Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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Rumi
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Rumi entered the quiet penthouse, having left the bathhouse early, leaving Mira and Zoey behind as they partook in a mani-pedi. While Rumi and her bandmates had all come to accept the markings on her body showing her demonic lineage, that didn’t mean the nice lady at the salon wasn’t uneasy at the sight.

She toed off her shoes at the door and headed straight to her bedroom, stripping her hoodie off as she went as well as her jeans and tossing them into her laundry basket right next to her teddy bears and train pajama pants that she couldn’t bear to touch because they made her think of him.

Her desk was normally covered in journals full of lyrics. Now, it had a bottle of sleeping pills and historical accounts from the Joseon Dynasty— which lasted half a millennia. She’d been desperate to find anything about Jinu’s life four centuries ago. The king at that time did have a court musician, but his name had been lost. And he’d died young, — which tracked given Jinu’s youthful appearance.

She’d saved the magazine article that had a photo of her and Jinu at the dual signing of Huntrix and Saja Boys. It was held in place by a couple of unicorn-shaped magnets on her magnetic whiteboard. Thankfully, neither Mira nor Zoey made any comments about it.

Maybe they understood? Maybe they didn’t. Rumi didn’t understand herself.

Wearing her plain dark purple razor-back sports bra and the matching boyshorts panties, she flopped onto her bed. She grabbed a bottle of nail polish and then painted her toenails a cute dark pink color. Mira and Zoey would have freshly painted nails and if Rumi didn’t, -- they’d --Zoey in particular-- would start to spiral about Rumi not being included in the mani-pedi.

Satisfied with her work and blowing gently on the paint, willing it to dry quicker, Rumi found herself humming. She stretched out on her bed, legs crossed at the ankles when her foot started to bop up and down.

🎶‘You’re all I can think of. Every drop I drink up. You’re my soda pop, my little soda pop,’🎶

With a groan, Rumi held her head in her hands as she realized once again the annoyingly, catchy tune of Soda Pop was stuck in her head. That’s how it worked. She’d be sitting in silence and where she usually would start dreaming up new songs, she kept thinking about the songs Saja Boys performed.

It had been nearly two months since the big concert and the defeat of Gwi-Ma. Two months since Jinu’s sacrifice. She’d barely known him, yet she missed him terribly. There’d not been any demonic activity since that night in the human world. All those missing persons were unfortunately, still missing persons. But she knew exactly where they were. They’d been taken to the underworld and had fed Gwi-Ma and his minions. The demon lord was even more powerful than he’d been in the centuries since the barrier was first formed nearly four-hundred years ago. Ironically, around the time that Jinu’s contract had been forged.

So, while Rumi felt that Jinu’s essence lived within her spirit sword, she’d not needed to draw her weapon. And outside the initial shock of that last battle, she wasn’t sure she could handle the knowledge that her almost boyfriend was now her sword.

A sword couldn’t tease her, it couldn’t sing with her, and it couldn’t force her to learn to accept herself. Because of her friendship with Jinu, she understood that the world was gray, never black and white. A sword couldn’t dream with her. But it could protect her and that’s all he ever wanted, right? That and to silence Gwi-Ma’s toxic voice constantly whispering his deepest regrets and shame in his ear.

There was a tap-tap-tap at her window. Curiously, Rumi pulled herself out of her bed and padded on bare feet towards her balcony. She noticed the familiar three-eyed crow with the little black top hat and the massive blue tiger with the citrine eyes — that looked so much like Jinu’s eyes.

She hears his voice in her memories. 'I made it for the tiger, but the bird keeps taking it.' Rumi slid open the door and Jinu’s two animal companions eagerly entered her room with the crow swooping just past her and perching on her headboard. Blue tiger bumps his massive head against her thigh and then hops onto her bed.

Rumi chuckles, no longer feeling quite so alone. She wasn’t the only one missing Jinu. Mira and Zoey didn’t understand how Rumi was feeling. They’d banished Abs and Mystery respectively back to the demon realm.

Closing the balcony door, Rumi snuggled next to the tiger in her bed and drifted off into sleep. And for the first time in two months, Rumi fell asleep without any tranquilizer pills and she finally dreamed.
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OoO

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Jinu
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For the first time in four centuries, the voices in Jinu’s head were silent. He could think back on his mother and sister with clarity. They’d wished him well when he’d been given the offer as Court Musician for the King. He’d not been able to bring them in with him to the palace, but he had been able to send money back to them. They’d settled into a rural village. His mother hadn’t been literate, so there’d been no way for him to communicate with them after that.

How could he have forgotten that?

He’d also remembered the way the king’s daughter had looked upon Jinu’s handsome face and the poison that had been slipped into his wine.

Jinu had been dead before his twenty-seventh name day and sent packing on a one-way ticket to the demon realm, his body literally vanished from the living world and transformed into a demonic version. There he’d been haunted by the scene of his mother and sister being dragged away from the palace — which had happened. But he’d forgotten that he’d been able to help them within a few short weeks.

His memories were his own now, but instead of dwelling on his long-lost family, his thoughts lingered on the woman that had saved his soul. When he’d come up with his scheme to destroy the Honmoon, he’d never have imagined to find a kindred spirit amongst the slayers.  He wasn't sure what drove him to protect her during their first confrontation.  Had his soul somehow recognized her for what she apparently was -- his soulmate?

The rest of the Saja Boys had once been human as well. Half of them had been part of an ill-fated boyband from the early nineties-- Romance and Baby. While Abby and Mystery had been musicians of the past -- Mystery had been during the jazz era and Abby had been a traveling minstrel. Each of the four had made a deal with Gwi-Ma as he preyed on their insecurities.

Jinu didn’t exactly consider the other Saja Boys his friends, but he had liked them. He didn’t really consider anyone his friends aside from Blue Tiger (a.k.a. Derpy), Bird, and now Rumi.

His physical body had long since been transformed into a spiritual essence. He could make himself seen as solid as any human, but he’d also been able to travel at the speed of light in a purely spiritual form. Now he literally lived within Rumi. He made her sword stronger and it had been their combined powers that allowed her to finally find her voice. He was glad she’d come to accept herself truly.

She was truly a person worth dying for.

However, Jinu wasn’t dead. Not really. He’d found a home within Rumi’s mind. Currently, he was laying in a field of wildflowers and he had that silly Soda Pop song in his head. He wondered if any of the other Saja Boys had been on this side of the barrier when the realms were separated. He’d seen Mira and Zoey take down Abs and Mystery, so they’d be dealing with Gwi-Ma and his terrible rage.  What happened to Romance and Baby?

“Jinu?” Rumi called out, suddenly manifesting in the field.

He sat up, stunned at her appearance. He’d been in this limbo for seeming ever, but this was the first time they’d spoken. “Rumi,” he murmured, smiling tentatively. He plucked a pale pink cosmos flower and tucked it into her gorgeous lavender hair. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” Rumi asked, reaching out for him, but her fingers stopped just shy of touching his face.

He’d reached out to Blue Tiger and Bird, asked them to check on her. His connection to his pets was still strong. “I shouldn’t be surprised you’d show up late for our date,” Juni teased. He caught her hand and laid her palm against his cheek.  The bracelet that signified hope from their previous date shifted from his wrist onto hers.  "It's good to see you, Rumi."

Her face crumpled and Rumi tackled him to the ground, clutching at his shirt front while she buried her face against his throat.  "Jinu," she whispered.  "Is it really and truly you?"

Jinu pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head and squeezed her tight, hugging her against his body and vowing to himself that he'd never let her go.  "Really and truly," he agreed.
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Chapter Text

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Baby
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Everything was so bright and loud. He covered his ears as the car horn blared going down the street, barely avoided getting hit when Romance yanked him back to the sidewalk by the back of his hoodie.

“Pay attention, Baby,” Romance hissed. He ran his fingers through his long, pink hair and then glared at one of the massive electronic advertisement boards. A promo for their soda pop showed across the screen. “That’s pretty useless now, just like this whole stupid scheme Jinu dreamed up.”

Baby straightened his hoodie and brought the hood more secure over his head. Unusual pale blue hair and his face plastered all over a massive screen above their heads would get them caught — caught by who? He didn’t know. The fans? He scoffed, what was the point of that? They’d been so close to destroying the Honmoon and Gwi-Ma’s taunts had finally silenced and then that girl walked into the middle of the auditorium and destroyed their efforts.

He wasn’t a fool. He saw the saw way Jinu looked at her. All his bad-boy swagger gone in an instant as a love-sick fool stood in his place. The lead singer of Huntrix was a demon just like them.

Jinu’s complicated plans were really just him spinning in circles.

In the demon world, Baby had been isolated and miserable, memories of all the terrible things that happened to him in his life haunted him. He couldn’t forget the feeling of unwanted hands on his body, forcing him to do things. It wasn’t an unusual situation for an idol in the music industry. He hadn’t been the only victim. But when Gwi-ma whispered promises of release from his hell, he’d eagerly accepted.

So then Baby became a minion of the Demon King, away from his tormentors, but isolated. At least, until another member of that ill-fated boyband joined him in the Underworld. He hadn’t realized Romance had also been tormented, yet in a different way than Baby had been.

Then along came Jinu, strumming a stringed instrument from centuries ago. It wasn’t a guitar, but Baby never really cared to learn its proper name. He brought with him the other men that would one day form the Saja Boys.

All five of the Saja Boys had been musicians in their mortal lives, made deals with the Demon King, and brought into the underworld to serve him. Abby and Mystery had been acquaintances with Jinu for at least three hundred and one hundred years respectively, not that time meant much in the Underworld.

Baby’s stomach growled. He clutched at it in confusion. He’d not been hungry in decades! They’d started eating food again when they realized they were stuck on the surface world. It was inconvenient. But it wasn’t like he needed three square meals per day, just something every couple of days was sufficient, but lately, the need to consume food had increased. He started to have other cravings as well, but he tried to put those out of his mind.

“I’m hungry too,” Romance admitted. “And I don’t mean noodles,” he growled. He pulled them both into an alley and then he gestured around the crowded streets. “We’re stuck here, but our powers still seem intact.” He started to hum the tune of Idol. His pitch perfect, even Baby found his foot tapping along to the beat.

Then he heard her voice, chattering rapid fire as she was prone to do. Baby grabbed hold of Romance’s arm as Zoey and Mira strode right past them. The raven-haired beauty had hardly even looked at Baby, always so focused on Mystery. Though, that was for the best since her kunai returned Mystery to the Underworld.

Baby started to point out the obvious that two-thirds of the demon slayers were only a few paces away, but Romance clapped his hand over his mouth, muffling the words and shushing him.

“And just, Rumi is like super sad and I swear I keep seeing this weird bird with three-eyes hanging out on her balcony,” Zoey continued.

“Three eyes? You need to stop eating those spicy chips, Zoey, I think they’re messing with your brain,” Mira protested. “But I know what you mean. I’ve seen the bird too. She probably fed it or something. I read that once you feed a crow it remembers and will keep coming back to you.”

‘Jinu’s crow?’ Baby mouthed. He was pretty sure it was a magpie, but they were pretty similar birds.

Romance narrowed his eyes and nodded sharply. ‘Maybe.’

“I really thought a spa day would be good for Rumi, but she left before the pedicure!” Zoey whined. “It’s not fair! She needs to relax. She’s been super sad and she should be like super happy! No more hiding! We know about her markings and we’re fine with it! And the barrier is holding.”

“Can you not talk about these things so casually, people will over-hear.” Mira stopped to scan the crowds. “I just keep feeling like someone is watching me.”

Romance snickered, but kept his hand secured around Baby’s mouth.

“Well, I mean, we’re pop stars, paparazzi is always watching us,” Zoey pointed out.

“Fine, let’s head back home then. We only have a few weeks left on our sabbatical,” Mira warned. “Then we’ll be back in the studio working on another album.”

“Ugh! But I’m so uninspired!” Zoey whined. “And hungry! And honestly, I think I need to fall in love like Rumi did — I mean it didn’t work out for her so like she’s going to be writing sad love-songs and whatnot. But I want to write something peppy and cute!”

Romance moved his hand away from Baby’s mouth. “We’ll confront them. Better to get it over with then continue with this half-life.”

Then with a snap of their fingers and a flourishing poise, Baby and Romance teleported directly in front of the two huntresses.

“Hi,” Baby greeted, smiling shyly at Zoey, finding himself eager to please the raven-haired beauty.

“We need to talk,” Romance declared, holding out a bouquet of blue hyacinths — symbols of peace and forgiveness.
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OoO

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Zoey
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Her spirit kunai were in her hands in an instant as she and Mira both took up defensive stances.

The pedestrians began to turn towards the commotion.

“What are they doing?”

“Is a video being filmed? Maybe we can be extras!”

“Huntrix and the Saja Boys! So they really are involved!”

Mira groaned and hit the base of her staff on the sidewalk and latched onto Romance’s ear and yanked him towards her while he yelped in pain. He kept a firm grip on the flowers. “Normally, I would kill you where you stand,” she whispered through gritted teeth.

“Mira, there’s a lot of people here,” Zoey worried, lowering her kunai. She really didn’t want to go all stabby-stabby on Baby. She still felt a tiny bit bad about sending Mystery back to his maker — he had such a nice face when she finally saw it. She focused on Baby’s pale eyes, his hands were up in surrender and he seemed impossibly sheepish and cute and —no! No, no, no! She wasn’t going to fall for another pretty boy! “What do you know about the crow?”

“A lot,” Baby answered. “Can we go somewhere more private? Preferably where we can eat.”

Zoey and Mira exchanged looks, the latter nodded faintly and they allowed their weapons to disintegrate.

Zoey turned towards the crowd and waved her hands. “Thank you for your support! We’re just working on a new music video with our fellow idols.” She hooked her arm through a surprised Baby’s crooked elbow and yanked him down the sidewalk while the fans cheered and wished them well. “Where are we going?” She whispered to Mira.

“I promise, we come in peace,” Romance hissed in pain as Mira still gripped his ear. He tried to hold the flowers as a flimsy form of defense.

“The penthouse,” Mira sighed, releasing his ear and snatching the flowers. She sniffed them begrudgingly. “I do like hyacinths.”

Chapter Text

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Rumi
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She realized she’d been hugging Jinu for a rather long time and with an awkward laugh released him from the embrace. She felt oddly cold without his arms around her which was stupid because this was a dream. Rumi crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her hands along her bare arms for warmth.

This didn’t feel like her imagination, but it had been so long since she’d dreamed.  Those stupid tranquilizers knocked her out at night, but the side effect was no dreaming.  She thought she wanted to avoid dreams — nightmares.  But Jinu was here the whole time — in her subconscious!

“This is real, right? You’re really here, Jinu?” Rumi could hardly believe this.

His eyes were brown instead of golden, he looked human and no longer had the purplish sheen to his skin.  His demon patterns were still there, but they were a faded silver color, like her own.

“I’m really me,” Jinu said softly. He gestured towards her outfit— the razor top and boy shorts.  “This is significantly more skin than you used to show.” His lips quirked into a half-smile and his eyes softened.  “I’m glad you’re comfortable being you, Rumi.”

“Eep!” Rumi’s body shimmered in a silver glow and then she was now wearing a pair of jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. She pointed an accusing finger at him, because that was easier than acknowledging the fact she was standing with him in a field wearing nothing but her underwear just a moment ago.  “I was supposed to save you, Jinu, and you had to go and sacrifice yourself?” She felt the warmth of tears falling down her cheeks. “I’ve missed you.”

Jinu caught her hands and held them within his own, just like when they’d had their meeting before the Idol Awards and sang their song about being Free.

“I really am sorry about everything,” he said softly. “I was desperate and it all seemed so hopeless, but when you walked into that auditorium? Your song freed my soul from Gwi-ma’s influence.” Jinu squeezed her hands before releasing them and then stepped back from her. He did that annoying shoulder brush of his.  “I didn’t cease to exist, I just transformed into something else.”

“So, you’ve been inside me this whole time? Have you seen everything?” Rumi started to panic. Had been with her in the bathroom? Pervert!

Jinu held up his hands placating. “Calm down, Rumi! I’ve been in your mind, but I’m not exactly aware.” He gestured towards the field of flowers. “What is this place?”

“I used to come here with my adopted mother, Celine,” Rumi explained. “She’s the one that taught me my markings were evil and that I had to purge myself of them. My birth mother was a huntress and part of the Soul Sisters.” She frowned. “I’ve hated myself since I was a little girl because of these markings.” She ran her fingers along the silver markings on her arms.

His express sobered.  “Rumi, your markings are beautiful because they are part of you.” He clasped his hand over her shoulder, his hand warm and comforting.

“You sound a lot more calm now,” Rumi observed. The tortured heart-throb Jinu had appeared before was no where to be seen. He seemed sincere and peaceful.

Jinu smiled faintly. “I am,” he agreed. “No more negative voices in my head. Just the woman with the biggest, purest heart all around me.” He cleared his throat. “Do you know who your father is? Because I think I might.”

Celine had never told her, maybe her adopted mother never knew.  Had her mother fallen in love with a demon too?  Had it been like Rumi’s situation?  Was her father still alive? She tilted her head back to look into Jinu’s eyes, flashing golden. She shook her head.

“Gwi-ma once described you as one that bore his mark, but that he couldn’t control,” Jinu explained.  “I believe that means your father is the Demon King.”  He gestured between the two of them.  “Which means you have some of the same powers as him.  Which includes transforming souls into physical forms.”

That idea was frankly terrifying.  Where had she dreamed up the lyrics about her throne in Golden? It was just a metaphor, right? “I don’t think he’s my father.  He can’t be! How would my mother have even met him?  He is a giant ball of fire!” She threw her hands into the air because the idea was ridiculous. “The Honmoon doesn’t just keep demons out in the Underworld, it keeps humans from traveling there!”

“Does it? It’s fairly permeable.” Jinu cocked his head to the side.  “The massive fire is simply the form he chooses most often.  He is a shape-shifter, Rumi.”  He tapped the familiar silver hoop earring on his left ear.  “I don’t hear him anymore.  And my memories are restored — in their true form.”

“Your tiger and bird are still on this side of the Honmoon. I was right about that,” Rumi said. “You should have been freed, Jinu.”

“I was freed, Rumi,” Jinu reminded her. “Your voice touched my soul, purified it of Gwi-ma’s dark whispers. I’d lived selfishly for so many years and you made me care about someone other than me. I wanted to protect you.”

She stepped towards him again, laid her hand over his cheek.  “Are you only here in my subconscious?  And the sword? It’s massive now! That’s because of you.”

He caught her hand with his and turned to press his lips against her palm. He smiled against her skin and then pulled her hand away from his face, threading their fingers together, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “Rumi, I wasn’t a typical demon. I was a Reaper. Gwi-ma trained me himself. He has other forms than the fire. And if I’m right, then I’m pretty sure you can help me take on a physical form,” Jinu explained.

“I don’t understand,” Rumi murmured.

“Derpy and bird are following you around, right?  They can sense me. We’ve been together hundreds of years now.  Right now, my soul is literally living within your own. Rumi, the spirit isn’t destroyed, it’s merely transformed.”  He raised their joined hands and gestured with his free hand at the bracelet on her wrist.  “If you wake up with that on, I think it will help you summon me.”

“Summon you?” Rumi asked.

“Like how you summon your sword.”  He laid his other hand upon her shoulder and squeezed gently.  “Like the Demon King could call me back to the Underworld when the Honmoon was weak. I believe you have the same power to call me to your side.”

Rumi stared up in his face, fearing Jinu’s suggestion and yet hopeful.  She wanted him back, but if it worked, did that mean her greatest enemy was her father?  “I don’t feel so good,” she murmured, starting to feel a little dizzy.

“You’re waking up,” Jinu sighed, his shoulders slouching in defeat.

“No!” Rumi cried out.  “It’s too soon!”   She desperately clutched his hand, but she could feel him fading.  Or rather, she was fading.  Moments later, Rumi’s eyes fluttered open and the sound of shouting from the penthouse’s den roused her.  She knuckled her eyes blearily — she recognized Mira’s angry shouts, but was that a man?

Rumi scrambled to put back on an oversized sweatshirt and joggers, only pausing with a catch in her chest upon spying the blue and purple bracelet on her wrist - the one she’d given Jinu after that awkward date back on the bridge.  She almost tripped on Derpy as she rushed out of her room.

From the den, she could hear Zoey and another man arguing- talking so fast it was hard to understand. Were they rapping?

“I’m gonna take you down, shut you up, make you listen instead of run your mouth!” Zoey spat out.

“Is that so?” A bored, masculine voice countered. “Good luck with that! Nobody ever said I was one to obey a peppy little girl that’s way too knife happy - chop chop, no?”

“Why you!?” Zoey shouted in frustration.

Rumi rushed out of her bedroom to see Mira and Zoey standing toe to toe with two of Jinu’s demon boyband members— Baby and Romance?

“What?  How is this possible?”  For the first time in two months, Rumi hummed the melody of Golden before she summoned her massive sword, feeling Jinu’s strength thrumming within its spiritual energy.

The dream had been real!

Zoey shoved Baby back and then stood in front of him as if hiding the much taller man with her petite body.  “Oh!  Hi Rumi!  Did we wake you?  So sorry!  Everything’s okay, you don’t need your sword, honest!” She stepped down hard on the blue-haired Saja Boy’s instep.

“So violent,” Baby whined.

“When we completed the Honmoon we left these two stranded,” Mira explained, voice bored.  Romance stood next to her, arm draped casually over her shoulder.  She elbowed him in the ribs and he took his arm back, gingerly rubbing his hand over his injured side.

The vase they kept under the sink was full of an arrangement of pretty blue flowers. Mira quickly shoved those on the other side of the counter, cheeks pink for some reason.

“The bird and tiger are here?” Baby asked, stepping out from behind Zoey.  He waved shyly.  “Please don’t kill us with your big sword.”

Romance gestured vaguely towards the flowers. “We come in peace.” He frowned thoughtfully as his dark eyes focused on her spirit sword and then on the blue and purple woven bracelet on her wrist.

Rumi allowed her sword to dissolve back into the ether and then felt a warmth at the bracelet.  Suddenly, Jinu stood next to her.

“Yes!” Jinu shouted, pumping his fist into the air and spinning in a quick, happy circle.

Rumi turned towards him in shock, her knees shaking weakly. “Jinu?” She whispered in disbelief.

Jinu caught Rumi as her legs gave out and smiled down at her, his eyes twinkling in relief.  “You did it, Rumi,” he murmured, pulling her against him in a hug with her back pressed against his chest. He sighed into her hair and then looked past her towards the stunned quartet on the other side of the penthouse.

“Romance, Baby, it’s been a minute,” Jinu called out jovially. You’d never know he’d betrayed his team for a woman he’d known for less than a month, resulting in two of their friends being cut down and brought back violently to the Underworld and for the monster that had terrorized them for centuries to lose his power source. “You two doing alright?”

“Are we doing alright?” Baby asked quietly. “The dying king with the crumbling crown had victory within his maw and you snatched it away, Jinu.” His cerulean eyes focused like lasers on Rumi. “For her.” She felt a chill race down her spine by the sheer animosity in his normally bored gaze. “He’s going to rip Abby and Mystery to shreds since he can’t get to you, Jinu.”

Mira and Zoey exchanged quick, guilty expressions. The pride they felt in slaying demons was greatly diminished when you realized your best friend was a half-demon.

Jinu’s arms tensed around Rumi. “They aren’t to blame and Gwi-Ma was better fed during those few weeks than he’d been in centuries. He’s biding his time.”

Rumi squirmed out of Jinu’s arms and he released her, taking a step back. How could she have forgotten all the victims? This was a war they were fighting! But, the war was over, wasn’t it? She started towards Mira and Zoey, but felt a strange tugging sensation.

“Um.” Jinu cleared his throat. He pointed between her wrist and his. Barely visible and only to those with the ability to see the spirit energy — hunters and demons — a thin dark pink string around their pinky fingers seemed to tie the two of them together.

Rumi tried to take another step, but found herself tethered to Juni. So if he was summoned in the physical form they had to share a proximity of roughly — five feet? That was going to be awkward.

“Oh shit,” Zoey whispered. “You two are like soul-mates!” She turned towards Baby immediately and started trying to grab hold of his hands.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Baby protested, dancing out of her reach, his knit cap knocked off and fluttered to the tiled floor. “Keep those potato-crumb covered fingers away from me!”

“Whatever!” Zoey jumped into the air and wrapped her hands around his wrist to stare at his pinky even though it was still high above her head. She braced her foot against his thigh and started to drag his hand down. Zoey shook his hand as if trying to shake out candy from a vending machine. “You drank an entire bottle of hot sauce! You wish you could have some of my snacks, you big brat!”

Baby’s stomach growled. “I am hungry,” he admitted. He stopped struggling and held his hand down to her level, knocking her foot off his leg at the same time. “Here. No string of fate for us. You were probably destined for Mystery.” He leaned close, a snarl on his lips. “But you killed him! I heard you taunt him that he was just your type right before you pierced his heart with your knife!”

“Nobody’s dead!” Jinu protested. Everyone turned towards him in disbelief. He grimaced. “Okay, lots of people are dead or missing or whatever. No one ever truly dies, you just change, okay. Abby and Mystery are just back in the Underworld.” He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. “Probably cursing me, if I’m being honest. I seem to have a knack for upsetting people.”

“You think?!” Romance and Mira shouted in unison. They quickly glanced at each other in surprise and then stepped several feet back distancing themselves.

Romance moved into the kitchen, pulled out a chair and sat down at the the table. Baby teleported away from Zoey in a cloud of pink smoke and sat in the chair next to him.

“Well, I’m not upset with you,” Rumi assured Jinu, earning a grateful smile. “And Derpy and Bird still love you.”

Jinu’s lips curled into a dopey smile. “You love me?”

Rumi felt her cheeks flushed. “I never said that!” She grabbed his wrist and started to haul him to the kitchen, purposely avoiding those lovely brown eyes of his. She’d wanted Jinu back in her life. She just didn’t realize her options were in her dreams, in her sword, or within a five foot radius.
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OoO

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Jinu
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He was relieved. Two of his brothers — well — sort of brothers — were with him. And he was in a physical form! He wasn’t limited to an existence solely within Rumi’s dreams or as her sword, though he’ have been content to that. Instead, they seemed to be tethered together. Hopefully, she wasn’t too big into having her privacy, because this was going to get awkward fast.

“I’m so hungry,” Baby complained. He turned his chair backwards and slouched forward with his arms wrapped around the back of the chair and glared at Zoey. “You promised you’d feed me. So feed me.”

“Fine!” Zoey stormed past him and began to pull out containers of ramyeon. “You like spicy, right?”

“I do,” Baby agreed weakly, pressing his forehead against his arm.

She glared at Romance. “And you?”

“Um, I prefer something other than ramyeon and I don’t handle spicy well.” Romance rubbed his hand over his chest. “Heartburn.”

“Maybe we have some left-over pizza?” Zoey suggested, looking over towards Mira.

The tallest huntress was polishing her glasses and studiously avoided looking at anyone. She kept staring at the blue flowers for some reason. “I’m not his personal chef. He’s an immortal demon. He can deal with his own dinner.”

“No, you’re not his personal chef, but you agreed they should come here and now they’re our guests,” Zoey pointed out. “Don’t be a bad host!”

“They aren’t guests. They’re free-loaders,” Mira countered.

“You killed my best friend,” Romance reminded her pointedly. He had one of the blue flowers in his hand and was twirling it between his fingers distractedly.

“Uh! Fine! I’ll make you a sandwich!” Mira threw her hands into the air in frustration and stormed into the kitchen pulling out bread and from the pantry and opening the fridge for lunch meat, cheese, mustard, tomatoes, pickles. “Happy?”

“If you could hold the cheese, I’m lactose intolerant,” Romance added, smiling sweetly.

Rumi covered her mouth to hide her amused smile at her friend’s antics.

“How have you two been surviving?” Jinu asked. He turned towards Rumi. “It’s been about two months, right?”

She nodded.

“We still have our powers,” Romance answered. “We hide in plain sight. Took food and drink when we needed. You were smart to set up that bank account, Jinu. Apparently, our music is still earning us royalties. We were able to use that too.”

“We’re like hungry now. I haven’t had to eat like this since back when I was alive the first time,” Baby complained. “Three minutes is foreeeeever.”

“Alive the first time?” Zoey set a carton of steaming ramyeon in front of him as well as a large glass of water. “It needs another minute before its ready.”

Baby shrugged and stuck his chopsticks into the half-cooked ramyeon. He had shoveled half of the carton into his mouth before he answered. “It’s been a few decades, but this is just like I remember.”

“You were human?” Zoey asked.

“All the reapers were once human,” Romance answered. “We’re an essential part of the afterlife. Unpleasant for most, but it’s an important job.” He stretched out in his chair and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. “And now we’re stuck here with no purpose.”

“Are you sure?” Mira sat across from him and shoved a lunch meat sandwich on a plate with pink flowers and honey bees printed on it. She’d included a sliced apple and half a cup of baby carrots.

Romance blinked down at the plate in confusion. “Thank you,” he murmured in surprise. Then he picked up the carrots and dumped them inside Baby’s empty carton. “I don’t like orange carrots. I prefer the purple ones.”

“You didn’t create the golden Honmoon, right?” Jinu asked, turning towards Rumi, their knees knocking together under the crowded table.

She shook her head. “It’s different. It’s stronger than the golden Honmoon was. It feels more hopeful than oppressive.””

Jinu mulled that over for a bit. She was always going on about hope, wasn’t she? He understood why the barrier was different. It wasn’t just the power of the huntress’ human voices that forged the barrier, but Rumi’s demon heritage as well. It was a barrier that was composed of the full spectrum of human emotions — positive and negative emotions. It’s probably the reason he, Romance, Baby, Derpy and Bird were on this side.

Baby finished his meal and crumpled his empty ramyeon carton before he tossed it into the rubbish bin a few meters away. He’d scarfed down the carrots without a word. He drained his water next and then stared forward with a glassy look in his eyes. He looked tired as he slowly blinked his half-lidded eyes.

“So where have you been sleeping?” Jinu asked Baby.

“Rooftops mostly,” Baby answered, covering his mouth to stifle a yawn.

“Well that’s not happening now,” Mira snapped. She pointed an angry finger between the three Saja boys. “Until we figure out what to do with you, you’re not leaving our sight!”

“I volunteer to sleep in your room,” Romance offered.

Mira’s eyes grew wide behind her glasses. “You can sleep on the couch!”

“Oh, but the couch isn’t very comfortable,” Zoey argued. “How about the boys sleep in my room and I’ll stay with you.” She turned towards Rumi with a bright, satisfied smile that faded. “Wait, what’s up with the string. Can you not like be apart?”

“Um, I think I can put him back in my mind, but,” Rumi started. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully. “I think I feel more comfortable with him here like this.” She gestured towards the den. “What if drag out all the blankets and sleeping bags and we all have a massive slumber party with pallets on the floor for the six of us?"

“Why would I sleep on the floor when I can sleep on a bed?” Baby scoffed.

“Zoey and I will share my room. The heart-brothers here can share Zoey’s room,” Mira suggested. “And the married couple there can go canoodle in Rumi’s room.” She sniffed. “I can’t believe you’ve kept your boyfriend a secret from us for two months! Rumi! You have to stop keeping secrets!”

“Woah!” Rumi almost fell out of her chair in her haste to protest. Jinu caught her once more and helped her settle back into her seat. He liked being referred to as her boyfriend. It wouldn’t have been possible in his original life. “I wasn’t hiding Jinu! He was hidden in my subconscious!”

“Uh huh, sure.” Mira rolled her eyes. “That’s why his tiger and crow have been lurking on your balcony for weeks.”

Romance angled his body towards Mira and leaned close. “Or, you and I could share a room, Mira.”

Mira shoved him hard in the shoulder and he chuckled.

Baby yawned again and belatedly tried to cover his mouth. “Okay, yo, I’m exhausted.” He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “You put extra carbs in those noodles or something?”

“Come on.” Zoey grabbed Baby by the elbow and started to haul him towards her room. “Don’t mess up any of my plushies. Or my album collection!”

“Plushies?” Baby’s blue eyes lit up with interest. “Do you have any Pokemon? Like Pikachu?”

“You like Pikachu?” Zoey whispered in awe. “I have a couple in my closet.”

“Pika-chuuuu,” Baby joked tiredly.

“You’re on the floor,” Rumi said, jabbing her finger into Jinu’s arm.

He shrugged. He was more familiar with bedrolls anyway. Derpy stood in the doorway of Rumi’s bedroom and purred. “Good night, Mira, Romance. Try not to hurt each other.” He and Rumi retreated to her bedroom.

Jinu kept a respectable distance of two paces behind her, not wanting to crowd her anymore. He stared at the whiteboard behind her desk while she created a sleeping pallet on the floor next to her bed.

He smiled at the photo of the two of them from that joint signing. He thought about the artwork the little girl had given him. He actually enjoyed the spotlight. Jinu was a musician at heart. Could he turn his talent to good? Would Rumi consider looking him and his brothers sing with Huntrex?

His bird swooped over onto Rumi’s desk, ruffled a stack of papers. As Jinu straightened them, he realized they were articles about Korea during his lifetime. She’d been thinking about him and that made him ridiculously happy.

“Okay,” Rumi announced.

He felt a tug on his hand an he turned back towards her. The bed on the floor she’d made for him looked rather comfortable. “Thanks.” Jinu slipped into his bedding and looked up at where Rumi was peering down at him from the edge of the bed.

“You’ll be here in the morning?” Rumi worried. “You’re not going to vanish the moment I close my eyes?”

“I don’t really know how this works any better than you do,” Jinu admitted. He reached up and snagged her hand, happy when she curled her fingers around his. “Good night, Rumi. Sweet dreams, okay.”

“You won’t be there?” Rumi whispered.

“I don’t know,” Jinu murmured. “We’ll have to find out together. I do know that I won’t leave your side.” The string between their fingers shimmered in the dim starlight streaming through her balcony. He hoped they’d be able to meet again in their dreams, but he was just happy to be with her. They’d been fated for each other, so did that mean they had more work to do together than just the Honmoon? Were they supposed to find a bridge between the human world and the demon world? Could the species live in harmony with one another? Or was that simply impossible on the whole and only a few rare exceptions?

This little experiment with the surviving Saja Boys and the Huntrix trio would provide that answer.
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Jinu
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He didn’t think he was actually going to fall asleep. It wasn’t like he was tired, right? All he’d done for the last two months was rest. Though, having a physical body again was a little bit exhausting. It was different than his previous form— less demonic energy.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep, listening to the even breathing of Rumi where she rested just above him on her bed.

The air was clean in his dream, no pollution in the air, but the smell of horse dung and bird droppings was strong. It didn’t take Jinu long to recognize exactly where he was — four hundred years into the past. Was this his memory? Why would he be dreaming about that time? Why was his sense of smell so strong?

Whenever he thought back about that time, it was usually the image of the palace gates being slammed in his mother and sister’s face, with his baby sister reaching desperately for him while he stood back and watched. Or his desperately empty belly. Starvation was a terrible motivator.

Where was Rumi? Wasn’t this her dream? He saw all the papers on her desk earlier. It wasn’t a stretch that she’d start dreaming about the time he came from. Though, he didn’t recognize the village specifically, the style of the simple homes was familiar. The forest was one he’d hunted in when he’d been younger, before his father had died in the war. Before his mother had moved them into the city after the droughts and famine forced them to leave the forests.

He vaguely could remember a girl. He’d forgotten about her over the years. Someone he knew when he’d been a boy. They used to listen to the sorikkun perform the Pansori. He would tell stories through music and that’s how people learned their history in those days. And then young Jinu and his friend would practice singing the stories. One of the elders within his old village had given Jinu a bipa that they had inherited.  It was Jinu's only possession in the world.

Alongside the girl, he learned to play and their voices grew strong. Until one day a priestess had traveled through their village and taken the girl with her when she left. The loneliness hit first, then the droughts, then the famine, until his family had been forced into the city. Until his hunger grew so strong he made a deal with the Demon King.

And then the girl that Jinu had forgotten stood before him. She was a young woman in her early twenties with long dark hair tucked under a hat with a colorful beaded chinstrap and flowing robes. And then he watched as his old childhood friend became the first Demon Huntress. Along with two other women, they sang and gathered the spiritual energy to slay the demons preying upon the villagers.

That’s when Jinu saw his mother and sister — older than the last time he’d seen them outside the palce. The first huntress saved their lives.

Jinu collapsed to his knees, feeling the cold solid earth beneath him. He grasped at his chest, trying to catch his breath. And then the first huntress swirled in a dance with her robes billowing as her voice flooded over him. Then he felt warm, gentle hands cradled his chin, lifting his face up.

That’s when he realized the first huntress, his childhood friend, was none other than Rumi — same face, same eyes, but different hair. Same Soul.

“Jinu?” She whispered, smiling sadly at him, her dark eyes soft.

He wrapped his arms around her hips and buried his face in her belly while she held him.
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OoO

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Zoey
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She was a cuddler and Mira was not. Unfortunately, Zoey had left her favorite plushie in her bedroom — but Baby’s eyes had literally lit up when he saw the over-sized Pikachu. And he was sort of cute, — for a demon.

So, after Mira kicked her for the third time in the shared bed, Zoey rolled off the mattress. She pulled her hair back into a pair of messy buns on the sides of her head and padded out into the den with a white fuzzy throw blanket. Maybe she’d crash on the couch for a little bit. It wasn’t that uncomfortable.

She paused just outside the bedroom, lingering in the doorway in confusion when she saw Baby Saja with his pale blue hair sitting in the den. Baby sat cross-legged on the couch with a video game controller in his hands. His thumbs flew over the buttons with his tongue stuck out at the corner of his mouth in concentration. Zoey stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep from squealing about how cute he was with a pair of dimples! She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and quietly shut the door to Mira’s room. Just because Zoey appreciated a good looking boy— even a demonic one — it didn’t mean she was going to let it go to her head.

Zoey wasn’t boy-crazy. She wasn’t. If she was, she wouldn’t have sent Mystery with his pretty face to his doom. She was dedicated to her craft as a musician and as a demon slayer, but with the Honmoon - new and improved - separating the surface world from the underworld, she didn’t have to consider these Saja Boys as enemies anymore.

Right now, the remaining Saja Boys were lost and alone and well, — Rumi was half-demon, so it didn’t feel right abandoning them to their fates.

She boiled water in the kettle and then prepared two cups of calming jasmine tea. Then with her blanket tied over her shoulders like a superhero cape, she crossed the room and she sat beside Baby on the couch to watch him play. She set the tray with the two cups of tea, some honey, and a stirring spoon on the coffee table in front of them. Zoey picked up her cup and held it between her hands, blowing on the steaming drink.

Baby didn’t even acknowledge her as he was focused on playing the Legend of Zelda. He was really good at it. That was surprising. A magician demon shouldn’t be good at video games!

“You’re really good at this,” Zoey observed quietly.

“I used to play Zelda all the time.” Baby paused the game and set the controller on the table. He leaned forward and peered into the tea cup and took a sniff. “Jasmine, huh?”

“Jasmine green tea. It’s soothing,” Zoey explained. “I thought maybe you were stressed.” She tucked her legs under her body and used the blanket to cover them.

Baby snorted. “Gee, I wonder why that would be? You sent my best friend into the afterlife,” he paused to frown. “Again.” He picked up the tea cup with a grimace at the hot temperature and took a tentative drink. He grimaced, placed it back on the tray and poured in a liberal amount of honey. He mixed it with the spoon and then took another sip. This time he sighed in relief and leaned back against the couch. He glanced over at her, eyes half-lidded. “Isn’t it exhausting being you?”

Zoey frowned. “Huh? What do you mean?” She finished her tea and set the empty cup on the tray before shifting to face him directly. Honestly, this was probably the closest she’d been around a boy alone — ever. There were so many rules of propriety being an Idol.  At the signing, she mostly ignored Baby.  She was so focused on Mystery. She felt a sharp stab in her gut as she thought back to his handsome visage. But she squashed that guilty feeling. He was trying to kill everyone at the tower that night, right? And besides, he wasn’t actually dead dead. He was just back in the Underworld, being tormented and tortured by the Demon King for all eternity.

So much better, right?

“Just an hour at that signing with you all, and I felt completely wasted. Always putting up a happy front for your fans.” He shook his head and raked his fingers through his light-blue hair. “I don’t remember too much from when I was performing back — before. I do remember my manager would always give me this little white pill.”

“You were an Idol?” Zoey hissed, clutching onto his shirt sleeve. He looked down at her in surprise and she released him as if burned by the touch. She cleared her throat. “I think I would remember you.”

“I doubt it. For every group that makes it, a hundred implode before they make a name for themselves.” Baby shrugged. “I could sing, dance, and I loved to rap.” He shook himself, set the tea cup back on the tray, half empty and picked back up the controller to resume his game. “It was the other stuff I couldn’t deal with.” He pursed his lips. “It’s how Gwi-Ma got me. I just didn’t know he’d gotten Romance too.” He sighed. “Not until he was there in the Underworld with me.”

“What did you do in the Underworld?” Zoey asked curiously. If he didn’t eat or sleep, what did he do all day? It wasn’t like he could access big libraries and play video games.

Baby shrugged. “My job. I’m a reaper. Or I was, I guess. I don’t really know about now. I could travel the world. I’ve seen everywhere.” He turned towards her suddenly, the game playing forgotten in the background. “You’ve not lived until you’ve seen the Southern Lights— all the green, red, blue, and purple dancing in the night sky while in Antartica surrounded by penguins.” His eyes lit up and the smile on his lips was genuine.

“Were there many souls to reap at the South Pole?” Zoey frowned. It did sound pretty. And she really liked penguins! Did he attack the scientists that were studying there? Why else would he have gone to such a remote place?

Baby blinked at her, his face suddenly blanking of all the excitement of a moment ago. He turned back to the television and picked up the controller to resume his game play. “No. Besides, I was only there for a few moments before Gwi-Ma yanked me back. It was a misuse of my powers.”

“He can’t yank you back now, right?” Zoey asked quietly. “Maybe you could visit again.”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Baby admitted.

It did sound nice. But he wasn’t to be trusted! And while it was tempting to see what he talked about, one didn’t have to travel all the way to Antartica to do so. The modern day conveniences of electronics could do the same. She went to pull the ocular gaming system out of the electronics cabinet behind the stacks of blu-rays they collected and never used since streaming was so much easier. She scrolled through the options on the VR headset’s software application to find something like what Baby described. She couldn’t find a video of the Southern Lights, but she did find one of the Northern Lights. She tapped his shoulder.

Baby pushed pause again and turned to glare at her, clearly annoyed with the furrowing of his brow. His demonic dark purple stripes rippled across his neck and face. “What?” He glanced down at the headset she held out towards him.

“Put this on,” Zoey ordered, resisting the urge to shove a pair of kunai into his chest.  They had a truce, for now. “Trust me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That’s a tall order, Zoey.”

She liked the way he said her name, but forced a friendly smile on her face to ignore those stupid butterflies in her stomach. “You’ll like it. Please. You put it on your head and look at the video.”

“Fine,” Baby sighed, taking the virtual reality headset, his fingers brushed against hers in the exchange. He placed the oculus on his head and Zoey pressed the power button and watched as his mouth opened in shock. “What is this?”

“The Northern Lights,” Zoey explained. “I couldn’t find one with polar bears in the background, but maybe I can if I look a little more.”

“No, no this is fine,” Baby whispered. He watched the immersive video and Zoey watched him. Eventually, he pulled the headset off and handed it back to her. His smile was sincere and his eyes soft. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Zoey started to put away the system. “I’m going to make some breakfast in a bit. You want anything in particular?”

“Can you make flapjacks?” Baby’s face was open, still in awe of the video he’d watched. “With blueberries?”

She nodded. “Of course!” She was halfway to the kitchen. “We have loads of honey and maple syrup you can drown them in too, in case you have a sweet tooth.”

“This doesn’t mean I trust you,” Baby warned.

“This doesn’t mean I trust you either,” Zoey assured him. But, that was a lie because she really, really wanted to trust him.
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OoO

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Rumi
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She’d obviously been studying Seventeenth Century Korea too much if she was dreaming about Jinu’s era. It was just also a bit convenient that Celine had passed down journals from the previous Demon Hunters to Rumi. She’d split the journals between herself, Mira, and Zoey, wanting no one person to possess all the knowledge. Rumi had claimed the older books long before she met Jinu. She’d also wanted her mother’s, hoping for clues about what Ryu Mi-yeong was like and maybe about her father, but Celine claimed her mother didn’t keep a journal.

Now, Rumi wondered if Celine might have been less than truthful with her, perhaps hiding the truth due to her hatred for demon-kind. Rumi understood that prejudice. She’d been just as guilty, even with her own demonic patterns. It wasn’t until the moment that Jinu wrapped that bandana around her arm, protecting her from spilling her secret to her friends before she was ready that she realized her enemies had feelings. They weren’t just evil things. They were powerful creatures desperate to survive.

Even humans were terrifying when they faced destruction.

Had she not behaved terribly when she was scared and justified her actions as necessary?

That’s why the Golden Honmoon had failed.

Emotions needed to be embraced — positive and negative feelings were natural. However, the key to what created the new Honmoon was managing to balance the good and bad feelings so that people were left with hope.

It was so obvious even in the journal of the first huntress. Prior for harnessing the spiritual powers associated with joy and relief led to an abundance of hope. Hope was what the demons lacked as they were absolutely saturated in despair. Rumi shook the voluminous sleeves of her dream-self’s wonsam ceremonial robe.

Hope was what finally turned the tides and allowed Jinu to follow his heart and free his soul from Gwi-Ma.

And that’s when Rumi saw him, not in his preppy button-up shirt or his casual hoodie, but wearing a jeogori jacket, baji trousers, and a durumagi over coat in simple grays and blues. His hair was longer, pulled back into a high ponytail common during that age.

Rumi stepped back from a mother and daughter that she’d just saved, tucked away her sword and approached Jinu. He’d fallen to his knees and she touched his face gently in concern. She called his name and he’d wrapped his arms around her so fiercely she could hardly breath as he buried his face against her stomach.

Then a moment later, she felt the dream dissolve around them and she woke up with a start in her bed. Rumi could feel a fine sheen of perspiration had beaded upon her forehead and she threw back her sheets as she scanned her room. He wasn’t there.

The pallet she’d set up for him on the floor by her bed was empty.  The blanket was only barely wrinkled from where his weight had settled. “Jinu?” Her voice was a broken whisper. She felt a warmth on her wrist and the knot bracelet was still there.
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OoO

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Mira
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This was such a bad idea. She stared up at her ceiling, unable to sleep anymore. With a groan, she headed towards the bathroom. She might as well wake up, splash some cold water on her face. She left her glasses on her nightstand. She hardly needed 20/20 vision to rub the sleep from her eyes and brush her teeth.

Without thinking much of it, she yanked open the door to the bathroom that she shared with Zoey and was hit was a wave of steam from the shower.

Just stepping out of the shower with a dark pink towel wrapped around his lean waist Romance glanced over at her with a devastating smile. With his hair wet and straight down his back and a tantalizing view of his abs that would make even Abby proud, Mira was glad she left her glasses in her room.

The image of a half-naked Romance burned into her retinas was the last thing she needed to see. He’d not bothered with a glamor and his skin was a purple-gray color and his markings appeared the same pink as his hair.

“Good morning,” Romance greeted, voice smooth and casual. “There’s plenty of hot water left.” He gestured towards the two extra guest toothbrushes Zoey had placed on the vanity the night before. He took one and applied toothpaste, the towel around his waist drooping dangerously low in the process.

Mira was very glad she left her glasses behind. “Morning,” she grumbled, turning on the faucet closest to her door. She just needed to act cool. This didn’t have to be a big deal. So what that she was sharing a bathroom with her mortal enemy and he was super hot and she’d killed his brother just a few weeks ago. It was fine! She viciously splashed water at her face.

Romance cleared his throat and held out a fresh hand towel. “Um, you’re making a bit of a mess.” He pointed at the huge puddle she’d made on the tile. “Be careful.”

Then Rumi screamed down the hall. “Jinu!”

Romance rushed past her, his wet hair dampening her sleeve as he pivoted and  ran towards the cry of distress.

Viciously turning off the faucet, Mira dropped the towel onto the puddle and rushed for her bedroom, grabbing her glasses and then heading for Rumi’s room.

Zoey and Romance were already standing in the doorway. He was definitely not bothering with his glamor and looked strange with his purple-gray flesh next to Zoey. Meanwhile, Baby stayed in the kitchen eating a massive stack of pancakes completely unruffled.

“It’s okay, Rumi!” Zoey called out. “He’s still here. You’ve got the bracelet, right? Just try to summon him.”

Romance leaned against the frame, arms folded over his chest. He looked down at Zoey and Mira felt incredibly annoyed that the half-naked man that was supposed to be focused on her was standing so close to her little soul sister. “I doubt if it’s that simple,” Romance countered. He waved his hand in Rumi's direction. “It will probably work better if you summon your sword.” He patted his hand over his bare chest. “Demon right here,” he dared. “Go ahead and fear me, draw your weapon, Huntress!”

Mira was tempted to draw her own weapon. She saw the peace flowers from her peripheral vision and resisted the urge, — for now.

Rumi took up her battle stance, started to sing the lyrics to Golden softly and gathered the spirit energy to create her gigantic sword. Then she allowed the sword to dissipate, only no Jinu appeared. “No!” Rumi clasped her hand over the knot bracelet on her wrist. “You’re supposed to show up!”

“Maybe he needs to like recharge or something,” Baby suggested, pointing his fork their way with a large flapjack speared by it. “You girls are like super exhausting.” He started to yawn and his glamor faded, so that his skin also appeared a purple-gray with pink patterns. He shoved the last flapjack into his mouth and then dropped the fork with a clatter onto the plate. “I’m going back to bed,” he announced before he shuffled back into Zoey’s room and slammed the door.

Romance started to step inside Rumi’s room, but Mira caught him by the ear again. “Nuh-uh, Lover-Boy, back to your room! Go put some clothes on!”

Then he disappeared into a puff of pink smoke, only to re-appear in the kitchen, peering into the refrigerator dressed in a button-up yellow shirt and dark gray slacks, back in his full glamor looking like a handsome Korean Idol. He even wiggled his butt, as if he knew Mira was watching him.

“Magician,” Zoey said in the form of a cough before she rushed to Rumi’s side to comfort their leader.

With a groan of frustration, Mira followed after her.
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Chapter Text

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Rumi
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She hugged the tiger, burying her face in his soft, blue fur. She’d always wanted a pet growing up, but Celine had never allowed it. Now she was the fur-mom of Jinu’s clumsy massive tiger. She could almost imagine how the big dopey tiger had comforted Jinu over the years when he was miserable in the Underworld. It was such a sweet, tolerant creature.

Zoey was dressed in an over-sized green shirt with a graphic of a ring-tailed lemur on the front with stretchy gray pants and she rubbed small, concentric circles on Rumi’s upper back while Mira in her oversized polar bear shirt and a pair of black shorts held her hand and studied the knot bracelet on her wrist. Her hunter sisters were the only reason Rumi hadn’t lost her mind. It was so comforting that they accepted her whole, unlike Celine, whom she’d still not spoken with since they completed the new Honmoon.

“I mean, I don’t sense any power from it. It feels like a regular bracelet,” Mira observed. “But it showed up from your dream world and we all saw Jinu. His spirit energy is definitely part of your sword. So he’s not gone-gone, Rumi. We’ll figure it out.” She sighed in frustration, brows furrowed. “So, try to explain the dream again. What exactly happened?”

Rumi rubbed her nose in the tiger’s fur. He smelled a bit like a pine forest and it made her think of the village in her dream. “Was it a dream though? What if it was actually a memory? It was like I was the first huntress. And Jinu was there, but he wasn’t all demon-y or anything. He had long hair and was wearing the types of clothes they wore hundreds of years ago, because he’s old, you know? I don’t know if we said anything, it’s mostly just the feelings that I remember. I do know we talked some though, because I’ll always recognize Jinu’s voice, — it’s very distinctive,” Rumi explained, the words tumbling out. “And you know how dreams are? It’s all just outside of my grasp— fuzzy and fading. Though, just before I woke up, I remember Jinu hugging me and crying.”

The tiger purred soothingly and let Rumi continue to nuzzle against its warm fur. Jinu has seemed both sad and relieved at the same time. Was it a memory of a past life? Was it his memories? Had she simply fit into the role most suited to her personality? Had she been studying the seventeenth century too much? Celine always did say that Rumi had an over-active imagination.

“Maybe we can like do hypnotism!?” Zoey suggested. “That way you can revisit the dream and remember the parts you forgot.” She reached into the back pocket of her cargo pants and pulled out her cell phone. Her thumbs flew across the touchscreen as she started a search. Her dark eyes grew wide and excited. “Or maybe I can text Bobby! Though he’ll want to know if we’re ready to start on our next album and honestly I don’t want to deal with that, you know? We’re still on our stay-vacation!”

“Yes, Zoey, we know.” Mira rolled her eyes. She stood from the bed and moved to sit at Rumi’s desk. She started to rummage through the collection of journals and printouts from Rumi’s deep-dive internet research of Jinu’s era, her attempt to learn everything she could about him. “I’m not surprised you’d dream about the first huntress, Rumi. The first three huntresses came into their power around the same time that you’ve been studying here— four hundred years ago. Maybe it was just a a regular dream.”

“It was different,” Rumi insisted. She sat up and patted the tiger’s head once more. He lolled his tongue at her and then he started to sink though the floor in a portal. The bird flew into the room, landing between the tiger’s shoulders and together they vanished. Rumi blinked in astonishment. So being in the human world hadn’t robbed those creatures of their powers, just like the two other Saja boys seemed to still possess their abilities.

“Where do you think they went?” Zoey asked, blinking in astonishment at where the tiger and bird vanished. She frowned. “I don’t sense any disturbance in the barrier.”

“Hey,” Romance greeted, as he stood in the open doorway, wearing a simple white button-up shirt half unbuttoned, stonewash skinny bluejeans, converse high-tops with his shoulder braced against the doorframe. He held a lacquered serving tray with three steaming mugs. “I brought hot chocolate with peppermint. Good for calming. The depressed vibes coming out of this room are hard to ignore.”

“Where did you find peppermint?” Mira asked. She tried to take the tray from him but Romance merely smiled, tilting his head to the side with soft eyes.

“I’ll let go if you stop yanking so hard. The drinks are hot and I’d hate if you scalded yourself, Mira,” Romance reasoned calmly. His hair fell perfectly in waves framing his heart-shaped face. He was entirely too pretty and charming.

“Fine.” Mira gripped the tray and Romance let go, stepping back to lean against the wall. Mira frowned down at the mugs and snorted. “Candy canes?”

Romance shrugged. “They were in the pantry.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “I found them tucked away behind a couple of cereal boxes. Which, you’re out of cereal now. Baby and I were really hungry. Sorry.”

“Oh! I was looking for those!” Zoey cried out, hoping off the bed and taking the green mug with her name engraved on it and Rumi’s purple one with her name. “I bought them to decorate last year’s Christmas presents!” She sat back on the bed and Rumi’s purple mug out for her.

“That was six months ago,” Rumi said with a laugh, accepting her mug. She stirred the red and white stripped candy cane, letting the hard sugar melt into the hot chocolate.

“It was more like a year and a half ago,” Zoey mumbled. She cleared her throat before taking a big gulp of her hot chocolate. She smacked her lips afterwards and grinned. “But it’s fine. They don’t expire or anything. Candy canes are good for yeeeeears!”

“Yeah, I don’t think candy canes expire,” Romance agreed with a indulgent smile. “So, I couldn’t help, but overhear your conversation.”

“Because you’re freaking loud!” Baby added, poofing next to Romance in a cloud of pink. He scanned the room, hands stuffed into his front pocket and posture slouched. He wore a sweater vest over a pale blue shirt and a pair of dark blue cargo pants. His feet were bare and his nails were painted a dark blue color. “So where’s Jinu?”

“He was gone when I woke up,” Rumi explained, gesturing towards his rumpled sleeping pallet. “He was in my dream but when I woke up, he wasn’t here and now I’m wearing this.” She held up her wrist displaying the blue and purple knot bracelet.

Mira stirred the peppermint into her mug of hot chocolate and took a tentative sip. She wrinkled her nose and glared at Romance. “It’s good,” she begrudgingly admitted, shoving the empty tray at him and then retreated back to Rumi’s desk chair. “The peppermint is a nice touch.”

Romance was all smiles, a pair of dimples prominently displayed in his cheeks. He held the empty tray over his chest as if he were deeply emotionally moved by the compliment. “So where’s Derpy and Sussy?”

“What?” Rumi asked. “What’s a Derpy and Sussy?”

“The tiger and the magpie,” Baby explained impatiently, rolling his eyes. He strolled into the room and flopped onto Jinu’s abandoned pallet. “They were here, but then we felt them leave.”

“Wait? Are you wearing my nail-polish?” Zoey kneeled on the floor next to the pallet and snatched up Baby’s hand to study the dark blue fingernails with her free hand while holding her mug in the other.

Baby pulled his hand back. “Maybe.”

“You can sense them?” Rumi finished her drink and set it on the nightstand before she rolled over on the bed to peer down at the youngest of the Saja Boys. He looked entirely too comfortable stretched out on her floor with Zoey glowering down at him.

He cracked open one of his blue-green eyes and stared up at her. “Can’t you sense them? You’re a demon too.” He closed his eye back and sniffed. “I’m so tired.”

“Probably because of those carbs,” Romance suggested with a laugh.

“I can’t believe you ate all our cereal!” Zoey cried grabbing Baby’s hand again. “That is my polish.” She sipped from her hot chocolate and then sneered at him.

Baby jerked his hand away from Zoey again and shifted his gaze towards Rumi. “Do you not know how to use your abilities? Aren’t you like a demon princess?”

“I’m not a demon princess! I’m human!” Rumi argued. She grabbed her pillow and started to throw it at Baby, but it was caught in mid-flight by Jinu, who suddenly materialized next to Baby on the pallet, a carefree smile in place.

“Why is your first response always violence, Rumi?” Jinu asked, snatching the pillow and tucking it behind his head and stretching out on the pallet. He was dressed much like he had been when they first met with a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up revealing toned forearms, chain necklace, and a pair of skinny jeans— not the jacket and trousers of the seventeenth century. Jinu was totally at ease, as if he’d not spent the last two months in a limbo-state after having betrayed the Demon King and letting himself be killed right in front of Rumi.

Rumi stared at him in disbelief for several long moments, unsure if she should laugh or cry or hit him!

With a sigh, Baby scooted over, making more room for Jinu, but also bringing him closer to where Zoey still crouched glaring at his painted nails. “Dramatic,” he grumbled. He snatched the pillow out from under Jinu’s head and hugged it and rolled onto his side, his eyes meeting Zoey’s. “Yes, fine, it’s your nail polish. It was pretty, okay? I liked the way it looked on your nails.”

Rumi rolled off the bed and landed on Jinu with a thud, overcome with the need to confirm he was solid and real. She gripped the front of his shirt and pressed her face into his shoulder. “Why didn’t you come when I called you?”

Jinu’s warm hands settled between her shoulder blades and the small of her back. “You didn’t give me enough spiritual energy. I had to wait for it to build.”

Rumi pushed up and glared down into Jinu’s handsome, smug face. She could see the faintest traces of the old patterns on his face, the skin was paler there, just like hers. “The dream? Do you remember it?”

His eyes softened for a moment and then his lips quirked up in a lop-sided smile. “Did you miss me?”

“Ugh!” Mira grabbed hold of Rumi’s waist and pulled her off Jinu. “Flirt later! Where’s the tiger and the crow?”

“Magpie,” Romance corrected. “Don’t you know your own history, huntress? Tigers are guardians keeping evil at bay and magpies are messengers.”

“Keeping evil at bay? But they’re his pets?” Zoey pointed out, pointing an accusing finger at Jinu, where he remained stretched out on the floor.

“What?” Baby scoffed. “You think just because we’re demons, we’re evil?” He buried his face in his stolen pillow. “You’re so mean and judgy,” was his muffled response.

“You feed on people’s souls!” Mira shouted.

“So do you,” Romance countered, shoving away from the wall and moving to the desk. He leaned his hip on the edge of it— brave considering how she ended Abby in the last battle. “Where do you think your power comes from, Huntress?”

“The missing people, where are they?” Zoey demanded, yanking the pillow away from Baby and earning a growl of irritation as he took the pillow back. “Demons are evil! I mean, — for the most part."

“Can we maybe move this conversation to the den instead of my bedroom?” Rumi asked. She pushed herself off Jinu and sat on the edge of her bed. She combed her fingers through her hair. There were simply too many people in her room. It wasn’t meant to host a party!

“I like your room,” Jinu murmured, gripping the pillow Baby stole and trying to take it back, a few feathers began to leak out ominously. Rumi rolled her eyes and threw a second pillow at Jinu. “Thanks!” He tucked it behind his head and sighed in relief. “I sent Derpy and Sussy to delivery a message to Abby and Mystery. The tiger and bird should be able to see them. They aren’t hindered by the Honmoon as they aren’t human or demonic.”

“No one can pass through the Honmoon,” Rumi argued.

“It’s a gate, not an impenetrable shield,” Jinu countered. “It’s pretty strong right now, but the surface world and underworld co-exist. They always have. If you want the Honmoon to remain, it has to be strengthened.” He gestured between the three women. “You have to keep writing music that inspires people.”

“We destroyed in a few weeks what had taken centuries to build,” Romance added.

“That’s true,” Mira murmured. She glared at Romance and shoved him off the desk.

Romance danced away with a laugh, brushing back his pink hair.

“What did you say to the other Saja Boys?” Rumi asked, laying on her belly again and peering down at Jinu from the edge of the bed.

Jinu watched her through his thick, dark lashes. “I wanted to make sure they’re okay. The Demon King is capable of permanently destroying souls and because of us, he’s more powerful than he’d been in centuries. He’s like a chained dog, chomping at anyone that might venture too close.”

“The people from the train?” Zoey asked again.

“Gone. Consumed,” Baby answered. “Waiting for their next life.” He shifted his pillow and laid it on top of Zoey’s thighs and snuggled on her, the top of his head pressed into her belly. “We’re reapers. Death is inevitable. Life comes again.”

“But you took people before their time!” Zoey argued, gripping Baby’s hair and forcing him to look up into her angry face.

Baby blinked back at her lazily. “Did I? How do you know?”

“Look, we aren’t going to be able to get into the explanation of the universe with any satisfactory answers,” Jinu interrupted. He raised his hand to Rumi’s face, gently touching her cheek. “Huntresses are priestesses. We’re reapers. There’s balance.”

“Anyways,” Romance interjected. “We’re out of food.”

“You ate all the food?” Mira demanded. “How is that possible?”

“I mean, I haven’t eaten in like forty years. It was bound to catch up,” Romance explained. “Do you order grocery delivery or do you visit the market? We need more food.” He shifted his attention to Jinu. “Energy from food is so much less efficient.”

Jinu sighed and leaned back in his pillow. “Yeah, I know.” He shifted his dark eyes towards Rumi. “I do have an idea though.”

“Oh?” Rumi curled onto her side, accepting she wasn’t going to pry the answers she wanted out of Jinu right now. “What’s that?”

He gestured around the room. “We perform together. The Honmoon you created is more powerful than the golden one because you weaved huntress and demon power together, Rumi.”

That made sense.

Baby stood abruptly. “You all talk too much. How am I supposed to sleep?” Then he vanished in a poof, taking Zoey’s half-drunken mug of hot chocolate with him.

“Hey! I was drinking that!” Zoey chased after him for her room. “You better not spill that on my comforter!”

“So, shall I accompany you to the market, Mira?” Romance pressed.

“I think delivery will be fine,” Mira counter. “We’re pop idols, you can’t just walk around the store. The media would have a frenzy!”

“Fine,” Romance sighed in disappointment then he strolled out of the room with his hands tucked into his pants pockets.

Mira stared between Rumi and Jinu. Then with a huff, she gathered the empty mugs and followed after Romance, shutting the door behind her.

“Alone at last,” Jinu murmured. He sat up and pulled Rumi down to him, wrapping her in his arms in a fierce embrace.
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Chapter Text

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Mira
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She was restless and Zoey was talking in her sleep so that Mira couldn’t shut her own mind off enough to enjoy the bliss of unconsciousness. So, with a huff of annoyance, she crawled out of bed, dressed in a pair of leggings and an over-sized shirt with an adorable polar bear graphic desire over her very practical sports bra and and headed for the penthouse gym. Any maybe she normally would have worn a pair of short-shorts for a work-out, but if there was any chance she might run into one of the boys (Romance) she didn’t need to feel his heavy stare checking her out.

Their gym was a combination of strength training machines, a dance studio, and a dojo. Tre was a long wooden barre attached to a mirrored wall — just like at a ballet studio and she intended to stretch out the tension in her muscles and then go through a couple of dance routines she’d choreographed to see if any fresh ideas came to mind. Mira was the mastermind behind most of Huntrix’s choreography. And in her former life, before she became a demon huntress she’d been a talented ballet dancers but as her height soon towered over the other girls and she’d been unable to continue traditional roles, she’d started acting out, ruffling the feathers of her family, until her powers manifested and she’d been found by Rumi and Celine.

Unfortunately, when Mira entered the gym, it was already occupied by that overly flirty Romance. She could only be grateful that it wasn’t Abby on the benchpress because that probably would have stopped her heart. However, Romance was rather easy on the eyes too. He wore a tight muscle shirt that clung to his chest in all the right ways. His skin had a faint sheen of sweat. She’d never seen him without layers of clothes on before and it was clear, he had a dancer’s toned and lithe body. He’d been on the bowflex and his dark gaze settled on her as she walked in. His rose-colored eyebrows arched in surprise at her presence. “We have to stop meeting like this,” Romance teased, releasing the hand grips and standing gracefully from the machine. He plucked the towel he brought and wiped his face.

“I can come back,” Mira murmured, already starting for the door, using the moment his eyes were off her to make an escape.

However, Romance was there a moment later, grasping her wrist. He’d not teleported, but just hurried over like he was human. “Wait, don’t go. This place is huge. I would be honored to share this space with you, Mira.”

She turned towards him and he released her wrist, bringing his hand into a clenched fist over his heart. As usual, his expression was earnest and he was laying the routine on thick, but the shyness she suddenly spied in his eyes made her hesitate. “So, do you dance?” Mira asked, studying him.

“I was trained in ballet, modern, and hip-hop,” Romance answered. “Before.” He gestured towards himself and the patterns that flashed across his skin. “And I enjoy social dancing too.” He smiled faintly. “At least, I used to.”

Mira frowned. The patterns weren’t the purple-pink they appeared before. Now they looked like Rumi’s, — iridescent, pale. The Saja boys had been living with Huntrix for the past few days and it seemed as if they’d already started to change during that time. They seemed more human. “Your patterns are different.”

“Ah.” Romance ran his hand down his forearm as if noticing the patterns for the first time. “Baby and I have a theory.” He looked back at her again, lips quirking slightly. “We think being around Rumi is erasing the brand Gwi-Ma placed upon us.” He started to shove his hands into his pants front pockets, realized he had on a pair of pocketless shorts, and then made due with wiping his palms across his clothed thighs. “I think it’s why we’re eating so much too.”

Jinu was also always in the penthouse, not far from Rumi given the spiritual tether that seemed to secure the two together. Rumi was half-demon, but wasn’t controlled by Gwi-Ma like the Saja Boys had been. Who was Rumi’s father? Would Celine know?

“I also know swing and salsa,” Romance added, interrupting Mira’s musings. “If you’d like to join me?” He gestured towards the digital clock on the far wall opposite of the mirrors.

She enjoyed both, but was more in the mood for Salsa. This wasn’t what she came here for, but it could be fun. “Fine. I’m in a Latin mood,” she answered. Carefully, she stepped past him for the music set up in the back of the room and scrolled through the options until she found a nice playlist for Salsa, Bachata and Merengue music. It could be fun to have a dance partner for this type of music. Rumi and Zoey weren’t really big fans of the style.

Romance held his hands out for Mira and with a resigned sigh, placed hers on top of his. He smiled at her shyly and then they started to move. The music seemed to flow through them and it was actually pretty nice.

“You know, I was planning to actually warm up and work out,” Mira complained. She let Romance lead, his fingers trailed over her low back as he held her there briefly during a spin before he resumed their previous hand-holding position.

“I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.” Romance’s lips quirked into a smile.

“You’re so arrogant,” Mira grumbled.

Romance laughed softly. “There’s something about Rumi. Some power. It’s been months since Baby and I were stuck here, but before we came to the penthouse, we were easily fatigued. These glamours were draining.” He released her hands and stepped back, gesturing towards his pale face. It darkened into ash, but the markings seemed a paler purple. “This is different.”

“Do you think Gwi-Ma is her father?” Mira hated the very idea. But maybe the boys knew the answer. Rumi didn’t know and she highly doubted that Celine knew the identity of Miyeong’s lover.

Romance’s skin faded back to the flesh color. “I don’t. I’ve never seen him take a form other than a massive flame. Now, he could possess someone. That’s what he did with all of us, just a bit of his essence inside our blood. When we harvest souls, we feed him and he shares that power with us. If he starved, so did we.”

“I’d rather not talk about people and their souls like food,” Mira hissed.

His expression sobered and he looked at her in an odd way. “Your soul is very lovely, Mira. I’ve thought that since the moment I sat next to you at the table signing. That love-sick look of mine wasn’t totally an act.”

Mira rolled her eyes and refused to look at him. She marched past him for the barre to stretch her legs — better late than never.

What she didn’t expect was for Romance to join her a few feet down. “I read about you. While we were stuck here. You choreograph Huntrix’s dances?”

Mira nodded. “I do.” She sneaked a peak at him through the mirror and caught his reflection’s eye and the soft smile on his lips and a pair of adorable dimples. It hit her in a way that Abby’s toned torso had once made it hard to breath.

“Nice. I choreographed for our group.” He turned to face her, his leg stretched in a way that showed just how flexible he was. “Would you consider performing together? One day?” He gestured vaguely to the ceiling above. “Apparently, we still have a pretty big fan base and they’re having all sorts of whacky theories about where we’ve gone. It might comfort the humans.”

She dragged her eye away from his and focused on her calf. “I’ll consider it. Though, it might still spark more questions for the fans since half of your group is missing and Rumi and Jinu can’t seem to distance themselves more than a few feet.”

And hadn’t that been an interesting discovery. Rumi had been terrified that Jinu would vanish, so she’d asked him to stay corporal with her. Which also meant they were on a tight leash with one another. Which meant, when Rumi showered, Jinu had to sit outside the shower stall, back to her, head pressed against his knees.

Mira’s eyes widened and Romance turned to her quick, worry clear upon his face. She gripped him by the damp muscle shirt and he gasped in surprise as she pulled him close. “You don’t think Rumi and Jinu are?” What if he wasn’t sitting politely outside the shower, but was in the shower with her? It was scandalous!

Romance’s expression softened and he gently pried her hands off his shirt. “Jinu is a different breed of man compared to what you’re used to. Trust me, he’s nothing but a gentleman. He wouldn’t do anything unless he’s very clearly invited.”

He dipped his face close to hers. Mira stopped breathing. And then Romance kissed the corner of her mouth, not quite reaching her lips, but his breath fanned over them. Then he pulled back enough to search her eyes.

Mira’s hands were on the back of his neck, fingers cradling the back of his head and pulled him back down to her, demanding a kiss. She smiled against him when he moaned in shock or pleasure, she wasn’t sure — maybe both?

She kissed him until they were both breathless and then released him, please with his flushed face and swollen lips. A glimpse in the mirror behind him and she could see her face was equally flushed and lips swollen — they had similar complexions so it wasn’t a surprise.

“I sincerely hope we’ll be able to do more of that,” Romance murmured, gripping her hand gently between both of his and brushing a kiss over the back of her knuckles. He backed up and cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you to your work out. I fear I’m a distraction.”

“You don’t have to go?”

Romance chuckled. “Oh, I think I do.” He adjusted his shorts. “I need to clean up. I’ll see you at breakfast?”

“Yeah, okay,” Mira sniffed. She didn’t like being dismissed, but she could appreciate his need to escape. They were enemies and then sort of tentative friends and now whatever this attraction was, she couldn’t ignore it.

“Could we maybe go into town later today?” Romance asked, pausing near the door.

They hadn’t been in public since they brought boys back with them. “Why?” Mira was suspicious.

Romance tugged on his long, rose hair. “I’d like to visit a music store. It’s strange seeing Jinu without his bipa. I’d like to try to find him something similar.” He looked embarrassed. “When I was alive, it didn’t exist anymore, but I read on the internet that several years ago, they started making them again — silk strings. I want to do something nice for him. Baby and I — we blamed him. But, I think I understand.” He touched his ear. “Without the whispers, I understand.”

Mira wasn’t entirely sure what he meant about the whispers, but she was cool with visiting the city. “You’ll need to go in disguise.” They’d also ordered quite a few clothes for the boys over the last few days. Their ability to make clothing out of nothing had seemed to fade.

“Is that a yes?” Romance asked, his eyes hopeful.

Mira chuckled, feeling happy even. “Yes. I’ll let Rumi and Zoey know.” She turned her attention to the barre and started her stretches again. She caught Romance lingering at the door and the sight of the soft, genuine smile on his face made her smile in kind.
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OoO

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Rumi
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They were all gathered in the den. Jinu was only a few feet away from her idly strumming on an acoustic guitar. He’d taken to the stringed instrument like a fish to water with his experience with the bipa. He’d been so happy when Romance and Mira came home a few hours ago with both a guitar and a bipa instrument for him.

The two of them still shared a forced proximity with their soul bond, but Rumi didn’t mind. She’d missed that arrogant, teasing attitude of his so much that she liked having him at arms’ length. Though, the more time Jinu spent as a physical manifestation, the more elasticity their tether gained. They were still stuck being in the same room, which was awkward with the bathroom, but so far, they’d made it work. Though, she was had to fight hard to keep from stealing glances at him and she wondered if he also struggled. Though, when he was in his last shower, he’d poked his head out the shower door and told her that he didn’t mind if she watched. She thought her face would light on fire with her mortification. She’d quickly pressed her face against her knees and didn’t look up until he’d been fully dressed.

She sat on the couch, Jinu was on the floor at her feet, back pressed against the seat of the couch, guitar in hand, strumming idly with his long legs stretched out. Rumi had her notebook and was busy sketching out costume designs. Mira’s talent laid in choreography. Rumi adored fashion and Zoe was a song-writer at heart.

Jinu started playing a different melody and Rumi started making up lyrics to go with it. She caught his eye and he smiled at her, chocolate irises flashing gold for a moment, reminding her that he was not a simple human male. Though a glimpse of the iridescent patterns rippling across her skin was a reminder that she was no simple human female either.

Her adopted-mother Celine had been calling and Rumi had been putting her off. She doubted her mother’s fellow huntress had any more knowledge than Rumi about the origins of the huntresses or the Honmoon. The golden Honmoon had been one of exclusion while the rainbow Honmoon that was affixed as the boundary was one of inclusion and love and harmony. That’s why both Rumi and Jinu’s voices had been instrumental in the creation.

Jinu stopped strumming, his lips pursed in thought. “What if before Gwi-Ma, it was supposed to be a balance of priestess and reapers? Light and dark in harmony?” He started picking another tune, something somber yet playful. “There was someone as king before him. It was before my time. But, if the huntresses were only around for four-hundred years, what about before then? Was there not a need for warriors?” He returned to plucking the guitar in a haunting lamentation.

Baby groaned. “Really? You’re going to play the ‘Dying king with the crumbling crown’ now?” He turned off the video game he’d been playing, earning a grump from Zoey.

“I was watching that,” Zoey snapped. She was angrily crocheting a beanie hat — something in yellow that looked an awful lot like the hat Baby wore when they first met them at their Soda Pop street performance. He’d apparently lost the original and she’d been making him a replacement - Rumi knew this, Baby did not. Zoey hid the hat, yarn and needle between her hip and a nearby plush pillow.

“Why would you be watching me play a video game?” Baby asked incredulous. He gestured towards the hidden yarn and hat. “What are you making? What’s the big secret?”

“Nothing!” Zoey clutched the pillow tighter over the evidence. “And I like watching the storyline of the video game, okay? There’s nothing odd about that.”

“What storyline?” Baby countered in exacerbation. “You gather weapons, face challenges, win the game? It’s pretty basic.” He leaned back on the couch and sighed in boredom.

“That’s a basic way of explaining it!” Zoey argued. “There are so many nuances!”

“Oh?” Baby leaned close, suddenly animated, his blue eyes flashing with irritation. “So you care about nuances now? You didn’t seem to care when you sent Mystery back to the under world.”

“You were killing people! There are still hundreds of missing persons!” Zoey cried out. A pair of mystical knives appeared in between her fingers, three in each hand.

“That’s what reapers do,” Baby said with a shrug. He leaned back, tucked his arms behind his head and stretched out his legs to prop his feet on the coffee table, ankles crossed. “Ugh, I’m hungry. Can we order some more food?”

“You know what? Why don’t you two get out of here, go to the market together?” Rumi suggested. It had been good for Mira and Romance to get out of the penthouse. They’d returned in really good spirits. She earned two pairs of incredulous stares — one blue-green like the sea and the other dark as the night sky. “Zoey, it’s not good for you to be cooped up. You need to be around people. We’ll need inspiration for our next album.”

“Why don’t you leave?” Zoey asked, arching a thin eyebrow.

Rumi blushed and then cleared her throat and gestured towards Jinu. “I have my inspiration right here.”

“Yeah you do,” Jinu added, smug satisfaction in his tone. He strummed a particularly suggestive melody.

“I would like that,” Baby interrupted. “I won’t snatch any souls while we’re out.” He frowned. “I no longer have the urge.”

“You don’t have the urge to snatch up souls?” Zoey repeated.

Baby blinked half-lidded eyes at her. “Yeah. I don’t.” Then he was up like a flash and yanking Zoey up with him. His eyes widened as he spied the crochet hat she was working on. He cleared his throat and pretended he didn’t see it.

“They’re adorable,” Jinu whispered, tilting his face up towards Rumi.

They waited until the two younger members of the groups left before they spoke again. “Did you hear back?” Rumi asked.

Jinu shook his head. “No, but I’m sure they’’ll get the message. Sussy never fails in a mission.”

“So, do you like the guitar?” Rumi asked. She liked watching his long, dextrous fingers on the strings.

He shrugged. “Not as much as the bipa, but at least I don’t need claws to play it.”
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OoO

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Abby
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He tugged his robe secure over his broad chest, making sure to cover his large frame. They’d come so very close in the end. Jinu’s plan had been brilliant and Gwi-Ma’s powers had grown from the souls that had been harvested. Maybe he should have felt bad about ushering those souls into the afterlife a bit prematurely, but it was hard to concern himself about such things.

Why should he care about the lives of strangers when his own miserable existence had been cut so short?

He’d walked the surface world over three hundred years ago. His family had been farmers, as had most families in those days. One cannot live off rice alone and after his father’s crippling injury, Abby had been the one to hunt and support his family with game from the forest.

It was fine. He didn’t mind the hard labor and the long hours spent either in the fields or in the forest. Food was necessary. And when the family’s ox died and they couldn’t afford a new one? Abby tilled the soil himself. He was strong, he could do it. It was all fine, until some ‘lord’ decided that the forest where Abby’s family had lived for nearly a thousand years was suddenly his and that Abby killing a deer there had been poaching.

Whatever.

It didn’t help that there was drought two years in a row.

So, Abby managed to earn the funds — creatively. He was strong. He was good looking. He had the seductive voice of a youkai that would draw people to him. He managed to scrap together enough currency to purchase a few goats and chickens for his family’s farm. The weather would improve. It was going to be fine. There were alway lean times, this was one of those times.

Then that lord decided his family owed him a tax.

Things became worse and then Abby heard those whispers in his ear. Naturally, he’d been desperate enough and had accepted Gwi-Ma’s bargain. The security for his family had been short-lived. The villagers rose up against the tyrant who had come to steal their lands, but the lord had left his palace with torches and burned Abby’s home and all those of the villagers to the ground with the mercenaries he’d hired with their tax money.

Abby had tried to pull people out from the smoldering ruins, but he’d lingered too long and was crushed under a collapsed roof.

So he came to the underworld at the ripe old age of twenty-eight and became a Reaper. It was a necessary job. When there is life, there is death. It was all about balance. He understood that. Though, sometimes, he wondered, what was the king like here before Gwi-Ma? Before he’d become friends with Jinu, he’d been taken under the wing of an older former human turned demon. He spoke of the glory days under the former king, but Gwi-Ma had learned of the man’s words and had obliterated him.

Mystery flopped beside Abby on the ground. The fiery winds from Gwi-Ma’s rage making the land unbearably hot and uncomfortable. It blew back Mystery’s long bangs enough to reveal his furrowed brow. His sharp lower canines protruded from his frowning lips.

“They’re not here?” Abby asked, already knowing the answer. He’d been looking himself unsuccessfully ever since that awful concert. The underworld was a lonely place — full of demons and former humans who’d been desperate enough to make deals with the Demon King. Why did Jinu turn on them? He’d always considered Jinu his best friend and it hurt to be betrayed so much. He wanted to be angry about it, but mostly he was just sad.

Jinu was the best of them. He was the strongest Reaper and one of Gwi-Ma’s generals. He’d also rounded their group up - the Saja Boys. They were the Lion pack. They were friends. Why would Jinu choose that woman? And how was one of the Hunters half-human and half demon?

“No,” Mystery growled, laying flat on the ground, his pale silver hair covering his face once more. “Can you believe that girl?” He scoffed. ‘Oh, you’re just my type! Oh well!’ He said, mimicking Zoey’s voice. “Then she slices through me, plunging those knives of hers into my literal heart, and sends me back here.”

“Hmm,” Abby hummed in agreement. He’d felt a similar frustration when that woman, Mira, who had ogled him and was clearly attracted to him, ran her naginata’s blade through his body, disintegrating his physical form. They’d seen Jinu rebel against Gwi-Ma and his light — his pure white soul — had gone inside the huntress leader. Her spirit sword had been massively powerful. He was gone. But, Romance and Baby had gotten away, right? “I think they’re trapped on the surface.”

“I think you’re right,” Mystery agreed. “I haven’t seen Derpy either.”

“Or Sussy,” Abby added. The tiger and magpie had roamed these lands long before Abby ever came here. Would that barrier keep them out of the underworld? Without souls, the underworld would eventually fade into nothing — the cold void of nothingness. Right? That’s what Gwi-Ma had said, but, what if he was lying? Abby rubbed at his ear, the whispers had returned.

As if sensing his distress, Mystery starting singing softly. Abby joined in the lyrics and the whispers faded. Jinu has taught them that trick. Song could drown out Gwi-Ma’s taunts and jeers. And while they both noticed it was Jinu’s lamentation song, they didn’t comment.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Mystery murmured.

Abby was about to suggest they visit the border again and inspect the Honmoon — it wasn’t golden like they’d been warned to prevent. It was something different, something stronger. He started to rise to his feet, already weary at the idea. They’d have to walk. Gwi-Ma had taken away their ability to teleport in his anger. They were lucky he’d not ripped their limbs off and forced them to live eternity in pieces. He was a terrifying master and only Jinu had ever been brave enough to directly confront the Demon King.

Mystery sat up abruptly. “Hey,” he said softly as the familiar magpie Sussy flew to land on his knee. “What are you doing here?”

Abby’s eyes widened. The magpie was on the other side of the barrier. How had he made it through? And then there was a heavy push against the back of Abby’s thighs and he turned to see the massive blue tiger standing behind him. Derpy purred at him and then opened his mouth letting his tongue loll out to reveal a slobbery letter with a silly plump bird on the front of the card. Hello friend? Was this surface world stationary?

“Uh, thanks,” Abby grimaced, picking up the letter and opening it. He almost dropped the card in shock.

“What does it say?” Mystery ran his fingers down the magpie’s dark feathered back.

“They’re alive,” Abby explained. “All three of them. They’re on the surface world, living with the huntresses.” He crumpled the letter in his fist. What was the point of living on the surface world or in the underworld? They were all doomed to slowly starve, right?

“They’re okay?” Mystery snatched up the crumpled letter and read over it himself. “You know, maybe this would be a good time to visit the archives.”

Abby’s eyes widened at the suggestion. The archives was a forbidden library within the underworld, but if there were answers about the land before Gwi-Ma’s reign, about the Honmoon, about the true role of reapers, maybe it would be there. It would just require getting past the guardian.
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Chapter Text

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Rumi
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She was in the studio with Jinu, because they were practically attached at the hip unless she released his summoning. She knew she couldn’t keep him summoned all the time, but after the delay that last time she was anxious to try again and Jinu hadn’t pushed it. They’d been able to extend the distance between them to two-dozen feet, so it was getting better. He was doing push-ups on one of the matts while Rumi went through various sword forms with a practice bokken.

Mira and Romance were practicing ballet on the other side of the studio. Their manager Bobby had been calling and it was decided that Mira and Romance would meet with him, share the idea of the Huntress and surviving Saja Boys doing a collaborative video. Bobby had no idea about the demonic origin of the Saja Boys. Like the other fans, they all assumed the groups used special effects during their performances.

Zoey and Baby had taken the train uptown to a hole-in-the-wall arcade. He’d remembered a place he liked to visit back when he’d been alive the first time. When Zoey realized it had recently been renovated and was operational, she’d practically dragged him there. Though, Baby hadn’t exactly protested.

“So, are we going to talk about it?” Jinu asked. He paused in the up position and balanced his elbows over his raised knees.

“Talk about what?” Rumi pivoted and turned ninety degrees bringing her wooden sword down in an above the head strike on an imagined opponent.

“Really?” Jinu laughed, his eyes wide. “The dream? The memories? You were there! You were the first huntress. You were my friend, Rumi.” He frowned and rested he cheek on his upper arm. “You were taken by a priestess to train.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Mira asked, striding over. Romance trailed after her, his pink hair pulled back in a stubby high ponytail. Mira’s own hair had been secured into a massive bun on the top of her head.

Rumi was a little distracted by how cute they both looked, but resisted the urge to coo at them.

“Oh my, you two are simply adorable,” Jinu teased, batting his eyelashes dramatically.

Rumi directed her practice sword’s next blow towards Jinu, but he caught the wooden blade by clapping his palms to either side of it.

“Rude,” Jinu huffed, but he was smiling. He released the sword and Rumi returned her bokken to the sword rack on the wall for storage. “We shared a dream,” he explained. “A memory of my life and I remembered the first huntress. We’d been childhood friends.” He nodded his chin over at Rumi. “It was her, but without purple hair, because, you know?”

“Because I wasn’t half-demon in my previous incarnation,” Rumi explained. She sat on the floor next to Jinu, legs stretched out in front in the shape of a V as she started to stretch out her hamstrings, reaching for her toes.

“So, what if, I was targeted because of our connection?” Jinu suggested. “You were always told the Honmoon needed to be golden, but the one you created was rainbow.”

And it was stronger than what Celine had always preached about. The golden Honmoon was a barrier of exclusion and extreme prejudiced. If it had been completed, which side would Rumi have ended up on? Because she wasn’t completely human. The rainbow Honmoon was so much more powerful. Rumi hadn’t even seen her foster-mother since the Honmoon was completed and they’d had their fight before hand at her mother’s grave.

“What if, hear me out, —we— the Saja Boys— were chosen by Gwi-Ma because we were supposed to support the Huntresses of our time?” Romance offered. He unbound his hair from the ponytail and shook out his rose locks. “Do you have a photo of your mom or her bandmates, Rumi?”

“Got it,” Mira murmured. There was a collection of records in the back of the room, along with a record player. Sometimes they’d go a bit retro and play records to dance. She picked up one of the Sunlight Sisters albums. She handed it over to Romance.

Everyone watched him in silence. Romance nodded his head imperceptibly. “Ryu Mi-yeong? Did your mother attend KNB?” The Korean National Ballet Academy was extremely competitive and was founded in the early 90s. It was the most prestigious ballet academy in all of Korea. “It was founded in 1993. I would have graduated from the class of ’98, but I’d been recruited by then by my manager to join mine and Baby’s former boyband.”

“Did you know Celine or Sun-Hee?” Mira asked. “They are the other two huntresses from that time. They’re the other two members of the Sunlight Sisters.”

Romance frowned and handed the album back to Mira. “I didn’t, but maybe Baby did. He used to play piano — like from the age of four until well…until we died I guess.” He smiled faintly. “Maybe we can pick him up a keyboard.”

“So you and Baby were in the same boy group?” Rumi asked. “And Sun-Hee did play piano. She was Zoey’s aunt.”

“Was?” Jinu asked softly, observant as ever.

Rumi nodded. “So, our working theory is that the members of the Saja Boys were made into demons, tempted by Gwi-Ma while they were still mortal because if they’d connected with the three chosen huntresses the Rainbow Honmoon would have been completed years ago? Because it takes the spiritual powers of both females and males? Yin and Yang?”

“Philosophy hurts my head. I think we should focus on who was the king before Gwi-Ma,” Jinu reasoned. “What happened to him? How did he fall from power? Why were the Huntresses created four-hundred years ago and not a thousand?” He resumed his sit-ups. “Derpy and Sussie finally contacted Abby and Mystery. It took them some time to find them, but they were able to cross the barrier.”

“What? You’re just now mentioning this?” Rumi whirled on him. “When?”

“You were in the shower,” Jinu explained. “It wasn’t like I could interrupt you then. Besides, I just heard back. Abby sent a message. It’s bleak for them both, for all the creatures there. I can guarantee you, if Gwi-Ma doesn’t have access to fresh human souls, he’ll simply feed on the demon ones in his realm.”

“He would feed on you?” Rumi asked, turning towards Romance, her eyes bright in concern. It was interesting to see, since of the three of them, it was Mira that was always some black and white in her hatred towards demons. Of the three of them, she’d had to adjust her mindset the most.

Romance nodded. “Have you ever donated plasma?”

Mira snorted and shook her head. “I can’t say that I have. Why? That’s sort of like donating blood, right? I’ve done that before.”

“No,” Romance sighed, shaking his head. “It’s different. I sometimes would make ends meet, back before Gwi-Ma got to me. Anyways, you can donate pretty frequently and it’s not like being anemic. But, you feel totally drained afterwards. Lackluster and just blah. Being around Gwi-Ma is like that. He takes all your spark, leaves behind a hollow shell.”

“Or he drowns out your thoughts with taunts of your greatest fears and guilts,” Jinu added. “The constant despair and misery makes it hard to think clearly. You’re desperate to do anything to make it stop.” He rubbed at his ear absently, as if trying to silence the whispers that had once haunted him.

Mira nodded, frowning. “I remember. I heard him at the Saja Boys’ midnight performance.”

Romance grimaced and cleared his throat. “Yeah, sorry about that.” Then he smirked, eyes twinkled in mischief. “But you have to admit, we looked pretty hot up there on stage.”

Mira shoved his shoulder and he stumbled back. She didn’t answer, but her rosy cheeks were answer enough.

Rumi chuckled, appreciating the moment of levity.

“Right, well, Abby and Mystery are searching the archives,” Jinu explained, turning towards Romance. “I doubt if there’s any records left after Gwi-Ma razed whatever was there of his predecessor, but maybe the guardian can tell them. Abby isn’t as old as me, but he did know one of the older Reapers. If there’s a clue, he’ll find it. You know how smart and stubborn he is.”

Romance’s complexion turned ashen. “That’s too dangerous.” All the humor faded from his face as his brow crinkled in worry. “He could actually destroy them. Permanently.” He snapped his fingers. “Just obliterate what’s left of their souls.”

“Maybe there’s another way,” Mira suggested. She laid her hand upon Romance’s shoulder and he seemed to lean into her. She focused on Rumi. “Rumi, what about your dad? Has Celine every told you anything about him?” Mira asked. “Or her journal mention him? Are there any photos?”

Rumi shook her head. Then she felt Jinu tugging on her long braid. She whirled on him with a scowl ready to berate him, but he was studying her hair with a thoughtful expression. “What?”

“Has your hair always been lavender?” Jinu met her gaze. “Did you color it or is it natural?”

“Natural,” Rumi answered and then realized what he was getting at. Her unusual hair color was a trait because of her inhuman heritage.

“We could try a summoning,” Jinu suggested.

Romance laughed. “Wow. I don’t know if we’re that desperate just yet. You never know who or what would be summoned. It’s not always the guest you request. And would that mess up the Honmoon? Honestly, I don’t want to risk a crack that would allow Gwi-Ma to snatch us back or prey on these people.”

“Maybe we can try to ask my mother herself,” Rumi whispered. She’d never tried her spiritual powers to commune with the dead, but she had read it was a skill some of the Huntresses possessed in the journals. It would be easy to lose herself in the task, but she had her sisters and she had Jinu. She felt grounded enough that she could try.

“How did your mother die?” Jinu asked quietly, he reached for her hand, his grip strong and reassuring.

Rumi entangled their fingers and squeezed his hand for comfort. “Shortly after I was born, she died. I don’t really know how. Her death certificate said natural causes.”

Mira snorted. “Right, because a sword through the heart would be a natural cause too.” She shifted her attention to Romance. “You were friends with Rumi’s mom?”

Romance shrugged. “I suppose you could call us that.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gwi-Ma took me before their group became big. He took Baby first.”

“I wonder if Celine remembers you. Maybe I should show her one of your videos as the Saja Boys, maybe Soda Pop? I could gage her reaction,” Rumi suggested.

“Or we can ask Zoey if her aunt, Sun-Hee has a diary,” Mira suggested. “Zoey’s family moved to America before she was born after Sun-Hee died. That was a year before you were born, Rumi.” She tugged on her hair, freeing it from its large bun. “She was supposedly killed in battle.”

“Okay, we’ll keep the summoning as a last resort. We’ll see if Zoey can find out anything. Maybe her dad kept Sun-Hee’s things? Maybe we’ll be lucky and she kept a journal,” Rumi mused. She felt Jinu squeeze her hand again and she turned back to him. “I want to visit my mom’s grave. I’ve never spent this long away from it. What if my dad is still alive? Maybe he’ll try to find me?”

“You think he stayed on the surface world?” Jinu asked. He nodded. “If he felt for you mom even a fraction of what I feel for you, I think he would.”

“Alright, you two try to stay out of trouble,” Mira teased. “Come on, Romeo. You and I have a meeting with Bobby. And we’ll stop by that music store and see about picking up a keyboard for Baby.”
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OoO

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Zoey
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How was he this good? They'd been taking turns on the Dance Dance Revolution game and Baby kept scoring flawlessly! Zoey was no slouch and had been pretty smug when she first suggested they play, but she hadn't expected that competitive gleam to enter Baby’s usually bored eyes. 

After another flourishing finishing move, Baby stepped off the dance floor.  The smirk on his face was so smug that Zoey wanted to smash those pretty lips with her fist! 

“Do you want to try again?” Baby asked as the perfect score flashed behind him on the screen. 

Zoey shook her head. “No thank you.” She folded her arms over her chest and sure she may have been pouting, but how could she not?

Baby studied her, his smirk faded and his neutrally bored expression once again settled in. He hooked his thumb in the front pockets of his jeans. “We could play together. There's another machine that's set up for couples.”

“We are not a couple!” Zoey punctuated her statement with a finger poke to his chest. 

He frowned, staring down at her jabbing him.  Casually, he raised his hand to knock her hand off him gently.  It was much more gentle than how she had jabbed him. “A team,” he corrected.  “I know I'm not your type. Your type you send off packing to the underworld.”. He sniffed disdainfully.  “You're not my type either. I always preferred nice, polite women “ 

Zoey was about to argue that she was nice and polite, but there was a shy tap on her shoulder. She whirled around, annoyed to be interrupted, but quickly schooled her features to address the teen girls behind her asking if they were done with the game. 

“It's all yours,” Baby told them, granting the teens a mock bow and gesturing towards the unoccupied dance pad. He earned giggles and shy smiles from the girls and another scowl from Zoey. He started to walk away and she followed. 

She didn't stomp after him, really. 

Though, when he whirled around abruptly, she did crash into his chest. Baby’s large hands settled on her shoulders, steadying her. “Are you hungry?”

Zoey knocked his hands off her and wiped her palm over her face. “Sorry, she mumbled.”

“It's fine,” Baby snapped. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah,” Zoey admitted. They'd been eating street food mostly, but now that he was actually sort of human, maybe she should take him somewhere nice. “I have an idea. There's this restaurant I really like. My dad took me there when I first moved here.”

“Moved here? You're not from here” Baby asked. “Where are you from?”

They started walking side-by-side, close enough she could feel the heat off his arm. “America. Dad moved there, met my mom shortly afterwards. He left Korea after my aunt died.”

“Oh,” Baby murmured softly. “I'm sorry for your loss.”

“I never really knew my aunt, but thank you.” Zoey smiled up at him and felt her chest tighten at his answering soft smile. “Anyways, she played the piano, apparently. So Dad took us to this restaurant with this massive grand piano and customers can play it. So it's always kind of neat to see what you might hear.”

“Oh,” Baby repeated.  “I used to play.” He looked down at his hands. For a moment, his fingers extended into claws and then they were rounded mortal hands once more. 

“Really? Maybe you'd like to play?” Zoey asked. 

Baby scoffed and glanced back down at her. “Will you be upset if I'm good at it?”

Zoey's eyes widened and she threw her hands into the air. “Of course not!”

He chuckled. “I'll believe it when I see it, I guess.”

Chapter Text

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Zoey
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The restaurant wasn’t particularly busy. They’d placed their order with the wait staff and then settled at the piano, sharing the duet bench. Of course, Zoey didn’t really know how to play the piano. Her aunt had been talented and her father taught Zoey the basics, but it had never been her interest.

“I just want you to repeat this sequence,” Baby explained. He sat on the right side of the bench and Zoey was on his left. He stretched his hand across her and played a series of six keys in a repetitive order. “You try.”

With a sigh, Zoey, mimicked his earlier action. She ignored the warmth in her belly when Baby smiled at her briefly, nodding his head in approval. She didn’t need his approval! He was just a demon! Er, — former demon? He was definitely a brat.

Nodding his head, to a beat only he could hear in his head, Baby focused his attention on the keys in front of him. His long, dextrous fingers danced across the ivory keys playing a much more complicated melody. His higher octave melody and Zoey’s deeper notes blended seamlessly into a hauntingly familiar tune that she couldn’t quite place.

The drone of conversation within the restaurant faded as the patrons turned their attention to the two musicians. Then he winked at Zoey and he started to play the refrain from Billy Joel’s Piano Man and she realized that was the song they’d been playing the whole time.

“Are you going to sing?” Zoey whispered.

Baby shook his head, eyes intense on the keys. So, Zoey focused on her repetitive part while Baby’s fingers danced across the keyboard. When the song was over, there was a moment of silence before the patrons all stood to cheer loudly and applaud. Baby looked uncomfortable under the praise and so Zoey stood up and cheered for him loudly, drawing the crowd’s attention towards herself, feeling only a tiny bit relieved when she saw Baby’s shoulders relax just a smidge.

Their waiter waved them over towards their table balancing the tray with their meal one-handed.

“Let’s go eat,” Zoey said, offering Baby her hand.

He stared at her extended hand for a moment as if it were some sort of alien appendage. Then he grasped her hand, his palm was warm and dry against hers. She’d intended to drop his hand as soon as he was on his feet, but he’d tightened his grip, threading their fingers together, squeezing her hand.

Zoey would have snatched her hand away from him, but she could see a fan in the distance with her cell phone recording the two of them and she wasn’t about to be on some gossip article about getting into a fight with a Saja boy.

“What are you doing?” Zoey hissed, teeth clenched into what appeared to be a smile, but was actually a grimace.

“Being pleasant,” Baby murmured. “You’re not making it easy.”

“I’m very pleasant and very easy,” Zoey protested.

Baby squeezed her hand. “I don’t think you mean that the way you sounded.” He laughed and then released her hand, only to pull out her chair at their table and then he sat in the chair across from her. “This is an interesting place.” He picked up his bottle of carbonated water and started to chug it, much like a parched baby would drain their bottle.

Zoey watched in disbelief, mouth slightly ajar as she watched him suck down the water, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. He watched her while he drank, arching a blue eyebrow in question. She averted her gaze and focused on her plate. Then she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out to read the text from Mira. “We’ll be visiting our manager after we finish eating. Mira and Romance will meet us there. They’re going to talk to Bobby about a possible collaboration between our two groups.”

“Half my group is in the underworld,” Baby pointed out, setting his empty bottle on the table with a thud. He leaned close. “Remember? The one you killed?”

Zoey braced her hands on the table and leaned close to Baby until they were eye-to-eye. “I am not going to feel bad about doing my job. People were dying.”

“We start dying the moment we’re born,” Baby argued.

"Ugh!  You are so morbid!" Zoey cried, throwing her hands into the air.
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OoO

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Mira
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They’d visited the music store first and Romance had picked out a keyboard for Baby. He wore it strapped in a case over his back. She’d suggested they have it delivered, but he insisted on bringing it with them to the manager’s office. He was eager to show it to Baby as soon as possible.

Romance paused a block from the office building, his attention focused on the electronic billboard across the square. Mira followed his gaze, seeing the image flashing between Hunter’s reconciliation and then the large question mark about what happened to the new sensation Saja Boys? What became of them?

And then the advertisement image shifted to show none other than Zoey and Baby sitting together playing a piano and then a second photo of them walking hand in hand.

“What?” Mira whispered.

Romance seemed equally dumfounded by the massive images on the screen of their younger siblings (not siblings by blood, but by the deep bonds of friendship). “They’re holding hands,” he whispered in disbelief. “Baby doesn’t like people, — ever.”

Mira was about to snap that Zoey was a beautiful woman and anyone would be lucky to hold her hand, when she noticed several pedestrians noticing the two of them. Soon she and Romance would likely end up on a billboard. “Let’s go,” she said, grabbing hold of his wrist and dragging him across the square.

They were soon inside the building, riding the elevator up to the top floor. Celine’s office wasn’t too far from Bobby’s, simply on a different floor. Would she be there too? Rumi wasn’t answering her adopted mother’s calls and neither were Mira or Zoey when she tried them. Mira’s hands fisted at her side, anger at the self-hatred Rumi grew up with because of Celine’s conditional love.

She was so busy stewing, she hadn’t really noticed when Romance started to crowd her space, until he was suddenly in front her. His hands were pressed to the wall, either side of her head, arms braced to either side. Mira was a tall woman, but Romance was a few inches taller. He leaned close, forehead just a fraction away from touching hers. He was so close and yet so very carefully not touching her.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked, his dark eyes searching hers. “Huntrix has a reputation that is, well, golden. If you affiliate yourself with the Saja boys, it might harm you in ways you can’t imagine. Your image of purity will be ruined.”

Mira pondered his words, mind working quickly, decision made faster. She laid her hands on either side of his face, palms cupping his cheeks, thumbs pressed to the firm line of his jaw. She looked him directly in the eyes, saw when they shifted from dark brown to gold and then back again. A few months ago, she’d have been as small-minded as Celine. She was not the same person from back then. “No one is pure. I feel you and your brothers are worthy of love, not because you’ve earned it, but because my heart is big enough.”

Romance’s eyes softened, his flirty bravado replaced with a somber realization. “It’s been a long time since anyone has cared about me.”

Mira released him and took a step back. “I doubt that’s true. Even when you were in that place, you had your brothers.” She watched as the numbers on the elevator neared the top floor.

Romance shoved his hands in his jacket pocket and moved to stand next to her. When they reached the appropriate floor he gestured for her to lead the way and then he followed a pace behind.

Mira stopped half-way to Bobby’s door and turned towards Romance. He arched a rosy eyebrow at her. “Don’t walk behind me. Walk with me. We’re equals and we’re friends.”

A slow, genuine smile crossed his lips. “Just friends?” His gaze flickered towards her lips before he met her eyes again.

Mira narrowed her eyes. “Are you asking me to define us?”

He shrugged his shoulders, but moved to stand next to her.

With a huff, Mira guided them to the door and before she could even knock, Bobby yanked it open. He stared up at them, eyes wide as he shifted his attention between the two of them. He stepped back, ushering them inside.

He shut the door behind them and locked it, back braced against it as he stared at the two of them in silence. Then he shook his head, cleared his throat, started to speak, cleared his throat again.

“Hi Bobby. This is my boyfriend, Romeo,” Mira introduced. She could hear Romance’s sharp inhale at her declaration. Well, he wanted her to define them, didn’t he? “You probably remember him as Romance from the Saja boys.”

“You take a sabbatical and come back with a boyfriend?” Bobby asked, glancing briefly at Romance with a frown and then back at Mira. “That last concert,…” he trailed off, shaking himself, shaking off a bad feeling.

“Sorry about that, our music has a way of really capturing people’s emotions,” Romance explained.

“Huh.” Bobby stared at him, blinking owlishly, then he muttered something to himself and his patent smile flashed across his face. He held out his hand. “Well, I’m Bobby, Manager of Huntrix.” Romance shook his hand. Bobby gripped the other man’s hand in both of his and stepped close, his voice dropping an active in warning. “If you hurt her, I will hurt you.”

“Riiight,” Romance drawled. He shoved his newly freed hand back into his jacket pocket.

Bobby turned back to Mira. “Have you seen the billboards? I’ve been trying to turn them off, but my people said it will take a few more minutes. Why is she with the other Saja boy? The rapper?”

“Um, because we’re wanting to do some collaboration work,” Mira explained.

“I don’t know. An eight person collaboration is crowded,” Bobby mused, starting to pace and rubbing at his jaw thoughtfully.

Mira scoffed, knowing he would cave, but was pretending to be hesitant. If they asked, he’d do it, he always did.

“On the other hand, the numbers would be sky-high.” Bobby met her eyes, a gleam in his own. “Remember the joint signing?”

Mira exchanged a look with Romance and he smirked. “How could I forget?”

There was a sharp knock at the door. Bobby turned towards it and then pulled out his phone to glance at the security camera feed. “Zoey’s here? And the other boy?”

Mira stepped past him to answer the door herself. She found the two of them standing pointedly apart. Zoey was scowling and Baby seemed more pleasant than she’d ever seen him. Normally, he just had an apathetic vibe to him, which Mira appreciated. “Come in.”

“Did you see the billboards?” Zoey hissed, stepping inside. Baby followed after her into the office, his posture slouched as he nodded his head at Mira in acknowledgment.

“They’ll be down soon,” Bobby assured her. He frowned as he shifted his attention between her and Baby. “Unless the two of you are dating?”

“No!” Zoey cried out. “Yeah,” Baby said at the same time. Zoey glared at the youngest member of the Saja boys and he simply stared back at her non-plussed, placid as a lake in winter.

Bobby tugged on his hair anxiously. He turned back to Mira. “And Rumi? Where’s she?”

“Rumi, is…,” Mira trailed off.

“With her fiancé,” Romance answered. “Our elder brother. Jinu.”

“I knew it! I could tell when I saw them perform together.” Bobby nodded to himself. Then he chuckled. “Well, a collaboration makes sense then, doesn’t it? What about the other two? Hair and abs?”

“Mystery and Abby?” Mira corrected, catching Zoey’s frown.

“They are unavailable,” Baby answered smoothly. “They have a family situation.” He sniffed and laid his hand upon the keyboard strapped to Romance’s back. “Why are you carrying a keyboard?”

Romance smiled and slid the bag off his shoulders and held it out towards Baby. “Happy birthday, Bryan.”

Baby accepted the package, his brow furrowed. “My birthday?”

Mira and Zoey exchanged looks. ‘Bryan?’ Mira mouthed. Zoey shrugged.

“Oh! You play keyboard?” Bobby asked. “That could make a collaboration easier. Do you play an instrument.” He looked pointedly at Romance.

“Jinu can play any stringed instrument. He has a guitar,” Romance answered, avoiding the question.

“I didn’t ask about Jinu. I asked about you.” Bobby stepped closer, the little man could be a little scary when he had that gleam in his eyes.

“I’m more of a dancer,” Romance answered.

“He plays guitar too,” Baby interjected. “Rhythm.” He glared at Zoey. “Mystery — Marcus— played the saxophone, but he could play any woodwind really.”

“Did Abby play?” Mira asked quietly.

Romance frowned, meeting her gaze. It was the first time she’d really seen a flash of his anger at her having been the one to send Abby back. “He had a talent for percussion.”

“Ah well, piano and guitar I can work with,” Bobby mused. “And fans love a love story.”
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OoO

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Rumi
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While the rest of Huntrix and the Saja Boys were meeting with Bobby downtown, Rumi and Jinu set off towards the mountain region to visit her mother’s grave and the nearby shrine.  They wore sneakers ideal for hiking, jeans, and hoodies to brace against the chill and protect their identities.  Though, the farther they ventured away from the city, the less likely they’d be recognized, — in theory.

“I’m a little sad that you’re not wearing the choo-choo pants,” Jinu whispered, leaning close as they approached the shrine — the Shindang.  

Rumi pulled at the front of her zip-up hoodie.  “You can’t wear pajamas to a shrine.”  They passed through the stone fence surrounding the sacred land.  The shrine wasn’t particularly large, but it was old — close to five hundred years old.  “Be respectful, this place is pretty old.”

“Older than me?” Jinu teased.  

Rumi elbowed him in the side, making him exhale in huff.  “Yes, old man.  It’s older than you.”  She led them up the stairs into the small rectangular building.  It was only about four meters wide, three meters deep and three meters tall.  The alter within was covered in colorful offerings — needle work, incense, paper tags, chalices full of drink, and a lot of fresh fruit.

JInu picked up an apple and almost took a bite, when Rumi yanked it out of his hand.  “That’s not for you.”  She set it back inside the wooden bowl.  

“Really?  I sort of feel like it is,” Jinu protested with a sigh.  

Rumi kneeled on the floor and braced her hands on her knees, bowing her head and offering her prayers.

With a sigh, Jinu kneeled beside her and did the same.  “What are we praying for?”

“Wisdom?  Peace?  Answers?” Rumi whispered.  

“Why are you whispering?  We’re the only ones here,” Jinu scoffed.  

“Just be respectful, okay?” Rumi took a deep breath and continued with her prayers.  

That’s when she heard the crunch.  Her eyes flew open and she glared at Jinu and watched as he blatantly bit into the apple again.  He grinned at her, mouth full of fruit.    

“I’m surprised you're not bursting into flames since you’re being so disrespectful on this sacred ground,” Rumi retorted.

Jinu ate the rest of the apple, core and all.  Then held his hand over his heart.  “So cruel.”

Rumi rolled her eyes.  She grabbed his hand — feeling all sorts of warm fuzzies when Jinu tangled their fingers together.  They stood together and walked out of the shrine towards the graves.   

The large Sonang tree stood proud, ribbons fluttered in the breeze about it.    

“I’ve not seen a place as peaceful as this…I’m not sure if ever,” Jinu murmured, voice awed.  “This certainly feels more holy than the shrine.”

Rumi looked up into his face and noted once more those dark eyes of his were softened in a grief she couldn’t quite understand.  She never knew her parents and she’d chosen to cut off ties with her adopted mother.  Jinu had lost his family to desperation and death.  She squeezed his hand again and he glanced down, the frown line between his brow easing away.  

“The tree was here before the shrine.  So, it’s only natural that you would feel that way.  I’ll introduce you to my mother,” Rumi murmured, tugging him along to Miyeong’s memorial.  Except, someone had just been there.  The incense sticks were still smoldering and there were fresh flowers in the vase.  Yellow and orange roses — Celine was horribly allergic to roses.  

Then a magpie flew towards them, but it was a different one than the one that followed Jinu around.  Strapped to his talon was a tiny scroll.  It landed on Jinu’s knee and stared expectantly at Rumi.  She stroked the back of its neck and then unrolled the scroll. 

Rumi,

I am so proud of you.  The Rainbow Honmoon has healed the rift between the mortal and demon realms.  With that balance restored, I’ve been able to awaken from my long sleep.  If you would like to meet, please follow the bird.

Devon — your father

Chapter Text

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Jinu
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He really did feel like that apple was left there for him. Rumi definitely over-reacted. Who else was going to eat it? If Jinu hadn’t eaten the fruit, it would have simply rotted in the elements. And now that he’d consumed the offering, her father had reached out. If that wasn’t a sign from above, he didn’t know what was!

He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his hoodie and walked alongside Rumi towards the mountains following after a bird. The magpie wasn’t his Sussie, but definitely had a bit of the same air of confidence and efficiency his bird often displayed.

He was both excited and nervous to be meeting Rumi’s father, — Devon. What would they learn? Who was he exactly? He was demon. Was he born a demon? Or was he a human that had been transformed, like Jinu and the other Saja boys?

Ever since Jinu had been somewhat ‘reborn’ and connected to Rumi’s life, instead of under Gwi-Ma’s control, he could sense things differently. His connection to the spirit world felt stronger. He pulled his hand out of his pocket for a moment to study it, still mesmerized at how the purple-pink patterns had shifted to an iridescent flesh tone. They were barely noticeable, except when they seemed to reflect the light.

“What are you doing?” Rumi asked, glancing over towards him.

“Just looking at the patterns,” Jinu murmured. “You know, maybe you should send your friends a text?” He ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it away from his eyes. “Just in case the demon is as trustworthy as I was.”

“You mean, not trust-worthy at all?” Rumi asked, turning towards him sharply. “You had a good heart, Jinu. And just like that little girl at the singing said, — a good soul.”

“And a pretty face,” Jinu added smirking. His smile faded. “Seriously though, he claims to be your dad, but we don’t know that. I’m just suggesting exercise a little caution.” He gestured towards her empty hands. “Be prepared to summon your sword is what I’m saying.”

Rumi frowned. “If I summon the sword, then you disappear.”

“I don’t disappear,” Jinu argued. “I simply take on a different form.” He laid his hand over his heart. “I’m still here.” He took her hand and laid it over her own heart, his over the backside of it. He’d wanted to lay is hand over her breast, but that seemed much too forward. “I’m right here.”

Rumi pursed her lips and nodded. “Okay, I’ll let the girls know where we are.”

“And?” Jinu prodded, nudging her side with his elbow.

“And if I feel threatened, I’ll summon the blade,” Rumi said rolling her eyes.

They approached a group of caves about a kilometer from the great tree. Jinu could sense a very strong presence within the cavern. “Do you feel him?”

“Yeah,” Rumi whispered, nodding. “He’d definitely a demon — a powerful one.” She shivered. “But, the Honmoon isn’t reacting to him at all.”

“Maybe this Honmoon takes into consideration intention?” Jinu suggested. He leaned close, arm bumping into Rumi’s as he crowded her space. “You couldn’t always sense me. Remember the mannequin on the rooftop?”

“As if you’d let me forget,” Rumi answered, bumping her arm back against his in response. She paused, eyes narrowed as she studied the cave system not far away. The stone exposed to the elements was bathed in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun and moss and vines clung to the gray, making it blend in with the nearby forest. “What if he doesn’t like me? What if he’s upset about the patterns?”

Jinu took hold of her upper arms, fingers curled around her firm muscle and turned Rumi to face him. He laid his forehead against hers, nuzzled the tip of his nose against hers. “Rumi, he’s going to love you, who couldn’t? And no matter what or who, I like you and I’ll always like you. Even if its us against the world? You’ll always have me. Okay?”

Rumi’s eyes sparkled and she took a shaky breath before smiling faintly at him. “Thank you, Jinu.”

“No problem, Rumi.” Jinu kissed her cheek, catching the single tear that had trailed down. He released one of her arms and swiped his thumb across that damp cheek. “I’m the one that’s supposed to be nervous meeting the father of the woman I love,” he teased. “You’re always stealing my thunder.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Rumi chuckled. Shoving him gently in the chest.

Jinu stepped back slightly, looking aghast. “I’m your idiot.”

The magpie squawked at them impatiently, flapping its wings before settling on Rumi’s shoulder with an indignant puffing out of its feathers.

“Okay, okay, we’re going,” Rumi murmured apologetically. She grabbed Jinu’s hand and they started back towards the cave, stepping carefully amongst the uneven ground.

The bird launched from Rumi’s shoulder and glided across the distance, occasionally flapping its gossamer wings. It made Jinu miss his snarky bird, but hopefully Sussie was keeping Abby and Mystery company. The more settled he felt on the surface world, the more worried he felt about his other two bandmates. He’d dragged them into the Saja Boys plot and while he, Romance and Baby had found this remarkable second chance, they were back under Gwi-Ma’s terrorizing rule.

The amount of debris leading up to the cave showed evidence of being crushed by something large. Rumi squeezed Jinu’s hand once more and then released it, before she ducked inside the cave entrance first. Jinu kept close behind and was grateful for his jeans. If he’d been wearing robes like had been the style back in his first life, the loose material surely would have snagged on the brambles.

He clenched his hands and felt his fingers and nails sharpen into claws. He didn’t know what they were facing. He hoped Rumi’s father would be an ally. But, if he was a foe, Jinu would fight tooth and nail — literally — to protect her. Though, knowing Rumi’s strength, he’d more likely fight back-to-back alongside her, and that was even better.

There was a small fire within the cavern, but enough circulation that the air wasn’t suffocating. A man sat on the floor of the cave and the bird swooped down to land on his knee.

He wore simple black robes, his lavender hair was tied back at his nape in a low ponytail. As they approached, he opened golden eyes. His skin was the color of ash and when he smiled, his canines were longer and sharper — like that of a wolf — making Jinu think of Mystery.

The older man’s luminescent gaze swept briefly past Rumi onto Jinu and then back to Rumi. “I am Devon,” he greeted.

Rumi cleared her throat. “Um, I’m Rumi.” She gestured towards Jinu with a nod of her chin. “Jinu.”

Devon nodded, a faint smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” He gestured towards the fire. “Have a seat. I suspect we will be talking for a while.” His bright eyes shifted past them towards the outside of the cave. “The sun will be setting soon and with it, the chill comes quickly.”

Jinu and Rumi sat across from him, the fire in between. Jinu’s claws remained out.

“Where have you been? Have you been here the whole time? Watching me?” Rumi asked quietly, voice choked with emotion as if she were a little girl.

Jinu resisted the urge to take her hand, worried that — one she might be disgusted by his claws, or two it might make her look weak in front of the man she wanted to impress with her strength. She was welcome to take his hand if she wanted. He hoped she knew that.

“I’ve been trapped within the form of a beast for these past twenty-three years.” Devon explained that he tracked down her mother’s scent only to find her grave near the Sonang tree where they first met.

“Were you the former Demon King?” Jinu asks.

Devon laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “That is a role I am unsuited for,” he admitted with a sigh. “For millennia I have served the noble role of Reaper. Though, perhaps, if I’d been more ambitious as my brother, I’d have taken over for our father.”

“Your brother?” Rumi asked, studying this man, her father, and his wolfish-eyes and fanged teeth. Now that she was closer, she could see that his purple hair was threaded with silver. “Gwi-Ma is your brother?”

Devon nodded. “My younger brother was always ambitious and his quest for power knew no bounds.” His attention swung back to Jinu. “So, you’re the paksu that my brother fooled. You are the reason he attained the power to become king and slay our father. It was you that tipped the scales in his favor.”

“A paksu?” Jinu repeated. A paksu was a sort of spiritual priest. He’d only ever been a peasant with a musician’s heart. “What do you mean?”

Devon laughed again. “Of course, you do not know.” He gestured between the two of them. “Do you know why it took so long to build the Honmoon? It existed before but collapsed when the balance was destroyed. It takes the mudang and paksu working together to create the appropriate barrier. It is why the magpie and tiger may continue to pass between the realms.”

“The humans are safe now, right?” Rumi pressed.

Devon angled his head to the side and studied her. “Humans have free will. Some will find Gwi-Ma and others will find peace, while others still will try again.” He stood suddenly, rolled back his shoulders and then a moment later, he transformed into a great silver tiger with purple stripes — not a wolf at all!

Unlike Derpy, Devon was elegant and fearsome. He continued to speak to them, but within their minds — telepathically. ‘It was strange to be in the form of man. I’d been trapped within this form for so many years, bound to this valley. So near to your mother yet so far away. My mind was asleep and I lived as an animal and I was an animal. I’m so sorry about your mother, Rumi. I loved Mi-yeong very much.’

“She died shortly after I was born. I never really knew her,” Rumi admitted.

'That is unfortunate. I was cursed into this form only a few weeks before you were due to be born. I felt the moment my string of fate with Mi-yeong was snapped. When she was taken from me.' He stretched out on the cavern’s floor, claws clicking on the stone. 'It seems fate has robbed me of being part of both my children’s lives.'

“Children?” Rumi asked. “I have a sister?”

Devon shifted back into the form of a man, raked his clawed fingers through his hair. “A brother. He was born nearly a hundred years before yourself.” He grimaced. “Gwi-Ma stole him away. Whispered terrible thoughts into his mind.” He smiled faintly at Jinu. “His name was Marcus, but I believe you know him as Mystery.”

“What?” Rumi exploded.

“Oooooh, yeah, okay. I can see the similarities,” Jinu mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Your eyes are shaped the same and your nose.” He nodded. Was that why Mystery’s face was hidden? Did he remind Gwi-Ma too much of his own brother? So Mystery was Gwi-Ma’s nephew? “Wow. Okay. That’s going to take my mind a minute to wrap around.”

“What happened?” Rumi asked. “To my mother? To Marcus?”

Devon shrugged. “I fell in love with a mortal once before I met Mi-yeong. We had a child. Then she fell out of love with me and Marcus was a musical genius — his spiritual power as a paksu was too tempting for Gwi-Ma. So while I was away, trying to quell a surge of demons, he’d gotten to Marcus. I was gone for several months and by the time I returned, Marcus was taken. Death found him early, but I knew he’d been snatched to the underworld prematurely.” He leaned forward. “Gwi-Ma knew that if he’d had a chance to harness his powers, Marcus could challenge him for the throne. Instead, he had no clue of his lineage.”

“Is there a way to stop Gwi-Ma?” Jinu asked. “He’d grown weak over the last four hundred years, but he’s fed well recently.” He grimaced. “And that’s my fault.”

“Hardly your fault,” Devon protested. “You were but a tool, Jinu. You were a Reaper that had been corrupted. Your purpose should be a noble one— ushering in souls to the afterlife. You’re not a food delivery service for a monster.”

“How do we stop him?” Rumi repeated. “Will the Honmoon be enough?”

“It will protect this world at least for a decade, maybe two or three,” Devon answered. “At least until the powers of the chosen four start to fade, waiting for the next generation. Ultimately, balance must be restored. Gwi-Ma must be usurped. The demon world needs a new ruler.”

“You will be king?” Rumi asked.

“I already said I was poorly suited. However, my children have legitimacy and the strength needed. Either you will be queen or Marcus could be king,” Devon answered. He gestured between Rumi and Jinu. “Or with your bond, there could be a King and Queen.” He leaned forward, his teeth pearlescent with the fire’s light. “You, however, Rumi, have already made a bid for the throne.” He gestured towards Jinu. “When you took his soul and claimed him as your own Reaper.”
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Chapter Text

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Zoey
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After they left Bobby’s office, the four returned to the penthouse. While Mira went to take a shower, Zoey settled at the kitchen table with a bowl of popcorn in front of her, scribbling in her journal lyrics. Seeing images of her and Baby plastered all over the billboards had driven her crazy! It was completely out of context! She’d just been showing him around the city. She wasn’t interested in him romantically!

Mystery — or Marcus — or whatever his name was — he was her type.

Not Baby.

Baby was a brat. He was arrogant and unflappable and he could drop an insult without any effort. She kept looking up across the penthouse to observe Baby (Bryan) and Romance (Romeo) creating lyrics that were amusing and raunchy and sweet and angry.

Romance had borrowed Mira’s phone and was scrolling through social media, mentioning different headlines and Baby would simply respond like the witty, good at everything, musical prodigy that he was.

It infuriated Zoey. She snapped shut her notebook and grabbed a fresh one.

Her bowl of popcorn was empty by the time Mira rejoined them. She gave Zoey an askance look, but she waved her off. So then Mira approached Romance and the two fell into an animated discussion about the different ballets they’d performed. Apparently, their favorite was Swan Lake. At some point, Mira had portrayed Odette and Romance had played Siegfried.

“Can you play a video of the song? I can transpose it and play it on my keyboard for you both. It would be good practice,” Baby suggested.

“Sure, no problem,” Mira agreed. She scrolled through on her cell phone to find a Youtube video of the dance and the three of them huddled over to watch.

“Ah, okay, I think I’ve got it,” Baby murmured.

Zoey scribbled furiously in her notebook, drawing little doodles in the margins and writing lyrics. Maybe the doodles were cartoonish and mostly of Baby. She didn’t know what she was writing exactly, but she was getting out her feelings. She was so frustrated!

Then, like it was easy, — Baby played the piano score for Swan Lake and Mira and Romance were dancing through the scene in the second act with Siegfried and Odette. And somehow, without having practiced it together before or individually for several years, — both Mira and Romance simply performed the famous love duet like they were on stage! And while the music should have been performed with flutes and harps and whatever else is used in a full orchestra, Baby somehow played the gist of it well enough on the keys, that the three of them simply were spectacular.

Zoey moved to stand next to the wall of windows, peer at the city beyond and continued to scribble another verse about arrogant demon-magicians in her journal.

“It would have sounded better if we had Jinu on the violin and Mystery playing the flute,” Baby commented, stepping away from the keyboard and shoving his hands in his pockets. He shifted his lazy-glare in Zoey’s direction.

Zoey huffed and focused on her journal, carving the words with her pen so intensely that the paper tore. She bit her inner cheek and soothed the paper absently with the pad of her thumb and then with grunt flipped to the next blank page and drew a cartoon image of Baby with that same disturbing smile he flashed at her when they went down the slide at the game show. Except, she made his teeth appear like the keys off the piano.

She was so focused on drawing his furrowed eyebrows that she hadn’t realized he was suddenly standing behind her until his chin was situated just over her shoulder, his breath fanned over her cheek. She stilled, a chill raced down her spine. How had he gotten so close?

Baby scoffed. “Piano key teeth, huh?”

Zoey focused her breathing. She resisted the urge to draw a kunai and shoved it between his ribs. Instead, she jerked back her elbow and hit him in the gut, causing his breath to expel abruptly and step back.

“Say, Romeo? Which Love Language uses violence?” Baby asked, his tone bright and innocent.

Zoey looked over her shoulder, to see Baby’s lovely jade eyes focused on her, blinking slowly, like a snake watching its prey.

Romance chuckled. “I’d say an abusive love, Bryan. You should stop pissing the little huntress off. Unless you’re eager to reunite with the others.”

Baby sank into an abandoned office chair that Bobby had requested for the penthouse for their brainstorming sessions. He sat backwards in it and spun in a slow circle, arms folded over the back of the chair, chin resting on his forearms. “I doubt that would send me back to our old realm with the barrier. It would probably just kill me. Except, I’d be even deader than Mystery then.” He spun until he faced Zoey again. “And I’m not even her type.”

With a growl, Zoey snapped closed her journal and tossed it aside. She started to storm towards Baby and then stopped a good six feet away. He watched her with his smug, bored expression. Zoey pointed at him. “You! I challenge you to a rap off!”

Baby arched his eyebrow at the declaration. “A rap off? Like we go back and forth?” He rose from the chair and towered over her.

Across the room, Mira and Romance’s quietly murmured conversation ceased and they both stared at the two rappers of their group.

“Yes!” Zoey stepped closer and almost jabbed her finger against his sternum, only stopping millimeters from touching him. She only stopped because she realized if she touched him, then he’d have an excuse to touch her. She had to respect some distance between them. “Let’s see if you’re more than just a baby-faced heart throb with a bored attitude.”

That sly smile appeared on Baby’s face again and he gently brushed her hand aside with the back of his hand, as it still hovered close to his chest. 🎶“What’s with the attitude? You think I got you riled?”🎶

Zoey’s eyes widened as she realized he’d already started. She…she needed time to prepare! She started to take a step back, opened and closed her mouth soundlessly.

Baby’s smirk grew and then his face returned to his normally bland, neutral expression. 🎶“Speechless? That’s a first!” 🎶 He tapped his palm over his chest. 🎶“You stole my heart, you gonna stab it now that you own it?”🎶

Zoey’s eyes widened at the revelation. She licked her suddenly dry lips, noting Baby’s pale eyes tracked the movement.  🎶“Steal your heart? Where do I start? How can a man with such a careless air be so good at everything when you don’t even care?”🎶

Baby scoffed.  🎶“I care, — so much it's more than I can bear!”🎶  He tugged on his earlobe.  🎶“His voice always in my mind, shutting off my heart was the only choice to survive. Now it’s all so loud with my own thoughts in my head and the only time I can think is when I’m with you instead!”🎶

Zoey let the words set in, her next response faded from her mind. She looked into his eyes — really looked — and saw swirling emotions of pain in his gaze. “Oh, Baby,” Zoey murmured and then she flung herself at him, hugging him around the waist. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her heart aching for the man.

Baby stopped breathing for a moment and his arms hesitantly wound around Zoey. He hugged her back, pressing his forehead over the crown of her head and he released a shuddering breath.
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OoO

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Mystery
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“I still don’t hear him, do you?” Mystery glanced over at Abby.

“Only my own thoughts in here,” Abby confirmed tapping the shell of his ear. “I’m glad the guys are okay, even if they’re up there. I thought Jinu was a goner.”

Mystery nodded, his long bangs bouncing with the action. They were on their way to the archives and thankfully, the whole demon realm was in such an uproar. No one seemed to care what the two of them were up to. He and Abby were just considered another pair of unsuccessful demons that schemed and failed.

Very few beings in the Underworld were literate. Thankfully, both Mystery and Abby were capable of reading.

“Are you sure about our story?” Abby asked.

“Yeah, I mean, there aren’t too many other ways to spend our time unless we’re into torture. I think it’s reasonable to ask to work at the archives for now,” Mystery suggested.

Looming before them stood a massive structure of onyx with windows that glowed an eerie crimson. A pair of husked demons stood outside, the same dental structure that Mystery had. This was good, that sort of demon was sympathetic so Mystery in the past.

What he didn’t expect was for the two tall, husked demons to bow low as Mystery and Abby stepped forward.

“Crown Prince, how may we be of assistance to you?” The guard on the right asked.

Mystery frowned. Crown Prince? “I think you may be confused.”

“No, they know exactly who you are,” a deep voice answered, stepping out of the door. The figure was a man around the same height as Mystery, wearing long black robes with skin the color of ash, hair long and pale lavender — the same shade as Mystery’s, and eyes the color of gold. “I have waited a long time to see you.”

Mystery and Abby exchanged glances. The robed man’s golden gaze never strayed from Mystery. “This is not the first time we’ve attempted to visit the archives. Always before, we’d been barred entry.”

“Ah, that is because my body has been encased in stone for the past twenty-three years,” he answered. “I am the Guardian of the Archives.” He smiled faintly, sharp fangs protruded past his lips. He reached for Mystery, but it became clear that this form was made of mist and shadows. “I am, but an echo. My true form is on the surface world, — with your sister.”

“Sister?” Abby asked. He cleared his throat. “Lord Guardian, perhaps you are confused?”

“I am not,” the guardian declared shifting his gaze onto Abby for the first time. “My thoughts are my own.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “This form will soon dissipate.” He stared back at Mystery again. “Marcus is your true name. You were born of the Crown Prince of the Demon world and his human lover. Your uncle poisoned your mind and corrupted your spirit, bringing you here in the form of his servant rather than his ruler. Together, you and your sister can extinguish his flames once and for all.”

Gwi-Ma was Mystery’s uncle? This creature of mist and shadows was somehow his father? He’d never been truly human even in his first life? “My sister?”

“Jinu’s huntress,” Abby whispered.

“Come inside. I must show you what I can before I can no longer maintain this form,” the guardian continued. “You have the ability to slip between worlds because of your unique heritage.”

“Because I was a human that became a demon?” Mystery asked.

“Because you were always human and demon,” the guardian explained. He glanced at Abby again. “A king needs his general. Both of you, come inside.”

“Just so you know, I’m not bowing to you,” Abby whispered, leaning near Mystery’s ear as the followed the wraith inside the archives. The two guards secured the doors behind them with an ominous thud.
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OoO

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Rumi
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“So you can’t leave this area?” She gestured between the mountain range and the small grove.

Devon shook his head. “No. It’s because I used cursed energy to split my form — part of my spirit is within the Underworld. Only after my spirit rejoins my body here can I possibly leave this sacred area. If I were to try, I would simply turn into stone once more.” He grimaced. “When Celine attacked me, she cursed me rather strongly.”

“Oh,” Rumi sighed. Celine was the only mother she ever knew and the more she learned about her, the more she felt like Rapunzel and Mother Gothel. Jinu took her hand, his thumb brushing over the back of it in comfort. “Maybe we should stay here too, so we can talk more?”

“I am happy to teach you more about your abilities, Rumi. I’m sure Jinu would prefer to not spend so much of his time as your sword.” He tilted his head at an angle to study Jinu. “Though, that will depend on his role. Shall he be your consort? Your king? Your general?”

“Do I have to have a label?” Jinu muttered.

“Let’s just focus on training,” Rumi said with a laugh. She’d only just been able to accept her parentage, she didn’t need to make declarations for sovereignty. “I didn’t mean to make a bid for the throne. And I think I need to talk to Mystery, I mean Marcus, before deciding something like that.” She closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky breath. She had a brother. She had family. She may have lost her adopted mother, but she had Jinu and she had her sisters and now she had a brother!

“Wait, can you explain the four guardians? Three huntresses and a reaper?” Jinu asked. “Let me see your phone, Rumi?” She handed it to him wordlessly and he went to her music video app and showed Devon the Soda Pop video the Saja Boys had posted. “Are you saying everyone of us was a destined Reaper? To be paired with the huntresses of our generation?”

Devon studied the video, his shoulders rising and falling in rhythm. “Catchy,” he murmured.

Jinu chuckled and Rumi hid her own smile. “Yeah, Abby and I wrote that one. Well, of course, Baby wrote the rap part. It was a collaborative effort.”

After the song ended, Devon handed the phone back to Rumi. “Reapers are chosen with care. Sometimes, there are more than one born in an era. The ones known as Romeo and Baby are a set.”

“That’s unusual?” Rumi asked.

“It might be for the best,” Devon mused. “You said those two are on the Surface World still? If the three Reapers here were to form connections with the three Huntresses, that would be an even stronger team. If you could create a song with all six voices, — it would be more than enough to create a long lasting peace.”

“Or maybe even eight voices, if we can somehow bring Mystery and Abby to join us,” Jinu murmured. He cleared his throat and gestured towards the setting sun just outside of the cave’s entrance. “It’s getting late. We’ll need to head back now unless we’re staying the night.”

“It’s fine. I’m not going anywhere.” Devon smiled at Rumi. “Come see me again. Bring the others.”

“What about Celine?” Rumi asked. “Is she dangerous then?”

“I don’t believe she’s malicious,” Devon answered. “Most huntresses hate all things demon, —it’s understandable. If you weren’t part demon, you’d be the same, right?”

Rumi pursed her lips. She’d like to think she wouldn’t blindly hate anything, but it was probably true. She’d wanted to use Jinu at first and rid herself of all traces of her demonic heritage. Wasn’t that hate? “I should probably talk to her.”

“Why?” Jinu asked. “Does she still have her power? Will she try to hurt you?”

“She’s welcome to try,” Rumi vowed. “I'm not afraid of her. Not with my sisters at my side.” She smiled at Jinu. “And my sword.”

They bid her father farewell and made their way back to the city. The closer they came to Seoul, the dimmer the night sky from the light pollution. All the while, Jinu kept holding her hand and while her world kept turning topsy-turvy, Rumi wasn’t worried. She felt, content and happy and almost giddy. She kept humming a melody that just popped into her head.

🎶“The stars fade, but still I see clearly,”🎶  Jinu sang quietly, putting words to the melody she’d created.  🎶“With you by my side.”🎶

Rumi was about to stay something witty when all thoughts came to a crashing halt in her brain. On a massive flat screen advertisement board on several of the high-rises were images of Zoey and Baby - playing the piano together! And of Mira and Romance — dancing ballet and in each other’s arms?

“We were gone for a few hours,” Jinu whispered next to her, his eyes wide in shock.

Another advertisement flashed across the screen announcing the upcoming collaborative work between Huntrix and the Saja Boys.

Rumi squeezed his hand and then released it. “Let’s go home!” She took off at a run back to the penthouse with Jinu easily keeping up with his longer legs. “To be honest, I was worried Mira would try to kill your brothers while we were gone.”

Jinu chuckled. “I’m really not sure this is much better,” he huffed.

Rumi disagreed. She didn’t know the context behind those advertisements, but if it wasn’t wanted, Bobby would have had them taken down. “I think a collaboration between Hunters and their Reapers is a great idea.”