Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There's no doubt. Something has undeniably changed with the dynamic between the Huntr/x girls.

It had all started when the three of them went to the bathhouse together a month ago. While getting changed, Rumi had caught Mira and Zoey staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Specifically, staring at her patterns.

Even when they got into the bath, Rumi caught the two other girls exchanging looks after hazarding glances at her body. One time, she even caught Zoey whispering something to Mira when they thought she wasn't looking, before the two broke into stifled giggles. It made her heart ache in a strange way that she couldn't explain.

She tried to push it out of her mind. This was new territory for her, for all of them. Rumi had to keep reminding herself that she had no right to be jealous of the ease that Zoey and Mira interacted with each other, that she had been the one to build these walls between them, and that it would take time to break them down.

Not only that, but Rumi supposed she couldn't blame them for being uncomfortable with her patterns. She was thankful that the two had been so accepting, but it was normal of them to still be a little apprehensive about her patterns.

It would just take time, she told herself.

But time only seemed to make it worse.

Now that Rumi was trying to be more open around them, she often found herself trying to not exclude herself when she saw the two together.

Two weeks ago, Rumi had come out of the shower wrapped in a bath towel to see the other two on the couch together. Mira's arm had been wrapped around Zoey's shoulder to keep her balanced on her lap as she showed her something on her phone. They were laughing with each other with such fondness that Rumi couldn't help but be a little jealous of their friendship.

"Oh, Rumi!" Zoey had perked up upon seeing her. "You need to come see this!"

Normally, Rumi would have just waved them off and told them that she would come see once she got changed, but that day, she had tried to remind herself that it was okay to be seen by them. They would all need to start being more comfortable with her having patterns.

She had taken her place at Mira's side, pressing her body into hers to better see the phone screen. It was not dissimilar to the way that Zoey had been on the opposite side, and yet, Mira's carefree attitude had been wiped away immediately.

Mira's face had gone pale. Her gaze had drifted away from the phone screen over to Rumi's barely concealed patterns, which had been especially visible with such little covering and were pressed tight against Mira's ribs. Rumi didn't miss the way that Mira had snapped her lingering gaze away, her face red with embarrassment, or the way that Zoey had looked between the two with an uneasy expression. Rumi had pulled her arms tight over herself as she moved off of Mira, feeling a little self conscious.

"What did you want to show me?" Rumi had asked, her voice croaking as she felt herself get smaller.

"Oh, um, it's just this, uh," Mira had stammered, not even looking at her. Did her patterns really make her that uncomfortable?

"Oh!" Zoey had suddenly shouted. She had crawled over Mira's lap, swiping the phone from her hand to shove it in Rumi's face. "So you know that girl group I was telling you about who just had their debut like a week ago?" Mira looked about to faint with the way that Zoey was spread over her.

"Uh, I think so?" Rumi had said after clearing her throat. "PO/RO SE, right?"

She had remembered Zoey telling her about them with such glee at the genius layers of their name, which Rumi had failed to understand at first. After a lengthy explanation, she had finally understood that it was supposed combination of the first two letters of the member's stage names, and not to do with pores. It was pronounced 'prose,' like the literature kind, but many of their songs also began with a tag of 'Pose Rose.'

"Okay, so," Zoey had squealed with tempered glee. "Something leaked from a concert a couple days ago. The three were caught on video making out with each other, which is already crazy, but it gets even worse!" Rumi had hung onto every word with anticipation.

She started the video on the phone. The three members of the girl group had been standing on stage as someone from the crowd shouted angrily at them, barely restrained by security guards.

"The guy shouting is apparently married to the lead singer, and so when he found out, he threw a riot demanding the group break apart or they would be getting divorced," Zoey had explained. "But she just turned to him and said, 'give the papers to me tomorrow then,' without skipping a beat!"

There had been something about the way that Zoey rambled that put Rumi's mind at ease, distracting her from the thoughts that would be otherwise festering around her head like a pinball.

"Oh my god," Rumi had laughed. "That's insane."

"Now they've changed up their choreography for their concerts to include them making out on stage," Mira had deadpanned. "I'm talking: Full. On. Tongue. It's all over Twitter right now," she said as she scrolled to another video.

And yeah, wow. There was no denying it. The girl group had been so into their 'choreography' that it seemed like they were forgetting that they were on stage in front of hundreds of people.

But then, Zoey had grinned between the two of them as she murmured some comment about wishing that Mira would add that to their choreography.

"Zoey?!?" Rumi had shrieked as she realized what she had said.

"Sick, yes!" Mira had smirked, nodding along as she high-fived Zoey.

"MIRA?!?" Rumi had shrieked even louder, feeling dizzy. "No way, are you crazy?"

"Oh, you're no fun, Rumi," Mira had said with a roll of her eyes.

"What? No. I'm plenty of fun!" Rumi had retorted back, feeling her face go hot. "I'm so fun! Right, Zoey?"

"Awwww, man," Zoey had sighed. "I was really looking forward to it too," she had said with another sigh.

That had only made Rumi's stomach spin like she was inside a washing machine.

"Woah, Rumi," Mira had looked her up and down. "Is that normal?"

Rumi had looked down at herself, finding that her patterns were shimmering with a soft pink hue.

"Yeah, it's totally fine," Rumi had said while instinctively covering the patterns on her shoulders. "I'm just going to go get changed," she had pushed off the couch, feeling like she was burning alive.

"Wait!" Zoey had shouted, nearly falling off the couch as she crawled to the arm. "Just one kiss before you go?" She had puckered up her lips expectantly.

A moment of silence had passed through their apartment, one in which Rumi had been more surprised that she had almost wanted to comply into Zoey's demand before stopping herself.

"WHAT?!?" Mira and Rumi had both said incredulously.

"I'm just kidding, guys, relax," Zoey had nervously laughed, waving her hand through the air. A ding had echoed from the table and she quickly swiped her phone. "NO WAY! PO/RO SE JUST BROKE UP!" She had shrieked. "'Creative differences,' my ass!"

Rumi had tried to forget that night, hoping it was just a one off event, but she was quickly finding that this was only becoming more and more common.

Out of the three of them, Rumi was the first one asleep and the first one awake. Recently, however, she was finding that it was a rare occurrence for her to wake up alone. This past week alone, she had awoken to Zoey curled up against her five times alone.

This morning was no exception. She awoke to her alarm and tried to get up, only to find Zoey hugging her torso, her head on her chest, drooling as she snored. Mira was on the other side of her, holding Rumi's hand close to her lips as she mumbled in her sleep.

"Rumiiiii," Zoey squinted through the darkness, raising her head off Rumi's chest. "Can you turn you patterns down pretty please?" She murmured before curling up tighter against her, her legs locking around Rumi's.

Rumi felt her breath leave her body. Once again, she found herself burning up, finding that her patterns were glowing with that strange pink light again, which only made her panic more and the light grow brighter.

"Yeah, you're, like, so bright right now," Mira mumbled as she raised her own head.

"I'm sorry!" Rumi shrieked.

She scrambled out of bed. She didn't miss the way that Zoey whined and pouted at her getting up, nor the way that her hands seemed to cling to her before falling away. Rumi pulled a hoodie over herself, trying her best to cover up her glowing patterns.

"Where are you going?" Zoey sounded on the brink of tears.

"Just, uh, just out for a run," Rumi answered quickly.

"At five in the morning?" Mira squinted at her from the dark bed. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, you know me. Gotta get my exercise in," Rumi said nervously. "That's cool, right?"

"No more cuddle tiiiiime," Zoey whined.

"Oh, come here," Mira opened her arms. On cue, Zoey shot across the bed, wrapping herself around the taller girl. The two seemed to fit together so effortlessly.

Rumi felt her heart ache in that strange way again.

"Uh, Rumi? Why are you looking at us like a kicked puppy?" Mira asked.

"What? I'm not!" She protested as she tried to make her face as neutral as possible.

"If you want to come back to bed with us, I surely wouldn't mind," Zoey teased her with a croak as she gestured for Rumi to join them.

Rumi wanted to run away from whatever this feeling was, but she tried to remind herself that's all she had been doing before. She took a deep breath and tried again.

"Do my patterns really bother you guys that much?" She asked nervously as she pulled her hoodie lower to hide the marks spreading down her wrists. "If they make you guys so uncomfortable, I can keep them covered."

"What are you talking about?" Mira barely opened her eyes open to glare at her.

"I mean like," Rumi stammered with shame, "you just seem so uncomfortable when you look at them, and now they're keeping you awake-"

"It's not your fault," Mira rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, they just do that while you sleep," Zoey said.

"But doesn't it bother you?" Rumi asked.

"Nope," Mira groaned. "Now can I go back to sleep? It's too early for this."

"Sorry, I just," Rumi dug her nails into her palms, "I just can't tell what you're thinking when you look at them, and it makes me… makes me feel… nervous," she said, feeling a little proud of herself for being a little honest with them. Small steps, as Zoey always told her.

"Rumiiiii," Zoey whined through her sleep, barely cracking open her eyes. "Trust me. Whenever I see your patterns, all I'm thinking is: 'daaaaamn, I want to tap that,'" She said with a dreamy laugh as she snuggled closer to Mira.

"God, if that isn't the truth," Mira let out a sultry laugh.

"What?" Rumi just stared at her, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "You guys want to... tap them?" She poked her own protruding patterns, noticing the way they pulsed a little brighter with light. "I don't get it."

"Nevermind. Just go on your run," Mira waved her away with a half asleep smirk. 

"I'll miss yooouuuu," Zoey waved at her, half asleep. 

Rumi just left the room with a frown. This behaviour was so odd to her. She couldn't explain why Zoey and Mira were acting like this, or how to make it stop.

But did she even want it to stop? It left her feeling dizzy, like her heart was going to explode. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Maybe this was just how Zoey and Mire had always been with each other, and Rumi was just seeing it for the first time. This is what an honest friendship looked like, that's all it was, right?

Right?

And yet, her patterns only grew brighter the more she thought about it. The shame spreading across her body.

After her run, Rumi had collapsed onto their couch. There was just something about returning to her bedroom with the two of them waiting for her that made her feel… inexplicably strange.

Rumi just pushed that feeling down. She just needed to wait. Things would settle to normalcy, it would just take time.

Chapter Text

Zoey has never really considered herself a patient person, but when it comes to her girlfriends and their boundaries, she'll be as patient as they need. They're worth waiting for, after all.

And yes, Rumi and Mira are her girlfriends. They haven't made it official or anything, but that's only to stop the fans from focusing on their relationship over their music. But like, obviously they're in a relationship together. That should be blatant to anyone who isn't dense as bricks.

Now are they doing all the things that girlfriends would be doing? Well, not exactly, but Zoey chalks that up to Rumi needing time. It makes sense why she hasn't been as intimate with them when she was afraid of them seeing her patterns for so long.

She just needs time, Zoey reminds herself. After isolating herself from the other two so long, it's no wonder she seems so nervous to know what's okay for her to do. Rumi's obviously not going to know that it's okay to initiate with them right away, so Zoey decides to throw her bones from time to time to make it clear that she does want to be more intimate but still leaving the ball in her court.

It starts simple. She decides to sleep in Rumi's room more, and Mira does the same. She tries to be more physically affection but leaves the more big steps for Rumi to meet her halfway. She asks Rumi to kiss her, and when it's clear that she isn't ready yet, she tries not to take it personally. It's not like Zoey and Mira have been kissing, but again, that's just because it's either both of them or neither. That's the only reason Mira hasn't been kissing her, they're just on the same wavelength like that.

She tries to not let her disappointment show when Rumi isn't ready, but she still tries to nudge her in the right direction.

But what frustrated Zoey was that Mira is not doing them any favours.

She thought the two of them were in agreement, and yet Mira just stares at Rumi like she's blue screening and gives Rumi absolutely nothing to work with. Zoey feels like the child of divorcing parents trying to push them both together and let them know that they can just kiss each other (and her).

Because there's no way in hell that these two don't know that the three of them are in a relationship, right?

"Hey, do you two want to go out with me on a date?" Zoey had said earlier this morning.

"Hell yeah!" Mira had yelled in response.

"It's a date!" Zoey had said with a grin.

Today, the three of them went out shopping in downtown Seoul, one girl on either side of Zoey holding her hand. It's a date, obviously. Zoey had even phrased it as simply as she could.

Rumi suddenly got a call as they stepped into a coffee shop. The three crowded around the phone as they saw Bobby's icon pop up.

"Hi Bobby!" The three said in unison as they squish together to all fit in the frame.

"Hey girls!" Bobby said back. "Where are you guys?"

"I'm taking my girlfriends on a well deserved date day," Zoey said, making sure to emphasize the words. "We're getting coffee and then we're probably going to go to the bathhouse."

"I thought we had choreography to go through later?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, but that can come after the bathhouse," Zoey insisted.

"I feel like we've been going there a lot recently," Rumi said.

"Uh, because we have to make up for five and a half years of not being able to go!" Zoey rebuked.

In truth, she was just thankful for a space where she could drool over her girlfriends' bodies for long periods of time.

"Girls!" Bobby shouted over the phone. "What about your interview?"

"Interview?" Rumi asked with a frown.

"With that company promoting your comeback album? I talked about it with you all yesterday!" Bobby said with desperation. "What happened?"

Zoey did remember Bobby calling them while they were having cuddle time in Rumi's bed. She had been the only one awake and had insisted that she would make sure the others would be there. The other two had briefly woken up, but were less than coherent to say the least. After the call has ended, she remembered Rumi pulling her closer in her sleep and she might have possibly forgotten it within fifteen seconds.

"Remind us again what we have to do?" Zoey said nervously, trying to hide the guilt on her face and failing.

"It's a live-stream, and it starts in ten minutes!" Bobby urged them. "I'll try and stall as long as possible, but I need you guys to get down here ASAP! I'll text you the address!"

"Thanks Bobby!" They shouted.

They hung up the phone. Both girls looked at Zoey like they wanted to kill her.

"Zoey?" Mira and Rumi looked at her for an explanation.

"I'm so sorry!" Zoey bowed her head in apology.

"He sent me the address, let's move," Rumi bolted into action. She grabbed both their hands and pulled them out of the coffee shop, much to Zoey's dismay.

"But our date!" She whined as she tried to keep pace.

"I'll make it up to you soon, I promise," Rumi insisted as she broke into a sprint.

"Like a romantic candlelit dinner with just the three of us?" Zoey said slyly.

"Sure, yeah, whatever you want Zoey," Rumi said absentmindedly. "Just try to keep up."

"YES!" Zoey pumped the air as they sprinted down the street. "You heard that, right Mira?"

"Um, yeah," Mira gulped, a blush spreading on her face. "Romantic dinner. With you and Rumi. Sounds fantastic. Can't wait."

At last, they reached the front entrance of the studio building that their interview was being hosted on. All three of them took a moment to catch their breath.

"Someone check the live stream," Rumi said with a wheeze.

Mira pulled it up on her phone, squinting at the video without her glasses. "It started six minutes ago. The video just shows our empty chairs."

"We have to hurry!" Zoey wiped sweat off her forehead as she trucked ahead into the building. The other two followed behind her.

"Girls!" Bobby greeted them as their makeup crews did quick touch ups. "Hurry, it's the room at the end!" He gave mics to all of them and shot them a smile. "Sorry about your date!"

"Thank you, Bobby!" Zoey said. "It's alright, Rumi already promised to take us out for a candlelit dinner later!"

"Wait, what?!?" Rumi gaped at her as she trailed behind them, shooting Mira a look of assistance.

"You did agree to that," Mira smirked. "And you know how sad Zoey gets when you crush her dreams."

"I don't, I didn't, when did I…?" Rumi stammered, her patterns glowing with a pink glow. Zoey started walking backwards through the studio and put on her best pleading face. "If that's what you really want, Zoey," she gave in with a soft smile.

"Great!" Zoey rushed over and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I can't wait! Love you, Rumi!" She ran off ahead through the doors into the studio with glee.

Rumi held her hand to her cheek, nearly running into the doors in her daze.

"Oh, you three need your outfits!" Bobby shouted at them, but Zoey was already long gone.

Zoey was the first onto to the studio floor where the interviewer was talking to some crew off stage. There were three chairs in the centre of the white stage, and this is when Zoey had a downright genius idea. She weaved through the crew and equipment onto the stage, leaving Rumi and Mira far behind her.

Zoey caught her breath on the stage, staring at the three chairs. She grabbed one of them, tried her best to lift it above her head before nearly falling over from the sudden shift in her balance. She let it drag behind her with a loud grating groan as she heaved it off the stage, down some short steps and shoved it in some corner as far from the actual stage as possible.

She returned to the stage out of breath as Rumi and Mira appeared, confusion spread across their face. They were in their outfits from Golden, while Zoey was still in sweat pants and a sweater.

"What are you doing?" Rumi hushed, panic on her face.

"Nothing?" Zoey nervously smiled. "How you doin'?" She shot her a wink.

"Zoey!" Mira hissed.

"What?"

"The stage is live!" Rumi hushed a little quieter, pulling Zoey off the stage.

Zoey paled. The cameras were pointing at the chairs. She remembered what Mira had said about the live stream already starting earlier, and dread coursed through her. 

"Come on, let's get you changed real quick," Rumi dragged her by the hand, with Mira trailing close behind. "Just one minute, Bobby!"

"Girls!" Bobby shouted, panic on his face. "What is happening?!?"

They crowded into the dressing room. Zoey winced in shame and pulled her sweater over her shoulders, her arms instinctively covering her chest.

Mira was already moving, grabbing her Golden outfit and handing it to Rumi who motioned for Zoey to slip her arms through the sleeves.

"You didn't go onto stage, right?" Rumi asked nervously.

"Of course not!" Zoey stammered as Mira zipped her up. "Or, maybe I did, but it was only for a second, I don't think anyone saw."

Bobby knocked on the door. "Are you ready yet?"

"Just a second!" They all shouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm ruining everything," Zoey's shoulders sunk in shame.

"It's not your fault," Mira laughed. "Bobby is the one who planned this so late minute."

"No matter what, we're in this together, okay?" Rumi reassured her, cupping Zoey's cheek.

Zoey leaned into the touch. "Thank you, guys," she said earnestly.

They sprinted out of the dressing room back into the studio. The interviewer noticed them and eased into their own chair.

"Apologies for the delay everyone," the interviewer's voice echoed around the studio. "Please welcome to the stage, the six year winner of the IIA: HUNTR/X!"

Applause and whistles echoed from the studio audience as the three walked onto the stage, waving at everyone with beaming smiles.

And they all stopped as they noticed the two chairs on the stage.

"I'm so sorry," the interviewer apologized profusely, "one of the crew must have forgotten to put a third chair out, we'll get another one for you in just a second-!"

"There's no need!" Zoey declared with pride as she sauntered over to one of the chairs and sat down. "Rumi and I…. will share a chair!" She gestured at her lap with a beaming smile and extended her arms in Rumi's direction.

Cheers and gasps exploded from the studio audience. The interviewer just looked at Bobby for clarification who could only offer a shrug. Rumi gawked at her, and Zoey didn't miss the way that her patterns began to glow that gorgeous bright pink colour.

"Tag, you're it," Mira nudged Rumi with a smirk before taking the seat next to Zoey and high-fived her.

"I'm not… I think they have chairs over there actually," Rumi looked anywhere but at the two of them. "Look, I'm not going to sit on your lap, Zoey!" she whispered with a flushed face.

"Then sit on Mira's lap," Zoey hushed back.

"NO!" Rumi shrieked.

"Rumi, just sit on our laps! It's not a big deal!" Mira protested, much to Zoey's glee. "We're so late already, we don't have time to go get a chair!"

"FINE!" Rumi hid her face in her hands.

Zoey and Mira pushed their chairs tight together, moving a little off the side so that Rumi could squish down in between them. She was sitting half on both of their laps, with a red flush creeping on her face.

The interviewer cleared their throat. "I'm so honoured to share this stage with you three," they began, "let me begin by asking what we can expect from HUNTR/X's new comeback album?"

Rumi cleared her throat. This was all pretty routine for them at this point.

"It's a new chapter for us," Rumi answered honestly. "We're treading through new territory as a group, and we want to share that journey with the world."

"Now, there's been rumours that your new album has some rather romantic undertones, which is quite different from past albums," the interviewer asked earnestly. "Is this the kind of new territory you're talking about?"

"I, uh, that's, well," Rumi stammered.

Mira took the lead. "Our new album is still us about us. Nothing is changing about HUNTR/X," Mira assured the interviewer. "Our past albums have admittedly not been as honest as we would have liked, and this album attempts to rectify that."

The interviewer nodded. "Could you elaborate on that?"

Rumi took a breath. "We've had this fear of not living up to the idols that the world see us as, and that's manifested in our past albums," she said with confidence, already forgetting that she was sitting on Zoey and Mira's laps. "This album is about our flaws, and not being afraid of letting the world see them."

"Oh! Oh!" Zoey piped up, making Rumi shift on her lap. "Our new album is also about making small steps to strengthen the foundations of our relationship with each other!" She answered earnestly.

The interviewer laughed, as did the audience. "Now, can you answer a question we've all been wondering since the last Idol Awards?"

"Of course," Rumi smiled.

"Is there any chance of HUNTR/X collaborating with the SAJA Boys again this year after the concert at Namsen tower?" The interviewer asked. "The world especially wants to see you and Jinu share a stage, Rumi."

At the mention of Jinu, Zoey felt Rumi shudder. She shared a look of unease with Mira.

"Do you think we can skip to the next question?" Zoey asked nervously.

"Of course," the interviewer nodded. "Could you comment on the SAJA Boys' sudden media silence since the Namsen tower concert?"

Again, Zoey felt Rumi shrink on her lap.

"Could we skip this question too?" Rumi asked meekly.

"Um, sure," the interviewer cleared their throat. "Can you address the rumours that the you and Jinu are in a secret relationship-?"

"We're actually here to answer questions about our new album," Mira cut him off with a fierce look. She ran her hand over Rumi's back soothingly. "We're not answering any questions on the SAJA Boys," she snarled.

"Right, my apologies," the interviewer flipped through multiple pages, hemming and hawing before finding another question that wasn't about the SAJA Boys. "Ah, here we go! This one is about Rumi's tattoos!" he said earnestly, clasping his hands together.

At that, Rumi pushed off their laps and stormed off the stage. She tore out her mic and tossed it to the ground. Zoey and Mira scoffed and followed after her, shooting dirty looks at the interviewer.

"Will she be back, or…?" The interviewer asked with a pale expression.

"Interview's over," Mira snapped.

"No one talks to my Rumi that way!" Zoey barked at him, swinging her arms in fury. Mira had to hold her back and carry her off stage as she hurled insults in both Korean and English at him.

They caught up to Rumi in the alley outside the building. She was leaned over, her hands on her knees to keep herself standing as she took a shaky breath in and out. The two girls shared a look as they approached Rumi.

"Rumi, are you okay?" Zoey asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Rumi recoiled, her voice tense and harsh.

Zoey winced and let her hand drift back limp at her side.

"It's okay, Rumi," Mira assured her. "That guy was way out of line."

"That wasn't what was bothering me," Rumi hid her face in her hands again before draping them down her skin.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Zoey asked hesitantly.

"I just want to go home," Rumi sniffled.

"What about our romantic candlelit dinner?" Zoey asked with teary eyes.

"Not this time, Zoey," Rumi wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, alright," Zoey visibly deflated. "That's fine."

It was a quiet taxi ride home, the three squished in the back in awkward silence. Normally, Zoey would have adored the proximity, but now it just made her want to scream. None of them were saying anything, and it felt like they were growing even further apart than before.

Zoey wasn't sure how much longer she could be patient with her girlfriends before she snapped.

Chapter Text

The apartment was eerily quiet after they got home from the failed interview. Rumi had gone to her room without much of an explanation, leaving Mira and Zoey alone in the living room.

Mira was sure more than ever now that Rumi was hiding something. Finding out about her patterns hadn't settled that alarm going off in the back of Mira's head. There was something more, and she was determined to figure it out.

"Do you think this is going to impact the album?" Zoey asked nervously.

"Bobby's playing damage control," Mira said nonchalantly, "and live stream interviews like this often have a five-minute delay for this exact reason, so we'll be fine."

"That's a relief," Zoey seemed to relax at that. "I was really worried for a second there."

Mira squinted at her. She was really good at reading Zoey, and it was clear that there was another reason she was so relieved.

"What did you do?" Mira sighed.

"What? Nothing!" Zoey shrieked in that high pitched squeaky voice that she used whenever she was hiding something. "I didn't do anything!"

But she soon got her answer. Zoey was trending on Twitter. People were freaking out and re-posting a clip from the live stream. Mira put on her glasses and started the video on her phone, the sound playing aloud through her speaker.

It started with the camera pointed at the three chairs. But then, Mira watched with unease as Zoey sprinted into frame and began to struggle to lift one of the chairs over her head before dragging it out of frame, all the while cursing under her breath. Mira had to stifle a laugh as the Zoey in the video actually growled as she pulled the chair off the screen, like a feral wolf dragging a carcass back to its herd.

Then, the video jumped ahead to another clip. Of Zoey sitting down and declaring that Rumi and her would share a chair. And then the clip of Rumi sitting on both their laps, and the clear embarrassment on her face.

The video ended.

"Zoey?!?" Mira slowly turned her head over at Zoey who seemed frozen in fear, flinching into herself as she felt her gaze on her.

"I'm sorry!" Zoey shrieked again. "Can you please promise you won't tell Rumi, she can't know that it was me! One second I was beside you all, the next I was dragging that chair away and it felt like I was possessed!" Zoey rambled as she shook Mira's arm with desperation.

"Relax, I won't tell her," Mira snorted, putting a hand to her own warm cheek. There was something so endearing about the way that Zoey rambled when she was anxious.

"Thank you, Mira," Zoey let out a sigh of relief. "I really don't know what came over me. It was like I was seeing red all of a sudden."

But Mira knew. She had suspected for a while now that Zoey had a crush on Rumi. It was getting a little obvious, and almost a little sad to see her get shot down so frequently.

Normally she would have talked to Zoey about her one-sided crush, but she supposed she didn't have the right to talk.

Okay, so maybe Mira has a crush on Rumi. And Zoey. Sue her.

But she was at least trying to manage it and not let it affect their work or personal lives. She was handling these feelings as she should be: by shoving her head underwater and screaming out her feelings before going about her day. As any mentally healthy individual should.

They would be going on tour soon, and Mira had decided that the best way to deal with her silly crushes on her friends would be to pretend that they weren't there and go on with her day. She wouldn't let it come between them, and besides, she was positive that her feelings would subside in a couple months. If not, that was a problem for after the tour, not current Mira.

But that was becoming increasingly difficult, as her friends seemed intent on sabotaging her attempts to smother the burning feelings inside her. It wasn't her fault that Rumi was so hot that her brain felt like it was frying. It especially wasn't her fault that Zoey seemed to be trying to set up situations that would bring her feelings to light. She had to put an end to it, but she wasn't sure how without arousing suspicion.

So Mira did what she did best. She pushed down her feelings and tried to keep them on track.

Besides, it's not like her friends liked her back. Zoey was clearly in love with Rumi, not Mira. And Rumi, well, Mira had her own suspicions about Rumi's affections, and that had to do with that other secret that she was sure that she was hiding.

"Is it my fault that the interview went so bad?" Zoey mumbled, her hands fidgeting on her lap.

"Uh, no, Zoey," Mira rolled her eyes, "the interview went bad because the interviewer clearly didn't have any questions about our new album."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's think for a second here," Mira said sarcastically, putting her finger on her chin and looking up wistfully. "He asked about 'romantic undertones,'" she made air quotes with her fingers, "with our new album. He had pages and pages of questions about the SAJA Boys, and about their relationship with us," Mira listed with a mocking voice. "Like, Zoey, it's obvious that he wanted to be covering the SAJA Boys and cared more about finding evidence of those rumours about Rumi being in a relationship with Jinu."

"I guess you're right," Zoey laughed nervously. "Do you think Rumi's going to be okay?"

"Just give her time," Mira said with a frown. "She'll come around when she's ready."

Zoey flashed her an optimistic smile. "Since our date got cancelled, do you want to order in? My treat."

Mira grinned. Zoey always spoiled her rotten.

Mira stood before the door to Rumi's bedroom, swearing under her breath as she mentally debated whether to knock. Part of her wanted to take her own advice, but the other part felt this compulsion to check on her.

She gently knocked on the door, and on cue, she heard scrambling inside.

"Rumi?" Mira called out nervously.

"Just a second!" Rumi's muffled voice said from the other side of the door.

After a moment, Rumi cracked open the door. She was wearing a brown hoodie and her blue pajamas with teddy bears and trains on them.

Cute, Mira thought.

"What's up?" Rumi asked her, pulling her back to reality. She leaned against the doorway casually and flashed her a nervous smile.

"I just wanted to check in on you," Mira narrowed her eyes with suspicion as she shot a quick glance at the door.

"Did… you want to come in?" Rumi slowly moved out of the way of the door.

"Yeah, I guess I'll come in, if you want me to," Mira said with a sly smirk as she pushed past her into her bedroom. "By the way, we ordered Korean Barbecue. I figured you were hungry, so…" She motioned to the food in her arms.

"Oh, you didn't have to," Rumi said as she reached for the food.

"Nuh-uh," Mira stepped back, pulling the food out of her reach and setting it down on the bedside tale. "You get the food after you tell me what's going on with you."

She sat down on the edge of the mint green bed, waiting expectantly for Rumi to sit beside her.

"Nothing's going on, Mira," Rumi assured her.

"Right," Mira said with a drone.

They was a strange familiarity to the situation that made Mira's stomach lurch. She hated it. She didn't miss the way that Rumi's hand clung to her forearm as she glanced at the window.

Mira turned around, much to Rumi's chagrin. The sliding door of Rumi's bedroom had been left open, letting a cool breeze in. There was that blue tiger sleeping on the balcony, along with that strange magpie with a Korean Gat hat.

"So do those two just live here now?" Mira scoffed.

Rumi paled. "I can explain-"

"It's cool, Rumi," Mira rolled her eyes at the inevitable pointless explanation she didn't have the energy to listen to. "Do they at least have names?" Mira asked as she watched the tiger knock over a potted plant and begin to try to set it upright, before failing and trying again.

Rumi's face eased with visible relief. Mira motioned for her to sit beside her on the bed, to which she was thankful she complied.

"The tiger is named Derpy," Rumi said softly. "And the bird is Sussie."

Mira hummed as she watched the bird trot along the edge of the balcony and screech. "They were Jinu's, weren't they?"

At the mention of his name, Rumi winced, crumpling into herself. It was the same expression that she had worn during the interview whenever he had come up. She quickly caught herself and jumped into an explanation.

"What? No!" Rumi laughed. "What would make you think that?"

"I saw them with him at Namsen tower," Mira deadpanned.

"Mira, listen," Rumi closed her eyes out of frustration, her hands clenching into fists. "It's not what you think."

"That you're keeping more secrets from us?"

"This is a secret that you two don't need to know," Rumi protested. "I don't want it to drive a wedge between us."

"It already is, Rumi!" Mira snapped. "I thought we were past you shutting us out!"

Rumi winced. "Please believe me when I say that I'm really trying here, Mira."

Mira's lingering gaze caught on the blue bracelet around Rumi's wrist that she was absentmindedly fidgeting with, along with the faintest pink patterns peeking out from under her hoodie.

"It's okay, Rumi," Mira said quietly. "You don't have to be ashamed of sharing whatever this is with us, but it's going to be worse if you keep this bottled up. I'm here to listen, to support you, no matter what."

Rumi thought for a moment, her teeth running over her bottom lip. She opened her mouth, but closed it just as quickly.

"You want to know what Zoey said earlier?" Mira sighed. "'Let's leave her alone. We have to give her some time to Rumi-nate,'" Mira said with a groan.

At that, Rumi let out a genuine laugh, that wall crumbling ever so slightly. She grabbed her ribs as she doubled over, her voice squealing with delight.

"That's so bad," Rumi said with an earnest smile.

There was something about that smile of Rumi's that made Mira's heart do cartwheels. A quiet voice in her head was getting louder, telling her to kiss Rumi until she felt better, and Mira wasn't exactly pushing the thought down this time.

She was undeniably whipped.

"You promise you won't freak out?" Rumi said nervously, meeting Mira's gaze.

"Of course not, Rumi," Mira assured her, placing a hand over hers and holding it tight.

Rumi's patterns glowed that pink colour again, and it only made Mira want to kiss her more. She leaned in closer, her heart pounding against her chest.

"I think… I think I was in love with Jinu," Rumi confessed with a wince.

Mira pulled away, feeling like she'd just been shot. Someone could have ripped out her insides and lit her on fire, and that would probably have hurt less.

There it was. The secret that Rumi had been hiding. The explanation that fit every single checkbox of her odd behaviour since Namsen tower.

"Jinu?" Mira asked incredulously, feeling almost a little offended. "Like, Jinu, the demon, Jinu?!?"

"I don't know!" Rumi placed her fists against her forehead with a groan. "I know he wasn't… amazing, but he was the first person I ever confided in about my patterns besides Celine. We had something… special."

"I can understand that, but Jinu?!?" Mira's face contorted into a mix of disgust and fear. "He manipulated you. He betrayed you!"

"And he saved me too!" Rumi argued with a scoff. "Why do you even care?"

"Because you deserve so much better than, than Jinu!" Mira said with a jolt, clambering to her feet.

Mira almost wanted to say that she wished that she was the 'better' that Rumi deserved, but she held her tongue. She was being selfish, letting her feelings get the better of her.

"It doesn't matter," Rumi sighed as she ran her fingers along the bracelet gingerly. "Jinu is gone. And nothing can ever change that," her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm trying to move on, but I still have these feelings inside of me that I don't know what to do with, because there's nothing to do with them."

Mira felt a wave of guilt hit her. Rumi was trying to open up to her, and here she was too preoccupied with getting jealous of someone who wasn't even around anymore.

"I'm sorry," Mira said with a shake of her head. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just worried about you, Rumi. I don't… we don't know how to help you."

"I don't know that you can help," Rumi put on her best attempt at a brave face. "It's just hard to keep my mind off of it when you two are looking at me like I might break, or if I'm getting constantly reminded that I had a stupid crush on a demon, you know?"

"Right," Mira nodded solemnly, doing her best to push down that voice in the back of her head. "You two weren't actually together, were you?"

"Mira!" Rumi groaned. "It honestly doesn't matter whether we were or not."

"Sorry, I'm just teasing you," Mira tried her best to recover. "Zoey is pretty worried about you too, you know."

"I know," Rumi croaked. "I was planning on apologizing to her later." She clutched her head in her hands. "I just don't understand why she wants me to do all these things with you guys, it's driving me insane."

"What… what kind of things?" Mira quirked an eyebrow.

"Asking for romantic candlelit dinners, or asking to kiss me, or sharing a bed with me, or, or…" Rumi trailed off as her patterns glowed pink. "Or… making me sit on your laps at an interview!" She gestured at nowhere in particular.

She's trying to flirt with you, you idiot. Mira thought.

"I know that she's just being a good friend, but it's just more reminders that Jinu is gone," Rumi admitted as she sunk backwards onto the bed, spreading her arms out dramatically.

"Oh," Mira said pathetically. "You mean that it's making you wish that he was the one…" she trailed off.

"What? No, not like that!" Rumi protested. "It's just making me think of like, 'what could have been,' or whatever. I don't know. It's stupid."

"I think she's just trying to make you come out of your shell," Mira said. "She doesn't mean anything by it."

Rumi hesitated for a moment. She shifted to laying on her side and looked up at Mira. "What about you?" She said quietly, her arms curled close to her chest protectively.

"What… what about me?" Mira answered nervously.

"Do you mean anything by it?" Rumi's eyebrows drew together as she looked from one eye, down to Mira's lips, then flicked up to her other eye.

Mira's face turned bright red. "No, of course not," she answered too quickly. "It's just what friends do with each other, there's nothing more to it."

"Right," Rumi took a deep breath and let it out, before smiling. "Thank you, Mira. That eases my mind a lot."

Mira tried to not let the hurt those words had left her with show on her face.

"Of course, Rumi," Mira assured her. "I'll leave you to eat now. Just know that we'll be waiting for you when you're ready."

Mira left the bedroom, listening for the click of the door softly shutting behind her. Her hand reached up to her collar, her fingertips brushing against her pounding heart against her chest.

She made her way into the bathroom, the pathway there clouded by unshed tears in the corner of her eyes.

It's just a stupid crush, that's all. Mira told herself as she turned on the faucet in the bathtub.

These feelings will pass soon enough. She reminded herself as she watched the water slowly fill up the tub.

She won't love you back. Neither of them will ever love you back. That voice in her head chided her as she pulled her sweater over her head.

Rumi was straight, and their feelings for her was only causing problems for her. Mira thought as she tied back her hair in a ponytail.

Mira placed both her hands on the edge of the bathtub, took a deep breath, and dunked her head underwater. She screamed as loud as she could to match the ache in her heart, the sound muffled by the water.

Just push it down. She reminded herself again and again. For the sake of their fans, for the Honmoon. For them, she had to push it down.

Chapter Text

Okay, so maybe time hadn't fixed things, far from it. It seemed that there was no such thing as normalcy anymore for the three of them.

Ever since the interview, it felt like the group was coming apart, and it was really starting to get to Rumi's head. She'd hoped that talking her feelings out with Mira would amend things, but things only seemed to get worse.

Mira couldn't even look at her in the eye anymore. It was like Jinu had cursed them, that the mere mention of his name had ruined their friendship with each other.

Neither of them had told Zoey, but it was clear she knew something was up with the desperate way she kept trying to push them back together to no avail. It wasn't like she and Mira had fought, there was nothing either of them could say to fix anything. It was just downright awkward. And Rumi hated it.

Rumi hadn't expected her to understand, but to have Mira be the one shutting her out was driving her insane, and she couldn't figure out why she was pushing her away.

She found herself sleeping alone more and more. On the rare occasions she would wake up to find Zoey curled up in her bed with her, but more times than not, Rumi found herself alone. Mira never came to her bedroom in the middle of the night anymore. Worst of all, she seemed to be sleeping worse without the other two girls in the bed with her.

Rumi found herself awake on another sleepless night, her blue bracelet held between her teeth as she doom scrolled on Twitter. She scrolled past clips from the interview live stream, which seemed to be flooding her timeline recently. She hadn't worked up the courage to watch them, just that people seemed to be getting in some stupid 'shipping war,' about whether she was dating Mira and Zoey.

Why couldn't people understand that they were just really good friends?

She scrolled past an article talking about PO/RO SE supposedly getting back together, that they wanted to try again and they weren't afraid of people knowing that the three were both lovers and co-stars.

And then, Rumi's finger hovered over the screen as she stopped scrolling. Her heart sank in her stomach, her breath leaving her body.

Someone had posted art of her and Jinu.

Rumi shut her phone off as fast as she could and tossed it across the room with a loud clatter.

"Okay, you're okay, Rumi," she whispered to herself with a shaking breath.

Everything felt like it was closing in. She hugged her knees close to her chest, trying to steady her breathing.

It's your fault. That voice in her ear whispered. Jinu is dead because of you.

"No, no no no…" Rumi whispered, covering her ears with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut.

She couldn't get those sights out of her head. Of Jinu giving his soul to her. Of his smile burning out of her reach from Gwi-ma's flames.

She saw Mira's expression when Rumi told her the truth about how she was feeling. She had that betrayal in her eyes. It was that same look that she has worn when she'd discovered that Rumi had patterns. Like she already knew.

Rumi had begun to hyperventilate. Why couldn't Mira understand that if was more complicated than her just having a small crush on Jinu. Her one positive connection to her patterns was gone. And it was her fault.

And for that, she felt nothing but shame.

Rumi pushed off the bed over to the balcony and clutched the balcony with shaking hands. She took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. Her voice distorted as she collapsed down onto her knees.

As she caught her breath, she watched with horror as the sound pulsed out from her in dark red, coursing over top the Honmoon's veil.

"No!" Rumi slammed her fist against the balcony floor. "Not again, I can't… I can't go through this again."

The patterns were spreading down her hands, up her neck. She felt just as much shame as she did when she was still hiding her patterns. And now it was all coming apart, because… because what?

Why was she full of so much shame? Why did the recent changes in the dynamics between her and Rumi and Zoey bother her this much?

Rumi didn't have the answer. And so with a grimace, she returned to her bed with wobbling steps, rubbing stray tears from the corner of her eyes.

She picked up her phone and opened the search engine, and after hesitating, typed in her admittedly embarrassing question.

Why do I feel weird when my friends show me affection?

The search results immediately assumed that she was a man and that she had a crush on her female friends. Rumi clarified when she tried again.

Why do I, as a woman, feel like an imposter when my friends, who are also women, show me affection?

The results were again, super unhelpful. She tried one more time.

Why do I, as a woman, feel like I'm suffocating and burning alive when my friends, who are women, show me physical affection? Reddit threads

There we go. She was starting to get some helpful results now. Some people were saying self esteem issues, others saying it's to do with restrictive perspectives of what a friendship should entail, which is fine, but no one is saying anything actually helpful on how to deal with those issues.

Thanks Reddit. Rumi thought with a defeated sigh.

But then she found another post where all the comments were saying the same thing.

Are you sure you aren't in love with your best friend? One comment read.

The closet is made of glass. Another read.

Babes. This is honest to god the gayest thing I've ever read in my life. A third comment read.

Rumi didn't know why that made her heart flutter. As far as she was aware, Rumi Kang was not gay. Sure, she hadn't put much into thought into it before, but every instinct inside of her was telling her the exact same thing: that she was the straightest woman alive. No one is more straight than her, who is, again, to clarify, super duper ultra straight.

Okay, so maybe she thinks her friends are hot from time to time, but that's because they objectively are. It was an aesthetic appreciation, right?

And then Rumi, on a complete whim, typed in four words into her phone:

Am I gay quiz

She pulled up one of the first result and began to answer the questions without much thought. This was just to confirm what she already knows, nothing more.

And then she reached the end of the quiz.

Rumi took a deep breath and read her results aloud:

"'You are probably a lesbian or bisexual,'" Rumi read in a droning voice. "'Congratulations. This means you probably 100% like girls,'" she let out a scoff. "Stupid test is broken."

That doubt began to creep into her mind, but she shrugged it off. Maybe she just needed to get some rest. It was the lack of sleep talking, that's all. My morning she'll forget about the whole thing.

Rest did not in fact help. Or maybe it would've, but Rumi stayed up all night staring at the ceiling amidst her crisis. A sexuality crisis, as her phone classified her panic.

She had really started to think about girls and the material and logical aspect of it all. As in, Rumi being with girls. And other girls being with girls. Girls dating other girls. Girls kissing girls.

Girls.

Every time Rumi thought more about it, the more panicked she got, and the more… strange she started to feel. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she's felt like she's boiling and her patterns have been glowing all night at the mere thought of a girl's lips against hers.

She supposed that she just never had time to think about this sort of thing, but she definitely is now, and she's utterly terrified.

But she shouldn't ruminate any longer. Normally, she would've been out of bed by now, but she's still trapped laying atop the covers, completely paralyzed. Something is her feels broken.

Zoey knocked on her door at ten in the morning. "Rumi?" Her muffled voice called out. "You still alive in there?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah," Rumi answered back, her gaze not once leaving the ceiling. "I'll be out… soon…" She said in a daze. After a moment, she bolted up with a wince. "Wait, Zoey!" She called out after her. "Can you come in here for a second?"

The door cracked open. Zoey waltzed into her room and over to Rumi's bedside with a happy strut in her step. "What's up, Rumi baby?"

There was something about the adoring way with which Zoey said her name that made Rumi's brain short circuit. On top of that, Zoey was dressed in a low v-neck crop top and short shorts. Rumi looked her up and down, her gaze tracing along her features as a blush bloomed on her cheeks.

She'd never put it into thought before, but Zoey was… smoking hot.

"What's wrong?" Zoey pouted, placing her hands on her hips and leaning to one side. "You're being weird."

"Sorry!" Rumi suddenly shouted as she pulled herself from her betraying thoughts. "I just, uh, wanted to ask you something, if that's okay."

"Shoot," Zoey said, her forehead creasing.

"You're into girls, right?" Rumi asked nervously. Was that too personal of a question?

"Uh, duh! Helloooooo?" Zoey said with a roll of her eyes, as if that was an obvious truth. "How could I not be with you baddies in my life?" She said proudly with a friendly tap against Rumi's shoulder.

Rumi's throat felt suddenly really dry. Zoey thought she was a 'baddie?'

"How did you, like, know," Rumi winced with unease, "that you liked girls, I mean."

Zoey thought for a moment. "Well, it was pretty easy," she said earnestly. "Whenever I see a hot girl, my brain always goes, like… Mmmmm, you know?" She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "I mean, men are fine, or whatever, but like, girls are sooooo pretty, you know? Does that help?"

Rumi raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Okay, so like," Zoey took a deep breath and clapped her hands together. "Sometimes you know out the gate that you want to bag a baddie, right? And then all you can think about is how much you want to hit shawty up, but instead, you just stare at her knockers or imagine her strapped. That's how you know, yeah?" She said with a curt nod and a wink.

"I don't know what half those words meant." Rumi just shook her head. "If you like girls, what does that like, entail? How is it any different from having a best friend?"

"Oh, Rumi," Zoey looked at her with a strange pitying smile. "I didn't realize we were starting this basic," she cupped her hands over her heart, as if she was looking at a puppy in a pet store. "Okay, so like: When you're dating a girl, normally that has more perks than just being best friends, right? Like you go on dates, you get physically affectionate, and you use pet names, and you sleep together, you know?"

"I'm sorry, this is just really confusing." Rumi placed her fingers against her temples to stop a headache that was budding behind her eyes. "Don't we like already do all those things?"

"It's like, different, though," Zoey laughed. "It's hard to explain."

"Do girls need to be dating to kiss?" Rumi asked with a croak, her gaze glued to the floor.

"That's a whole 'nother can of worms and the answer depends on who you ask," Zoey shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Girls who are dating for sure, but girls who aren't dating sometimes kiss in a friendly way when they're like real close friends."

"I think I'm getting it," Rumi nodded, mentally taking notes. "So, it wouldn't be weird if we, um, if we kissed?"

"Uh, of course not!" Zoey practically leaped towards her. She criss crossed her legs and scooted closer, her lips inches from Rumi's. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me, Rumi?"

"You… you have?" Rumi asked with awe.

"Y-yeah," Zoey nodded, a blush creeping on her face. "I was trying to give you time, but I was starting to think you never would."

"Oh," Rumi felt dizzy. To think she had been neglecting such an important part of their friendship.

"Can I be honest?" Zoey ducked her head and looked up at her shyly. "I'm actually a little nervous."

"You're nervous?!?" Rumi shouted a little too loud.

"I mean, I haven't exactly kissed a girl before either!" Zoey shrieked. "This is so new, and I'm freaking out a little!"

"Then let's just get it over with!"

"Right!" 

Rumi nervously looked up at her, her heart pounding in her chest. Zoey moved a little closer, brushing a stray hair out of Rumi's face and behind her ear. She cupped her face and guided them together, her eyes closing. Rumi tried to imitate what Zoey was doing. She took a deep breath, filling her cheeks with air like a puffer fish before puckering her lips and squeezing her eyes shut.

Good friends. They were just really good friends, that's all. Rumi thought.

Their lips met, parting ever so slightly as they breathed each other in. 

Kissing Zoey awakened something inside of Rumi like a sleeper agent. Suddenly every single synapse in her brain was firing, asking for more, more, more.

Rumi felt like she was burning up as they pulled apart. Her patterns were glowing so bright that she was surprised that Zoey wasn't squinting at her.

Zoey was frozen for a moment, her mouth hung agape. Panic started to brew in Rumi's throat before Zoey's whole body started to literally vibrate with excitement.

"Ohmigosh, Rumi," Zoey started fanning her blushing face with both her hands. "Prepare a girl a little!" She giggled uncontrollably.

Rumi just mouthed an apology as she ran a finger over her wet lips, her brain barely catching up with what just happened.

"Wasn't that fun?" Zoey beamed at her.

"Um, yeah," Rumi nodded, her soul already ascended to another plane.

"Thank you so much, Rumi," Zoey giggled again as she pushed off the bed. "We should do this again sometime!"

"Right," Rumi mumbled.

"Oh, by the way," Zoey paused in the doorway. Her hand hovered over the wooden frame as she tapped her nails nervously in quick succession. "I'm going to ask Mira to drive me around for some errands, if you want to come with."

With that, Zoey practically skipped out of her bedroom and down the hall while humming a song to herself.

Rumi had to say: this was not helping her sexuality crisis. It's strange to admit, but she kind of enjoyed kissing Zoey. But as she'd said, this was just something that friends did, right? It just meant that she was opening up to platonic physical affection more.

This was just what a normal friendship looked like with her walls down, right?

Rumi sunk back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling in a daze. Their kiss replayed in her mind over and over. 

What was happening to her?

Chapter Text

Zoey had a pep in her step, to say the very least. She was practically whooping and pumping her fists into the air as she skipped down the hall into the living room.

All her efforts to get Rumi to open up to physical affection were finally paying off. Zoey had almost begun to think she was being delusional and made the whole thing up in her head with how much of a dry spell they had been in. But there was the tangible proof, and she couldn't be happier.

She entered the living room, where Mira was spread across the couch, absentmindedly scrolling on her phone.

"Mira!" Zoey pointed finger guns at Mira and danced at the spot. "You ready to go, babes?"

Mira looked up over at her with a frown. "Where are we going?"

"Guess's whose ~vyvanse~ just came in!" Zoey sang off-key, putting a hand to ear as she mimed mixing music. "But seriously, I need you to drive me to the pharmacy," Zoey laughed nervously.

"How long have you been out of your meds?" Mira looked her up and down with worry.

"Like, a couple… weeks? A month?" Zoey winced. "I was meaning to call them when I ran out, but I kept forgetting."

"You know that you can ask one of us to call for you, right?" Mira was already striding across the apartment and swinging her purse over her shoulder.

"I know, but I'd feel bad," Zoey said quietly as she slipped her shoes on. "And it's not even that big of a deal. It doesn't make much of a difference, really. I can focus just fine without them. I feel like an eagle, with the way that I'm so focused," she rambled as she untied her laces and slipped off her shoes, before walking across the living room and flopping onto the couch with a sigh.

"Uh, Zoey?" Mira looked at her expectantly from the doorway.

"Yeah?" Zoey looked up from her phone.

"The pharmacy?"

"Oh, right!" Zoey bounced off the couch, feeling a little embarrassed. "Pharmacy, pharmacy," she mumbled to keep herself on track as she tied her shoes for the second time. "You comin', Rumi?" She called across the apartment.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec!" Rumi's distant voice yelled back.

You know who it is,

Coming 'round again,

You want a dose of this right now:

It's K/DA, uh!

"If no one moves in the next thirty seconds, I'm driving on the sidewalk and hitting a pedestrian," Mira snapped as she let her head hit the horn on the steering wheel and blare out for a few seconds.

"The pharmacy is only three block away," Rumi said from the the back seat, barely looking up form her phone. "Zoey and I could get out and go just the two of us."

"I really don't mind waiting," Zoey piped up.

"Well, I do!" Mira snapped as her fingers tapped against the steering wheel to the beat of the music.

Zoey felt like she was bouncing off the walls in Mira's car. They had been stuck in traffic for a while now, but she didn't really mind. They had let her pick the music, and of course she'd turned the bass up loud enough that it was shaking the car.

And when I start to talk like that,

Oh, you won't know how to react,

I'm a picture-perfect face, with that wild in my veins,

You can hear it in my growl, growl, growl, growl.

Zoey bopped to the music, shooting stray glances at the other two. Mira and Rumi both still seemed a little uncomfortable being in the car together. They still hadn't been talking to each other besides the occasional exchange, but Zoey was about to hopefully amend that.

We gotta it all in our hands now

So can you handle what we're all about,

We're so tough, not scared to show you up,

Can you feel the rush now?

Zoey had hoped that cueing songs that Mira or Rumi loved would get them to start singing together, but when that didn't work, she had formed a new plan. She looked out the window at the sidewalk, trying to hide her devious smile.

Something that Zoey was beginning to embrace was the fact that Rumi and Mira would drop anything to make her happy or to hype her up. And she'd be damned if she didn't use that to her advantage to force them to make up.

Ain't nobody bringing us,

Down, down, down, down, down, down.

They could try it, but we're gonna wear the crown,

Zoey had specifically chosen this song because she thought she could force the two of them to sing along with her if she cued them properly.

We go hard, 'til we get it, get it,

We go hard, we so in it, in it,

"Oi!" Zoey piped up. "You two better both be ready to hear me pop off and go beast mode on this bitch!"

"Hell, yes!" Mira grinned at her out of the corner of her eye as she turned the music up louder.

"Yes, Zoey!" Rumi cheered over the chorus.

Ain't nobody bringing us,

Down, down-

"'Hey! You ready for this?'" Zoey sang in tune with the song as she cued them both with a fiery smirk and wild eyes.

"Lets go!'" Mira and Rumi spat in sync as they submitted to their fate of being Zoey's backup singers.

"'See!'' Zoey swung her arm as she got into it."Uhn jae deunji nae mo seup magic, dan han bun eh! Naega jab uh juhl dae gi jook, ji ahn chi uh!'"

"Uh!" Mira and Rumi flipped their hair over their shoulder in sync.

"'Pow pow!" Zoey quick fired finger guns. "Ni ga mwol, ahruh!'"

"'Ahruh!'"

"Gyun dil soo up ssuh won, hae do!" Zoey lurched forward, crossing her hands over her chest.

"'Hae do!'" Rumi and Mira hyped her up.

"'Won ha neun gae uhl gool ae boyuh,'" Zoey bopped with a ducked head. "'I’m trouble and you’re wanting it! I'm, so cold!'" She flaunted her sweater with flare.

"'So cold!'"

"'When I move that way, you gon' be so blown!'" Zoey rapped with fervour.

"'So blown!'"

"'I'm the realest in the game, uh!'" Zoey sung to the roof of the car, her arms spread to the side.

"'Say I'm on fire with a blade,'" Mira sang next to her.

"'You're about to hear my name,'" Rumi sang from the back as she danced along. "Ringing in your head like-'"

"'Whoa-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh!" All three sang together with glee before breaking into laughter and cheers of glee.

"That was so good!" Rumi chimed in.

"We killed that!" Zoey pumped her fists into the air.

The traffic was starting to clear up in front of them. They stopped at the edge of the intersection with only one more red light halting their progress to the pharmacy.

"Zoey, the OG rap god!" Mira hyped her up, her frustration from the traffic long gone. "You were spitting bars over there!"

"Bet you're wondering what else can this tongue can do, eh?" Zoey bit her lip and winked at her.

"Oh my god!" Rumi cackled from the back seat. "You can't just say that, Zoey!"

"What's wrong, Mira baby?" Zoey teased her.

Mira was completely still, her eyes wide and her face as pink as her hair. Car horns blared from behind them.

"It's green," Rumi added helpfully as she looked up from her phone.

"Oh, right," Mira croaked as she stepped on the gas pedal and crossed the intersection.

Zoey felt like she was riding a high. She'd finally kissed one of her girlfriends this morning, while getting the other so flustered that she forgot she was driving. Most of all, she'd gotten Rumi and Mira to forget about whatever disagreement they had been obsessing over recently.

"Speaking of, have you been working on any new lyrics lately, Zoey?" Rumi asked her from the back seat.

"I threw my notebook back there if you want to take a look," Zoey motioned to the backseat with her head. Rumi nodded and started to flip through it. "But I really haven't been writing that much recently."

"Hey, Zoey?" Rumi frowned as she turned a page over, and then another. "In the nicest way, have you written anything recently?" She turned it around to show her the near blank pages, save for a few scratched out lines.

"I'm sorry!" Zoey winced. "It's been on my mind 24/7, but every time I set my mind to writing, it felt like I was frozen!"

"Let me guess," Mira rolled her eyes. "You stopped being able to write right around a month ago?

"Woah, how'd you know?" Zoey's eyes widened in wonder.

"Because maybe it has to do with being off your meds for the past month?" Mira squinted at her.

"Wait, you're off your meds?" Rumi gawked at her. "Why? What happened?"

"Nothing happened!" Zoey snapped back defensively. "I had to call the pharmacy to order a refill but I just, couldn't, okay?

"Then why didn't you ask one of us to call for you?" Rumi asked her.

"Thank you, Rumi!" Mira howled. "That's what I told her!"

"It's not that big of a deal," Zoey groaned. "I was going to get around to it eventually, but every time I thought about asking one of you, you two were at each other's throats!"

"What are you talking about, Zoey?" Mira asked her in a low voice as they rolled to a stop outside the pharmacy.

"Mira and I haven't fighting," Rumi forced a nervous smile.

"As if I can believe that," Zoey rolled her eyes. "The air has been so unbelievably tense with you two! Will you two just tell me what's going on and make up already?"

"Nothing's going on, Zoey," Rumi assured her.

Zoey just scoffed and stepped out of the car, slamming the car door shut behind her. She heard Mira and Rumi following behind her as she stomped up to the pharmacy's entrance.

Now that she was out of the car, she could hear live music playing in the distance and a crowd of people gathering further down the road, likely the source of their earlier traffic problems.

An electronic sound blared in two successive tones as Zoey pushed on the door and stepped inside the pharmacy. She didn't bother holding it open for her friends, but the two-toned sound that blared behind her told her that they were still following behind her. Zoey just kept her gaze locked forward as she made her way down the aisles towards the back of the pharmacy.

"Zoey, slow down!" Rumi yelled from behind her.

Zoey shot her a glare. Rumi was rushing down the aisle after her, clutching her notebook in her arms protectively. Zoey just scoffed and kept walking forward, only to find that Mira had blocked her path forward at the end of the aisle.

"What's going on with you?" Mira's face softened.

"Me?" Zoey frowned. "What about what's going on with you two?

"We told you-!" Rumi protested from behind her.

"Things have been weird between you two for a while, and they've only been getting weirder!" Zoey snapped in a hushed voice. "Do you think that I'm dense?"

"I admit we haven't been at our best," Rumi sighed.

"But it has nothing to do with you, Zoey," Mira assured her in a soft voice.

Mira reached for her shoulder with a smile. Zoey moved out of her grasp and ducked under her arm, pushing past her and rushing further down the aisle.

"Zoey!" The two groaned with frustration as they followed after her.

Zoey stopped at the end of the aisle and swore under her breath, dread coursing through her. The pharmacy desk had a long line that weaved in on itself. Zoey stomped over to the end of the line and tore a ticket out of the machine.

"Your number is: 0-1-4-4." The machine said in a woman's voice. "Please wait in line until your number is called to be served."

Zoey looked up at the pharmacy desk with furrowed brows. The LED screen above the counter displayed the number that they were currently serving. It ticked up from 0061 to 0062. Rumi and Mira groaned beside her.

"62!" A panicked voice over the intercom called out. "Now serving 62!"

"You're kidding me," Zoey crumpled the ticket in her fist with seething rage.

The three of them took their place in the never ending line. It was torturous, the way that none of them were saying anything. Zoey's foot was tapping anxiously like a jackrabbit as she watched the worker behind the counter making small talk with the person they were serving and taking their sweet time.

"You know, I don't really care if it has nothing to do with me," Zoey crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But you two are being bad partners."

"We're just a little out of sync," Rumi raised her palms defensively. "That's all."

"By choice," Zoey hissed, looking between the two of them with a frown.

The line moved up slightly and the three shuffled awkwardly further a couple feet.

"63!" The panicked worker shouted. "Now serving number 63!"

Mira looked between Zoey's eyes with worry before looking down at her feet. "I'm sorry, Zoey. And to you, too, Rumi," she sighed. "You're right. Things have been weird, but this is really between Rumi and I."

"Then deal with it?!?" Zoey clutched the air with seething anger.

"I don't know how!" Mira hushed.

"Talk to us, then," Rumi urged her. "I don't even know why you're avoiding me. Are you… are you mad at me? Did I do something?"

"No, I'm not mad at you, Rumi," Mira rolled her eyes.

"Then why are you being like this?"

"64!" The worker over the intercom said, sounding on the brink of tears. "Now serving 64!"

Mira's eyebrows drew together as her lips pursed. "I don't know," she mumbled, her eyes cast to the side.

Liar. Zoey thought.

"Seriously?" Rumi scoffed. "Then why have you been treating me so coldly?"

"Why have you been so awkward around me?" Mira scathed.

"Maybe because one of my best friends is acting like she doesn't know me?"

"Maybe because it doesn't feel like I do know who you are anymore, Rumi!" Mira snapped back.

Mira's eyes widened as she caught up with what she'd said. Hurt flashed across Rumi's face that she failed to hide.

"Both of you, stop it!" Zoey stepped in between them, putting a hand on both their chests to separate them.

Rumi and Mira both caught their breaths, shooting glares at each other before looking away in sync.

"We're going to be stuck in this line for a while," Zoey panted. "And I'd really prefer if you two didn't try to kill each other, which I think you might if we stand here any longer."

"Then let's speed this up," Mira said in a low voice. She tapped the shoulder of the person waiting in line in front of them. "Excuse me, sir?"

The man whirled around, his eyes widening as he looked at the three of them. "Oh my god," his jaw dropped.

"We're kind of in a rush, so I was just wondering-"

"I'd be honoured to give up my spot for you!" The man bowed, stepping out of the line completely and ripping his ticket into pieces. "Please go ahead of me!"

"Mira!" Rumi whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Getting us to the front of the line," Mira smirked at her friends with pride as she moved onto her next victim. "Excuse me?"

"NO WAY! HUNTR/X?!?" The girl in front of them cheered. Faces turned around with awe. The girl moved out of the way without even being asked.

"Isn't that Mira from HUNTR/X?" A woman further down the line whispered to her friend.

"That's Zoey and Rumi with her too!"

"Pop stars coming through," Mira said with a grin. "Make way, make way."

People were spreading apart, making way for them to skip them in the line like they were Moses. Mira strided towards front of the line, the two girls following her with unease.

"This doesn't feel right," Zoey cringed under her breath. "What if someone has, like, a life threatening condition?"

"It's probably fine, one spot in line isn't going to kill anyone," Rumi waved her off without even looking. "Besides, I think I might've actually killed Mira if we spent any more time in that line," she said, her gaze burning into the back of Mira's forehead.

They finally reached the near front of the line. There were only four people in front of them. Their backs were turned towards them, their faces concealed by grey hoodies.

Rumi's phone suddenly rang. She whipped it out and held it up to her ear. "Hey Bobby," she said quietly. "We're just at the pharmacy picking up Zoey's prescription." After a moment, she frowned. "No, we haven't seen anything. What did you say happened? Slow down, slow down."

"Time to work the magic," Mira smirked as she reached to tap on the shoulder of the person in front of them.

Zoey grabbed Mira's wrist and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?" Mira whispered, narrowing her eyes. "Zoey, let go."

But Zoey wasn't listening. Her gaze was glued on the individuals in front of her. Something had set off an alarm in the back of Zoey's head.

It was like the air was too still, that something had disrupted the energy of the environment. And it was because of those four. They looked back at her over their shoulders with devilish grins.

Zoey's heart dropped.

"They're demons," Zoey hissed as she put an arm in front of Mira protectively.

"Bobby, I'll call you right back," Rumi said with a pale expression as she hung up the phone.

The four people in front of them took off their hoodies, turning around to face them.

And the three girls found themselves staring at ghosts.

The Saja Boys were standing before them, or at least most of them: Abby, Baby, Romance, and Mystery.

"Well look at who we have," Abby sneered. "If it isn't HUNTR/X."

"Impossible," Rumi gasped with horror.

"The Honmoon was supposed to have sealed you four away!" Zoey said with dread.

"I'd say that I'd love to catch up," Abby laughed at them. "But then I'd be lying."

"I'm not waiting around," Mira whispered. "Let's kill them right here and now."

"No!" Rumi hushed back. "There's too many people here!"

"Everyone!" The SAJA Boys stepped out of line as Abby addressed the crowd of people. "I'm sure you missed us while we were away. That's why, all day today we're performing live at a free concert just one block away! Don't miss it for the world!"

The line of people exploded with cheers and cries of excitement.

With that, the four SAJA boys sprinted out of the pharmacy with a crowd of people following after them. The line had been whittled down considerably.

Zoey, Rumi, and Mira just stood there in utter disbelief and shock, their feet glued to the floor.

"What the hell just happened?" Mira said with her mouth hung agape.

"Um, I can help whoever is next, I suppose?" The worker behind the counter beckoned them over.

The three of them walked over to the counter in a daze.

"How can I help you?" The worker asked with a meek laugh.

"Hey, so, I called this morning about getting my Vyvanse prescription refilled," Zoey stammered as she handed the clerk both her health card and the crumpled ticket. "We're kind of in a reeaally big rush so if you could like, try to hurry, that would be amazing. Please. It's life or death."

"She's kidding, obviously." Rumi laughed nervously. "About the life or death, not the being in a rush part. We are in a big rush."

"You're not helping," Mira deadpanned. 

"Neither are you," Rumi said through a forced smile. 

The man looked up from Zoey's health card with a frown. "Hey, sorry if this is weird to say, but has anyone ever said you three look like that one girl group, HUNTR/X?"

"You know, I've actually never gotten that one before," Zoey said sarcastically as she refrained from strangling the clerk. His eyes widened with excitement. "No, we're not HUNTR/X!" She shot him down. "Now could we maybe, oh, I don't know, speed this up?" She nervously splayed her hands atop the counter as she awkwardly laughed.

"Okay, okay, let me go take a look," the man slowly walked away and started looking up and down the shelves in the back.

"This is really bad," Rumi looked up from her phone with despair. "The SAJA Boys are already blowing up on social media. While we were waiting in line, they've been promoting that concert they're hosting downtown, and #SAJACOMEBACK is already trending."

"How could this have even happened?" Mira asked aloud while glaring at Rumi out of the corner of her eye.

"Wait, why are you looking at me?" Rumi frowned.

As the worker crouched to look at the lower shelves, Zoey watched in horror as a red tear slowly carved through the Honmoon's veil.

"Guys?" Zoey called out to the both of them, but neither of them heard her.

"Maybe because the only way that the Honmoon could have weakened already is if somebody with demonic powers was destroying it!" Mira snapped.

"That's not fair, Mira," Rumi protested.

"Mira? Rumi?" Zoey whispered a little louder.

A demon was crawling out of the tear, and after a moment, it collapsed against the ground with a wet grunt. It rose, beginning to stumble over to the worker, its long tongue licking across its fangs.

Zoey tore her Shin-kals from the Honmoon and effortlessly threw a dagger over the kneeling worker. The blade sliced through the demon's forehead and impaled in the far wall with a satisfying THUNK.

Rumi and Mira stopped fighting as they flinched from the sound and looked over at the swirling pink smoke with worry.

"Look!" Zoey gestured. "The Honmoon is coming apart!"

Sure enough, tears were appearing all around them. Demons crawled out of the ceiling and walls before surging towards the people in the pharmacy.

"We have to protect the people here!" Rumi said urgently as she gently placed Zoey's notebook on the counter. She drew her sword from the Honmoon and sprinted down an aisle, her blade cleaving through demon after demon. "Mira!"

A demon was sprinting towards someone in the line. Mira drew her Gok-do from the Honmoon and threw it across the store, the blade impaling the demon before it could consume the customer's soul. She swung off the glaive and slashed through a demon that had sneaked up on Rumi.

"Thanks!" Rumi said.

"I've got your back, Rumi!" Mira assured her.

Zoey threw her Shin-kals from the counter, taking out as many demons as she could from where she was standing.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as the pharmacy worker hemmed and hawed over a prescription bag that he had grabbed before turning around with a quick: "Oops, that's not it. Silly me."

Maybe it would be better if she just abandoned her meds to help them. Zoey thought.

"Woah!" Someone from the line shouted as they looked up from their phone. "The SAJA boys just challenged HUNTR/X to a rap battle! They're saying that whoever wins will be crowned as probably the greatest KPop group in history!"

"ZOEY!" Mira and Rumi shouted with panic at the news. "Get to writing lyrics!"

"I'm on it!" Zoey said as she flung open her notebook and grabbed a pen from the counter. She thought for a moment, the pen hovering over the page. She put the tip to the paper, pressing as hard as she could. The ink spread out into a wet dark blotch.

There was nothing. Her mind was completely blank.

Even worse, the hoards of demons were quickly overwhelming the two of them. Zoey swore under her breath and started to run over to help them.

"Hey, miss!" A frail old man at the front of the line squinted at her. "Where do you think you're running off to?"

 "Could you please hold my spot?" Zoey pleaded with desperation, bowing apologetically. "I promise that I'll be right back!"

"If you get out of line, you have to start again at the back." He pointed at the end of the line, and on cue, all the customers behind him did the same. Somehow, the line looked even longer than before.

"You… you're kidding me!" Zoey griped as she ran back over to the counter. "Since when is that a rule?!?"

"It's store policy," the worker appeared behind the counter before pointing to a sign which read: 'If you leave the counter, you MUST return to the back of the line. NO exceptions.'

Zoey relaxed at the sight of him. "You're back!" Her anxiety rose at the empty counter before her. "Hey, wait, where's my prescription?"

"I couldn't find it in the back," the clerk said. "You said you hadn't called in advance, right?"

"No, I said I did call!" Zoey insisted as she slammed her hands against the counter. "They said it was ready over the phone, and that all I had to do was come in and pick it up!"

"Ohhhh, okay," the man nodded, clearly not even listening. "Let me go check in the other room."

"Zoey!" Mira shouted from across the store as she decimated demons. "How are those lyrics coming along?"

"Great!" Zoey forced a smile. "Sooooo good!" She gave her a weary thumbs up as she started to write the first line.

Demons are often not that great. In fact, they're kinda bad sometimes. Just like pharmacy lines. She wrote, before crossing it out with a cry of anguished panic.

"Zoey!" Rumi screeched with panic as a demon pinned her to the ground, stopped only by her blade. "A little help here?"

"AGH!" Zoey groaned, whipping her daggers across the store in quick succession to dispel the demons that had been surrounding Rumi. There were more coming, and the two of them couldn't hold them off on their own.

Zoey had to go help them. She put her notebook down and steeled herself with Shin-kals at the ready.

"Hold it!" The old man in line barked, causing Zoey to freeze on the spot. He pointed at the sign with a furious face.

"Oh, come on!" Zoey deflated with frustration. "No one actually follows those rules!"

"Last I checked, you already cut to the front of the line!" A woman behind the old man snarked.

"We let you go first because we thought you were a member of HUNTR/X!" Another customer yelled.

"But I am a member of HUNTR/X!" Zoey protested, gesturing to herself.

"Nuh-uh!" Another customer shook their head disapprovingly. "You told that guy behind the counter that you weren't. You lied to get in the front of the line!"

"We all moved so you could go first because you said you were in a rush," another shouted, "and now you want us to all wait for you to leave and come back? How is that fair? Who's to say we're not in a rush too, huh?"

"SHAME!" The old man barked at her.

"SHAME!" The rest of the customers cried out in agreement. 

Zoey groaned as she stepped back over to the counter with defeat.

Rumi flew across the store, tanking a blow as she skidded to a stop beside her. She had fallen to one knee, her sword digging into the floor.

"Just checking in on those lyrics?" Rumi shot her a quick look. "We're really counting on you here." She took a moment to catch her breath.

"Yep, they're almost done!" Zoey lied through her teeth as she grabbed her notebook and scribbled nonsense across the page.

"Glad to hear it!" Rumi sprinted back into the battle, shredding through hoards of demons.

Zoey doubled over at the counter, staring at the page. She was trying to giving it her all to concentrate on writing these lyrics, but that was proving to be difficult over the sound of Rumi's and Mira's battle cries and the sound of them battling demons.

"Okay, is this your prescription?" The worker appeared in front of her again with a brown paper bag, pulling Zoey from her focus.

"YES!" Zoey grabbed the bag and tore it open before pulling out the pill bottle. "NO!" She shrieked. "It's vyvanse! Vy-vanse!" She whined as she shoved it back into his hands.

"Ohhhh, okay," the worker nodded, seemingly unfazed. "Let me just go and check the back again."

"HEY!" The old man barked from the front of the line again, making Zoey flinch. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm sure it'll just be one more minute," Zoey nervously laughed.

"If I don't get my medication soon, I could stroke!" The old man grumbled. "I've got a DNR, so if that happens, my death will be on your hands, lady!"

"EEP!" Zoey squeaked. "I am so so, SO, sorry! We were just really in a rush," Zoey rambled with a pale visage. "On a normal day, I swear that I would never ever even think to dare-"

"Zoey!" Mira shouted. "Those lyrics done yet?"

"No, forget about that!" Rumi belted. "We really need your help over here!"

"The lyrics to beat the SAJA boys comes first!" Mira shouted.

"No! Saving these people is more important!" Rumi argued.

"But if the SAJAs get their way, then even more people could die!" Mira shouted back.

Rumi and Mira doubled over with exhaustion, pink smoke rising up from all the slain demons. The tears were only growing, more and more demons spilling into their world by the second.

"This must be your prescription!" The worker at the counter appeared again. "Oops, the pill bottle is empty. How'd that happen? Ah, no matter. Let me go fill it up for you. Just give me one more-"

"Don't you play with me, buddy boy!" Zoey grabbed him by the cuff of the shirt and lifted him off the ground. "The person I talked to on the phone insisted that it was ready as of this morning! Just give me my fucking meds, you abhorrent piece of shit!"

Zoey let him go and the worker sprinted into the back again with tears welling in the corner of his eyes.

"Hurry it up!" The old man shouted.

"What's this girl's problem?" The woman behind him groaned.

Zoey clutched her forehead with panic. This was fine. Everything was perfectly fine. She definitely wasn't about to have a panic attack in a pharmacy.

Zoey sank down to the floor, her hands hugging her knees as she leaned her head forward against the wall of the counter with a soft thud. She shut her eyes with a grimace. The sounds coursing around her were like a tempest, and she just wanted to drown it all out.

Why was it always up to her to fix things? Why was the pressure always on her shoulders?

Zoey had pushed down her own feelings again and again for the sake of her girlfriends. She had pushed down her own needs so that the relationship could be on their terms. They asked her for things and she just smiled as she tried to please them without a second thought. She didn't dare ask for anything herself, because when she did, well, let's just say that she'd gotten used to being disappointed at this point.

Whenever Rumi and Mira clashed, it would somehow be up to her to keep the peace and force them to talk it out like adults. If she didn't, they'd all spend an eternity walking on egg shells. Both of them had a tendency to shut themselves away and pretend that everything was fine, despite it obviously being the opposite.

Zoey tried not to complain and she certainly didn't ask for things anymore. She had tried to just be happy with what she had, to accept the status quo, but that wasn't enough anymore. All this pressure on her shoulders, and for what? Two girlfriends who would only show her meagre scraps of affection when she begged?

What about what she wanted? What about her needs? How long was she supposed to just smile through it?

Zoey had had it. She'd finally reached her limit.

She took a shaking breath in, and out. Everything felt so far away, the sounds muffling, as if she were underwater.

She got to her feet as muffled shouts bellowed from all around her. That old man was at her side, yelling right in her face. She glared at him before turning back towards the counter. A brown paper bag was displayed on the counter in front of Zoey, her name scribbled on the side in black marker.

The worker behind the counter raised two thumbs up at her and forced an uneasy smiled. "Have an awesome day!" He said in a muffled voice. His eyes were red and puffy.

Zoey swiped the bag off the counter, tearing apart the plastic bag in seconds as she glared at the worker with such fury in her heart that he flinched back five feet. She grabbed the pill bottle, popped one of the pills, and shoved it into her sweater pocket before grabbing her notebook and walking away, all the while feeling the lingering gaze of everyone in the line burning into her neck.

There were demons in the street now too, and Rumi and Mira were already sprinting out the door after them, the muffled two-tone buzzer announcing their departure. Without even a word, Zoey had been left behind, with demons still flooding into the store from the ceilings and walls. Those two had just assumed she'd be able to handle this all on her own. Like always.

Her heart was pounding against her chest and the ringing in her ears was only getting louder and louder, finally reaching a breaking point.

And she snapped.

Chapter Text

Mira and Rumi caught their breath in the alley way, the pink smoke dissipating around them signalling the last of the demons' onslaught.

It had been ages since they had fought like this, and truth be told, they'd let their guard down and allowed themselves to get easily overwhelmed. They'd had too many close calls. 

"How could this have even happened, Rumi?" Mira wheezed as she steadied herself against the brick wall, her Gok-do returning to the Honmoon.

"I don't know," Rumi doubled over, her hands gripping her thighs.

"Do you really not know?" Mira accused her with narrowed eyes.

"No, that's a lie," Rumi shook her head with clenched teeth. "Last night, I guess I was just overthinking things and I got frustrated. I just, couldn't take it, you know? Next thing I know, I was screaming off my balcony and watching my voice distort across the Honmoon's veil."

Mira sighed. "What were you overthinking, Rumi?" She asked quietly.

"THIS!" Rumi gestured between them with exasperation. "Whatever is going on between us! I feel like I'm losing my mind and I don't understand why everything seems to be falling apart but I feel like it's all my fault!"

Mira watched with bated breath as the dark purple patterns spread across Rumi's skin, down her hands and around her throat.

"It's not your fault, Rumi," Mira admitted. "It's mine."

Mira crumpled into herself, feeling especially vulnerable all of a sudden.

Mira had never meant to hurt her friends. In her mind, she had been trying to protect them from her unrequited feelings. Left unchecked, those could have easily been the death of them. That's how she justified pushing it down, but now she saw that she'd become complacent and cruel in the process.

She just hadn't been able to figure out how to separate her romantic feelings towards her friends from all the other positive feelings, so she pushed all of them. It was no wonder she'd grown so resentful of them.

Mira had been afraid of swinging one way, so to counter act, she'd swung so far in the opposite direction that she'd somehow hit the same mark. She was the one destroying them, destroying the Honmoon they'd fought so hard to rebuild from the broken pieces.

"Rumi," Mira began, her eyes clouding with tears. "I'm… I think that I'm afraid."

"Hey, it's okay," Rumi shushed her. "What are you scared of, Mira?" She said cautiously, as if coaxing a stray animal.

"Of losing you guys," Mira confessed. "And of being the reason that you slip out of my grasp."

"Oh, Mira," Rumi offered her arms to her. "Come here."

Mira complied, the two pulling each other into a tight embrace. Mira bent down, shoving her face into the crook of Rumi's shoulder.

"I promise you that you're never going to lose us," Rumi assured her with a genuine smile. "Right, Zoey?" Rumi laughed as she gestured for Zoey to join the hug without looking. "Zoey?" She called out again with a frown as she turned.

Except Zoey wasn't there. It was only the two of them.

"Where's Zoey?" Rumi asked nervously.

"I swear she was right behind us," Mira said with growing dread. "Weren't you keeping an eye on her?"

"Me?" Rumi gestured to herself with panic. "I thought you were watching her!"

"Zoey?" Mira called down the alley nervously.

There was no answer.

"Zoey?!?" Mira broke into a sprint out of the alley with Rumi right behind.

They retraced their steps, rushing down the street back to the pharmacy, locking onto every person they saw to try and spot her amidst the crowd. But there was no sign of her.

"Where was the last place you saw her?" Rumi asked.

Mira tried to think. She remembered Zoey being in the pharmacy line, and not leaving it for some reason. It had been a life or death situation, yet she'd still remained where she was and Mira just couldn't understand why.

"She was still at the counter," Mira tried to recall. "I called for her when the demons appeared in the street, and I thought she'd heard me-!"

"Oh my god," Rumi gasped. "Did we leave her there?!? Were there demons still in the store?"

Mira shut her eyes. "No," she said, before shaking her head. "Wait, maybe? I thought we'd killed them all, and then there had been more on the street, but there might have been more still inside? SHIT! I can't remember!" She shook her head with growing worry. "I-I really don't know, Rumi. What if she's hurt? Damn it! It's all my fault-!"

"Hey, don't say that," Rumi cut her off. "We're both at fault, it's not just on your shoulders. We'll find her. And don't forget that Zoey can take care of herself, I'm sure she's okay."

They stopped in front of the pharmacy, and to their horror, found it filled with thick clouds of dust.

"Okay, let's not panic," Rumi assured her.

"Too late, I'm panicking, Rumi!" Mira paced back and forth, her heart pounding against her chest. "Zoey? Are you in there?" She called out. "ZOEY?!?"

"Hold on, I'll call her," Rumi said quickly as she pulled out her phone and walked up the steps of the pharmacy. Mira followed after her.

The two-tone buzzer announced their arrival with a distorted hum before cutting out with static. Clouds of dust filled the air, veiling the pharmacy in darkness. Most of the lights were out, save for a couple near the entrance that flickered with illumination, their fixture to the ceiling coming apart.

"What the hell happened in here?" Mira asked under her breath.

Most of the shelves had been overturned with products spilled across the floor everywhere they looked. There were marks along the floors and walls where it looked like something had been scorched onto it. And to their horror, there were dozens of translucent blue Shin-Kals sticking out of the wall and ceiling, quivering ever so slightly. One of the daggers fell to the floor and dissipated back into the Honmoon with a wisp of blue light.

"Anything?" Mira asked Rumi. She shook her head, her attention torn from the phone up to her ear and the battlegrounds they found themselves stepping into.

Then, they heard it. A low buzzing noise growing louder. And louder. They both silently drew their weapons from the Honmoon and approached the sound from both sides, before freezing with horror.

In the middle of the pharmacy was Zoey's phone, vibrating ever so slightly and casting a pink light against the smoke. Mira bent down and picked it up, noting a single crack in the screen running from the top left corner across the screen. 

Call from: Rumi 💜 Babygirl .

She quickly declined the call on Zoey's phone and shook her head at Rumi. Something about Rumi's display name on Zoey's phone made her heart lurch, but she pushed it down. She had bigger things to worry about right now.

"Zoey?" Rumi called out. "Are you in here?"

"Hey!" A man suddenly shouted from the smoke. The clerk from the pharmacy counter appeared out of the shadows, rage on his face. "It's you two! Are you going to pay for this mess?"

"What are you talking about?" Rumi asked with horror.

"Your friend made a complete mess of the store!" The clerk snapped at them. "She has got to be one of the worst customers I've ever served-!"

Mira stopped listening and turned back to the devastation. She saw dusty foot prints running up one of the walls, and from there she could paint a half-complete picture. Zoey had been fighting for her life, the scorch marks likely from her Shin-Kals burning through demon after demon.

"Did you see where she went?" Rumi asked the clerk with anxiety, who shook his head.

Mira stopped. In the corner of the room was a red flashing light. A security camera.

"Do those cameras work?" Mira asked him.

"Sure, we have a security office in the back," the clerk said, "but I'm not letting you in until after you pay for these damages-!"

"Yeah, yeah," Mira rolled her eyes. "Here's a blank cheque. Go wild." She tore it from her cheque book and shoved it against his chest. "Come on, Rumi."

Rumi and Mira leaned over the computer in the security office, rewinding the footage back to when they were fighting the demons.

Rumi's phone had rang with a call from Bobby as they searched through the footage, but neither of them answered it.

"Why didn't she come over to us?" Rumi asked aloud. "She was just standing over by the counter and talking to that man in line while we were fighting those demons."

"Who knows… Woah!" Mira whistled. "She lifted that clerk a foot off the ground. I always forget that Zoey is, like, mad ripped."

"Keep it in your pants, Mira," Rumi said bluntly with a laugh.

Mira rolled her eyes. Something was still nagging in the back of her head, that she really couldn't push down no matter how hard she tried. Rumi's name in Zoey's phone was driving her crazy and making her reconsider everything that had been happening recently.

"Could I ask you a weird question?" Mira side eyed Rumi. "Are you and Zoey… 'getting along?'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rumi turned away from the monitor.

"You two have just been especially close lately," Mira mumbled. "I'm just curious if there's any reason."

Rumi frowned. "No, I don't think so."

"So there hasn't been anything that's changed between you two recently?" Mira scowled. "No new territory breached?"

Stop talking. Mira thought. Worry about Zoey's safety first.

"No. Nothing, nothing at all," Rumi rambled nervously as she moved closer to the screen. "Everything's been the exact same as it's always been." Mira didn't miss the faint glow of her patterns spreading past the cuffs of her shirt.

"Rumi?"

"What?" Rumi glanced away from the monitor with a blush before looking back.

"Nothing, nothing. I had just thought we were trying to be honest with each other here," Mira crossed her arms defensively and raised an eyebrow.

"Wait," Rumi snapped her head around with panic. "Did Zoey tell you something?"

"Oh?" Mira titled her head to the side with bemusement. "So there's something to tell, is there?"

"I never said that," Rumi defended herself quickly. 

Then why did Zoey put a heart and 'babygirl' next to your name in her contacts?  Mira thought as she watched Rumi out of the corner of her eye.

"Fine! Zoey and I kissed this morning!" Rumi shouted. "But I swear, it didn't mean anything! It was just Zoey being Zoey."

"Oh," Mira slowly nodded. "Right. Okay," she deadpanned as she looked back at the screen. "If that's all it was, then."

"Yep," Rumi awkwardly laughed. "That's the big secret. Just two gals being pals."

They focused on the video again, an awkward silence muddying the air.

Okay, so her two best friends were making out behind closed doors. Mira wasn't going to be jealous, especially when one of those best friends was currently missing. Not jealous one bit.

Where was a bathtub to scream into when you needed it?

"So, is that something you two do together often, or…?" Mira prodded in a low voice.

"What? No!" Rumi flinched. "It was a one-time platonic kiss, that's all!"

"Oh, okay," Mira nodded, unconvinced. "You know, Rumi, I wasn't aware that you were in the realm of giving out platonic kisses." Rumi shot her a strange look at that. "I'm just saying that I've certainly never gotten a platonic kiss from you."

Rumi raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you asking for one?" She challenged her.

"Are you offering one?" Mira met her measure with a defiant glare.

"No," Rumi squeaked in a high pitched voice.

"Me neither," Mira answered quickly, forcing her expression to be as neutral as possible.

"Then, we're on the same page."

"Perfect."

Another awkward moment of silence passed as the security footage continued.

"I just don't understand why you're so apprehensive to the idea," Mira spoke up again as they combed through the footage.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" Rumi squinted at her.

Yes. God yes.

Mira stifled a cough. "I mean, if it didn't mean anything with Zoey," Mira said in a neutral voice, "then I don't see why it would mean anything with me. Since, as you said yourself, it was completely platonic."

"It was platonic."

"And I'm saying that I believe you," Mira watched her curiously.

"Look, it was just my first kiss, that's all," Rumi added.

"First kiss with a girl?"

"Ever, actually," Rumi cringed through a smile.

"You and Jinu never...?"

"No, of course not," Rumi waved it off.

"'Of course not?'" Mira raised an eyebrow. "That's quite different from the answer you gave me the last time we talked about him."

"Well, I'm just being honest," Rumi said with a winced. "Since that's what we're doing."

"Right," Mira nodded slowly. "Honesty."

A dreadful second passed as they looked back at the monitor and found that they'd already passed the section they were looking for. They re-winded the footage slowly, trying to find the spot where they had seperated Zoey.

"Speaking of honesty," Mira began in a low timbre, before hesitating. "Did you, you know, like it?

"Like… what?"

"The, uh, the kiss?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess," Rumi awkwardly smiled. "It was… fine?"

"'It was fine?'" Mira asked incredulously. "Yikes. Don't tell Zoey that."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Mira," Rumi sighed with defeat.

Mira rolled her eyes. She didn't really know either, but there was just something inside her that made her want to scream out her feelings underwater again. It wasn't Rumi's fault that she didn't know about Zoey's feelings, or hers, for that matter, but she still felt a little enraged on Zoey's behalf that she was getting led on so easily. When Zoey learned that Rumi didn't feel the same way, she was going to be devastated.

Or, Rumi and Zoey are already together and have been hiding it to protect her feelings. Mira thought.

Rumi's phone suddenly rang. They both hovered around it see Bobby's icon pop up at the centre.

"Not now, Bobby!" Rumi groaned as she declined the call.

"There," Mira pointed at the monitor. "That's the last time I saw her."

The demons had just appeared in the street at this point. The Mira in the video gestured and shouted at Zoey, who only briefly looked up. She had been crouched down in front of the counter, her arms around her knees, but she made no effort to follow them.

"Zoey didn't hear me," Mira realized with horror.

"She looks like she might be hurt," Rumi noted.

The video continued. As Rumi and Mira sprinted out into the street, they watched with despair as another hoard of demons slowly tore into the pharmacy.

"They waited until we ran out to appear," Rumi said with realization. "They must have been trying to separate us."

The Zoey in the video popped something into her mouth, her shoulders rising and falling. The demons were circling her, leaving her no room to escape. They all lunged towards her, but before they reached her, one of the demons suddenly climbed in front of the camera, blocking their view. As the demon passed to the other side of the camera, Rumi's and Mira's eyes widened.

Zoey had vanished.

The demons that had been surrounding her were gone too, in their place was a thick mist of red smoke, along with a single cerulean dagger sticking out of the pharmacy floor.

"Where'd she go?" Mira scoured the screen from top to bottom.

Even the remaining demons in the video seemed to be wondering the same as they all spun around with confusion.

They soon got their answer as a blur of movement flicked across the screen.

"There!" Rumi pointed.

For a split second, Zoey was hanging off the wall, Shin kals in one hand, notebook in the other. Then, she shot out of view of the camera once more. Aisle shelves were knocked over in her wake as more demons dissipated into a thick cloud of red smoke. More and more lights were going out as the destruction in the pharmacy ramped up and more and more demons were slain. 

Neither Rumi nor Mira said anything, simply watching the footage with bated breath.

Zoey was running on the wall, dragging her daggers through demon after demon that were trying to come through the tears in the Honmoon. At the peak of her momentum, she flew into the air, flinging daggers at another group before effortlessly landing with grace. She paused, holding one of her daggers in between her teeth to scribble erratically into her notebook.

The demons came at her, but she kept her focus on the notebook, only looking up slightly from her writing to dodge their assaults and punish their mistakes with a quick throw of her dagger. 

At this point, the few remaining demons weren't surrounding her anymore. Instead, they seemed to be trying to escape back through the Honmoon's veil back into the demon's world.

Zoey seemed to groan, although they could only presume without sound. She put her notebook down before launching towards the escaping demons. As one returned through the veil, Zoey reached her arm into the tear in the Honmoon and yanked the demon back into their world with her bare hands. She hurled him into the centre of the pharmacy where he scrambled to his feet, cowering in fear, seemingly begging for mercy.

Zoey raised her Shin kals above her head and slammed it down into the demon's chest, turning into red smoke in an instant. She fell to her knees, still slamming her daggers into the ground before throwing them into the walls with a silent scream.

She then rose, her breath pluming in the air as she doubled over, catching her breath. The way her back was arched made her look like a feral animal. Even through the pixelated footage, they could tell that she was pissed.

And then she walked out the front door, notebook in hand.

Rumi and Mira turned to each other with mutual horror and, at least in Mira's case, a little bit of arousal.

"Holy shit," Rumi mumbled quietly.

"Holy shit," Mira parroted.

Rumi's phone rang again, with Bobby's icon once again. Rumi instinctively declined the call, before pausing.

"I've got like 15 messages from Bobby," Rumi frowned as she scrolled through them.

"What's that about?"

A few seconds later, Mira's phone rang too.

Mira sucked in air through her teeth before answering. "Hey, Bobby," she began cautiously.

"Girls!" Bobby's frantic voice cried out over the speaker. "I've been trying to reach you for ages!"

"I'm sorry. Look, we've heard about the SAJA Boys' comeback first hand," Rumi said as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "but it'll have to wait. This really isn't a good time, so if you could call back later-"

"Zoey's missing!" Mira cut her off with a quivering voice. "And we don't know where she is, but we're worried that she's gotten hurt, and I... I don't know what to do."

"Calm down, it's okay," Bobby reassured her. "Zoey's with me. She's safe."

Mira and Rumi shared a look of relief.

"She came to my apartment. Said she'd dropped her phone and didn't have a way to call you," Bobby continued. "I'm driving her back to the penthouse."

"How is she?" Mira asked, failing to hide the worry in her voice.

Bobby paused. "She's, uh, she's okay."

Something shuffled on the other line. And then they heard Bobby's voice hush, as if he was trying not to be overheard:

"She's quiet," Bobby's voice whispered. "Reeeally quiet. That's bad, right?"

"Can we talk to her?" Mira asked quickly.

"She doesn't seem to be up for talking over the phone," Bobby told them nervously. "You'll just have to wait until you see her in person."

"We're on our way back soon, Bobby," Rumi assured him. "Just keep us posted if anything changes. And thank you, truly."

Mira hung up the phone and the two shared a look of unease.

"When was the last time you heard of Zoey being quiet?" Rumi asked nervously.

"I can't even remember," Mira sighed. "We should probably make some important decisions before we see her. Like who we want to give eulogies at our funerals."

"And what our tombstones will say," Rumi added with dread.

"It'll be closed casket for sure if Zoey's as pissed as I think she is," Mira mentally noted.

"What even happened?" Rumi pondered.

"I don't know," Mira admitted.

They walked out the back door of the pharmacy and down the alley towards where they'd parked. They squinted at the sudden brightness of the midday sun above them.

In the distance, they could hear cheers and loud live music. The SAJA Boys' concert, if they had to guess. They were supposed to show up there to maintain their honour as a KPop group, but they just couldn't right now. 

Zoey came first.

Chapter Text

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Rumi and Mira were barrelling into the penthouse, their eyes searching around the living room for Zoey.

Bobby was waiting for them on the couch. He stood up with a sad smile.

"Hey, girls," Bobby looked between them. "Zoey's just in her room right now. I think she's asleep."

"Thank you, Bobby," Rumi pulled him into a tight hug. "If there's anything we can do to repay you-"

"It's fine, really," Bobby insisted. "I'm happy to help. Just, make sure you're there for each other from hero on, okay?"

"We will, Bobby," Mira said quietly. "Thank you again."

Rumi knocked on Zoey's door, sharing a look with Mira before slowly pushing it open with a squeaky creak.

Zoey's bedroom was dark, the lights turned off and the blinds drawn closed. The bed itself was a mess of blankets, plushies, and pillows, but it was otherwise empty.

"Zoey?" Rumi called out anxiously.

They walked through the bedroom nervously, before spotting her.

Zoey has been obscured by the bed until they walked around to the other side. She was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, her crossed arms resting on top of them and her face hidden by her sleeves. It was like she was trying to make herself appear as small as possible. In front of her were three notebooks that were spread open, surrounded by a plethora of coloured pens. She didn't miss the way that Zoey flinched ever so slightly, clearly noticing their presence but making no attempt to acknowledge them.

Rumi and Mira glanced at each other before sitting down on the floor next to her, taking care not to make any sudden movements.

"Hey, Zoey," Rumi began cautiously, hating the way that her voice croaked. "How are you doing?"

Zoey didn't answer.

"We're really glad to see that you're okay," Rumi said with a furrowed brown. "You should have seen Mira. I genuinely thought that she was going to have a heart attack," Rumi joked lightly to try to lighten the mood.

"You had us scared half to death, Zoey," Mira mumbled. "I swear, we never meant to leave you behind. We royally screwed up, and I'm just… I'm so sorry."

"We're so sorry," Rumi clarified. "We've been too in our own heads lately that we didn't realize that we were hurting you. Whatever we've done, I know that we can work through it."

Zoey stayed silent. She shuffled slightly, hiding her face further beneath her arms.

"Zoey, please look at me," Rumi pleaded with worry in her voice.

Zoey raised her head ever so slightly, glaring at Rumi with a single exposed eye, before scoffing and hiding her face again.

"We, um, we found your phone," Mira said cautiously as she pulled it out of your back pocket. "The screen's cracked a little, but I can get it repaired for you tomorrow."

Mira gently set the phone down in front of Zoey's feet. Zoey moved an arm away, snatching the phone in a blur of movement, shoved it in her sweater pocket, and returned to her initial position.

"Zoey," Rumi tensed. "Please talk to us. At least let us know that you're okay."

Zoey mumbled into her sleeve incoherently.

"Zoey?" Mira prodded cautiously.

Zoey raised her head from her arms. Rumi was almost surprised to see that she hadn't been crying. Instead, she just seemed, as Bobby had described, eerily quiet. Her face was drawn into an unreadable expression, but she seemed calm, albeit, undeniably wounded. Rumi supposed that she likely putting on a strong front for their sake.

"I'm fine," Zoey said quietly, her sad eyes locked onto the ground in front of her.

"We saw the security footage," Rumi began cautiously. "Of you fighting all those demons. That couldn't have been easy. Are you hurt at all? We should have been there to protect you."

"Rumi, really," Zoey offered her a sad smile, her dark eyes flicking up to meet hers. "I'm okay," she assured her.

"What happened, Zoey?" Mira asked her with teary eyes.

"I knew you guys were going to be like this," Zoey sighed, and at Rumi's confusion, she clarified. "I knew you'd be all doting and worrying over me. I hate it."

"What do you mean, Zoey?" Rumi tried to get her to look at her again.

Zoey purposely avoided her gaze.

"Zoey, please," Rumi urged her. "I know that we've been neglecting your feelings recently, but we want to do better. You're our priority right now, okay?"

"Just, stop!" Zoey snapped with wide eyes. "Do you realize how shitty that is?" She fumed, catching her breath. "I shouldn't have to almost die, or have a panic attack in a pharmacy, or be a… a pathetic mess just to get the attention I want from you two!"

Zoey crumpled in on herself. "I swear, it feels like you both only care about my feelings when I'm doing bad, and it doesn't feel real. It's like you're only giving me attention so that I can go back to being the Zoey you know that you can rely on. It makes me feel like I'm too much for you two."

"Zoey," Rumi winced, trying desperately to not let the tears falls. "I promise that that isn't true. Please just tell me how to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix, Rumi. Honestly? I feel… calm," Zoey said assuredly. "My head is actually quiet for once," she said with a nervous laugh. "I can actually think clearly."

With that, Zoey gestured at the notebooks in front of them.

"I was even able to write the lyrics that you asked me for," Zoey said quietly, bereft of any positive emotion towards the notebooks.

"That's awesome, Zoey," Mira smiled at her. "We always knew you could."

"It doesn't matter now," Zoey shook her head. "It's too late. We didn't show, and now the SAJAs already have a leg up on us, and it's my fault."

"It's okay, Zoey," Rumi assured her. "There will be other opportunities to use these."

Zoey flinched, before wrapping her arms tight around herself. "Sometimes, it feel like you guys only care about how useful I am," she said with a quivering lip. "You only see the end product, and not the exhausting effort I'm putting in to get there. I'm trying so hard to be… enough… but it feels like you just keep asking more and more of me," Zoey whimpered as she stifled a sob.

"Hey, hey," Rumi shushed her. "We're here, Zoey." She and Mira moved to either side of Zoey, pressing up close to her. "We're always going to be proud of you, you know that, right?" She ran her hand soothingly up Zoey's arm.

"No matter what, Zoey," Mira nodded. "Sometimes I feel like you're the only thing holding us together. We wouldn't be where we are without you."

"Do you… do you really mean that?" Zoey hiccuped.

"Of course, we do," Rumi assured her. "It's because of you that Mira and I are doing better."

"You are?" Zoey's eyes lit up with hope as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, I think so," Mira shot Rumi a tender smile that made her want to melt on the spot.

"We can go back to how things were before," Rumi said. "We can all sleep in the same bed again, and… we can even go out for a candlelit dinner, if you want, that is," Rumi added nervously.

Zoey seemed to relax for a moment, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, before it faded away and she hid her face in her arms again with a muffled whimper.

"Wait, hey!" Rumi whined. "Zoey? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Zoey mumbled into her sleeve.

"Do you not want... that…?" Rumi asked.

Rumi stopped herself. She'd almost finished that sentence with 'me' instead of 'that.'

"I do, but…" Zoey lifted her head and sniffled.

The sight of her like this made Rumi's heart feel like someone was stabbing her. It made her want to kill whoever had dared to hurt Zoey's feelings, but that person had been her, and that just made her want to run away again.

"I just, I don't know how much longer I can do this," Zoey whimpered.

"Do what?" Mira whispered.

Zoey just hid her face in her arms, mumbling incoherently.

"Zoey?" Rumi ran an arm up and down her back.

Zoey's head shot up, tears streaming down her face.

"I can't…" Zoey hiccuped, "I can't keep… keep waiting for you two."

Mira and Rumi shared a look as they hugged Zoey from either side.

"What do you mean, Zoey?" Mira hesitated.

"I just…" Zoey let out a noise half between a laugh and a sob as she rubbed the tears from her eyes with her palms. "You two love me, right?"

"Of course we love you, Zoey."

"Then prove it to me," Zoey took a deep breath. "I want you both to love me that way that I want to be loved. I want you to be sweet to me and drown me in affection, instead of making me feel like I'm going insane all the time."

"We just show our love in a different way," Rumi assured her, "that's all. But we can certainly make an effort to try to show our love better. Right, Mira?"

"Right," Mira said slowly, not looking up.

"Okay," Zoey wiped some stray tears from her cheeks. "Then that's good enough for me." She paused. "Can you at least tell me what the big secret was that had you two fighting?"

"Uh, well," Mira hesitated, her face going red. "I think that's more of Rumi's choice to share."

Zoey looked over at her expectantly.

"Okay, please don't be mad, Zoey," Rumi began cautiously. "But I kind of had a teeny tiny crush on Jinu," she said through an involuntary wince. "I promise that we didn't do anything though, but I've just been struggling to get over him."

Why did Rumi feel like she was confessing to cheating on Zoey with Jinu?

Zoey's expression was unreadable. "That's… that's it?" She asked bluntly.

Mira nodded. "I was being… a bitch about it, to say the least," she admitted with a frown. "We just didn't want to upset you, so we figured it was best if you didn't know-"

"THAT'S THE REASON YOU TWO WERE FIGHTING?!?" Zoey suddenly screeched. She caught her breath and glared at Rumi. "I already knew about that, Rumi!"

"You… you did?" Rumi frowned.

"I've known since I saw the way you looked at him at Namsen tower," Zoey explained. "Why would I be upset about that? I mean, I'm upset that you didn't tell me, but like, you're allowed to have other partners, Rumi."

Other… partners? Rumi frowned. She didn't miss the way that Mira's eyes snapped over to her before looking away with a badly concealed blush.

"But whatever. You promise that we're all good now?" Zoey asked hesitantly.

"I promise," Rumi nodded.

"Me too," Mira agreed.

"That's a relief," Zoey giggled. "It's scary to say, but if nothing changed, I was genuinely worried that it might be the end of us. I was starting to get worried that we would have to, you know," Zoey held a hand beside her mouth for emphasis, "break up," she whispered.

Oh. Rumi thought. They'd been so bad to her, that Zoey had been considering breaking up HUNTR/X.

"But we're all on the same page now," Zoey let out a sigh of relief. "Is it okay if I be a little selfish?"

"Of course, Zoey," Mira smiled at her. "Whatever you want."

"Could we sleep in my bed tonight?" Zoey asked nervously. "And could you two kiss me better?"

Rumi's heart did a million cartwheels.

"Zoey, I don't…" Mira was starting to say.

Rumi was already standing, the blood rushing to her head. She leaned back on Zoey's bed and reached out her arms to the both of them, gesturing for them to join her on the bed.

Rumi certainly wasn't about to let an opportunity to cuddle and kiss Zoey and Mira go to waste. Not when she had been aching for it.

"Well somebody's enthusiastic," Mira scathed with a raised eyebrow. "One kiss this morning not enough for you, lover girl?"

Rumi's throat was uncomfortably dry. She knew that if she spoke, there would be nothing but croaks that would come out, so she just shook her head from side to side.

"I knew you're touch starved, Rumi," Zoey laughed, "but I didn't think it was this bad."

Was she touch starved? Is that why she craved physical affection from her friends so much?

"This is the least I can do to make up for hurting you, Zoey," Rumi said, feeling like she was convincing herself more than them. "Let me kiss it better." Her patterns were pulsing with a bright pink colour, making her glow in the dark room.

Mira watched the two of them with bated breath. She seemed hurt in a strange way, and Rumi could only guess it was because of her patterns again. Once again, her curse was pushing her away from her friends.

Zoey grinned as she got to her feet and bounced over to Rumi expectantly. She pushed a stray hair out of her face, inspecting her with a flushed face.

"Have I ever told you how pretty your patterns are, Rumi?" Zoey whispered gently.

Rumi's heart could have stopped right then and there.

As Zoey leaned down, Rumi puffed up her cheeks and stuck out her puckered lips. Her heart was pounding again her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut as their lips met, and for the second time today, she was kissing one of her best friends.

Zoey tasted a little like tears, but her lips were so soft and she was so gentle with Rumi that it made her heart ache.

As they pulled away, Rumi let out the air stored in her cheeks and stared up at Zoey.

"All better?" Rumi asked in a daze.

"All better," Zoey said with a tender smile, adoration in her eyes.

For a moment, it was only the two of them, and Rumi could have kissed her a million more times if it meant seeing Zoey this happy.

And then Mira stood up with such speed that it made Rumi flinch.

"You're kidding me. Is that how you two kissed before?" Mira snapped with a scowl. "Because, yikes."

Rumi couldn't understand why Mira seemed so pissed all of a sudden.

"What's wrong, Mira?" Zoey titled her head to the side like a confused puppy. "Wait, are you jealous?"

"What? Of course not!" Mira said unconvincingly. "It's just, well, that!" She gestured at Rumi with exasperation.

Zoey and Rumi shared a look of confusion.

"I didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you two," Mira groaned and let a hand drape down her face with defeat. "Rumi, I can tell just by looking that you're a terrible kisser."

Rumi was flabbergasted. Her jaw dropped, but she didn't get a chance to provide a rebuttal.

"What do you mean?" Zoey looked over at Rumi with a tender smile. "Kissing Rumi is like heaven-"

"ZOEY! She was holding her breath the entire time!" Mira gawked at the two of them. "You think that's a good kiss to make Zoey feel better?"

"Oh, yeah?" Rumi retorted. "Well I'd like to see you do better!" She challenged Mira.

"Fine! I'll show you how to really kiss a girl," Mira grinned.

Mira strutted over to Rumi and grabbed her, her hands easing behind her ear and around the back of her head. She guided them together and closed her eyes, kissing Rumi with fervour and hunger and want. Rumi didn't even have time to puff up her cheeks this time.

Mira sucked on Rumi's bottom lip, causing an involuntary moan to leave her. At the sound, Mira only strengthened her hold of Rumi and pulled her tighter, as if trying to make claim to the sound.

When they finally pulled apart, Rumi felt like was going to faint. Her lips were wet with Mira's spit, and she was burning so hot that she thought she might burst into flames.

Not only that, but her patterns were glowing so bright that the entire room was illuminated in a pink hue, making her feel like a lighthouse.

Mira stood before Rumi, her shoulders rising and fall as she caught her breath. Her eyes were wide, her face contorted in what looked like confusion. Rumi couldn't tell if it was because of her patterns, or if Mira was just blushing that hard that she looked like she was painted pink. 

Neither of them said anything. They both just stared at each other with mutual disbelief and shock.

Okay. Rumi thought. I think I like girls.

Mira looked like she was about to cry. "Rumi, I'm sorry," she was starting to say. "I don't know what came over me-"

"Woah!" Zoey looked between them with wide eyes and a massive smile. " Hot damn, that was amazing! My turn! My turn!"

With that, she practically threw herself at Mira, nearly knocking her over. The two were already kissing each other as Mira caught their balance. Zoey wrapped her arms around Mira's shoulders while she slid her hand down Zoey's waist. Zoey pushed her against the wall with a muffled thud as they got into it, and then they pulled away, both of their faces bright red.

Mira looked like she was about to pass out, her hand coming up to rest against her chest as her eyes darted to look anywhere but at the two of them.

"You were right, Mira!" Zoey said with glee. "Rumi, you are a terrible kisser!" She bounced over to the bed, leaving Mira to lifelessly slide down the wall with a blank look on her face. Rumi wondered for a moment if her heart had stopped. 

"I guess I'll have to work on that, then," Rumi said with a nervous smile.

Rumi didn't know how to process it all. This time yesterday, she had been sure that she was straight, and now she was beginning to believe with confidence that she was into women. Not only that, but she had now been kissed by both of her best friends. And truth be told, she liked it.

But this was just what friends did, Rumi thought. They were just cheering Zoey up with some platonic physical affection, that's all. Because there was no way that they could ever be anything more than that. It didn't matter how much Rumi realized she wanted them, she knew in her heart that they would never be able to love her.

The three of them curled into the bed together, with Zoey squished in the middle and Rumi and Mira on other side of her. The other two were so close, so warm, that Rumi's mind was going blank again.

Zoey hugged a turtle plushie tight to her chest as she looked up at both of them. She leaned up, giving a soft peck to Rumi's cheek, and then turned and did the same to Mira.

"Thank you, both of you," Zoey whispered. "I love you both so much."

"We love you too, Zoey," Rumi assured her, feeling that twang of guilt in her heart once more. 

Chapter Text

Zoey was finally feeling like things were looking up for her. She was back on her meds, she'd managed to actually write some lyrics after a month, and she'd managed to finally have an important talk with Rumi and Mira about their relationship. 

Okay, so she'd also gotten to kiss the both of them. And she was in no way forgetting the way that Mira had kissed the both of them. It was making her hot and flustered just thinking about it.

Rumi had agreed to take the two of them out for dinner tomorrow night. Mira and Rumi had fallen asleep hours ago on either side of Zoey, but she was so excited that she couldn't sleep.

Zoey eventually opened up her phone, giving up on sleep entirely, only to find that the damage was a lot worse than she'd thought. The touch screen was completely unresponsive and the display kept flickering on one side, the image distorting. She shoved it under her pillow with a groan.

"Hey, Rumi?" Zoey whispered, nudging the sleeping girl lightly.

"Hm?" Rumi's patterns lit up as she peered open her eyes. "What… what time is it?"

"Sorry. It's early," Zoey mumbled back. "I just can't sleep."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Zoey," Rumi's voice softened. She reached out a hand and stroked Zoey's hair adoringly. "Is there anything I can do?"

Zoey just about melted at the touch of affection. "I was just going to ask if I can borrow your phone," she said quietly. "Mine's busted."

"If that's all," Rumi said sleepily as she fumbled around under her pillow and fished out her phone for her. "Are you sure I can't do anything else for you?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Rumi-baby," Zoey hummed at the gentle way Rumi was playing with her hair.

It didn't take long for Rumi's arm to fall limp at Zoey's side as she fell back asleep.

Zoey turned on Rumi's phone, making sure to lower the brightness so as to not wake the two sleeping girls next to her. Her background was a candid picture of Zoey and Mira of the two mid-laugh. Zoey didn't think the picture was particularly flattering, but it was sweet that Rumi had chosen something so earnest.

The pass-code was simply 'Huntrix,' which Zoey made a mental note to chide Rumi for later.

She started scrolling through twitter to see what she'd missed during the eventful day. Lots of people were praising the SAJA Boys for the comeback, but there were a lots of people who were criticizinh them for timing it at the same time as the HUNTR/X comeback.

This led Zoey down a rabbit hole of twitter arguments and conspiracies that the SAJA Boys were somehow a publicity stunt for HUNTR/X that had already run its course, and that it was lazy for them to use the same twist a second time.

There was also a dedicated group of their mutual followings raving about the possible proof of their ships coming to fruition. Rujinu, Zoestery, and Miromabby were still among the most prevalent, but there was a fourth that was gaining a lot of traction.

Zoey clicked on a thread with curiosity.

Maggie Kang: (@Magg_kang24)

The fact that saja's comeback is happening at the same time as huntr/x's comeback is proof that they're working together behind the scenes! We're going to see RuJinu for sure at the next concert, just you wait. #Rujinu #Rujinu4Eva

Huntrix of Artemis: (@Huntrix_of_Artemis)

@Magg_kang24 You're forgetting that HUNTRIX didn't seem to know what was up with SAJA Boys. If there really was a relationship between them, then there was surely a breakup behind the scenes.

Sabrina The Wood Constructor: (@SilksongDenier69)

Y'ALL, DID YOU NOT SEE HOW CLOSE THEY WERE AT THAT INTERVIEW LAST MONTH? IT'S #POLYTRIX OR NOTHING!

Zoey frowned.

What the hell was Polytrix?

She clicked on the tag.

Kaitlyn Cavanagh: (@kaitlyn.cavanagh)

Everyone talking about the SAJA comeback and I'm still thinking about when HUNTR/X sang "What It Sounds Like" with all rainbow patterns on their outfits looking like one of those "gay is okay" cakes and we're supposed to just pretend like it wasn't a big coming out? bffr #Polytrix

Rai: (@sumo-rai-the-samurai)

Does anyone else remember when Zoey snuck onto that livestream interview early just to make Rumi sit on her and Mira's laps, or is that just me? #polytrix

Zoey groaned, mentally chiding herself for that total blunder. She realized with horror that there were a lot of comments on that thread:

Eli Ever Did Nothing Wrong: (@EliEverFanAccount)

@sumo-rai-the-samurai Tangible proof that GL fans are illiterate because 'snuck' isn't a word, dipshit.

Rai: (@sumo-rai-the-samurai)

@EliEverFanAccount You literally kin a mass murderer, but okay.

Eli Ever Did Nothing Wrong: (@EliEverFanAccount)

@sumo-rai-the-samurai Okay? And your a 12 year old so stfu

Rai: (@sumo-rai-the-samurai)

@EliEverFanAccount Im 13, actually. And even I know that you used the wrong "your," dumbass. LMAO gottem. 

A quick scroll showed that they were the only two people commenting on the thread, so Zoey backed out with a curt shake of her head.

A2's Left Shoulder: (@A2IsDaBestNierGirlFoSho)

The most unrealistic thing with HUNTR/X isn't their strange lack of controversies or their insane special effects budget. No, it's that Mira looks like THAT and Zoey and Rumi somehow aren't taking her right then and there on the stage. #Polytrix

Zoey quietly laughed at that before scrolling to the next post.

Big Friday: (@big_friday)

Huntrix Comeback? More like, Huntrix, I wish they were.... I wish they would co- I wish they would come on each other's b-! Ahem. Huntrix Comeback? More like, Huntrix, come on each other's backs-! #Polytrix

Afraid of women: (@Woo_Loo_Woo_Lover)

If I had a nickel for every time a KPOP girl group all fell in love with each other on stage in 2025, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. (This post is about Huntr/x and PO/RO SE. STINKY SAJA STANS DNI) #Polytrix

Zoey clicked out of twitter, a strange twang of guilt in her chest. She knew that Rumi and Mira were a bit more reserved in this regard, and so she couldn't help but wonder how they would react knowing that half the fan base knew that they were in a relationship.

Zoey tapped on the Firefox icon and was about to type in 'Polytrix' in the search bar, when she stopped. About half a dozen suggested results popped up of things that Rumi had searched for recently.

Zoey frowned, her eyes running over them one by one in reverse chronological order:

Can you pay people to book a dinner reservation for you

How to book a dinner reservation

What to wear to a fancy dinner

Fancy Restaurants near me

How to know if you like a girl when you're a girl

How to know if a girl likes you

Does it make me gay if I find my best friends pretty

How to kiss better

Do girls kiss platonically

Zoey frowned as she reached the bottom. She felt a little bad for snooping, but something in the back of her head was blaring like an alarm. She clicked on the history and brought up the rest of Rumi's recent search results from today. They were, again, in reverse chronological order:

Jinu Saja

Songs to ease tension that aren't chiquitita by ABBA

Spotify chiquitita by ABBA

Songs to play to ease tension in a car ride

Google maps home

How to transfer security camera footage to your phone

Zoey laughed a little to herself trying to imagine the situation that had arisen in the car.

Zoey huntrix news

Zoey huntrix sightings twitter

Zoey huntrix missing person reports

How long until you can file a missing person report?

What to do if your best friend is missing in the city?

Zoey's heart warmed a little to know that Rumi had really been so worried about her.

Jinu alive saja boys

Jinu saja boys sightings twitter

Saja boys comeback Jinu Seoul

Saja comeback Jinu

Saja boys Jinu

Saja Jinu

Jinu

Saja comment huntrix

Saja comeback

SAJA BOYS

Zoey paused. She felt a little bad knowing how much Jinu had affected Rumi.

Symptoms of being off lisdexemphetamine

How bad is it if you stop taking lisdexemphetamine for over a month?

What is the other name for Vyvanse?

list of ADHD medications that aren't adderal

How to tell if your ADHD friend isn't taking their meds?

What does it mean if you, as a straight woman, liked kissing another woman?

Ramyeon shops near me

Pharmacy google maps

Zoey's gaze traced down the list, feeling again a little honoured that Rumi would do research into her meds to make sure she was okay, when suddenly she doubled back up with a frown.

Straight... woman...?

The rest of the results only got worse.

What does it mean if your best friend just kissed you?

Can you appreciate a girl's abs while still being a straight woman?

Muscles on women

Am I bisexual or a lesbian buzzfeed quiz

How to delete suggested search results

Girls kissing

Is it gay to want to kiss your friends?

How to stop daydreaming about your friends?

Is it weird to daydream about your friends?

Am I bisexual quiz

Can you kiss friends platonically as a woman?

How do you tell if you're bisexual or a lesbian?

Am I gay quiz

Why do I, as a woman, feel like I'm suffocating and burning alive when my friends, who are women, show me physical affection? Reddit threads

Why do I, as a woman, feel like an imposter when my friends, who are also women, show me affection?

Why do I feel weird when my friends show me affection?

are there any negative repercussions to not going to grief counselling

Cheap alternatives to grief counselling

How much is grief counselling

CPTSD support

How to know if you have CPTSD

What is the difference between CPTSD and PTSD

Signs of PTSD

How to get over a guy who you never even dated but who is also dead

What is POLYAMORY

What is polyarmory

PO/RO SE news

How many weeks has Golden by Huntrix been at the top of the charts?

Top 100 Songs Internationally

Zoey was spiralling more and more as she made her way down Rumi's search results. It felt like the world was crashing down all around her.

Did Rumi not know that she was bisexual?

That raised an even bigger question:

Did Rumi not know that they were dating?

But it was all suddenly clicking into place. Rumi didn't even know she was queer, didn't even know what her feelings were much less what to do with them.

Everything made so much sense now. Rumi didn't know they were dating. She genuinely thought that they were just good friends.

Zoey felt crushed, and almost a little betrayed. How the hell could Rumi not have known? How much more obvious could she have made it? They were sleeping in her bed together with minimal clothing after kissing hours prior! She called them her girlfriends and said they went on dates all the time! What about that was platonic?

Oh fuck, Zoey thought with growing dread. My girlfriend is dense as bricks.

This whole time, Rumi hadn't known they were dating. Zoey looked over at the girl's sleeping face with a tempest of emotions.

It's fine. Zoey thought. Rumi is clearly still into them, so all they have to do is clear up the misunderstanding at dinner, then all will be right again. It's just a minor setback, that's all.

Then, Zoey noticed the notification icon next to the messages app. She clicked it, and saw that the most recent message was from Celine.

She couldn't help herself. She opened it.

Celine - 10:54pm

You need to get this under control, Rumi.

You - 10:55pm

It is under control, no thanks to you. It isn't any of your concern. 

Zoey's brow furrowed. Since when was Rumi aggressive towards Celine?

Celine - 10:57pm

I think we should meet to talk some things over. I know we aren't on the best of terms, but I want to make this right.

You - 11:04pm

I have a dinner reservation tomorrow night at 7pm downtown. The four of us could meet then.

Celine - 11:06pm

I think it's best if just you and I meet.

You - 11:07pm

I already agreed to taking out the two of them, so it's up to you. If you want to meet tomorrow, then I want them there.

Celine - 11:09pm

Have you told them?

You - 11:13pm

No. I don't want to worry them.

Celine - 11:15pm

Fine. 7pm it is then.

Zoey shut the phone off and slid it under Rumi's pillow, rage rattling inside of her. Her romantic dinner that she had been promised was being taken over by Celine, and her girlfriend didn't even know they were dating.

If she hadn't already had a panic attack today, she might've had another one.

Zoey took a deep breath. Things were fine, they would all work out, after all, she still had Mira, right?

She had hoped Rumi would have mentioned something to them today, but instead, she'd acted like nothing had happened. There had been no mention of Celine either.

And now, they were leaving in half an hour for the dinner date. Zoey had to act fast.

Zoey knocked on the bathroom door. She heard Mira yell a muffled 'one second,' and then of something being knocked over.

After a moment, Mira opened the door. Her face was drenched in water, her pink hair tied back in a single ponytail. She was wearing a sparkling low cut red dress that accented her height.

Like always, Mira was a smoking hot babe.

"Um, what's up, Zoey?" Mira looked Zoey up and down with a blush on her face.

"Can we talk?" Zoey urged her. "It's important."

Mira nervously glanced to the side, but after a moment she moved out of the way. Zoey walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind them and locking it. She looked around, noting the makeup products spread on the bathroom counter, as well as the bathtub full of water.

"Were you taking a bath?" Zoey raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, no," Mira raised her hands defensively. "I just, heard it's good for your pores, that's all," she gestured to her face.

Well that explained the drenched look.

"Right," Zoey eyed her suspiciously. "If I tell you something, can you promise not to tell Rumi?"

"What did you do?" Mira asked her with a bemused roll of her eyes.

"Okay, so," Zoey began with a wince, "I kind of, sort of… maybe… did something bad." She took a deep breath. "I went snooping on Rumi's phone last night and accidentally went through her search history and I found out that not only does she not know that we're in a relationship, but she's only just figured out that she's bisexual," Zoey said all in one breath, before keeling out. "Also, she invited Celine to dinner and she isn't telling us, but I think they have secret beef!" She said in another quick breath. "What are we going to do, Mira?"

Mira's expression shifted rapidly in those few moments as she caught up with what Zoey was telling her. Her eyes widened for a moment, before her lip pursed and her eyebrows drew together in apprehension.

"Zoey," Mira's gaze drifted down to the ground. "I want you to be honest with me," she accused her in a low voice.

Zoey flinched at the sudden shift in Mira's demeanour.

"Do you think that you and I are together?" Mira asked with a cold abrasive tone.

Zoey's heart sunk in her chest.

Not her, too. Zoey thought. She had imagined it all.

None of it had been real.

Chapter Text

Mira stared at herself in the bathroom mirror as she tied her hair back. She gripped the side of the sink as her shoulders rose and fell with subdued rage.

A lot had changed in one day. If there was any doubt in her mind before, it was gone now: she was now positive that Zoey and Rumi were dating. It was clearly a new thing, so she tried not to be too upset that she hadn't been told. But it still hurt.

It was fine. Her best friends in the whole world were dating each other, that's all. Mira could be mature about this and not blow a fuse. She could find a way to be happy for them and not make it all about her, right?

She'd tried to push it down last night, she'd really tried. But then something had come over her and she was kissing Rumi, years of want and yearning blossoming in one moment. And then, before she could even grapple with the boundary that she'd just crossed, Zoey had kissed her too.

It was everything she'd ever wanted, and yet, it just made her afraid. Mira had kissed one of her best friends and been kissed by the other. There was no coming back from this. Their relationship had fundamentally changed, and the fact that there was no conversation about it was driving her insane.

She waited for the inevitable conversation in the morning, but that didn't come. At breakfast, Rumi seemed to be pretending like nothing had happened, while Zoey looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack that she was trying and failing to hide. Mira, meanwhile, just pushed down her feelings as much as possible.

In other words, it was a disastrous clusterfuck of coping mechanisms. She supposed that it always had been, but she just hadn't been forced to look at it dead on before.

It's fine. Mira told herself. The three of them were going out to dinner tonight. If there was a time for a candid conversation, it was then.

Mira dunked her head in the bathtub and screamed as loud as she could, letting out her feelings.

Mira wasn't going to take the silence anymore, nor was she going to push down her feelings any longer.

She came up for air, wiping the water from her face with her hand.

Tonight. Mira thought. Tonight, she was going to tell them the truth.

Mira was going to tell Zoey and Rumi that she was in love with both of them.

Someone knocked on the door.

"One second!" Mira jolted up with a startled cry, knocking over a shampoo bottle off the edge of the bathtub in her haste. She quickly placed it back before rushing over to the door, taking a moment to check her reflection.

Zoey was waiting for her on the other side of the bathroom door, already dressed up. Her hair was down for once, curling around her shoulders. She was wearing a cream coloured blazer over top of a black button up dress shirt with black dress pants to match. She was wearing gold hoop earrings and a golden sunflower necklace that Mira had bought her years ago, as well as a gold ring on her right ring finger that was part of a matching set that the three of them all owned.

"Um, what's up, Zoey?" Mira tried to hide the glowing blush on her face.

"Can we talk?" Zoey asked her nervously. "It's important."

Mira hesitated before letting her in. Zoey entered the bathroom, looking around with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you taking a bath?" She asked.

Mira glanced at the full bathtub with shame. "Oh, no," she quickly said with raised hands. "I just, heard it's good for your pores, that's all," she gestured to her face.

"Right," Zoey did not look convinced. "If I tell you something, can you promise not to tell Rumi?"

"What did you do?" Mira asked her with a bemused roll of her eyes.

"Okay, so," Zoey began with a wince, "I kind of, sort of… maybe… did something bad." She took a deep breath. "I went snooping on Rumi's phone last night and accidentally went through her search history and I found out that not only does she not know that we're in a relationship, but she's only just figured out that she's bisexual," Zoey said all in one breath, before keeling out. "Also, she invited Celine to dinner and she isn't telling us, but I think they have secret beef!" She said in another quick breath. "What are we going to do, Mira?"

Everything suddenly clicked into place.

Zoey and Rumi weren't dating, but Zoey had thought that they were.

So where did that leave Mira?

"Zoey," Mira began nervously, feeling the most scared she'd ever felt in her life. "I want you to be honest with me," she said in a low voice, trying to not let any emotion through.

Zoey seemed to flinch at that.

"Do you think that you and I are together?" Mira asked her in a neutral voice, bracing herself.

Zoey didn't answer. Mira watched her with bated breath, her heart pounding in her chest, waiting for that inevitable rejection.

But instead, Zoey's eyes just bubbled with tears, her lip quivering.

"Woah, hey!" Mira shouted. "What's wrong?"

"I can't cry, I can't cry!" Zoey mumbled as she started fanning her face with her hands and looked up at the ceiling with welling distress. "I spent an hour on this makeup and it isn't waterproof and I can't do it over again, I just can't!"

"Zoey?!?" Mira surged over to her with worry. "What are you on about?"

"Because my whole world is coming crashing down, Mira!" Zoey whimpered. "In one day, I'm losing both my girlfriends and I'm having a really rough time about it!"

"Hey, hey!" Mira grabbed Zoey's arms soothingly. "You aren't losing me, Zoey. Talk to me."

Zoey took a deep breath as she tried not to let any tears fall. "You two don't love me the same and I've made everything complicated with my delusional feelings-!"

"Zoey!" Mira barked at her. "Look at me!"

Of course, Mira had let her insecurities get in the way. Of course, she had denied the obvious explanation and pretended not to see the way that Zoey had always looked at her.

"I'm in love with you, Zoey," Mira confessed forcefully. "With both of you. I have been for a long time."

Zoey met her gaze, hope finally returning to those sweet eyes of hers.

"You… you are?" Zoey sniffled.

"Yes. I thought… I thought you didn't feel the same way," Mira admitted with shame. "It felt like I was watching my best friends fall in love with each other in real time, while I was getting left behind."

Zoey looked between her eyes with unease. "You didn't know that I loved you?"

"God, Zoey," Mira shook her head with annoyance, but she couldn't hide the way her lips curled into a tender smile. "You know you actually have to have a conversation with people before you start dating, right? How was I supposed to know that you wanted to be together if we never talked about it?"

"I just thought we were all on the same page," Zoey sheepishly smiled. "I could have sworn we'd talked about it…" she trailed off.

"When?!?"

"Do you remember when we first took Rumi to the bathhouse?" Zoey said nervously. "When we all told each other how much we loved each other? I thought that was the big conversation."

"No, Zoey," Mira let out a noise between a scoff and a laugh. "While I'm frustrated that this went on so long, I also know how difficult this has been for you. I want to make it clear that I do want to be your girlfriend, Zoey." As Zoey's eyes lit up with hope, Mira cut her off. "But, we need to talk to Rumi first. If we start dating without her, she'll just shut herself out again. We have to let her come to us and that means we have to be patient."

"Right, right," Zoey nodded as she placed a hand on her hip. "Like coaxing a stray dog."

"Exactly," Mira smiled.

"But can we still kiss until then?" Zoey asked her eagerly.

Mira grinned. She eased Zoey against the door and tilted her chin up. Their lips met with a surge of electricity, which caused Zoey to let out a muffled cry of excitement and surprise. Mira couldn't help but giggle at how adorable she was.

"Zoey," Mira whispered as they pulled away. "I've waited so long to be able to do that."

"Me too," Zoey said in a delirious daze.

"You'll have to hold onto that one for now, my sweet, gorgeous girl," Mira said quietly, stroking Zoey's cheek with adoration. "But starting now, we'll have to wait a little while longer, until Rumi is ready too."

Zoey's eyes dropped a little, but she nodded. "What do you think is going to happen tonight?"

Mira internally groaned. Why would Rumi invite Celine to their romantic dinner without telling them?

Because Rumi is an idiot and wouldn't know that they were into her even if they were taking turns sucking on her clit. Mira thought with a grimace.

"I don't know," Mira said quietly. "But no matter what, we have to be there to support her."

They were driving to the restaurant now, with Mira behind the wheel, Zoey in the passenger seat, and Rumi in the backseat.

Gamjeonge sarojapyeo
Hyeonsireun bujeonghago
Sangsanghaebwatji neon nareul tteonago nan neol jjochaganeun geo

Rumi still hadn't mentioned anything about Celine. Mira had been watching her with unease through the rear view mirror. She was resting her head on her hand and looking out the window wistfully, not really paying the two any mind. It wasn't lost on Mira that Rumi had chosen to wear a long sleeve black dress that covered most of her patterns.

Mira and Zoey were in this together now, and they were going to make sure this dinner went okay, but she was finding that Zoey was really struggling to act normal. She had a permenant guilty look on her face like a kid caught stealing out of a cookie jar, and seemed about as nervous as one of those little yappy purse dogs.

Naege banseonghaebwa, geureochana
Naege banseonghaebwa, geuge natjana

Mira frowned. She'd heard this song before. She shot a glare over at Zoey who was sheepishly avoiding her gaze just as the chorus began:

Be Sweet to me baby!
Nan neoreul mitgo sipeo, neomu mitgo sipeunde mariya
Be Sweet to me baby!
Nan neoreul mitgo sipeo, mueongareul mitgo sipeunde

Their plan was hopeless. Mira thought. Zoey wasn't even trying to be subtle.

"Huh," Rumi said from the backseat, "I didn't even know that they made a Korean version of this song."

"Pick another song, Zoey," Mira hissed under her breath.

Zoey quickly typed something into her phone. The sound of Japanese Breakfast was curtly cut off, only to be replaced with a rather distinct drum line. And then…

And all I am, is a man

You have got to be fucking kidding me. Mira thought as she shot Zoey another piercing glare.

I want the world, in my hand

I hate the beach, but I stand,

In California-

Once again, the song was cut short as Zoey clicked on something else, probably not even reading the title.

(Ien! Twa! Trjie! Fjouwer!)

You know, it feels good

To stay out this late

The last guy I knew

Said be home by eight

Mira was going to lose it all. Zoey had somehow picked the only song more damning than a song by Girl In Red, by instead playing a song that was about picking up girls by asking them if they listened to Girl In Red.

You know it's getting hard

To not come up to you

Cause when I heard your voice

You threw me-

She thankfully didn't even have to glare at Zoey this time before she switched the song again. Mira let out a sigh of relief. And then, she felt utter dread, as she heard a funky synth play out from a song that every teen girl had listened to at least once while questioning their sexuality for the first time.

I, don't want to hear you've got a boyfriend,

Sometimes, you're better off alone

Mira was genuinely debating whether she wanted to crash the car. For some reason, this was the song that Zoey was letting play to the chorus. Mira anxiously tapped against the wheel as she waited for the light to turn.

Girls love girls and boys!

"'Sophisticated,'" Zoey sang under her breath, "'manipulated!'"

Girls love girls and boys!

"Hey, wanna to know a fun fact?" Mira deadpanned under the music so only Zoey could hear. "This song was actually written about a threesome and not about being bi."

With that, Zoey quickly changed the song before Rumi could pick up on it in the back seat.

"Are you going to commit to a song, Zoey?" Rumi asked with a bored voice.

A steady beat picked up as an angelic voice played over the speakers:

If I keep myself at home,

I won't make the same mistake,

That I made for 15 years

I could be a new girl,

I will be a new girl

Okay, Mira could accept Mitski. It seemed like Zoey had finally picked something that she could work it.

Or so she thought.

I need you to love me more!

Love me more, love me more!

Love enough to fill me up!

Fill me up, fill me full up!

Zoey, for the fifth time, changed the song. It was like she was just hitting shuffle on some poor bisexual woman's playlist. If Zoey had kept with this trend of songs, Mira was willing to bet that they would have heard some amalgamations of Hozier, Hayley Kiyoko, City Girl, Beach Bunny, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and/or dodie.

But thankfully, Zoey had finally gone back to KPOP. She could work with this. It was an ITZY song, but she couldn't remember which one off the top of her head.

Aswipgedo jaemieopji, I'm not sorry
Eotteoke nal saenggakaedo let it slide, ayy
Eochapi dareun sight, amman bogoga more, worth it, worth it
I bet you wanna know how we look this good, like

If the restaurant hadn't been about five hundred meters away, she would have driven into oncoming traffic.

Come and kiss and tell
Sanggwan an hae, don't mind, mwah
Come and kiss and tell
Inneun geudaeroya, mwah

Rumi didn't seem to be paying the music much attention, thankfully, for if she had, she'd realize it was basically a confession that Zoey and Mira had kissed without her.

As they stopped in front of the restaurant, Mira didn't miss the awkward adjustment Rumi made to make sure her dress covered her patterns on her arms.

"By the way," Rumi began, her voice a slightly higher pitched than usual. "I invited Celine out to dinner with us, I know that it's last minute, but I hope that's okay," her proposition had been phrased as if it had been a sudden decision, which Mira and Zoey both knew to not be the case.

Mira almost wanted to strangle her right then and there. Rumi had clearly waited until the last possible moment to tell them, but given the way that she wasn't even able to look at them, Mira knew she hated this more than they did.

"Yeah, that's fine," Mira said nonchalantly. "You're the one paying, so it makes no difference to me."

"Mira, we share a bank account," Rumi laughed lightly.

"It's about the principle of the matter," Mira said with a roll of her eyes.

"Wow, I haven't seen Celine in ages!" Zoey said, almost overselling her excitement. "How have things been between you two? Great as always?" She asked Rumi purposefully, prodding her for an answer.

They both knew that she wouldn't answer truthfully. No, they had planned that Rumi would hide whatever was wrong, because her reaction to that question would tell them a lot more than her words would.

Rumi paled in the backseat, with such fear and shame that you would have thought someone had just caught her standing over a body with a bloody knife in her hand.

"Uh, yeah," Rumi said, composing herself as she realized that Mira was watching her in the rear view mirror. "She just wanted to catch up, that's all."

"You must be quite excited to see her," Mira said with a expectant hum in her voice.

"Not as excited as you guys, I bet," Rumi nervously laughed, that wall of hers already up again. "Oh, I think I see her now!"

Before they could probe her further, she had already gotten out of the car and was walking up the steps to the restaurant with haste. Mira and Zoey stayed in the car, sharing a battle ready look.

"Remember the signals?" Zoey asked Mira expectantly.

"Obviously," Mira nodded enthusiastically. "If I say 'I'm considering getting bangs,' it means we have to get Rumi out of there as soon as possible."

"Right!" Zoey grinned. "And if I say 'I think we should delay our comeback by another month so that I can play Silksong-!'"

"NO!" Mira groaned.

"Fiiiiine," Zoey rolled her eyes. "Mine is 'I've been considering trying the rosé here,' to signal faking an emergency,'" she said with a bored look on her face.

"Let's do this," Mira said as she excited the car. She watched as Zoey tumbled out of the car on the opposite side, nearly tripping over the curb.

Rumi was already nervously talking with Celine at the entrance. She looked over at the two of them with worry, but forced a smile at them.

No matter their feelings, Mira and Zoey had to be strong for Rumi's sake tonight.

Chapter Text

Rumi walked up the steps to the restaurant where Celine was waiting outside.

Celine was wearing a simple cyan dress with a white cardigan over top. She looked around the street nervously before laying eyes on Rumi. She seemed to frown with disapproval before catching herself.

Rumi already wanted to turn around and run away.

"Rumi," Celine looked her up and down with a sombre smile. "You're looking well."

"Thank you," Rumi said bluntly.

She didn't miss the way that Celine seemed to be unable to look her in the eye, instead picking a spot beside her head to look.

"Will it just be the two of us?" Celine asked hesitantly.

"No, they're coming," Rumi frowned, turning back in the direction of the parked car.

Zoey and Mira were slowly walking in their direction, whispering to each other under their breath. They glanced up and awkwardly froze at the bottom of the steps when they noticed Rumi staring at them, like she'd just caught them in the middle of something suspicious.

What was up with them? Rumi thought. She already had enough to worry about tonight without the two of them getting up to their usual antics.

"Hello, Mira. Zoey," Celine warmly smiled at them, extending her arms to them. "How are you both doing?"

"We're doing good, Celine," Mira answered as the two got pulled into a motherly hug.

"It's been for-EVER," Zoey said enthusiastically as she reciprocated the hug.

Rumi scowled behind Celine's back. She hadn't been offered a hug. Not that she wanted one, but still.

As the three of them caught up, Rumi looked at her reflection in the window of the restaurant. The black dress she was wearing was rather conservative, showing very minimal skin. The sleeves covered her arms all the way down to her wrists, and it even had a bit of a turtleneck. All in all, she'd managed to concealed all her patterns except the ones on her face.

Rumi watched Celine effortlessly laughing with Mira and Zoey in the window, and felt a gnawing pain in the pit of her stomach.

She reached up, delicately pulling some stands of hair loose on either side of her central braid. After some careful adjustment and fettering, she looked herself over. Rumi had managed to get two near-symmetrical side locks to frame her face, and by proxy, concealing most of the patterns on her face. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do.

"You ready to go inside, Rumi?" Mira asked her expectantly.

Rumi turned around, and quietly hummed an affirmative. She didn't miss the way that Mira's eyes narrowed upon seeing her last minute adjustment to her haircut.

Celine, however, seemed to pale, as if seeing a ghost. She quickly composed herself, prying her lingering gaze away from Rumi as she walked inside without a word.

Rumi followed after her, her nails digging into her palm with anxiety.

Rumi hated to admit it, but she can understand the appeal of bringing Mira and Zoey to a place like this. Which only made her regret agreeing to meet with Celine even more.

Apparently this restaurant had a Michelin star, which had surprised Rumi given that it was a restaurant inside a hotel, but by the ambience alone it certainly showed.

Their table was in an indoor patio on the top floor, with large windows framed by dark wood that provided them a beautiful view of the city of Seoul along the water's edge. There were leaves hanging over top the edge of the patio roof from an unseen tree, likely one that had been planted in the section of the patio that was actually outside.

Overall, it had a warm and inviting atmosphere, with warm yellow lights that hung from decorative wooden support beams, and simple brown cushioned chairs. The tables themselves were rather small, as they seemed intended for two people to stare into each other's eyes, so their waiter was forced to push two tables together for them. She hoped it was still to Zoey's likely though, as she'd made sure to pick a place that had ornamental candles at the centre of the tables.

Rumi sat down beside the window, while Mira took the seat opposing her with Zoey sitting beside her. Rumi realized too late that this would force Celine to sit next to her, but somehow, she'd picked an even worse option, and moved the remaining chair to the head of the table, facing the window and leaving the spot next to Rumi uncomfortably vacant.

Zoey and Mira tried their best to make small talk with Celine which Rumi was struggling to keep up with. She knew she wasn't making as much of an effort as she could have been, but then again, neither was Celine, who was only really giving the other two vague disinterested responses, making Rumi wonder if she was listening herself.

It was so uncomfortably awkward that even Zoey gave up on trying to converse with Celine and took to perusing the drink menu with Mira.

"Good evening!" A cheery waiter appeared at their table. "Can I get you guys started with some drinks?"

"Ooh!" Zoey looked up from the drink menu and raised her hand up enthusiastically. "Could I get a vodka cran-!"

"Just a bottle of soju for the table is fine," Celine told the waiter dismissively as she handed him the drink menu, much to Zoey's dismay.

Mira cleared her throat. "I have to drive, so just water is fine."

The waiter quickly took notes and rushed off, clearly not wanting to stay at their table any longer than he had to. It didn't take long for him to return. He placed the bottle of soju and four empty glasses in front of Celine, before handing over a glass of water to Mira who thanked him quietly.

Celine uncapped the bottle and poured the first glass, gesturing for Mira to take it.

Mira hesitated, but at Celine's insistence, she gave in and gingerly accepted it in both her hands.

Celine got to pouring the next glass, which she handed to Zoey, who eagerly grabbed it from her.

"What's the occasion?" Rumi asked her with a cold tone.

Celine pursed her lips, and then smiled. "I know it's a little late, but I wanted to celebrate your victory over Gwi-Ma and your restoration of the Honmoon," she answered, a little too cheerfully.

Rumi watched with amusement as Zoey brought her drink to her lips, took a small sip, and then stuck her tongue out and smacked her lips with badly hidden disgust. Mira, who was still waiting patiently with her own glass held in her hands, nudged Zoey nervously, who instantly sat up straight with a guilty look on her face.

Celine, thankfully, hadn't noticed, as she was too preoccupied with pouring a third glass for her. She held it out for Rumi, who met her expectant gaze defiantly, before taking it in one hand and setting it down on the table. Celine frowned with obvious disapproval, her eyes narrowing.

This left just one glass empty, the one for Celine. Rumi knew that this was Zoey's cue as the youngest, but she seemed oblivious. She didn't miss the slight crease of Celine's forehead.

"Oh, here!" Mira quickly jumped into action. She took the soju bottle in both her hands and poured a fourth glass, handing it to Celine, who smiled.

"Thank you, Mira," Celine said quietly. She raised her own glass up with one hand and Mira did the same with both her hands. Mira quickly hissed something under her breath, and on cue, Zoey's arm raised up so fast that some of her drink sloshed out of the glass and onto the table.

Rumi could feel their eyes burning onto her.

"Rumi?" Celine said expectantly. A silent command.

Rumi closed her eyes shut with frustration before raising her own glass with one hand. Celine hummed quietly at that.

"I propose a toast, to you three," Celine said reverently. "You have done your ancestors proud. Another generation has been protected from the demons, because of you. Geonbae," she said before taking a drink.

"Geonbae," Mira parroted as she turned towards the window and covered her mouth to have a drink.

"Geonbae," Zoey said cheerfully as she took tiny sips on her drink, her eyes glancing between Celine and Rumi.

Rumi's grip tightened on her glass. She looked Celine dead in the eyes and took a large swig, downing the burning liquid with a wince. The now empty glass loudly clinked against the table as she set it down. Celine's glass was empty too. Rumi reached over and grabbed the soju bottle, refilling her own glass before setting the bottle down in front of Celine with a defiant glare.

Mira quietly gasped across from her, her eyes widening with worry. She lurched across the table and quickly refilled Celine's glass.

"Thank you, Mira," Celine said with an edge in her voice, her gaze locked onto Rumi.

The waiter suddenly appeared again. "Can I get you guys started on any appetizers?"

"We just need a couple more minutes to decide," Celine said with a fake smile, her eyes cold. "We'll signal you when we're ready."

The waiter nodded and turned on a dime, clearly understanding the underlying message of 'we're having an important conversation, leave us alone.'

"You know, Rumi," Celine began, "I've been following HUNTR/X's comeback. You're really taking your career in an interesting direction," she said with a subtle venom in her voice. "You must be so proud."

Rumi swallowed. The subtext of that wasn't lost on her. Celine always had a knack for being efficient with her words. She never said anything herself, but instead let you fill in the blanks yourself:

I've seen the billboards and the promotional material of you parading around with those shameful patterns on display. Are you proud of yourself? Because I'm not. I'm ashamed to see you ruining mine and your mother's legacy.

Rumi held her tongue, knowing that no matter what she said, Celine would claim ignorance and turn it around so it looked like Rumi was the one escalating.

Hands suddenly slammed down on the table, causing their glasses to slightly shake on the table.

"I'm considering getting bangs!"

Mira was breathing heavy, her eyes wide with panic. Rumi looked at her with confusion.

"I'm sorry, Mira, but I really don't think you'd look good with bangs," Rumi tried not to laugh at the sudden outburst. The tension in the air had eased a little, and for that, Rumi was a little thankful.

Mira looked over at Zoey expectantly, who was deep in concentration stirring a straw in a figure-eight pattern in her barely touched drink.

"Hey, you know, Zoey, we can get you something else if you don't want that," Mira deadpanned. "Like maybe… a rosé?" She said with urgency.

Rumi frowned. Since when did Zoey like rosé?

"Hm?" Zoey looked up with an airy demeanour. Mira loudly cleared her throat, and Zoey's eyes widened. "Oh!" She looked around the table and suddenly stood up, nearly knocking her chair over in the process."Woah!" Zoey was holding Rumi's phone in her hands. "Something's going on!"

"What?" Celine gawked at her.

Zoey's phone suddenly rang. "It's Bobby!" She turned it around so that Celine and Rumi could see the caller ID like it was a game of show and tell.

"Hi Bobby!" Zoey said loudly as she answered the phone. "Wait, what did you say? An emergency?!?" She let out an obviously fake gasp. "A demon kidnapped a kitten, and now it's stuck in a tree? And now Rumi is the only one who can save it?" She pulled the phone away from her ears, covering the bottom half. "Rumi! You have to go! There's a kitten stuck in a tree-!"

"Zoey!" Mira hissed under her breath, shutting her up. Rumi noticed the phone on Mira's lap in the window's reflection, which seemed to be showing the menu for a muted phone call. With Zoey as the caller ID.

"Hold on," Celine shook her head with fury. "You told your manager about demons?"

"What?!? NO!" Rumi raised her hands defensively. "Of course not! I have no clue what she's talking about!" She said with a subtle growl, glaring at Zoey and Mira.

"Oh, uh," Zoey nervously laughed with wide eyes. "False alarm! The cat's safe! Yeah, no worries, Bobby-!" She paused, her brow furrowing. "Wait, what did you say?" She let out another fake gasp. "You got into a car crash and you need a new kidney? And the only person who's a match is Rumi?" Once again, she pulled the phone away and covered the bottom. "Rumi! We have to go to the hospital right now, it's a real emergency-!"

"Zoey, they're not buying it!" Mira hissed as she held her head in her hands with dismay.

"Oh, ummm… Oh! Bye Bobby!" Zoey quickly hung up the phone. "Good news! They found a donor, so everything's worked out a-okay!"

Okay, so Rumi was going to kill the lot of them.

"What is going on?" Celine asked incredulously, looking between the three of them in utter disbelief.

"Don't look at me!" Rumi crossed her arms defensively. "I'd also like to know what's gotten into you two," she said with a scowl.

"Uhhhhh," Mira winced. "Nothing!" She said cheerfully. "It sounds like Bobby's going to pull through, so crisis averted!"

"Oh, really?" Rumi raised an eyebrow at her. "Then why don't I call him back and congratulate him on his successful surgery?" She motioned for Zoey to hand over her phone.

"NO!" Mira and Zoey shouted.

"Then tell us what's going on!" Celine urged them.

Mira swallowed nervously. "The truth is… that we kind of, sort of, know that's there's something going on between you two," she answered quickly.

Rumi glared at the two of them, trying to silently scream at them that even if that were the case, they certainly weren't helping.

Celine sighed. "I knew this was a mistake," she spat as she stood up, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

"Funny," Rumi rolled her eyes. "It seems to be a running trend where you consider everything involving me a mistake," Rumi suddenly snapped with vigour.

Zoey and Mira both gasped before shrinking in their chairs with quiet panic, clearly no longer comfortable about interjecting themselves in the situation.

Hurt flashed across Celine's face for a moment, before she shook her head with growing anger.

"I've had it with you, Rumi," Celine said in a low voice. "I'm trying here, I'm really trying here. I'm worried about you-!"

"Worried? Ha!" Rumi scoffed. "That's rich!"

"Rumi!" Celine winced as she refrained from saying whatever she was originally going to say. "You still haven't told them!" She gestured at Mira and Zoey.

"Wait, what happened?" Zoey asked nervously.

"Stop talking," Rumi growled at Celine.

"No! Listen to me, Rumi!" Celine urged her. "Can't you just understand how frightened this makes me?"

"What happened to 'our faults and fears must never be seen?' Rumi snapped back. "I didn't ask for your help, Celine!" She shrieked.

"Then give me some sort of indication that you'll be fine without it!" Celine slammed her palm against the table, causing the approaching waiter to once again turn right back around. "Let's face the facts, Rumi! You clearly don't have a support system, you're flaunting your shame to the world, and the Honmoon is coming apart again!"

"And I'll fix it, without you! Just like I did before!" Rumi shouted, tears welling in the corner of her eyes. "Now can you stop acting like you're my mother?!? Because you're not her!" Her voice distorted, pulsing across the Honmoon with a red ripple.

Celine gasped, tears bubbling in her eyes.

Rumi caught her breath as she realized with horror what she just said. Her rage soon subdued as it was replaced with nothing but tempered guilt.

"Hey, Rumi?" Mira cautiously coaxed her.

"I know, that I'm not her, Rumi," tears were streaming down Celine's face now, which she dabbed at with a handkerchief. "I know that I can never be what she should have been to you. But I made a promise, damn it! A promise to protect you, and if that means showing up in your life when you clearly don't want me, then so be it!" she declared. "Hate me if you want, God knows I've hated myself. I don't care. But I won't lose you too. I will not turn my back on you, Rumi."

"Celine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Celine ignored her and glanced over at Mira and Zoey. "I hope you two know what you're getting into," she said coldly, before walking away.

Rumi steadied herself on the back of her chair as she caught her breath, her shoulders rising and falling. She looked down at her hand, grimacing to find that her patterns had spread down to her hands once more.

"Rumi?" Mira called out to her gently. "Are you… are you… okay?"

"I'm fine," Rumi answered too quickly, wincing as she heard the demonic distortion in her voice. With a scoff, she grabbed Celine's abandoned drink and snapped back her neck. She slammed the empty glass on the table with a wince before moving onto her still full glass.

"RUMI!" Zoey and Mira shouted at her with panic. "HEY! Slow down!"

Rumi pinched her temples as she leaned over the table. "I should never have agreed to meet her again."

"Rumi?" Zoey began nervously. "What was Celine talking about before-?"

"Sorry to interrupt," their waiter nervously approached their table. "But did you guys want anything else for tonight?"

"Just the cheque," Rumi said quietly as she swayed on the spot.

"Oh, actually, your mother already paid for all your drinks," the waiter told them. "So you're all set."

"Oh," Rumi said with a frown. She opened her mouth but just shook her head and walked away with Mira and Zoey not far behind.

It was a quiet car ride home. They didn't play any music this time, the only comfort Rumi had to listen to being the sounds of the car against the pavement.

Zoey had silently decided to sit in the back with her, taking the middle seat while Rumi took the window on the right side. She half expected Zoey to spend the entire car ride pestering her about dinner, but she didn't say a word. At one point, however, Zoey placed her open hand next to Rumi's leg. A silent offering for comfort if she wanted it.

Rumi hesitated, before taking Zoey's hand in hers and squeezing it twice. Zoey sadly smiled, and squeezed back.

Mira was glancing at her with worry in the rear-view from time to time. Rumi tried to force a reassuring smile, but she knew that it was no pointless.

Rumi rolled down the window, letting the rush of flowing city air hit her face to sober up. It was mainly for another noise to stay focused on. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that she was running away from it all.

The silence was even worse in the apartment. Rumi had gone to her room, but Mira and Zoey had followed, clearly set on not letting her leave this one alone.

Rumi was sitting down on her bed, her back against the bed frame. Mira and Zoey sat on the edge of the bed, the former on the edge with her legs on the floor and the latter sitting cross-legged facing Rumi.

"We're sorry, Rumi," Mira broke the silence at last. "If we made tonight more difficult-"

"It's fine," Rumi responded quickly. "Tonight wasn't your fault."

"What happened between you two?" Zoey asked gently. "I've never seen you two like that before."

Rumi pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Rumi," Mira urged her. "What aren't you telling us?"

"I don't want to worry you two," Rumi mumbled with shame.

"Well congrats," Mira rolled her eyes. "Because you failed there. We're already worried, so just talk to us!"

"Did Celine do something to you?" Zoey asked.

"No, that's not it," Rumi shook her head. Rumi could feel the patterns spreading already. "I just… I don't want you guys to look at me any differently because of it."

Zoey shared a look with Mira, who looked like she was already trying to come up with a million different explanations before Rumi could give them the truth.

"Celine was right. You two deserve to know the truth," Rumi began, wincing at how weak she sounded. "But, god, there isn't an easy way to say this…"

Stop talking. Rumi thought. They don't need to know about this.

"What is it, Rumi?" Zoey urged her with that sweet gentle voice that she used whenever she wanted Rumi to open up to her.

Rumi felt so vulnerable with the way her friends were looking at her, and it just made her want to run away all over again.

"It's actually kind of a funny story," Rumi began shyly.

Zoey and Mira leaned in closer with anticipation.

"I asked Celine to kill me."

As soon as she spoke the truth, Rumi ducked down her gaze and stared down at her lap. She wasn't strong enough to see her friends' expressions. She couldn't face them. Not like this. Not when her patterns were making up more of her than her human parts.

"It was right after the Idol Awards," Rumi took a deep breath, "I asked her to do what she should have done a long time ago. I felt like a mistake, no, I knew I was a mistake," she winced, her voice failing her. "Ever since, she's been worried that I'm going to, you know, and truth be told, some days I think she might be right."

There was an uncomfortable silence as Rumi continued to stare down at her lap with shame. Neither Mira nor Zoey said anything.

"That's it. My big secret is just that most days I look at myself in the mirror and think that I'm better off dead," Rumi cringed with a weak laugh. "Man, I'm bad at this. How's that for a coming out-?"

Rumi was cut off by the gut wrenching sound of a stifled sob.

She looked up and it felt like her heart shattered into a million pieces.

Tears were streaming down Zoey's face, her hands covering her mouth to muffle the noises of her wet sobs. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears, but it wasn't enough. Her whole body convulsed as she whimpered into her hands uncontrollably. Rumi noticed that her tears were ruining her makeup, and that just made her feel even worse.

Mira wasn't much better off. She'd taken off her glasses and was clutching her forehead with duress. Her mouth hung agape and she was clearly trying not to cry, but was failing with the way that her cheeks glistened with wet tears. It was more unnerving how quiet Mira's sobs were, like she'd trained herself to cry in the most unnoticeable way possible.

Rumi didn't know what to do with it.

"I'm sorry," Rumi mumbled softly, her heart sinking in her chest.

Zoey tried to speak but it was replaced with another loud sob. She just shook her head from side to side, her eyes locked onto Rumi's face with utter devastation.

"I'm sorry," Rumi said a little louder, feeling numb.

"No," Zoey choked out. "No," she repeated a little louder through a wet sob.

"Rumi, you…" Mira began, before she quickly covered her eyes with her hand and looked away. "Fuck," she whimpered through a weak cry.

Rumi felt every heart string in her body twinge with deep seeded regret.

"I'm sorry," Rumi repeated as she failed subdued her own tears. "I'm sorry-"

"Stop apologizing," Zoey let out a strangled noise somewhere between a hiccup and a laugh.

"We're the ones who are sorry, Rumi," Mira mumbled. "I didn't… we didn't know it was this bad."

"I'm okay," Rumi said with a cracking voice, not even managing to convince herself before breaking out into cries of her own.

She started losing track of time at that point.

Mira and Zoey were on either side of her as she sobbed. They held her, Mira running her hand up and down her back soothingly while Zoey gently stroked Rumi's hair.

"We're here, Rumi," Zoey whispered.

"Just let it all out," Mira hushed her.

They managed to coax her to drink some water, breaking up her uncontrollable sobs momentarily as she drank.

Eventually, the exhaustion took hold, and her crying became diluted and quieter. The tears were still streamed uncontrollably down her face, but she wasn't sobbing as much anymore.

"Can I tell you guys something kind of awful?" Rumi spoke in a daze. They both nodded, worry clear in their faces. "I was planning on asking you to be the ones to kill me if I ever got too far gone, since Celine hadn't been able to."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Rumi." Mira's jaw dropped. "And you think that we could?"

"I trust you two more than I do her," Rumi said quietly. "Or even myself."

"We'd never let it come to that," Zoey assured her. "We're here, and we're never letting you go."

Rumi looked up at Zoey with sad eyes. "Promise?"

Zoey's face softened as she held back more tears of her own. "I promise, you silly girl."

"Let's get you out of that dress," Mira urged her.

Rumi shook her head. "I don't want you to see me."

"Rumi, we've been going to the bathhouse with you, it's not a big deal to see you-"

"No, not like that," Rumi winced. "I don't want you to see me." She gestured at herself with hatred.

"It's okay, Rumi," Mira hushed her. "We've already seen you."

"We like all of you, Rumi," Zoey assured her.

Rumi only cried harder at that.

The two of them helped her out of her dress, leaving her in just her underwear. Her patterns were covering every inch of exposed skin, and Rumi instinctively covered herself with her arms. She watched their faces, waiting to see that same look that she'd seen at the Idol Awards.

But Mira and Zoey just offered her a sad smile.

They helped Rumi back into bed and eased protectively on either side of her. Zoey offered to take her braid out, and she eventually gave in.

Mira sat in front of Rumi, holding her hands gently while Zoey carefully undid her braid. It was such a mundane, but genuine act that she didn't know what to do with it.

"You're both so... so nice to me," Rumi croaked as she stifled another sob.

"We try out best," Mira rolled her eyes with a sad smile.

"Why?" Rumi asked, feeling her voice die in her throat.

"You know why, Rumi," Zoey whispered with adoration from behind her.

Rumi winced. "Yes," she admitted with a shaking voice. "I do."

Mira patiently smiled at her. "So, what's the problem?"

Rumi shook her head as she let out another wet sob. "You're too important to me," she whimpered. "I can't lose either of you, which I know that I will if I let you love all of me."

Zoey's hand stopped for a moment, while Mira just winced, before holding her hands even tighter.

"Is this just drunk-Rumi talking?" Mira asked quietly.

"I'm not that much of a lightweight," Rumi sniffled through a laugh, which only made Mira frown.

"There. All done," Zoey mumbled from behind her.

"Thank you," Rumi whispered.

Rumi's hair was completely out of the braid now. Her entire body could probably hide under her blanket of hair. It felt so freeing. And so chaotic.

With that, Mira let Rumi lay her head against her chest, her arms wrapped around her torso. Zoey hugged Rumi from behind, the two of them held in Mira's arms. They were both so warm, so gentle with her, especially with the way that they were both tracing their fingers along her patterns with adoration.

"I'm afraid," Rumi whimpered quietly. "I'm afraid of it being tomorrow, and having to face a world where you've seen me like this."

Mira and Zoey both briefly tensed against her.

"Rumi," Mira traced her name with love. "You won't have to face that world alone."

Rumi hummed against Mira's chest, and let her exhaustion take her.

Just once. She thought. Even if she still didn't believe she deserved it, just once she could let herself be loved like this.

Chapter Text

After the events of last night, Zoey and Mira were completely reassessing everything.

The two were sitting on the couch early the next morning before Rumi had woken up, trying to figure out what to do from then on. Her and Mira's plan has completely failed, and honestly, they were beginning to think it was out the window entirely now.

While they had been whispering behind closed doors over their feelings, Rumi had been isolated considering the unthinkable. They'd been so set on trying to work together to get Rumi to accept their feelings for her, but now, that plan felt utterly foolish.

This was up their with one of their worst blunders in their entire friendship, on par with when their raised their weapons at Rumi.

I can't lose either of you, which I know that I will if I let you love all of me. Rumi had said.

It wasn't that Rumi was dense of their feelings, or of her own, but that she was so afraid of their consequences that she was pushing it so far down to protect them.

And now, Zoey was left floundering. Mira wouldn't date her without Rumi, didn't want to betray her like that, and Rumi was… well, Rumi.

And that wasn't even taking into consideration everything that had happened with Celine.

"Do you think Celine was the reason that Rumi hid her patterns from us?" Zoey asked quietly.

"I don't know," Mira mumbled.

"What are we supposed to do?" Zoey hugged a turtle plush tight in her arms for comfort.

"I don't know," Mira curled in on herself, a quiet look on her face.

They both turned at the sound of bare footsteps behind them. Rumi was walking down the stairs, rubbing sleep out of her eye as she noticed the two of them. Her erratic mane of purple hair curled around her as she moved, nearly reaching the floor.

"Hey," Zoey called to her with a gentle voice. "How... are you feeling?"

"My head hurts a little, but I'm okay," Rumi shrugged.

"Do you want to sit?" Mira motioned to the couch with a neutral voice.

Zoey didn't miss the way that Rumi instinctively took a step back. She caught herself, and flashed them a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm just going to get some breakfast," Rumi said, already walking towards the kitchen with large strides.

Zoey and Mira shared a look of unease. Derpy came over, stretching out on the carpet before laying down at Zoey's feet. She smiled and scratched the giant tiger behind the ears, much to his delight.

A minute later, and Rumi had returned with a cup of coffee and a bagel in hand. She took a seat opposite them, setting her breakfast down on the table with a wince.

"You two eat already?" Rumi asked as she blew on her coffee.

"We were waiting for you," Mira said bluntly.

"Oh, shit, sorry," Rumi's eyes widened as she stood up again. "Did you guys want anything? No, wait, I'll go-!"

"Rumi," Mira urged her with impatience.

But Rumi was already walking away. Zoey and Mira shared another sad look with each other.

Rumi returned, two coffee in hand, and placed them down in front of the two of them.

"Mira, yours has lots of milk and a little sugar in it," Rumi pointed at the one cup and then the other, "And Zoey, I put creamer in yours."

"Thank you," Zoey said quietly.

"I'll cook you both breakfast," Rumi said quickly, not meeting their gaze. "What do you guys want? Eggs? Pancakes? Steamed rice and soup-?"

"Rumi!" Mira yelled with frustration. "Just sit down."

Rumi grimaced, but she caught herself. "Really, it won't take me long-"

"Please, Rumi," Zoey urged her with sad eyes.

Rumi's face softened. She took her seat again and waited for them to start talking, all the while anxiously picking at her cuticles with her nails. Her one hand was still claw-like, the patterns having only gotten worse since last night.

"We aren't... mad at you, you know that, right?" Zoey asked her nervously.

Rumi flinched, but she didn't answer.

"You aren't, like, indebted to us for last night," Mira told her bluntly. "But we can't just pretend that nothing happened."

"I was drunk, Mira." Rumi said defensively. "I barely remember anything that happened last night," she laughed a little too forcefully.

Liar. Zoey thought.

"Besides," Rumi glanced away. "We have bigger problems right now. We need to focus on our Comeback album and dealing with the SAJA boys."

"Always playing the hero with you," Mira said coldly. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. You have to always be thinking of everyone but yourself."

"Mira, woah," Rumi raised her palms defensively. "It's not about that! We just have to worry about resealing the Honmoon. It's bigger than us!"

"How are we supposed to seal the Honmoon if you can't even trust us, Rumi?" Mira snapped back as her grip tightened against her knee.

Rumi frowned, clearly taken aback. Zoey looked between the two of them nervously as Mira caught her breath.

"I do trust you," Rumi said quietly, "both of you."

"Do you?" Mira challenged her. "Because you're still keeping secrets from us!"

"Oh, like you two are so much better?" Rumi snarled. "You think I haven't noticed the way you two act around me? Whispering with each other and looking at me like I'm an imposter?" She gestured at herself, her hands clawing at her chest.

"Rumi, I promise that that's not what we're thinking," Mira deadpanned with annoyance.

"Really? Because ever since you found out about my patterns, things have changed. I thought for so long that it was you two that were changing, but I know that I'm the one who changed. It was naive of me to believe that things could go back to the way they were. They never can again, not when I'm… different," she hissed with self loathing.

"Rumi!" Zoey pleaded with her. "It's nothing like that!"

"It's okay," Rumi forced a sad smile. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

"Don't you get it?" Mira protested. "We don't hate your patterns. You haven't changed, you're still the Rumi we've always known."

"But you didn't know me," Rumi tensed. "Not the real me. Our entire friendship was built on that lie. You've seen what I really am, and now it's ruining us!"

"Rumi, we're just worried about you," Zoey said quietly. "It's okay if you can't open to us right away, but we need you to try to be able to trust us and be vulnerable with us."

Rumi rolled her eyes with annoyance. "Now you're starting to sound like Celine," she scoffed.

"Maybe that's because she had a point, Rumi," Mira snapped.

"Really? You're taking her side?!" Rumi asked with betrayal.

"There are no sides, Rumi!" Zoey protested. "What are you so afraid of? What do we have to say to make you understand that we're just trying to help you?"

"I didn't want Celine's help, and I don't want yours!" Rumi writhed. "Why can't you just let this go?!?

"Because you tried to kill yourself, Rumi!" Mira yelled, her voice cracking with emotion.

Rumi paled. A heavy silence hung in the air, the tension so high that it felt like the air itself was reaching its boiling point.

"It's my fault," Mira whimpered, her lip quivering. "It was the raising of my blade that sent you away, and we almost lost you because of it," she shook her head, trying desperately not to cry. "I could live a million lifetimes and still not find the strength to forgive myself."

"It's my fault too," Zoey admitted. "That voice in your head, telling you that we would leave you if we knew the truth, was lying to you. Or at least, it was supposed to be a lie. But, then in one move, we proved it right," she sniffled and hugged her turtle plush tighter. "I can't even blame you for not believing us now, and I'm so unbelievably sorry for the hurt we caused you."

"Mira… Zoey…" Rumi said weakly. "I don't blame either of you. It was my fault for hiding myself for so long-"

"Can you stop being a martyr for one second?" Mira urged her. "It feels like you're trying to convince us to be ashamed of loving you!"

"Maybe you should be!" Rumi snapped, her voice crackling with distortion. "You don't love me, Mira. You two love the idea of me, of the person that I was only pretending to be. But I'm not her."

And there it was. Zoey thought. Rumi knew about their feelings for her.

And it wasn't enough.

"That's not true, Rumi," Zoey wailed.

"I'm sorry that I can't be her anymore," Rumi said with a whimper. "I wish I could be, but I'm not. The love you're trying to give me isn't meant for me. I'm not deserving of it."

"Yes, you are!" Mira insisted.

"Jinu is dead because of me!" Rumi screeched. "I couldn't save him!"

Rumi glared at both of them, her shoulders rising and falling as she caught her breath, before she bolted. Zoey and Mira were rooted in place, feeling utterly crushed as Rumi stomped up the stairs. They heard the faint sound of the door slamming shut, causing Derpy to wake up at Zoey's feet.

Zoey was already standing to go after her, but Mira held her back by the wrist.

"She needs us, Mira," Zoey mumbled as she pulled her wrist away.

"You heard her," Mira hissed. "She doesn't want our help," she said coldly.

And with that, Mira departed too. Leaving Zoey alone with Derpy.

Zoey sat back down quietly, defeat in her slumped shoulders. She grabbed the cup of coffee that Rumi had made for her and took a hesitant sip.

She doubled over, her chest heaving as she held back tears.

It was made exactly as she liked it.