Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gwi Ma was not dead.

The strike from Rumi’s energized sword as well as the new Rainbow Honmoon had significantly weakened him, and he definitely would not be able to make a comeback anytime soon. His flame was much smaller, weaker, flickering at the edges. It burned brighter when he remembered the betrayal that led to his current state. 

The demon who had come up with the idea that got him the most souls he had ever been able to obtain. The demon he had always kept a close watch on due to his fickle nature. After Gwi Ma’s voice had been in people’s heads long enough, many of them essentially stopped having thoughts of their own. They lived as nothing but a shell of shame and misery.

Jinu was different. His mind stayed strong and prevailed. He had enough shame and pain for Gwi Ma to latch on to, but controlling Jinu required more effort than many others. While Jinu wasn’t the only one with a stronger will, something about him made Gwi Ma more wary. And he was right. 

Gwi Ma already had plans for punishment as soon as Jinu stepped in and took his blast for that hunter. Unfortunately, Jinu did not let that happen. He had given his soul to Rumi, allowing himself to become the power in her strike, the power in their new Honmoon. Gwi Ma could not touch him. This fueled his anger even more. 

And so, with nothing else to do as he regained his strength, he thrived off his anger and drive to find Jinu and make him regret his betrayal. He could sense that Jinu’s soul was not completely destroyed. There had to be a way for him to return so Gwi Ma could get his vengeance. However, with his lack of power at the moment, he could only wait and hope for a way to destroy the new Honmoon. 

Chapter Text

Rumi finally allowed herself to collapse onto her bed after what was probably the longest day of her life. Zoey and Mira knew about her patterns. She had finally said all the things to Celine she had never been able to before. They had a new Honmoon that felt like it was more powerful than before. 

Jinu was gone. 

She was caught up in their battle and had not allowed herself to feel the weight of his sacrifice. She still hadn’t forgiven him for his betrayal and all the people his plan killed, but she wanted to give him a chance to be the person she knew he could be. 

Rumi prided herself on reading people. It was why she knew hiding her patterns from Zoey and Mira led to a worse outcome than telling them the truth early on. She had been right. She knew she was right about Jinu being a good person. She didn’t know exactly what had happened in the past, but she knew he had more than paid the price for his mistake and suffered for 400 years. 

A lone tear rolled down her cheek. He had given up his chance at freedom and his chance at a happy life. She would never hear his voice again, or feel the comfort of his patterned hand in hers. She would never get to subject him to Mira’s questioning and Zoey’s puns. After defeating Gwi Ma, she really wanted Jinu to have a normal life. Once they understood his situation, she knew Zoey and Mira would warm up to him. 

Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep and was greeted by sunlight in her room and an aggressive knocking at her door. 

“Wake up Rumi! We’re going to the bathhouse!” 

Rumi thoroughly enjoyed her first trip to the bathhouse. She could finally be comfortable in her own skin and let her feelings out with her two closest friends. She was glad they understood why she had always avoided bathhouses before. 

This was followed by greeting and signing items for several fans. Huntr/x may have been on hiatus, but that didn’t mean they were going to disappear. One small group turned into a swarming crowd as more people realized who was there. 

As far as everyone knew, Huntr/x had fought very publicly at the Idol Awards and made a huge comeback featuring in a Saja boys concert with amazing pyrotechnics. One effect of the Honmoon was creating illusions to help protect people. Normal humans couldn’t see the patterns the same way Hunters could, and would often have muddled memories when they did encounter demons. 

As far as they knew, the Saja Boys disappeared after their show and hadn’t made any public statements or appearances. In fact, the new Honmoon had made many people forget about the Soda Pop craze. This allowed Huntr/x to be more popular than ever, especially with the unexpected performance of a new song no one knew was coming. 

Finally back home after a long day of fan encounters, Rumi stepped out onto the balcony, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. She felt peaceful up here. Leaves rustling softly in the wind, the distant sound of cars and people walking, the soft light of the moon. And of course, the vast beauty of their new, colorful Honmoon shimmering in the night. They had always dreamt of a golden one, but this was much better. It felt more like them. They weren’t sure how this one held up in comparison, but Rumi could sense that it was strong.  

A few birds chirped nearby. Rumi grabbed the bag of birdseed from the corner of her balcony. It wasn’t until she turned around to feed the birds that she realized one of them had six eyes. And was wearing a tiny hat. She nearly screamed and lost half the birdseed in her hands. The bird simply blinked its six eyes at her, almost judgementally. 

“How are you… here?” She muttered to herself. In her shock, she almost forgot that the bird wasn’t usually alone. She started looking around and sure enough, a tiger head was sticking out of a portal right next to her. She crouched down as the tiger slowly rose all the way through the ground. She tossed the rest of the birdseeds towards the non-demon birds in the corner and let herself run her fingers through the soft fur, immediately getting a deep purr from the large cat. 

“Good to see you too,” she smiled. She regretted never asking Jinu what their names were. She thought for a second and suddenly got a strong urge to call the tiger Derpy. 

“Derpy?” She tried, earning a nuzzle and a deeper purr. Her hunch must have been correct. She looked up at the magpie next, tilting her head. “Hmm… Sussie?” The bird gave her a quick screech that sounded affirmative. She wasn’t sure if demons could communicate telepathically, but this sure felt like it. Her smile turned sad. 

“I’m sorry, your… owner? Companion? He’s gone.” Sussie started screeching more aggressively, not accepting her statement. Rumi shook her head. “I saw him disintegrate right in front of me. He gave up his soul for the new Honmoon and to silence Gwi Ma. He’s gone.” She repeated. This time, it was Derpy that gave her a low growl. 

“I know it’s hard.” She murmured, continuing to run her fingers through his soft fur. Sussie flapped her wings in annoyance, and flew away. Derpy gave her one last nudge and sank into the floor, leaving Rumi alone. 

She knew how they felt, especially since they weren’t there to see it happen. Part of her also didn’t believe Jinu was truly gone, but it was impossible. She watched him disappear. Her head was hurting with the pressure of everything she had felt in the last two days, so she stepped back into her room, refusing to give in to her delusional train of thought. She would worry later about how and why Derpy and Sussie were on this side of the Honmoon. 

Chapter Text

There was some part of Rumi that couldn't shake the uneasiness after seeing Sussie and Derpy’s reactions to her telling them about Jinu’s death. They almost seemed to be trying to tell her something. Rumi also knew there was a part of her that wanted badly for Jinu to still be alive, so she wasn’t sure whether it was just her being too hopeful.  

Of course, there was also the obvious uneasiness at the fact that she had no idea how they could even be there with her last night. She had been tired, but not enough to think it may have been a dream. She knew she saw them. 

“Alright girls, we’ve had two days to recover. It’s time we discuss the new Honmoon.” Rumi declared after they all finished breakfast. Her bandmates looked at each other and then back at Rumi in agreement. 

“Well we know it’s not golden.” Zoey stated the obvious. 

“Good start,” Rumi said. 

“I don’t know about you guys, but it feels stronger to me,” Mira chimed in. 

“Yeah it does,” Rumi and Zoey replied in unison.  

“I wonder if there is a way to test its strength,” Rumi mused. 

“Well we still have to officially record ‘What it Sounds Like’, a good place to start might be seeing how the Honmoon responds to our voices?” Zoey, surprisingly, was often the most logical and straightforward of the group. 

“That’s a great idea!” Mira shook Zoey’s shoulder in excitement. It wasn’t like they really had many other leads. 

“I’ll call up Bobby now, let’s get ready to head to the recording studio!” Rumi yelled, getting ready to run to her room and grab her clothes before Mira pulled her arm to stop her. 

“Woah girl, you’re forgetting that we just came up with that song on the spot. We have no mix or anything ready to actually record this. We still need to work with Bobby and Tessa to get an actual track.” Mira reminded her. 

Rumi lowered her head. She did tend to get ahead of herself sometimes.

“Why don’t I call them and we can still plan to record as soon as we’re ready!” Zoey said, smiling. Rumi nodded in agreement. 

They headed to the studio two hours later and were greeted by two smiling faces. 

“Hey girls! I was wondering when I’d get that call. I still can’t believe you were holding out on me with that song! Why was the Saja Boys concert the first time I heard it?” Bobby cried. 

The girls all laughed nervously.

“Well, we weren’t feeling Takedown and somehow were hit by a wave of inspiration just before the concert,” Rumi offered. Bobby seemed to accept this answer and ushered them inside. 

Tessa was one of their main editors who helped with mixes as well as music videos. The trio had enough varied skills among themselves to handle most creative aspects with lyrics. melodies, and choreography but Tessa was a godsend in helping with the more technical side of things.  

It took the whole day to get a good track that captured the energy they had at the concert. It was a lot more work than any of them had anticipated. Unfortunately, it left them with no time to record. 

They returned to their penthouse, exhausted from a day of more tedious work but looking forward to the fun part tomorrow. Bobby was going to be ready for them bright and early. 

Rumi stepped out onto the balcony, happy to once again be greeted by her two new companions. 

“Hey Derpy, Sussie!” She patted Sussie’s hat and scratched Derpy’s chin affectionately. Sussie seemed more impatient than yesterday and sat on Rumi’s head, lightly pecking her. “Ow!” It was a relatively weak peck but her beak was still sharp.

“What do you want?” She asked. Sussie flew in front of her, holding a familiar blue bracelet in her beak. Rumi gasped softly, slowly taking it from her. She held it lightly, remembering when she had given it to Jinu. She brought it close to her chest and closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment to miss him. 

As she was thinking of him, she felt a pulse in the Honmoon. One that carried an eerily familiar feeling. She opened her eyes. As fast as it came, it was gone. 

She was just thinking maybe she imagined it, but Sussie started flapping her wings and screeching, and even Derpy gave her an aggressive headbutt. She looked out at the Honmoon. Was it possible for Jinu’s soul to still be alive? If he became part of the Honmoon, was it possible that maybe his soul hadn’t been destroyed?

“Are you trying to tell me Jinu is still out there?” She whispered, barely audible. Sussie gave her an annoyed screech and rolled her eyes. Rumi could almost hear her say ‘ took you long enough’. Derpy was nicer, nuzzling her leg.  

“What do I do?” She asked, knowing neither of them could respond. Sussie just flapped her wings once and flew away. Derpy, however, looked very intentionally into Rumi’s room. Rumi turned around to see that Derpy was staring at Rumi’s notebook with their lyrics. Derpy then looked back at Rumi intently, then back at the lyrics before ominously disappearing into the ground again. 

Rumi wasn’t sure what they wanted her to know, but she did know she was very excited to see what would happen at their recording session tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Rumi’s alarm went off while the sky was still dark, but she was ready. It had been a while since she was this excited for a recording session. In scrambling to get the editing done, they hadn’t even been able to rehearse. Usually they practiced a lot, but Rumi knew their voices would be even stronger now after having a bit of rest for the last few days. 

Whether or not Jinu was alive, Rumi was curious to see how the Honmoon would respond to their song. The other girls felt the same way, with all of them being ready well ahead of schedule despite the early start. 

They made it to the studio thirty minutes before their scheduled time, but Bobby was already there. He was excited too, given how much hype there was for the official release of their song. 

After doing their warm-ups, they stepped into the studio and donned their headphones. They looked at each other and smiled in anticipation. It hadn’t been that long since their last song together, but so much had happened that it felt like a lifetime ago. 

Rumi started with her part confidently. She remembered how she felt singing it in the stadium. She was completely alone, with her teammates still in a trance and Jinu standing with Gwi Ma. She was proud of her ability to make a stand in a situation like that. It was intimidating but freeing to build a new Honmoon from scratch. 

Zoey joined in with her part with Mira following shortly after. Rumi remembered the feeling of relief she had when she saw them break out of their trances and join her song. 

When they joined their voices for the harmony, it changed the energy in the room. They could feel their music resonating with the Honmoon and they could feel its power resonating with them. They were far more connected to it than they ever had been before. It felt different, not as rigid, but still strong.  

The rest of the song went perfectly and was followed by an awed silence in the studio.

“That was… more powerful than anything you guys have done before,” Bobby finally said. The girls gave each other knowing smiles. It only confirmed their theory that this Honmoon was far more connected to them and their fans than the previous one. 

It would be some time before they could release it, but that wasn’t what they had been the most concerned about. The Honmoon was strong, so they weren’t as desperate for the energy from their fans to help it grow. They didn’t mind if it took a bit longer before they could release the song. 

They didn’t talk much until they got back to their penthouse.

“That was-”

“AMAZING!” Zoey finished for Mira. “I’ve never felt the Honmoon like that before, it’s like… it’s like it was in my own soul,” Her eyes shined with excitement. Mira nodded in agreement. 

“Did it feel more… gentle to you guys?” Rumi asked after a pause. She couldn’t think of the right word to describe what she had felt. 

“I think I know what you mean,” Mira said. “Maybe we were always thinking of all demons as bad, but now that we know about you, and we know some demons are more… complicated, there isn’t as much hate anymore?” She pondered. 

Rumi smiled sadly. Both girls had avoided asking her for more details about her relationship with Jinu. This was the first time they had even referenced the lost idol. She was grateful for the space as well as the acknowledgement that not all demons were evil. 

Suddenly, Rumi had a realization and gasped. Both girls turned to look at her.

“What’s wrong?” Zoey asked.  

“I - It’s a lot to explain. I need to figure something out first, but when I do, I promise I will tell you.” Rumi said as she ran back to her room. 

Unfortunately, it was still early in the day so there was no one to greet her on the balcony just yet. She had questions about the Honmoon for Sussie and Derpy, but it would have to wait. The breeze was pleasant, so Rumi decided to stay out here for a few minutes to enjoy it. 

Lost in thought, she came to realize that in their excitement about the new song and the Honmoon, she hadn’t even thought about Jinu. She wondered if there was some way to know whether he was out there. If he was really a part of the Honmoon, getting it to resonate with her might give her answers. 

Experimentally, she started singing the song she and Jinu sang together. With her voice as well as the strong connection this song had with Jinu, it was her best chance of seeing if his soul responded. 

She recalled the conflicted look Jinu had when he started singing his part. She could tell how difficult it had been for him to fight the voices that had been in his head for so long. She understood how difficult it could be to have hope when you go so long without it. 

As she reached the chorus, her chest started to feel warm. It wasn’t an uncommon feeling to have when they were singing, but this was unfamiliar. It felt more foreign. She stopped when she got to the part where Jinu had joined her and was greeted by silence. She felt silly for almost hoping she would hear his voice. 

She nearly fell off the ledge of the balcony when she turned around and was greeted by a large but fluffy tiger and a bird sitting on his head. 

“Oh my - guys don’t scare me like that!” She breathed, clutching her chest. 

“I think I felt him,” She said after she took a pause to slow her heart rate. “I don’t know what else to do though,”. She didn’t think singing the song over and over would change much. 

Sussie flew to her door and managed to pull it open with surprising strength. Rumi decided it would be useless to protest. When the magpie returned from her room, she was carrying the bracelet that had been sitting on Rumi’s desk. She also bowed forward and let her hat fall into Rumi’s hand. 

Rumi blinked a few times but then understood. The more things she had that were connected to Jinu, the more chance she had of reaching his soul. She ran back into her room and rummaged through her drawers until she found the old card he had written her. 

Slowly, she opened it and smiled to herself at the old style korean he had written it in. She glanced around to see if she had anything else that might speak to him. Her eyes landed on the pajama pants she had been wearing that he had teased her about. She stared at them for a good minute before deciding to swallow her pride and put them on. She didn’t have too many items connected to him, so every little thing counted.  

She went back out onto the balcony where Sussie and Derpy waited patiently. 

“Come on, I think being in a location that he has a connection to would be better too”. Derpy nodded in understanding and allowed Rumi to climb onto his back. Sussie landed comfortably on top of Rumi’s head, and the three of them sank into the portal.

They appeared on the street where Rumi and Jinu met. Rumi didn’t know of any other locations that had special meaning to Jinu, so this was her best bet. She hopped off Derpy and brushed herself off. She pulled the miscellaneous items out of her pockets, unsure of what to do with them. In the end, she laid them out on Derpy’s back and hoped that would work. She was happy they were there with her. 

Suddenly, she felt self conscious being alone on a street and singing to herself, but she was determined. Once again, she started singing Free. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the feeling she knew was coming from Jinu. She latched onto it and imagined it getting stronger, closer, more tangible. 

Her voice continued ringing out strongly, even singing his verse with modifications to keep the song from her perspective. The vibrations from the Honmoon were almost overpowering and the feeling of warmth was consuming her, but she kept going. 

By the end of the song, she was kneeling on the hard ground, overwhelmed by all the different sensations. The Honmoon was still vibrating, rainbow colors shimmering in the night, and she could still feel Jinu. 

“Jinu!” She desperately called. “I know you’re there!”. The feeling got stronger until she could sense something pushing through the Honmoon. Sussie started screeching, and Derpy started growling desperately. 

Finally, she felt something break through, and was greeted by a blue, glowing soul hovering in front of her. 

Chapter Text

Rumi had never considered the idea that Jinu would return without his body, but she had no doubt the glowing orb in front of her was Jinu’s soul.

“Jinu?” She tried. “Can you… can you hear me?” She felt silly talking to a floating ball, but stranger things had happened. Unfortunately, there was no sign of a response from the soul. Either this form was not sentient, or it had no way of responding.

Derpy and Sussie were watching quietly. The soul slowly floated over to them, but didn’t get too close. Derpy purred and started batting at the orb.

“No!” Rumi cried, pulling the orb away from the tiger. She wasn’t sure how fragile this form was. Luckily, he seemed unharmed, lazily floating past her. Derpy whined. “Sorry, Derpy, I just didn’t want you to hurt him accidentally,” she murmured, giving him reassuring pats. She looked back at the soul, unsure of how to feel about this new development.

“Well, we should probably take him back home?” She finally decided. They used the portal to return, and Rumi waved the bird and tiger goodbye as she ushered Jinu’s soul into her room. This was not how she expected him to see her house - not that she was expecting that at all, of course.

“This is my room. I … uh… guess you can rest on the nightstand?” Despite not knowing if Jinu could hear her, she felt more strange staying silent. “Wait, I can get you a little cushion,” She wasn’t sure if he could even sleep in this form, but felt helpless doing nothing. She grabbed her mini decorative pillow and placed it on the nightstand.

“Here, you can rest on this for the night. Or, you know, wherever you’re comfortable,” God this was embarrassing. No one had ever trained her on how to interact with a soul orb that couldn’t respond. Some part of him must have understood her because he floated to the pillow and sank into it. She could actually sense that he was content. She sighed in relief. At least she did something right.

Exhausted after the day’s events, she sank into her bed, thankful she had put on pajamas before going out. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She would have to worry about breaking the news to Mira and Zoey tomorrow.

Rumi opened her eyes and found herself in a meadow filled with flowers. There were more colors and varieties than she could count, stretching out endlessly in all directions. The sky was overcast with a red hue, making it difficult to discern whether it was morning or night.

She turned to see a figure standing next to her. It was Jinu, but his body wasn’t fully there. It was shimmering, see through, almost difficult to see. He turned to look at her.

“Are you real?” Rumi asked. Jinu examined his hands and looked back at her.

“Define ‘real’.” Rumi took that to mean he wasn’t sure. They stood there in silence for a few moments.

“I can feel you, you know,” Rumi finally said. “It’s not all the time and it’s not always clear but it’s there.”

“I know, I can feel you too. It’s what guided me back,” Jinu said. That didn’t surprise Rumi, but it still felt odd to hear. “I think it’s probably because I gave my soul to you.” Rumi winces at the memory, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Jinu. “Sorry,” His voice was softer.

“Connected souls, huh? Almost like soulmates,” She chuckles. Not until she felt a jolt of surprise from Jinu did she realize the full implications of her words. “Wait- no, I didn’t mean it like- ugh!” She stutters. Jinu laughs, but his face is just as red as hers.

“I’m going to bring you back, Jinu, but we have a lot to discuss before I can trust you again,” Rumi warned. She felt Jinu’s amusement quickly shift into guilt. “I’m not mad, I just don’t want to have any serious conversations in a dream,” she was scared of how quickly she wanted to comfort him. He nodded in understanding.

“Hey, can you-” Before Rumi could finish her question, the scene quickly shifted to something entirely different. All Rumi could see were searing hot red flames encompassing her entire field of vision along with a deep, gravely voice.

“I WILL FIND YOU”

Chapter Text

Rumi awoke with a start with Jinu’s soul floating above the pillow she had given him. Sunlight was already streaking through her curtains along with the chirps of sparrows on her balcony. She sighed in relief that everything seemed normal. The dream would have to be a problem for later. She was fairly certain it was Gwi Ma, but there wasn’t much she could do right now. 

“Good morning,” She said, still feeling awkward not saying anything to him. He started floating around, and eventually found her door. 

“Wait, not yet!” She jolted up and blocked him from leaving her room. “I still need to talk to Zoey and Mira!” She groaned at the realization. It was something she had been putting off for too long. 

She felt a warmth coming from Jinu, almost as though he was trying to comfort her. She looked up at the orb and smiled. She never got to ask him if he could hear her, but he probably could sense her stress. 

She sighed and decided it was better to rip the bandaid off as soon as possible. Her footsteps creaked against their floor on the way to the living room after ensuring soul Jinu would not leave her room. 

Mira and Zoey were preparing breakfast with loud music blaring from their speakers. Rumi walked over and turned the music off, earning herself two confused looks. 

“Hey, um… I know it’s early, but there’s something I wanted to talk to you guys about.” Rumi wasn’t able to meet either of their eyes. 

“Yeah?” Mira finally encouraged Rumi to continue. 

“It’s kind of a long story, I’m not even sure where to start,” Rumi mumbled. Suddenly, Zoey’s eyes went wide. 

“Uh, does it have anything to do with the floating orb behind you?” 

“Wait what?” Rumi cried, turning so fast she almost fell as her eyes landed on soul Jinu. “I thought I told you to stay in my room,” she groaned. 

“I’m sorry, were you talking to that … thing?” Mira sputtered. Rumi sighed again. Now she definitely had no choice. 

“Mira, Zoey, this is Jinu’s soul.” Rumi gestured vaguely behind her. 

“WHAT?” They both screamed in unison. Rumi winced. Jinu didn't seem to sense anything and continued hovering behind Rumi. 

“Ok, we’ve been giving you space about this, but please, I beg you, what exactly was or is going on with you guys?” Mira sounded exasperated and Rumi could tell she had wanted to ask that question for a while. All Zoey and Mira knew was that Rumi admitted to working with Jinu and then he sacrificed himself to save her. 

Rumi decided to start from the beginning while keeping it as short as she could. She explained how Jinu saw her marks accidentally at the bathhouse, how he covered them for her and then later sent her a message to meet up. 

“Wait, how did he know how to reach you? Did you give him your number?” Zoey interrupted. 

“No, he has these… pets that he sent over with a card,” Rumi admitted. 

“Pets? How did they even know where to find you?” Mira asked. 

“I’m not sure - Guys this is not the important part! It’s a long story, just please let me get through it,” Rumi begged. They nodded silently. 

She continued with how she decided to go to Jinu’s chosen location but with the sole intent of attacking him. Unfortunately, he evaded her and instead she learned that demons had Gwi Ma’s voice in their head at all times, controlling and manipulating them, and she started to question their methods. 

She recalled how they made a plan for the Saja Boys to lose the Idol Awards, but Jinu betrayed her. (How dare he? Cried Zoey). She ended with how he took Gwi Ma’s blast for her, and then gave her his soul. 

The girls took a few minutes to process the full story. At this point, Jinu’s soul had floated to the other side of their living room and seemed to be content next to their coffee machine. 

“Ok, that explains a lot about how you were acting before the awards… but it doesn’t explain why and how his soul is here now,”. Zoey was careful with her words. 

“Well…. His pets kind of showed up and helped me realize he was still out there,” 

“His PETS? Are they actual animals or demons?” Mira asked, making fake claw hands to indicate demons. 

“They’re demons,” Rumi confirmed, “but I am fairly certain they can pass through the Honmoon,” 

“What?” Both girls screamed again.

“But how? It’s a full seal!” Zoey cried. 

“Yeah, and we haven’t heard of any demon attacks recently,” Mira reminded her. 

“See that’s the thing, these guys have never attacked anyone, and I don’t think they would,” Rumi explained. 

“And you think the Honmoon can detect that?” Zoey seemed skeptical. 

Rumi shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure, but I think so. There’s still more we need to figure out about this new Honmoon, but I don’t really know how.” The girls exchanged glances. This would likely have to be a ‘wait and see’ type situation.

“Ok, other topic, can Jinu hear us right now?” Zoey brought their attention back to the forgotten soul, still content by their coffee machine. 

Rumi shook her head. “I don’t think he can. I know we can sort of … feel each other, but his soul hasn’t given any signs that it can hear me.”

“What do you mean by feel each other?” Mira raised an eyebrow. 

“I can sometimes feel what he’s feeling, and I think he can feel the same?” Rumi had no idea how to explain their strange soul connection. 

“Oh my god that is so romantic!!” Zoey squealed. “He obviously fell in love with you, right? I mean he died for you!” She glanced back at the soul.

“What, no! I mean - I don’t know.” Rumi could feel the heat rising to her face. “It’s complicated. I don’t think I’ve fully forgiven him for all the damage the Saja Boys did, or for his betrayal.” The girls nodded in understanding, giving Rumi a moment to process her feelings. 

“But,” she continued after a pause, looking at the soul, “I know there’s good in him. I want to bring him back fully. He deserves another chance,” She looked back up at them nervously. She wasn’t sure how they would feel about trusting a demon, let alone one that had almost caused thousands of deaths. 

They both stepped towards her and wrapped her in a tight group hug. 

“We trust you, Rumi,” Zoey said.

“Whatever your judgement is, we will stand by you,” Mira declared. 

“I love you guys so much,” Rumi cried, followed by everyone breaking into tears. Jinu’s soul floated towards them and ended up right at the center, causing them all to startle and break apart. 

They exchanged glances and burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all. Rumi could tell Jinu was confused, which only served to make her laugh even harder. 

After calming down, they took a break to make some iced tea and sit on their couch. 

“Ok, so things we need to figure out. Number one, what’s going on with the Honmoon,” Mira started. 

“Number two, how to get Jinu his body back,” continued Zoey. A beat of silence followed. 

“Number three, if Gwi Ma is still alive, and how much of a threat he still is,” added Rumi. Zoey and Mira were surprised by the unexpected point, but they didn’t disagree. Rumi decided to hold off on mentioning her dream given the amount of bombshells she had already dropped. 

“Do we have anywhere we can find information about those things?” Mira asked. They already knew the obvious answer, but Rumi frantically shook her head before either of them could say anything. 

“Nope, nope, not doing that. It took me a lot to even share this all with you guys, I am not ready to face Celine. I might eventually, but this is not the time,” Rumi continued shaking her head. 

“Hey, it’s ok. We get it. We don’t agree with how she treated you either,” Zoey said softly, placing a hand on Rumi’s shoulder. 

“We have some of the old Hunter logs, maybe we can look through those?” Mira suggested. 

Rumi lit up at that. “Oh, of course! I forgot about those!” 

And so, the rest of the day was filled with the trio surrounded by piles of old notebooks from various eras containing details about the previous Hunters. Unfortunately, this effort was to no avail as there was no record of a rainbow Honmoon or a body-less soul returning to life. Rumi couldn’t say she had expected much, but she was still disappointed. Ultimately, they decided they might need to rest before coming up with new ideas. 

Rumi crawled into bed earlier than usual with Jinu’s soul resting on his designated pillow. 

“G’night Jinu,” she mumbled into her pillow, eyes already half closed. She wondered if there would ever be a time where she wasn’t emotionally exhausted. 

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on a beach with pure white sand and palm trees. The sky was clear blue with not a cloud in sight. It was quite a contrast from the scenery of the previous night.

“I like this location better,” Jinu commented.

“It’s not like I chose it,” Rumi muttered. 

“It is your dream,” Jinu quipped back. Rumi didn’t really have an argument for that.

“Can you hear me in your soul form?” Rumi finally asked.

Jinu crinkled his nose. “Not really? I don’t feel fully ‘there’ in the soul form. I have some awareness, but not in the same way as in my body,” Rumi hummed in response. “I can still feel you though,” he added. 

“Yeah, I know.”  They stood there for a few minutes and enjoyed the sound of the crashing waves. 

“Uh, Rumi?” 

“Yeah?” After a moment of no response, Rumi turned to see Jinu’s translucent form dissolving. “What’s happening, Jinu?” 

“I’m not sure,” He sounded more scared than he looked as he continued to disintegrate in a scene that was far too familiar.  

Suddenly, Rumi found herself awake in her room. It was still dark outside, the only sound coming from the whir of her fan. She looked at her nightstand to see an empty pillow with no signs of the blue orb.

Chapter Text

Rumi was frantic when she couldn’t find Jinu’s soul. Normally, she would try not to jump to conclusions but the way Jinu disappeared from her dream and was then missing from her room was not comforting. Her phone indicated it was 3:12 am, but she didn’t care. 

She ran out of her room and checked the kitchen, the bathroom, closets, even drawers. Her clamoring eventually woke up Mira, who was usually a lighter sleeper.

“S’going on?” She mumbled, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. 

Rumi winced. "Sorry I woke you up. I’m kind of freaking out because Jinu’s soul is missing.”

Mira suddenly perked up. “What? Do you think he just floated somewhere in a corner and got stuck or something?”

Rumi sighed. “I’ve been searching, but to be honest I think he is gone.” She collapsed onto their couch and looked up at Mira. “He was in my dream, and before I woke up he just sort of vanished.” 

“Vanished from your dream?” Mira asked.  

Rumi nodded in response. “Actually, uh, he was in my dream last night too, but it ended with Gwi Ma’s voice saying he would find Jinu,” she said softly. 

Mira gasped but luckily didn't yell. “Well that explains why you brought him up when we were strategizing yesterday.” She continued when Rumi didn’t respond, “Listen, is there anything you can realistically do right now?” She asked honestly. Rumi thought for a second but shook her head. 

“Ok then, I think you should try to rest as much as you can for now, and we can figure something out tomorrow when the world is awake, okay?” Mira was sitting next to Rumi now and grabbed her hand in reassurance. 

Rumi was skeptical at her ability to sleep now, but nodded her head and allowed Mira to guide her back to her room. 

Surprisingly, she did fall back asleep and did not dream for the rest of the night. 

Rumi had a heavy feeling in her chest when she woke up the next morning, earlier than usual. She had gotten a sliver of hope at getting Jinu back, but it was once again out of reach. She needed to figure out a plan as soon as possible. She didn’t think she cared that much about him until she had lost him. Now that there was a slight possibility of him being alive, she didn’t want to let it go. 

She went through her morning routine as usual, mind occupied by other thoughts. As she walked through their hall, an intense feeling rushed through her and stopped her in her tracks. It was extreme pain and agony, but it wasn’t coming from her own body. She gasped and clutched her chest. Jinu . 

She ran to the kitchen frantically. Zoey and Mira immediately knew something was wrong. 

“It’s Jinu,” Rumi cried. “Gwi Ma has him.” 

The first thing Jinu registered was that his whole body was sore. Every part of him felt like it was throbbing with an intense ache. He slowly opened his eyes, needing a few blinks to adjust his vision. It still wasn’t perfect, but he glanced down at his hands. 

Wait. His hands? As the fog in his brain began to dissipate, Jinu registered the fact that he was in his own body. The purple marks still adorned his arms and he was sure his eyes were golden. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and finally examined his surroundings to figure out where he was. All the blood drained from his face when he recognized the scene. 

He was back in the demon realm, down in the prisons. Before he had a chance to worry about what was to come, he found himself appearing in front of the face he was least looking forward to seeing. 

“I found you at last,” Gwi Ma’s voice boomed. His flames were still a little weaker than before, but terrifyingly powerful nonetheless. Jinu could feel his heart racing at the thought of facing Gwi Ma’s wrath, but his mind was oddly numb. Part of him had already resigned to his fate. 

“Did you really think betraying me would set you free?” He taunted. “This is the only place you will ever deserve, dear Jinu.” Jinu shuddered at the sound of his name coming from that voice. He continued to stay silent. 

“Not going to answer? No matter,” Gwi Ma’s voice stayed even. Jinu’s marks began to grow hotter and hotter until they burned, and then they got hotter still until he was screaming. The voice in his head was calling him a useless traitor in a hundred different ways, so loud he thought his head would explore. At this point he was crumpled on the ground, marks still searing into his skin. 

The heat let up and the voices quieted for just a moment. “You should be grateful I gave you your body back.” Gwi Ma was well aware that Jinu, or anyone for the matter, would choose death over an eternity of endless torture. When Jinu gave no response, the burning resumed and the voices started booming once again. 

Jinu had no idea how long this went on before he was thrown back into the prison cell with glowing purple bars meant to suppress his powers. Not that he had any strength left to teleport away, or even move at all. He simply lied on the hard floor and closed his eyes, trying not to dwell on the fact that this would likely be the reality of his life for a very long time.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean Gwi Ma has Jinu? Are you sure?” Zoey asked, wide eyed. 

Rumi nodded, still clutching her chest. “I can feel it. Gwi Ma is punishing him for helping us” Her voice broke, tears starting to well up in her eyes. The pain hadn’t stopped yet. She tried to send any sort of comfort his way but doubted it would reach him. 

“Oh, man,” Mira whispered, knowing that Gwi Ma’s “punnishment” couldn’t be anything good. Rumi almost looked like she was in pain herself. 

“We need to find a way to save him,” Zoey may not have known Jinu in the same way Rumi did, but she didn’t think anyone deserved to be subjected to Gwi Ma’s anger like that. 

“Ok, so what’s our game plan?” Mira asked. They were silent for a beat before Zoey started smiling. 

“I think you guys are forgetting what today is,” she said slyly. 

“Uh, the 14th?” Rumi shrugged her shoulders. 

“We release “What is Sounds Like’ today!” Zoey squealed. 

Rumi lit up at that. She had completely forgotten that it was today. “The Honmoon will be stronger than it’s ever been before! Then I can go down to the demon realm and end Gwi Ma once and for all!” She declared. 

“Um, did you just say ‘I’?” Mira glared at Rumi. “You don’t seriously think we’re going to let you do that alone?” 

“Well I -” 

“She’s right, Rumi. We’re coming with you no matter what,” Zoey interrupted, leaving Rumi no room to argue. 

Rumi knew it was her choice to risk herself and go down to the demon realm, something no other hunter had done before. She didn’t want her friends to take that risk out of obligation.

Before she could try and protest, Mira jumped in again. “You do realize we also want to fight Gwi Ma as much as you do?” 

They statement made Rumi relent. This was about a lot more than just saving Jinu. 

“Ok, we’ll do this together,” she smiled.“So the release is at noon today, yeah?” Rumi said, checking her watch. Their editors had really been working overtime to make sure the finished product would be done quickly. “I think usually the day after release is when the energy should be the strongest, so we should plan to attack tomorrow.” She looked back up at them. It wasn’t a lot of time to prepare for such a major endeavor, but they were used to being battle ready whenever necessary. 

Zoey brought her hand forward. “Happy fans…”

“Happy Honmoon!” The three of them chorused together as their hands met in the middle. Their preparation, of course, started with a huge round of carb loading. 

When Rumi went back into her room alone, she collapsed onto her bed and closed her eyes. She had tried to ignore the fact that Gwi Ma was still hurting Jinu. It was an odd sensation to be able to feel the intensity of his pain without actually being in pain herself. She took some deep calming breaths and tried to send some comfort back again. 

“I’m coming for you, Jinu,” she whispered. “I’m going to set you free.” 

Chapter Text

They had trouble coming up with a real plan given that no Hunter had ever gone down to the demon realm before. Their only hope was using Rumi’s soul connection to help locate Jinu, even though she wasn’t even sure it would work like that. They also just had “attack Gwi Ma” as their offense. Rumi did not want to hope they could defeat him fully, but she was angry at all the lives he had ruined. Jinu was by no means the only human who had been forced to serve Gwi Ma after his trickery. 

She couldn’t pretend saving Jinu hadn’t been a large motivator in this endeavor, but she was also determined to try and save as many victims as possible. All she had to do was figure out how. 

The Honmoon was the barrier between demons and humans, and crossing it should ideally take them into the demon realm. They knew some locations that were more easily accessible as they were also places where demon attacks frequently occurred. 

As the way went on, Rumi continued to grow more restless. Jinu’s pain had stopped for some time but it wasn’t long before it started again. The longer they waited, the longer he would be tortured. She hated how helpless she felt. Unfortunately, their song hadn’t quite reached its peak yet and she knew they needed all the strength they could get from the Honmoon to have the best chance of success. 

Rumi couldn’t sleep that night despite knowing how important rest would be. She had cuddled with Derpy for a while, which definitely helped her relax, but it was hard to be fully calm when they were about to take on their biggest challenge yet. 

They checked in the next morning to gauge how well the song was doing and it had blown up even more than they expected. They could feel the energy of the Honmoon had grown stronger overnight. If they ever had a chance of defeating Gwi Ma, this was going to be it. 

They didn’t exchange many words before they made their way to the closest place where demons had frequently crossed their weaker Honmoon. No one wanted to address the elephant in the room that they weren’t even sure this would work. 

They stood in front of the shimmering barrier and stared at it for a moment. Rumi took a deep breath before stepping forward. She touched the lines with her hand before experimentally pushing though. Her hand disappeared on the other side. She looked back at her teammates and gave them a nod before stepping fully through the Honmoon. 

The other side was not significantly different from what she had pictured. The sky was red and dark, the ground was barren, the air was thick, and there was no wind or movement. Zoey and Mira were by her side soon enough, taking in the new environment. 

“It’s just as ugly as I thought it would be,” Mira broke the silence first. 

“Yeah, let’s find Gwi Ma and get this done as quickly as we can,” Zoey said, her weapons ready in hand. 

Oddly enough, there weren’t many demons around where they had entered. Rumi guessed Gwi Ma had absorbed their strength to help himself recover, similar to how he had done prior to blasting her. Suddenly, she could make out the sound of Jinu screaming from a distance. 

“This way!” She called to the others before running towards the sound. “Hang in there, Jinu,” she whispered. 

Gwi Ma likely sensed them coming as Jinu was nowhere to be seen by the time they reached him. There was still a surprising lack of demons at this point, though she could definitely feel eyes on her from all directions.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise? Hunters coming to my realm,” Gwi Ma’s voice boomed as he laughed. “Don’t tell me you came to save that pathetic excuse of a demon? He has no loyalty, so I’m taking it upon myself to teach it to him.” 

Rumi could feel her blood boiling but refused to let him rile her up. “Destroying you is more than enough reason for us to come down here,” she remarked back, her sword ready in hand. 

The girls charged towards Gwi Ma together, joining their voices together. Adding the energy of their music always helped fuel their attacks, and doing it from the underworld itself had a bigger impact than they realized. This side didn’t have an already established base, which made it more difficult to know how to draw their power, but it also gave them limitless potential to work with. 

Gwi Ma still being in the process of recovery meant he was not able to send hordes of demons after them while also taking their attacks. This gave them more breathing room to harness the unfamiliar energy, though it still took all their strength to counter Gwi Ma’s attacks. 

As their song continued to ring out through the still air, Gwi Ma grew more desperate. Rumi didn’t let this escape her as she struck at every opening he had with Mira and Zoey backing her up. She grew more confident with each strike, watching his flame dwindle. 

One unexpectedly strong blast threw Rumi back several feet as she landed flat on her back. The air was knocked out of her lungs and all she could do was stare up at the dark red sky. She heard her teammates screaming her name through the ringing in her ears but couldn’t muster the strength to tell them she was ok. 

After a minute, she finally recovered her breath and sat back up. The powerful blast had taken a lot of Gwi Ma’s energy, making it more difficult for him to attack like he was before. Rumi pushed herself back up with a grunt and added to the frenzy of attacks that were overwhelming Gwi Ma. 

She realized that in the chaos, they had stopped singing. It was always difficult to maintain both while fighting but it definitely gave them an upper hand when they could.

“I’m going to step back a bit, I have an idea!” Rumi yelled at her teammates. She allowed them to take over the offense as she put away her sword and started singing.

Her voice rang out powerfully with What it Sounds Like, the song that represented their new Honmoon. It worked better than she expected, the Honmoon resonating from up above and sending swirls of power to Mira and Zoey. 

It was Mira who landed the fatal blow, fully extinguishing Gwi Ma’s flame. A sudden shockwave blasted through the entire underworld, followed by an eerie silence. It took the girls a moment to process what had just happened as they all collapsed to the ground. 

Rumi was drenched in sweat. She couldn’t believe they had done it. She could almost feel the joy of all those that came before them. This war was finally over. 

Her muscles ached, but she had one very important thing left to do. She looked at Zoey and Mira and they nodded before she could even say the words. She pushed herself back up and ran in the direction she could feel Jinu from. 

She found what was very clearly the prison area, where she guessed he was probably being kept. 

“Jinu!” She yelled, quickly checking through the cells. They were mostly empty, until she reached one towards the end with a familiar figure lying on the floor. Thankfully, his body at least appeared unharmed. 

“Jinu!” She said again, rushing to his cell. It was still sealed, but she had no trouble breaking through the barrier with her sword. She busted in and knelt next to him, grabbing his hand. He was barely conscious, but his fingers twitched and his eyes slowly fluttered open. 

“Rumi?” He murmured, voice raw. She choked back a sob and pulled him into a hug. He grunted, but didn’t protest, weakly lifting his arms to return the hug. 

“I’m glad you’re ok.” she mumbled into his shoulder. “I could feel your pain.” 

Jinu already knew that from the mix of comfort and worry he had felt in the moments he wasn’t burning. He didn’t have a lot of strength for a full on conversation so he just hummed in response. 

Rumi pulled away from him, wiping the tears and sweat off her face. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” She stood and offered him her hand. He looked at it, but didn’t move. 

“Can you walk?” She finally asked. He hesitated, but answered by taking her hand and allowing her to help him stand. He stumbled, leaning onto her for balance. She wrapped her arm around his waist and helped steady him. Together, they walked out to where Zoey and Mira were waiting for her. 

They helped Rumi support Jinu as they went back to their penthouse. This was a point where Rumi wished she had more confidence in her demon powers. She had teleported once before but wasn’t sure how, and didn’t trust herself to control it right now. 

They put Jinu in their guest bedroom, which thankfully was always kept ready for unexpected visitors. He was practically unconscious the second he landed on the bed. Rumi pulled the blanket over him and couldn’t stop herself from gently brushing his hair off of his face. He finally looked at peace. Rumi let her hand linger on his cheek for a second longer before stepping away and leaving him to rest. 

Mira and Zoey were waiting for her in their living room. They collapsed into a tight hug and tears. None of them had ever thought this day would come. They stayed like that for a long time before they all fell asleep right on the couch. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, spirits were high as they made breakfast. No one disturbed Jinu, who stayed in the guest room until late afternoon. Mira and Zoey went out shopping, but Rumi chose to stay home to work on a new song idea she had. She also didn’t want Jinu to wake up to an empty penthouse, which ended up being a moot point as the pair returned before that happened. 

When he finally came out of the room, he shuffled into the kitchen awkwardly, not quite sure how to act. 

“Uh, hi,” he tried with a half wave. 

Rumi gave him a small smile. “Are you hungry?” She asked. He lit up at that and nodded. Food was always the best icebreaker. She pulled out the extra lunch portion they had saved and warmed it up for him. Zoey and Mira kept their distance, but weren’t exactly being subtle about watching him. 

Jinu’s eyes went wide after he took the first bite. “Mmm, this is amazing!” He remarked. 

“It’s literally just kimchi fried rice,” Rumi laughed. She realized Jinu probably hadn’t eaten a real meal in … who knows how long, so anything she gave him would probably feel like a feast. He finished the rest of his meal in silence, still clearly enjoying it. 

He thanked her for the food, washing his plate before she could take it from him. That was when Mira decided to break free of her reins. 

“Okay, he looks like he’s fully recovered. It’s time for the interrogation,” she cracked her knuckles. Rumi stepped between the two. 

“Mira not yet, he hasn’t even been awake for an hour,” Rumi reminded her. Jinu put one hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile.

“It’s ok, Rumi. I knew this would probably be coming,” He looked back up at Mira. “Ask away. I want to get everything out in the open and earn your trust.” 

Mira nodded in approval, beckoning him to sit on the couch in front of her and Zoey. 

“Are you the one that came up with the idea for the Saja boys?” She started. Jinu sighed but nodded. 

“Why did you decide to do that?” Zoey joined in. 

Jinu sighed again. “I wanted my memories erased.” he closed his eyes. “Gwi Ma controlled us by using our shame and pain against us, and I thought that if I forgot all the shame then I would be free from his control.” There was a moment of silence before he looked back up.  

“Well, at least you’re being honest,” Mira noted. “Did you realize that your plan would end up killing thousands of people?” She glared at him, unrelenting. 

“And you betrayed Rumi! Were you planning that the whole time too?” Zoey added. Rumi winced. They really weren’t taking it easy on him, but she knew they needed to clear the air about the past before they could all accept him. 

“I didn’t plan to betray her,” Jinu started with a whisper. “For a moment, I really did believe in our plan. But Gwi Ma pulled me back.” He clenched his fists. “He wasn’t going to let me get away with having any hope for freedom.” He continued staring at the ground, now rubbing his arms subconsciously. 

Rumi had a horrifying epiphany that should’ve been more obvious in hindsight. “This wasn’t the first time Gwi Ma has punished you like that, is it?” 

Jinu’s silence and lack of eye contact was answer enough. He stopped rubbing his arms and looked down at them, only now realizing that the patterns were no longer there. 

“Oh,” Zoey said softly, getting a much clearer picture of what life was like in the demon realm. Even Mira couldn’t think of much to say at that point. None of them could fault him for being desperate to escape a life of misery and torture. They had always joked about sending demons back to hell, but they never thought about what that really looked like. 

“After 400 years of being reminded how self serving you are, it’s hard to know how to be anything else.” Jinu muttered after another moment of silence, still choosing not to directly address Rumi’s question. 

“Damnit” Mira cursed. “You make it hard to stay mad at you despite everything you’ve done.” she mumbled. “I still don’t think I fully trust you, though,” she warned, pointing a finger at him.  

“He did make the right choice and saved Rumi in the end! He actually sacrificed himself,” Zoey reminded them. 

“I don’t want to be a self-serving traitor anymore,” Jinu whispered. “I don’t think that one act is enough to erase everything.” 

Rumi decided to make her move now, sitting next to Jinu. “We can’t change the things we did in the past, and yes, you did some pretty bad things.” She put her hand on his in reassurance. 

“But that isn’t who you really are. You made bad choices fueled by bad situations,” she continued. Jinu finally looked up to meet her gaze. 

“But now you have a future. If the things you did in the past caused people pain and suffering, then you have to dedicate this second chance to helping people and making positive changes,” Rumi smiled encouragingly.  

Jinu seemed to perk up for a second but his expression quickly dropped again. “I don’t know if I even know how to do that.” 

“You already did.” Rumi reminded him. Jinu raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Your music! I know you made those songs to lure people to Gwi Ma, but they did actually bring joy to people. If you did all that by accident, imagine what you could do if you actually made it your intention to make people happy!” 

Jinu still seemed unsure. 

“Do you like music, Jinu?” Zoey asked, joining them on the couch. It seemed she had given him her approval. 

Jinu thought for a second before shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ve never even thought about doing it for enjoyment,” he said honestly. He had initially played music out of desperation when his family was poor, and then as a way to win souls for Gwi Ma. 

“Well it doesn’t have to be music if you don’t want to do that anymore, but Rumi’s right about using the second chance to prove to yourself that you can be a good person.” Surprisingly, Mira had also joined them now. 

Jinu looked between the trio, shocked at the fact that they were all encouraging him now. 

“You guys… are okay with me having this second chance? After everything I did to you?” His voice wavered. 

Mira sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. I’m not cold hearted enough to kick you out after hearing all of that. Look, you may have done some shitty things but you really do seem like you mean well,” she cleared her throat. “Plus, Rumi said she believed you were a good person and I trust her judgement.”

He looked over at Rumi. “You said that to them?”

She scoffed, heat starting to rise to her cheeks. “Why are you so surprised? I told you the same thing, directly after you betrayed me.” 

Jinu smiled, wide and genuine. “I’ll make sure to use this chance well so you don’t regret it.” 

“Yeah, you better,” Mira snapped. 

“You can take your time figuring out how to make a positive change, but first we have logistics to sort out. You’ll need a place to stay. And did you have any, like, legal documents when you were with the Saja Boys?” Rumi asked. 

“Yeah, most of them, I think. I should also have access to the money made by our songs to get a place to stay,” Jinu confirmed. 

“Oooh, that must be a lot knowing how successful Soda Pop was,” Zoey remarked. 

And so, the rest of the evening was spent with the girls looking at places for Jinu to stay while he tracked down all the documents he had used to get the Saja Boys started. 

Ultimately, they didn’t want to rush into anything so agreed to let Jinu use their guest room for the time being, for which he was very grateful. 

A few hours later, Jinu was continuing the apartment hunt on Mira's laptop when Rumi walked up to him.

“Hey Jinu, come with me, I want to show you something,” She beckoned him towards her room. He closed the laptop and followed her, bemused. 

She led him into her room and out onto the balcony, where he was met with a familiar tiger and bird.

“Derpy, Sussie! I’m so glad you guys are ok!” He immediately pulled Derpy in for a hug as he purred up a storm, excited to see his old companion. 

“So you did really name them that. You’re really bad at names” Rumi snickered. Jinu looked up with a deadpan expression. 

“Look at them and tell me those are not the perfect names.” He retorted. 

“No, of course they’re not! I mean…” Rumi trailed off as she looked at the odd creatures. She couldn’t deny that the names did really suit them.

“See! I told you!” Jinu cried victoriously. Rumi laughed, conceding to the ridiculous names. 

Jinu stood up, his expression serious again. “Hey, I don’t think I ever really properly thanked you for saving me." He stepped back and bowed low. “Thank you for bringing me back, and freeing me from Gwi Ma.” 

“No, you don’t have to do that!” Rumi stammered, pushing him back into standing. “You saved me first, so we can call it even, ok?” She said, holding a fist out. 

“Call it even,” he agreed, bumping her fist with his own, knowing she would punch him for real if he tried to refuse.

Chapter Text

“I think I might need to buy some new clothes,” Jinu walked into the kitchen sheepishly, wearing the same outfit he had been wearing yesterday. Thankfully, the hanbok he was wearing in the demon realm had transformed into modern attire when he came back to the human world. 

Rumi had no problems going clothes shopping, but Zoey and Mira mysteriously had other plans and couldn’t join them. Rumi rolled her eyes and left with Jinu to her favorite store. 

Jinu clearly enjoyed being a model, fully flaunting every outfit with ridiculous poses. Rumi laughed along, glad to see him becoming his old self again. She tried not to dwell on how infuriatingly good he looked in everything he tried on. Even the ridiculous neon yellow shirt he put on for fun looked weirdly good on him. 

After successfully replenishing Jinu’s wardrobe, the pair decided to take a walk around and enjoy the pleasant weather. They stopped in a nearby park, resting in the shade of a tall maple tree. 

“I don’t think I can feel your soul anymore,” Rumi realized. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jinu replied after a pause. “I guess since my soul is back in my own human body it’s no longer connected to you.”

Rumi hummed, feeling conflicted about losing the bond they had. Part of her would definitely miss knowing what he was feeling. 

“You know, if you ever want to know what I’m feeling, you can just ask,” Jinu said, almost reading her mind. Rumi wondered if they were still connected on some level. 

“Yeah, and you can always ask me too,” she smiled. 

A comfortable silence settled between them, filled by the sound of the wind in the leaves. After some time, they made their way back to the penthouse, chatting about their favorite foods and seasons (Jinu always loved winter, to Rumi’s surprise). 

The sound of the television was the first thing that welcomed them back, followed by Zoey. 

“Hey guys, come look at this!” She called. Rumi wondered what was going on as she removed her shoes and entered their living room to see Zoey pointing at the TV. 

“Dozens of missing people have now returned, and none of them seem to have any recollection of where they were,” the news reporter stated. Rumi’s eyes went wide. These seemed to be the people who went missing on the train.

“Jinu, do you know anything about this?” Rumi asked. 

“I suspected it might happen, but I didn’t want to say anything since I wasn’t sure. Gwi Ma doesn’t actually consume most souls, he just harnesses their energy and the people usually become demons. I think after his death, many souls were returned and could become human again.” He explained. 

“Oh my god,” Rumi breathed. “That’s amazing! I didn’t realize killing Gwi Ma would save all those people.”

“I agree,” Jinu nodded, “but I also do feel the need to clarify that it most likely won’t be all of them. Some of the souls do get completely destroyed in the process, and other people get so consumed by his voice that they lose themselves and can never return to being human.” 

“But,” he continued, “since many souls were taken recently, they have a good chance of being able to come back.” 

“Wow.” Mira had been silently watching from the back of the room. “We really should have tried to kill him much earlier.”

“Yeah,” Rumi agreed. She turned to Jinu with a smile. “You indirectly helped undo the damage done by the Saja boys. Heck, you were part of the Honmoon itself for a while. I think we can count that as some of your repentance.” 

Jinu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. It definitely helped him feel a little better knowing his plan hadn’t harmed as many people as he thought, but he would always feel guilty about choosing to go ahead with the Saja Boys and causing all of that chaos. 

“It just means you’re on the right track now. You still have work to do,” Rumi reminded him, bumping his shoulder with hers. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a smile. Mira turned off the television, waving behind her back as she turned to head back to her room. Zoey joined shortly after, distracted by something on her phone, leaving the pair standing alone. 

“What are you feeling right now?” Rumi asked. 

“Still guilty, but more hopeful now,” he replied honestly. “I feel like I can finally let myself move on from the past. Gwi Ma’s voice kept me chained to it for so long.” 

Rumi nodded in understanding. “I think you’re going to do great. I know those voices and your mistakes are not who you truly are,” she echoed the words she had said to him after the Idol Awards. 

Jinu smiled back, not sure what he had done to deserve her, though that was one thought he would keep to himself.

Chapter Text

It took another two days before they found a suitable place for Jinu to stay. It was a 10 minute walk from the Huntr/x penthouse, and had a great view overlooking the city. The lease wouldn’t start for another week, so Jinu was still camping out in their guest room for the time being. 

“I think I figured out what I want to pursue,” Jinu announced as they all slurped on cup Rameyon for lunch. 

“Yeah?” Rumi encouraged him to continue. 

“I want to teach music and dance,” he confessed. “I realized that the part I liked the most about being in the Saja Boys was teaching the others the songs and choreography. I liked being an idol too, but somehow it doesn’t feel right for my goals.” 

Rumi beamed. “That’s a great idea!” 

“Yeah that would be so cool!” Zoey agreed. “And also, I realize we probably should give you an apology for, uh, killing the other Saja Boys,” she added sheepishly. 

“Oh it’s fine, I know you guys did it in self defense. We were never actually that close,” he shrugged. He was sad to see them go, but most of them had almost completely lost their identity and would likely not have gone back to being human. 

“But teacher, huh, I think it suits you!” Zoey smiled. 

“I’ll have to do some training to actually get a certificate and then figure out specifics,” he said. 

“Seems like you did your research,” Mira noted. 

“Well I did say I wouldn’t waste this chance,” he smiled. 

They went out for a celebratory dinner that night, cheering to Jinu's new phase of life. Rumi couldn’t hide her pride in how much he had changed in such a short time. He was clearly determined. 

That night, Rumi stayed up later than intended working on their new song. They were still on their unofficial hiatus, but it was hard to stop the process when inspiration struck. She stretched her arms and sighed, ready to turn in for the night. 

As she walked towards their kitchen to grab some water, she stopped in front of Jinu’s temporary room. She couldn’t hear anything, but something made her want to check in on him. Part of her really did suspect that their souls were still loosely connected. 

She slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Jinu’s eyes were closed too tightly, he was breathing heavily and sweating. Rumi went up to him and took his hand, slowly rubbing circles onto his knuckles with her thumb.

She called his name quietly. After a minute, he bolted up, still breathing heavily. He looked over at Rumi. 

“Rumi,” he whispered, voice hoarse. He took some deep breaths and fell back down onto his pillow, his arm covering his face. 

“Nightmare?” Rumi asked, her hand still holding his free one. Given all he had been through, it wasn’t surprising that he would still be haunted by the past. 

He nodded. “I’m fine, used to it,” he mumbled. He seemed to realize that his statement was less than convincing in his current position and sat back up to give her a weak smile. 

Rumi met his gaze for a second before wordlessly pulling him into a hug. He let out a shuddering breath before letting himself melt into her arms. She held him for a long time until his body finally stopped trembling. 

She let him pull away first and only then registered how cute he looked with his bed head. 

“Sorry,” he started. “I didn’t want to dis-” she stopped him from saying more with her finger on his mouth. 

“You didn’t disturb me, you don’t have to apologize,” she shook her head. 

He gave a small smile against her finger and gently pulled her hand away, holding on to it. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. It only lasted a second before he pulled away, wide eyed. 

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t - I wasn’t thinking, I know I should’ve asked and -” his stuttering was interrupted by her hands on his cheeks. 

He stared at her like a deer in headlights and she grinned back before pulling him into another kiss. He froze in surprise momentarily but quickly matched her fervor, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. 

They were both breathless by the time they pulled apart, resting their foreheads together. 

“Stay?” Jinu whispered, having lost all inhibition. Rumi nodded with a small smile, lying down next to him. 

Her patterns were faint but seemed to glow in the soft lighting. Jinu traced them lightly with his fingers, marveling at how beautiful she looked. She could feel the heat rising to her face from the way he was looking at her, her arm tingling where he traced. But for once, she didn’t feel the need to hide. 

She wasn’t sure when they fell asleep, but the next time she opened her eyes she was greeted by sunlight and a peaceful looking Jinu next to her. His eyes were still closed, so she took the opportunity to admire his features. She lightly brushed the hair from his forehead, smiling at the way it fell right back when she let go. 

“I can feel you staring,” he murmured, eyes still closed. Rumi’s hand froze. He slowly opened his eyes and met her gaze. “Good morning,” he beamed, taking Rumi’s hand and squeezing it. 

“Good morning,” she grinned, squeezing his hand back. He pulled himself up and stretched. 

Only after getting out of bed did Rumi realize it was too late to hide this from her roommates. She still tried her best to step out non-chalantly as she entered the kitchen, hoping they hadn’t noticed. They were getting breakfast ready, chopping up some vegetables for omelets. 

“Morning, Mira, Zoey,” she tried in her most normal voice. 

“Morning,” Zoey smirked. 

“Don’t think we didn’t see where you slept last night,” Mira taunted. Rumi cringed. Busted. Jinu stepped out from behind her, realizing too late that they had been caught. 

“Oh shi-” he muttered under his breath, fully expecting to be killed by Rumi’s roommates. Mira stared at him, expressionless, and shrugged her shoulders casually.

“You’re both adults, you can do whatever you want. But -” she pointed the knife in her hand directly at him, “if you ever do anything that makes me think you might hurt her, I’ll make you wish your soul was still in the Honmoon.”

“Understood,” Jinu gulped. Not that he ever planned on betraying Rumi again, but Mira could be extra terrifying when she got protective. 

“Alright, how about some breakfast?” Rumi clapped her hands together, eager to change the topic. Thankfully, they moved past the awkwardness quickly and enjoyed a peaceful meal together. 

Rumi and Jinu had taken over clean-up when Rumi’s phone started ringing. When she saw the name on the phone, she knew it was now her turn to face her past. 

Celine