so…”
“There was always this wall, with you.” Mira knawed on her words, trying to pick them carefully. “You always held back, not just from us but everyone. You were always professionally detached. So was Celine, so we figured it came from her. In a way, we were right.”
Rumi rolled her eyes, letting the dig at her guardian slide. “The first thing I noticed about you was that your smile never met your eyes.” Rumi bowed her head, listening to Zoey. “Everything you did was moderated, whether we were in front of people. The only time you ever let anyone know what was going on in your head was when you were writing lyrics, and even then, you use double entendre in the same way we do about hunting demons.” Zoey explained. “The fans think it’s a metaphor, and so did we, but you said it over and over again. To wake up and feel like me, put these patterns all in the past now. It’s obvious now, but it always seemed like you meant you kept yourself stuck, in the same patterns of behavior, because of how much our image and our mission meant to you.”
Rumi paused, reflecting on that for a moment. “In a way, that’s also what it was about.” She said eventually, carding her fingers through Derpy’s fur. “It wasn’t just the secret I was trying to hide, it was also the guilt I felt about keeping it from you.”
“And you don’t carry that guilt anymore.” Mira finished, nodding. “You’re not spending so much time worrying about this massive part of your life, that you’re being more genuine in the moment, and I have to say, it’s nice.”
“Yeah?” Rumi raised an eyebrow. “I’m nicer to be around?”
“You were always nice to be around,” Zoey teased. “It’s just that you’re more around to be with.”
Rumi opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was “Huh?”
Zoey flushed. “Okay, that was bad.” Mira snorted in agreement. And Rumi couldn’t help herself. She just started laughing. Mira and Zoey exchanged smiles, glad to see their friend laugh so freely, and then joined in. Even Sussie contributed, flying into the room to caw mockingly from his perch on the back of the couch, which only made the girls laugh harder.
Eventually, one of the girls noticed their phone ringing, and Zoey hissed out a whispered “Shush!” before answering. “Hi Bobby!”
“Hi Zoey! Are the other girls with you?”
“Yeah, we just got back from the bathhouse.” Zoey nodded, switching the call to speakerphone. “They can hear you.”
“Hi girls!” Bobby called out.
“Hi Bobby!” Rumi and Mira echoed, leaning in.
“I see your vacation has run short again? You made an appearance with some fans?” Bobby asked, not even mad. He’s honestly counted himself lucky they lasted a week.
“We couldn’t help it. They were wearing our merch, head to toe.” Rumi justified weakly. “We just wanted to say hi!”
“I figured. I hate to ruin the moment though, but I’ve got some news.”
The smiles died off Huntrix’s faces. “What’s up?” Mira asked, now on edge due to the tone of Bobby’s voice.
“The inquiry into the Tower fire has finished. We have a total count on how many died. Girls, I…I’m sorry. The total count, including the Saja Boys, is currently at 26.”
All three girls flinched. Rumi felt the warm feeling in her body disappear, as hearing the number felt like a gut punch. “A memorial has already been erected, and you have an official visit scheduled. A vigil is also being held, and Rumi, I thought you might like to perform that song you mentioned? To give the Saja Boys a sendoff?”
Rumi nodded, staring ahead blankly. “We’ll…I’ll need to record it first, right?”
“Please. Also, our lawyers have given the go ahead to donate the proceeds of the album to the victims and their families. I’d like you to do a press circuit about it, after the memorial. One radio show, two talk shows. And then perform it live at the first show you three do after the hiatus.”
“Okay, I can…I can do that.” Rumi struggled to say. “Um…should we post something online?”
“Media’s handling that. I suggest you stay off social media for a little bit, in case things get nasty. I’m really sorry girls. It was a great performance, it just…had a tragic ending.”
None of the girls really knew what to say after that, and Zoey said goodbye quietly to Bobby before hanging up. Rumi kept staring off into space, her ears ringing. 26. She’d failed to save 26 people. Derpy nudged her hand, trying to get her attention. When Rumi didn’t move, he headbutted her, knocking her off the couch.
“Hey!” She shouted, lashing out, but didn’t see an ounce of remorse in the tiger’s face. Instead he hopped off of the couch, and then walked in the direction of the balcony, before stopping to look back expectantly at them. He turned back to take a few more steps, and then did the same thing again.
“What is he doing?” Mira asked.
“Does he want us to follow him?” Zoey chimed in, standing up.
Rumi frowned, and then realized with a start what Derpy wanted. “He wants us to climb on.”
“Excuse me?” Mira asked flatly.
Rumi came up along the tiger’s side, and then swung one leg over his back, pulling herself on. She turned and patted his back, beckoning her friends to join her. Zoey jumped at the chance, not even caring why they were doing this. Mira eventually joined in, wrapping her arms cautiously around Zoey, and then Derpy bolted for the balcony door.
“WHOA!” Zoey and Mira screamed, and then their screams turned to panicked cries as Derpy jumped off the balcony. Rumi tightened her grip, and widened her arms, letting Zoey cling to her waist, waiting for the moment.
And then Derpy started to fly.
The screams faded, replaced by surprised gasps, and Rumi grinned, patting Derpy on the head, impressed at the dramatics. Derpy continued to rise, higher and higher, until they could see the entire city from the sky.
And on top of it all, the Honmoon shone brightly. From up here, it looked like a topographical map, covering every inch of the city, like a golden mesh that blanketed the ground below.
“Woah…” Mira whispered.
“Thank you.” Rumi whispered, patting Derpy on the head, realizing now why they were up there.
“What?” Zoey asked.
“He’s reminding us, that even though we lost those people, we managed to save the rest of them.” She gestured to the people below. “That the Honmoon is now strong, and everyone is safe.”
Derpy chuffed, glad to have gotten the message across, and tilted his head back, reveling in Rumi's fingers scratching his head.
“Except for them.” Mira pointed out. Rumi and Zoey followed where she was pointing, and gasped at the sight of a growing pink spot marring the surface of the Honmoon.
Derpy didn’t even hesitate, diving towards the spot, the wind rushing past the girls with no time to waste. “Wait a minute,” Zoey’s grip on Rumi tightened even more. “That’s not just anywhere…”
With a sinking feeling, it occurred to both Rumi and Mira what she was about to say.
“That’s Namsan Tower.”
Chapter Text
Derpy touched down silently, and the girls slipped off his back into a formation, summoning their weapons, keeping their eyes peeled. The plaza in front of the Tower was totally deserted, with security tape still up, cordoning off the area.
It was eerily quiet.
Even at night, there should have been people here. The place should have been guarded, and the authorities were still investigating the incident the night of the concert.
And still, no one was around.
“Something feels wrong about this place.” Mira whispered, and silently the other two nodded, scanning around for signs of anything.
And yet, nothing moved.
Rumi inched a little closer to the stage, which was still set up. Sword drawn, she climbed up on the platform, her slippers whisking across the laminate floor, when something caught her eye. Scorch marks on the stage, approximately where she had been standing when Jinu saved her, and in the middle of it…
She gasped, lunging for the item on the ground, dropping her sword in the process.
“Rumi, what’s wrong?” One of her friends asked, but all Rumi heard was mumbling. She couldn’t focus on anything else, her vision tunneling towards the thing in her hand; the bracelet that woman had given her and Jinu.
He must have been wearing it, or at the least, had it on him when he died.
Rumi ran her finger over the cording, trying to wipe off the ashes caught in the fibers when a chill raised on the back of her neck.
“Your mistake got them killed.”
Rumi stiffened. That voice, that wasn’t her normal internal monologue. That was something else.
“Did either of you hear that?” Rumi asked, shoving the bracelet in her pajama pants pocket. But neither of her friends were listening, both of them staring off into the void, weapons sinking lower and lower.
“You’ll get them killed too.”
Rumi whirled around, re-summoning her sword. “Who said that?” She shouted, eyes dancing frantically to figure out what was happening, when fire burst out from the end of the stage, revealing Gwi-Ma in his full form.
“I don’t believe I need to introduce myself,” Gwi-Ma crooned, the flames bursting hotter. Even from a distance away, Rumi could feel the heat radiating off of him.
She widened her stance, brandishing her sword bravely. “Gwi-Ma.”
“And you three, are Huntr/x.” Gwi-Ma mocked. “It’s…cute.”
“I’m surprised you even know what that word means, demon king.” Rumi retorted, stepping backwards. From where she was, she couldn’t see either Zoey or Mira, nor could she hear them moving around, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off of Gwi-Ma.
“I’m full of surprises. I will even be generous, and give you another one.” Gwi-Ma’s smile, if you could even call it that, got wider, brightening the plaza with a sickly glow.
“Hello, my granddaughter.”
Rumi stopped short, freezing in place. The word rang in her ears, sending a jolt of fear throughout every part of her body. “…what?”
“I have known for some time that one of the hunters from your little troup bore my mark, and now I know it’s you. I shouldn’t have been surprised, of course. One of my children did fine work at breaking in your mother.”
“You’re lying.”
The fire looked almost offended. “I never lie. I simply share unpleasant truths. The demons of my realm are all my children, and your father was no exception. You bear my mark, which makes you, my dear, part of my lineage.”
Rumi snarled, resisting the urge to charge. “What do you want? Why are you here? If you think you can destroy the Honmoon and kill us…”
“No, that is not my intention today,” Gwi-Ma interrupted. “You see, I’m here to offer you a deal.”
“There’s no deal you could give me that I would accept.” Rumi announced, staying firm.
A smaller flame burst up out from where the bracelet had lay, revealing a bony, pale figure covered in demon patters laying on the stage floor wearing black robes. His face and body were twisted in painful contortions, but Rumi recognized him all the same.
“Jinu.” Her voice cracked, and she forced herself to stand still, lest she rush to his side. She stared at him, horrified, before reminding herself this could all be a trick. It could be another demon, transformed to look like him, or just an illusion. Steeling herself, Rumi forced herself to look back at Gwi-Ma, who seemed amused.
“Well, do you accept?” Gwi-Ma asked.
“You haven’t even laid out your terms. Do you think I’d just fall for that?” Rumi jutted out her chin, staring the demon king down.
“Of course, how…silly…of me.” Gwi-Ma replied. “The deal is simple. You turn yourself over to me, and in exchange, I let him, and your friends go.”
Rumi faltered. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t like repeating myself, hunter.” Gwi-Ma threatened, his fire shifting colors.
“You said you don’t lie.” Rumi recovered herself. “Then you go and tell me you’ll spare my friends, and that,” She gestured to the body. “Jinu is dead. You destroyed him. You honestly expect me to believe that you can hand him over?”
“Jinu did not die,” Gwi-Ma said. “He surrendered his soul to you, but it was not his to give. I took back my property, and now I offer to exchange it freely for yours.”
“And what would you want with my soul?” Rumi entertained him, frantically trying to figure out an escape. Ripples of pink and red started to emanate from all around them, and demons of all kinds emerged. She still couldn’t see Mira or Zoey, but she knew now that they were surrounded, and would have to fight their way out.
“I want an heir.”
Rumi’s mouth dropped open in shock. “I…what?” She shouted, now fully confused.
“Even half human, you possess a natural power and affinity for the gifts I bestow upon my demons. An entity with demonic power and a human soul…your caliber is like no other.” Gwi-Ma flattered, and Rumi resisted the urge to gag. “Imagine what we could do, working together?”
“No.” Rumi readied her sword, staring the flames down. “I would never work for you.”
“Not even to save him?” Gwi-Ma sang, and the body before her twisted into a painful decision, forcing a scream out of it. Even his scream sounded familiar, and it felt like the demon king was ripping her heart out. She wanted so badly to believe it was him.
“…no.” She whispered, and the smile on Gwi-Ma’s face disappeared.
“Kill them.” He ordered, and then the flames and the body vanished from sight. Rumi whirled around, seeing her friends shake their heads, as if they’d been entranced. Both of them caught off guard, Rumi had to act quickly, swinging her sword to decapitate one demon lunging for Zoey, only to turn on the follow through to stab another through the chest before it could attack Mira.
“Whoa…where the hell did these guys come from?” Mira shouted, summoning her staff just in time to defend herself from a second attack.
“Fight now, questions later.” Rumi shouted, carving her way through the demons. She felt a swell of anger in her chest, and let it explode within her, exuding a subtle glow from her patterns. Her sword shone in the moonlight, fluidly swinging around her with a violent passion, smiting demon after demon. Her heart was beating fast, and adrenaline coursed through her veins, keeping up her attack again and again until she turned around to see nothing left. Panting, she prowled around, hoping to find another demon to smite, but saw nothing.
They’d won.
“What just happened?” Zoey asked. “I heard a voice in my ear, and then it was like…I couldn’t move. I was seeing things, terrible things, and then…all of a sudden, we were surrounded.”
“Me too,” Mira said, looking haunted. “I saw…well, it’s hard to explain, but I swear, those demons weren’t here a second ago.”
“It was Gwi-Ma.” Rumi answered, dissolving her sword, clenching her hands into fists. “He was here.”
“How?” Zoey searched around for a trace of him. “He shouldn’t have been able to get through the Honmoon?”
“I don’t know, but he spoke to me. He tried to make a deal.” Rumi could feel her energy sapping. “He wanted…he wanted me to trade myself for Jinu.”
“Absolutely not!” Mira shook her head. “You told him where to shove that deal, right?”
“Of course! I had no reason to believe him,” Rumi affirmed. “But he showed me this body, and I swear…it could have been Jinu. He might still be alive.”
“Rumi, I know that face,” Mira warned. “You cannot risk yourself for Jinu. You’re too…”
“I KNOW!” Rumi screamed, and her friends flinched, backing away from her in fear. Rumi froze, realizing that her patterns had shifted from a iridescent shimmer to a deep purple, and that the voice coming out of her was deeper. Distorted. Demonic.
“I…” She released her sword, stepping back in horror. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“It’s okay!” Zoey tried to reassure her, stepping closer, but Rumi maintained her distance. She felt like she had the night of the Idol Awards, her control over everything slipping away. “Rumi, it’s okay. Just…just look at me please?”
Mira stayed where she was, frozen in place, staring at Rumi, her staff dissolving from her hand. Rumi frowned, perturbed by the unusual reaction, before turning back to Zoey. “I…I’m okay. I’m sorry, I just…”
“We know.” Zoey soothed, finally managing to get close enough to Rumi to pull her into a hug. “Let’s just get out of here, okay?”
Rumi nodded, and let her friend lead her towards the exit, before both of them realized Mira still wasn’t moving.
“Mira,” Rumi whispered, reaching out. “Are you okay?”
“I…” Mira wavered, still staring at Rumi with a horrified expression. “I…”
“Mira, what’s wrong?” Zoey tried to snap her out of it, grabbing Mira by the shoulders. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Mira shook her head, shaking. “No. I…I nearly did it.”
“What?” Zoey questioned. “What did you nearly do?”
“I nearly hurt her.”
With a start, both Rumi and Zoey realized that by her, Mira meant Rumi. Rumi recoiled, horrified.
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t even touch her.” Zoey tried to comfort their friend. “She’s fine!”
“I saw…I saw myself stab her.” Mira intoned, her eyes unfocused. “I felt the weapon in my hand, and I saw her eyes go yellow. She said I betrayed her, that I’d killed my second family, and then I saw her burn.”
Zoey shook her head. “That didn’t happen, Mira. I saw the same thing! But you didn’t hurt Rumi, she’s fine! She’s still here, Rumi, tell..” Zoey turned around to get Rumi to come closer, but when she did, Rumi was nowhere to be seen.
Rumi had disappeared.
-
Rumi ran through the streets of the city, with no destination in mind. Tears streamed down her face, and sobs filled her throat. Her chest heaved, and her legs ached, and eventually she collapsed, screaming into her hands, feeling utterly devastated.
She cried until she couldn’t anymore, her voice completely hoarse. Her lungs burned, and her eyes ached, and her head pounded. Mira had seen herself kill me? Rumi wondered, glancing back where she’d come from. She couldn’t even see Namsan Tower anymore, and realized just how far she’d run. She was in a completely different part of the city, miles away from the plaza. In fact, she wasn’t far from where they’d first seen the Saja Boys.
Getting up, Rumi stumbled around until she found herself in the small clearing where the Saja Boys had put on their first performance, wondering if she’d meant to come here subconsciously, and was surprised to see a small memorial erected for them. Merchandise, flowers, candles, and lightsticks had been assembled, along with personalized cards.
She kneeled before the memorial, cataloging each item. Face cards, posters, and articles of clothing were assorted amongst the items, and even a few stray cans of soda had been left. Taking the bracelet out of her pocket, Rumi stared down at it, feeling more tears threaten to spill. She missed Jinu, really missed him, and hearing that scream tonight had brought all of it to the surface. She was so lost in her grief, she didn’t even notice the sound of footsteps behind her.
“Rumi?”
Startled, the hunter turned around, to see Jinu standing there in his demon form, just as she’d last seen him. He stared down at her with a sad expression, and she hung there, for a moment, taking in the sight of him before lashing out.
“I. Already. Said. NO!” She shouted, summoning her sword to swipe at him. “You can’t trick me, Gwi-Ma!”
“It’s not Gwi-Ma, Rumi, it’s me!” Jinu dodged the tip of the blade. “I can prove it! Ask me anything, anything you know about me!”
Rumi paused her attacks. “Who was the hat meant for?”
Jinu sighed in relief. “The tiger, but the bird kept taking it.”
Rumi narrowed her eyes. “What animal was on the card you sent me the first time?”
“A chick.”
Rumi held her breath. “What did you do to your mother and sister?”
Jinu flinched. “I left them behind. I sold my soul for a better life, and I left them out of it.”
She lowered her blade, trembling with shock. “Jinu? Wha…how?! How are you here?”
“I’m not here for long.” Jinu said, giving her a solemn smile. “I’m proof.”
Rumi closed her eyes. Of course. She’d questioned Gwi-Ma’s intentions. Jinu was literally proof of his offer. “I can’t accept that deal.” She said, voice hoarse, wiping the tears from her face.
“I know.” Jinu nodded. “And you shouldn’t. Not for me. I don’t want you to.”
“And I don’t want you to suffer,” She sobbed. “I want to save you.”
“You already have,” He whispered, reaching out but didn’t dare touch her. “I’ll be fine. There’s nothing Gwi-Ma can do to me that would make a difference, knowing that you’re out of his reach.”
“But as long as I’m out of his, you’re out of mine.” She said, and he froze, heartbreak clear on his face.
“I…”
“RUMI?!” Faint shouting interrupted the moment, and Rumi’s head turned, recognizing the sound of Zoey’s voice. “RUMI WHERE ARE YOU?”
She turned back to Jinu, but he’d vanished into thin air, and Rumi collapsed back on her knees, staring at the ground where he’d just been standing. The bracelet was still clutched tight in one hand, and she could hear the cries from her friend getting louder and louder.
Zoey entered the courtyard, staring around with a panicked expression, until her eyes landed on Rumi, who looked awful. “RUMI!” She shouted, rushing towards her friend, sliding on her knees to cup the sides of Rumi’s jaw. “You scared me, disappearing like that! Why did you run off?”
“I’m sorry, I just…” Rumi shook her head, unable to explain it. “I felt like I was making it worse.”
“You’re not!” Zoey placated, brushing some flyaway hairs off of Rumi’s face. “But you can’t just disappear! I thought you’d been taken, or something! You can’t leave like that again!”
“I’m sorry,” Rumi said hollowly, feeling even worse. Zoey looked at her with sad eyes, until the display behind Rumi caught her attention.
“Wait, is that…”
“It’s a memorial. Their first performance was here.” Rumi recited, and Zoey shifted, looking as carefully at the arrangement as Rumi had.
“That’s so nice,” Zoey brought her hand to her mouth, eyes lingering on the picture of Mystery for a moment before turning back to her friend. “Well, nice for a bunch of demons who have been dead for centuries, but the sentiment is appreciated I’m sure. I didn’t know this was here?”
“Neither did I. Until I got here, just now.” Rumi turned the bracelet over in her hands. “I saw him. Jinu. He was here, before you got here.”
Zoey blinked. “So he IS alive?”
“Apparently,” Rumi’s voice cracked. “Gwi-Ma sent him as proof, that his offer in exchange for me was genuine.”
“Rumi, I know this is hard…”
“Gwi-Ma said something else.” Rumi kept talking, interrupting Zoey. “Gwi-Ma called me his granddaughter.”
Zoey’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously? How does that even work?”
Rumi shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t believe him, not fully, but I think…” She cut herself off, shaking her head. She didn’t even know what to think. She leaned her head into Zoey’s chest, and closed her eyes as her friend wrapped her arms around her.
“Where’s Mi?” She mumbled, soaking in Zoey’s comfort.
“I sent her back to the penthouse, told her I’d come and find you. We were both worried about you.”
“And I was worried about you.” Rumi pulled back to look Zoey in the eyes. “Gwi-Ma had you both under some kind of trance while he was talking to me. What did you see?”
Zoey hesitated. “I…I saw you. Right after the Idol Awards, it was a replay of that moment, I guess. You’d just been exposed, and you came backstage to find us, and we saw you, but instead of you trying to explain yourself, we didn’t even give you a chance. We just…attacked. It didn’t even feel like I was in control of my own body. I threw my shinkals, and Mira swung her gokdo, but you didn’t disappear the way a normal demon would. You bled, and you dropped to the ground, and rather than help you or save you, we just…stood there. We stood there until you finished bleeding out, and then your body burned and disappeared the way Jinu’s did. And with every moment, I was screaming at myself to stop it, or to help you, but you died. You died because of us.”
“But I didn’t.” Rumi whispered.
Zoey let out an empty chuckle. “We know that. But it wasn’t even really about you. It was about us, acting violently, against you without a second thought. I mean, you’re our friend, and you were just publicly humiliated on stage, and instead of helping you or doing anything, we raised our weapons. And you looked so scared Rumi. The demons we fight, they’re more scared of Gwi-Ma than us, but you…”
Zoey let out a large hiccup, choking back tears. “It was the first encounter I’d had since becoming a Hunter where I felt more like the monster.”
Rumi closed her eyes and leaned her head back in to rest on Zoey’s shoulder. “You’re not a monster.”
“Are you really going to sit there and tell me for a second, it didn’t occur to you that we might kill you after finding out your secret?” Zoey asked.
“It occurred to me every day.” Rumi admitted, and Zoey stopped breathing. “But I always thought that if you did, you’d be doing the right thing.”
Zoey dived to look Rumi in the face, abruptly switching their positions up. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were bloodshot. “No! It wouldn’t have been the right thing. Rumi you are…you are so precious to us, and it kills me that you don’t believe it. Do you understand? It kills me! And to know I even had the potential to do you harm…that’s even worse. You said that moment was a manifestation of your worst fear. That moment was the origin of mine.”
Rumi pulled her friend in for a hug, both of them shaking and crying into each other’s shoulders, neither of them willing to speak anymore. But they couldn’t stay there and cry forever, otherwise they’d be caught and/or recognized, and so after some time passed, they pulled apart and started the walk home.
The whole way, they held tight to each other’s hand.