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The first time Jinu and Rumi kiss, it’s after a variety show. The Saja Boys are once more paired with HUNTR/X for an event, a common occurrence these days. The boys’ manager has been pushing them with the girl group constantly since their debut, riding their coattails and leaching their fans. Rumi and her band mates tolerate the men publicly, but the bands are often at each other over petty squabbles in private.
Today’s argument is different though, much more intense due to a stressed out Rumi reached her breaking point during the show, and accusing Jinu of cheating on the last challenge. Mira and Zoey are distracted by Bobby when she drags Jinu into a changing room by the sleeve of his black leather jacket, the other Saja Boys having scattered when they realized Rumi is about to blow a gasket.
“You rigged it!” Rumi accuses, her tight violet braid swinging as she gestures wildly. “There’s no way you could hit a higher note than me.”
Jinu holds his hands up placatingly, taken aback by her anger. Their arguments have never been this heated in the past. Normally they’re trying to one up each other, no true bite to their fights. “Woah, chill out. It’s just a game, and everyone has bad days. Rumi, you’re voice cracked, it happens.”
Rumi grits her teeth, eyes unable to stay away from his frowning mouth. He’s painfully attractive, not that she’d ever admit that to his face. “It’s the principle of the thing!” She nearly stomps her foot, but stops herself. The reasonable part of her she knows she’s being overdramatic, but she isn’t thinking rationally at the moment.
Jinu takes her hand instinctively, sensing that something deeper is going on. Rumi freezes as all the fight suddenly leaves her at his soft understanding touch, her rigid body deflating. Taking this as consent, he gently pulls her into a hug, Rumi’s heart jumping up into her throat while tears surge, stinging her eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he speaks reassuringly.
“Why?” Rumi chokes out, overwhelmed by his shocking show of understanding and comfort.
“You looked like you needed it.”
Every tiff or problem she’s ever had with Jinu is forgotten at this moment of tenderness, Rumi glancing up at him with fresh eyes. “This isn’t the first time my voice has broken lately,” she admits tearily.
“Why aren’t you on vocal rest?” He asks with genuine concern.
“I can’t take a break, Golden comes out in two weeks. It wouldn’t be viewed well if I bowed out now.”
She doesn’t mention that during her last meeting with, Celine, her former guardian and one-time idol, stressed the importance of Golden being a success. HUNTR/X have been popular for several years now, but the impropriety of Rumi and her parentage still dogs her heels. Born to a former Sunlight Sister, Celine’s own bandmate, and a then married businessman, Rumi has attracted scandal since birth. Even losing her parents in a car accident as a child hasn’t lessened the scrutinizing gaze of society.
Far too often hate comments pop up calling her an untalented nepo baby, or decrying the circumstances of her birth. She’s loved and hated in equal measure, but Celine is certain that if Golden does as well as predicted, they’ll finally be able to drown out the haters. Rumi desperately wants her to be right, she can’t keep living like this.
Rumi glances up at Jinu, the warmth of his body seeping into hers, her fingers clutching at his jacket. Jinu meets her gaze, a strand of hair falling over his left eye as he slowly lowers his face. Rumi can’t help but raise hers, nearly lost in a trance as their mouths meet, gently at first, then infused with heat.
Her arms link around his neck as he grabs at her butt, fingers splayed across sequinned shorts as they stumble backwards, teeth and tongue clashing while Rumi moans into his mouth. They collide into a wall, barely missing the nearby vanity as he presses her up against mint green wallpaper, Jinu nipping at her bottom lip as her legs lock around his waist.
She gasps as he rubs his hand along her ass, his erection pressing up against her. Rumi rocks against Jinu, making him hiss as she tugs at his hair. His index finger runs along the waistband of her shorts, but before he can do more, Mira’s voice drowns out the sound of their heavy breathing.
“Rumi? Rumi, where are you?”
Jinu and Rumi freeze, realizing that they were dangerously close to doing it up against a wall in a very public space. They break apart, Rumi too flustered to speak as she adjusts her clothes, then darts from the changing room as she wipes away the remnants of smudged lipstick on the back of her hand.
“Hey, I just needed a moment to myself,” Rumi mumbles to her friends as she joins them, keeping her head down to avoid her flustered state being noticed by Mira or Zoey.
“We get it.” Zoey hugs her quickly, Rumi still staring down at her feet. “I’m sure Romance eating pavement during the obstacle course will overshadow your voice crack.”
“Zoey!” Mira shakes her head as she chides the Maknae without any bite, a fond smile tugging at her lips.
Rumi laughs despite herself. “It’s fine, it’s just a sign that I need to rest my voice until the release,” she admits reluctantly.
“That’s a good idea.” Mira slings an arm over both Rumi and Zoey. “But Zoey’s right, nothing could beat Romance’s face plant.”
The hot pink haired woman grins wickedly at the memory. Romance and Abby are constantly flirting with her, pushing her boundaries. Mira loves to see both taken down a peg, even though she’s blatantly attracted to the two men, Abby and his abs in particular. She’d never admit it, but Rumi has eyes.
“I think all the product in his hair acted as a helmet. He should’ve had a concussion,” Zoey pipes in as they stroll down the hall towards the exit, security awaiting them.
Rumi laughs again, her lips still burning from Jinu’s blistering kisses.
After a boatload of ramyeon shared between her and her best friends, Zoey’s turtle videos on in the background, Rumi heads to bed. Once changed into her comfiest pyjamas, patterned with trains and teddybears, she methodically unbraids her lengthy locks, then brushes in a jasmine and sandalwood hair oil. She closes her eyes, thinking of the numerous times Celine has braided her hair neatly, a nod to Ryu Mi-Yeong’s own braid.
Rumi sighs, an aching grief chewing at her as she leans back, remembering her parents in bits and pieces, her hand lingering over the jagged scars that mar her chest and arms from the accident. Her mother’s warm smile, her father’s deep laugh, the sight of them dancing in the kitchen as the sun set. They hid the scandal surrounding their relationship from Rumi, their daughter none the wiser until after their deaths, when an older classmates delighted in informing her in front of all their peers.
Rumi banishes away that painful memory as her phone buzzes, one hand thumbing a scar while the other picks up her cellphone. A text is lighting up her screen, the number unknown. Heard you’re on vocal rest, hope you’ll be all good by the Golden release.
Rumi cocks her head, confused at the message. Who is this?
Whoops, forgot to add my name. It’s Jinu.
Rumi can’t help it, she laughs. And how did you get my number?
… I have my ways.
Rumi smiles to herself. And those are?
Mystery got it from a friend of a friend.
Rumi rolls her eyes without any heat, knowing who shared her number instantly. Zoey has a pretty obvious crush on the lilac haired Saja Boy with the heavy bangs, even though she denies it. Rumi has no idea if her feelings are mutual, Mystery is hard to read, hence the name. Unlike Abby and Romance, he doesn’t delight in openly flirting with a member of HUNTR/X.
Tell him that my number is confidential.
He already deleted it, don’t worry. Rumi’s fingers twitch, the urge to bring up their make-out session strong, but she’s stopped by another incoming message from Jinu. Sussndnjmdn
Rumi blinks, taken aback by the sudden gibberish. What?
Sorry, my cat walked over my phone.
You have a cat?
Rumi thinks she should’ve known this, they’re around each other enough for something like that to come up. She knows Baby used to have a pet hamster, and that Mystery grew up with dogs, but nothing about Jinu’s cat.
His name is Derpy. Jinu sends a picture of a bluish gray tabby in an empty flowerpot, gold eyes wide. He’s a recent rescue.
You named your cat Derpy? Rumi giggles faintly at the name.
It was his shelter name, it didn’t feel right changing it.
Rumi blinks at the fresh rush of tenderness his words bring forth, this side of Jinu that she’s never witnessed before both surprising and touching. He might disagree.
Har har.
The texts between Rumi and Jinu slowly become a daily thing, quick check ins, and pictures of Derpy and the magpie that hangs out by Jinu’s bedroom window, often exchanged. Rumi doesn’t tell Mira or Zoey about the messages, but they catch her smiling at her phone more than once. Rumi manages to shake off their questions, but she knows that they’re not fooled.
Jinu never brings up their kiss, and neither does Rumi. With a phone between them, all their baggage is forgotten, spats or head butting left in the past. Rumi admits to herself that she has a slightly major crush, and that it’s been brewing for awhile, even though idols don’t date, not if they know what’s good for them. If contracts don’t forbid it, the threat of a PR nightmare scares off many, and Rumi would be under more scrutiny than others due to her parentage.
Still, her growing feelings get the better of her when she suggests that Bobby invite the Saja Boys to the party celebrating the shocking overnight global success of Golden, the song making HUNTR/X the highest-charting female K-pop group. Golden being a smash-hit, a bigger song than she could’ve ever dreamed, strengthens Rumi’s self confidence, her voice no longer buckling under the strain to get everything just right.
She’s laughing with Zoey and Mira when the Saja Boys stroll into the party, Mira rolling her eyes at their all black garb, while Rumi’s heart skips a beat at the sight of Jinu in the atmospheric low lighting. “Who comes to a party in obvious show costumes? I’m surprised they’re not sporting gats,” Mira huffs, crossing her arms.
The Saja Boys debuted with a sugary sweet image, but they’ve long shed that in favour of a darker look, currently parading around as demons for their current comeback. All five band members sport silver jewelry and fingerless gloves, Abby in a mesh crop top, Mystery’s pants open knee. A large silver star dangles from Jinu’s left earlobe, while Romance’s hair is freshly dyed a darker pink, and Baby’s fingernails painted a deep black.
“I think they had a photoshoot, they probably came straight from that,” Zoey chimes in, Mira narrowing her eyes.
“And how do you know that?” Mira inquires suspiciously.
Zoey flushes red as the Saja Boys make their way to the girl group, her eyes darting to Mystery and then away. “I overheard a stylist talking about it,” Zoey blatantly lies, cheeks deepening in colour.
Before Mira can properly interrogate Zoey, Abby and Romance saddle up beside her while Rumi and Jinu lock eyes, the world stopping for a moment as Rumi’s breath catches. Jinu smiles almost shyly at her as he takes in her glittery opalescent turtleneck crop top and matching skirt, her jacket heavy with gold embroidery and tassels.
“Congratulations on the success of Golden,” Jinu greets her by himself, his band mates already scattered, but Rumi doesn’t care, beaming at him.
“Thank you.” Rumi swallows back a girlish giggle, she’s had a few shots. “I’m still in shock. I hoped it would do well, but I never imaged this well.”
Jinu’s grin widens, a smidge of pale purple face paint at the corner of his mouth. Rumi instinctively reaches for it, wiping it away with her thumb. The two freeze as Rumi realizes what she’s done, her cheeks now a vivid hot pink as she pulls her hand back.
“I need a drink,” Jinu mumbles. “Want one?”
Rumi nods eagerly, wanting to drown out her embarrassment. “Sure.”
Jinu returns with two shot glasses and a bottle of soju, joining Rumi on the red velvet couch where she waits for him. Zoey is already talking Mystery’s ear off while Mira rolls her eyes at Abby and Romance’s insistent flirting, though the trio are sharing a bottle of vodka, Baby devouring finger foods off to the side. Rims takes the empty glass with a quiet thank you, then fills up Jinu’s.
They down the shots, Rumi blinking at the sting as Jinu stretches out on the couch, his fingertips briefly brushing against her bare thigh. Rumi resists the urge to squeal at his touch, forcing her body to visibly relax as Jinu takes another shot, then swallows down a small yawn.
“Long day?” Jinu asks, head cocked in interest.
Rumi nods, her eyes drifting to his chest, which his shirt tightly clings too. “We’ve been up since dawn for celebratory press.”
Jinu snorts. “That’s an oxymoron.”
Rumi giggles. “True.”
He passes her the bottle of soju. “Another shot to celebrate?”
Rumi nods, the flush in her cheeks spreading down her chest. “If you insist,” she teases.
They share several shots and longing looks before moving onto the dancefloor, swaying to the music tantalizingly close, Zoey and Mira having disappeared earlier, the Saja Boys minus Baby and Jinu also gone. When the song switches to a ballad, Jinu takes her hand, tugging her close. Rumi’s heart races as he links her arms around his neck, leaning down as their noses brush.
“Can I kiss you?” He asks with desperation, pupils blown wide.
Rumi’s mouth goes dry at his blatant want. “Yes, but not here.” Her mind might be booze soaked, but she knows better than to kiss anyone at a party like this, someone would blab to the press.
“How close is your dorm?” Jinu brushes her cheek with his hand.
“Ten minute drive,” Rumi chokes out, her blood burning in anticipation.
“Let’s go then.”
He takes her hand, guiding her out of the party as Rumi waves sheepishly to Bobby, her manager tipping a bottle in acknowledgment as she disappears out the door, the party starting to die down as they slip out. Rumi and Jinu cover their faces with masks before ducking into Rumi’s private car, the duo barely resisting the urge to do it then and there in the backseat.
Rumi nearly trips over her own two feet in her hurry when they arrive at her building, a chuckling Jinu behind her as she drags him inside, avoiding the eye of staff as they head to the elevator. The moment the door closes, their masks go flying, and they crash together, kissing heatedly as Jinu pushes her up against the wall.
The memory of their make out at the variety studio hits Rumi in vivid technicolor as the elevator doors open again, the ride too short of their liking. They break the kiss reluctantly, then scurry down the hall to Rumi’s front door. Once they’re inside, they’re back at it again, Jinu lifting Rumi as she wraps her legs around his waist.
“Where’s your room?” Jinu pants as he briefly breaks the kiss.
Rumi nods towards the right. “Down that hallway.”
Jinu tugs her into another kiss as he carries her to her bedroom, bypassing the shut doors of Mira and Zoey’s rooms. He manages to open her door with his lips still seared to Rumi’s, barely bypassing a plushie on the floor as he heads towards her bed. He lays Rumi down after they both kick off their shoes and shrug off their jackets, then leans over her, fingers reaching for the zipper of her top.
Rumi freezes, the haze of lust broken by the thought of Jinu seeing her scars. No one but medical professionals and Celine has seen them. When Rumi has hooked up in the past, it was quick and hurried, clothes moved just enough to allow the act, and she’s always hidden the scars from Mira and Zoey, not wanting to talk about the accident or her parents. She sets her hand atop Jinu’s, Jinu stilling at her touch, concern taking over desire as he takes in her look of distress.
“What’s wrong?” He cradles her face, achingly tender.
Rumi licks her lips nervously, her messy braid digging into her scalp. “I don’t show my skin.”
He peers at her closely. “No, you never do. You’ve always cover your chest and arms,” he says slowly as realization sinks in. “I thought it was modesty, but it isn’t, is it?”
Rumi looks away, eye landing on a picture of her in her mother’s arms as a newborn, hung by her bedroom door. “No, it’s not modesty,” she admits quietly.
Jinu grazes her cheekbone with his thumb. “Then what is it?”
She inhales sharply, realizing that she’s about to admit her biggest secret. “I have scars on most of my upper body, from the accident.” Her voice shakes as she speaks, a weight lifted off her chest at someone knowing the truth of her supposed modesty.
“And you don’t show them.”
Rumi laughs ruefully as she meets his gaze again. “Why would I? They’re ugly, a reminder of my parents and their scandal. Even Mira and Zoey haven’t seen them.”
“I’d say that they’re a reminder that you survived a horrible car accident.” Jinu rests his forehead on hers, Rumi fighting off tears at his words. “We all have our wounds, some are just more visible than others.” Jinu pulls down on the collar of his shirt, revealing his own jagged scar in the center of his chest.
Rumi gasps in surprise at the unexpected sight. “What happened?”
“I grew up dirt poor, and got in with the wrong crowd trying to make money. I angered the wrong drug dealer, and he tried to knife me. I lived, but barely. My mom used the little she had to escape to Seoul in the aftermath, and soon I got scouted, but the scar remains. I normally cover it up with makeup, but I didn’t bother today.”
Forgetting her own pain for a moment, Rumi rests a palm over his scar. “Oh Jinu, that’s horrible.”
“Trust me, I get hiding scars from the public.”
Rumi licks her lips and shakily raises her free hand, fingers landing on the zipper of her top. “You won’t tell anyone, if I show you?”
Jinu shakes his head. “No, that’s your secret to tell.” He thumbs her cheekbone. “But we don’t have to do this.”
“No, I want too, I need too.”
Rumi inhales deeply as she slowly unzips her top, revealing the severe scars on the base of her throat, which then fan out over her chest and upper arms. Jinu watches intently as she reveals more and more skin, eyes darkening further as she finally sheds the top completely, sitting before him in nothing but her skirt.
“Can I touch you?” Jinu asks huskily, Rumi’s breath catching at the blatant want dripping from his tongue.
“Yes,” Rumi sighs out, her hands landing on his shoulders as he leans her back on the bed, her thighs pressing together in anticipation, the shame of her scars overridden by her desire to be touched by him.
Jinu straddles her as he presses a kiss to the base of her throat featherlight, fingers gently trailing over the marred skin snaking across her shoulders, then above her breasts. Rumi closes her eyes, lost to the intense feeling of his touch as he lovingly kisses her scars, hands slipping down her body to clutch her waist. By the time he reaches the scar running alongside her right breast, Rumi is a bundle of frayed nerves, her underwear soaked from his kisses alone.
“I need you,” Rumi moans out as his nose brushes against her bare breast, her hands beneath his shirt.
Jinu lifts his head, his eyes endless dark pools. “Rumi, there’s no going back after this,” he rasps out, confirming the truth that Rumi has known all along, that this could never be a one night stand, that there’s too much between them for such an act to be purely physical.
“I know.” Rumi leans up to kiss him, Jinu moaning into her mouth as he holds her close, his clothed erection grinding up against her.
Rumi sighs as he flips them, putting Rumi on top. She briefly breaks the kiss to shimmy out of her skirt and underwear, her barely together braid brushing against her back. Jinu slips off his shirt before she kisses him again, her eager fingers unfastening his black pants, revealing that he’s bare underneath.
Rumi moans again at the sight of his hard cock, her nails teasingly running along the side as Jinu grunts into her mouth. She pumps him once, twice, then three times, before coming up for air. “Condom?” She asks, her whole body aflame with need.
“Yeah, I have one.” Jinu reaches into his back pocket, and retrieves a condom. “Abby likes to keep us all stocked up before parties.”
Rumi laughs even as she barely resists the urge to take Jinu inside her at this very moment, screw the condom. “Why?”
“He says it’s one of the best places to get laid.” Jinu shrugs before he rolls on the condom, sensitive enough to buck at the touch of his own hand.
Rumi dives into another kiss hungrily, Jinu moaning as she rocks her body over him, acrylic nails digging into his naked chest as she positions herself above his cock, then slowly sinks down to take him inside her. Once she’s filled by him, Rumi throws her head back, then begins to grinding down, dancer’s body graceful as she canters her hips.
“Fuck,” Jinu hisses, his hands spanning her waist as he moves his body alongside her, rising to meet her thrust for thrust.
“Oh, Jinu!” Rumi cries as she picks up speed, her headboard already smacking into the wall behind her bed.
Jinu grunts as he bites his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, Rumi gasping as her breasts bounce, eyes shut tight as pleasure builds within her. One of his hands slip from her waist, landing between her thighs as he plays with her clit, Rumi moaning at his touch.
Her nails slice into his chest as she chases her high, but Jinu doesn’t care, relishing in her touch as she tumbles over the edge of ecstasy, choking on a gasp as her body shakes. Jinu doesn’t let up as she orgasms atop him, thumb pressing down on her clit as he continues to thrust.
When Rumi finishes riding the wave of her release, she collapses onto his chest, but Jinu isn’t done with her, flipping them over so he’s the one on top. With unrelenting vigour, he continues to drill into her, hips snapping fiercely as he fucks her into the mattress, Rumi crying out from the overstimulation.
Tears fill her eyes as she orgasms again, back arching as Jinu comes alongside her, face buried in the crook of her neck as he spills within the condom, breathing hard. When he pulls out of her, he flops onto his back, body slick with sweat.
“You could kill a man,” he grumbles half heartedly.
Rumi giggles as she curls into his side, the trauma of her scars blissfully forgotten for the first time in her life. “I try.” She looks up at him with longing eyes. “I want to be with you, even with all the drama it could bring,” she confesses.
Jinu kisses the tip of her nose in response. “I want to be with you too. Fuck anyone that tries to keep us apart, including obsessive fans and our companies.”
The sun is already rising when Jinu slips from her bed, the two unable to resist the urge to lazily fuck one more time before he sneaks away. After Jinu shuts her bedroom door as quietly as possible, he turns to find a stunned Mystery in front of Zoey’s room.
As the two men stare at each other in shock, Mira’s bedroom door opens, and Abby stumbles out alongside Romance. The smirks on the pink duo’s faces fall at the sight of their bandmates, Abby all but slamming the door behind him to stop Mira from seeing past him into the hallway.
Jinu’s head swizzles as he takes in what’s happening. He knows Abby and Romance like to share girls, and that Mystery has a crush on Zoey, but what are the chances they all slept with a member of HUNTR/X on the same night? “How?” Jinu chokes out, half expecting Baby to pop up out of nowhere like a magician.
Abby goes to make a lewd gesture, but Mystery holds up his hand to stop him, his shock wearing off. “We need to get out of here unseen.”
“We’ll just take the fire escape.” Romance gestures to a nearby window.
Jinu narrows his eyes as he regains control of himself. “Did Mira make you climb the fire escape last night?”
“Maybe,” Abby drawls, crossing his arms.
“Whatever, we’ve got to go.”
As Jinu follows his friends towards a window, he texts Rumi a heart, counting down the time until he can see her again. He can’t believe he can finally call Rumi his.