Chapter Text
Celine sighed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she stared down at the open file, papers strewn across the surface of her desk. She had felt the Honmoon ripple slightly around a private school in the Gangnam district, and thought this girl could have been one of the new hunters, but with some more in depth digging and a couple of sleepless nights following the private school student around, she concluded she wasn’t connected to the Honmoon, setting her back on the hunt for the other two thirds of her girl’s trio. Couple that with many nightly patrols following the pink ripples across the crying silvery threads meant Celine was having a shitty night following on from an already shitty day.
She leaned back in her chair, pressing her thumbs into her eyelids, feeling the near painful pressure against her sockets as she tried to force the throbbing headache to disappear, only for it to return two-fold when a soft knock brought her attention away from her work. She stood up, rolling her bandaged shoulders out before turning the knob to reveal Rumi. Standing there in its thin nightshirt, one sleeve hitched up just enough to expose its patterns, gleaming faintly as it stared up at her through long purple strands with tears in its eyes, one glowing just enough to pierce through the shadows of the hallway.
She clenched her jaw, grinding her teeth as she consciously loosened her hand on the door, pushing it open just a bit more to let it into her office. It sniffled, shuffling in and stopping by her desk. She sighed, letting the girl climb into her chair, letting it wiggle around slightly to get comfortable and, in the process, shaking the hem of the sleeve back down to cover its marks back up. She rested her hands on the girls shoulders, stroking her thumbs along her covered collarbones as she knelt down to look at Rumi’s face.
She was met with those mismatched eyes, glossy and shining with a wet film as it stared back at the older woman. She quickly flitted her gaze down, breaking the accidental eye contact. Its cheeks, Celine noticed, were dry. Red and blotchy yes, but dry despite the water welling in its eyes. She tore her eyes away from its face, nodding her head towards her desk.“Would you like to help me with some of this?” She offered, keeping her voice soft and even.
Despite not facing the girl, she could see her turn her head in the corner of her eye. Taking it as a good sign, she continued, hoping the next thing out of her mouth would convince her fully.
“It’s about your future bandmates. I’m not entirely certain, but I’ve been looking into this girl and it could be a good chance she is.”
That got her.
Rumi roughly scrubbed at her eyes with her arm, pulling herself closer to the desk to look at the papers. She kicked her feet a little, furrowing her brow as she slowly read through the file’s description. Honestly, Celine was pretty sure this student wasn’t one of the third, but it had gotten her charge to stop looking at her like a kicked dog so she would count it as a win.
She moved herself behind Rumi, watching over her shoulder as she placed her hands on the backrest of her office chair. The girl straightened up slightly when she felt her fingers brush against her covered shoulder blades, leaning back just enough to feel them press more firmly into her flesh. Celine’s jaw twitched, and she pulled her hands back to rest only against the cushioned leather. They stayed like that, silent in the small, unusually cluttered office broken by the ticking of her wall clock and the occasional sniff from the young girl as the light of dawn slowly filtered in through the wooden blinds.
“Celine?”
She broke the silence with a hesitant call, tilting her head to stare up at her mentor, who avoided her eyes to look at the information laid strewn on the wood. She had an obvious inflection, not yet completely used to the way the romanised version of her name sounded. Celine turned to her all the same. “May we see 엄마 today?”
GET AWAY FROM HER-
Wait, Celine please -
She swallowed thickly, glancing at the clock.
“Now?”
Rumi pressed her lips together, dipping her head low.
“Please? If it’s not too much trouble.” She added hastily, waiting for her elder’s decision.
Celine stayed quiet, thinking for a moment before sighing and moving away, hands falling back to her side.
“After breakfast. Come.”
She opened the door, holding it ajar as Rumi slide off the chair to patter silently out of her office, footsteps completely soundless, only alerting its position from the creaking as she stepped into the wooden hallway that the older woman had intentionally re-installed strangely after a few too many jump scares from the girl. Celine swallowed, shutting the door behind her as she followed it to the dining area, moving to the cooking nook shoved into the corner as it sat next to the low table, waiting to be told what to do.
She could feel its eyes burning into her back as she gathered some leftover rice and a block of tofu, cutting it into chunks and bending down to pick up a pan stored on the floor.
“Rumi-ya,” she called out, knowing the girl perked up despite continuing to face the counter as she spooned the rice into two bowls, “can you get the sesame oil.”
Rumi scrambled to her feet, quick to obey the order.
“Don’t run.”
Celine poured the oil into the pan, heating it up and dropping the tofu in. She gestured for the girl to stand back, feeling less crowded as she backed out of the kitchen corner to watch the oil bubble up around the blocks.
They both stood there, staring at the spitting pan as the crackling and smell of frying tofu filled the room. Celine felt a couple drops hit her hands as she turned them around with some chopsticks. She placed them down to pick up the bowls of rice, wordlessly handing them over so her charge could put them on the table.
“Should I cut up some kimchi Celine?”
She let out a positive hum, hearing the isolated creaking follow it as it went to grab some scissors, a small dish, and the bag from the fridge. She placed the tofu on a plate, picking up some utensils as she passed the drying rack, and carrying it over to the table.
Rumi was already there, quietly accepting the offered cutlery for her to place down neatly next to her bowl, waiting for Celine to sit down and grab the first tofu to start eating.
They ate in silence, finishing the meal quickly and clearing the table. Celine left the child to wash up as she trudged back to her rarely used bedroom. She changed her clothes, having stayed in the dirt stained fabric for far too long for her liking, before heading back out to find the girl waiting by the door, already in her shoes and a jacket despite still being in her sleep clothes. She allowed it, not bothered to put this off any longer.
They crossed the courtyard into the surrounding forest, Rumi falling into place slightly behind her as they walked along the well-trodden path, their breath fogging the air.
They broke through the shade of the trees into a clearing, following the path up to the worn stone steps. Absentmindedly, Celine made note of the undergrowth creeping in and swallowing some of the stone plaques located closer to the edge. She’ll send the girl to clear it in a few days.
They turned off the stairs, walking along the small strip of grass, and stopped in front of Her grave, the red flowers next to the stone wilting from neglect.
Wilting.
Red. Dripping down.
Blood.
Dripping.
On her hands. On her blades. On Her.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
nononononononoNoNoNoNoNoNONONONONONONOPLEASEPLEASENOTHERPLEASEIDIDNTMEANTO-
She knelt down beside it, staring at the name engraved into the stone. She didn’t know why it wanted to see Her, but it didn’t usually ask for much, so she could fathom a guess. Still, it was easier to indulge it in a small ask like this. Besides, she hadn’t visited in a while, at least this allowed her to see what maintenance needed to be done on the gravesite.
They didn’t speak. Why would they need to. No words could be said that hadn’t already left their lips. Well. That’s not entirely true on Celine’s part. But the child wouldn’t be able to handle that truth. And Celine wouldn’t be able to handle the fallout. So they don’t speak. They shouldn’t.
And yet. It still broke the silence with that voice. So mockingly similar. So cruelly different.
“I’m sorry 엄마.”
Oh.
Celine choked back the rock in her throat. God, how she wished she could cry. But she lost that ability on That Night. Had choked and sobbed and shrieked until she drained herself dry. The last of her tears were buried beneath her now, laying dead in the dirt with Her, clinging to Her clothes, staining Her skin. And so, her eyes stayed dry, as did the child’s beside her, both staring at the remnants of the woman who gave them life.
She stood first, brushing off her trousers as Rumi followed her lead, understanding she had pushed Celine too much for today. They had overstayed their welcome. She moved first, making her way back to the steps. Celine lingered, watching after Her daughter before glancing down at the camellias. She’ll get her to change those too.
She made a move to the stairs, only making it one step before a rustle behind her caused her to whip around.
Celine narrowed her eyes, staring up into the canopy of the trees at a shadowy spot in the crook of one of the branches. A flutter of black and white darted through the greenery as the bird took flight, a series of flaps echoing from its perch as it disappeared deeper into the woods.
She hummed, turning back to the path to follow after her charge, brushing her fingers a final time against the cold polished stone. I’m sorry, Mi-yeong.