Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If Rumi had known that things would end like this, and having to spend the rest of eternity with those two idiots she had as companions, maybe she would have thought things through a little better.  

She hated being an idol. With her life. She hated the fans, hated the stage, hated having to lend her voice to those stupid songs. She hated the harassment she endured year after year. She hated that she couldn’t meet anyone. That she had to constantly fight with the rest of… whatever those other people who played music were, just to always stay in first place and steal souls for Gwi-Ma.  

Honestly, Rumi was already sick of that routine. But it was what she had brought upon herself.  

Every day she was on the surface, seeing the marks that covered her entire body, she was reminded of the shame and humiliation she had caused to obtain them.  

For as long as Rumi could remember, she had only ever had one desire: to impress her mother. After all, her mother had always been her source of inspiration.  

Rumi had only ever wanted her mother to be proud of her. To see a genuine smile on her face, to be hugged tightly, and to be told she had done well. That she was loved.  

But that had never happened. No matter how smart Rumi was, or how many she made cry along the way to secure first place in her class, her mother always seemed to frown when she handed her the results.

No matter what classes Rumi joined, no matter how many she crushed to prove herself, her mother’s eyes always held nothing but disappointment.  

Tired of living that way—always striving to be someone, yet seeing that nothing she did in her small town could impress her mother—Rumi decided it was time to leave and try her luck in the big cities, like so many others were doing.  

That was when she heard its voice for the first time. It was that voice telling her it could give her what she so desperately wanted. That she could be the best at everything, the one with the most glory, where she could have everything she desired, so her mother would finally be proud of her.  

And Rumi decided to listen. She paid close attention to that voice, and suddenly, she thrived in the big cities. Overnight, she had a presence everywhere. She had wealth, fortune, and people groveled at her feet, begging for even a scrap of her favor.  

Rumi crushed everyone in her path and became the best at everything. In the entire country, no one stood above her.  

And when she returned to her hometown, arms laden with fortune and power, she knelt before her mother. Rumi smiled and got down on her knees, asking if now—now that she had everything, now that she wallowed in riches and could keep amassing more power—if now, her mother was finally proud of her. 

Then, her mother asked the stupidest question Rumi had ever heard. She asked if she had given anything to those in need. If she had used that fortune to help her community.  

And when she saw that disappointment in her eyes again, Rumi finally understood that no matter what she did, no matter what she achieved, her mother would never be proud of her.  

And that was when Rumi was dragged down to live in the underworld that Gwi-Ma had prepared for each of his slaves.

It wasn’t as if things were much better for Mira. A couple of years later, and after the mysterious disappearance of someone as important as Rumi, a new girl had risen to take that power.  

Unlike Rumi, she didn’t have to work hard to get what she wanted. Her family was already wealthy and powerful, she couldn’t possibly need anything more. But that was exactly it. Being born into a family like hers was what had dragged her into becoming what she was.  

Insecure. Mira was an insecure girl. Nothing less than perfection was expected of Mira, because if she failed, she would shame her family. Mira preferred to stay in the shadows, hiding behind the pompous skirts of her mother or fleeing from all the events her father organized. Anything to escape social interaction.  

Everyone thought that, as the years passed, things would get better. That Mira would change her attitude. That she would realize the importance of her last name, how crucial it was for her to become the person she was meant to be.  

What people didn’t realize was that Mira already knew. Every night, when nightmares kept her awake, she reminded herself of how important she was. Every time fear took over her entire body, she forced herself to remember that she couldn’t afford such weaknesses, her family would never approve. She had to be perfect.  

She had to become the perfect wife for her perfect husband. The perfect mother for her perfect children. The perfect heiress for her perfect family.  

Except Mira, full of flaws and insecurities, discovered something that turned her into a perfect mistake.  

Pain. Mira discovered pain, and at that moment, she became utterly addicted to it. It was like a drug. A drug that, once she tried it, she could never let go.  

At first, it was just stupid things like hitting herself against a wall and not letting the bruise heal. Or biting her lips raw, never allowing the scabs to close. Things that didn’t matter.  

But then, her addiction reached the next level. The adrenaline rush she got from seeing her knees scraped and bloody after a "mysterious fall" drove her completely wild. And soon, she wasn’t limiting herself to just accidents, she was doing it to herself.  

It was only a matter of time before her parents noticed all the wounds on her arms, wounds she had inflicted herself. Yet, her parents couldn’t even begin to understand what pain meant to her.  

Feeling it was like a physical need. It was so overwhelming that it drowned out everything else in her mind. She felt like a better person every time she hurt herself. She felt like she could keep going, as long as she felt pain. 

So when her father confiscated all the razors she had stolen and began monitoring her every move, Mira sank into such despair that it only worsened every problem she already had, problems she had been struggling to ignore.  

Things escalated to the point where Mira just wished she could disappear from existence forever. And at the first opportunity she got… she tried. But like everything else in her life, she failed. 

And as she drowned in her misery, Mira heard its voice. A voice so seductive it made her skin prickle. A voice that promised her everything would be okay. That it could give her the security she craved, that sense of peace that only pain had given her before.  

Mira didn’t even think. All she wanted was to be enough for her family. To be the perfect girl everyone expected. She would give anything to achieve it.  

And Mira succeeded. Overnight, she had done it. She went from a girl who hid, who cried, who couldn’t speak, to the center of attention at every high-society party.  

The girl who stole the spotlight on the dance floor with an innate talent that never would have existed if not for the deal she had made.  

But the problem with running from your demons was that they didn’t disappear, they just grew into an uncontrollable snowball.  

And her insecurities? They didn’t fade, they evolved. Because once Mira became the girl everyone had always wanted her to be, she developed a new fear. The fear of losing it all.  

Anyone who had known Mira before she made that deal with the mysterious voice would have said she was a kind, humble girl. Someone who almost always put others before herself.  

But after that deal—once all her insecurities vanished, and Mira became obsessed with not losing everything she had gained—she changed. She became rude, selfish. She wouldn’t let anyone see her or get close. She stopped caring about anyone but herself.  

Only she had problems. Only Mira was allowed to feel bad. Only Mira could have everything her heart desired. Only Mira could be the sole heir of her family. Selfish. Mira became a selfish, arrogant, narcissistic person… someone whose very attitude made people run from her.  

Someone exactly like her family had always dreamed. Someone people only sought out… when they saw the number of zeros in her bank account.

And as the years passed, and Mira’s youth began to fade, along with her relevance in high society—she became obsessed with herself. With making sure no one saw her age, that no one noticed how the ugliness inside her was starting to show on the outside.  

Makeup, miracle products, recipes, treatments, Mira tried everything to keep people from finding out. She spent absurd amounts of money just to hide something no one could conceal forever.  

And when one of those treatments went horribly wrong, Gwi-Ma found the perfect opportunity to claim her soul, and turn her completely into the demon she already was.

Zoey's story wasn't like the others. She hadn't been chasing power or seeking a place in a web of lies and deceit hidden beneath opulence and luxuries far beyond a single lifetime.  

Ever since she was a child, Zoey had dreamed of sharing her talent with the world. Theater, music, dance, and acting had always been her greatest passions. Her parents, for as long as she could remember, had dedicated themselves to making her dreams come true, never questioning whether she could actually achieve them. 

And Zoey had repaid their efforts. She had good parents who had given her all the love and care they could. They had provided for her, taught her kindness, charity, and love.  

Love… That was what Zoey wanted most in life. To be loved. For the world to love her just as deeply as she loved it. Because no matter how talented she was, no matter how much she achieved, no matter how close she came to fulfilling her dreams… Zoey wasn’t someone many people wanted.  

She didn’t quite understand why. But ever since she was little, Zoey had been the target of mockery and mistreatment. She was always the last one picked for teams, the girl whose lunch was stolen, the one laughed at in the yearbook.  

She couldn’t remember ever having a friend. In fact, Zoey had never had one. The only way she had ever known friendship was through the stories she created herself, imagining what it would be like to have people who cared about her beyond her own parents.  

So when the opportunity of a lifetime came—to join a theater troupe and land roles far more significant than small-town restaurant performances—Zoey didn’t hesitate.  

She said goodbye to her parents, promising to write often, packed a suitcase, and left with them.  

But once again, the same old problems resurfaced. No matter what she did, no matter how genuinely she smiled, no matter how hard she worked, Zoey just didn’t seem to click with anyone in the troupe. 

And that was when she realized. If she wanted to stand out, she had to act. Because if people didn’t like her, she’d never land a leading role. She’d never shine on stage if she had no chemistry with her co-stars.  

It was with that fear gnawing at her that a voice began whispering to her. A voice that promised her everything her heart desired. To become like the protagonist of the stories she had written as a teenager, the popular girl everyone adored.  

The girl whose friends helped her achieve her dreams as she helped them achieve theirs. The girl who found love in the most unexpected places, with a handsome, brown-haired gentleman who carried a dark past she helped him overcome.  

All the dreams and fantasies she had ever imagined could come true at that moment. And though every fairy tale warned against listening to strange voices in your head, Zoey decided to make an exception.  

Overnight, Zoey got everything she had ever wanted. People in her hometown began to love her. Her troupe members started appreciating her. The director recognized her talent, inviting her for coffee to discuss anything and everything.  

Zoey finally had what she had always desired. Handsome boys approached her after performances. The audience showered her with flowers and applause.  

From having no one, Zoey suddenly had a million friends. Every day, her mailbox overflowed with fan letters, with notes from friends she made in every city she visited, along with beautiful memories.  

Then, a new opportunity arose, one that filled her with immense happiness.  

Her director, her best friend, had stumbled upon one of her stories by chance. And he told her he loved it.  

Why would she distrust him? She had known him for years. Besides, you don’t distrust friends. Why would Zoey doubt her friends? Her troupe?  

When they told her they could adapt all her stories into plays, with her as the producer, Zoey felt like she was living a dream.  

She didn’t hesitate to hand over every notebook she had ever written in, trusting him to review them. After all, he was an experienced director and producer, far more than she was.  

Then, mysteriously, during a supposed financial crisis, the troupe had to downsize… and Zoey was among the unlucky ones let go.  

At first, she wasn’t worried. She was sure the friends she had made would help her find another job. But no matter how many letters she sent to everyone she knew, not a single one replied.  

Before she knew it, massive posters flooded the streets of New York. They advertised her old troupe’s newest play, one of the many stories she herself had written.

Then another came. And another. All her stories were brought to life… but without her. Not a single mention of her name, not a single credit. She had been cut out, robbed in broad daylight by the people she once called friends. They had stolen her fantasy world without a shred of remorse.  

Zoey never understood that it was better to have no friends than a thousand false ones. She never understood what she had done to deserve such betrayal.  

And when she screamed in rage and pain, having lost everything… that was when Gwi-Ma finally claimed her soul.  

His perfect plan could now begin.

For a demon king, Gwi-Ma was quite intelligent, though many wouldn’t think so. After all, a millennia-old demon had to be creative when it came to feeding himself.  

And when those three girls fell into his flames, he had a wicked idea. At first, he’d only planned to let them drown in their misery until they became as mindless as the rest. But then he realized they could be far more useful than he’d imagined.  

Humans, after all, made it easy. They were always at war, fighting amongst themselves, craving more power than their hands could hold.  

Truthfully, Gwi-Ma couldn’t complain. Dark times like those always brought him more souls. The malice, the selfish ambitions of humans, they spread like wildfire.  

But it was then that Gwi-Ma noticed another human need: hope. In dark times, humans sought something to cling to, something to fill the void in their hearts and give them the strength to keep going. 

Normally, that hope was what Gwi-Ma hated most. When hearts united, they could create a force strong enough to seal him and his demons away forever.  

But that was exactly why Gwi-Ma decided to play with it. He would create something that gave people hope, faith, and joy. And then, once they blindly trusted… he would rip it all away and devour them for eternity.  

Music. Humans had always appreciated good music. Men adored a pretty girl with a lovely voice in a bar. Women melted for lyrics that spoke to their hearts.  

And those girls… those girls had to be his salvation. They were perfect. Attractive, intelligent, persuasive. They could enchant people without even trying.  

Whether they liked it or not, they were under his control. And he would use them however he pleased, even if the three of them despised each other. From the moment they met, they had loathed one another with every fiber of their being.  

He could endure their endless complaints, their demands to never have to work together. He could tolerate their screaming matches, their violent brawls, as if they were truly capable of killing each other again. Their hatred didn’t matter. They were efficient at harvesting souls.  

He didn’t care if he had to manage a group of girls who refused to listen to each other. One of them had trained as an actress. Writing songs was quicker than crafting entire stories that would just be stolen anyway.  

Still, as a demon, understanding the human world was complicated. It was pure luck that he’d started his first experiment during that war in Europe. Otherwise, the sudden disappearances would have been catastrophic.  

The souls were delicious, yes, but taking too many at once drew suspicion. Panic spread. And with a little intelligence, people would notice the pattern.  

Especially since his plans required staying hidden from those damned hunters. If he wanted his girls to pose as a hopeful group lifting the spirits of nations plagued by famine and disease, he had to be careful.

Those years when humans nearly destroyed themselves had been a feast for Gwi-Ma. The perfect time to study human behavior, what they loved, what they hated, how their tastes evolved decade after decade.  

How to form a group that united them seamlessly. A group no one would suspect. One that stole souls gradually, reveling in the pain their music caused.  

But as with all things, the good times had to end. The wars ceased. The crises, the pandemics, the diseases, they faded. And then, the disappearances finally caught attention.  

Hunters had existed since ancient times. Gwi-Ma had dealt with them since he first began stealing souls.  

And of course, over the years, the hunters knew demons hadn’t been idle. For decades, they’d tried uncovering their methods, their patterns.  

Their strength had always been their fans. The fans were their light, their power—the ones who made it possible to fight demons day after day. It was vile that Gwi-Ma was using them for the same purpose, stealing souls right under their noses. And when the hunters finally discovered the truth, they had no choice but to end this farce.  

Except these girls were too slippery.  

None of the hunters over the years could figure out how Gwi-Ma had become so cunning. The moment they pinpointed where the disappearances were happening and tracked down the girls… the group would vanish. They’d disband under "mysterious circumstances," only to reappear in another country months later.  

It was foolish to think Gwi-Ma would restart from scratch, building a new fanbase each time. But he did. He sought out the next conflict-ridden nation, the next musical revolution. With new faces but the same intentions, the cycle repeated, never returning to a place they’d already been.  

Maybe it was a good plan. Clearing country after country, until Gwi-Ma realized nowhere was safe, because the hunters would always pursue him and his demon girls. But the world was vast. Eliminating them and establishing a Honmoon in every nation was nearly impossible.  

And they kept winning. Learning. Improving. Blending into countless groups while the hunters struggled to distinguish which idols were demons and which weren’t. They were losing this battle, and it was becoming painfully obvious.  

They thought they’d struck a final blow when they established a Honmoon in the U.S. and dismantled that popular girl group in 2012. But they were wrong.  

When K-pop exploded, they knew they were in deep trouble. Massive groups debuted almost monthly. The lyrics captivated millions, fans living vicariously through their idols’ dreams.  

It was the perfect environment, for both the hunters and Gwi-Ma, who had spent years crafting his ultimate group. One that could conquer the hearts of the entire world, with no detractors, no deserters. One that mesmerized with every song.  

So that at their final concert, he could claim every soul on Earth. Leaving no one alive to question what had happened.

The day Huntr/x was born, Gwi-Ma knew they were his final masterpiece. They were the phenomenon that would complete his wicked plan.

"You’re on in five minutes, girls. I hope you’re ready," Bobby said, winking at them.  

Rumi resisted the urge to scoff. This human was nothing but a fool who actually believed they were friends. Three girls who had saved his company from ruin, forming a bond deeper than just artist and manager.  

Rumi hated being an idol. She hated stepping onto that stage, where millions of people would thank her even if she kicked them in the face. She hated sharing her days with the two idiots Gwi-Ma had forced upon her.  

She hated everything that had happened since she saw the disappointment in her mother’s eyes. But she had no choice. The marks on her body, glowing brighter with every surge of emotion, reminded her she belonged to that demon. She should be grateful for the chance to walk the surface at all, when she should be burning in hell.  

But that was something only Rumi understood. The other two—annoying, stubborn, and stupid—had no grasp of their mission.  

"Mira, go get Zoey," she snapped, fists clenched. "We can’t be late for this performance."

Mira didn’t even glance at her.

"You go get her. Aren’t you our pathetic attempt at a leader?" she retorted, still focused on her reflection. "I’m busy fixing my makeup. It’s far more important than your whining."

Rumi felt fury burn through her veins, exhaling sharply.  

"Where the hell is Zoey?!" she shouted, startling the staff around them. They quickly smiled. It was normal. She was just stressed before the show.

Rumi already had an idea where Zoey was. And if she found her there, she was going to kill her. Tear her apart and pray Gwi-Ma would finally let the hunters finish her off.  

When she threw open the dressing room door, she wasn’t surprised by what she saw. Wrappers and half-eaten food littered the floor, untouched by any effort to clean. And there was Zoey, fast asleep on the couch, probably in a food-induced coma.  

"Zoey!" Rumi used her demon voice. The only sure way to wake her.

The girl’s eyes flew open, and she barely caught herself before tumbling off the couch. At first, she thought something was wrong. Then she saw Rumi standing there and realized, nothing was happening.

"What do you want?" she muttered disdainfully. "Can’t you see I was sleeping?"  

Rumi reminded herself that Gwi-Ma had forbidden harming any of the girls after what happened during their UK group days. But Mira and Zoey were testing her patience to its limits.  

"We’re on any minute now. Look at you! You’re not even dressed or styled. Are you planning to go onstage like this?"  

When Zoey shrugged, Rumi knew arguing was pointless. She didn’t care at all.

"Do whatever you want, but I want you on that stage in three minutes," Rumi hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Where’s the song?"

Zoey yawned, barely registering Rumi’s words. Ever since her work had been stolen, the cheerful, lively Zoey had disappeared.

"What song?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as if that would jumpstart her brain.

Rumi rolled her eyes. She had to be joking.

"The new song we’re performing today?" she said sarcastically. "Don’t tell me you didn’t write it."

Zoey shrugged again. "Oh, was I supposed to prepare a song for today?"

Rumi’s body trembled. "Zoey!"  

Finally, more awake, the raven-haired girl laughed at Rumi’s expression before grabbing her phone.

"Ugh, stop complaining," she said, scrolling through her playlist at random. She skipped a few tracks, then typed something into her notes app. "I just sent you the song. You only get to read it once, so memorize it."

Rumi rolled her eyes. "Once isn’t enough. You should let me keep the lyrics indefinitely."

Zoey laughed. "And let another lying thief steal my work? Never. I’m not as dumb as you think, Rumi."  

Rumi sighed, skimming the lyrics before raising an eyebrow.  

"This is a blatant rip-off of that kids’ pony show theme. And the chorus is from another group. Zoey...”

"If you don’t like it, write your own song and perform alone," Zoey snapped, losing patience. "The fans will love it anyway. We’re more viral than any of those songs. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get ready in the privacy of my own dressing room."  

When the door slammed in her face, Rumi confirmed what she’d known for years. 

She hated music. She hated K-pop. She hated being an idol.

And above all… she hated those two useless idiots she was forced to call her teammates.

As much as she hated to admit it, Zoey was right. The song had been a huge hit, people were loving it, even if the lyrics didn't make sense or if they were "inspired" by other sources.

You didn't know that 'cha fell

But Rumi, who always paid more attention to details than the others, noticed a flash of bright blue, which stood out from the rest of the audience.

Immediately, she paled. It wasn't possible. They had never attacked while performing. It would expose them too much; they also had a reputation to uphold. They would scare people if...

They weren't warriors. They had no idea how to fight, or how to defeat one of those stupid hunters. As soon as they were found, they would run away from the place, wait a while, and reappear with a new name and face.

However, Rumi knew this time had to be different. Gwi-Ma was sure that Huntr/x was the key to obtaining everyone's souls. They couldn't give up, couldn't run away like they always had.

But when she saw that hunter boy approaching from the crowd... She knew they were completely ruined.

Chapter Text

They'd barely had time to escape. The fans weren't going to like the way the concert had ended, with no explanation, but they had no choice. It was that, or they'd see them being brutally murdered.  

They quickly got off the stage and ran for the exit. Ignoring Bobby's questions about what the hell they were doing, and seeing them speeding off, he had no choice but to sigh and say he'd cover for them and explain why the concert had been canceled.  

They weren't warriors. The two times they'd tried to learn, they'd ended up so injured that they'd never wanted to take a self-defense class again.  

Besides, it wasn't like hunters were the smartest people on the planet. Whenever they had to flee, they did it the same way. Camouflage among people was a good option, and before any of those foolish hunters could blink, they were already far enough away that they couldn't be found.  

And when they saw the entire audience leave, they breathed a sigh of relief. It was their perfect opportunity to…

"Are you going somewhere?" A male voice appeared, and in a flash, four more appeared, right in front of them. "I think your years of fun are over."

To be honest, none of the three girls had ever seen those hunters before. They must be dealing with a new generation. And, apparently, one that had been raised exclusively to kill them.

"Run," Rumi muttered, not realizing that Zoey was actually already running full speed in the opposite direction.

Rumi rolled her eyes. Of course, Zoey was a coward. All those hours of sleeping like a bear were to save energy for a moment like this.

"Zoey!" Mira demanded, looking at the black-haired girl. "You can't leave us behind!"

"Test me and see if I can't do it!" she shouted, without even looking at her groupmates.

Rumi sighed heavily. She hated Zoey and her attitude toward everything. "You’re a coward!" she yelled.

"But a coward with life!" Zoey replied without stopping.

The two remaining girls growled, but hurried to try to keep up, while they saw the hunters appear with their weapons, ready to attack them and continue their pursuit.

"How the hell did they find us!?" exclaimed Rumi, who was almost at par with Mira, while they dodged daggers coming from some of the boys who were chasing them. "Gwi-Ma has barely taken souls from our fans, and we have made sure that the marks are not visible. How were they going to know that Huntr/x were actually demons?"

"Well... Some of us do have the beauty and the stage presence to attract attention, Rumi," Mira exclaimed, raising her head and puffing out her chest with a touch of pride. 

"What are you trying to tell me?" Rumi exclaimed, offended, looking Mira in the eye. "Are you saying I'm not pretty and don't have stage presence?"

Mira just shrugged.

"Well, if the boot fits you."

Rumi sighed, clearly offended.

"Hey, listen to me carefully! You're a…"

Hearing the girls fighting, the hunters stopped for a second, distracted. Were these the unbeatable demons who had been harassing the entire world with their songs? Really?

How come the public and fans didn't realize how badly they got along? 

Meanwhile, Zoey just sighed. When Rumi and Mira started fighting, there was no power that could stop them. She was so used to it, she was already feeling lazy. Besides, running so much was already wearing her down. When would they be far enough away that they could disappear without fear of taking one of the hunters to their secret lair?

Honestly, Zoey was just thinking about leaving and taking a long nap, when, before disappearing, one of the hunters returned from his lapse after seeing that fight and, seeing that Zoey had stopped, found the perfect opportunity to finish her off.

Without thinking twice, he threw one of his daggers at her chest, and Zoey barely managed to react, causing it to graze her arm. They were so sharp, the slightest contact made her bleed.

Bleeding? That was weird. She was sure demons didn't bleed.

However, the stabbing pain in her arm made her let out a scream of pain, drawing the attention of the girls, who paled as they saw the drops of blood fall.

"Zoey..." Rumi murmured, turning her head. The one who was in front was now left behind.

"Let's go now!" the youngest girl said, trying to stand up and get to her friends as quickly as possible.

But before anything could happen, and determined to eliminate at least one of them, the hunter who had the daggers with him threw another one. This time, at Zoey's leg, causing her to fall to the ground again.

Then Zoey knew. It was the end. The hunters had finally gotten to her. With some effort, she let down her defenses, shedding the facade that was her human body, in a desperate attempt to make her wounds heal a little faster. Her skin turned completely purple, and the marks stood out all over her body. But nothing took away the pain.

The hunters would reach her, and kill her. She would die again. She would disappear, and this time, she would never return to the surface. 

As a last wish, she turned to see where the girls were running, without saying a word, but with eyes that begged for a little help. Although, it was obvious, she knew none of them would come back for her. On the contrary, they would rejoice in her death.

When they hit the wall at the end of the stage, Mira knew they had no other choice. Either they disappeared right then, or the hunters… hunted them. She turned her head to Rumi, who nodded, and then turned left to see…

"Zoey?" she murmured, scanning around, looking for where the youngest of the three could have gotten to. That's when she saw her, lying on the ground, pleading for help.

The hunters were almost there. Mira felt a chill run through her body, and she paled. Something inside her tightened at the thought of watching Zoey disappear forever.

Were those feelings? Was Mira having feelings for the first time in… ever?

Mira didn't have time to analyze whatever she was feeling. She shook her head and turned to Rumi, almost as if speaking telepathically, saying that they had to save her.

However, Rumi, who also saw her, shook her head, raising an eyebrow at Mira in bewilderment.

"Oh, no. Mira, don't even think about it. It's too dangerous, it's not necessary. We're not going after her in any way—"

Seeing that she wouldn't have Rumi's support, Mira ran towards the young girl, willing to save her, even if she had to fight against those strange hunters.

And when she saw her, Rumi couldn't help but sigh. She hated them, she really hated her teammates. And worst of all, she hated herself, because she couldn't believe she was actually going to rescue those silly girls.

What she should have been doing was disappearing, leaving them to their fate. And yet, she had no choice but to go after Mira.

When they reached Zoey, they took her by the arms to help her stand up, and they didn't miss the opportunity to remind her of a couple of things.

"Don't even think this will become a regular occurrence!" Rumi said, turning to look at the hunters, who kept throwing daggers at them. "You're an idiot! That's why we told you to wait for us!"

"Shut up and let's go!" Zoey snapped, grabbing Mira tightly, unable to put any weight on her foot, and growling. "Turn into your demon forms and let's go."

Mira and Rumi nodded, shedding their normal forms, before turning to look at the hunters with suspicion, paying no attention to the growing hatred that was born in the boys' hearts upon seeing them and, finally, disappearing.

When the girls showed up at the Penthouse, Zoey finally let her tempers go and, without a second's hesitation, started crying.  

"It hurts! It hurts so much!" Zoey complained, touching the wound on her arm. "Those damn hunters! Those fucking hunters almost killed me! How dare they?"  

Rumi sighed, returning to her human form, before looking around. At least her penthouse was still secure, and no one, except that idiot Bobby, could get in.

What the heck just happened?

"Oh, my leg!" Zoey cried, plopping down on the couch, smearing blood all over it. Mira rolled her eyes at her. That was a white leather couch. Cleaning the stain was going to cost them a fortune. "I think they ruined my leg. I won't be able to practice or dance for weeks."

Rumi just rolled her eyes. "You're saying that to avoid your responsibilities, Zoey. You know perfectly well you'll be fine in two days. You're only saying that because you want to spend weeks sleeping and swallowing food, as if you weren't already doing that. You're lazy."

Before Zoey could respond, Mira stepped forward, glaring at Rumi.

"Don't say those things about Zoey," she complained, not really knowing why. At another time, she would have supported Rumi's teasing. Something strange was happening to her with everything she felt inside. "She's hurt; she needs us to take care of her, not to complain."

"That's it!" she cried, sinking further onto the couch. "I need care and food brought here! I need to be fed!"

Rumi wanted to laugh. She knew Zoey's binges were so familiar, they left the fridge completely empty. That girl was just being dramatic.

Mira stroked her cheek, trying to reassure her, before speaking again.

"I'll get the first-aid kit to heal you. Please, try to hold on," she murmured before standing up and walking toward the bathroom.

Rumi did nothing but watch the scene, raising an eyebrow. Very strange things were happening that day. First, those strange hunters. They had discovered them without even being in the front row to discover their marks.

Then there was that whole backstage chase. It would have been as easy as disappearing once they saw they couldn't blend in, but they hadn't. It was almost as if they'd forgotten they could do that.

Zoey being brutally attacked was one of the things she wouldn't have expected. Hunters weren't usually smart enough to attack from a distance like that. But she wouldn't have expected Mira to rush straight to save Zoey's life.

After all, they hated each other, they had hated each other since the moment Gwi-Ma introduced them, and told them she would form a musical group with them.

Because... They hated each other, right? Rumi didn't know why, but the thought of thinking about Zoey and Mira with hatred made a hole in her heart. Only logic and common sense, experience, that's what they told her.

After all, they were always fighting. If one was in danger, the other wouldn't come to her rescue; they would mock her for ending up in that situation. They were always humiliating and belittling each other for the things they had done in their past. They annoyed each other, insulted each other, and regarded each other with suspicion. They were nearly beating each other to death all the time, for the love of Gwi-Ma!

None of that sounded like love to Rumi. None of that, in fact, was love. Not the right kind, not the good kind. She couldn't love them, because demons don't have feelings.

But of course, demons aren't supposed to bleed either. And yet, Zoey was bleeding. She was hurt, and she was acting like she was about to bleed to death.

Speaking of her, Rumi turned to look at her, even though she knew Zoey would complain to her again. But when she turned around, she realized Zoey was already sleeping peacefully.

And while it wasn't unusual for Zoey to sleep, in fact, what was unusual was seeing her awake, Rumi realized that more things were strange that day.

After all, Zoey was always excessively noisy when sleeping. It was almost as if she were mocking them. She snored so loudly that they had to use earplugs every night to sleep. She moved around so much that trying to sleep in the same room or bed was a hopeless idea.

However, at that moment, Zoey was sleeping like an angel. No loud snoring, no fussing. No moving.

Was this the first time in decades that Zoey was getting a restful night's sleep?

Rumi sighed and sat down next to Zoey, stroking her forehead and brushing a few strands of hair away from her face, which was still damp with sweat from running.

She was really cute when she slept like that.

From a distance, Mira saw Rumi sitting next to Zoey, stroking her head, and another feeling filled her. Jealousy. That one she could identify, because Mira had felt jealousy a lot in the past.

Jealousy of all those people who had looked down on her. All of them who could have been perfect and lived up to their parents' expectations, unlike her.

She had the urge to touch her wrist, but she restrained herself. There was nothing there anyway. All her scars had disappeared the day she'd made the deal with Gwi-Ma.

Why was she jealous of Rumi touching Zoey? It didn't make sense. But it was her body and mind, saying that Zoey should only be hers.

She cleared her throat, catching Rumi's attention, who quickly removed her hand from Zoey's forehead, hoping Mira hadn't seen it.

"Couldn't you at least wait for me to heal you?" Mira muttered, though she knew Zoey wasn't going to answer. "You're really beyond help, you idiot demon." 

On that, Rumi had to agree with Mira. Zoey was an idiot demon. The most idiotic she'd ever met. But not just her.

"You're an idiot demon too, Mira," she said, smiling. "Only you would think of going to save her, when we had the hunters breathing down our necks."

"Get out of here, Rumi. Leave us alone for a while, for a change." Was all Mira replied, before Rumi shrugged. 

While Mira watched over Zoey, Rumi walked toward the Penthouse balcony, still thinking about what had happened all day. And then, as she looked down, she saw a flash of blue light approaching her Penthouse.

They had to be joking.

Chapter Text

"I can't believe they got away like that!" Abby exclaimed, stamping his foot on the ground. "They were ours! Mystery managed to seriously injure one of them!"

Mystery nodded, playing with one of his daggers in disappointment. He should have been more accurate, aiming straight for the heart. But he thought leaving her leg immobile would have been a better strategy. The demon girls would worry, waste time, and kill them all.

He hadn't imagined that, in reality, they were planning to abandon her. And that, when they finally came looking for her, they didn't even check to see if she was okay. They'd just taken her and disappeared.

These demons were simply too strange. As the last hunters standing, they had been trained to face the best of the best. And they knew that these demons were just that.

They were the demons who had taken the most souls, the ones who had survived for decades, tormenting different parts of the world, time and time again.

Entire generations of hunters had been on their trail. And all of them, year after year, had failed. Soon, they realized that the demons had changed their strategy for stealing souls. That they had learned to play with the media and the will of the fans. None of the hunters had any doubt that they had learned how to use the fans' power and feed off it to their advantage.

For a moment, the hunters thought these girls were truly invincible. That Gwi-Ma and her demons were going to win hands down, having discovered all the secrets the hunters themselves used to find strength and power.

However, they refused to give up. And as a last-ditch effort, they had formed the Saja Boys, practically from the moment each of them was born. They had brought them together and kept them together forever. Their parents had agreed to let them spend their lives away from their families and in special boarding schools, just so they could be educated and trained to save humanity.

They'd been given everything the ancient hunters could give. Education, training, knowledge. Never-before-seen fighting tactics, mind control, warnings. If the demons had created a perfect band, they had to respond with the same perfection.

They could not fail, lest they see humanity fall into the clutches of Gwi-Ma.

The Saja Boys may have been a bit late. But now, they were ready to launch their idol careers and take on the world. They were so well-trained, that's how they discovered Huntr/x was the demonic group they'd been searching for, after only a few weeks in the industry.

They expected a lot of things upon discovering that truth. Without a doubt, Huntr/x was the most important group in all of Korea. They were almost certain it was the most important and popular group in the entire world.

Huntr/x was a phenomenon that hadn't stopped in over five years. Every song they released became more and more popular. There wasn't a single person, no adult, no child, who wasn't listening to at least one of their songs.

Truly, the hunters thought they had a daunting task. To maintain such a group, and to be so successful for so many years, they must have had a lot of knowledge. They must have been united demons, who had learned things like teamwork and…

"Sorry, guys," Romance murmured. "I should have caught you, but your attitude… It threw me off a little."

Jinu couldn't blame him. To be honest, the same thing had happened to him. They'd chosen the final concert of their world tour to catch them. They thought it would be poetic, and besides, they'd be exhausted from the trip.

They'd been preparing for weeks. They'd practiced their best attacks, prepared defenses, everything. And what they'd found… three girls who kept fighting and arguing, while running away to nowhere.

Damn, Jinu could almost assure that those girls didn't even know how to fight.

What the hell had happened then?

Jinu looked around, where, seconds before, they had been about to kill one of the demons. It was then, as she looked down at the ground, that she noticed something unusual.

There were traces of blood. It was a large pool of blood, which hadn't yet dried.

It could only come from the devil, that was clear. But… It didn't make sense, because demons didn't bleed.

In general, they were nothing. They had no feelings, no thoughts of their own, nothing. They were just machines in Gwi-Ma's service, stealing innocent souls.

"We can follow her with this trail. We'll find out where she's hiding that way," Jinu suggested, taking the blood between his fingers to analyze it. To be honest, if it weren't for the slight purple color, he'd think it was human blood.

However, the rest of the boys weren't convinced. After all, following a trail of blood would be illogical given what they'd been taught.

"It must be someone else, Jinu. Someone who got hurt backstage," Abby assured him, shrugging. "Remember, demons don't bleed."

Baby nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

However, Jinu wasn't convinced. Those girls were too weird to convince him. Something wasn't right.

"Maybe that's enough for today," Baby said, shrugging as he tucked her whip into his belt, grimacing in resignation. "Still, we accomplished what no one else has ever done before. We wounded one of them. That's worth a round, right?"

"Let's drink to our first demonic wound," Abby replied, forcing a smile, even though frustration was making his fingers twitch. "We'll catch them. They can't run forever."

The boys began to joke among themselves, pushing each other with camaraderie, lightening the burden of failure a little. Mystery twirled one of his daggers between his fingers with a distracted air, as if already thinking of another strategy. Romance just sighed, too thoughtful, as he looked at the remains of the devastated scene.

Jinu said nothing. He just nodded, as if he shared the desire to clear his head.

"I'm... I'm tired," he suddenly murmured, looking down. "I'm going back to the lodge. I need to get some sleep."

No one questioned him. They knew Jinu was the most intense of the group, and if he said he needed to sleep, it was probably because he planned to go over every detail in his dreams.

"See you later," Abby said, already turning his back on him as Baby threw a water bottle at him.

Jinu waited. He waited until their footsteps were no longer audible, until the echoes of the group were absorbed by the hum of the generators shutting down. And then, he looked again at the pool of blood that still stained the ground.

With a slow gesture, he bent down and extended his hand. He murmured words in a dialect no human would recognize, an ancient spell only elite hunters knew how to pronounce. His ring glowed with a faint blue light, and the blood began to react.

It rose in a thin, floating line, like a thread of liquid ink in the air. Jinu straightened, his gaze fixed on the floating trail. These demons weren't like the rest they'd faced, and Jinu was going to find out what was going on and kill them once and for all.

Wasting no time, he pulled his hood closer, hiding his face, and began following the magical trail through the empty corridors of the stadium. No one would see him. No one would follow him. And if he was right, if the blood guided him to what he believed…

So the boys were going to have a real reason to celebrate.  

Rumi hurried to the spot where the blue flash was. She wasn't going to let those hunters find her hiding place. She'd had enough of them. It wasn't even for Mira or Zoey anymore, it was for her own peace of mind. 

Even if she had to pay with her own life, Rumi was going to finish off these strange new hunters. She'd figure out how to convince Gwi-Ma to return her to the surface, and that she was the only one who could fulfill her greatest desires of conquest. 

But the joke about those hunters ended the same day they showed up. No matter what.

Rumi saw him in the distance. He didn't seem to be going very fast. She expected it to be all five boys, but in reality, it was just one, who seemed to be following the path toward her, mesmerized.

"Stop right there," she demanded, using her demonic voice to get his attention. It didn't matter if he drew his sword and tried to kill her; the few fights she'd had had to be enough to defeat him. "Not one step further, or I won't respond."

"I could say the same thing," the raven-haired boy replied, staring into Rumi's eyes. "Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Rumi did not answer the question, it was obvious that he was not afraid of her.

"I'm not going to let you hurt me or them." Well, that was a lie. Maybe she would let him hurt Mira a little, and especially Zoey, to see if that would teach her a lesson. "It would be best if you left, and left us alone."

Jinu leaned closer, smiling.

"Well, that's going to be a bit difficult. Because, literally, my mission is to wipe out all of you," he replied, crossing his arms.

At that, Rumi felt completely stupid. It was obvious she hadn't come to say hello, right?

"How did you find us?" she asked, without taking her eyes off him. "What do you want? To kill us already?"

"Is your friend all right now? The wounds my friends left on her were pretty nasty."

Rumi frowned. What was that boy up to?

"What the hell do you care what happens to Zoey?" she insisted, pursing her lips. "Besides, she's not my friend."

Jinu raised an eyebrow. Incredulous.

"Well, that's not what it looked like. You were worried about her," he replied. "Now you're here, stopping me from getting to her to finish the job."

"You didn't kill me either," she retorted. "So you better answer right away. What do you want?"

Jinu was silent for a few seconds. He closed his eyes, letting go of his arrogance. Now there was something different, a kind of analysis that bothered Rumi more than any spell or dagger.

"I didn't come to kill you," he finally said. "Not… yet."

"Wow, how generous," Rumi spat sarcastically.

"I want to understand," he continued, ignoring her tone. "Because demons don’t bleed. But you do. Your friend, the one you said you don’t care about… She left a very human trail of blood. All too human."

Rumi only frowned more tightly.

"And what do you want? For me to thank you for not killing us yet?" she murmured, but her tone was no longer as firm.

Jinu took a step toward her. Rumi didn't move, but her entire body tensed, like a spring about to explode.

"I want to talk. Just that. A deal," he proposed. "You talk to me. You tell me who the heck you two are. What's going on with your group. In exchange, I won't kill you today."

"And why would I make a deal with you?" Rumi spat disdainfully. "What makes you think I trust you?"

"Because you don't have any other choice, Rumi. Because if you really wanted to kill me, you would have done it as soon as you saw me alone." Jinu shrugged. "Because you're not like other demons. And I think you know that too."

The silence that followed was thick. Rumi didn't blink, as if processing the idea very slowly. It bothered her how right the boy seemed to be. Damn, it even bothered her that he spoke to her like that, as if he already knew her.

"How did you find me?" she asked again, this time in a low voice.

"Because of Zoey’s blood trail. It’s magic. But it won’t last much longer. Once it dries completely, it’ll be gone." Jinu’s voice softened, almost as if speaking to someone hurt. "If you had let me get to her, she’d be the one here instead of you. But there’s you. So you’re my only option."

Rumi narrowed her eyes, furious that this made sense. She was risking a lot, she knew that. But she also knew she couldn't afford any more mistakes. Not if she wanted to follow Gwi-Ma's orders.

"I have to think about it," she said finally, taking just a step back. "I'm not saying I believe you. But..."

Jinu nodded slowly, without making a single sudden movement.

"I'll give you until dawn. But if you disappear, or if I send my friends to look for you… you'll know I've lost my patience."

"Trust me," Rumi muttered, turning away. "If you decide to send those idiots after us again… it'll be the last time you see them alive."

And without saying anything else, she disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, while the blue trail dissolved into the air, like smoke caught in the wind.

To be honest, Rumi hated having to go to the underworld. She hated it at all, having grown too accustomed to the light above ground rather than the darkness that plagued the entire place.

But the situation was desperate. And besides, she had been the fool who, when Gwi-Ma had sought a leader, had offered herself, just so Mira wouldn't have any kind of privilege over her.

And now, she was the one who had to face the king of demons for each of the things that happened

The air in the underworld was thick. Rumi felt it clinging to her skin like a second layer of icy sweat. Each step toward Gwi-Ma's throne felt heavier than the last, as if shadows were coiling around her ankles to drag her back to a place she could never see as hers, even though she knew she deserved it.

The demonic torches crackled in shades of purple, and the blackness was so absolute that the fire seemed suspended in nothingness. In the center, Gwi-Ma waited for her, always waited for her

"I knew you'd come, you always do when you see that not everything is as perfect as you like to imagine," Gwi-Ma said, making Rumi feel a chill all over her body. "What do you know now? How am I supposed to help you now?"

Rumi swallowed. Her voice seemed to crack, but she remained firm. After all, something told her she shouldn't show any weakness to the demon.

"We have to leave Korea," she said bluntly. "K-pop is history. We should disappear for a few years, decades, maybe. It's the most efficient thing to do."

There was a brief silence, before a loud laugh filled the gloomy place.

"You want to run away again? Now?" Gwi-Ma repeated, still laughing. "After everything I've built through you? After feeding millions with your music? After driving them to obsession, fanaticism, absolute devotion? Do you know how many souls you've offered me on this last tour?"

"I know," Rumi replied, containing the anger, fear, and doubt that filled her as she spoke to Gwi-Ma. "But the hunters have already found us. They'll be direct competition for us as Saja Boys. They're not afraid, they're different from the rest, it's as if they're... More trained. They attacked us and almost killed Zoey. If we don't change our strategy... if we continue like this, there will be no more tours, no more souls, no more anything."

Gwi-Ma leaned toward her, his shapeless eyes burning like coal under ash. That was the manipulation tactic they'd been using for so many years… But no longer.

"No," he declared firmly. "I'm tired of watching them run away and start over. I think we know the market well enough. We already know what we need, and what will happen. We already have the people. Huntr/x is the most powerful group in the world. You are the religion of this generation. Humanity kneels before you, without knowing it. And you want to run?"

Rumi gritted her teeth. She knew Gwi-Ma was intelligent, calculating. She knew he didn't care about her fears or her excuses. She had to be direct.

"If we've survived so many centuries that we're the demons who've given you the most souls, it's because we knew when to hide."

"Survive?" The word resonated like a blow. Gwi-Ma rose, floating above the ground with horrifying grace. "I don't want you to survive anymore. I want you to win. I want you to have everyone's souls, once and for all, because I'm losing patience."

Rumi fell silent. Because something about the way Gwi-Ma looked at her... She felt like he was analyzing her, stripping away her every thought.

And then Gwi-Ma smiled and calmed her gaze, almost laughing a little more.

"Or is there something more to it, isn't there, Rumi?" he asked sarcastically. "You wouldn't care about any of that if I promised you your long-awaited freedom, would you? You'd sell out anyone to achieve your goals; it's always been that way."

Unlike all the other times he'd asked her that question, Rumi didn't know how to answer. She couldn't say yes, like in the past, when she would have said she could complete the mission herself with her voice, and it would be better if they ended Zoey and Mira's lives.

And Gwi-Ma noticed.

"You care about those girls, don't you?" He mocked, though he didn't need an answer. After all, he already knew what was going on; he'd gotten inside Rumi's mind. "You're getting attached to them, aren't you?"

Rumi, for the first time, looked away.

"So many years hating them… And now you start loving them… Be careful, Rumi, you're playing a dangerous game."

"I don't love them," she assured him, even though she knew it was a lie. "They're nothing to me."

"I remind you that they tried to kill each other several times," he insisted. "You yourself have tried to end their lives more than once. And now... You're worried about them?"

Rumi just clenched her jaw. Gwi-Ma's laughter grew lower, more venomous. Like the hiss of a beast tasting fear before devouring.

"Oh, Rumi…" She murmured, trailing like smoke across the hot stones. "Look at you. Your whole life, you wanted power, leadership. To be brighter than Mira, more talented than Zoey. You got it, didn't you? You crowned yourself leader of Huntr/x… And now your knees are weak for them?"

Rumi didn't respond. Her nails dug into her closed palms, and the burning was the only thing keeping her from breaking down completely.

"Have you forgotten what they are?" Gwi-Ma continued, descending from her throne with a floating, enveloping gait. "They are not your friends. They are not your sisters. They are demons. My demons. Daughters of my will. Existences shaped by my designs. And you... you are nothing more than an instrument. The best tuned, yes. But replaceable."

Rumi looked up, not saying a single word to defend herself.

Gwi-Ma sent up a sharp, black smoke that reached Rumi's chest, right at her heart. It only took a second for her to feel a stabbing pain, something throbbing inside her... not hers, not human. A seal.

"Your soul. Your essence. Everything you are belongs to me. And you know what the funniest thing is?" He whispered, very close to her ear. "If you fail... You'll still be a disappointment to everyone, even to me." 

Disappointment.

Rumi was tired of being a disappointment to everyone... even herself. She couldn't win this game, and she had no choice but to bow her head.

"Go away, Rumi. And don't come back until you have all the souls in the world with you," Gwi-Ma exclaimed, before sending her back to the surface.

Rumi stood in front of the door to her penthouse, staring at the marks spread all over her body, the one thing she couldn't hide for too long with the shapeshifting spell. 

With each passing second, things only got worse. Rumi gulped and opened the door to her house. After all, there was no better place to hide than in plain sight. The air in the house was silent. Too silent. Not a single honking horn, not a complaint from Mira about the volume, not a single buzz from Zoey frantically flipping through channels. Nothing.

Her back still burned from Gwi-Ma's mark, and the metallic taste of his threat lingered in her mouth. But that wasn't what made her blood run cold. It was the sight of them. The demons she'd lived with for too long, who made her completely lose her patience.

There, on the wide white leather sofa, Mira was asleep. But it wasn't like usual. She wasn't clutching her cell phone or wearing a shiny gel mask on her face. Instead, she was cuddling up to Zoey. Close to her, as if her life depended on that gesture.

It wasn't as if Zoey wasn't comfortable. Rumi still didn't understand how the girl was sleeping so peacefully, without making a single noise or moving.

But then she realized. She wasn't the only one changing her ways, the one she would never abandon. Because, if Rumi knew anything about Mira, it was that the girl would rather die than stop caring for her beautiful face.

Mira was always talking about beauty products. She was always applying skincare creams and protecting herself from the sun. She was always avoiding making too many expressions, so as not to "show her facial lines." Every night before bed, everyone had to endure a lecture from Mira about how they weren't taking care of themselves for when they grew up, while she spent hours preparing her bedtime beauty ritual.

Mira was simply too vain to accept that someone didn't take the same care as she did. Never in the hundreds of years Rumi had known her had she seen Mira go to sleep without at least a mask on her face.

Things were happening all too strangely. Things beyond her control. Feelings she couldn't control. Feelings she didn't even understand.

She sat down next to them, stroking Mira's head, hoping she wouldn't wake up. After a while, she had to resist the urge to lie down next to the two girls

What the hell was wrong with her? Why did she now feel this urge to protect them at all costs? Why was she worrying so much about them? It wasn't like her.

Sighing, she knew she had no other choice, if she wanted to stay by her girls' side and find a way to fulfill Gwi-Ma's demands.

She would have to look for Jinu.