Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rumi stood silently on the stage at the Namsam Tower Stadium and gazed around herself as the sheer destruction the three of them had caused laid out in every direction. The very ground beneath her feet was scarred, burned and broken from battle, wide spiderweb cracks spiralled outward from beneath her in all directions. Less than an hour ago this very spot had been occupied by a malevolent demon king bent on masse soul harvesting and five highborn demons bent on Huntrix’s destruction.

Rumi looked out over the devastation, her eyes flitting between large piles of rubble, concrete, steel beams and the scraps of burnt curtain and stage fabric floating aimlessly through the air, mingling with the large clouds of dust and detritus they had kicked up during their fight. She should feel happy, she should be smiling. They had won, hadn’t they? They’d managed to defeat Gwi-ma and the Saja Boys. Gave them all a royal kick up the arse, sent them all back down to the demonic hellscape they called home and slammed the metaphorical door behind them.

So why did she feel so empty? Why did it feel like there was a void the size of Seoul in her chest? Why does it feel like there is something missing here? No…. not something…. Someone! Jinu! The hole his absence had left in her world despite only being in it for a matter of weeks was…. incalculable. Yes, he’d lied to her on numerous occasions. Yes, he’d been the architect of her public exposure live on stage. And yes, he was also the mastermind behind the plan to steal 40,000 souls at once in the very stadium she and the girls now stood. But despite all of that…. Despite all the shit he had put her through, physically, mentally and emotionally, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him.

Maybe it was due to his devilish charms, or maybe it was because he’d been the first ‘person’ to see her as something more than ‘Rumi the Idol’. Or maybe it was just because in her own words ‘he was insanely fucking hot’ but Rumi just couldn’t bring herself to hate the boy. She just wanted him back, to wrap her arms around him, crash her lips into his with the force of an atomic bomb. There was so much left undone, too much she never got the chance to say, so many things they never got the chance to do…. Together.

Her eyes drifted over the wrecked stadium, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Rubble piled everywhere, countless chairs knocked over, piled up or half buried under cracked and broken concrete. Shattered glass littered the floor in places where stage lights or spotlights had blown out, making walking around a perilous ordeal on its own. It looked like a scene straight out of some cheesy Hollywood disaster movie, except without that bald Hawaiian actor she seemed to see everywhere these days.

As her eyes wondered the open space, they settled on Mira who was currently crouched down among the wreckage, a Saja Boys branded fan-cam in her hands, the lens cracked and the red glow from the lion motif long having fizzled out. Mira tossed it to the side with a casual disregard before releasing a long sigh and straightening her posture. The look she sent Rumi’s way a complicated mix of pain, exhaustion and anger, though who that anger was directed at could be anyone’s guess at that point. Another clatter of noise off to the other side drew her attention to Zoey, who much like Mira was rummaging through the damage surrounding the main stage, her white stage outfit caked in dust, dirt and demon guts.

“We did it”. Mira walked over to Rumi and planted an uncharacteristically shaky hand on her shoulder. The touch was gentle but it had little effect in helping keep Rumi grounded, nor did it help stop Rumi from spiralling further into despair, a thousand-yard stare plastered on her face. Mira’s words barely registered in Rumi’s mind, her train of thought had long since left the station and was very busy crashing into a dozen others in the tangled railyard that was her head. Her brain flooding with questions about what could have been, what should have been, what was meant to be.
It took Mira literally getting in Rumi’s face and giving her a gentle slap on the cheek, which turned into a slightly more vigorous one to pull her from her stupor.

“Hmm, huh what?” Rumi mumbled response came out quiet, as if fearful that raising her voice would cause the stadium to collapse further.

“I said are you ok?” Concern clearly etched across Mira’s face as she stared at her bandmate.

“I, I uh I don’t know” was Rumi’s honest reply, her voice breaking and more tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, threatening to run down her face like a waterfall. She dragged her gaze up and met Mira’s eyes.

“I don’t know how I feel right now”

She muttered as she wiped those gathering tears away with the back of her hand, if she did start crying properly then she wasn’t going to stop. Mira simply nodded and pulled Rumi into a tight hug letting her presence and touch speak the volumes that couldn’t be put into words. But they still had a job to do, they needed to make sure that any demonic energy was cleansed from the battle and also hunt down any remaining faceless ones that might have escaped their wrath. Zoey came over from the pile of detritus she’d been examining and together Huntrix began their clean-up duty.

The trio swept through the stadium with practiced efficiency, the few faceless ones they encountered were dispatched with ease, Saingoem, Gok-do and Shin’kal’s striking with brutal swiftness, banishing the remaining demons back to the underworld in a cloud of demonic smoke.

It didn’t take them long to clear the backstage areas, or that long to work their way through the open stands before the main stage and they decided to split up to cover the stands and staff areas. But the universe had its methods of throwing a curveball their way, and it was about to lob a fastball special straight at Rumi. Just as her Saingoem cleaved a faceless one’s head from its shoulders, disintegrating it back to hell, something strange caught her eye through the swirling fog of dust. Far away near the edge of the open stands was a faint blue glow, bobbing and weaving among the fields of debris almost aimlessly but effortlessly and as she watched in amazement it was joined by another four floating orbs, twining around each other in a little huddle, as if they were searching for something.

Wait! Are those…. Souls?!

Rumi took off running. Full on sprinting in the direction of the floating orbs, setting a pace that would make Olympic level sprinters envious. She ignored the worried shouts of protest from Mira and Zoey as they struggled to keep up with her. She had always been the fastest one out of the three of them by a significant margin, something she’d attributed to her demonic lineage. But as she got closer to the group of floating orbs, four of them darted away disappearing down a hallway at an impressive speed. The fifth one remained where it had… ‘stood’? Could a soul stand? She didn’t know, she didn’t think so. It was about the size of a large orange, glowing brightly with a white-hot core and a bright blue outer shell, much like her’s and the girls honmoon blades and there were also two smaller spherical orbs about the size of grapes orbiting the main body in an almost lazy fashion.

Her mind raced, desperately trying to comprehend what she as looking. What was this soul doing here? More importantly, who the fuck did it belong to? Who did the others belong to? She slid to a stop before the floating soul, leaving a pair of skid marks from her shoes on the dusty floor. It pulsed slowly at around head level and Rumi could feel that it was ‘watching’ her, not that it had anything resembling eyes in the traditional sense but she had a distinct feeling of being observed, it felt strange, made the hairs on her arms stand on end as if she’d been given a static shock.

“What are you?”

Her befuddled brain not able to form any of the other multitude of questions scrambling to be heard in her head. The soul pulsed several times in quick succession and bobbed up and down in place, was it laughing at her? Before she could think the orb drifted slowly closer until it was only a foot from her face making the loose hairs from her braid also stand at attention, she looked like she’d licked a spark plug at this point. She fought the urge to flinch backwards as one of the tiny pieces dislodged itself from its orbit and moved even closer to her.

Rumi shuddered and gasped as the orb made contact with her cheek. Delicately, almost reverently, and she felt it, she felt everything. Every emotion that was flying around inside the soul bled into her like someone had opened a floodgate. Fear, pain, sorrow, grief, regret, but above all, joy. An almost tsunamic wave of happiness flooded through her, making her entire body light up with warmth like she’d been submerged in a hot bath. It pulsated through her patterns too, vivid shades of deep blue and purple lit her up like a Christmas tree. And then just as she was about to be overwhelmed by it all, a single word cut through the waves of emotion like a knife despite it being uttered no louder than a whisper, ringing around her head like someone had just banged a gong behind her ears….

“Rumi”.

“JINU!”

Rumi staggered backwards; her sword forgotten as it slipped from her trembling fingers and clattered to the floor, the crystalline blade singing in protest as it collided with shattered concrete and broken glass. She almost collapsed. That word, her name! still ringing in her mind as the tiny orb re-joined its orbit around the soul. She could still feel the connection between them as the soul started to move away, following where the others had floated. She felt the next word rather than hearing it, almost as if mere contact with the soul had granted her a form of telepathy with the disembodied orb, the word echoing through every cell in her body.

“Follow”

Grabbing up her blade she took a glance over her shoulder, still no sight of Zoey or Mira, before turning her attention back to the soul which was now a considerable way down the hallway ahead of her and took off in pursuit. An endless barrage of questions ran rampant through her head as she chased after the glowing orb, dodging around open doors, vaulting overturned tables and ducking under low hanging lights. She was determined not to let it out of her sight again. Could it really be him? It had definitely been his voice she heard. As she pursued the soul, she dared to let her pounding heart hope.

She didn’t have to chase the soul very far, after it darted around a corner in the corridor she saw it disappear through a doorway half blocked by a steel beam that had collapsed across the frame. She easily vaulted over the obstacle and landed in what appeared to small canteen area, probably used by the stadium staff, but it wasn’t the room itself that stole her breath from her lungs, or even the dust hanging in the air. Even in the semi darkness of the room she could easily make out the five glowing souls spread out around the room…. Five souls hovering over five collapsed bodies…. Five bodies wearing traditional black Hanbok’s and Gats.

Chapter Text

They laid slumped around the room, as if they’d been rather unceremoniously dumped there to be dealt with later and then forgotten about, but even in the darkness Rumi was able to tell who was who after a quick glance. Romance was the closest one to her, collapsed face down on the floor with his arms spread above his head, a pile of fallen chairs on top of him. Mystery was slumped on top of a long table, curled up on his side, almost in a foetal position, his Gat abandoned upside down on the floor nearby and his ashen bangs had fallen to the side to expose his face to Rumi for the first time.

“Damn! Now I know what Zoey meant by ‘Just her type’”. The soul hovering over Mystery’s motionless frame seemed to pulse in amusement at that. Then there was Abby, sprawled out on his back on the floor like a starfish next to Mystery’s table, his Gat had fallen down over his face but Rumi would recognise that exposed stomach anywhere. Baby sat slumped with his back against a food counter, his head lolled forward against his chest with his arms laid out to the sides. And finally…. Jinu…. Much like Romance he was laid out on his front, face down against the tiled floor. His Hanbok was completely shredded, hanging off his frame in loose tatters.

However the thing that stuck in her mind the most was their patterns. Like her own, their demonic patterns had changed. While they used to cover their entire bodies, now they only covered the former idol’s upper chests, upper arms and shoulders with only an occasional line darting down a rib or up a neck here and there, practically invisible until you got up close and personal. They shimmered with the same iridescent sheen of the rainbow honmoon and her own patterns, and she also couldn’t help but notice that their skin now had a more natural, more human hue, their fangs also seeming to be absent.

Rumi watched, half in amazement and half in apprehension as one by one the souls began to descend, reabsorbing themselves into their respective bodies. The darkness in the room becoming more prominent as the light of the souls disappeared. Rumi held her breath, she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Would they attack her? Should she run? She had no idea, but she remained rooted to the spot, her eyes glued to the scene before her, her Saingoem raised and ready to defend herself if shit hit the fan.

Luckily for her though, that didn’t seem like the case.

Mystery was the first one to stir back into life. His eyes flew open to reveal his heterochromia - one eye a gorgeous deep blue and the other a royal green – before he rather unglamorously rolled over and fell off the table, landing on Abby with a muffled ‘oof’. His mouth wide open as he sucked in his first actual gulp of air in centuries, inhaling oxygen greedily. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness they settled on Rumi and her glowing sword, and that was when the panic took over.

“No! Not you! No! Stay the fuck away from me!” Mystery scrambled off of Abby and tried to scurry backwards before he smacked the back of his head on the edge of the table and groaned, his hands wrapping around his head as he hissed in pain.

Rumi couldn’t help but cock her head to the side in confusion, almost unintentionally mimicking Mystery’s own move whenever they’d interacted in the past.

Next to stir had been Abby, he’d sat up so fast anyone would have thought someone had stuck the mains cable up his arse and spun the dial round to eleven, he practically launched his Gat across the room like a stone from a medieval trebuchet. His own pupils blew wide as they adjusted to the room before he doubled over in a violent coughing fit while clutching his stomach. The booming cough sounding unnaturally loud in the confined space. Just like with Mystery, when he managed to clock that Rumi was stood less than 10ft away from him, sword in hand, fear and panic took over.

“No! No! Not Again! Please no not again!” The urgency with which he scrambled backwards to get away from her before crashing into a pile of stacked chairs that came tumbling down on top of him would have otherwise made Rumi laugh. The big bad muscle man of the Saja Boys scared of a girl two foot shorter than he was would have been comical to her if not for the current situation.

Romance was the third one to surge back into life. He groaned loudly as he stirred from under his prison of folding chairs and Rumi went over to help him, ignoring the utter panic in both Mystery and Abby’s expressions as she approached Romance. She decided to dispel her Saingoem back into the honmoon, hoping that it might make her seem less hostile. Once he had been extricated from the pile of chairs Romance rolled onto his side and groaned again, he felt like he needed to be sick but there was nothing in his stomach for him to throw up so he just ended up dry heaving against the cool tiled floor. He did manage to look up and begin to speak, his voice weak and cracked.

“Thank y…..” was all he managed to get out. Just like the others, his eyes shot wide open upon seeing who was before him. A very ungentlemanly and undignified scream tried to leap from his lungs as he fell over himself trying to create distance between him and who he could only assume was about to attack him, but the sound died in his throat as he inhaled an unhealthy amount of dust and started choking, scurrying away on his hands and knees.

At this point Rumi couldn’t help but chuckle to herself internally, they were acting like toddlers who’d just been told there was a monster living under their beds and it was there to collect rent. They were meant to be highborn demons - not scared of anything or anyone - they certainly hadn’t acted like this when they were fighting Huntrix earlier today, their current behaviour was… unsettling to say the least.

Fourth to join the land of the living had been Baby. He had immediately tried to get to his feet but the nausea rolling around his head meant he didn’t get particularly far before he stumbled over his Hanbok, tripped over Jinu’s still motionless body and crashing head first back to the floor.

“Ow! Fuckity Shit Fuck Cock!” he growled through clenched teeth as he clutched at his head which now sported a sizable bump where he’d collided with the floor, Rumi couldn’t be certain but the tile he’d hit looked like it had cracked. Baby was fighting his own urge to throw up but ended up copying Abby and had a coughing fit instead. His went on for longer as his lungs had gone the longest out of all of them without actual air. Unlike the other Saja’s, when he clocked Rumi standing there watching him, he didn’t bother trying to get away. He just laid where he was on the floor swearing to himself.

And finally, Jinu stirred into life. He rose up onto his hands and knees and spat out a large globule of congealed blood and phlegm, groaning loudly before sitting back on his knees, his shredded Hanbok falling off his back and pooling around his feet like a black fabric moat, leaving him shirtless. He was only vaguely aware that someone was standing in front of him until a pair of slender hands cupped his cheeks and he looked up to gaze into Rumi’s eyes, eyes that were brimming with barely contained tears.

“Rumi…?” was the only word that managed to escape his lips before Rumi surged forward, crashing her own lips into his with the force of a train wreck. The power of the kiss knocking him onto his backside and Rumi fell on top of him, her arms locking around his shoulders, her hands reaching and grabbing handfuls of his black hair as she yanked him closer to her, deleting the space between them as they embraced. He returned the kiss with interest, his tongue colliding with hers as they explored each other’s mouths, his hands caressing her hips and up her back, teasing under the hem of her shirt. She tasted like heaven, her lips soft and supple against his dried and cracked ones but neither of them cared.

They didn’t pull apart until they heard a rather disgruntled voice behind them.

“Ahem! Do you guys want us to give you two the room or something?”
Rumi pulled away from Jinu to glare over her shoulder at the offending voices owner. Baby, who had made the comment (of course it was him) had a smug shit eating grin plastered over his face irregardless of the fact that he’d just face fucked the floor less than 2 minutes ago, somehow he’d also managed to acquire a lollipop already, the stick poking out from between his lips.

The other Saja Boys had also managed to regain some of their usual sass and attitude by this point as well. Abby was sat on a chair pulling a face and making a fake gagging noise until he choked on fresh air and doubled over in another coughing fit. Mystery had pulled himself out from under the table he’d been under and was sat next to Abby, his expression unreadable now that his ashen bangs had fallen back under gravity’s rule. He was looking at his Daejang and Rumi with a slightly tilted head and a hint of a smirk creeping across the corners of his mouth, as if there was some hidden joke here that only he was privy to the punchline of. Romance stood leant against the table; his arms folded over his chest as he watched the scene unfolding before him with mild amusement. Though Rumi couldn’t help but notice that all of them still had an air of wariness about them.

Rumi turned her attention back to the man she’d pinned beneath her. Jinu… his chocolate brown eyes gazing up at her like she was the eighth wonder of the world, looking at her like he never wanted to look away again, like she’d disappear if he dared to avert his gaze.

“Hey” he said, his trademark grin creeping across his face.
“Did you miss me?”

That mouth has got so many better uses than speaking Rumi thought to herself.

“Shut up!” She leaned back in, capturing his lips with hers again, savouring the taste. Her tongue fought for dominance against his and she was winning. Her only response to another exaggerated gagging noise behind her was to flip a middle finger in its general direction, she was far too preoccupied with depriving both herself and Jinu of oxygen to be worried about an audience. She kissed him like she wouldn’t get the chance to again, they only broke the kiss once their vision started to darken at the edges before breaking apart and inhaling enough air to continue before diving back in.

“Umm, I hate to break up this little lover’s reunion thing that’s going on right now, but what in the actual fuck is going on?” Rumi reluctantly pulled away from Jinu and turned to face Romance. she was about to reply before another voice cut through the air.

“Rumi! Where are you?”. She picked out Mira’s voice calling for her from nearby.
The other Saja’s visibly paled at the sound of Mira’s voice, they were already pale but Mira’s voice had turned them into ghosts, surprisingly both Abby and Romance seemed the most affected, sharing worried looks between them. The memories of their earlier battle clearly fresh in their minds, Abby put his hand over his chest, tracing the area where her Gok-do had slashed over his abdomen and Romance clutched his head like someone had punched him really fucking hard, which was actually pretty close to the truth.

Before Rumi could get a word out in reply, Mira’s head appeared around the doorframe.
“Oh there you are Rumi. We were getting….”

Mira’s eyes blew wide as she took in the other occupants of the room, her Gok-do summoned immediately and her eyes locked onto the Saja Boys like a shark smelling blood.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?!?”

Chapter Text

“MIRA! NO! STOP!”

CLANG!

Rumi threw herself between the Saja Boys and an enraged Mira who had launched herself into the room with pure unbridled fury in her eyes. Rumi summoning her Saingoem and blocking a sweeping attack that would have cleaved both Mystery’s and Romance’s heads from their shoulders. Behind Mira, Rumi spotted Zoey entering the room. Two pairs of Shin-kal’s clutched in tight fists as she observed the carnage unfolding before her but she refrained from joining in on the attack which Rumi took as a small mercy.

“Hey Woah! No! No! No!” Rumi’s attention snapped back to Mira as the taller redhead sidestepped her and took a swing at Jinu who was still sat on the floor where Rumi had left him, his arms coming up to cover his head as Mira’s blade descended to split him in two.

“NO!!!!!” The word rippled with power and demonic energy as Rumi screamed it, the honmoon rippling a vivid pink with the power of her voice, rattling the light fixtures in the room as she exploded into movement. She collided with Mira like a line-backer tackling a quarterback, sending them both sprawling to the floor and kicking up a cloud of dust. Mira losing her grip on her Gok-do in surprise which then crashed into the floor less than a foot from Jinu’s head and he scrambled away from the fallen blade to regroup with his bandmates.

“Mira! What the FUCK are you DOING?!” Rumi was royally pissed off now, her blood boiling molten hot as she stared down her own bandmate. Sharp claws and golden eye posted front and centre as she tried to keep her friend from slaughtering the Saja’s where they stood and sat, using herself like a half demon/human shield. Mira sprang back to her feet, hurt evident in her face as she summoned her Gok-do back to her hand and glared back at Rumi.

“The fuck do you mean what am I doing?! They’re the ENEMY! They’re DEMONS! Do you not remember the fight we just had with them less than an hour ago?!” Rumi opened her mouth to retort but she closed it just as quickly, she couldn’t exactly argue with Mira on that point.

“And why the hell are you defending them Rumi? Why are you protecting them?” Rumi’s bubbling pot of emotion boiled over at that. All the pain, all the hurt, the anger and sorrow she’d felt after losing Jinu during their battle and the pure elation and joy she had felt after they’d been reunited spilled over in the form of tears that poured down her cheeks in a tidal surge, her voice cracking and she gestured wildly with her free hand at the Saja Boys who now stood huddled together, concern etched across their faces as they watched Rumi face down Mira.

“Because they’re not FUCKING demons anymore!!”

That statement hit everyone with the force of a speeding truck. Mira and Zoey’s jaws hung as limp as their weapons did and the Saja Boys looked amongst each other with a mix of apprehension, hesitation and realisation. Baby frantically yanked the sleeves of his Hanbok up and stared at his iridescent patterns, his eyes wide with shock. Romance ran a finger around his mouth and nearly fainted when he didn’t feel his fangs or his claws. Abby tried and failed to teleport across the room and Mystery ran his hands over his head and through his hair as if he’d only just now realised that he couldn’t hear Gwi-ma’s poisonous lies being whispered between his ears. Jinu looked between the four of them before running his hands over himself, seemingly only just noticing his human glamour wasn’t actually a glamour anymore. Slowly and inexorably the Saja Boys fell into complete hysteria.

“Hah! HAHAH! We’re human again!”

Romance dropped to his knees and raised his arms above his head as if he was thanking whatever god had decided he was worthy of a second chance. Abby wrapped Baby in a crushing bearhug much to the maknae’s annoyance and as he was unsuccessful in extricating himself from Abby’s grip he settled for hurling a torrent of expletives at the strongman. Mystery just remained where he was sat, his true feeling on the matter hidden behind those bangs and Rumi found herself already missing those beautiful eyes of his. She moved to stand next to Jinu as they watched the Saja Boys come to terms with having their humanity back, it was messy, it was chaotic, it was joyous, their happiness to be free was infectious and she couldn’t help but smile too.

After they had all calmed down some she stepped forward again and addressed everyone, commanding everyone’s attention as she spoke.

“I think there are some things we all need to discuss”.

She sent her Saingoem back into the honmoon and levelled her still golden gaze at Mira and Zoey who were still holding their own blades.

“Preferably somewhere a little brighter and preferably… without those”.

Zoey dispelled her Shin-kal’s back to the honmoon immediately and after giving Rumi a pointed look that said she was clearly not comfortable with this at all, Mira followed suit. The energy in the room noticeably changing without the imminent threat of violence as the two groups made their way out of the canteen back towards the stage, Zoey led the way with Mystery close behind her, followed by Baby, Rumi and Jinu, then Abby and Romance and finally Mira who outright refused to turn her back on any of the Saja Boys right now.

Every nerve and sense she had was screaming at her that this was some demonic trick or trap, that at any moment these boys - these demons – were going to drop whatever act they were putting on and attack them when their guards were down. She wasn’t about to let them do that; she didn’t trust them one bit. If they were truly human again, then they had a long way to go to prove they could be trusted. Her hands twitched, ready to pull her blade back from the honmoon at a moment’s notice if any of them even sneezed wrong.

Her eyes flicked between them all as they walked through the maze of corridors. Watched as Zoey bounced on her heels while animatedly chattering to Mystery and holding onto his arm, the shy quiet singer simply nodding along with her narrative. Watched as Rumi practically hung off of Jinu’s arm and every word as they whispered to each other, giggling like teenagers. That pair was an entirely different kettle of fish but she’d deal with that later. She watched as Baby stumbled along on account of his nausea and headache and the fact that he was still getting used to being in control of his body again after centuries of servitude. She practically glared holes through the back of Abby and Romance’s heads like she was willing herself to summon laser eyes like in those silly superhero movies Zoey badgered them into watching.

Eventually the two groups emerged back into the open stands of the stadium and found themselves on the main stage. Twilight had closed in while they’d been in the guts of the arena and the moon was poking out from behind the clouds, providing the eight idols with just enough ambient light to have a conversation. They huddled in a rough circle and despite everything she was currently feeling, Mira spoke up first.

“Ok then, let’s talk”.

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“NO! Absolutely fucking NOT! Not a chance in Hell!” Mira was gesticulating wildly as she vented her frustrations to all present, Baby even had to duck as a wild hand and sharp nails nearly slapped him across the face.

“But Mira why not?” Zoey, ever the optimist was almost jumping up and down in excitement, still clinging onto Mystery’s arm like he was a lifeline and she was drowning.

“Because I don’t want a bunch of demons sleeping down the damn hallway from me, that’s why!” Mira glaring around the circle of faces with her ‘pissed off pigeon’ look as Rumi called it, eyes set in narrow slits and a frown that could crack concrete.

“Umm, ex demons please and thank you”. Mira glared at Jinu with a look that could have melted steel but he didn’t shrink against her stare.

“You got a long way to go to prove that to me Loverboy!” A small squeak escaped Rumi’s lips at that comment and both her and Jinu’s ears-tinged scarlet and Mira jabbed an accusatory finger at the pair of them.

“And don’t think the two of you have gotten away scott free either, we will be discussing that later as well”.

The conversation went around in circles from that point on, a cacophony of overlapping voices as Rumi and Zoey tried to convince Mira to give the Saja Boys a chance, Mira not having any of it and vehemently arguing against it. Occasionally one of the Saja Boys chimed in with their own point until Mira stared at them until they shut up again, but everyone could tell that they were slowly wearing her down. Even Mira could feel that she was losing this battle and it took the other girls and occasionally one of the boys all of 20 minutes of negotiations to get Mira to cave.

“Urgh fine!” Mira practically spat the words out like they were sour candies and levelled a glare and a pointed finger at Jinu and the other Saja’s, the next sentence leaving her throat in a low growl.

“But I want to make this perfectly fucking clear, I don’t trust any of you any further than I can throw you. I trust Rumi and I trust Zoey; you lot have a long way to go to prove yourselves to me!”.

Jinu was the first to reply, his words carefully chosen, his hands raised in small surrender.

“I can promise you Mira, we have no intentions of causing further problems. All we’re asking for is a fair chance to prove ourselves worthy of the trust Rumi has placed in us”. A chorus of ‘yeses’ from the other Saja Boys as they nodded in agreement. Even Abby and Romance who otherwise would’ve been trying to flirt with her like they usually did were uncharacteristically quiet, keeping their heads down and their mouths shut.

“Hmm, I guess we’ll see” Mira muttered to herself before Zoey piped up, her bright bubbly tone a stark contrast to Mira’s gravel pit growling.

“Ok but how are we all getting out of here? This place is trashed”. She glanced around and gestured to the wrecked stadium. There was an uncomfortable silence as they all followed her gaze until a hesitant hand rose into the air.

“I saw a sign that said ‘Underground Parking’ on our way out from the canteen, maybe there’s something there we can use” Mystery’s voice was quiet and restrained, like he was worried Mira would snap at him for daring to speak without her permission.

“Alright then, let’s go” Rumi smiled warmly and gestured for Mystery to lead the way and together the two former enemy groups left the stage, heading back into the bowels of the stadium. On their way to the parking lot Rumi ducked into a changing room they passed and emerged with a ‘borrowed’ hoodie for Jinu who was still shirtless at that point. He gratefully pulled it on against the nights chill and smiled warmly at Rumi, slipping his hand into hers as they walked.

Once they arrived in the garage they piled into a black panel van and Mira climbed behind the wheel, finding the keys left in the ignition. Zoey claimed shotgun and the rest of them jumped into the back, sat on the long benches running the length of the vehicle. Rumi sat between Jinu and Mystery while Abby, Romance and Baby claimed the second bench. They left the arena in silence, just another unremarkable vehicle joining the late evening rush hour, leaving the destroyed stadium in the rear-view mirror as they headed for home.

Chapter Text

It was almost 11 o’clock when Mira pulled the van into Huntrix HQ’s garage, Zoey had called ahead to their security team to tell them they were enroute and they were greeted at the gates by their chief of security. Sam was an imposing figure, 6ft 7, black, bald and build like a brick shit house. The girls never had to fear for their safety when he was working, he’d pulled them out of many nasty encounters over the years he’d been there.

“Evening girls, bit late for y’all to be coming back ain’t it?”. Sam always had a cheery disposition about him regardless of whether he was guarding the carpark or pulling over zealous reporters away from the girls on the red carpet. Besides Bobby, he was the one the girls trusted the most, Zoey wound her window down and smiled warmly.

“Hey Sam, yeah the practice session overran big time and we had to deal with a few… unexpected complications that came up”. Sam just nodded, it wasn’t the first time the girls had come back late from a performance and it probably wouldn’t be the last either. He slapped a button inside his booth and the barrier rose up slowly and he waved them through. Mira flashed him a quick ‘Hi’ and a thumbs up before rolling the van forward, heading into their underground parking.

She parked the van as close to the elevator as she could get and shouted over her shoulder as she killed the engine.

“Right, everyone out!”

Rumi keyed her passcode into the elevator’s keypad and the doors opened with a gentle ‘woosh’, the elevator itself was spacious but still it was a tight squeeze with eight people. Huntrix and the Saja Boys ended up packed together like sardines in a can as they rose above the Seoul skyline.

“Abby if you don’t get you’re hand off my leg I’m gonna shove my boot so far up your arse you’ll taste shoe polish!” Mira growled as the Saja Boy got a little too close for comfort. He was lucky there was no room to summon her Gok-do in here.

“Sorry Mira” came a muffled reply before he rotated as best he could in the cramped space. Rumi chuckled and Jinu had to bite his finger to refrain from laughing out loud. Baby, ever the shit stirrer chimed up from the corner.

“Is now a bad time to say I really need to fart?” Seven other mouths opened in protest but one was louder than the rest. “Don’t you fucking dare!” It was Mystery, he glared at Baby through his bangs and poked him in the chest. “You fart in here and I’ll save the girls the job and kill you myself!”

Baby didn’t bother to reply, he just smirked around his lollipop, happy with the bit of drama he’d caused, the rest of the ride up was spent in relative silence with the exception of the elevator music.
As the elevator door opened into the penthouse and the crammed bodies spilled out into the cavernous space Rumi couldn’t help but notice the looks of awe and fascination that crept over the Saja Boys faces as they looked around the room. Being the top K-pop girl band in the world had its benefits, the penthouse suite covered the entire floor, with floor to ceiling glass windows that provided an unbeatable view of Seoul’s skyline. Romance couldn’t help but whistle in appreciation as he took in the incredible view.

“Damn! You can see for miles up here”. As the Saja Boys milled aimlessly around the penthouse, the Huntrix girls gravitated to the open plan kitchen to talk without being overheard, they gathered around the kitchen island so they could keep an eye on their guests as they spoke in hushed tones.

“Ok so where are these guys gonna sleep?” Zoey whispered, her eyes darting over to Mystery who was standing like a statue next to the couch.
“The guest rooms are all full of equipment and other junk, we can’t expect them to sleep in there and they definitely won’t all fit in Bobby’s spare room”.

Rumi’s eyes lingered on Jinu who had moved over to join Romance in looking out over Seoul.

“We could always set them up in here with the camping gear, we’ve got some air beds and sleeping bags”.

Despite the situation being far from ideal in her eyes, Mira smirked.

“What’s wrong Rumi? Not gonna let your boyfriend sleep with you huh?” Rumi squeaked again and swatted Mira’s arm as her cheeks dusted pink.
“He’s not my boyfriend Mira!”
“Uh huh sure, because you two weren’t casually attached at the lips when we found you”. Rumi just huffed at that, caught red handed. She looked down at the counter and picked at a loose thread on the sleeve of her jacket.

“I don’t know what we are right now, it’s something I need to discuss with him. But not right now”.
“Hmm” Mira replied with a raised eyebrow but she didn’t push the issue. The girl’s attention returning to the scattered Saja Boys as they reconverged in the lounge. Zoey cleared her throat and addressed their new houseguests.

“Ok, so for tonight you guys are gonna be crashing in here” she gestured at the lounge around them.
“Our spare rooms aren’t fit for guests right now. But we’ve got some camping gear you can use so at least you won’t be sleeping on the floor”.

A few murmurs of relief spread through the Saja’s and Baby poked Jinu in the ribs with a cheeky grin.

“Well that’s a relief. I still ache from when this fool made us sleep on the floor outside your fan sign event”. A scattering of groans as the other Saja’s agreed and Jinu had a sheepish grin on his face, remembering he’d only brought a chair for himself.

Mira clapped her hands, dragging all attention back to her as she spoke.

“But first things first, you lot need to clean up, because frankly, you all stink”.
“No offense” Zoey added quickly once she realised Mira wasn’t going to continue.
“Hey!” Abby protested before he lifted an arm and took a cautionary sniff before he recoiled slightly.
“Urgh! Ok actually, none taken”. Even Mira couldn’t help but smile slightly at that before she killed it just as quickly.

Rumi motioned for the guys to follow her as she led them towards the gym and the attached showers. There were enough stalls for them all to clean up at the same time and while they were doing that, her and the girls could get the boys accommodations set up for the evening.

The gym was huge. Located below the penthouse it covered almost two entire floors on its own, the upper floor had every kind of workout equipment from treadmills and rowing machines to cable machines and punching bags lining the side walls while a pair of boxing rings dominated the centre of the space, and through the long glass window at the back the boys could see a full-sized swimming pool on the lower floor. Mira couldn’t help but notice the hungry look in Abby’s eyes as they wandered through the room, like Romance earlier he let out an appreciative whistle.

Rumi led the collective down a set of stairs to pool level and through an open door into the showers. She turned and waited for everyone to be present before she spoke.

“I don’t mean for this to sound rude but do any of you actually know how to use a modern shower?” She got two hands raised in reply.
“Really?”

Jinu spoke up for the first time since they arrived, his tone betraying some embarrassment at what he was saying.

“Demons never really need to shower; we just used our powers to keep ourselves clean… we weren’t exactly planning on being human again”.

Rumi just nodded in understanding before addressing the group again.

“Ok, Abby, Romance, take the two end stalls since you know what you’re doing”. As the two Saja Boys walked away she pulled a shower curtain back to teach the others how not to burn themselves. The showers down here were simple but she figured it was better to be safe than sorry, last thing she needed was to drag a Saja Boy to the A&E with a burnt arse. That would be a media circus she could not be bothered with right now.

“One button and one dial, simple. Push the button once to turn it on, another time to turn it off. Spin the dial left to make the water colder, to the right to make it warmer. Understand?” The three remaining Saja’s nodded. Rumi looked over as Zoey came in with her arms piled high with towels. She returned her attention to the shower as Zoey began distributing her wares to the trio before wandering off to give a pair to Abby and Romance before leaving again.

“Shampoo and bodywash are here and soap and sponges are there, once your dry, grab one of those gowns and make your way back up to the penthouse”. The boys nodded and made their way to a shower stall each. As she left the showers to the sound of the boys getting undressed and a couple of the showers jolting into life Rumi ran her fingers down her face and groaned. This was not how she had planned her evening to go, teaching three former demons how to operate a shower? Not something she’d had on her bingo card this week. But then again, this entire day had been one massive curveball after another.

Once Rumi got back up to the penthouse she found Mira and Zoey setting up a double air bed, they’d grabbed all the spare bedding they could find along with a pair of sleeping bags. Mira looked up at Rumi as she entered and gestured at the bedding situation.

“Thought we had three of these bags but we only got two, so one of the them is gonna have to crash on the couch”. Rumi could tell that the thought of an ex-demon sleeping on their precious couch was taking a toll on her.

“You still don’t trust them do you?” Mira shook her head and lowered her gaze.
“Not at all, but I trust your judgement. If you trust them… then I guess I’ll try to give them a chance as well”. Rumi walked over to her friend and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Thank you guys, I know this is a lot but I want to try and help them… I need to try and help them”. The girls broke apart when they heard approaching footsteps and they looked over to see the Saja Boys entering in the robes Rumi had mentioned. After thanking the girls for their generosity and hospitality, the guys settled in for the night. Mira quietly volunteered herself as ‘night watch’ and grabbed a beanbag and a book from her room, setting herself up so she could keep an eye on the boys but far enough away so as to be inconspicuous. Mira sighed deeply as she watched the other girls head into their own rooms before opening her book, she truly hoped Rumi knew what she was doing.

Chapter Text

Mira had given up on reading her book almost instantly. Partially because there was practically no light to read by and she couldn’t be bothered trying to balance her phone light under her chin, but mainly because she couldn’t concentrate over the orchestra of snoring coming from the Saja Boys sprawled around her lounge. They were snoring like bears with hangovers and it kinda reminded Mira of her college years before she tried out for Idol school.

She found herself kinda jealous of how quickly they’d all fallen asleep, no sooner had their heads hit the pillows they were out like lights. Normally for her she’d toss and turn for hours before succumbing to sleep, but these fuckers just rolled over and they were gone. But then again if she’d spend literal centuries without actual sleep she’d probably be out like a light too.

Before she could think too hard into the matter she noticed one of the boys slowly rising from the floor. She tensed up as the Saja rose to his feet and started shuffling towards her. Her fingers twitched against the honmoon, readying herself if he lunged at her, her eyes locked onto the shuffling boy. Once he got closer Mira could tell it was Mystery. He stopped about five ft away from her and she thought he was meeting her eyes under that curtain of hair.

“Yes?”

“Sorry Mira, but I need to use the bathroom”.

He sounded embarrassed at the fact he was having a natural bodily function, like he was ashamed his bladder was betraying him and Mira couldn’t stop the twinge of guilt she felt, but she hid it well under her mask of indifference. She jerked her head down the corridor next to them, she wasn’t gonna let him use any of the girls ensuites but he could use the one in Bobby’s room.

“Down there, third door on the left”.

Mystery nodded and disappeared from view for a few minutes before she heard a flush followed by him reappearing as he passed her, a quiet ‘thank you’ was all she heard before he got back into his sleeping bag and re-joined the slumbering lummoxes he called bandmates. Mira couldn’t stop her eyes from getting heavy at that point, something about the boys snoring was almost melancholic to her and she couldn’t help herself as her phone slipped from her fingers and her head lolled forward against her chest. Her position as ‘night guard’ forgotten as she slipped into an uneasy sleep.

-----

Mira jerked awake like she’d been electrocuted. Had she fallen asleep? No she couldn’t have… could she? She grabbed up her phone which had fallen off the beanbag and glared at the time like it had personally offended her entire bloodline, 02:14am.

“Shit!”

She could still hear the snoring from across the room and decided to check on her charges, dammit she was pissed at herself now. They could’ve done something while she’d been asleep and she wouldn’t have known. She slowly approached the boys being careful not to make too much noise as she did a headcount.

Jinu… check
Romance … check
Mystery… check
Baby… check
Abby… … no check!

Panic blossomed in Mira’s chest as she realised one of the boys was unaccounted for and of course it had to be that one. Her training kicking in as she went into hunter mode, determined to track her missing quarry down. Her first thought was to check on the other girls, if he was going to attack them he’d do it while they were asleep. But before she could dash down the hallway to their bedrooms she felt a cold chill against her bare shoulders and she noticed that their balcony door was ajar. A frown settled on Mira’s face as she approached the door, it hadn’t been open earlier. It was then that she noticed someone leaning against the balcony railing outside.

Abby had his back to her, clad in nothing but the thin gown he’d been wearing since his shower and the hoodie that Rumi had ‘borrowed’ for Jinu, bare feet on stone tiles. His eyes glued to the Seoul skyline, watching the pulse of the city at night. Bright neon signs flashed and flickered, headlights from the traffic far below glinted and the occasional sound of a siren or someone shouting drifted lazily up to them. He hadn’t noticed her as she slipped through the open door, nor did he notice her when she stood just behind him.

“Can’t sleep huh?”

“Gah… Shit!”

Abby jumped so high Mira thought he might fall over the railing and she couldn’t help the smile that escaped her lips at his reaction.

“Fucking hell Mira! I know you hate my guts but can you please try not to give me a damn heart attack!?”

“No promises”.

Mira grinned devilishly, approaching the balcony and leant against it, scanning her own eyes over the city. The pair of them standing in silence for a few minutes. It should have been awkward but for some reason it wasn’t.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Abby spoke with a quiet reverence in his voice, something Mira found oddly disturbing and out of character for him. When she didn’t reply Abby continued, his gaze locked on the horizon.

“You spend so long in the demon realm you forget just how fast humanity can advance”.

Mira smirked.

“What’s the matter, never seen a skyline before?”

“Not like this no. Last time I was ‘topside’ all of this was single story stone brick and slate tiles. I never would have thought buildings like this could exist”.

Mira wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that so she just kept quiet. Gazing out over the city she called home.

“I know you don’t believe me Mira but I am truly sorry for what I did, what we did, for what we were forced to do… and for how I acted towards you”.

He didn’t turn and face her and for some reason it made Mira quite uncomfortable. This was not the Abby she’d known and hated over the last month. This wasn’t the cocky arrogant flirty arsehole who she had tried to murder on numerous occasions, the one she thought she had murdered at Namsam. This boy was quiet, restrained and apologetic. It was a far cry from the loud himbo persona he’d previously strutted around with like a preening peacock.

“The silence is deafening, you know”.

He tapped the side of his head with two fingers.

“I’ve spend so many years with ‘him’ in my head, feeding me poison and lies that it feels unnatural when he’s not there. I feel like it’s a trap, that at any moment he’s gonna speak again and pull me back down”.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“Oh how badly I wanted the voices to stop, it got so bad I’d even tear out my own eardrums but the voices would never cease. Played on repeat in my mind, there was no escaping his torture”.

Mira couldn’t help but recall one of the many lessons Celine had forced into her during her training.

“But aren’t all demon’s loyal to Gwi-ma? Why would he torture you if you follow him willingly?”

The noise Abby let out was somewhere between a snarl and a snort of indignant laughter.

“Fuck no! I have no loyalty to that bastard! My loyalty is to Jinu and my brothers”.

He tightened his grip around the railing until his knuckles went white.

“Oh sure there are some demons down there who are loyal to him, but that’s the 1% of the 1%, those are the masochists with no shame, the ones who enjoy causing pain and suffering, the ones he made into his generals. The vast majority of us can’t stand him, we spend our existence down there trying to avoid him. Doing everything we can to be unnoticeable and unremarkable, you never want to attract his attention, and you definitely don’t want to become one of his ‘favourites’”.

He spat that last word out with air quotes and a shudder ran down his body, but whether it was from the chill in the air or the unpleasant memories Mira couldn’t tell.

“Is that what you were? One of his favourites?” she asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer or what being one of Gwi-ma’s favourites entailed.

He nodded.

“Uh huh. All of us were. Me, Rome, Jinu, Myst and Baby. He took a particular delight in tormenting us five specifically. Whenever he’d get bored of the others or if he was feeling particularly sadistic he’d drag us out of our cages and torture us for weeks, even months nonstop. Would pit us against each other or some other demons until our bodies gave out and even then he wouldn’t quit”.

Abby grit his teeth as he recalled a particularly gruesome memory.

“He said our suffering was the best to taste, that us five alone could sustain him when the rest of them couldn’t, said we….”

Mira interrupted before he could continue.

“Wait! Hold up, you said he’d pull you out of your cages? Is that where he kept you? Caged up like animals?”

Another nod from Abby.

“He never lets his favourite toys roam far, wouldn’t want them to break. He kept us suspended in cages near his pyre. Close enough for the heat to melt skin from bone but not far enough away that we could heal”.

He grimaced again as he recalled that blasted cage.

“And if he was feeling very cruel, he’d dunk our cages in the River of the Damned, leave us to drown even though we could never die. He’d only ever let us out if he wanted us to do something for him”.

Abby sniffed and forced himself to speak past the lump growing in his throat.

“Some of the shit he’d make us do made us wish for the cage, it would have been a mercy compared to what he had planned for us”.

It was at this point he finally turned and met Mira’s eye, she could see all the pain and torment behind those eyes. Centuries of abuse and neglect crammed into the body of someone who didn’t even look 30 yet, and it showed. He looked… old despite his youthful appearance, his eyes betraying what he'd seen, what he'd been subjected to.

Abby continued his story, this time keeping his eyes locked on Mira’s.

“Gwi-ma had his favourite ways to punish us, or just to mess with us for his own entertainment. He’d make Romance dance until his bones cracked and his skin peeled, he made Jinu sing for him until he tore his vocal cords and still forced him to continue. He’d force Mystery to torture other lesser demons for their own failings and then torture Mystery if he didn’t do a good enough job. I can’t even bring myself to say what he made Baby do”.

The question leapt from Mira’s lips before she could stop herself.

“And what about you?”

Abby offered a mirthless laugh.

“Me? He’d force me into the fighting pits. Whatever demon happened to be unfortunate enough to be nearby would end up as my opponent. Sometimes it was a water demon, sometimes it’d be Rome or Jinu. Other times he’d pit me against the colossal ones just for ‘fun’. We had no choice but to tear each other to shreds, because the alternative didn’t bare thinking about”.

Another hand through his hair.

“I hated it. Being forced to harvest souls for him… for Gwi-ma”. His name dripped with hatred from Abby’s lips, as if even speaking his name burned his throat.

“But we had no choice in the matter, we never had a choice. We did what we were told otherwise we’d suffer the consequences”.

“What consequences?” Mira asked past a lump in her own throat.

“Whatever Gwi-ma could think up at the time. If he was feeling generous he’d just turn up the voices in our heads, torturing us with our own failures until our voices gave out from the screaming and we tore our own flesh from the bone trying to escape it. Other times it’d be beatings, burnings, brandings… rapes”.

That last one caused Mira to stiffen, she hadn’t been expecting that one. Abby could tell it had had an effect on her as he continued.

“Oh yeah, he’d rent all of us out to his other highborn favourites for their parties or other occasions. His only stipulation was that if they broke us, they had to fix us, physically at least. He didn’t care about the emotional scarring, said it added flavour to our suffering, like we were some kinda fucking dessert for him to snack on”.

Mira felt sick, she was pretty close to actually hurling over the balcony but she reigned in her roiling stomach and swallowed the bile that was threatening to crawl up her neck. She was in shock, all these years she’d been taught that demons were heartless soulless monsters that only existed to kill, but everything Abby was saying was tearing that believe to pieces and stomping it into the dirt.

Every lesson that Celine had drilled into her head for nearly a decade was coming undone at the seams as she listened to Abby describe Gwi-ma’s realm and what the demons under his rule were subject to and despite herself she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him. If what he was saying was true, then almost every demon she’d ever cut down hadn’t even wanted to fight but was being forced to under pain of even worse punishment. It made her sick to her core.

She moved her hand along the railing until it was barely touching his, but Abby flinched away from the contact like he’d been stung, stuffing his hands into the pockets of the hoodie and turned back to face the skyline. Mira didn’t know why; but him rejecting her touch caused something to shift deep inside her. Back when he was a demon, he’d taken every excuse he could to be close to her, but now he was human again he was actively moving away from her. She didn’t know how to feel about that, it made the turmoil of emotion inside her roil like her stomach had earlier.

“I’m not telling you this because I’m asking you to forgive me, or forget what we’ve done Mira. I’m telling you this because I… because we… need you to understand it from our point of view. We never wanted to do this, but we couldn’t say no. Our deals kept us in chains, Gwi-ma had his claws so deep into us we were just puppets for him to use. Chess pieces for him to move around the board to achieve his ultimate goals”.

Abby turned back to look at Mira and this time she could see a tear roll down his cheek.

“Now that we’re human again, we’re going to do everything we can to atone for the sins we committed. Even if it takes the rest of our lives”.

He turned then and walked back to the balcony door, opening it with one hand and letting Mira walk inside first.

“I understand you’re sceptical, hell, I would be too. But like Jinu said back at the stadium, all we’re asking for is a fair chance to be better, a chance to prove ourselves”.

With that said, Abby made his way back over to the airbed he’d been sharing with Romance and curled back up under the duvet. Less than two minutes later he’d re-joined the boy’s snore-chestra and Mira had relocated to the kitchen after locking the balcony door, raiding the fridge for a bottle of water and a few spicy dumplings from last nights leftovers.

She sat on a stool by the island and mulled over what she’d been told. Abby had given her a lot to think about as she watched the boys sleep soundly for the first time in centuries. A tiny crack appearing in the walls she’d built up inside over the years, and probably for the first time, she didn’t immediately patch it up.

Chapter Text

Rumi awoke to the sound of her phone buzzing like an angry beehive on her side table, her early morning alarm which she’d forgotten to turn off after last nights… events. She groaned in frustration at the alarm and reached over to slap the phone into silence but before she could it vibrated itself off the table and onto the floor with a dull ‘thump’. Another groan as she rolled over and reached for the offending device before poking in her password and shutting it up. 08:00am, too fucking early!

She rolled out of bed and shuffled into her ensuite bathroom like a zombie to perform her morning ablutions, she almost didn’t recognise herself in the mirror as she grabbed her toothbrush. Her hair was sticking out at every angle imaginable and she looked like a scarecrow that had licked a live electrical wire. She growled at her reflection as if it had offended her, she could not be bothered with this right now. After throwing herself in the shower and taming her wild locks she threw on some casual clothes, a pair of plain navy jeans and a black hoodie with a pink fluffy inner liner before making her way out into the lounge.

She hadn’t expected any of her new roommates to be awake this early so she was pleasantly surprised to see Jinu sat at the kitchen island, his hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee. The other four Saja’s still nearly comatose in their sleeping bags and airbed, though mercifully the snoring she’d heard from last night had abated for now.

“Morning Rumi”

Jinu stood and gave her a small wave.

“Morning Jinu”

She smiled, wandering over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into a tight hug. Putting his coffee down Jinu returned the gesture, though unlike their last embrace, he kept his hands above her waist, choosing to wrap them around her shoulders instead.

“I’m really glad you’re back Jinu, I thought this might have all been some cruel dream and I’d wake up and you wouldn’t be here”.

Her words were muffled as she spoke through the gown he was wearing.

“This isn’t a dream Rumi, I’m right here. I’m glad to be back, it means I get to spend more time with you”.

Rumi pulled back just enough to give Jinu a playful thump on the arm.

“Smooth”.

“I aim to please”.

She looked up at him, his trademark smirk on his face and he reached out to tuck an errant hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear, an ear which instantly tinted pink at the contact. Jinu leant down and planted a quick kiss to the corner of Rumi’s mouth causing the pink in her ears to spread to her cheeks.

“Are any of the others awake yet?”

She needed to distract herself or she was absolutely going to do something not rated family friendly to this man. Jinu chuckled and shook his head before poking a thumb at the other Saja’s who were still out like lights.

“Nah, I wouldn’t expect that lot to surface for quite a while, especially Baby and Mystery, it’s been centuries since they last slept, and I’ve been a light sleeper ever since I can remember so I was always the first one up out of all of us”.

Rumi pulled up a chair next to Jinu and snagged an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. The first bite sending a droplet of juice cascading down her chin.

“So do demons not need to sleep then?”

She mumbled around a mouthful. Again Jinu chuckled and shook his head.

“We didn’t need sleep in the way that humans do, we could rest but we never actually slept. We never dared to; Gwi-ma would flood our heads with nightmares if we tried”.

He pointed at Rumi’s apple and his cup of coffee.

“It was the same with food and drink, we could do it but it wasn’t necessary. Now that we’re human again it’s gonna take a little time to readjust”.

He took a long sip of his coffee and moaned at the taste. Now Rumi’s blush went somewhere else entirely, that moan was doing things to her that it really shouldn’t be doing, more non-PG rated thoughts floated around her head but she distracted herself again by taking another big bite from her apple. Jinu turned his head to face her.

“So what’s the plan for today then?”

Rumi chewed through her mouthful and swallowed before replying.

“Well we’re gonna get you guys set up in the guest rooms properly and I guess we’re gonna have to go clothes shopping for you all too”.

Rumi’s eyes wondered hungrily up and down Jinu.

“Can’t exactly have you guys walking around in gowns and nothing else can we?”
That damned smirk again.

“You telling me you wouldn’t like me walking around like this all the time?”

Her blush roared back across her face and she nearly choked on her apple as she flicked him on the forehead.

“JINU!”

Jinu just laughed and pulled her into another hug before she could hit him again, Rumi couldn’t help but melt into the contact… it felt right… he felt right. She slipped her hand into his and they just sat there quietly, allowing everything they couldn’t say out loud to be said through their contact. Her head resting on his shoulder and his resting on top of hers.

-----

It was nearly another hour before another member of the gang surfaced. Zoey skipped into the kitchen with far too much energy for this early in the morning, but that was one of her many endearing factors. Her boundless energy and enthusiasm was a great contrast to Mira’s no bullshit attitude and Rumi’s workaholic tendencies.

“Morning guys!” She said cheerily before opening the fridge and raided some rice cakes and a small carton of strawberry milk.

“Morning Zo”

“Hey”

Zoey eyed the pair and locked her eyes on their hands which were clasped together on the counter top. Before all of this, Rumi would’ve pulled her hand away at being caught but at this point she couldn’t be bothered to hide her affection for the ex-demon. Zoey had that look in her eyes like she was about to start an interrogation but before she could, the third member of Huntrix staggered into the kitchen. Mira looked rough, like she hadn’t slept at all last night, which wasn’t that far from the truth. After her late-night chat with Abby on the balcony her mind had been far too busy to allow her to sleep.

She mumbled a ‘good morning’ to the trio before not so slyly pinching one of Zoey’s rice cakes and grabbing herself a glass of orange juice from the fridge.
“Morning MirMir, you look rough”.

Mira just grumbled at that. On top of her limitless energy, Zoey had a habit of being particularly blunt with her words when she wanted to be.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night; I ended up having a conversation with Abby at two in the bloody morning”.

A round of ‘Ooooo’s’ from the girls earned them both a middle finger and they giggled to themselves. Jinu kept quiet, sipping at his coffee which was fast losing its heat, his eyes wandering around the room until he realised Mira’s gaze was locked on him.

“What? What I do? Why you looking at me like that for?”

“Abby had some interesting things to say about your lot’s time as demons”.

That pulled a reaction out of Jinu, he almost spat his mouthful of coffee out before inhaling it the wrong way and had to pound his fist against his chest as he coughed.

“Is that so?”

“Yup”.

Mira popped the P on that word before turning her attention to Rumi and Zoey. She began recounting the events of the previous evening, the other girls finding great amusement at the boys snoring and Mystery’s embarrassment at needing the toilet. But things got serious when Mira started retelling what Abby had told her. Both Rumi and Zoey’s faces fell when they heard about the torture that the Saja Boys had been subjected to and they went ghostly pale when Mira dropped the R word. All three faces turning to Jinu who looked like he wished he was anywhere else right now.

“Is that true?”

Zoey’s eyes were brimming with tears and Rumi didn’t look much better, her hand squeezing his with a renewed grip. Jinu just sighed before replying.

“If anything that’s a diluted version of events”.

He downed the last of his now lukewarm coffee and turned to address all three girls.

“I’m not gonna lie to you, Gwi-ma really put us all through the ringer. Some of us more so than others, but I’m not going to talk for the boys. That’s their story to tell and truth be told, now that we’re human again we’d all rather try and forget what we went through down there. It gets ugly pretty damn fast”.

The girls just nodded in agreement and didn’t push the issue. Jinu hadn’t known Zoey for very long but he could already tell she wanted to know every detail; he could see it in her eyes as she glanced at him. The four of them sat in relative silence as they ate breakfast, Rumi digging into a yogurt from the fridge, Zoey snacking on some strawberries, Mira devouring some breakfast bars and Jinu picking at an orange he’d grabbed from the fruit bowl.

-----

It was close to 10:30 before the first of the Saja Boys rose from the proverbial grave. Mystery emerged from his sleeping bag with a loud yawn and staggered to his feet, being careful not to wake the others, his bangs naturally cascading around his face, obscuring his eyes from the world.

“Morning Mystery”.

He looked over to where the voice originated from and saw Jinu sat with the Huntrix girls in the kitchen, he gave them all a quick wave and moved slowly around the couch to start walking towards them, stretching his arms above his head as he did so.

“WOAH! Hello!”

Mystery looked up startled at the four of them only to find Mira’s gaze firmly locked on the ceiling, Zoey’s eyes wide and locked straight onto him, drool pooling from the corner of her mouth, Rumi’s eyes were hidden behind Jinu’s hand while her jaw hung low and Jinu himself was seconds away from falling off his chair laughing before he composed himself and addressed his bandmate.

“Uh, you might wanna cover up Mystery, before you give Zoey a nosebleed”.

Mystery looked down and discovered to his absolute horror that his gown was hanging open all the way down, affording everyone present a view that would have every woman in the southern hemisphere swooning. Morning wood standing proud against a toned stomach, naked beneath that garment.

His face went the same colour as a tomato as he hurriedly covered himself and spluttered a stream of apologies. Rumi did her best to change the topic of conversation before Zoey had an aneurism at the kitchen table as Mystery sat next to Jinu who passed him a glass of water which he eagerly sipped from.

“So Mystery, did you sleep well?”

Mystery didn’t respond immediately; he chose to finish his glass before speaking. His voice was low and husky with morning warmth which of course made Zoey squeak.

“First decent night’s sleep I’ve had in half a millennium, I’m not used to the quiet… you know up here”.

He mirrored Abby as he tapped the side of his head with a finger. The girls just nodded in agreement before they settled back into a steady calm, waiting for the others to wake up.

-----

11:15

The other Saja Boys woke up within a few minutes of each other. Romance sat up first on the airbed and stretched, causing it to wobble just enough to rouse Abby from his slumber. Baby wasn’t too far behind them, he sat up from where he’d been laid on the couch, his hair full of static and looking even more like a scarecrow than Rumi had. It took them a few minutes to wake up enough to recognise they were still in the Huntrix penthouse and not down in the demon realm. Abby groaned as he rolled his shoulders and was rewarded with a ripple of pops.

“So it wasn’t some cruel nightmare then?”

Romance moved to sit on the edge of the airbed, rubbing feeling back into his arm which had gone dead from where he’d been laid on it, the peculiar sensation of ‘pins and needles’ running the length of the limb.

“It would appear not”.

Baby didn’t say anything, he just moaned into his hands trying to rub the sleep from them. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually slept, must’ve been 800 years by now but it felt like longer. Once they were awake enough, they joined the other five at the kitchen island. It was large enough for all of them to sit comfortably as Rumi and Jinu divvied up breakfast to everyone. Despite the fact that they were all mortal enemies 48 hours ago, sitting around a table with each other talking aimlessly felt surprisingly normal, as if they’d been doing this for years.

Once they’d all cleared their plates and bowls Rumi clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Ok guys, here’s the plan for today”.

Chapter Text

Between the eight of them, the plan came together relatively smoothly. Rumi and Jinu were on shopping duty throughout the day, both to sort the Saja Boys out with enough new clothing, bedding and toiletries to fill a wardrobe each and to restock the fridge now that the residency count had more than doubled at the tower. While they were out doing that Abby, Romance, Mystery and Baby would help Mira and Zoey clear out five of the guest rooms of all the junk that had accumulated in there over the years and help make them suitable to live in.

The penthouse came with the three private rooms for the girls, but it had also come with seven additional guest rooms, two of which were already ‘occupied’. Occupied was a very loose term. One of them was reserved for Bobby if he ever needed to stay the night for whatever reason but that was quite rare. He had his own apartment a few floors down the tower, he only ever crashed with the girls if it was ridiculously late.

One of the others was reserved for Celine should she ever choose to show her face, but since the whole debacle with Rumi asking her to kill her before the idol awards she hadn’t shown her face around the tower at all and the boys had outright refused to use her room. Something Jinu said about previous generations of hunters using anti-demon runes around safe spaces kept them away, even though they were human again they didn’t want to take that risk, which the girls thought was fair.

Rumi and Jinu left the tower at about 14:00 after Rumi had scavenged some clothes for Jinu from Bobby’s closet, mercifully most of the clothes seemed to fit him but the trousers were a little tight in certain places and Rumi couldn’t help but notice… ‘things’. Her ears had tinged scarlet when he’d walked out of the bathroom where he’d gotten changed. He looked good… too damn good, Bobby’s shirt was doing a godly job of accenting Jinu’s subtle musculature.

Rumi shouted to the girls as they were about to leave.

“Alright girls we’re off. Try not to burn the place down”.

Jinu followed up by shouting to the boys.

“You lot better behave yourselves!”

A mismatch of overlapping replies hit them as they were walking out the door towards the elevator.

“Have fun you two”.

“Yes dad”.

“Sod off already”.

“Bring me back some hot sauce”.

Jinu couldn’t help but smirk as they got into the elevator and started their descent to the garage.

“I give it 20 minutes before someone’s either gotten kissed or got punched in the nose”.

Rumi snorted in laughter; she wasn’t expecting that comment. It was a gorgeous melody to Jinu’s ears and he wished he could listen to it forever as he watched her in the reflection of the elevator. Once Rumi had collected herself she met Jinu’s eyes back.

“Please! If I know Zoey she’s already trying to drag Mystery into her bedroom. You saw how she made popcorn eyes when he accidently flashed us at breakfast”.

Jinu let out a loud laugh of his own, his head tilted back in his mirth. To Rumi, it was mesmerising, oh she’d do anything to hear that laugh again. The door dinged, alerting them that they’d arrived in the underground parking. The pair of them stepped out of the elevator and straight into a waiting car, a blacked-out Range Rover Sentinel, Rumi had requested it specifically from her security detail due to its trunk space. The fewer trips they had to make today, the less likely they were to be recognised by the fans or paparazzi who would absolutely have a fit if they saw members of Huntrix and Saja Boys out together, and shopping of all things.

Rumi had gone full incognito mode. Oversized sunglasses hid the majority of her face while a facemask hid the rest. Her hood was pulled down low and her signature braid was stuffed inside her hoodie. Jinu hadn’t quite gone full spy in disguise, opting for a plain black baseball cap and facemask. Irritatingly for Rumi, he pulled it off well. To anyone on the street he could have passed for a member of her security team and a member of general joe public at the same time.

“Where to today Ms Rumi?”

Her driver met her eyes in the rear-view mirror, his fingers ready to set the GPS where they needed to go. Rumi gave him the location of the biggest shopping complex within a reasonable driving distance and the sleek black SUV glided up the ramp and joined the early afternoon traffic. Rumi looked over at Jinu who was wringing his hands together in his lap, a thousand-yard stare in his eyes as his fingers danced over each other.

“Hey, you ok?”

Rumi reached over and put her hand over Jinu’s, running her thumb over his knuckles. Calming, comforting, grounding. It was enough to pull him out of whatever spiral he was currently going down.

“Yeh I’m good, it’s just a little overwhelming right now.”

He looked up and met Rumi’s eyes, god her eyes were something else. They saw straight through every wall he’d ever built up; his defences came crashing down under her gaze.

“Ever since Namsam, I keep thinking that this is all some horrible illusion. That ‘he’s’ doing this, giving us all hope only to pull it away when we think it’s real”.

Rumi couldn’t stop her eyes from watering as he spoke, as he poured his heart out to her in the back of this SUV.

“I don’t think I could bare it if this turned out to be fake Rumi. If it turns to ash in my mouth, if I wake up and we’re back in our cages. I couldn’t stand being without you, I… I… I want this to be real Rumi… I need this to be real”.

Rumi reached out with her other hand, cupping Jinu’s cheek as a single tear fell from her. She stared into his chocolate brown eyes and she felt something inside her shift, what exactly this feeling she was having was she couldn’t tell but she wanted to feel it more.

“Then let me show you that it’s real”.

She leaned over and pressed her lips to Jinu’s. His eyes widening at the unexpected kiss before he relaxed into it, his hand moving to linger against her jaw as he kissed her back passionately. It was warm, unhurried and full of care. Pure honesty shared between pressed lips. When they eventually broke apart they didn’t move far, foreheads resting against each other, hearts pounding like drums inside their chests.

Jinu could only muster a single word.

“Wow!”

He smiled his infamous smirk.

“If I’d have known that’s all it would’ve taken I’d have done it at breakfast”.

Rumi poked him in the ribs with a sharp fingernail, but the smile on her face betrayed her amusement.

“Shut up and kiss me again dork”.

Who was Jinu to deny her that? They joined at the lips again but they kept it civil (ish) considering Rumi’s driver was less than two ft away, though his attention was firmly on the road ahead and the conversation he was having over his headset with other members of the security team.

Rumi looked down at her watch and chuckled.

“You said 20 minutes before someone kissed or got punched?”

She gave him a gentle thump in the arm.

“Congratulations, you won the bet”.

Jinu laughed again, turning to watch the city roll by past his window, his hand still holding Rumi’s. if this really was real, then he could absolutely get used to this.

-----

As soon as Jinu and Rumi had left to go shopping, chaos had unfolded in Huntrix HQ. After the other girls had managed to empty out Bobby’s closet to cloth the boys with something other than cotton gowns they had started on ‘Operation Shit Tip Clean-up’ as Zoey had rather overenthusiastically titled it. Mira had ended up paired with her supposedly ‘least favourite’ ex demons while Zoey had paired up with Baby and Mystery.

“No ‘G I Joe’ I don’t want to see if you can bench-press a pair of bass speakers! I need you to move them out of that room before I launch this toolbox at your head!”.

Mira was frantically waving her arms around like she was trying to direct air traffic. Pointing directions at Abby who was loaded down with music equipment, a few cables dragging behind him along the floor which Romance had already fallen over once and was about to do again if he didn’t watch where he was walking. Mira didn’t even know what half of this crap was, boxes labelled as soundproof foam ended up being mixers and monitors and why did they need nearly 15 boxes of just cables? The amount of shit that had collected in these guestrooms over the years was outright astonishing and she groaned in exasperation as Romance stumbled over a dragging cable and dropped the trio of mic stands he was carrying.

Meanwhile Zoey was having a bit more luck with Mystery and Baby. Together the three of them had settled into some sort of order, Baby would pass boxes out of the door and Zoey and Mystery would carry them out into the lounge and stack them somewhat neatly. Occasionally they’d have to team up to move something that was ridiculously heavy but the three of them made for a good team. Mystery blushed profusely every time he caught Zoey sneaking a look at him as they passed each other, the occasional trail of popcorn following her. She was never going to let him live down what happened at breakfast.

Between the six of them they managed to get all five rooms cleared out in about three hours, all in all it had gone reasonably smoothly. Mira had only threatened to strangle Abby with an Aux cord four times and she had also managed to avoid throwing Romance over the balcony. The massive pile of mixed ‘shite’ as Mira called it stood stacked half neatly, half haphazardly in the corner near the penthouse door and she watched as Baby walked out with the last box of junk, putting it on the floor and groaning as he stretched his arms above his head and made a b-line for the couch.

“Oy Vey! Note to self, hard labour is a lot harder without demon strength”.

“So what do we do now?”

Romance asked as he opened the fridge and grabbed cans of soda for everyone. He nudged the door closed with his socked foot and started handing out the drinks.

“Now we wait for the two lovebirds to get back from shopping”.

Mira cracked her soda open and took a long drink, god damn she’d needed this. Babysitting these knuckleheads was giving her a headache and she’d had to bodily drag Zoey away for a quick ‘talking to’ when she’d made popcorn eyes at Mystery. Not that Zoey had been paying attention much during her telling off, she’d called Mira out for admiring Abby’s butt when he’d been carrying something heavy and that had shut the taller redhead up quick.

“Do you think they’re having fun? Do you think they kissed yet?”

Zoey bounded over to the couch and hurdled the back of it like an Olympian, crashing down next to Baby and grabbing the TV remote off the coffee table. The TV blinking into life, showing some nature documentary about penguins and Zoey squealed at the cute flightless birds. The others slowly gravitated to the couch as well, Mystery parking himself next to Zoey, then came Abby and Romance and finally Mira who still wasn’t particularly comfortable with the whole situation but decided to at least try and be civil.

“Honestly I’d be surprised if they even made it out the building before she kissed him”.

Baby chuckled past his soda as he spoke before letting loose a possibly record-breaking belch that rattled the windows. That broke whatever was left of the tension between the group. Zoey, Abby and Romance fell about laughing like children while both Mystery and Mira couldn’t help but smile. It felt normal, it felt… right.

They sat in silence for several minutes after that, watching the documentary before something caught Mira’s peripheral vision and she looked out onto the balcony where she and Abby had had their little chat.

“Is that a bird wearing a tiny hat?”

Sure enough, there was a magpie sat on the railing, peering into the penthouse with a beady golden eye, a tiny Gat tied to its head. The others all looked over and Abby chuckled.

“Hahah I was wondering when she’d show up, and if she’s here then he can’t be far behind her”.

He got up and walked over to the balcony door, pulling it open.

Mira scowled.

“What do you mean she? And who the hell is he?”

Before Abby could reply the magpie let out a piercing squawk, two additional pairs of eyes opening below its original set and it flew through the open door to land on Romance’s shoulder before levelling its stare at Mira. Romance just laughed and gentle scratched the birds wing with his pinkie. Before Mira could comprehend the sight before her Zoey let out such a high-pitched shriek that she was sure only dogs and dolphins could hear it. Padding though the balcony door was a huge blue tiger, massive golden eyes gleaming even as they were focused on two entirely different directions. Abby gave the great beast an affectionate scratch behind its ear and the big cat rumbled with a purr so strong Mira could feel it in her bones.

“What in the actual fuck is that thing!?”

Mira brain was doing somersaults inside her skull. A six eyed magpie and a bright blue tiger had not been on her bingo sheet. But then again considering what had happened to the Huntrix girls over the last two days it wasn’t that far out of the realm of possibility.

“Girls, meet Derpy”.

Abby wandered back over to the couch and plopped himself back down where he’d been sat, the big cat following behind him before slumping down of the carpet and closing his considerable eyes.

“And the budgie on my shoulder is Sussie”.

Sussie pecked Romance on the ear for called her a budgie before staring at Mira again. Mira returned the look. A staring contest? Oh this feathery bugger was on! but it quickly became clear to Mira what she was pathetically and hilariously outmatched. This bird seemed to be staring straight into her soul, six beady eyes daring… no, challenging her to crack first. Eventually she did, her dry eyes begging to blink and Mira caved, averting her eyes from the mystical bird. Sussie ‘cawed’ in victory and hopped from Romance to Mira’s shoulder, pecking at her glittery earrings.

“Oh she likes you Mira”.

Baby cackled as Mira tried in vain to shift the magpie off her, whatever attempt Mira made only resulted in Sussie hopping onto her other shoulder or on top of her head. Eventually Mira huffed in defeat and settled back into the couch crossing her arms over her chest, Sussie settled on her shoulder again and started preening her feathers. Zoey was practically foaming at the mouth as she stared at Derby.

“Can I pet him? Is he dangerous?”

Abby laughed and waved his hand in permission.

“The only thing that big lummox is a danger to is sunbeams and potted plants. If he knocks one over, you better believe you’re in for a show because he will try to put it right even if it takes him an hour”.

Zoey almost launched herself off the couch to stroke Derby, the oversized cat opening a single eye to watch her approach. Zoey reached out a tentative hand for him to sniff before reaching under his chin and giving him a scratch. The noise leaving his throat reminded Mira of a V8 engine on a cold start. Zoey turned at stared at Mira, stars in her eyes as she continued to love on Derpy.

“Can we keep them Mira? Can we? Can we? Can we? Pretty PLEASE!!”

Mira threw her hands up in exasperation, earning a disapproving caw from Sussie.

“Sure why the fuck not! Let’s collect more waif’s and strays! What’s another two on top of the five we’ve already got?”

Mystery spoke up for the first time since he’d sat down.

“Well they are Jinu’s spirit guardians”.

Mira was less than impressed.

“He failed to mention that!”

With the exception of Zoey who was far too preoccupied with showering Derpy with affection, the others turned their attention back to documentary. Settling into a somewhat peaceful calm.

Chapter Text

Rumi and Jinu arrived at the mall at about 14:30. The drive wouldn’t have normally taken so long but there had been some traffic diversions caused by a ruptured water main that delayed proceedings. Not that the pair of idols really cared, they’d spent the majority of the drive either staring into each other’s eyes or locked in a battle of lips. But they made themselves presentable as the car pulled in to park. Stepping out of the car Jinu couldn’t help but marvel at the size of this place.

According to Rumi, this place covered nearly 5sq mile, something he wouldn’t have even have been able to imagine back in the Joseon Era.

“So what’s first on the list?”

Rumi had snuck up beside him, giving him a gentle bump on the arm with her shoulder. They’d agreed to keep the lovey dovey stuff to a minimum whilst out and about, the last thing either of them needed right now was a Dispatch Agent or a fan snapping a photo of the pair of them too close together. They adjusted their disguises and started walking towards the colossal building. Jinu looked down at the list he had in his hand.

“Clothes for the guys first I think. Get that out of the way, then we can grab a bite to eat before doing the food shopping. Sound good?”

“Sounds like a plan to me”.

As soon as they entered the mall Jinu’s jaw went slack. The view from outside was very misleading, this place was massive. Endless rows of shop fronts selling everything from clothes to electronics to toys to food. He cast a sheepish look over at Rumi who was entirely unfazed by the sight before her.

“Not gonna lie, I am sooooo far out of my depth here. I haven’t got a clue where to start”.

Rumi let out a low laugh and peered at Jinu through her sunglasses with a slightly sultry look.

“Guess you’ll have to follow my lead then won’t you?”

Jinu gave her an exaggerated bow and gestured with one arm.

“Lead the way My Lady”.

Rumi snorted back a laugh and walked past him but not without ‘accidently’ and ‘gently’ standing on his foot for which he rather dramatically pretended to hobble along next to her before falling into step beside her. Rumi led him to the main clothes store in the building and together they got to work. Between the pair of them they made for an efficient team, picking out the guys a wide variety of clothes. Everything from shirts and trousers to shoes and pyjamas, they blew through their list in record speed. Rumi even picked out a selection of Hawaiian shirts for Abby as well as some oversized woolly sweaters for Baby.

The pair had ended up getting separated while Rumi had made a quick trip back to the car to drop off what they’d acquired. She looked around for Jinu where he said he’d be but couldn’t find him immediately. She really shouldn’t be worried; he was a big boy. He could manage wandering around a shop surely, but she couldn’t help the knot of nervousness in her stomach as she set out to find her…. wait! what exactly was he to her? Her friend? Her boyfriend? Were they a couple? The way they’d engaged in tongue roulette both at the stadium and in the ride over here would definitely lean towards the latter options. She shook the thought from her head, that was a conversation for another day, right now she just needed to find him.

She was so caught up in her train of thought she wasn’t watching where she was walking and ended up crashing straight into someone, the shock of the impact knocked her backwards onto her ass, sent the mysterious stranger clattering into a clothing display and her sunglasses sent skittering away across the floor. She looked up from where she’d fallen to see… Jinu… looking at her with a very amused look on his face after he’d managed to extricate himself from the display he’d been pushed into. He offered a hand down to her and she took it as he chuckled, those gorgeous eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Watch yourself”.

That fucking smirk again! She could tell it was there even behind his mask. It made her want to snog him and batter him with her handbag at the same time.

“You did not just say that to me again!”

The heat that flooded around her face would’ve been enough to poach an egg, her ears tinting red as warmth pooled somewhere she didn’t want to think about. Jinu just smiled widely behind his facemask as he pulled Rumi upright, collected her sunglasses from where they had fallen and carefully put them back on her head with exaggerated care, he couldn’t help but leave a lingering touch against her cheek.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist”.

Rumi just huffed but the smile under her mask betrayed her.

“So where’d you wander off to anyway? I was looking for you”.

Jinu nodded to his new pants.

“Went to sort myself out with some new trousers, those ones of Bobby’s were a little too tight if you know what I mean”.

Rumi couldn’t catch herself in time to stop herself looking at Jinu’s pants. They were indeed different, not the plain black jeans he’d left the penthouse with, but now a sleek pair of stone washed dark grey jeans that hugged his waist and legs remarkably well. She couldn’t help but notice that these ones didn’t accentuate a certain part of him to the same degree the other ones had and she pouted a little at that fact. Jinu grabbed his list from a pocket and studied it.

I think we’ve got everything the guys need clothing wise, wanna go get something to eat?”

Rumi’s stomach answered before her words did, a growl of hunger that even Jinu could hear. He laughed when she went even redder in the face.

“Guess that answers that question. Come on”.

Without even thinking about it, he wrapped his free hand around hers as they walked towards the food court. ‘Fuck it’ Rumi thought to herself and squeezed his hand back, leaning into the contact that shrunk the world down to just them. She didn’t really care if anyone saw them right now. Once they had acquired lunch they found a table set into the corner of the food court, far enough away from the hustle and bustle but still allowing them to speak without whispering.

Rumi had ordered the Kimchi fried rice and some Jasmine tea while Jinu had gone with some spicy chicken noodles and another coffee. She watched him as he popped a mouthful of the noodles into his mouth.

“Jinu?”

He looked up at her as he slurped a long noodle ala ‘Lady and the Tramp’.

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask why demons seem to have an obsession with spicy foods?”

Jinu sat back in his chair and took a quick sip of his coffee.

“Remember when I said that demons didn’t need to eat to sustain themselves?”

Rumi nodded, her mind casting back to their discussion at breakfast.

“When we were demons food had no actual taste to us, it was just bland mush in our mouths. The only thing we could actually still taste was spice, the hotter it was the more we could remember what taste was like”.

He impaled a chicken bite with a chopstick and offered it to Rumi and she took it, a drop of sauce catching on her lip which Jinu diligently reached over and removed with his thumb causing her to blush.

“Baby was the worst out of us all for spice. He clung to it because it was the last thing he had that reminded him of his humanity, his last reminder of his life before ‘him’”.

An amused grin spread over Jinu’s face as he watched Rumi take a sip of her tea, the steam fogging up the lenses of her sunglasses still perched on her nose.

“Now that he’s human again he’s gonna have to learn quick that he can’t sustain himself on hot sauce alone, that’s not gonna end well for any of us”.

The pair of them giggled at the joke and they settled into a comfortable silence. Both of them enjoying the food and each other’s company. This felt natural… it felt domestic… it felt right and Rumi didn’t stop him when she felt Jinu’s foot brush against her’s under the table.

-----

The rest of the trip was remarkably uneventful considering everything. After finishing lunch and getting a few last-minute things they’d forgotten to write down including getting the other Saja’s set up with their own phones, they blew through the food shopping with the same ruthless efficiency that Rumi usually reserved for demon hunting. It was honestly a little scary how well she and Jinu worked together, a level of teamwork that she didn’t even feel with Zoey and Mira. It made the myriad of emotions running rampant through Rumi’s body go into overdrive. ‘What is this man doing to me?’ she thought to herself.

Once they’d loaded the car up with an almost literal mountain of stuff, they started the return journey to Huntrix HQ. Rumi had ended up sat shotgun due to the amount of stuff they’d bought piled up on the back seat after the trunk reached capacity. Jinu didn’t really mind sitting separately. For him, just being in her presence was enough. As he watched the scenery pass by, he was only vaguely aware of Rumi talking on her phone, catching only snippets of her conversation.

“Hey Zo, we’re on the way back”.

“Yes it went fine, we got everything we need”.

“What do you mean you…”

“ZOEY!”

“No I’m not giving you the details!”

“I swear Zoey I’m gonna exorcise you when I get back!”

Jinu couldn’t help but smile as Rumi hung up the phone with a loud groan. She twisted in her seat to face Jinu, her cheeks a rosy pink that told Jinu whatever Zoey had said to her had flustered her. he couldn’t resist poking the bear.

“That sounded like a fun conversation”.

Rumi just growled, but the hint of a smile told him she wasn’t serious.

“Don’t you start, its bad enough with Zo”.

Jinu just smiled in return, reaching a hand forward to claim hers between the seats, the contact was warm as he engulfed her slender fingers in his. He traced idle shapes over her knuckles with his thumb and was about to bring her hand up so he could kiss it but the moment was interrupted by Rumi’s driver as he spoke.

“10 minutes until we get back Ms Rumi. Will you be needing help moving this all up to the penthouse?”

Rumi sighed and let go of Jinu, turning to face her driver.

“No thank you Liu. I’ve called the girls, they’ll come down and help us”.

Her driver nodded and stuck the indicator on to make a turn. The two singers went back to gazing out of the window. The ghost of Jinu’s warm touch still lingering on Rumi’s hand as she watched the road ahead of them. At some point soon they would need to discuss what they were. It was eating her alive not knowing and she had a sneaking suspicion it was doing the same to him. But first they needed to get the Saja’s set in properly, maybe they could talk about it tomorrow if they found time.

-----

Zoey hung up her phone with a giddy smile plastered across her face, the look that said she’s got tea but was gonna wait to share it. She turned to address the group who were still lounging on the couch, the documentary was nearing the credits and they were starting to get hungry.

“Ru and Jinu are on their way back, she said about 10 mins until they’re here”.

She cast her gaze onto Mira who had decided that the feathery menace on her shoulder wasn’t too bad after all and was feeding her little bits of a cracker she’d got from the pantry.

“She also said they’d need help bringing everything up MirMir”.

Mira barely noticed she was being spoken to until Romance gave her a gentle poke in the arm.

“Huh? What?”

Zoey rolled her eyes so hard she thought she’d seen the back of her skull as both Abby and Romance chuckled at Mira’s obliviousness.

“I said the lovebirds are 10 mins out and we need to meet them downstairs to help carry the spoils of war”.

“Urgh fine”.

“I can go help them if you want me to Mira”.

It was Abby. He just shrugged at the mix of shocked and surprised looks he was getting at that comment, Romance looked at him like he’d just grown a second head.

“What? Might as well make myself useful right? Earn my keep so to speak”.

He pointed vaguely at the girls.

“Mira’s currently being used as a perch by Sussie and Zoey looks like she’d kill someone if she has to stop fussing Derpy. Plus I can still carry a lot of stuff, even without my demonic power”.

He rose up off the couch and made his way towards the door, rolling his shoulders as he moved. He grabbed a pair of house slippers from next to the door and then disappeared from view as he left the penthouse, heading to the elevator.

-----

The late afternoon light was replaced by those of overhead strip lighting as the car pulled into the underground parking under Huntrix HQ. it pulled up directly next to the elevator and Rumi thanked her driver before stepping out of the SUV and stretching. Jinu offered the same thanks before disembarking himself. Rumi pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket and texted Zoey that they’d just arrived before moving around the back of the Sentinel and popping the trunk open, she had to react fast to catch one of the bags when it made a bid for freedom.

As the pair of them were discussing how best to divvy up the goods, the elevator doors opened revealing someone they weren’t expecting to see.

“Hey guys, need a hand?”

Rumi just stood dumbfounded.

“Abby?”

Chapter Text

Between Rumi, Jinu and Abby it only took them two trips to move everything up to the penthouse. Abby - true to his word - was like a god damn packhorse carrying on his own the same number of bags as Jinu and Rumi combined. When they arrived at the penthouse after the first trip they found a conga line of the others ready to help move everything inside. All the clothes and other non-food items got piled up next to the couch while the food went to the kitchen, Zoey volunteering as tribute to deal with the food with Mystery offering to assist.

Once everything was accounted for Rumi and Jinu started divvying up the bags to the boys like they was some kind of secret Santa.

“Alright, Abby this lot is yours”.

“Romance, these ones are yours”.

“Baby yours are these 5”.

Rumi looked over to the kitchen towards Mystery and called to him.

“Myst these 4 bags here are yours when you’re ready”.

Mystery gave her a thumbs up and a quick smile and went back to helping Zoey load the pantry. The other three boys taking their respective hauls to their rooms, emerging a few minutes later in some of the new clothes. Abby predictably had chosen one of the Hawaiian shirts (unbuttoned of course) and a pair of pale blue jeans. Romance had gone full casual, a white t-shirt with a middle finger emoji on it and a pair of grey tracksuit pants, a stark contrast to his usual style. Baby wore a pair of navy jeans and one of the woolly jumpers Rumi had picked out for him over a red t-shirt and a yellow beanie adorned his head.

Jinu moved his haul of bags into his room but didn’t get changed since he was already wearing some of his new attire and once he’d finished helping Zoey, Mystery had taken his collection to his room, emerging in a black long sleeve shirt and cargo pants a few minutes later.

Next came the ‘interesting’ part. Showing the Saja Boys how to use their new phones. That job had fallen to Zoey considering she spend the majority of her free time with a device glued to her hand. According to Jinu, Baby had managed the groups socials and anything tech related when they’d been demons so she enlisted the Saja rapper to help her instruct the others. Nothing too difficult for tonight, just learning the basics of adding new contacts, making and answering phone calls and the very basics of texting. Abby and Romance picked it up reasonably quickly but Jinu and Mystery would need some extra tutelage, but that could wait for now. Everyone was hungry and the contents of the fridge and pantry were calling their names.

All eight of them gravitated towards the kitchen, it had been unanimously decided that dinner tonight would be a group effort, a team building exercise that would hopefully pull the group closer together as a unit. Everyone seemed eager to get going, Abby and Romance passing ingredients out of the pantry as directed by Rumi, Zoey and Mystery acquiring what they’d need from the fridge and the freezer and Jinu reading out recipes from a massive binder Mira had directed him towards.

Night had fallen by the time everything was plated up on the kitchen island. Bowls of Bibimbap, Tteokbokki, Kimchi and Bulgogi littered the counter top while Japchae, Gimbap, Banchan and a mix of Korean BBQ filled any available free space. Rumi had insisted of getting a lot of Soju when her and Jinu had been shopping as a means of getting everyone to unwind a little.

They all dug in, no one wanted to admit it but they were all famished after the day’s work. Everyone piling food onto their plates, passing bowls and platters between them, glasses clinking together as toasts were made. Conversation shifted from the girls previous tours to favourite downtimes and everything in between. It happened naturally, like they’d been friends for years instead of just 24 hours. Laughter and teasing banter flowed as easily as the Soju did, it felt like a college dorm room without the deadlines and overenthusiastic hall monitors ruining the fun.

Rumi ended up leaning against Jinu as they watched the other members of their respective bands interact in a way that pulled at both their heart strings. He refilled her Soju and clinked his glass against hers and she smiled warmly up at him, though whether that warmth came from her affection for him or from the half a bottle of wine she’d drank was up for debate. Though she liked to think that it was from both.

Zoey was animatedly chattering to both Mystery and Baby about everything from her favourite anime’s to every documentary she’d watched over the last month while Abby and Romance were having a mini competition between themselves to see who could eat the most spicy dumplings without needing a drink. Mira was sat between the pair doing her best to ignore them and eat her Bulgogi but she had a small smile on her face as she watched these two clowns set their mouths on fire for the sake of a bet.

Derpy laid on the floor nearby, occasionally opening an eye and his considerably sized mouth as Baby fed him slices of sushi. Rumi had been initially concerned about that but she figured that a demonic spirit guide didn’t have the same dietary requirements as a normal tiger would and Jinu clearly wasn’t bothered by it so why should she. Sussie had decided to be antisocial for once, choosing to set herself up on top of the TV speakers on the other side of the room. She appeared to be asleep but every so often she’d half open one eye just to peer judgementally around the room before closing it again.

All in all, Rumi considered dinner to be a resounding success. Nothing got burnt, nobody got hurt and everyone seemed to be having a great time with each other, even Mira was starting to get in on the fun, cracking a few daft jokes and joining in on conversation when she wasn’t stuffing her cheeks like a hamster. ‘So this is what found family feels like’ she thought to herself as she heard Jinu crack up at some lame joke Romance told between stuffing another dumpling into his mouth.

Once they’d all eaten their fill – the Saja Boys eating considerably more than the girls – Rumi and Jinu volunteered for cleanup duty as the others all made their way to the couch. Mira stuck one of her playlists on the speaker which promptly woke up a sleeping Sussie and caused her to flap around the room in annoyance before settling on the curtain rail over the balcony door. The two leaders stood side by side at the sink, Rumi washing up bowls, plates and platters while Jinu dried and stacked them to put away later. To Rumi, this felt even more domestic than their shopping trip, they chatted aimlessly about this and that before finishing up and joining the rest of the gang to vegetate on the couch.

“Mmmm I haven’t eaten that good in decades!”

Abby sat back against the cushions, a very content grin on his face, his arms spread along the back of the sofa.

“I second that”.

Romance sat with his legs tucked under him, tapping at his new phone and poking his tongue out a little as he concentrated on sending a text to Jinu. Jinu’s phone ‘dinged’ and he opened it to read ‘I think I’ve got it’. He laughed once before giving Romance a thumbs up before sitting back, Rumi leaning into him almost subconsciously. It took only a few minutes for the peace and serenity to be broken, Zoey shot upright and pointed a finger at the ceiling like she’d had a Eureka moment.

“Ooooo I’ve got an idea!”

She darted off into the pantry. Mira and Rumi shared a knowing look with each other, a hint of panic in their words.

“Uh oh!”

They said in unison. Jinu leant forward and looked at the girls in curiosity.

“What do you mean by uh oh?”

Mira jerked a thumb to the open pantry door.

“Whenever Zoey gets that look in her eyes then somethings about to go down and it usually involves alcohol”.

Any further explanation was interrupted as Zoey came back across the room with a large tray in her hands. On it were three bottles of Soju, one bottle of hard spirit and a bunch of shot glasses. Once Rumi laid eyes on the tray she knew exactly what was about to occur and she groaned loudly. Zoey didn’t seem to care as she put the loaded tray down on the coffee table.

“Alright boys! Game night! It’s time for Spin the Bottle Truth or Dare!”

Baby sat forward from where he’d perched himself on the floor, a look of perplexion on his face.

“Truth or Dare?”

“Yes”.

Zoey started setting up the game while explaining the rules to the boys.

“First person spins the bottle in the middle, whoever it points to chooses to either tell a truth or do a dare”.

She looked around to make sure everyone was following along.

“If they tell the truth or complete the dare then the spinner takes a drink. If they chicken out, then they take a double shot”.

An evil grin spread over Zoey’s face.

“Winner is the one who passes out from alcohol poisoning last”.

There was a few seconds of silence before someone spoke.

“Fuck it! I’m in”.

Abby leant forward, rubbing his hands together like some diabolical supervillain. Romance wasn’t far behind him, putting his phone away and leaning forward as well. Baby – always looking for a chance to cause shit – perked up and shuffled towards the table.

“Count me in too”.

All it took to convince Mystery was a look from Zoey. He simply nodded and took up his position. Rumi just looked at Mira and let out an exasperated sigh.

“I guess we’re in”.

Zoey levelled her eyes on Jinu who just shrugged.

“Sure why not”.

“Can we at least keep it clean for tonight?”

Rumi asked as Zoey started pouring out the first round of shots.

“No promises RuRu”.

This was going to be absolute chaos disguised as games, and Zoey was all too happy to be the cause of it and was going to relish every single second of it.

-----

“Ok, we need a volunteer to start us off”.

Zoey looked around the group.

“Sod it! I’ll start”.

Jinu leaned forward and spun the bottle, it was a good spin, it eventually landing on… Mira. A collective ‘Ooooo’ from the group as Jinu levelled his gaze on his victim.

“Truth or Dare Mira?”

Mira just looked back at him, her usual stonewall expression softened slightly by drink already.

“Truth”.

Jinu leant back slightly and smiled.

“What was your favourite country you’ve been to on a world tour?”

Her eyes widened at that; she was expecting something entirely different. It took her a minute to think.

“Umm… I think I’m going with Poland on our 2019 tour, when we played the Tauron Arena in Krakow”.

Zoey piped up from where she was sat on the floor between Mystery and Baby.

“Oh good choice, though I preferred playing the AT&T in Texas on that tour”.

Jinu just shrugged and necked his shot of Soju.

“Ok Mira, spin the bottle”.

She did, not quite with as much force as Jinu had and it landed on Baby.

“Truth or Dare Baby”.

The little shit smirked at her.

“Dare”.

Mira returned the smirk with interest.

“Give someone here a genuine compliment in one line”.

Baby’s smirk evaporated like an ice cube under a heat lamp.

“You cruel woman!”

But he levelled his gaze at Romance.

“As much as I give him crap for it, I do find some of Romance’s poetry to be… tolerable… sometimes”.

Romance flashed Baby a finger heart.

“Hey I’ll take it”.

Baby didn’t respond, instead he knocked back his shot of Soju just for the shits of it and refilled his glass before spinning the bottle. It landed on Rumi.

“Rumi?”

“Uh… Truth”.

“Who out of us lads do you think is the oldest?”

Rumi looked around at them all.

“You all look physically young, but I’d have to say Jinu”.

Jinu put a hand over his heart and gasped in mock betrayal as the other Saja Boys rolled about laughing. Romance laughing so hard he shed a tear.

“Nope, oldest one here is actually Baby. Dudes 850 years old”.

“No fucking way!”

Zoey leapt to her feet and stared at Baby who had an impartial look on his face.

“No way the dude who looks like he’s still in preschool is the oldest one here!”

Mira sat forward, genuine interest on her face.

“Wait, so who’s the actual Maknae of the Saja Boys then?”

Abby raised his hand and Zoey went ballistic… no… she went into orbit. Abby waited for her to finish ranting about everything being lies before speaking.

“From oldest to youngest its Baby, Mystery, Jinu, Romance and then me”.

The Huntrix girls had to collect their jaws from the floor before they continued the game. Rumi span the bottle… landing on Jinu. He gave her his best smirk.

“Dare”.

Rumi had no idea if it was the ¾ of a bottle of Soju she’d had over the last hour or some lingering flashback to their encounter under Namsam that made her say it, but she said it anyway.

“Lose your shirt for the rest of the game”.

Jinu’s eyebrows followed where Zoey had shot into orbit as everyone else went dead silent… and then the room erupted. Zoey fell off her cushion laughing, Mira had a ‘What the Fuck’ look on her face and the other Saja’s were just staring both at her and at Jinu and trying to contain their own laughter.

Jinu – ever the one for weaponized compliance – slowly untucked his shirt from his waistline. Slowly riding the fabric up over his toned stomach, revealing his abs and his pecs in agonising slowness. His eyes never leaving Rumi’s who entirely failed to keep her own eyes off his chest. After pulling the shirt over his head, Jinu casually tossed it over the back of the couch and sat back, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

“Like what you see Jagiya?”

He made his pecs dance for her and Mira had to lean over and push Rumi’s jaw back into place before she drooled all over the floor but not before Zoey had snapped a video of the ridiculous scene which she would absolutely not be using as blackmail at some point. Rumi was somewhere else entirely, her mind flooding with very inappropriate thoughts about what Jinu could do to her… no… what she’d let him do to her, her core turning into molten lava as she stared like a deer in headlights. Zoey couldn’t help but comment on Rumi’s predicament in-between breathless laughs.

“I thought you wanted to ‘keep it clean’ Rumi?”

Mira somehow managed to drag everyone’s attention back to the game at hand with a loud cough as Rumi finally managed to pull her gaze away from Jinu long enough to take her shot, though her eyes never wandered too far from him. Jinu reached forward and span the bottle.

“Truth or Dare Zoey?”

“Ooh Dare! I choose Dare!”

Jinu’s devilish smirk returned with a vengeance.

“Prank call someone”.

Mira muttered something about ‘are we five years old now’ but Zoey matched Jinu’s grin with her own and made some ‘gimme gimme’ gestures at him.

“Bobby doesn’t have your number yet but he answers every call”.

Jinu passed over his phone and Zoey tapped in Bobby’s number before putting the phone on speaker. It took only two rings before Bobby answered, his usual professional voice taking over.

“Hello?”

Zoey pinched her nose to distort her voice before she spoke.

“Hi there, is your refrigerator running?”

A very confused Bobby on the other end of the line.

“Umm, yes?”

“Well you’d better go catch it before it gets away”.

She hung up the phone before Bobby could reply before falling over laughing, ending up half sprawled in Mystery’s lap as she had what could only be described as a bodily malfunction, snorting laughter in-between ragged breaths. Rumi had her head in her hands stifling her own sobs of laughter and even Mira was giggling into her wine.

-----

The game continued for another hour or so.

Mira got asked who out of the Saja’s she’d trust with her unlocked phone for an hour and she’d chosen Mystery because he pissed her off the least.

Abby got dared to do 50 push-ups with a still shirtless Jinu sat on his back. He only got to 38 before he collapsed in a heap causing Jinu to end up on his arse with his legs in the air, much to Rumi’s enjoyment.

Mystery got dared to let Zoey do a face full of makeup on him which he allowed, Zoey turning him into a very beautiful man with lovely eyeliner.

Zoey got dared to do an impromptu rap battle against Baby, though it was decided that it was a draw.

Rumi got dared to try and sing ‘Golden’ in contralto which was a hilarious mess.

Romance was dared to read out some of his poetry but he chickened out and had to do a double shot of hard liquor.

Between the eight of them they finished the three bottle of Soju and half of the hard liquor before Mira decided that they should call it a night before some of them ended up at the A&E. Rumi staggered to her feet but her balance was non-existent by that point – on account of her finishing a whole bottle on her own almost – and Jinu had to catch her before she hit the floor.

“I’ll take her to her room”.

He didn’t wait for a response from anyone as he picked her up bridal style and started walking away from the chaos of the lounge. Leaving the clean up to the others as he gently kicked her door open with his foot. It was the first time he’d seen the inside of her room and he couldn’t help but be impressed at its grandiose.

Rumi was mumbling something incoherently and tracing a fingernail over his bare chest as he walked across her room, depositing her carefully onto her bed like she was some fine piece of art, which in Jinu’s eyes she was even if she was wasted. After tucking her under her duvet and tracking down a bin in case she heaved during the night, Jinu grabbed the chair from her vanity and sat with her.

He didn’t want to leave her unattended but he could already feel the pull of sleep himself, he was fighting a losing battle with his own weariness. He didn’t even notice when Mira and Zoey stuck their heads around Rumi’s door to see him sat by her bedside, his head lolled forward against his chest, arms and legs crossed. He didn’t notice when Zoey snapped a photo of the cute scene, nor did he hear the click as the girls closed the door, leaving him and Rumi to sleep.

Chapter Text

Rumi awoke slowly, her heavy eyes pushing open against the sleep that crusted her lids. Bloody hell fire her head hurt, it felt like someone was banging a Timpani drum inside her skull. What the hell happened last night? Small snatches of memory filtered through the hazy fog that was her brain, everyone eating together and chatting away, Zoey legging it to the pantry and returning with… stuff. SHIT! The fucking game! Rumi sat bolt upright in bed, her duvet pooling around her midsection and she immediately regretted how fast she’d sat up.

Her head was swimming, it felt like she was engulfed in syrup. Her movements felt groggy and her muscles ached as she rubbed the sleep from her face, squinting her eyes against the bright light creeping in through her blinds and she forced down the bit of bile rising up her throat. She groaned to herself as more clarity made itself available to her, she made Jinu give her a little strip tease! And the wine? She downed nearly an entire bottle on her own. What the fuck is wrong with her?

It was at that point Rumi became aware of quiet snoring nearby. She froze like a statue, only her eyes daring to move towards the source of the noise. Sat in her chair next to her bed was Jinu, his head lolled forward against his chest. His arms were crossed over his still bare body and his feet were crossed at the ankles. His perfect hair doing its best impression of Mystery, obscuring his upper face from her view. He looked peaceful, had he been there all night?

Rumi’s cheeks blushed scarlet as a memory of him carrying her away after the games had finished, her mumbling incoherent crap into his godly body and him just chuckling along before he put her in bed. After that point Rumi had no idea what had happened, she’d been out like a light. She looked around and saw that at some point during the night a glass of water and a pack of headache tablets had appeared on her bedside table, she couldn’t help but let a smile creep across her face as she looked at Jinu, if this was all his doing then she owed him big time.

Rumi threw her bedding off her and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed. She needed a shower, she felt gross. That feeling only being amplified by the fact that the hot guy she had a serious crush on was sat less than 5ft away still snoring lightly. She wondered if the others were in any better a state as she grabbed the tablets and wobbled slightly towards her ensuite bathroom and closing the door behind her. Yanking the hair ties out of her braid, she turned on the shower and began unfurling her curtain of hair. The long purple locks flowing down her back like a waterfall, before she stripped off and stepped under the cascading water. She exhaled in relief as the steam rose to surround her, washing away the sleep and grog still enveloping her as she reached for her shampoo.

She squeezed a considerable dollop into her hands and the scent of Elderberry and Blackcurrant met her nose like an old friend. After working it into a lather she started the laborious job of washing her hair, running her fingers from root to tip in long practiced motions. She only really properly washed her hair out once a week, doing it daily would just be too much of a hassle, not to mention a significant assault on her wallet. She went through more shampoo and conditioner than any other K-Pop girls she could think of, fuck… she probably used more than the entire cast of BLACKPINK and BTS put together now she thought about it.

Once she was done with her hair, she grabbed her body wash and her loofah and went to town, scrubbing off her weariness like it was a second skin. She started to sing, quietly at first but picking up in volume as she continued. She found it comforting, enjoyable and hers, a little slice of morning just for her. Once she was happy she killed the shower and grabbed her towel before walking over to the sink and grabbing her toothbrush, she worked up another foamy lather in her mouth as she brushed before spitting and rinsing. She necked a pair of paracetamol and reached for the doorknob to her bedroom only to freeze, remembering she had a guest on the other side and she was naked under her towel.

Peeking cautiously around the door she was both relieved and disappointed to see that Jinu wasn’t there, he must’ve woken up when she went in the shower and left. A multitude of conflicting emotions rattled around her head like loose marbles. Had she wanted him to still be there? Was she glad he’d left? She couldn’t tell as she walked back over to her bed. Half way through getting dressed she spotted a note left on her pillow that confirmed her suspicions. ‘Heard you in the shower, thought you’d want some privacy, see you soon. Jinu’. It made her heart flutter at the care he had for her as she clutched the note to her chest and smiled like a hormonal teenager.

Once she’d dried off and got dressed she opened her bedroom door. The chatter of mixed conversation hit her as she walked towards the lounge. She could hear Zoey’s animated chattering and Rumi assumed she was talking to Mystery. She also picked out the sound of the coffee machine whirring away and figured that was Jinu. Damn she needed to talk to him today. She seriously wanted to find out exactly what they were together, and she needed to apologise for her frankly ridiculous behaviour last night.

All heads turned her way as she entered the lounge. A long line of grinning faces eager to rib and tease.

“Morning sleeping beauty”. Mira chuckled, half hiding behind a bowl of cereal.

“Where’s your knight in shirtless armour?” Zoey bounded up beside her, flashing a grin that nearly escaped the confines of her face.

Rumi just groaned and walked into the kitchen; it was too early to deal with this shit. She reached past Romance who was stood at the coffee machine and she poured herself a bowl of cereal and drowned it in milk before she pulled up a seat next to Mira and attacking her breakfast like it was a culinary demon. She was eating so fast Mira had to get her to slow down before she got shrapnel wounds from the flying cereal or choked.

Rumi’s eyes stayed focused on her bowl until a certain someone walked into the picture. Jinu wandered into the kitchen with that casual swagger he had that said he thought he owned the place, giving everyone polite greetings. He must have showered himself, because his hair was damp and Rumi could see a few drops of water still clinging to his face in places. His room shared an ensuite with Bobby’s room just like Baby and Mystery’s rooms and Abby and Romance’s.

She tried to keep her eyes down as he joined them at the kitchen island, not sure if she could even meet his eyes after how she’d embarrassed herself last night. But of course he chose to come sit right next to her.

“Morning Rumi, did you sleep well?” His brown eyes searched her face and she could feel the blush already creeping up her neck.

“I think so, did you?” Her eyes still finding her cereal bowl the most interesting thing in existence at that moment.

“Far from the worst night’s sleep I’ve ever had. My backs pretty sore though”. Zoey almost choked on air when he said that. Of course her filthy brain went straight to the gutter.

Rumi finally pulled her eyes up to meet Jinu’s. she was expecting… something… what was she expecting? Embarrassment? Shame? But all she saw in his eyes was his usual adoration for her, a look that said she was the most precious thing in the world. That blush now made itself painfully obvious as it tinted her cheeks and ears a lovely shade of mauve.

“So what’s going on today then?” Mercifully Abby spoke up from where he was sat on the couch, dragging the conversation away from Rumi’s embarrassment.

“Well me and the girls have got a meeting with our management about the rest of our hiatus in an hour, but other than that we’re free for the day”. Zoey chirped and Rumi was happy to have the attention pulled off of her for now, choosing to finish her breakfast in silence despite the fact she could feel Jinu’s gaze on her the entire time, she pretended not to notice that his hand was creeping inexorably closer to hers on the counter top.

“I’m hoping that we can trust you clowns not to burn our penthouse down while we’re gone?” Mira’s dry tone cut into the conversation, levelling her sharp gaze directly at Abby and Romance.

Abby put his hand on his heart in mock offense. “If anyone’s gonna do something dumb it’ll be that little menace over there”. He pointed to where Baby was currently sitting, if you could even call it sitting. The teal haired Saja was hardly visible from the oversized beanbag he was engulfed in, only his feet and beanie were visible to the others but he knew Abby was talking about him because a few seconds later a middle finger appeared in the air before disappearing again. That drew a laugh out of everyone, Rumi laughing loudest as she threw her bowl in the dishwasher.

“So what are you guys going to do while we’re gone? This meeting is probably gonna drag on for a few hours”.

Jinu straightened up slightly in his chair before speaking, his tone serious.

“Actually, us guys need to have a little talk as well. There’s a few things we need to discuss”.

The other Saja’s quickly picked up on Jinu’s serious tone. Romance’s coffee cup froze on it’s way to his lips, Abby peered over his shoulder at his Daejang and even Baby made the effort to stick his head above the edge of his beanbag. The look in Jinu’s eyes telling them this conversation was not up for debate and they all nodded in agreement.

“Where’s Mystery by the way?” Rumi only just realising one member was missing. Who had Zoey been waffling to earlier then?

Baby’s hand appeared out of the beanbag again and pointed down the corridor towards the guestrooms.

“Still snoring like a stuck pig last I checked on him”.

A ripple of laughter rolled around the lounge again.

The morning continued in a steady rhythm from that point. The girls milled around the apartment until they had to leave for their managerial meeting, Zoey went back to chattering about lord knows what to Baby’s feet while Mira stayed sat at the kitchen island. Rumi disappeared back into her room to grab some stuff she’d need for this meeting, namely some paperwork with important dates on it before emerging and calling the girls that it was time to go.

Waving goodbye to the boys, they disappeared out of the door and towards the elevator. Jinu gave Rumi a caring wave and even though the door to the penthouse was now shut and the girls voices faded into nothing, he couldn’t help but keep his eyes locked on the door, hoping that she’d reappear. Of course Abby picked up on it instantly.

“Damn! You do have it down bad for her don’t you?” he laughed, giving Jinu a brotherly thump in the arm.

“I am not ‘down bad’ you cheeky fucker, and anyway, your one to talk Mr OogaBooga Musclehead”. Jinu turned to look Abby in the eyes. “Zoey’s not the only one making popcorn eyes around here. I’ve seen how you look at Mira”.

Abby’s face was a perfect mask, giving nothing away but Jinu had known him long enough to know how to wind Abby up a little.

“Don’t think we all didn’t notice you kept refilling her wine for her last night. Oh and let’s not forget when she ‘accidentally’ put her hand on your leg”. Jinu’s own grin widening. “You nearly combusted on the spot”. Abby’s cheeks flushed with colour and Jinu knew he had won.

“Anyway! Someone needs to go and wake Mystery; we all have some things to discuss and I’d rather not have to start again when he eventually wakes up”.

-----

The girls meeting was for the most part uneventful. They sat in a board room alongside Bobby and several of the top brass from their record label discussing their hiatus and what the backlash from the destruction of Namsam Stadium was going to be. Turns out that a massive explosion in an arena that actually triggered the countries seismic sensors caused quite the stir. Even the Korean President had to go on a live broadcast to calm the citizens. Huntrix just cast knowing glances at each other, knowing full well they couldn’t reveal the real reason behind the blast. Can’t exactly just drop the fact that the explosion was a demon king being sent back to hell, that wouldn’t go down well, so they ended up just feigning ignorance.

Once the meeting had finished the girls had decided they needed boba and gossip. Mira insisted on dragging them to a new place she had found last week and they had all bid Bobby a fair well and the group had parted ways from their manager before walking off into the sunny afternoon.

As the trio settled into their booth at the café with their drinks, their conversation naturally wandered towards the Saja Boys, although they were careful to keep their voices low enough that the other patrons couldn’t overhear. While the girls knew about the boys survival, the rest of the industry was completely in the dark, as far as everyone else was concerned, the Saja’s had dropped off the face of the earth.

“So what are we going to do with them?” Zoey whispered around the straw of her Unicorn Magic Boba.

Mira chewed on a tapioca pearl before answering. “As much as I hate to admit it, they are kinda growing on me. They’re not as insufferable now their human again”. A hint of blush tinted Mira’s cheeks as she continued. “I actually don’t mind having them around the tower”. Rumi sucked so hard on her straw she inhaled a few too many pearls to quickly. The milky drink almost leaking out of her nose at Mira’s words.

“I’m sorry Mira, did you just compliment the Saja Boys without sarcasm?”

Mira just looked down into her drink but the tint in her cheeks and ears gave her away and Zoey of course couldn’t miss a chance to tease her friend.

“So Mira, you admit you like Abby and Rome then huh?”

“That’s not what I said”. Mira answered a little too fast and a little too quickly and Rumi and Zoey just smiled knowingly as Mira tried to deny the feeling running around her head. But Mira wasn’t one to take a loss sitting down as her own eyes darted between her bandmates.

“Not like you too are any better anyway. Zoey nearly exploded when Mystery flashed us yesterday and you” she pointed her straw at Rumi “got Jinu to give you a strip tease last night”. Zoey just laughed. “But we’ve admitted that we think the guys are hot”. She took a sip of her drink and chewed on a pearl. “You just don’t want to admit you like the attention the pink ones give you”.

Mira had no words to respond with, she knew Zoey was right. It felt weird to Mira… to have not only one guy fawning after her, but two. Oh sure she’d dated in the past; she wasn’t a prude or a novice. But all her previous relationships had ended in much the same way as her relations with her family, a shouting match resulting in her walking away and not looking back. And she couldn’t deny that whenever Abby had sat a little too close to her or whenever Romance came out with one of his ridiculously flirty comments that the butterflies in her stomach didn’t go into overdrive. Her feelings were a tangled mess, much like the boxes of cables they’d moved around yesterday and she didn’t have the faintest idea of where to start with untangling them.

The conversation drifted aimlessly between what they were going to do with the Saja Boys and how they were going to spend the rest of their hiatus before paying their tab and heading back to the tower. It was close to 15:00 when they entered the penthouse. Rumi was first through the door followed by Zoey and Mira, all three kicking off their shoes, happy to see that the boys hadn’t managed to burn the place down in their absence.

“We’re back guys”. Rumi shouted. She turned to look for them and found them all sat around the kitchen island deep in conversations themselves. Seeing their hosts had returned, the boys put a pin in their talk and wandered over to greet them. Rumi wrapping her arms tightly around Jinu’s midsection and pulling him close. Zoey skipped up to Mystery and gave him a quick hug which he hesitantly returned. Mira just rolled her eyes at Abby and Romance before flipping Baby off which he gladly returned with both fingers.

Romance looked between the girls. “How’d the meeting go?” “It went well” Rumi pulled away from Jinu to look at Romance. “We’ve got another 3 months off before we have to put out another song, although we kept having to dodge questions about what happened at the arena”. The room settled into silence at that before Jinu spoke up. “Actually we might have a few idea’s about how to deal with that”. Rumi looked up at him quizzically and he gave her a squeeze. “Why don’t we all have a seat. Me and the guys have some things we want to say”.

-----

Together the two groups arranged themselves on the couch, Jinu and the Saja’s sat together on one end while the Huntrix girls sat on the other side. Jinu cleared his throat and started talking. “While you girls were out having your meetings, we decided we were overdue for one ourselves. We haven’t had a chance to talk – just us – since we came back”. Jinu dragged a hand across the back of his neck before continuing. “We know you guys have already gone out on a limb for us, you’ve welcomed us into your home with open arms and we can never repay the kindness you’ve all shown us”. He looked kinda sheepish, not really wanted to look the girls in the eyes. “But we are going to have to ask for your help again. We… uhh… umm… we…” “We want to be Idols again!”.

Abby sat forward shooting a quick look at Jinu who was fumbling over his words. Romance rested his elbows on his knee’s and looked straight at Rumi. “Look, we know our first attempt at being Idols was for nefarious purposes, but we all really enjoyed it. The singing, the dancing, the adoring crowds. You don’t get much in the way of attention in the demon realm, at least not attention that you want to have anyway… so we were hoping that you girls could possibly pull some strings and help us get back into the industry”.

The girls had mixed reactions to that bombshell. Zoey was bouncing in her seat, a wild smile on her face that looked like it physically hurt, Mira sat with her arms folded, her deadpan expression giving nothing away. Rumi was somewhere in between, her eyes fliting from one Saja Boy to the next and back again before settling on Jinu. “So do you boys have a plan to explain what happened at Namsam then?” Jinu met her eye with a small smile. “We have the start of an explanation; we can’t exactly admit we were a demon boyband that was trying to kill everyone”. Together the boys went through their idea with the girls to explain away what happened at the stadium and why they hadn’t made any public statements or appearances since.

The girls had to give the boys credit where it was due, the explanation wasn’t the easiest but it seemed plausible enough that the fans would likely accept it and together they all hashed out a plan to get the Saja Boys booked as guests on the next TV show the girls were scheduled to appear on.

Slowly, a plan was started to form as the eight of them huddled over the coffee table, ideas spoken, thought about and either dismissed or added to the pile of possibles. Everyone contributed in equal share and nobody noticed or heard the elevator ding in the hallway, nor did they hear the door to the penthouse open. The girls only noticed when they heard a voice that didn’t belong to either them or the Saja Boys.

“Sorry to bother you girls unannounced but there was a few things I forgot to…. WHAT THE FUCK!”

Three voices chorused in perfect sync.

“Hi Bobby!”.

Chapter Text

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Hi Bobby!”.

Bobby stood dumbfounded in the doorway of the penthouse, his eyes scrambling from Rumi to Zoey to Mira and between their… their guests? The Saja Boys! Here? Bobby didn’t even have a chance to process this information as he hit the ground hard, his legs going limp as noodles. All he heard was a muffled scream from Rumi as his vision faded to black, the tablet in his hands skittering away across the tiled floor.

When he awoke, he found himself laid out on the couch, propped up on cushions and eight concerned faces were hovering over him.

“Oh thank fuck! Bobby you gave us a scare!” Rumi helped him sit up as he groaned, rubbing his head. Once he’d sat himself upright Jinu pushed a glass of water into his hands which he accepted and took a long drink. Once his brain managed to kick back into gear he looked around at… the Saja Boys?

“Can someone please do me the honour of explaining why the… Saja Boys are currently… here?” Bobby gestured in a rough circle around him. His head was still spinning but he distinctly remembered overhearing many of the girls conversations calling these boys the ‘enemy’ and ‘demons’ and yet here they all were, sitting around the Huntrix penthouse like they were living here. Both Rumi and Zoey fumbled over their words trying to come up with an explanation “Well… umm… you see…” “We uhh… kinda…”. “The girls are letting us stay with them temporarily!”. All heads swivelled to face Mystery who was sat next to Zoey, he was holding Bobby’s tablet that he had collected after it took a trip across the floor.

Bobby met his eyes – or at least what he thought were his eyes behind all that hair – “Excuse me? Why are they letting you stay here exactly?”. Abby sat forward and spoke. “Our own apartment got damaged quite severely during the concert rehearsal at Namsam. Some nasty flood damage from a burst water main, we only found out after the fact, we didn’t have anywhere else to stay at such short notice. The girls were kind enough to offer us their guestrooms”. Then it was Romance’s turn to speak. “They’ve shown us an incredible amount of understanding and support, we’re just looking to repay their hospitality however we can”.

Bobby’s head was in his hands, this was a lot for even him to take in. he’d managed Huntrix ever since they had debuted but this was a new situation for even him to deal with, sure he’d had to deal with ‘boy problems’ in the past, but an entire second band staying in the penthouse with his girls was something else entirely. He looked through his interlaced fingers at Rumi. “So all that talk about these guys being ‘demons’ and ‘the enemy’ was what exactly? Just for show?”.

Rumi nodded and looked around at the guys who had amused looks on their faces at that. “We came up with the idea together just after the Saja’s debuted. We thought it would drive up ratings and music sales. You know, two mortal enemy groups locked in a battle for supremacy, help keep both of us locked at the top of the charts”. She looked down into her hands. “But after what happened at Namsam, we decided that the idea had run its course. The guy’s got hurt quite badly at the stadium and we didn’t want to keep this act up anymore”.

Bobby nodded along as Rumi told the tale of Huntrix’s and the Saja Boys’ story of enemies to friends, occasionally one of the others would chime in with a point or detail of their own that Rumi missed out. The girls noticing that Bobby’s pale demeanour was slowly ebbing back into normalcy as they explained.

“Ok, I think I understand now. Now can someone please fill me in on what the hell happened at Namsam”. He looked around specifically at the Saja Boys when he asked that. “You boys haven’t been seen or heard from since, the fans are going feral for answers and the conspiracy theories online are just… ludicrous at this point”. A shared worried look flashed quickly around the idols faces before they all launched into their somewhat rehearsed cover story. In all honesty, the explanation did teeter a little towards the ridiculous, an almost literal staged war between two bands was an ambitious stretch of the imagination, but slowly they managed to convince Bobby to believe their story.

“Ok, Ok. I can… I can work with this. Can I have my tablet please?” Mystery handed over the device and Bobby got to work, firing off a few quick emails before addressing both Huntrix and the Saja’s. “Ok, I’ve managed to get you guys booked to join the girls on K24 Live tomorrow afternoon. You’ll be able to explain what has happened and how you plan to go forward from there”. A round of appreciative smiles from the Saja Boys greeted him. “As for the… living situation, if the girls are happy for you all to stay here then I’m fine with it. If you want your own space then there are apartments on the lower floors we can arrange for you all”. With that the Saja Boys directed their gazes at the Huntrix girls.

Surprisingly it was Mira who spoke up. “As long as I don’t find Abby’s pink knickers in the white washing pile, I guess they can stay”. “Oi!” Abby had the brass balls to look hurt by her comment but the cheeky grin he gave after the fact told them he wasn’t actually hurt and a wave of laughter rolled around the group. Bobby was starting to feel more at ease with this whole situation. Seeing his girls enjoying the company of the Saja’s warmed his heart, the easy way with which they playfully bickered and bantered between each other made for a refreshing change from watching the girls work themselves to the bone.

It was at that point something else caught his eye. Jinu’s hand… sitting quite comfortably… on Rumi’s knee… and Rumi herself seeming completely unbothered by the contact, her own hand slowly wandering to rest on top of his. Bobby cleared his throat loud enough for all to hear and eyed the contact suspiciously. “So Rumi, does this” he pointed at the contact “mean that there’s some truth to these RuJinu rumours going around?”. Rumi looked down at the contact, but for the first time she didn’t pull away. If anything she doubled down, squeezing Jinu’s hand tightly. “We’re… umm… yes… we’re together”. She blurted it out without thinking. She hadn’t planned on saying that out loud, her cheeks dusted pink as the words fell unbridled from her lips. Why had she said that out loud? She hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Jinu about their ‘situation’ yet and here she was confirming it to her manager like they’d already agreed on it.

Even Jinu couldn’t mask his surprise at her words, his eyebrows were sat a few inches higher than they usually were and he was staring at her like a fish out of water. His jaw hanging low at her revelation. All she could offer was another squeeze around his hand, now they really did need to talk about this… and quickly. She made a mental note to drag him to her room after Bobby left for a much-needed talk. The others were just as shocked at the revelation as Rumi was at saying it.

Zoey was actually foaming at the mouth, her fanfiction brain kicking into high gear as she grabbed onto Mystery’s arm and shook it like a hyperactive child, Mystery himself was just smirking, like he knew this was going to happen. Mira looked at Rumi and Jinu with a raised eyebrow, the rest of her expression a flat unreadable mask. Abby and Romance where busy high fiving each other and Baby offered a slow clap which nobody could tell if it was sarcastic or not.

Bobby’s face on the other hand radiated a level of happiness she hadn’t expected. She knew he was fiercely protective of her and the other girls. Hell… he’d even scared off potential partners from all three of the girls in the past. The fact that he seemed so supportive of this was… unexpected. “Have you two considered how you’re going to announce this yet?”. It was a fair question, one that neither Rumi or Jinu had an answer to. “No, not yet. We’re… we’re still figuring that out, we want to keep it quiet for now”.

Bobby just nodded; he understood perfectly well how fickle the fans can be learning that two idols were dating. He still remembered the absolute shitshow when the lead singers of GHO$T and V3NOM had announced their relationship. The fans had buried them under so much hate mail and backlash that both bands ended up taking an indefinite break from the industry, but then again when Sang-Li from Y3LLOW and Dang-Yin from EZ53 had announced their relationship the fans had nothing but love and praise for them. Their supporters were a fickle bunch of bastards at the best of times, it was a coin toss to see whether they supported or hated an idols love.

---------------

Bobby stuck around for another 15 minutes or so before he excused himself, saying he needed to put some plans into motion before bidding the two groups farewell with a cheery wave and disappearing out the door, but not without one last look at both Rumi and Jinu. Once the door was closed a collective breath was released from eight people who hadn’t realised just how little they’d actually breathed since Bobby had arrived.

“Well that could definitely have gone a lot worse”. Mira sat back into the couch, dragging her hands down her face. She didn’t fail to notice that her head ended up resting against Abby’s muscular arm which was draped over the back of the sofa before she glared at the offending limbs owner. Abby just smirked back at her “Don’t stop on my account”. He quickly had to yank his arm away with a yelp as Mira tried to bite his arm, before her expression softened ever so slightly before giving him a thump in the shoulder.

Now that they had a plan ready and Bobby had been made aware of the whole situation, the groups had a free afternoon and evening. The boys couldn’t leave the penthouse until after they did this TV interview so everyone decided that it would be a chill day. The girls had no more commitments so everyone ended up going about their own business.

Abby announced he was going down to the gym to burn off some energy before wandering off without another word.

Romance grabbed the TV remote and flicked idly through the channels until he found a channel showing some obstacle course type game show. Chuckling to himself as contestants got knocked into the water or covered in foam.

Zoey had dragged Mystery away to help her organise her sock drawer for some weird reason, but at this point nobody was surprised that the two had disappeared together.

Baby sat silently in his oversized beanbag playing on his phone.

And Mira, rather surprisingly decided to follow Abby, though she claimed she was heading to the pool instead of the gym.

That left Rumi and Jinu sat on the couch before she stood, dragging Jinu with her as she led him by the hand to her bedroom.

Only once she’d shut her door and locked it did she speak. “I am so sorry Jinu! I didn’t mean for that to slip out like that!, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about us and…” Rumi turned around and whatever other words she was about to say died in her throat. Jinu was stood right in front of her. They were inches apart as Jinu’s hand carefully rose to cup Rumi’s chin, tilting her head slowly back on her shoulders until she was looking into his chocolate brown eyes.

His head lowered, slowly, inexorably until his lips collided with hers, the sensation crackling through her body like lightning under her skin. It was the most tender and loving kiss Rumi had ever had. It was soft… it was gentle… it was everything that she’d ever wanted it to be. Jinu’s other hand rose to her cheek and her breath hitched as he deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue. Her own hands reaching to fist into his hoodie and drag him closer to her, even though they were already flush together.

Almost three whole minutes passed before Rumi had to tap out in order to breathe before she dove back in, fervently locking her lips to his as her hands roamed over his chest, his own lowering to her shoulders and then running slowly down the patterns on her arms until they reached her hands, encasing her smaller in his larger ones. As they broke the kiss Jinu brought Rumi’s hand up and peppered featherlike adoration across her knuckles, it sent a shiver down her spine as he worshiped her.

His eyes met hers and a smile creeped across his face, not his usual smug grin or that infuriating smirk that made her want to batter him with a shoe. No, this one was warm and genuine, full of care and Rumi wanted nothing more than to etch that image into her brain forever. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you to say that”. He kissed her again, hungrier this time. He kissed her like a man possessed, like someone who had been starving for years and had only now been allowed to taste. His lips left a trail of molten heat as he kissed along her jaw, down the crook of her neck to her collarbone and back again, the tips of his canines occasionally dragging along her skin. The noises leaving Rumi’s throat somewhere between animalistic and primal.

She had no idea how long they remained locked in a battle of lips and wandering hands. Was it minutes? Was it hours? She had no clue. All she did know was that she didn’t want it to stop. EVER! She couldn’t bare the thought of his lips not on hers. Now that she had tasted him properly she had no intentions of ever letting him go.

When they did eventually break apart, they looked like they had run a marathon. Breath heaving from exhausted lungs and skin flushed with colour as they gazed into each other’s eyes as though they were committing the image of the other into memory.

“You’re gonna be the undoing of me Rumi” Jinu huffed out through shaky breaths. His pulse hammering in his veins as he held her close, feeling her own rapid heartbeat through her chest just as she heard his. “Mmm, I wouldn’t mind that” Rumi muttered into his hoodie, inhaling his scent like it was the very oxygen she breathed. “No, neither would I”. Jinu rested his head on top of hers as they held the other close.

“So, does this mean that I get to take you out on a proper date then?”. Rumi looked up to see his usual cheeky grin had returned as he looked down at her. Her own smirk crept over her face along with a raised eyebrow as she poked him in the chest with a somewhat sharp fingernail. “You sure an old man like you knows how to date a modern girl like me?”. He chuckled. “Pfft, please! My research when I was a demon wasn’t limited to K-Pop you know”. His smirk made an appearance as he playfully spun Rumi around in his arms. “I looked into modern dating culture too; you know... just for research purposes”. She couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Ok then. Then yes, I want you to take me out on a proper date. Tomorrow, after this TV interview. I want to see how thorough you’re ‘research’ was”.

He pulled her close again, peppering another assault of kisses across Rumi’s face. Her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her jaw. No inch of skin on her face was left untouched. Once he was finished Rumi’s blush matched the colour of a tomato and she playfully slapped him on the chest. “Ok, lets get back out there before anyone starts asking too many questions”. He stepped back and gave her an exaggerated bow like he’d done at the shopping centre. “After you… my queen”. Rumi almost choked on air at that.

Together they left her room and headed back to the lounge. Romance was still sat on the couch watching the game show. He looked over at them walking arm in arm and just arched an eyebrow at them, a knowing smirk on his face. Together, Rumi and Jinu collapsed onto the couch, her cuddling into him as they watched the silly show, all three of them laughing hysterically when one of the contestants got obliterated by a giant inflatable hammer.

Chapter Text

The backroom at K24 Live was a hive of buzzing activity. Staff roamed around with clipboards and headsets barking orders like it was military bootcamp. The gentle hum of fluorescent strip lighting and the faint scent of floor polish hang in the air like old friends. However, in a side room near the main stage, the atmosphere was different. Tangible, a hint of stress and more than a hint of nerves as Huntrix and the Saja Boys awaited their summons to appear before the masses together for the first time.

Zoey sat at a makeup table applying enough hairspray to fumigate a multi-story building.

Mira sat like a statue with a magazine in her hands, her only movements being to change the page.

Romance was busy reciting his sonnets in a mirror under his breath and occasionally posing with finger hearts.

Abby was drumming out a tune on his knees with his fingers as he stared at the clock with a vengeance.

Baby was poking absently at his phone without a care in the world.

Mystery was looking out of the window, seemingly having a staring contest with a rather territorial pigeon perched on the windowsill.

Jinu stood leaning against the wall; his arms crossed and his eyes locked on Rumi who was pacing laps around the room and had been for the last 25 minutes. If she kept this up then she’d wear a rut into the linoleum floor.

Before she got the chance to start her 54th lap, Jinu reached an arm out and snagged his girlfriend, pulling her into a tight hug. They were now officially an item, at least in private anyway. Late yesterday evening Rumi had ‘borrowed’ Jinu again (more like dragged him back into her room) for another chat that absolutely hadn’t ended in another round of snog roulette. They had decided that the label of boyfriend/girlfriend was needed considering everything but they were still keeping their relationship out of the public eye, at least for now.

“You’re spiralling again, relax”. Rumi just stared up at her boyfriend. His face a portrait of calm and care as he looked back down at her. she couldn’t help the tint of pink that dusted her cheeks at his words. “You should be even more nervous than I am! How are you this bloody calm?” she griped. “Heh, I spend 400 years serving an oversized bonfire. A few 100 people and someone with a cue card are gonna be a piece of cake”. His smirk played over his lips as he gave her a much-needed squeeze that pulled her back from the precipice of the spiral she was heading down. Rumi was suddenly very happy there were no cameras in here as his hand made its way to the small of her back and she leaned up to plant a quick peck to his lips.

A cushion from the couch Abby was sat on thumped gently against the pair of them. “Oi! Less PDA’s please, you two are revoltingly cute!”. Zoey had finished welding her hair in place with hairspray and was now sat on the couch next to Abby, the cushion that was meant to be behind her now abandoned on the floor next to the lovebirds. “Yeh, you two need to get a room” Abby chuckled before making an exaggerated gagging noise before laughing.

Rumi and Jinu just laughed but the pair did separate just for the sake of their bandmates sanity, they didn’t go too far from each other though. Jinu remained where he was and Rumi stood next to him, keeping hold of his hand in an attempt to keep herself grounded and the nerves at bay. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door and a member of the studio’s staff poked her head around and signalled for them to follow her. “You’re all on in 2 minutes”. Everyone looked at everyone else, a mix of excitement and nervousness mingling with the after-smell of Zoey’s hairspray.
Rumi squared her shoulders and her leadership face took over. “Show Time!”.

-----

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls. Please give a warm K24 welcome to our very special guests for tonight! Huntrix and The Saja Boys!”. Siu-Tze shouted from the stage, her cue cards in one hand and the other gesturing to her side as the members of both bands emerged from stage right. Huntrix led the way, smiles and cheery waves perfected over years of life in the spotlight. They walked with an easy grace that the cameras and the fans adored. Screams and shouts from the audience almost deafening as the girls greeted Siu-Tze with polite bows.

The noise really kicked up a gear when the Saja Boys walked out a few seconds after the girls. Their own smiles and waves a little less polished and perfected but no less impactful as the crowd went mental. Once the boys had given Siu-Tze the same polite greeting as Huntrix had, they all made their way to their positions. A pair of couches had been set up on stage at a 90-degree angle from each other, with a single seater chair off to the side for the interviewer. Huntrix took up the left couch with the Saja’s squeezing into the one on the right. Siu-Tze almost launched herself into her chair in anticipation for the show.

“You know, when they told me I was going to be interviewing the legendary Huntrix tonight, I almost passed out”. Siu-Tze looked at the eight people sat on her couches, a mix of professional polish and nervous looks and the crowd laughed it up. “But when I got an email saying that the Saja Boys would be making a surprise appearance as well? Well let’s just say someone might have needed CPR backstage”. A wave of laughs rolled around the audience and the idols on stage offered polite mirth.

“Thank you for having us Siu-Tze. We’re honoured to be here”. As their frontman, Jinu’s response was polite and professional, his usually cocky attitude reined in and kept under control. “We’d also like to offer our thanks to Huntrix and their management for getting us booked as quickly as they did, we’re only here because of them”. The boys bowed their heads to the girls and the cameras caught it all, the fans screaming up a storm.

Siu-Tze had her cue cards over her heart at that. “That’s just so sweet”. She flipped to her next cue and quickly read the prompt before speaking again. “So, it’s been quite an interesting few weeks for all of you hasn’t it?” her eyes raking over all eight of them as she spoke. “Firstly the Saja Boys explode onto the scene with the absolute beauty that is ‘Soda Pop’, then there was the rumoured breakup of Huntrix caused by the Saja Boys” a round of boos from the audience at that but Siu-Tze was unperturbed. “Then something big went down at Namsam Tower and now Huntrix are back together and the Saja Boys seemed to disappear from existence”. Her eyes pierced into Jinu as she recounted the bare minimum of the previous weeks to the crowds.

“And now all of you are sat on my couch, seemingly all friendly with each other… so I think we all want to know, what exactly has been going on between Huntrix and the Saja Boys? And what’s going to happen going forward?”. Both groups eyed each other, and together they all launched into the story they’d spend all evening and early into the morning perfecting.

Rumi was the first to speak. “Well we were obviously aware of the Saja Boys. When they debuted in the market they caused quite the stir”. Her eyes landed on Jinu. “So we approached them after their performance of ‘Soda Pop’ and proposed an idea. We would act like bitter rivals, make the industry think we hated each other”. Rumi’s gaze flicked between the Saja Boys, the man pointing his camera at her and Siu-Tze.

“Our plan was to drive up audience viewing for both our bands and keep us both locked at the top of the charts. Sort of like mortal enemies locked in a battle for the crown”. Mira slammed her fist into her palm to illustrate Rumi’s point which drew a laugh from the crowd.

Jinu leaned forward and took over as the camera swivelled to him. “We came up with this plan to appear like warring factions. Us as evil demons bent on world domination and the girls as demon hunters trying to stop us. Ya know… Ying vs Yang, Good vs Evil, Boys vs Girls”.

Abby took over to tell his part. “And for a while it worked well. Our fans went crazy for every interaction. The girl's appearance on ‘Play Games With Us’ and when we crashed their fan-sign event were all part of the plan to drive home the idea of us being mortal enemies trying to one up each other”.

Zoey spoke up next. “Then we came up with the idea for Namsam Tower. We were going to stage an almost literal war between Huntrix and the Saja Boys. The guys would sing their new single, then we would sing ours and it would be a back-and-forth war of words with some choreographed ‘fight’ scenes scattered around for effect”.

Siu-Tze sat silently in her chair as she listened.

Then it was Romance’s turn. Of course he had to flash a cheeky wink at a camera-woman who nearly fainted on the spot before he addressed the camera itself with sincerity. “But unfortunately we never got the chance to perform that stage. During our practice rehearsals together… everything went wrong. We are in no way blaming what happened on our tech teams, it was just a freak accident that spiralled into bigger and bigger problems”.

Mystery took over the story, his voice carrying weight and power with every word. “A combination of an electrical fire and damaged equipment caused our entire pyrotechnics display to detonate simultaneously. That is what caused the explosion that destroyed the stadium and what the entire city felt”.

The crowd was silent, enraptured by the tale being spun on stage, Siu-Tze watching and listening along in silence, her cue cards forgotten in her lap.

Baby’s turn. “Unfortunately we were a lot closer to the pyrotechnics when they went bang than the girls were. Jinu and Mystery were the closest and the pair of them got quite hurt by the blast”. Jinu turned his back to the camera and lifted his shirt to expose a fake 'burn' across his lower back that Rumi and Zoey definitely hadn’t created with makeup and Halloween prosthetics, but it was convincing enough for the cameras as a collective gasp rolled around the room.

Next it was Jinu’s turn to speak as he turned back around and fixed his shirt back in place. “We ended up going radio silent for a few days after the rehearsal while we tried to figure out how to handle this mess. We understand what happened has caused quite a serious problem and we’re going to do everything we can to help fix what we can, namely our fans trust and respect but also the damage to the stadium. I’d like to announce that the royalties and the money we’ve made from ‘Soda Pop’ are going to be donated to help rebuild Namsam Stadium”.

A roaring wave of applause from the crowd and staff including a polite clap from Siu-Tze.

Finally it was Mira’s turn to speak. “And to add to the guys streak of piss-poor bad luck, their own accommodations were flooded during the rehearsals. They ended up temporarily homeless and their original manager up and quit on them. So we stepped up, the Saja’s are currently guests at Huntrix Tower until they can get themselves back to rights”. The crowd had no need to know that the Saja Boys were actually living permanently at Huntrix HQ, at least not yet anyway.

Another thunderous round of applause and Jinu was certain he saw a tear roll down Siu-Tze’s face before she regained her composure and took the reins of the interview back into her own hands.
“So what is the plan for Huntrix and the Saja Boys going forward now? Will you continue this ‘bitter rivals’ ideology or do you have a new plan in mind?”.

Rumi spoke again. “No, we are abandoning our ‘fake feud’ idea entirely. After the guys got hurt at Namsam we realised the idea was untenable and… frankly ridiculous and dangerous”. Her eyes drifted back to Jinu and the cameras didn’t fail to capture the look in her eye. “We don’t want to risk anyone getting hurt again by playing this game. So going forward, Huntrix and the Saja Boys are going to be working closer together instead of against each other. We have ideas for collaborations and other projects down the line”.

Everyone on stage winced slightly as the crowd went ballistic. The thought of the two biggest bands in K-Pop history working together caused a few members of the crowd to try and invade the stage in excitement, only for them to be hauled away by studio security. Only once order was restored and the crowd informed that any further madness would lead to consequences did Siu-Tze speak again.

“Is there anything in the pipeline your able to share with us today or are we going to have to wait for further news?”. Rumi looked at Jinu and he offered a tiny nod before he spoke again. “We can tell you that our first collaboration together will be a duet that myself and Rumi have been working on, though we can’t share anything more than that without revealing too much”. He sat back with a smile as another rolling wave of applause crashed into the two bands. “Although I will add that this duet finally set me ‘Free’”.

His eyes settled back on Rumi and he smiled warmly at her, a look she returned before her attention was captured by Siu-Tze again. “Another thing that I think everyone wants a little clarity on are the ‘ships’ that the fans came up with after your little fan-sign event”. She eyes raking across all eight of them. Almost all of them squirmed a little into the cushions as blushes crept over faces. A somewhat wicked grin crept over Siu-Tze’s face at their reactions. “So, is there any truth to RuJinu, Zoeystry and Miromabby?” she leaned forward on her elbows and smiled, enjoying the squirming.

Camera’s zoomed in on every micromovement as seven people fumbled over their words. Baby was completely unbothered by the question, while yes some fans had shipped him with Zoey – and a few other nutcases had shipped him with Mira for some reason – the vast majority of the fanbase was pushing her with Mystery.

Just off the side of the stage and barely out of sight of the camera’s, Rumi could feel Bobby watching from the eaves. His glare of irritation clearly directed straight at Siu-Tze, he very clearly remembered a conversation he had with her saying that topic was off limits for this show and now both the girls and the guys were sat there like deer in headlights, not knowing what to say or where to look, all while Siu-Tze and the crowd were getting their laughs in at the awkwardness on stage. Rumi was fairly certain she saw steam rising from her managers ears as he stared daggers at the interviewer.

Finally someone spoke up. “At this point I think we are all focused on repairing the damage that has been caused, both to our reputations as bands and to our fans trust in us as idols, personal relations are currently taking a backseat and we are not willing to discuss this line of inquiry further”. All eyes turned to Mystery. His gaze was locked firmly onto Siu-Tze – not that anyone could see his eyes – as he expertly managed to shut that question down without somehow coming off as rude. A collective quiet breath was released as Siu-Tze seemingly took the hint before flipping to another cue card and asking another question.

The interview went on for another 15 minutes. Siu-Tze peppering the groups with more questions, allowed the crowd to ask a few and mercifully managed to avoid any further ones about potential ships before she thanked them all for coming and bidding them a good afternoon. Huntrix and the Saja Boys left the stage the same way they arrived, to thunderous applause and at least three separate shouts for someone to ‘marry them’.

-----

Rumi threw herself into the couch in the backroom, groaning so loudly she thought the entire building could hear her. “URGH! Thank fuck that's over!”. Jinu plopped down next to her, fussing with the cuff of his sleeve. “Yeh, that was rougher than I thought it would be”. He planted a hand on her knee, it was comforting, it was grounding and it made Rumi’s heart do a double backflip in her chest, and then another one for good measure.

The others were all in agreement. Mira was pissed… “Can’t believe she asked us about that!”, everyone know she was referring to the ‘shipping’ question but no one dared to say anything, choosing instead to go about their ‘after interview’ rituals. Zoey pulled her phone out and started doom scrolling through her social media’s, Mira picked up her magazine from earlier and continued where she’d left off. Rumi just laid out on the couch, using Jinu’s lap as an impromptu pillow. The other Saja Boys milling around idly, waiting for Bobby to arrive.

It took only a matter of minutes for the man himself to appear. A few gentle knocks on the door before he crept into the room, Bobby could feel the energy in here and it wasn’t happy energy, if his cousin had been there at that moment she would have mentioned some crap about calming crystals but he didn’t bother to mention it. “Guys, I’m so sorry about that. I made it perfectly clear to Siu-Tze that that topic was completely off limits and she went right over my head! Girls I’m so sorry”. “It’s ok Bobby, it wasn’t your fault”. Rumi turned her head to face him from where she was laid out on Jinu’s lap.

Bobby stayed near the door; his tablet clutched in his hands like a lifeline. “Regardless I feel responsible. I’m meant to look out for you girls and I failed, I let her make all of you uncomfortable and I’m so so sorry”.

Jinu spoke up, locking eyes with Bobby. “You’ve got nothing to apologise for man. Siu-Tze went too far, there was nothing you could’ve done to stop her. She wanted her bit, and she got it, luckily for us, Mystery was professional enough to shut her down”. The others all chorused their agreement and they all started packing up their various accoutrements and together they made their way out of the studio towards their waiting vehicles. A trio of blacked out Mercedes G36 AMG’s waited at the back entrance of the studio, carefully avoiding the front entrance currently being swarmed by an army of fans eager for a glimpse of either band. Their engines were already idling and waiting to whisk their charges away.

Sam – their head of security – greeted the girls warmly, holding the car door open on the second vehicle. Rumi and Jinu slid into the lead vehicle with Bobby riding shotgun. Abby, Romance and Mira climbed into the middle one while Zoey, Mystery and Baby were ushered into the final car. Sam gave the go ahead to move out through his walkie talkie and the three cars ghosted quietly past the gathering crowds before convoying down the road towards home.

In the lead vehicle Bobby was talking about ‘never letting the girls on a TV set without him again’ but Rumi wasn’t really listening. Her eyes were locked on the rolling view outside her window. That was until Jinu shuffled over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him, into his warmth, into his bubble. Rumi let out a long shuddering breath and sunk into him, turning her head away from the view outside and gazing lovingly at the very handsome one inside. A strand of his perfect black hair tickled her forehead and she puffed it out of the way before sneaking a cheeky kiss when Bobby wasn’t looking.

“It’s done now”, Jinu looked down at her and snuck a slightly longer and deeper kiss behind Bobby’s back. “and now that it’s over…” he leaned in to whisper in her ear “How about I take you out on that date huh?” Rumi gave him a playful whack on the chest before whispering back. “Abso-fucking-lutely! I need a distraction after that interview”. She looked back down at herself. “But not wearing this, we need to get changed, we’re not exactly incognito dressed like this”. She had a point. Their current attire more suited for a stage than a secret date, far too much sparkle and too many tassels.

“So, are you gonna give me a hint as to where you’re taking me?” she asked. Jinu thought about it, bringing his hand up to comically stroke his chin with his thumb and fore finger like he was some cheesy movie villain. “Hmm… Do I give you a hint?... Hmm… … … Nah!” he looked back down at her, that infuriating smirk made its presence known, causing Rumi to blush pink. Jinu leaned back down, his lips brushing the tip of her ear as he whispered “Guess you’ll have to wait and see won’t you?”.

She playfully shoved him back over to his side of the car and he just laughed before he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. “Hey Abby, what’s up?”

While he was occupied on the phone, Rumi went back to looking out the window. She couldn’t help the smile spreading over her face as she watched Jinu’s refection in the glass. Her heart making all sorts of happy shapes inside her chest.

She was going on a date!

Chapter Text

Late afternoon at Huntrix HQ arrived without fanfare, the trio of blacked out cars passed the front lobby of the girls tower. A considerable number of fans were already camped outside the security perimeter waving handmade signs, banners and life-size cut-outs of various members of both Huntrix and the Saja Boys. Now that news of the Saja Boys new residence had made the rounds over the internet, things were likely to get a lot more ‘interesting’ around the place.

Everyone piled into the elevator to take them up to the penthouse, however unlike the last time they all made this trip together, the mood was considerably lighter, more comfortable. Abby and Romance were continuing whatever conversation they’d been having in the car ride back and Mira was stood between them with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes so hard she could see her brain, but there was a hint of amusement on her face as she listened, those perfect walls she’d built over the years showing the slightest cracks around the edges, those immovable sharp edges slowly starting to soften ever so slightly.

Zoey and Mystery were also locked into a conversation about everything and anything. Well, more accurately Zoey was talking about everything and anything and Mystery was just listening like she was his favourite playlist, a slight smile in the corner of his mouth. Baby was checking the Saja Boys joint social media page and occasionally reading out a comment someone had made about the K24 interview.

Now that the awkwardness of the interview was behind them, the air felt lighter… calmer... more relaxed. Once the doors opened to the penthouse everyone piled out and went about their own business. Zoey unsurprisingly dragged Mystery straight to her bedroom for… ‘reasons’. Romance beelined it for the fridge and grabbed soda’s for himself, Abby and Mira who had set themselves up on the couch with a somewhat respectable distance between them. Baby excused himself saying he needed the bathroom.

Rumi flashed Jinu a cheeky wink and whispered to him. “Gonna get out of this ridiculous outfit, meet me back here in 20” before she twirled on the spot and walked away, swaying her hips just enough to command his attention as she moved. Jinu’s cheeks went scarlet as he watched her disappear and a good chunk of the heat he was feeling disappeared south of the proverbial border, a certain soldier strained to stand at attention and salute.

Of course the trio on the couch had not so slyly been watching the whole exchange. Abby gave a slightly too loud “Go on my son!” before laughing at his Daejang’s absolutely mortified expression. Romance was making overly exaggerated “Mwah Mwah Mwah” noises and kissy faces while pretending to make out with himself. Mira just watched Jinu squirm like a worm on a fishing line, she was clearly enjoying this as was evident by her own smirk before she took the tiniest amount of pity on him. “Relax, you’ll be fine Jinu. You clearly care for her and she definitely cares for you too. Just please try not to break each other”. “Yeh! Or the bedframe!” Abby added before bursting into laughter.

Mira couldn’t contain a very unladylike snort at that joke as the trio fell about howling with laughter. Jinu just offered an eye roll that even Mira could be proud of, flipped the three of them the bird and wandered off towards his own room. He also needed to get changed, this outfit he’d been stuck in at the studio was far to ‘extra’ for his liking. He had always preferred subtler colours for his own attire, much easier to blend in and be unnoticed like that, but this ridiculous thing that the wardrobe techs had stuck him in for the interview? Far too many bright colours and way too many frilly bits. He looked like a Unicorn had thrown up on a Smurf and then dunked it in sequins for good measure.

Once in the sanctity of his room he allowed himself to breathe properly. He wanted to dress to impress. He and Rumi were already an official item privately but he still wanted to impress her, he really wanted to do this properly, in his near 400 years of life he’d never actually dated anyone before so he was essentially operating ‘blind’, and slightly more embarrassingly he was still a virgin. He got to digging through his closet searching for what he needed, and eventually he found what he was looking for.

While he didn’t currently have anything he would consider as ‘fancy’ he did choose to go for something a little more than ‘casual’. He pulled out a pair of crisp navy slacks along with a smart grey shirt under his favourite black hoodie. He grabbed his cleanest pair of shoes and fixed his hair in his mirror before grabbing the bouquet of pink and white Jangmi roses he’d asked Bobby to sneak into his room without anyone noticing, before he snuck quietly out of his room and headed towards Rumi’s. he’d do this right even if it killed him.

-----

Rumi meanwhile was busy having a minor existential crisis in her own room. Her breath heaved in her chest. She wasn’t quite hyperventilating but she wasn’t too far off it either at this point. The crisis in question wasn’t anything earth shattering, at least not to the outside eye. No her crisis was much more internal, she was going on a date and she had no idea what to wear. Her room looked like a bomb had gone off in her wardrobe and then a tornado had wandered through for good measure. Clothing was scattered over most every available surface as she went back and forth between sundresses and jeans, plain crop-tops to baggy sweaters.

Why was she so nervous about this? Why did she feel like no matter what she tried on it was either going to be too much or not enough? Why did she think that whatever she ended up choosing wouldn’t impress him? ‘For fuck sake girl your acting like a teenager! Get a grip on yourself’ her mind screamed at her as she tried on the same maroon knee length dress for the third time. But the nerves refused to leave her alone, Rumi hadn’t been as frivolous in her dating life as Zoey and Mira had been over the years. Her patterns and her career had left her little to no wiggle room for a relationship or even just a casual hook-up, she couldn’t risk exposing herself to anyone and everyone knew she had always been a notorious workaholic who thought sleep was optional for a long time.

She was 28 and had been on precisely one date before she had met Jinu (not that she would even call that a date because the prick had stood her up at the café) and she spent enough time doom scrolled through enough Facebook and Instagram reels to know how disastrous first dates can be. But another part of her brain – the more logical part - fought the panic and worry back with calming words. ‘He wants to be with you! And only you! What you wear is inconsequential’. She allowed herself a small smile as she imagined Jinu watching her have a minor meltdown over something so trivial as an outfit for a date. Probably saying something dumb but sweet like “You could wear a bin-liner and I’d still think you hung the stars in the sky”.

Of course she couldn’t let Jinu have the last word, even if it was just him being a sarcastic swine in her head so she forced her nerves to the back of her mind and scanned over the warzone of discarded clothes again. Eventually she decided on an outfit.

She emerged from her room in a pair of navy jeans and white pumps, with a comfortable cream polo neck under a thin blue hoodie. She stopped in her tracks as she stepped out of her door. Jinu was stood close by. Standing almost at attention like a soldier awaiting orders, his clothes clean and smart… and a rather large bouquet of roses in his hands. “Wow! You look incredible Rumi”. “What are you doing?” she asked, the colour already tinting her cheeks to match the pink roses. “Picking you up for our date”. He said it with such sincerity that Rumi had to physically restrain the laugh that tried to escape her.

“Jinu we’re living together, you don’t have to pick me up for a date”. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t get to do this properly”. He offered her the bouquet and she took it, her hands shaking slightly as she brought them up to smell. “I want to do this right Rumi; I want you to believe you’re the queen your meant to be”. Now that! That Rumi couldn’t contain her reaction to. A choked cough escaped her. “Did you really just use a line from ‘Golden’ to flirt with me?!”. He smiled warmly and kissed her gently. “Did it work?” “…Yes”. Rumi smiled back and Jinu offered her his arm.

Together they walked back into the lounge, Rumi made a quick detour to put the flowers in a vase on the kitchen side before joining her boyfriend at the front door, slipping her arm around his waist, and maybe a little under the edge of his hoodie.

Zoey, Mystery and Baby were still unaccounted for. Abby, Romance and Mira were exactly where Jinu had left them earlier, though their attention was now fully captured by some cheesy K-Drama on the TV. None of them noticed as the happy couple snuck quietly out of the door and headed down to the underground parking. Once down there the pair climbed back into one of the Mercedes G36’s and Jinu slipped a handwritten note to the chauffeur, not wanting to say their destination out loud, it would ruin the surprise after all. The chauffeur gave him a quick smile in the rearview and turned the key in the ignition.

-----

The car pulled into park at the COEX aquarium just after 18:00pm. The crowds by this time were thinning out, it would make Rumi and Jinu less likely to be recognised even under their somewhat minimalistic disguises, at least that was the plan anyway. Rumi stepped out of the SUV and pulled her hood up over her hair. Even though she didn’t want to hide from her fans she also didn’t want to be swamped for photos or autographs today. This evening was for her and Jinu, and for them alone.

Apparently Jinu had somehow managed to get the Aquarium staff to let them in through one of the staff entrances to avoid the crowds and had also bought their tickets online in advance. Clearly his lessons on technology use with Zoey were zooming along.

She felt his hand at the small of her back as they started walking among the exhibits and her own arm snuck under the hem of his hoodie and around his waist, her head leaning against his shoulder as they moved from tank-to-tank drifting easily through the handful of other visitors still roaming the halls. These people had no idea that two legends of the Korean music industry were within touching distance.

Jinu himself fluctuated between doting boyfriend and excited child as he moved, the fascination in his face as he looked everywhere and anywhere at once made Rumi’s heart sing. “Have you never been to an aquarium before?” she asked as he watched a school of Blue Tang fish with childish glee. Jinu tore his eyes away from the tank to look at her, the glow in his eyes not lost on her. “No… never, nothing like this existed back when I was alive, well… with the exception of the King’s Koi Karp ponds. But nothing like this”. He gestured around him at the huge tanks.

Rumi snuck her hand into his as they moved into the next section of the aquarium. A huge room shrouded in near complete darkness which was home to the venue’s collection of bioluminescent creatures. They only knew where to walk thanks to the glowing painted arrows on the floor.

Jinu stopped to watch a huge cylindrical tank full of glowing moon jellyfish, their tendrils drifting aimlessly through the current around them. His eyes awestruck by the creatures before him. “I never knew creatures like this could exist” he whispered as light played across the jellyfish as they tried to attract a morsel of food into their stinging clutches. Rumi couldn’t help but imagine what his reaction would be when they walk through the tunnel under the shark tank, ‘that’s where she was pulling him next’ she thought to herself.

“They’re beautiful aren’t they?” she said quietly, her arm still wrapped around Jinu like she didn’t want to let him go, which to be fair was accurate. He took a moment to respond “Yes you are… … I mean… I mean… yes they are… I mean… I uhh…” Jinu’s cheeks bloomed with colour as he realised his mistake, ‘Nice one you pillock’ his brain seemed to scold him ‘Real fucking smooth you colossal fossil’ but as he looked down to meet Rumi’s eyes, he saw the look on her face was finding his expression extremely entertaining. Eventually she took pity on the poor bastard and stood on her tip-toes to kiss him. Jinu relaxing into the contact, his free hand reaching behind Rumi’s back as their kiss deepened.

It took them a few minutes and a rather disgruntled cough from another visitor for them to break apart and move further into the exhibit. Both of their lips were puffed slightly from depriving the other of oxygen and both had rosy tints to their faces but neither particularly cared as they approached the underwater tunnel section.

The half panicked half surprised yelp that left Jinu’s throat as his view was obscured by a pair of Tiger Sharks swimming overhead was a noise that Rumi would cherish for the rest of her days, he’d almost actually fallen over in shock as the large ocean predator’s glided through the waves above him. “How is an animal like that allowed on this side of the Honmoon?” his shock and surprise now tempered with fascination as he watched them swim.

Another rather undignified noise came when Rumi directed him to put his head into one of the bubble ports along the side of the tunnel, Jinu came face to face with a large octopus that was less than impressed with having a visitor. The cephalopod rewarding Jinu’s intrusion with a face full of ink as it swam away. Rumi couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his expression. The noise more akin to a gasp, gag, choke hybrid as he returned to her side.

Wrapped in each other’s arms they continued through the tunnel into the next exhibit and talked aimlessly, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist outside their quiet bubble. This was everything what Rumi had thought it would be, everything she’d spend many nights dreaming about since the pair had collided in that alleyway. A feeling that she couldn't quite place buzzed through her body as she looked up at Jinu.

-----

They took a break from walking around when they found a small food court near the largest tank in the COEX. They grabbed some snacks and drinks and sat on a bench in front of the tank, watching as fish of every size and colour floated by. Rumi tucking into a bag of Tteokbokki chips, her eyes watching a huge sting ray glide effortlessly through the water, until her ears picked out Jinu’s voice. “I meant what I said back there you know. Even if I stumbled over the words, I want you to know I meant every single one”. Her gaze settled on him as he spoke, she could feel the care, the utter devotion and the raw honesty in every word he said. It made Rumi’s heart do a pretty little pirouette in her chest.

“You are beautiful Rumi. Every part of you is beautiful… even the parts you wanted to keep hidden from the world”. His fingers reached out to feather over the tip of a single pattern that crept up the side of Rumi’s neck, peeking out from inside her hoodie. It pulsed iridescently under his touch, shimmering in mesmerizing shades of green, blue and purple. “You once told me that you hated your patterns, that you were terrified to let anyone see the cracks that lay underneath”. He brought Rumi’s hand up to his face and kissed across her knuckles, his grip gentle, reverent and worshipping.
Rumi’s heart was doing multiple somersaults in her chest right now.

Jinu continued. “But now… now they burn as brightly as you do, they glow with your strength, they shine with the same fire that you do”. He met her eyes and he could see tears building “They are part of what makes you… you. They are your darkness and your harmony”. He leaned in, his lips only millimetres from her own. “And as far as I’m concerned, your just as beautiful with the cracks showing”.

Rumi’s heart was about to leap out of her chest, her breath held for far too long but she didn’t want to interrupt him. He closed those final few millimetres. The contact was electric, the spark that shot through her body as his lips met hers made her jolt and she leaned into it. Her chips forgotten on the floor as she reached out, grabbing the front of Jinu’s hoodie and pulling him closer, flush to her body as they embraced. She didn’t care that a few other visitors were giving them unsavoury looks, all she cared about right now was Jinu… and to hell with everyone else.

They pulled apart only far enough to breathe, their foreheads resting against each other, eyes locked.

And then he said the four words that she definitely hadn’t been prepared for.

“I love you Rumi”.

Rumi’s heart stopped. The words hitting her like a confetti cannon to the face. Her breath hitched in a strangled sob as those tears decided right now was the best time to leave. She pulled her hands from Jinu’s hoodie and raised them to cradle his face. Her thumbs stroking circles into his cheeks. Now she knew exactly what that feeling she couldn’t place earlier was.
“I love you too…”. She crashed her lips back into his. Hungry, eager to devour, to claim him for herself forever. “…Dork!”

-----

They flitted between the remaining exhibits and information stands with grace and ease, their hands never leaving the others for long as if the mere idea of being separate was inexcusable. They quickly lost track of time, wrapped in each other’s company and arms. They only became aware of the time when an announcement was made over the PA system saying the aquarium will be closing in 15 minutes.

Rumi pulled her phone out of her pocket and was startled when she saw her lock-screen. 37 missed texts from Zoey. When they’d arrived at the aquarium Rumi had put her phone in ‘Do Not Disturb’ but apparently Zoey hadn’t got that memo and had been pestering Rumi for ‘mission critical updates’ all evening. Mission critical here being her date and Rumi just groaned into Jinu’s arm. Zoey was going to turn this into an interrogation when they got back to the tower and Rumi really couldn’t be bothered to deal with that.

“We should probably get going”.
Jinu sighed; he didn’t want this to end.
“Yeh, I guess you’re right *huff* come on then”.

-----

By the time they had arrived back at Huntrix HQ it was almost 22:00pm. A thunder storm had rolled in over the city and the rain pounded down with a vengeance that could rival Gwi-ma’s fury, it streaked along the glass of the elevator as two very tired but very happy idols rode up the side of the building, watching the streaks of lightning that lanced down from the clouds. Rumi stood in front of Jinu, his arms wrapped around her waist, her hands clasped over his arms and his head resting on her left shoulder.

“Thank you Jinu, I really enjoyed this afternoon” Rumi tilted her head to look at him. “Yeah. So did I, I could get used to this”. Jinu planted a kiss on Rumi’s cheek and she hummed happily out loud. They tiptoed back into the penthouse like a pair of thieves, and surprisingly there was no fanfare of trumpets waiting to herald their return. No Zoey laying in ambush with a list of questions 2 miles long and no Mira door watching like a judgemental burglar alarm. Only Derpy who was resting on an oversized doggy bed by the couch that Zoey had bought for him. He padded over when he saw them and was rewarded for his efforts with a good scratch under his chin and behind his ears. His deep purring rumbling as loud as the thunder outside.

Jinu walked Rumi to her bedroom door and the two shared a long lingering kiss in the threshold before she stepped into her room. “Goodnight Rumi” “Goodnight Jinu. Again, thank you for today”. Jinu smiled brightly as he looked into her eyes “Anytime”. One final peck on the lips before she closed her door and he started walking towards his own room.

No sooner had he sat down on his bed did his phone ~ding~.

Rumi: By the way. Your modern dating ‘research’ was satisfactory xx
Jinu: I’m happy you enjoyed it xx
Rumi: I love you Jinu xx
Jinu: I love you too Rumi xx

Closing his phone, Jinu grabbed his towel and made his way towards the bathroom, he needed a shower.

Chapter Text

These fucking HORRIBLE nightmares!

Jinu had suffered from night terrors ever since he had fallen to Gwi-ma’s corruptions, and any attempt at sleep in the demon realm had rewarded him with the most horrendous nightmares being played on repeat in his head. But even when he’d been awake he hadn’t been immune to having waking nightmares torment his sanity.

He’d also had them every night since he and the boys had regained their souls at Namsam Stadium, but tonight it was really bad… really fucking bad! This one had been the worst one he’d ever had in 400 years, because this time it wasn’t just him being sadistically tortured, it wasn’t just his brothers either… it was them too… it was the girls… Rumi… Mira… Zoey.

They were all back in the demon realm. Him, Abby, Romance, Mystery and Baby. Chained to ceremonial dais’s like they were some fucked up sacrifice for a god they despised, demonic flames licked at their legs, blistering and bubbling with the stench of rot and burning flesh… their flesh. And before them, fighting for their lives were the Huntrix girls. The boys forced to watch helplessly as the girls faced truly insurmountable odds only to inevitably fail and fall.

The nightmare forced him to watch as Romance and Abby screamed and strained against their chains as Mira was assaulted by countless demons, her own screams of pain and fear drowned out under the weight of demonic laughter as she fell to claw and fang.

Forced to watch Mystery going completely feral against his own restraints as he watched Zoey finally succumb to the crushing weight of injury and exhaustion and was buried under a mountain of bodies eager to rip and tear… to bite and scratch… to claim and corrupt.

Forced to watch hopelessly as Rumi took the full brunt of Gwi-Ma’s wrath, her own tortured screams filling Jinu’s ears until he thought he’d go mad. Everything that evil fucker had ever done to Jinu over the centuries multiplied 1000-fold and done unto her, over and over again until her voice and resolve finally cracked and broke, before her limp and bloodied body was thrown like trash onto the dais Jinu was chained to. Her skin blistering and burning from the heat of the fire beneath them.

He couldn’t even reach for her. his own black bindings preventing him from holding her, from comforting her, from protecting her from this living hell and he’d been forced to watch and listen as her final shuddering breath gave out. The last thing she saw was him, fighting furiously but futilely against his chains as he tried to reach her before her vision faded to black. The light in her eyes fading for the final time, his voice the last thing she ever heard, her name cried upon his lips.

Jinu awoke with a strangled scream, clawing at his face, his neck, his chest, his arms. Anywhere he could reach. Sweat poured off his body like someone had opened a faucet under his skin, his otherwise perfect hair clinging to his face in dark sweaty clumps. His breath coming in ragged gasps, chest heaving hard and heavy as he struggled to gasp in enough air to cough around the sobs that escaped his throat in hoarse whimpers.

He stared at the wall of his room as the memories of his visions haunted the space behind his eyes. The clock glowed gently on his wall read 03:17 in the morning. He sat rocking himself in his bed, knees tucked up under his chin, arms wrapped around himself like armour. “It wasn’t real… it wasn’t real… it wasn’t real, he’s not here! He can’t get to them!” The words repeating like a mantra but they felt hollow and tasted like ash as they left his mouth no louder than a whisper.

Jinu threw his bedding off, a tiny part of him laughing internally at the ridiculous sheets. Teddy bears and choo choo trains. Rumi had bought them especially for him when the pair had gone shopping, insisting they looked cute but Jinu recognised it for what it was… as her playfully winding him up over their first secret meeting.

He stalked into his shared ensuite bathroom, he was drenched in sweat and tears and now he needed another shower. He practically tore his pyjamas off, throwing them into the laundry hamper in the corner of the bathroom, his shirt hitting the wall first with a wet splat before he got into the shower and turned it on. He spun the dial around and made the water as hot as he could physically bear it, hoping that the heat would dispel the shivering he was still feeling. Hoping that the sting of heat might chase away the sting of his nightmares, chase away the sting of how helpless he had felt.

Jinu let out a long-winded sigh as the water washed over him, washing away the sweat that clung to his body, the heat creeping into his bones as he ran his hands through his messy hair before he grabbed his bodywash and a yellow sponge and got to cleaning himself up. He was halfway through rinsing himself off when he heard a quiet knock on the bathroom door. ‘Who the hell is that?’ he thought to himself. “Come in”.

“Jinu, are you ok?” He wasn’t expecting to hear her voice, Jinu spun around too fast and slipped on a patch of soap suds, landing hard on his arse in the shower, almost dragging the shower curtain off its rail as he reached out for something to stop his fall. “Ow! Crap... Rumi…?” Jinu poked his head out from behind the curtain to see his girlfriend stood cautiously in the door - dressed in her own pyjamas - a look of worry across her face.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he regained his footing. He turned off the shower and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist, holding onto the knot and stepping out of the shower. Rumi couldn’t help but admire him in his state of undress. He wasn’t as ripped as Abby was but he certainly wasn’t lacking anywhere either, they say that some people are chiselled from marble, well Jinu looked like marble was chiselled from him. “I heard you scream; it woke me up. Romance is here too”. “Are you ok Daejang?” Jinu heard Romance’s voice from behind Rumi and not a second later his head appeared behind her too. He was wearing his rose-pink silk pyjamas, concern clearly etched across his face. Jinu groaned and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Not exactly… I had a nightmare… a really bad one”.

There wasn’t any real point in lying to them, they’d come to check on him and Jinu had also overheard one of the girls conversations about ‘no more secrets, no more hiding’ and figured he’d at least try to do the same. Romance just nodded, he knew from experience that Jinu didn’t particularly like talking about his nightmares with anyone, so he chose to just stand there, letting his presence tell his Daejang he wasn’t alone.

Rumi had no such inclinations however, she covered the length of the bathroom in three long strides and wrapped her arms around Jinu’s chest, pulling him close and resting her head over his heart. Jinu let go of his towel which mercifully stayed put, his own arms coming up to wrap around her and he let out a shaky shuddering exhale into her hair.

“It’s ok Romance, I’ve got him. You can go back to bed if you want to”. Rumi flashed the other Saja a small smile which he returned, but before Romance left he planted a firm hand on Jinu’s shoulder, giving it a strong squeeze. “We’re all here Daejang. We’re all safe… you’re safe…”. He bid the pair a polite goodbye before turning on his heel and disappearing from the room, but not without one last look over his shoulder. Romance hadn’t known Rumi for very long but he trusted her to look after his captain.

The pair stood together for what felt like hours even though it couldn’t have been any longer than a few minutes. No words passed between them, at least not verbally anyway. Rumi wasn’t letting Jinu go anytime soon, she was far too preoccupied with listening to his heartbeat slowly calm down under her ear to let him go anywhere.

“Do you have these nightmares often?” Jinu just breathed into her hair, inhaling the scent of her blackcurrant and elderflower shampoo like they were old friends. He really wanted to be honest with her, but he’d struggled with hiding his feelings for 400 years, it wasn’t an easy thing for him to open up about given his past. But fuck it if he wasn’t going to try. “Yeah, almost every night I have some manner of nightmare. Though tonight was the worst it’s been in a very long time”.

He felt lighter just from that one sentence, his chest a little less tight. He had no idea if it was because he was finally talking about his nightmares or if it was because he was with her, either way he felt lighter… calmer. Rumi put an arm around his neck and pulled him down to her level so she could kiss him. His lips were so soft, she didn’t know if this was a demon/former demon thing or if he had always had soft lips. All that she knew for certain was that he was very kissable and she planned on kissing him repeatedly for a very long time.

Once he’d gotten dressed in some fresh pyjamas - but not before Rumi had ‘slyly’ snuck a quick glance at Jinu’s bare buttocks when she claimed she wasn’t looking - Rumi helped him get settled again. It was at that point that Jinu figured she’d go back to her own room, so you can imagine his shock when she lifted up his duvet and snuck under the covers next to him, the single bed making it a tight squeeze for two people.

“Move over you big lump, make room for me”. A small squeak left Jinu’s mouth in shock as Rumi slumped down on top of him. “Rumi?! What are you doing?” “Getting into bed with my boyfriend, what does it look like I’m doing?”. She gave him a quizzical look as she laid on his chest, tucking herself onto him like a weighted blanket and tangling her legs with his.

She could feel his questioning look as she laid flush on him. “I’m not leaving you alone Jinu! You don’t have to fight you’re nightmares by yourself anymore”. She leaned up to plant a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose before looking into his eyes and walking her fingers across his broad pecs. “You’ll never have to fight alone again, not with me here. I’ll stay with you every single fucking night if I have too”. Another kiss, this one on the lips and deeper. “You’re not alone anymore”.

She could feel the moment he truly relaxed, the breath he let out feeling like it had been held in for far too long and his arms came around to enclose her in his grasp, one arm over the back of her shoulders and the other coming up to cradle her face. One last slow lingering kiss on his lips. “Sleep Jinu, I’m here… I’m here with you. I’ll fight the darkness by your side”. Then quieter, “You’ll never be alone again”.

And he did, she watched as Jinu closed his eyes and drifted slowly back into uncertain dreams. His hand against her face slipping down onto his chest as he finally succumbed to the sleep he so desperately needed. Rumi tangled her fingers into his, giving them a reassuring squeeze every time she felt him stir or grumble in his slumber.

Slowly, she closed her own eyes, her head resting against his chest, ear to his heart. The now steady thumping melody soothing and encouraging her into her own awaiting dreams. Only now, neither of them dreamt alone. Neither of them fought their midnight demons by themselves. They were one… and they would fight as one… they would fight for each other. It didn’t matter if that fight was on the stage, the streets or the dream-realm. Together they would fight… together they would stand… together they would endure.

-----

08:00am:

Vrrt Vrrt… Vrrt Vrrt… Vrrt Vrrt…

Rumi’s phone buzzed loudly on her bedside table, the alarm that she had forgotten to turn off (again) attempting to rouse her from her sleep. Only Rumi wasn’t present to slap her phone into silence this time, nor to stop it buzzing itself off the table onto the floor with a dull thud. She was currently four bedrooms down the hall, snuggled up to her hot water bottle boyfriend. The snoring that was coming from Jinu’s room could have rivalled the noise of a chainsaw… it was certainly enough to wake up a few other members of this ragtag group of misfits.

Zoey and Mira practically kicked Jinu’s door in and were about ready to start throwing hands at the ungodly noise they assumed he was making when they both froze where they stood. Jinu couldn’t really do anything other than offer them a wave and a thumbs up before all of their attentions was drawn back to Rumi who was still wrapped around his chest… and snoring like a bear with a hangover, a small puddle of drool escaping her open mouth and soaking into Jinu’s pyjama top.

Zoey would’ve squealed in delight if Mira hadn’t clamped a hand over her mouth, although she was struggling to contain her own bubbling laughter at the frankly ridiculous sight before her. Zoey whipped out her phone and snagged nearly a dozen photos before Mira could stop her. the Huntrix Maknae giggling to herself as she danced away down the hall saying something about ‘blackmail for a Mani and Pedi’ and Mira just stared blankly at Jinu who could only offer an apologetic smile.

Mira scowled an ‘I’m watching you’ look at Jinu before pulling his door closed. As she walked away towards the lounge though, Mira couldn’t help but smile outwardly. She was happy for Rumi, happy that she’d found someone who would treat her right, even if that someone was a former demon.

Mira found Zoey sat by the kitchen island with her back to her, a notebook clutched in one hand, a pen in the other. She was furiously scribbling words down at a pace that would make a court stenographer jealous and her tongue was poking out as she wrote. Upon hearing Mira enter, Zoey flashed her a quick wave over her shoulder before going back to her notes. Mira could see the single word title on the page in block capitals as she walked behind Zoey. INTERROGATION!.

“You’re gonna interrogate them both aren’t you?” Mira asked as she wandered over to the fridge to get a drink, her ears still picking up the faint sound of Rumi’s snoring. “Of course I am! I didn’t get the chance last night”. Zoey flipped a page and continued her manic scribblings. “And after just finding Rumi in Jinu’s bed, I’ve just doubled the amount of questions I had”. Mira poured herself a glass of fresh apple juice and took a long drink. “Like do you think they fucked. You think they did Sucky Sucky?” Zoey asked.

Mira choked on her drink, apple juice leaking from her nose as she spluttered all over the kitchen side. “ZOEY!” “What? It’s a perfectly reasonable question! She was on top of him Mira! I just want to know if she was on top in more ways than one”. “That’s not a reasonable question Zo. That’s you’re fanfic brain wanting more ammunition”. Mira scowled as she grabbed some kitchen roll to clean up the mess she’d made.

“And so what if it is? The world deserves to know!”. “No the bloody hell they don’t!” Mira and Zoey both jumped and turned to face the new voice that had entered the chat. Rumi stood behind them in the hallway still in her pyjamas, her hair looked bedraggled and she stifled a wide yawn that flashed her tonsils before she wandered over to the couch and dramatically flopped into the cushions as Zoey and Mira watched.

“Yeah, the world can mind its own business”. The girls startled again as another voice joined the conversation. Jinu appeared the same way Rumi had, almost completely silently and still in his pyjamas before grabbing a red apple from the fruit bowl, headed to the couch and setting himself down next to Rumi who cuddled into his side instinctually like a happy house cat. Jinu put the apple in her hand and she gave him the sweetest look the other girls had ever seen her give anyone before as she took a bite. Mira swore she heard Rumi hum happily as a drop of juice ran down her chin which Jinu diligently caught with a finger before sneakily licking said finger.

They’re peace and quiet lasted only another second before Zoey cleared her throat. “Soooooooooooooo guys… How was your date?” Rumi just looked at Zoey sleepily and took another bite of her apple. Her expression saying that it ‘was far too early for this shit’. Zoey flashed back a ‘couldn’t care less, I have questions’ look and dropped down onto the couch next to Rumi, opening her note book like she was a lawyer trying to crack open the case of the century. She launched into her list at Mack 5. “So… where did he take you? Was it romantic? Did you kiss? Why were you in his bed? “Did the pair of you get freaky?” both Jinu and Rumi’s eyes went wide as Zoey launched into her list of questions and held nothing back.

Mira stayed by the kitchen island. She couldn’t help but enjoy the couple squirming under Zoey’s barrage of highly inappropriate questions. She was so engrossed in the show she failed to notice that someone else had sat down next to her. “Aftermath of the date huh?” Baby had to duck as Mira nearly swung for him in surprise. “What is with everyone sneaking up on me this morning?” Mira growled before directing her attention back to the court scene playing out on her couch. “Not my fault you’re oblivious to your surroundings, thought you were meant to be a big bad scary hunter”.
Baby just grinned as Mira flipped him off before he joined her to watch the show.

“Zoey I’m not answering… THAT!” Rumi’s cheeks flushed scarlet as Zoey dropped the most unhinged question she had on her list and Jinu had to stare at the ceiling to stop himself from laughing. But his mirth didn’t last long as Zoey directed her next question straight at him. “So Jinu… have the two of you turned the Honmoon golden yet?” “I beg your bloody pardon!?” now it was Rumi’s turn to stare at the ceiling trying not to laugh, she knew exactly what Zoey was referring too (honestly Zoey spends far too much time on YouTube. Rumi was considering limiting her screen time), her cheeks tinting even further towards the same colour as her apple.

“Well we did find the two of you wrapped around each other this morning”. Zoey flashed one of the pics she’d snapped of Rumi clearly drooling onto Jinu’s chest. Rumi tried to snatch the device out of her hand but Zoey was faster, pulling it out of Rumi’s reach. “Don’t you fucking dare post those Zoey… I swear to god I’ll skin you alive!” Rumi hissed; the flash of her golden iris unmistakable. “Oh don’t worry Rumi… these aren’t for the public eye… at least not yet…” Zoey’s implication was clear, ‘answer my questions and they’ll stay private’. “Zoey you know they’re relationship is still not public right?” Mira called out from the kitchen.

“It isn’t for now, but as soon as they announce it, I have ammunition waiting in the wings” Zoey flashed the flustered couple a cheeky wink. “So, I’ll ask again. Where did you go and why did you ignore all my texts Rumi? I needed updates… critical updates and you cruelly deprived me of them!”. Rumi just sighed loudly, she knew Zoey wouldn’t shut up until she got some answers and Rumi doubted she’d keep those photos private for long, plus she just wanted this interrogation to be over so she could go have a shower. “Fine! But just to shut you up. Jinu took me to the COEX Aquarium and I put my phone in ‘Do Not Disturb’ because I wanted the evening to be ours and ours alone”.

Zoey was bouncing in her seat, her smile looking physically painful. “Was it romantic? Did you kiss? Details Rumi I need details!”. Rumi spared a quick glance up at Jinu who put his arm over her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze, both of them failing to notice (or just ignoring) that Zoey had an aneurism at the PDA. “Yes Zoey it was very romantic and yes, we did kiss”. ‘A lot’ she added in her head, her mind flashing back to their connection in the food court, and to their confessions to each other, but there was no way she was giving that kind of ammo to Zoey.

Zoey actually squealed at that. bouncing in her seat. “OMG OMG OMG that’s so sweet!” Then her eyes turned mischievous. She flipped over her page and levelled a diabolical grin at the couple, both of them sensing where this next question was heading. “And what happened after you got back then hmm?” her grin only getting more evil “Why did we find you snuggling up to Jinu like you love him?”.

‘Because I do!’ Rumi thought to herself but she couldn’t even look at Zoey right now, she was finding her fingers infinitely more interesting, her cheeks and ears tinting pink. So Jinu answered for her. “Nothing happened when we got back. I walked her to her room and we said goodnight”. Zoey looked like she was about to present the ‘coup de gras’, the single piece of evidence that would crack this case wide open, tapping her pen against her chin. “So why… pray tell dear Jinu… did we find the pair of you snuggled up this morning like two peas in a pod? Surely something must have happened last night. Hmm?”

Jinu cleared his throat and threw Zoey’s look right back at her. “Last night I had a really bad nightmare, from back before. I woke Rumi up by accident and she came to check up on me… Ask Romance, he was there too. He can back me up”. Zoey had a look that said ‘oh don’t worry I will be verifying you’re alibi’.

Rumi shuffled herself so she was laid down on the couch, almost kicking Zoey further up the couch, using Jinu’s lap as a pillow and reaching a hand up to cup his cheek and he moved his free hand up to rest on top of hers. “I asked her to stay with me. I didn’t want to be alone after that nightmare, that’s why you found her with me this morning”.

Rumi couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion as he spoke. he could have told Zoey the full truth… that Rumi had decided to stay with him (more like she refused to leave him alone) but instead he had taken the bullet Zoey had aimed at her. Protecting her even now.

Zoey had one last question for the pair. “So do you love each…”

Mercifully for both of them Zoey was cut off by the elevator door chiming and Bobby stepped out into the penthouse. “Morning girls, sorry about the early morning visit”. Four voices chorused “Hi Bobby!” A stunned second of silence before the girls all stared wide eyed at Jinu who had unintentionally joined in on their greeting to the girls manager, matching the trios pitch and tempo perfectly. Jinu’s ears tinted red in embarrassment. Baby just laughed from where he was sat.

“What’s up Bobby? To what do we owe the pleasure? Is this about the comeback song?” Mira wandered over from the kitchen and plopped herself down on the couch. Bobby shifted a little awkwardly on his feet. “Actually no… I’m actually here to speak to Jinu and the Saja Boys”.

All eyes snapped back to Jinu who had a look of perplexion on his face. “Me?” “Yes, you”. Bobby nodded and made his way over to the couch, seemingly only now noticing that Rumi was laid out on Jinu’s lap, their fingers interlocked tightly. “And the other’s too, but I see they’re not awake yet”. A cough from the kitchen reminded everyone that Baby was in fact awake. “Oh… Sorry Baby” Bobby said a little embarrassed but Baby didn’t seem to care that much, waving Bobby off but still paying attention.

Bobby sat on the edge of the couch and addressed Jinu. “When you were all on the K24 interview, I remembered Mira mentioning you guys don’t have a manager anymore”. He spared a glance Mira’s way before looking back at Jinu. “I don’t know who they were but I can’t find anything about your last manager online. But if you guys are serious about getting back into the industry you’re gonna need a new one”.

Jinu leaned forward a little, careful not to disturb Rumi. “And you know someone who’s willing to take us on? Even after what happened at Namsam?”. Bobby just nodded. “I know someone who’s up for the challenge, they’ve already got experience managing a top K-Pop band and they want you to give them a chance”.

Zoey piped up from where she was sat. “Who’ve you got in mind Bobby?” Bobby just smiled smugly and sat back into the couch a little, his eyes sparkling. It took everyone a few seconds to figure out what he was implying.

“You!” Jinu could barely hide his surprise. His research into Huntrix had been extensive when he was planning his little takeover plot, that research had extended to their manager as well. Bobby was a legend in the K-Pop world, he’d been an Idol himself years ago – a bloody good one at that - and he was well known for making the best out of any group he managed - Huntrix were living proof of that – and now he was offering to take the Saja Boys on as well. This man truly had no limit.

Bobby just handed over a business card to Jinu. “You don’t have to give me an answer now. Have a word with the guys when they're up and then let me know”. With that said Bobby rose and bid them all good day before walking back over to the elevator and disappearing from view.

Jinu flipped the business card over in his fingers, his mind racing. His attention swiftly being stolen by Rumi, who’s face appeared under the business card, a wide smile on her face. “So what do you think? Bobby as you guys’s manager?” Jinu leaned down to plant a cheeky kiss to her forehead, causing her to blush and the other girls to fake gag behind their hands. “I’ll have to speak to the guys about it, but yeah… I think he’ll be good for us. I just hope he’s ready for the challenge”.

-----

It was another couple of hours before the other three Saja’s surfaced. Abby and Romance wandered in together and Mystery followed a few minutes later. Once they’d all eaten breakfast Jinu got their attention.

“Ahem… Boys, I have some good news”.

Chapter Text

The following weeks slipped by in something close to a blur. After only 15 minutes of discussion with the other Saja Boys about what Bobby had said they had all agreed wholeheartedly and enthusiastically, Jinu had picked up his phone and called Bobby to say they would be honoured for him to become the Saja Boys manager.

A slightly awkward conversation followed as Bobby recognised Jinu’s number as the one that had prank called him the other day and Jinu was all too happy to point the finger at Zoey and drop her in the proverbial dookie with her manager. Something that Rumi had found absolutely hilarious when he’d told her about it after the fact.

Once the details of the Saja Boys contract had been written out, debated, fussed over and signed by all five members, the boys had nowhere to go but up. Bobby expertly slipped into the role of a dual manager, juggling the new schedules for the Saja Boys and the existing schedules of Huntrix with such precision it was scary, everyone knew that Bobby loved a good challenge but this was a different level of madness and the guy seemed to be thriving in it.

The boys had never been so busy, given that they had only been human again for less than a week but that was beside the point. Bobby filled up their schedules with everything from fan-sign events (one of which the girls couldn’t help but crash as ‘payback’ for their shenanigans previously) to radio interviews and TV shows and everything in between. Sometimes they’d be paired up with the Huntrix girls and other times they’d be on their own, sometimes they were even mixed up.

The girls were also learning all sorts of new and interesting things about the Saja Boys, some of it was serious like the very rare glimpses into their pasts but most of it was just plain entertaining, educational or embarrassing depending on who you asked.

- When Rumi and Romance appeared on a radio show to discuss their upcoming plans, Rumi had learnt that not only did Romance love a good brain teaser – anything from a riddle to a good crossword puzzle – but he was also terrified of rats, having nearly jumped out of his skin and into Rumi’s arms as one scurried out from under a car outside the station. He’d let out such an undignified scream that Rumi had serious issues containing her laughter.
- When Zoey and Abby had appeared on a TV cooking show she had learnt that Abby had quite a severe peanut allergy but he was also an extremely talented chef. The duo easily claiming the top prize of the show.
- When Mira and Baby were paired up to do an impromptu fan meet and greet, Mira learnt that Baby was fluent in Japanese and conversational in Mandarin when he interacted with a few Japanese tourists with ease. He tried to brush it off as just a casual interest in languages but Mira couldn’t help but be impressed.
- Jinu had been outed as a talented seamstress when he was caught by Zoey repairing one of Rumi’s favourite jackets after she tore it during a demon hunt, he revealed that he had to learn to sew so he could repair his families clothes due to their extreme poverty.
- Mystery had a fascination with Botany of all things. Rumi found that interesting fact out when during a mixed group photoshoot in a local park she found Mystery cataloguing the nearby flower beds. It was the only time she’d actually seen the quietest Saja blush but she thought it was very sweet.

Over the weeks, the girls found themselves spending less and less time with the boys. Bobby was relentless in getting the guy’s public image back to its former glory and when the guys would eventually stagger back into the penthouse on an evening they barely had the energy to handle more than a basic conversation with the girls.

There were a few things that didn’t change. Rumi remained true to her word and hadn’t let Jinu spend a night alone since he had his nightmare episode. Either she would drag him to her room when the boys returned from another day of fan service or she’d sneak into his room if the girls got back later than the guys. Jinu honestly preferred it when she joined him. His bed was a single so Rumi would often just flop down on top of him, or she’d tuck herself into his chest and be the little spoon, neither of which Jinu was complaining about.

These late-night cuddle sessions became the main constant in Jinu’s schedule and they had quickly become his favourite part of the day in general. They’d also become a little more… ‘explorative’ with each other. Their sessions of snog roulette had led to them shedding clothes on multiple occasions and hands had roamed to various ‘places’ but they hadn’t crossed that final line yet. Neither wanted to broach the subject but they could both feel that it was coming, it felt inevitable at this point.

The boys even started spending time in Huntrix’s private production studio, they had begun work on their official release of ‘Your Idol’ as well as planning the MV for both ‘Your Idol’ and ‘Soda Pop’ since the former song was never officially released, the only record of its existence had been the events at Namsam Tower and the latter only had an audio version available. Not that it didn’t stop either song from holding their own against the likes of ‘How it’s Done’ and ‘Golden’ in the charts. The Saja Boys had to completely redo the audio and the choreo for both songs since they didn’t have their demonic powers anymore.

But the boys were also starting work on a few other new songs that they were hoping to release soon, themes of redemption and second chances heavily dispersed through the tracks. With the girls still having another two months on their own hiatus left, they found themselves also sharing the music studio or the dance studio with the guys as they worked on their own new music, and alongside that both Rumi and Jinu were working on the official release for ‘Free’. They had even ‘accidentally’ leaked a four second clip of the audio and the fans had gone positively feral over it.

It all felt natural, the guys would sometimes sit in and listen as the girls worked on ‘What it Sounds Like’ and sometimes Rumi would bring a platter of snacks for the guys during one of their sessions. Looking at the eight of them interacting with each other, you’d be forgiven for calling bullshit if you’d been told they were mortal enemies at one point.

They’d even started a little prank war between all of them for ‘shits and giggles’, some members of the groups more involved than others. Zoey had a habit of hiding whoopee cushions under the guys as they sat down, once even doing it to Romance live on air during a TV variety show, the look on his face instantly clipped and turned into a meme. Mira found great entertainment in abusing the power of an airhorn to mess with Baby whenever she could.

Mystery found great amusement in sneaking up on any of the girls and barking in their ear to scare the shit out of them before running away before they could hit him, and Jinu and Rumi took every opportunity they could to jump scare each other, though they were careful to keep it ‘professional’ in public. They were still debating how to go public with their relationship and a jump scare that turned into a cheeky smooch wasn’t the way.

-----

Mira awoke far too early for her liking. Her watch had the audacity to tell her it was 07:15am and she swore quietly to herself, and then swore repeatedly at the noise that had been the cause of her untimely awakening. Snoring… loud snoring… Mira just groaned; it was the only real thing she didn’t like about her new roommates. All five of them snored, and loudly. Even Rumi had started snoring on par with them and Mira blamed that fact on her new boyfriend, although the girls rooms were soundproofed for their privacy, the same couldn't be said for the guys rooms. Mira really needed to invest in some soundproof sleeping headphones… or some ball gags for the rest of them.

“Fucking Hell!” Mira rolled out of bed with something that might have resembled agility and grace if she wasn’t still half asleep. More like she staggered out of bed and into her ensuite like a drunken zombie to clear her head and preform her morning routine… just a quick clean up and brush her teeth, no shower just yet as she planned on going down to the gym. If she was going to be woken up early then she might as well put in a few hours before her day truly gets started.

After she changed into her workout gear – a plain black tank top and red shorts – Mira walked out of her room and past Baby's (where the snoring was originating from) and headed down the stairs to the gym. As she opened the door she could hear that someone else had already beat her down here. ‘Who else is down here this early?’ she thought to herself as she closed the door behind her and scanned the room for the source of the noise. “Urgh! Of course its him!” Mira muttered under her breath.

Abby was busy sweating up a storm on one of the treadmills against the side wall. She could see the sweat that glistened over the muscles on his back from here but she could also see the punishing pace he was running at. It was just shy of a full sprint and the sound of his shoes thumping the treadmill set a strong rhythm in the quiet. A pair of blue headphones adorned his head and of course he had no shirt on, his grey shorts damp in places with sweat. Mira rolled her eyes at the sight.

Abby flashed her a polite wave when he noticed she was watching him, he poked a few buttons on the treadmill which began to slow down and he pulled the headphones down around his neck. “Morning Mira, did they wake you up too?” “Yeah they did! You’re Daejang is a noisy fucker!”. Abby laughed, his head tilted back and his Adams apple bobbed in his throat. There was something about his laugh that shifted something ever so slightly in Mira’s chest, something she didn’t think would shift ever again. The faintest tint of pink dusted her ears.

“Yeah he’s a noisy bastard alright! Honestly he’s not even the worst out of the five of us for snoring. That honour goes to Baby”. Abby stepped off the treadmill and faced Mira. “I know you have your own workout routines, but do you fancy going a few rounds with me?” The smug look on his face when he noticed how Mira blushed at that spoke volumes. Abby poked his thumb at the boxing ring behind him. “I meant in the ring of course”. His cocky smile played across his face. “Might be mutually beneficial for both of us”. She scoffed “Mutually beneficial? How’d you figure that?” Mira scowled at him through her glasses.

Abby shrugged and jumped onto the ropes of the boxing ring. “Well its beneficial for me because I get to spend time with you, which is always a win in my book”. He smiled at her scowl “and its beneficial for you because you get to try and punch me in the face without actually trying to kill me… hopefully”. He hopped over the ropes and grabbed two pairs of gloves hanging in the corner. “I know you like to start your day off with either a strong coffee or by punching something. And alas I unfortunately have no coffee here…” Abby gestured around himself with a cock sure grin. “So whatcha say?”.

Mira looked at Abby through her scowl, but she was genuinely considering what he’d said. She did enjoy starting her day by punching a few training dummies, and here was an even bigger dummy offering her a free fight. Granted this dummy would punch back but Mira was actually intrigued by what he could do. Abby was much bigger than her, bigger than the girls too, and he would likely offer her a different combat experience, which was something Mira always took on if she got the chance.

After a minute of internal debate Mira took a run up and slid under the bottom rope and rose to her feet. “Fuck it! Why not? Let’s see what you got big man!” Abby was almost glowing with glee as he tossed a pair of gloves at her and after they’d donned them, and stuffed some mouth guards into their mouths, they tapped gloves and the two pulled up their guards and started circling each other like sharks circling prey.

“So what say we put a little skin in the game huh?” Abby smirked past his mouth guard as he threw a trio of quick jabs at Mira who dodged them with ease. “and what exactly do you have in mind?” Mira launched a flurry of counter-attacks that Abby slipped past with a laugh. “Intel. You land a hit on the other, they offer up a little information”. Abby ducked under a jab aimed at his jaw before retaliating with a cross that forced Mira to jump clear.

“What kind of information?” Mira growled as she went on the offensive, throwing jabs, crosses and hooks in quick succession trying to push Abby off balance but the Saja stood firm, dodging and blocking every strike much to her frustration.

“Any kind really, I have no preference. We’re not enemies anymore… at least I hope we aren’t. it’s just an attempt to get to know each other a little better”. Abby threw his own flurry of strikes and Mira danced out of their reach. “What makes you think I wanna know anything about you Abby?” The barb not as sharp as she’d usually say it. Abby just laughed. “Ahh c’mon Mira. You can scowl and eye roll at me all day long, but I can see the hint of curiosity behind those pretty eyes of yours”.

That compliment caused her to faulter and Abby took full advantage, slipping past her guard and landed a quick jab to Mira’s chest. He’d pulled a lot of the strength out of the hit but it still knocked Mira back a few steps. Mira looked at Abby with shock, he’d actually managed to land a hit on her! Abby of course was a cocky fucker about it. “1 : 0 Mira”. He smirked; Mira growled at him as she put her guard back up. “Ok fine! You want intel? My favourite food is sticky BBQ ribs! Happy now?” “Very”.

Abby made a ‘cometh hither’ gesture with his right glove and Mira stalked at him like he was prey. She launched a combo of lightning-fast attacks which Abby almost avoided… almost. The final hit was a fast uppercut that slipped right through Abby’s guard and connected with his chin, the hit knocking him back across the ring. Mira just smiled evilly at him. “1 : 1 Abby”. Abby wiped his mouth on the back of his glove and grinned “Nice shot. I was born in 1675 in Gwangju”.

They circled each other like predators again, fainting and ducking around each other’s hits until Mira scored another strike on Abby’s hip. “1 : 2” Mira chuckled and Abby smirked back. “I was the youngest child in my family, I had two older sisters and one older brother”. Abby put his guard back up and advanced, his attacks pushing Mira into the corner of the ring until one landed, a swift hook shot that connected with Mira’s ribs.

She hissed in pain and glared at Abby as he backed up to give her space and flashed another smirk. “2 : 2 Mira”. She bared her teeth at him. “I absolutely hate horror movies; I refuse to watch them”. Abby had an intrigued look about him at that “Really? After everything you’ve seen as a Hunter you draw the line at some guy with a mask and a knife?”. Mira just shrugged and advanced again.

The circled each other for close to another ten minutes, occasionally landing shots on the other. Mira claimed the final point in their little game after fainting to one side before punching Abby clean in the side of the head. The shot staggering him into the ropes. “10 : 10 Abby”. Abby ended up sat on the mat, his head ringing slightly from the punch. But he smiled up at Mira as he offered up his last piece of intel.

“My real name is Fa Ahn”. Mira’s eyes shot wide at hearing that. “Wait! So Abby isn’t your real name?”. Abby shook his head as he pulled his gloves off and rolled under the ropes, Mira following suit soon after.

He wandered over to a small mini fridge near the door and pulled out a pair of water bottles, tossing one to Mira who caught it with one hand. “No, Abby was the stage name I was given when Jinu was making The Saja Boys. We were all given names that matched the persona’s we were meant to play”.

Abby twisted his drink open and downed 1/2 of the bottle in one go. “Jinu was the arrogant asshat frontman so he kept his own name. I was the ‘eye candy’ so I got given Abby because of…” he pointed at his abs which Mira tried and failed to not look at. He looked good sweaty, that corncob glistening in all the right places and Mira’s traitorous brain was telling her to run her tongue down that chiselled six pack.

Oblivious to Mira’s inner turmoil Abby continued his tale. “Romance is the hopeless flirt who’d try and seduce a rock if he thought he’d get somewhere. Mystery is the enigmatic ‘mysterious’ one, I know ironic isn’t it? And Baby is the young foul mouthed and short-tempered shit stirrer”. Abby finished off his bottle before speaking again. “Besides Jinu, I’m the only one who can remember what my name actually is. The others aren’t so lucky”. He grabbed another water bottle and sat down on one of the bench press machines. “Jinu only remembers his name because Gwi-Ma loved to torture the poor bastard with it. Rome, Myst and Baby had been demons for so long they’ve forgotten”.

Mira sat on the next one over from him, digesting what he’d said. This was the second time she’d had an unintentional conversation with him that had made her feel something she never thought she would. “That’s actually really sad, not being able to remember their own names. So why stick with Abby if you remember yours?”. Abby just shifted uncomfortably. “My name reminds me of my sins, reminds me of my shame. I did some unspeakable things when I was alive. My name was whispered with fear as much as it was with admiration. It’s not something I’m proud to remember, Abby is just… easier… for everyone”.

She chose not to push the issue. If Abby wasn’t ready to talk about his past then she wasn’t going to force him. After their little heart to heart the pair of them went about completing their own workout routines but Mira never let her eyes wander too far from the Saja strongman. Everyday he somehow managed to put another crack in her carefully constructed walls. Even though he pissed her off something wicked with his ‘preening peacock’ attitude and his cheesy flirtatious comments, she was slowly starting to see him as more than the demon he used to be.

She watched as he benched a respectable 220lbs for 50 reps before he moved over to beat seven shades of shit out of a punching bag hanging from the ceiling.

It was at that point that Mira saw something that truly shocked her… over her 7 years as a Hunter she’d thought she’d seen everything… but this was something even she had never thought possible. She wasn’t usually the one to get scared, but what she was witnessing right now had her seriously rattled. The Honmoon… it was reacting… to Abby…

He had started singing to himself as he battered the punching bag, each strike of his fist matching a note in his song and the honmoon rippled slightly under his feet, it pulsed along with his song. Abby was so caught up in what he was doing he completely failed to notice what was happening under his feet. But Mira saw it… her jaw hung low as she watched the Honmoon pulse and shimmer in the same way as it would for her and the girls when they wanted to summon their blades.

If the Honmoon could react to Abby, then maybe it could react to the other Saja’s as well. Mira scrambled to yank her phone out of her pocket and nearly dropped it several times before she managed to unlock it and open the group chat she had with the girls, her fingers flying over the screen faster than she’s ever typed before.

Huntrix Queens Chat:
Mira: GIRLS!! You’re never gonna fucking believe what I’ve just fucking seen!!!
Mira: Oi! Girls!
Mira: WAKE THE FUCK UP THIS IS IMPORTANT!!
Mira: RUMI!! ZOEY!! DON’T MAKE ME COME UP THERE!!!!!!!!!
Zoey: Mira! It’s 09:10am why are you spamming in block caps? That’s my job!
Rumi: Yeh Mira, you woke me and Jinu up.
Mira: Rumi you’re demon fuck toy can wait! This is serious! The Honmoon is reacting to Abby!!
Zoey: HUH?!?!?
Rumi: WHAT!?
Rumi: You’re joking right?
Mira: No the fuck I ain’t! We’re in the gym and he’s singing! The Honmoon is thrumming under his feet! Here look!!

-

Mira took a quick video of the sight before her and sent it. Even though it’s in a video, the Hunters were able to see the Honmoon rippling around Abby’s feet like shallow water. It took less than 10 seconds for the group chat to explode.

-

Huntrix Queens Chat:
Rumi: Holy Fucking Shit!!
Zoey: Fucking Hell! How is this even possible?
Rumi: Hang on, I’m on my way!
Mira: No! Don’t! He hasn’t got a clue.
Zoey: How the hell is he doing that?! The Honmoon only reacts to Hunters!
Mira: No clue, but if he can manipulate it then I except the others can too.
Rumi: … … …
Rumi: This just got a lot more complicated
Mira: Yeh no shit Sherlock! WTF am I meant to do here? There’s nothing in our training that prepared me for seeing that.
Rumi: Don’t mention it to him yet, the guys are already focused on their comeback. This is something we’ll have to deal with later.
Zoey: But they’ve been in our studio Rumi! We’ve all been in there with them and none of us have noticed any Honmoon activity. WTF is going on!?!?!?
Rumi: IDK
Mira: Well that’s just fucking fabulous.
Rumi: We’ll talk about it later; the guys have a photo shoot later. We’ll talk when they’ve gone.
Mira: OK OK OK.
Zoey: Soooo……. Can I go back to bed now?

Chapter Text

Breakfast for the group was a slightly awkward affair that morning. After Mira’s discovery that Abby could manipulate the Honmoon to some degree and the girls suspicions that the others might be able to as well, the girls had spent most of breakfast in relative silence, lost in their own thoughts. It was something that hadn’t gone unnoticed by the guys as they all sat around the kitchen island.

“What’s going on girls, you’re not usually this quiet at breakfast?” Romance asked as he popped a handful of cranberries into his mouth, a noise of pleasure left his lips at the sweet taste of the berries coating his tongue. The boys were slowly getting to grips with having taste back and they were all reacting differently to it, some of the noises that they had made over the last few weeks after discovering a new taste sensation could have only been described at lewd and sensual.

The girls each offered up some form of excuse with various levels of believability. Zoey claimed she hadn’t slept very well due to staying up too late watching turtle videos, Mira claimed she was worn out from her workout with Abby earlier and Rumi tried to blame her lack of sleep on Jinu’s snoring, even though they all knew she was just as bad. The boys could tell something was off but none of them pushed the issue, even Baby kept his usually overactive yap closed except to shovel Cheerio’s into it.

Further uncomfortable silence was luckily avoided when Jinu’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out and read the text he’d just received. “Bobby’s on his way to get us for this photo op, says he’ll be 15 minutes”. a wave of minor groaning came from the other boys. As much as they appreciated what Bobby was doing for them he did love to drag them out of bed far too early for their liking some days.

After breakfast wrapped up, the guys all wandered off to their rooms to get ready. Jinu was the last to leave the table, refusing to leave until he gave Rumi a tight squeeze from behind and a peck on her cheek, an action that made her swivel around on her chair and grab him by his night shirt and drag him down to her level for a proper kiss, her hand shifting to drag through his raven locks. Both of them flipped Mira off when she faked a loud gag and Zoey just laughed at the PDA.

-----

“Have fun guys!”. The trio of girls waving as the Saja Boys disappeared out of the door to meet Bobby in the garage. Rumi blew Jinu a kiss which he mimed catching and tucking it into the pocket over his heart before sending one back to her. Rumi pretended it hit her with such force it knocked her back onto the couch and she could hear Jinu’s laugh receding on the other side of the door as it closed.

Mira and Zoey couldn’t keep the grins off their faces, they could never pass up the opportunity to tease Rumi over her infatuation with Jinu. “God you are so whipped woman!” Mira couldn’t help but laugh as Rumi went beet red. “Yeah I am, so what? I can’t help it. He does things to me”.

Rumi immediately regretted her choice of words as both her bandmates shared a look that spoke volumes. “Not like that!” Rumi hissed as she half-heartedly whacked them both on the arm but failed to hide a small laugh. Zoey was giggling into her sleeve “Not yet anyway”. The fact that Rumi didn’t even bother to deny it was confirmation enough.

Once they were sure the guys were gone Zoey and Mira sat with Rumi on the couch, the latter sitting up from where Jinu’s ‘love’ had knocked her over to make room. “So… Mira. Spill it, details… what the hell happened this morning with Abby?” Rumi had her serious look on now and even Zoey stopped bouncing around like a coiled spring, she sat up straight like the teacher’s pet.

Mira began her tale. Being woken up by someone’s snoring – she levelled a look at Rumi at that – her walk down to the gym, her boxing match with Abby, his talk about his real name and the bits of his past she’d learnt and finally when she saw the Honmoon reacting to him while he sang. “It just started reacting to him when he started singing. Like it wasn’t ready for him to actually touch it or summon anything from it, but it was there. It was watching, it was listening to him, like it was deciding whether he was worthy”.

Mira’s mind cast back to when she watched the Honmoon thrum under Abby. “He didn’t even seem to notice it, or if he did he was ignoring it. But I… I don’t know what this means…” Rumi and Zoey were both sat in silence, both chewing over their own thoughts on the matter. Finally Rumi spoke, there was a very noticeable shake in her voice which she couldn’t quite mask. “We need to figure out if it’s just Abby or if the others can manipulate it too”. Nods from the other girls at that but the very idea of the former demons being able to wield the Honmoon was a slightly uncomfortable one at that.

Zoey spoke up from behind the pillow she was clutching “Would it be such a bad thing if they can use it though? I mean, Rumi you found their literal souls roaming around Namsam. A demon doesn’t regain their soul easily if ever. I think these guys are the first ever demons to successfully regain their souls. At least from my research they are”. She cast a look at Rumi and Mira. “The Honmoon is only meant to react to Hunters, but it can also react to people it deems as worthy and I can’t help but think if the Honmoon ever does get breached again, then another five Hunters would be a massive help for us”.

Mira levelled a look at Zoey. “I think you just like the idea of Mystery wielding you’re throwing blades Zo”, Zoey shot Mira’s look right back at her “Like you don’t like the idea of watching Abby or Romance swinging you’re Gok-do around Mira”. Mira’s ears tinted pink, caught red handed. The thought of those two morons trying to use her blade did cause her to chuckle.

Zoey wasn’t quite finished yet though, a devious smirk on her face. “And I think we can all agree Jinu would look insanely fucking hot with Rumi’s sword”. Rumi choked on air and gave Zoey a ‘gentle’ slap up the side of the head. But much like Mira she couldn’t stop her brain from imagining what her ‘Oppa’ would look like in Hunter gear and his own blade, it made heat pool somewhere it shouldn’t and Rumi grabbed a throw cushion to hide her arousal, but her cheeks and ears gave her away like a claxon in the silence, the other girls giving her no hope of living that little embarrassment down any time soon.

“So what do we do then? Do we try and teach them to access the Honmoon or do we wait and see what happens?” Mira asked, poking absently at her phone, rewatching the seven second clip she’s took of the Honmoon thrumming under Abby’s feet. Rumi cleared her throat “I think we wait for now, see if any of the others can access the Honmoon first. If they can then we’ll start some basic lessons with them”. A round of nods greeted her. “But for now, we keep this under wraps. If it is only Abby then I don’t wanna add more pressure onto their shoulders right now, it wouldn’t be fair to them”. Another wave of nods.

“Ok then. The guys will be out for another few hours with Bobby. Zoey what were you saying about that documentary the other night?”.

-----

Jinu’s eyes flickered momentarily against the blinding light of the photographers flash. He still wasn’t used to having his photo taken. It was one of the many things that was still taking it’s time to sink into his brain. 400 years ago you’d have to sit perfectly still for hours at a time while an artist painstakingly painted every brush stroke, from what he’d witnessed in the palace it could take days or even weeks for a piece to be finished. But now it was as instantaneous as ‘Click Flash Done’. That’s modern tech for you I guess.

“Jinu, loosen up those joints and relax those shoulders. Your far too stiff, you’re meant to look like you’re relaxing”. Jinu mumbled a reply but complied with his photographer’s command. He was far off his game today and he knew it. Something about breakfast this morning was niggling at him, the girls were never that quiet over breakfast… ok well Mira was usually that quiet… but Rumi and Zoey were some of the most animated and chatty people he’s ever met. To see that something was clearly bugging them was both upsetting and irritating him. He just hoped that they’d be ready to talk about it soon.

But how was he supposed to get through this photo op if his mind kept straying off course?

He rolled his shoulders before he smiled at the camera and was momentarily blinded again. This shoot was supposedly going to some K-pop magazine for some summer clothing line they were promoting. The getup they were all in was… distinctly ‘Abby’. Very tropical holiday vibes. Open floral shirts, chests on display, shorts far too short for modesty’s sake and these red sandal things felt very strange on his feet, very rubbery… Bobby said they were called ‘Crocs’ or something like that. He didn’t like them, they smelled weird.

He looked over to his right side to see Abby who of course was having a blast, he moved through poses with a fluid grace that seemed unnatural for his large frame. Flexes, smoulders and cheeky expressions galore as his photographer snapped away with glee. On Jinu’s other side was Romance who was posing with a beach ball under one arm and an umbrella under the other. Jinu knew Romance was flirting with his photographer if the colour of her face was anything to go by and Jinu couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Never change Romance’ he thought to himself.

“Ok guys! Next pose please. We’re looking for sexy but stylish. Sophisticated but suave. Jinu knew what two of those words meant so he just cast a glance at the others and copied what they did.  His mind was elsewhere… on Rumi, on her lips, her hair, her smile. Jinu’s smiled warm and wide as he thought of his girlfriend. “There! Jinu! That! More of that right there!” his photographer snapped away with his camera.

That was how he was going to get through this shoot. He’d just imagine she was here… or even better…

A mental switch flicked in his head and Jinu turned on the ‘smooth’ as Romance had called it, pretending it was Rumi taking the photos, he nailed every pose and questionably sultry look he was directed to give, even striking a Superman pose with a beach towel around his neck which caused Bobby to fall into a chair laughing maniacally.

Even Romance took notice. “Oi! Jinu… stop stealing my thunder!” but he couldn’t help but snort with laughter at his captains ridiculous posturing. Abby couldn’t focus for laughing. “Jinu, I’m meant to be the preening peacock, not you”. Even Mystery and Baby paused their own photos to look at their Daejang with amusement.

Bobby was laughing from behind the cameras, this is what he wanted from the Saja Boys, he wanted them to have fun with their work, being all stiff and robotic wasn’t good for their image. He made a mental note to book a dual photo op next time with Huntrix as well. But right now he couldn’t stop himself slyly sneaking a photo of Jinu’s Superman pose and sending it to Rumi.

-----

It was close to 16:00 when the Saja Boys walked back through the door of the penthouse, their conversations lively and boisterous like you’d expect out of a bunch of lads that had spent the morning pratting around on a photoshoot set. Dumb jokes and teasing banter following them out of the elevator like a shadow. “Ladies! We have returned!” Romance announced spreading his arms wide and smiling wider like he was announcing the winning lottery numbers (though in his own head he was the real prize).

 Zoey bounced over from the couch to greet them – well more specifically Mystery – with a tight hug. The ashen Saja returning it with more confidence than he usually would, it would seem that Zoey’s infectious energy was slowly… gradually breaking down his walls.

Mira just rolled her eyes at the dramatics from the kitchen and glared at Romance for daring to announce himself so brazenly but the hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth betrayed she was happy (ish) to see them. Her eyes drifting over to Abby who gave her a polite wave which she returned with a middle finger. Abby just laughed.

Jinu looked around and was a little disappointed to see Rumi wasn’t present but before he could ask where she was, he got his answer. Rumi came out from the hallway that lead to everyone’s bedrooms wearing a hoodie that looked suspiciously like one of his hanging down near her knees and her eyes locked straight onto him. “Jinu!”. Rumi actually tackled him to the floor with how hard she crashed into him, sending them both sprawling to the floor as she wrapped herself around him. “I missed you!”

“Hey Jagiya” he mumbled into her lips as they embraced. He savoured the taste of her lip balm as her hands came up to fist into his black locks as she deepened the kiss. “Eww gross! Seriously?! You guys couldn’t wait 20 seconds before you start eating each other’s faces?” Baby muttered as he walked past the couple and threw himself down on the oversized beanbag near the window. Jinu broke the kiss only long enough to smirk at him and say “Nah” before diving back in, kissing Rumi through her giggles.

“How was the photo op guys?” Zoey asked as she dragged Mystery over to the couch and dropped herself down in his lap like it was the most natural place for her to be. Abby sidestepped the snogging couple on the floor and headed towards the couch as well. “It went really well. We got it done faster than expected so we got the afternoon off”. He deposited himself on the couch with a light groan.

Romance wandered over to the kitchen looking for something to eat, his plan derailed when the item he was looking for was found to be almost entirely gone. “Who the fuck ate all the banana’s? Yesterday I bought home like 20 of them!” Mira just walked away from him with a muttered “Whoops” before joining the others on the couch.

She would never talk about the unmentionable things that Zoey had made them both do to some of those banana’s while the guys were out, or the frankly concerning things that Rumi had done to a few of them. All Mira could think of upon witnessing what Rumi had done was that Jinu was gonna be one lucky motherfucker when they eventually got round to ‘getting freaky’.

“So how are we spending our well-earned afternoon then huh?” Abby asked as he grabbed the TV remote and flicked through the channels too quickly to actually tell what was on. “Ooh back it up a few Abby, that show was on!” Mira nearly ripped Abby’s finger off grabbing the remote from him and back peddling through the channels until it landed on some soppy K-Drama she was invested in. Abby, Romance and Mira all settled in to watch the drama on the TV. Baby stayed in his beanbag playing some side scroller type game on his tablet, a new lollipop clamped in his mouth and Zoey dragged Mystery off towards her room again.

Rumi still had Jinu pinned to the floor beneath her, straddling his waist. Jinu smiled smugly up at her, enjoying the tint of red that spread up her features as he ran his fingers through her braid. “And how are we going to spend our afternoon then?” he whispered against her ear as she lowered herself for another kiss.

“Actually I want to finish the audio work for ‘Free’, once that’s done we can finally start work on…” her words cut off as Jinu kissed her again. Breaking apart he flashed his signature smirk that had Rumi turning the colour of a ripe tomato. “You had me at ‘spend time with you’”. Rumi scoffed and whacked him on the chest. “Your impossible”. “Impossibly in love with you” and Rumi could only squeak as she now found herself standing, well more actually Jinu was now somehow standing and she was wrapped around him, arms over his shoulders and legs around his waist, and him supporting her under her ass.

Her complexion only burning redder as she now realised everyone else present had heard her squeak and were now looking on with vested interest. “Gods! You two need to fuck already!” Mira somehow simultaneously managed to look unimpressed and invested at their antics while the others chuckled at various volumes. Jinu just smirked at her and waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to choke on the chip she was eating before walking away with his girlfriend wrapped around him like his favourite hoodie.

-----

“We could be free

Free

We can’t fix it if we never face it

Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless”.

The duo stood together in one of the private recording booths a few floors down from the penthouse, standing behind a pair of microphones hanging from the ceiling. Rumi’s eyes were closed as she sang the final line of the pre-chorus, her hands cupping her headphones as she sang. Next to her Jinu took a deep breath before he took over the song for his verse.

“Ooh, time goes by, and I lose perspective

Yeah, hope only hurts, so I just forget it

But you’re breaking through all the dark in me

When I thought that nobody could

And you’re waking up all these parts of me

That I thought were buried for good”

His melodious voice fills the room as he sings his verse, and it sends a chill straight down Rumi’s spine just like it had the first time they sang together on that rooftop and every time they’d sung it together since. To say that they had between the pair of them come up with this entire song pretty much freestyle was a feat in and of itself. Rumi doubted that even Zoey could ad-lib something like this so quickly, it was something she was incredibly proud of as she opened her eyes to look at Jinu.

His own eyes were closed as he poured his soul (metaphorically of course) into the lyrics, hands moving in sync with his voice and the clear smile at the corner of his mouth made Rumi’s heart do all sorts of pretty shapes in her chest as Jinu launched into his second verse.

“Between imposter and this monster

I’ve been lost inside my head

Ain’t no choice when all these voices

Keep me pointing towards no end”

As Jinu powered into their song he started tapping his foot along to the beat, adding another element to his animated style. Rumi couldn’t help but take all of him in as they stood behind the mic. His hair bobbing around as his head swayed to the ballad, his hips moving side to side, his foot tapping against the floor. The honmoon thrumming under his feet.

…

…

Hold on… the fucking what doing what now?!

Rumi had to do a double take and then a triple take just to be sure. Her eyes were not deceiving her however, the Honmoon was pulsing under Jinu’s tapping foot, almost as if it was singing along in its own way. Rippling circles of iridescent light fanning out like waves on water after a stone has been thrown, and just like Abby earlier Jinu appeared completely unaware of what was occurring as he sang.

“It’s just easy when I’m with you

No one sees me the way you do

I don’t trust it, but I want to

I keep coming back to”

Rumi’s head snapped back to her own microphone as their dual verse hit, forcing herself to focus on her words.

“Why does it feel right every time I let you in?

Why does it feel like I can tell you anything?

We can’t fix it if we never face it

What if we find a way to escape it?”

The pair harmonised with pure perfection. His voice complementing her’s beautifully, his deeper tones and her higher ones coming together to create the best recording of their song they’d ever done. Admittedly this was only the second full recording they had done but that was beside the point.

“We could be free

Free

We can’t fix it if we never face it

Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless”

Her eyes drifted back to the Honmoon which was now actively pulsing under Jinu’s feet, almost like it was pleading with him to acknowledge its presence. Kinda needy, like Derpy was whenever he wanted attention. Her own attention pulled back to the microphone as she sang the bridge.

“Oh, so take my hand, it’s open

Free, Free

What if we heal what’s broken?

Free, Free"

Her eyes looked back to Jinu and her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were still closed as he hit his high notes so perfectly it send heat rushing between her thighs, some very inappropriate thoughts about what she wanted to do to him doing their best to distract her as she moved into the final verse.

“I tried to hide, but something broke

I couldn’t sing, but you give me hope

We can’t fix it if we never face it

Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless”

-----

The eight of them all stood in a rough circle in one of Huntrix’s demon hunting training rooms. the floor was reinforced concrete and a wide variety of cardboard and wooden cutouts of various demon types stood scattered around the room. The boys shuffled with what could only be described at nerves. The girls had been very vague when they told the guys to meet them down here.

After Rumi had finished her recording session with Jinu, she had immediately messaged the group chat she had with Zoey and Mira and told them what had happened. With both Abby and now Jinu seemingly able to interact with the honmoon they had decided it would be beneficial if the guys knew what was going on. Hence why they were now stood with the girls in a training room that smelled of old sweat and disinfectant.

“Umm, what’s going on girls?” Mystery asked, his voice was quiet, like he wasn’t sure what or why he was here, which to be fair was true. “Yeah I think the rest of us would like to know that too”. Abby had his eyes set on Mira who wasn’t meeting his eye… wasn’t meeting anyone’s eye for that matter, she was staring at the floor in the middle of their half-arsed circle.

“Rumi?” Jinu asked, unsure of whether he should reach out to her or not.

Rumi let out a heavy breath before she spoke. “We’ve noticed over the last few hours that some of you have been able to summon the honmoon”. That sentence hit the guys differently. Jinu looked shocked, Abby looked uncomfortable, Romance looked confused, Mystery… didn’t look any different and Baby seemed entirely unbothered.

“How is that even possible? And more to the point, who?” Jinu asked, looking around the group, a questioning look on his face. “First it was Abby this morning in the gym and this afternoon it was you when we were recording ‘Free’ Jinu”. Rumi looked up at him. “So we asked you guys to join us down here so we can figure out what’s going on. The Honmoon is only meant to react to Hunters. But it can also react to people it sees as worthy. We think the Honmoon sees you all as worthy”.

“I’m sorry, what? The honmoon thinks that we are worthy?” Baby sounded almost incredulous. “That’s right!” Zoey replied, bouncing slightly on her heels. Romance spoke up “The Honmoon that we tried to destroy? The Honmoon that we literally tore through multiple times to steal souls and summon demons? That Honmoon think we are worthy of it?”

Mira took over the talking. “Look, we don’t understand why either. But if the Honmoon is reacting to you lot, then there must be a reason. It doesn’t just react to anyone for any reason”. “Umm… … Guys!” everyone looked over to look at Mystery who’s head was downcast, and he slightly comically and dramatically pointed his finger at the floor beneath them. The others all directed their eyes down and a collective gasp rolled around everyone in attendance.

The Honmoon was rippling around everyone’s feet like shallow water. Just like the waves that had formed around Jinu in the recording booth and under Abby in the gym, it rippled out from under both Huntrix and the Saja Boys, the swirling lines coming close to their neighbours but never touching.

Jinu hummed in thought and the ripples around him glowed brighter and pulsed faster, as if they were responding to him. Abby whistled at the sight and then yelped as the honmoon around him glowed brightly, much to Mira’s amusement.

“Well I guess that proves it. The Honmoon sees you all as worthy”. Rumi stepped forward into the centre of the group. “It would appear so”. Baby still looked incredulous but his expression was now tempered with fascination as he crouched down and watched the swirling light around his feet. “So what now?” Mystery asked, curiosity lacing his words as he leaned down to run a slightly hesitant finger over the flowing spectral lines. Rumi nearly choked as one line lifted ever so slightly off the floor at his touch.

“Now, we figure out if the Honmoon will let you interact with it like we do”. Rumi flicked her wrist to summon her Saingoem, Mira and Zoey summoning their Gok-do and Shin-kals behind her. “If the Honmoon will let you summon a weapon from it, then you’ll begin Hunter training”. “I’m sorry… come again? Hunter training?!” Abby looked three seconds away from passing out. Baby still had his incredulous look plastered over his face but he rubbed his hands together with interest. “Sweet”.

Chapter Text

The lessons had started out with the girls trying to help all the guys out in equal measure, but as the minutes stretched, they ended up splitting into groups that even a blind guy would’ve been able to predict. Rumi paired off with Jinu and the duo sat facing each other near the side wall, Abby and Romance naturally gravitated towards Mira and Zoey pulled Mystery and Baby into a little huddle in the corner of the room.

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18:30pm

Jinu sat cross legged on the floor, hands clasped together and resting in his lap, Rumi sat the same in front of him, her long braid hanging over her left shoulder and pooling around her knees. Jinu let out an exasperated sigh as his most recent attempt to summon something from the Honmoon crumbled under his fingers.

“Gah! So close!” he groaned as he watched the strings of the Honmoon fall back to the floor and join their brethren. Out of all of them Jinu had been the closest to actually summoning a blade so far, Rumi had almost cried in joy when a handle materialised in his hand before it collapsed almost as quickly. Mystery and Baby were having some manner of luck with Zoey’s guidance where they were sat in the corner, but Abby and Romance were having little to no luck with Mira.

“What are you trying to summon exactly? What’re you thinking of?” Rumi leaned forward to place her hand on top of Jinu’s, giving it a gentle squeeze of encouragement. “I don’t really know”. Jinu answered, looking up from the Honmoon swirling around him. “I’m the leader of the Saja Boys so I figured that I’d have something like what you have… a sword… but every time I picture it in my mind it just crumbles away, like the Honmoon doesn’t want me to have it”.

“No wonder it isn’t working for you then, because that’s exactly what’s happening”. Rumi’s words were warm but Jinu recognised the hint of tease in her tone as he met her eye. “You don’t get to choose what weapon you get from the Honmoon; it chooses it for you”. Jinu had a confused look on his face and Rumi couldn’t help herself as she leaned forward and planted a quick kiss to his lips. “But how am I meant to best protect everyone… my brothers… you… if I can’t control what type of weapon I’m getting?” he asked, kinda downtrodden. Rumi’s cheeks flushed bright pink when she heard ‘you’ but she pushed the warmth down for now.

“Because it isn’t about what’s best for the team in this scenario. The Honmoon searches your soul, it can see everything that you have been and everything that you can be. It studies you… and it chooses a weapon that best fits who you are”. She gave him another kiss, longer this time and the same pink colour flooded over Jinu’s face. “Once the Honmoon chooses your weapon, we as a team work around it and figure out how best to work together from there”.

Rumi leaned back and summoned her Saingoem to her side before bringing it around and resting it across her knees. “The Honmoon gave me a sword because it saw me as someone who can lead, someone who isn’t afraid to take command and be the first into the fight”. She nodded over at the other girls. “Mira got a Gok-do because its loud, blunt, no bullshit and in your face, just like she is, her weapon matches her aggression and power, and Zoey got Shin-kals because she’s got a fast tongue and faster speed, something big and bulky like my sword or Mira’s staff would only slow her down. So she got something that compliments her style,”.

Rumi looked back at Jinu, her smile flooded with warmth and love for the dork sat before her. “That’s what the Honmoon is trying to do for you. It’s trying to find the weapon that best suits you, not the weapon that you think you want, and the longer you fight it by trying to get something specific, the longer it’s going to take for you to summon a blade”.

Jinu let out another long breath. “So what do I do then?”. Her smile got warmer as she leaned forward, only a few inches from Jinu as she cups her hands over his cheeks, squishing them gently. “You do nothing, you relax and let the Honmoon bring your weapon to you”. Rumi shuffled around so she was sat next to Jinu and playfully poked him in the leg. “Ow!” he pouted, rubbing his leg in mock pain. “What do you mean ow? You great big baby! Oi… NO! Jinu! Stop it!” Rumi started laughing as Jinu got his revenge for the poke, sneaking his fingers under Rumi’s arm and tickling her mercilessly. Everyone else turning to watch the display as Rumi tried desperately to wriggle away from Jinu but to no avail.

The pair only stopped when a half empty water bottle bounced off Jinu’s head. “Oi! Can you two clowns focus before I come over there and knock your heads together!?” Mira scowled at the two as they laid tangled together on the floor, laughing like pre-schoolers. The duo sat up still giggling to each other but flashed Mira apologetic looks before regaining focus.

“Ok, copy what I do”. Rumi crossed her legs and held a hand out in front of her, palm down, as if she was meditating and Jinu copied. “Clear your mind. Feel the Honmoon around you, feel its flow, feel its pull. Let it wash over you like your underwater”. Jinu followed her instruction, pushing all thoughts out of his head until it was only her voice guiding him, the feel of the Honmoon both beneath and around him and the flood of emotion he felt as the Honmoon searched his very essence.

It was a very peculiar feeling, not something he could describe with any degree of certainty or accuracy. It felt simultaneously razor sharp and incredibly soft as the strings of the Honmoon wove around him and through him like some ethereal cocoon. He allowed his mind to go blank, focusing only on the swirling lights around him. As he ran his fingers over the strings in his close proximity he couldn’t help but notice the warmth, like he was in a hot bath or wrapped in a thick blanket, but at the same time they felt icy cold. Like a biting wind during winter… like the many nights he’d spend freezing under a staircase 400 years ago. He shivered at the memory.

But then, as he sat watching the Honmoon swirl around him with his mind’s eye, something before him started to take shape. A thin, narrow curved handle, carved from some kind of blackened wood and Jinu could feel the excitement rising in his chest before he forced it down and refocused on the curved handle that had appeared before him.

Jinu opened his hand and turned it so his palm was now face up but he didn’t reach for it. He let the handle come to him, watching as the strings of Honmoon energy flowed around it, solidifying into something he didn’t quite recognise. The closer the handle got to his hand the more his skin seemed to tingle and he could feel heat flow through his patterns too, they glowed under his shirt, bright enough to be seen through the fabric and he heard Rumi gasp at the sight.

The moment the weapon touched his skin he couldn’t contain the sharp intake of breath that closer resembled a hiss, a brief flash of light temporarily blinding him (What was with him being blinded with light today?). When he finally opened his eyes the first thing he saw was Rumi, crouched in front of him with a smile so wide it looked physically painful. Then he looked down at his right hand and he saw that the Honmoon had chosen his weapon.

It was a type of weapon he’d never seen before. A thick sharp blade extended from the curved handle just like any other typical sword, but one third of the way up the weapon the blade curved, first forward and then back on itself in a long wide arch. The tip a deadly point that glinted in the light. “A Khopesh!” He looked up at Rumi as she spoke, her smile had somehow gotten wider.

His weapon, a ‘Khopesh’ (He’d never heard of such a weapon before) glinted with Honmoon energy, pulsing with colour as he held it out in front of him in one hand, testing its weight – not that it had any weight being made of spiritual light – however it didn’t glow with the same colour palate as Rumi’s Saingoem. While Rumi’s and the girls blades glowed a beautiful blue and white, his blade glowed a mesmerising combo of orange and purple. He stared at the weapon in dumbstruck awe, as did Rumi.

But before Jinu could admire the weapon properly though, his other hand began to tingle just like it had when he first summoned the blade.  A moment of pure clarity flooded behind his eyes and he flicked his other wrist the same as Rumi had done earlier and a second Khopesh materialised in his offhand. Now Jinu’s smile rivalled Rumi’s as he let out a whoop of excitement, giving the blades an experimental twirl in his hands. “Dual Khopesh’s! Jinu! That’s incredible!”. Jinu couldn’t keep the grin off his face, it was incredible.

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18:38pm

Abby and Romance were distracted by a loud whooping from across the room, both of their gazes shifting to look at Rumi and Jinu, the latter having a pair of curved blades in his hands and a ridiculously wide smile on his face. “Fucking hell! He actually did it!” Abby looked on with a mix of admiration and jealousy, he was happy for his Daejang that he’d managed to summon his blades, but Abby’s joy was tempered by his frustration at his own lack of progress.

It didn’t really help that Mira had spent most of the time mocking him and Romance for their lack of progress instead of actually teaching them. She was stood over them with her arms crossed like a parent scolding a child, and it wasn’t really helping either of the Saja Boy’s moods. “Bloody hell you two are hopeless at this” Mira grumbled, it was clear she didn’t really want to be here and in truth she didn’t. The thought of the boys being able to summon blades from the Honmoon was scaring her more than she’d care to admit.

“Well you’re not exactly making it easy for us to learn are you?” Romance snapped at her from his seated position, the Honmoon pulsing slightly under his backside. “Yeh, I know you don’t really like us still, but we’re doing our best here and all you’re doing is ridiculing us”. Abby was in no better mood than his brother in arms. He’d struggled the most out of all of them to get the Honmoon to react to him, barely being able to get the glowing threads off the floor.

Mira’s posture cracked slightly at their words. It was true they had been trying; she hadn’t heard a single stupid remark out of either of them since they started, no flirtatious remarks from Romance or dumb jokes from Abby. They were trying but she still couldn’t bring herself to lower her walls to them. She’d seen too much to trust easily, even if the Honmoon thought they were worthy, that didn’t mean she had to think the same.

Romance spoke up again, the bite of spite in his tone now absent but his eyes stayed locked on the floor. “Look, like Abby said, we know you don’t trust us still… we get it… we do… but we are actually trying to learn here. We’re trying to change and be better and your locking us out, not giving us a chance. That was all we asked for when you all took us in… remember?… a fair chance”.

Another crack in her wall as Romance spoke the words she didn’t want to admit to herself. She was being unnecessarily cold towards them; she knew it and she had no real idea why. Setting them both up for failure wasn’t something she’d even realised she was doing until that moment. Mira blinked rapidly before she forced herself to crouch down to their level. “Your right… I’m… I’m sorry”. Both Saja’s locked eyes with her, they never expected to hear those words from her. “Listen, I’m far from the best teacher when it comes to this kind of thing, especially towards people who I have reservations about”.

She pointed a long finger at both of them. “The other girls are better at this kind of thing than I am… because… because I was the last one out of us three to be able to summon my blade”. Abby and Romance remained stock still and silent. They dared not interrupt a very rare glimpse into the enigma that was Mira. The pink haired hunter continued. “I was envious that they found it so easy to summon their blades, just like you two did just now when Jinu managed to summon his”. Mira jerked a thumb over to the Saja Boys leader who was now running through some basic combat drills with Rumi.

“So… I’m sorry. You are trying and me being cold isn’t helping the issue”. Mira sat down in front of the boys. “So let’s do this properly… yeah?” Both boys nodded, a resounding ‘yes’ said at the same time. “Like I said I’m not much good at this whole teaching business so this is a learning experience for all of us”. The boys nodded and repositioned themselves. Abby remained sat down with his legs crossed under him, but Romance decided to sit back on his knees instead. Together under Mira’s tutelage the Saja’s relaxed and allowed the Honmoon to come to them.

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18:42pm

Patience had never been one of Abby’s strong suits. His past was evidence enough of that. So to sit here with little to nothing to show for his efforts was pissing him off. He’d tried multiple times to almost grab the Honmoon and it had rebuffed him every time, so this time he forced his impatience down deep and released a long shaky breath before closing his eyes and following Mira’s instructions.

He allowed the Honmoon to roll over him like the tide, thousands of individual strands flowing around him, none allowing him to touch but he pushed himself to be patient. Then after a few minutes a single strand separated from its brethren and wrapped itself gently around Abby’s wrist. Just like Jinu, Abby let out a sharp breath as the thread touched his skin but he didn’t dare pull away. He forced himself to stay still as the strand wove itself into something new, something solid, something… long.

Under Mira’s instruction Abby held his hands out before him, palms up as a long pole-arm looking weapon began to take form in his head. Abby didn’t reach… he didn’t grab… he waited until the long handle settled into his hands. A blinding light burst behind his eyes as Abby gasped at the sensation he held in his hands. It felt solid… it was solid…

He opened his eyes to see that the Honmoon had chosen his weapon… and it was massive. It was a staff weapon of sorts, longer than a Bo Staff, longer even than Mira’s Gok-do, but the shaft was thicker, and either end had a vicious looking attachment on it. Abby stood up to marvel at his weapon without clattering the others in the face with it.

The head end was topped with a brutal looking Morningstar, the bulbous head covered in short sharp spikes that glinted in the overhead lights. The foot end curved into a hook that could easily be used to trip an unsuspecting enemy. Just like Jinu’s Khopesh’s, Abby’s Morningstar glinted orange and purple as he hefted it in his grip. “Hahah! I fucking did it!”. The elation was clear in his voice as the others all looked over. A wall of congratulations and claps from the group as Abby gave the massive weapon a few experimental swings, being careful to take a few steps away from Mira and Romance before he did, marvelling at its lack of weight.

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18:45pm

Mira watched as Abby was beckoned over by Rumi so she could inspect his creation. She had to admit it felt good, being the driving force behind him being able to summon his weapon. The worry she’d harboured about the Saja Boys learning how to wield the Honmoon dissipating as she watched Abby’s face light up, he looked like a child who’d got exactly what he wanted at Christmas and Mira would be lying if she said it didn’t feel good.

Her attention was pulled away from Abby and back to Romance who was still sat back on his knees as he focused on the Honmoon flowing around his body. His face was set in concentration as he held his hands out before him, his breathing long and careful, every breath identical to the one before and after, his chest rising and falling in sync with the pulsing waves of Honmoon energy surrounding him.

Then Romance started to hum a tune she didn’t recognise, it sounded old… like really old, probably from when he was alive. Whatever he was humming though, it seemed to have a strong effect on the Honmoon around him. The strands of ethereal energy thrumming and pulsing with renewed speed and Mira could physically see his weapon taking form around his body as the Honmoon wove itself into a solid form. It was long and flexible, far too long to be any normal weapon and Mira wracked her brain trying to figure out what it was.

Romance however was completely unaware of Mira’s dilemma. The tune he was humming was a song that his mother had sung to him before he’d been sold by his uncle into the slave trade, it was the only happy memory he had of his childhood before the abuse started and he hoped… no he prayed… that her song would help guide him through this latest trial. He watched through his mind’s eye as the Honmoon reacted around him. The impossibly thin strings weaving into a long rope like object around his body before looping back on itself several times, until one end finally settled into his open hand.

Romance hissed against the contact of the Honmoon as his eyes flew open, immediately focusing on Mira who stood dumbfounded before him. He looked down to see his weapon clasped firmly between both hands, the long rope he’d seen in his head now revealed to be just that, a rope made of pure orange and purple energy. The end clasped in his right hand was tied to a vicious looking knife similar to one of Zoey’s Shin-kals. “A Rope Dart? Very nice!”. He looked up to see Mira’s expression had softened into something that looked akin to proud and he couldn’t help but respond with a similar expression. “Not gonna lie, was kinda hoping for a Glock”.

Mira just rolled her eyes at him, but the hint of a smile remained. “Please tell me you haven’t been watching the same YouTube videos that Zoey has?” Romance couldn’t stop the tint of red that marred his face in embarrassment. “Maybe just a little bit”. Mira just shook her head but that hint of a smile gave away her amusement.

Together the pair of them wandered over to join Rumi, Jinu and Abby. Romance couldn’t help but twirl the knife end of his Rope Dart around and laughed at the waves of Honmoon energy that came off the blade as it moved through the air.

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18:49pm

Three down, two to go. Zoey watched as both Romance and Mira joined Rumi, Jinu and Abby before directing her attention back to Mystery and Baby who were sat on their knees in front of her. So far they’d both managed to summon handles for their weapons but they hadn’t gotten any further than that. Mystery seemed unbothered and unperturbed by his progress and Zoey suspected he was holding back, but it was clear Baby was close to losing his rag with it despite being the one who had the most enthusiasm when they started.

“Baby you need to relax, you’re not going to get anywhere if you keep getting angry”. Baby growled to himself as his newest effort came up empty. “I don’t understand why I can’t do it! If the Honmoon sees us as worthy then shouldn’t this be easy?” He cast a glance over to Mystery who sat silently on his haunches, his palms face down on his thighs as he breathed, the Honmoon rippling around him like water, he seemed completely absorbed in his meditative trance.

“No Baby, it isn’t easy… it’s not meant to be easy. If it was easy then everybody would be a Hunter”. Zoey leaned over to grab hold of Baby’s hands which had started shaking. “This isn’t a process you can rush Baby, the Honmoon will come to you, but you need to let it do so at its own pace. The more you push, the longer it’s going to take”.

Baby managed to stop his hands from shaking after a few shaky breaths. “I was always the last, the last to be spoken too, the last of my lineage… I was always last… forgotten. I don’t want to be last here. I don’t want to be left behind… again”. Zoey’s eyes widened; she wasn’t expecting a glimpse behind the curtain of Baby’s life as he continued to speak through a shaky voice. “You said the Honmoon chooses for me… I get that, but why is it taking so long for it to decide?”. His head was bowed and tears gathered, threatening to soak into his sweater.

Zoey was hung up on what Baby had said. ‘Forgotten?’ ‘Left behind again?’ what did that mean? But she snapped her attention back to the Saja Boy, filing away his momentary slip for later. “Baby you’re the oldest one here. The Honmoon has a lot to look through, metaphorically speaking. It studies your entire past… and you have a lot of past to work through”. He stiffened at that so Zoey kept going in an attempt to stop him from shutting down. “The Honmoon doesn’t judge, at least not in the way you think it will. It’s already decided your worthy of it. Now it’s just deciding how it will let you use it”.

Baby let out another shaky breath, he could see the logic in Zoey’s words but it didn’t make it any easier for him to accept them. This was probably only the second time in his 900+ years he could remember that he’d been ‘chosen’ for something that could actually benefit him, other than Jinu choosing him to join the Saja Boys.

Back during his actual life he was the unseen wastrel, the one left behind by his family, the one who was cast aside and forgotten due to the nature of his birth - he was a bastard child, a child born out of wedlock - and during his time that was the biggest sin of all. Even his own mother shunned his existence, choosing to pass him off to the staff of her household to be raised out of sight and out of mind. The cook’s and maids had been more of a mother to him than his own flesh and blood, and his siblings had used him as the proverbial and literal punching bag.

This was different though, here he had been chosen… chosen to fulfil a purpose he couldn’t quite understand… but chosen none the less, and now the thing that had chosen him couldn’t figure out what to do with him? It made his blood boil in his veins. If it had a purpose for him, then it should know what to do… shouldn’t it?

Zoey’s voice filtered through the raging storm in his head, banishing those dark clouds back to the shadows with the same ease that dawn banishes the night. Her hands still clasped over his. “Baby, no one is leaving you behind. Even if you’re the last to summon your blade, none of us are abandoning you… not now… not ever. We are here for you, no matter what happens or however long it takes”. She brought a hand up to wipe the single tear that had fallen from his eye. “We’re you’re friends, your family, your brothers in arms and your slightly grumpy sisters in arms too”. That caused him to laugh quietly as he finally brought his head back up to look Zoey in the eye.

“I wish I had you’re optimism Zoey, I really do, it would have made my life so much more bearable”. Zoey shuffled closer to him until their knees were almost touching. “You don’t need my optimism Baby, you just need to believe in yourself, believe that your worthy… trust in the process and you will succeed, and we’ll all be right here when you do”.

*Huff* “Ok… let me try this again”. Zoey shuffled back to give him room as Baby closed his eyes and ran through the list of things she had told him. Deep breaths… check. Calm posture… check. Clear mind… meh, working on it… but check. He allowed himself to feel, not emotion or feelings… but the Honmoon around him. It flowed around and over him like he was submerged beneath it. When he couldn’t calm his own mind, the Honmoon did it for him. Filtering out all thoughts and distractions until it was just him and the endless expanse of iridescent light surrounding him.

He took another deep breath and extended his hand and he could feel the Honmoon react, his mind’s eye watching as strands wove together to create solid form from nothing and everything at the same time. A curved wooden handle wrapped in something resembling leather strips appeared before him and Baby calmly waited for it to come to him. A flash of light, a baring of teeth and Baby opened his eyes. The first thing he sees is Zoey jumping around in excitement clapping her hands and she’s squealing in delight. He looked down to see that his efforts hadn’t been in vain after all.

“Yah! A Bow!”. Baby launched to his feet in excitement that rivalled if not surpassed Zoey’s own. The Bow (which resembled a Mongolian Horse Bow) felt light and smooth in his hands and as Baby drew the luminous string back an arrow of brilliant purple and orange appeared against the knock. Baby couldn’t contain the laugh that escaped his throat as he turned to the nearest hay stuffed demon dummy and let loose. The arrow thudding deep into the unfortunate target and knocking it over before the arrow disintegrated back into the Honmoon.

Zoey wrapped the Saja rapper in a tight hug and he laughed until tears flowed down his cheeks, but these were tears of success. He’d done it! Most everyone throughout his life had passed him off as someone to ignore, something beneath their notice, a mistake. Well now look at him! ‘Suck it fuckers!’ he thought to himself. Applause filtered through his thoughts and he turned to see Jinu, Rumi, Mira, Romance and Abby all smiling and laughing, clapping and congratulating. For the first time in centuries, Baby could honestly say he was happy… “Thank you Zoey. Thank you for believing in me”. He gave her a warm smile before Rumi called him over to join them.

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18:52pm

Four down, one more to go. Mystery remained in his trance like state. He’d been aware of Baby’s success but had refrained from joining in the congratulations for now. He’d celebrate with his brothers soon but right now he was entirely focused on his own thoughts. Meditation was something Mystery was intimately familiar with; it was something he’d indulged in during his human life as well as his 600+ years as a demon. He found that it had helped keep some of Gwi-Ma’s lies from poisoning his mind during those seemingly endless years in the demon realm.

In all honesty, he’d been holding back. The Honmoon had been waiting patiently for him for a while now but Mystery had chosen to stay still. He knew little about Baby’s past but he knew that he hated being last, hated the idea of being left behind… so Mystery had deliberately waited for him to succeed before he did. The Honmoon seemed to know this as it too was waiting patiently.

Now that Baby had succeeded, Mystery decided he was done waiting. Calmly and carefully he lifted his hand, palm up and waited. Something whispering in his mind told him to raise his other hand too and he followed the order. Through the swirling lights around him he could see and feel two weapons weaving themselves into being before him, their true shape obscured after the hilts. Another blinding light as the hilts settled into his hands, his slender fingers closing around them and another baring of teeth unable to disguise the hiss of discomfort.

Mystery opened his eyes slowly, the bright lights of the training room replacing the near ethereal lights of the Honmoon. Zoey sat in front of him, eyes wide and smile wider as she vibrated with energy and joy. Mystery looked down to see the results of his efforts. “Ulaks!” Zoey nodded so fast Mystery thought she might give herself a headache. “Dual Ulaks Mystery… awesome!”

Together the pair rose to their feet and Mystery studied the – quite frankly – beautiful blades that curved out from their hilts and back over his arms until they finished in a sharp point near his elbows. The orange and purple colour flowed against each other like dance partners and the white edge glinted against the lights.

Zoey pulled his attention up to meet her. “you were waiting for him to succeed first weren’t you?” she whispered, nodding her head towards Baby who was happily peppering another dummy full of arrows as the others watched. Mystery just nodded “I wasn’t going to let him be last”.

Zoey couldn’t help herself. She wrapped Mystery in a hug so tight he thought she was going to crack his ribs, something she clearly sensed because she released him and apologised profusely. “Sorry… Sorry I just got…” Zoey’s words were silenced as something happened that she’d only dreamed of until that moment…

Mystery kissed her. it was a small kiss, quick, but the phantom heat of his lips on hers caused her to completely short circuit. Her face turning cherry red and her arms flopped like limp noodles against her sides, her jaw hanging low. Mystery clearly enjoying the malfunction he’d caused as he offered a quick smile and shifted his hair ever so slightly to flash his green eye at her.

“Still just your type?”

“Fuck yeah!”

Together they wandered over to re-join the others.

-----

18:56

Now that all the Saja Boys had successfully summoned their blades for the first time, it was time for some basic lessons. The rest of the evening was spend with the girls teaching them how to use their blades without removing their own or anyone else’s vital body parts along with lessons on how to dispel them back to the Honmoon and summon them again, something they all mastered in record time.

• Jinu discovered that his Khopesh’s could join together at their hilts to create a very interesting looking double-bladed weapon. Rumi couldn’t stop herself from feeling aroused as he spun the blades around so expertly it was like he’d been using them for years.
• Abby somehow managed to shatter one of the reinforced concrete slabs on the floor with his Morningstar after a particularly brutal smash attack on a very unfortunate training dummy. His look of shock and the frantic apologising afterwards causing the girls to fall about laughing in a very unladylike fashion.
• Romance nearly gave Jinu a new piercing somewhere painful when he made a misstep with his Rope Dart, the Saja Boy front man literally diving for cover as his bandmates knife sang towards his nether region.
• Baby turned out to be a natural archer, nailing kill shot after kill shot on every dummy he aimed at. While his maniacal laughter had subsided, his cheerful giggling hadn’t as he strode around the room with purpose.
• Mystery turned out to be frightfully fast as he sliced and diced through his training with deadly precision. His Ulak blades singing through the air and through every dummy in his way. Just like Rumi, Zoey couldn’t help the feeling in her gut as she watched him dance effortlessly around the training room.

The girls lives had just gotten significantly more interesting as they watched the Saja Boys train, watching as they paired off against each other in some light combat drills.

Zoey leant her head on Rumi shoulders as she watched Mystery carve up a water demon dummy like it was a Halloween pumpkin. Mira stood on Rumi’s other side, deciding not to bother hiding her smile as she watched Abby and Romance talk shit as they tested each other, and Rumi watched fondly as Jinu slaughtered a group of unsuspecting cardboard cut-outs with a somewhat feral grin on his face.

Maybe having some new Hunters around wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Fucking Hell! His muscles were sore! Jinu awoke slowly, blinking away the sleep that crowded his eyelids. The morning sunlight was blinking through the slats in the blinds of his room and he let loose a yawn that threatened to dislocate his jaw if he opened his mouth any wider.

Blinking away the sleep, his vision settled on his favourite sight in the world. Rumi… She was sprawled out on his chest, one arm under her face as she slept and the other reaching up to interweave her fingers through his hair. Her legs were tangled up with his and her head rested gently on his bare chest. Her breath tickling the few hairs across his pecs.

Something Jinu had noticed over the last few weeks of him and Rumi sharing a bed every night was that his night terrors had become fewer and further between. He still had the occasional one but they were no where near as bad as they used to be. When he did have one, Rumi was right there to comfort him and lull him back to sleep with her calming voice and gentle hands, with her by his side he was finally able to sleep soundly.

After last night’s training session had dragged on until nearly midnight, everyone had ended up going to bed absolutely exhausted. Jinu had had to carry Rumi because she had fallen asleep on him in the elevator ride back up to the penthouse but not before demanding Jinu take her with him to his room. And who was Jinu to deny Rumi anything she asked?

He wasn’t going anywhere until she woke up so Jinu settled for a much-needed stretch and another frankly concerningly wide yawn before he reached a hand out and snared his phone from his bedside table. “Gah! Too damn bright!” he groaned as he poked the screen only to have to squint his eyes against the brightness on the screen. He quickly dragged his finger around and turned the brightness setting down just like Zoey had taught him before his eyes focused on his lock-screen.

The photo that greeted him made him smile warmly. It was a selfie he’d taken with Rumi at the COEX in front of the huge tank where he’d confessed his love to her, he was on the left smiling widely at the camera and flashing half a finger heart. Rumi was on the right winking at the camera, poking her tongue out a little and finishing the other half of the heart with one hand, her other one making a ‘peace’ sign.

Jinu had angled the camera just right so he could catch the tip of the pattern on her neck. Every part of her was beautiful, and Jinu had no intentions of letting either of them ever forget that, even if he had to remind her everyday for the rest of his life.

With Rumi still melted out on his chest like a butter pat, Jinu opened his messages and went over this week’s schedule that Bobby had sent him at some point yesterday afternoon, this week was relatively light compared to previous weeks which was a small mercy on its own.

Tuesday morning – Radio interview with Mira and Mystery. Thursday Morning – Saja Boys Fan Sign event at 11:30 in the square. Friday Evening – Huntrix and Saja Boys variety show performance. Jinu rolled his eyes at that last one. Another appearance on ‘Play Games With Us’, he could still taste that hot sauce from last time… urgh… gross. How Baby managed to neck the whole bottle was beyond his comprehension.

Then his eyes settled on his agenda for Saturday. Not something about a radio show or a fan sign event, but something highlighted in blue. ‘Date Night’. With both Huntrix and the Saja Boys winding up their schedules in preparation for their respective comebacks, he’d not been able to take Rumi out on another date since their trip to the aquarium.

They’d got some time alone together sure, mainly shopping trips and the like but with how busy they’d both been recently – something that was likely to continue now that the boys were doing Hunter training on top of their already packed schedules – they hadn’t really had a moment to themselves… for themselves in weeks. Well that was going to change on Saturday.

Jinu had practically begged Bobby for the day off so he could treat his girlfriend properly, he’d have even been willing to beg on his knees if he had too but luckily Bobby was as kind-hearted and understanding as he was relentless with them. All Jinu had told Rumi was to clear her calendar for the day and his amusement at her increasingly wild guesses had kept him entertained for days.

Speaking of his amazing girl… Rumi shuffled and offered a yawn that rivalled Jinu’s. Her eyes fluttering open to look straight into his. “Morning Oppa” she whispered through a smile, leaning up to kiss him softly. “Morning Gongjunim”. His voice was deep and gruff with morning warmth and he instantly clocked the rose tint that flooded her cheeks and ears, Jinu just chuckled deep in his chest and returned her kiss with one of his own, deepening her blush to an almost comical degree.

“We should probably get up; you know how pissed Mira will get if we miss breakfast”. Rumi smirked at that, Monday morning was Mira’s turn to cook breakfast and she had a habit of going full Michelin chef behind the stove. They both remembered the time two weeks ago when Romance had missed breakfast and Mira had literally dragged him out of his room by the ankles. Fucking hilarious if you asked Jinu. Highly embarrassing if you asked Romance.

That being said, Rumi didn’t want to move. Jinu was comfortable and warm… and he smelled good… dangerously good. Even without having a shower yet she inhaled his scent like it was her favourite perfume. Amber, Oak and Smoke, it infatuated her nostrils like a lullaby. “Five more minutes” she mumbled into his lips before she snuggled back into him. Jinu wasn’t about to argue, he planted a kiss to her forehead and wrapped his arms over her, pulling her closer if that was even possible and just listened to her breathe. “Yeah, five more minutes”.

Five minutes turned into ten… into fifteen… and into twenty… and finally into thirty. Neither of them arguing when the other suggested another ‘five’ minutes. It took Mira bursting through the door and threatening them both with a fire-hose and a spatula inserted somewhere painful to get the pair out of bed. Rumi waiting for Jinu to have a shower and do his morning routine before she did hers. Once they were both presentable and Rumi had stolen Jinu’s hoodie again did they wander out of his room towards the lounge wrapped in each other’s arms.

The tension in the room from yesterday had dissolved entirely as Rumi and Jinu pulled up chairs at the kitchen island, looking around at their shared groups. Baby and Zoey were sat on the couch, Zoey still in her turtle pyjamas and slippers, Baby in his usual oversized sweater and beanie. They were chattering aimlessly about this and that and Baby seemed in particularly high spirits, more so than he had been in weeks.

Mira was stood at the stove, juggling cooking bacon and eggs with willingly talking to both Abby and Romance about extra Hunter training sessions. Something the pink haired duo were enthusiastically agreeing too like it was the only sane thing they’d heard all week. Abby was midway through eating an orange and Romance’s eyes were devoted to watching Mira in her Polar Bear apron like she was a piece of fine art, which according to him she most definitely was.

And Mystery… When she saw him, Rumi leaned over and nudged Jinu, smiling and pointing a sly finger at the ashen haired Saja who was commando crawling across the floor towards Zoey who was completely oblivious to the approaching ambush. “Oh this is gonna be good” Jinu whispered and poked Abby gently in the arm to get his attention and nodding at the scene playing out near the couch. “Oh yeah this is gonna be good”. Romance agreed, leaning forward to get a better view, even Mira temporarily paused her cooking to watch, but she still kept an eye on the bacon so as not to burn it.

Mystery slowly crept up behind the couch until he was right behind Zoey, slowly rising up until he was inches from her ear, Baby doing a masterful job of pretending nothing was happening behind Zoey, and then…

“Bark! Bark! Bark!”

Zoey shot into the air like a startled cat as Mystery pulled off his prank. She screamed so loud it could’ve rivalled some of Rumi’s high notes and everyone burst out laughing as Mystery bolted for safety, his socked feet slipping slightly on the marble floor. “Mystery you’re DEAD! Dead I tell you!”. Zoey immediately started chasing Mystery down, wielding a slipper above her head like a weapon as she chased after him.

Jinu had tears rolling down his face as he nearly fell backwards off his stool laughing. Rumi had buried her face in his side, stifling her own snorting laughter. “GO ON MYSTERY!” Abby shouted, punching the air as the ashen Saja ran through the kitchen with Zoey in hot pursuit, slipper raised but her mad grin told everyone she wasn’t going to actually hit him… not too much anyway. The chase ended when Zoey cut Mystery off as he hurdled the couch and crashed into her, sending them both to the floor in a tangle of limbs. A single whack on his arm with her slipper was Mystery’s punishment for his shenanigans, a rare wide smile on his face.

With that entertainment out of the way it was finally time for breakfast. Jinu and Rumi sat next to each other feeding each other strawberries and stealing bites of the others breakfast without a care in the world. Zoey, Mystery and Baby joined the rest of the group and started divvying up bacon and eggs to each other. Mira willingly sat on the stool between her two ‘favourite idiots’ as they teased each other and started tucking into a thick strip of bacon, just how she liked it.

Derpy laid on his oversized bed by the couch snoring louder than a car engine and Sussie was sat on the curtain rail above the balcony door preening her feathers. Talk went from each groups new songs, to yesterday’s training session to this week’s schedules and everything in between. The domesticity of the scene could’ve brought tears to the eyes. Until – as the youth of the day would say – shit went monumentally off the rails…

Jinu was in the process of stealing another piece of Rumi’s bacon while distracting her with another strawberry - an act she was pretending not to notice while stealing a forkful of his scrambled eggs in return – when the distinct sound of the elevator arriving caught all their attentions, but they paid it little mind figuring it was Bobby paying them a visit…

It most definitely was not Bobby, not unless he had suddenly started wearing heels, not that anyone would have judged him if he did, Bobby did have a tendency to do random things when the mood took him.

Rumi’s eyes shot wide as someone who she had no desire to see or speak with walked into her home entirely unannounced and uninvited.

There in the doorway, with a look that could only be called apoplectic fury… stood… Celine.

-----

Conversation died in everyone’s mouths. Rumi, Mira and Zoey shot to their feet; eyes locked on the woman who had trained them. The boys who were scattered around the kitchen slowly turning to gaze at the woman in the doorway. They could feel the air in the room shift, and not in a good way. Anger and malice dripped off Celine like sweat, her eyes darting furiously around at the five former demons and over the Hunters before locking onto Rumi.

Rumi knew that look all too well. Disappointment, Anger, Pain, Betrayal, Shame, Disgust. It all hit her at once. Every nerve in her body telling her to run, to hide, to vanish as Celine’s eyes bore into her. “So it’s true! Your actually cavorting with demons!” Celine spat the final word out like it was poison in her mouth, her fists clenched at her sides like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “I had hoped it wasn’t the case, but I see my hopes were misplaced… you’ve disappointed me girls, all of you. But especially you Rumi. Have you forgotten everything I’ve ever taught you?”

Rumi shrunk further into herself, clutching at her hoodie (Jinu’s) as if she was hoping to hide herself away from her mentor, to hide away from her words, her judgement and her stare. No one dared to speak… until someone did. “Former demons thank you very fucking much!” All eyes turned to Baby who was glaring at Celine with the same level of malice as her, he wielded his lollipop like a weapon as he pointed it at her.

“Excuse me?” Celine glared at Baby with a look that said ‘If you utter another word I’ll skin you alive’. Baby glared back a ‘Try it bitch! See what happens!’ before speaking again. “We’re not demons anymore, the girls helped us break our chains. Now we get to live free again as people”.

Celine just scoffed before turning her attentions back to Rumi who was now almost entirely hidden behind Jinu. “Rumi! What the hell have you done? You’ve allowed demons into your sanctuary, you’re home. Is this how you repay me for raising you and teaching you how to be a Hunter?” Rumi refused to meet her eyes. “And you two!” Celine’s glare settled on Zoey and Mira. “Have you two fallen for their lies too? These demons are nothing but manipulative monsters; they’re only doing this to get you closer to Gwi-Ma! Have you forgotten EVERYTHING I’ve ever taught you as well!?”. Celine was almost screaming now, gesticulating wildly with her hands around the room.

‘Demons are nothing but manipulative monsters’ Does she include me in that list? Rumi thought to herself.

“Don’t you fucking dare associate us with that bastard!” Romance shot to his feet, knocking his chair over with the force of his movement. His own eyes flaring with anger at this unwelcome intrusion to his morning. His usually velvety smooth voice replaced with something much more dark and primal. “That fucker has no power over us anymore! We turned our backs on him because Huntrix showed us a better way, showed us a way out! You don’t get to lump us into the same category as him!”. Celine stared daggers at Romance but he didn’t back down, he held her gaze and returned it with interest, his knuckles turning white where they gripped the edge of the counter.

Mira watched him in fascination, she’d never thought the smooth talking, perpetually flirting Romance of all people would lose his cool and snap at someone. She kinda liked it, made her look at him in a different light, maybe she hadn’t given the guy enough credit. Abby rose to his feet and glared at Celine; his own eyes full of anger. “You don’t get to barge into our home and insult us like this! Who the hell do you think you are!?”.

“You’re home?!” Celine spat; she took a few steps into the penthouse. “So they’re living here too!?”. She was in disbelief at what she was hearing.

Zoey spoke up, she’d always been the quietest when it came to dealing with Celine, the woman frightened her something terrible but to see her verbally harassing her friends wasn’t something she was going to take sitting down. “So what if they are? Why do you care?! Or are you so caught up in your own ideals that you can’t see any other way?” Zoey stepped out from around the kitchen island and planted herself in front of Celine before she could get any closer to the group. “Are you so far up your own arse you refuse to believe there could be another way other than killing them?”.

“Zoey! Get out of my way, can’t you see they’re manipulating you?!” Celine growled at her, but her eyes weren’t on the Huntrix Maknae, they were locked onto Rumi and by extension Jinu who was using himself as a human shield, bodyguarding Rumi from her mentor. “Not gonna happen! You don’t get to barge into our home and insult us like this”. Zoey stood firm, forcing her voice not to crack even though her hands were shaking. Mystery stood up from his stool, watching the confrontation through his veil of hair, teeth bared slightly as he eyed Celine.

“Manipulative Monsters!?” Mira spat the words out like they had a bad taste, echoing the words Celine used minutes ago. “Sure they can be annoying arseholes sometimes but they certainly aren’t monsters and they’re certainly not manipulating us!” She strode out from behind the counter and pointed a spatula at Celine. “We’re having breakfast together. Something that normal people do on a daily basis!”. She pointed a finger at Rumi and Jinu. “Those two were literally feeding each other strawberries before you stormed in uninvited!”.

“But why!? They’re Demons! Demons Mira! Why can’t you see the trap they’ve set for you?!”.

“Because it’s not a fucking trap!” Jinu snarled at Celine, clutching Rumi’s hand in his as he shielded his girlfriend from what he saw as a clearly unstable woman. The contact was something the older Hunter immediately noticed. “Rumi!? Please tell me that isn’t what it looks like?” Celine had an almost pleading tone to her voice as she watched her surrogate daughter cling to this… this demon like a lifeline.

Something sparked in Rumi’s chest. Anger? Defiance? Acceptance? Something that was tired of hiding? She didn’t quite know but it burned hot and fast in her chest. It didn’t just add kindling to the spark inside her, it poured a gallon of gasoline on it. Rumi finally met her mentors eyes. “Yes Celine! It’s exactly what it looks like!” Rumi’s eyes blazed. “All my life you’ve done nothing but tell me to cover up! To hide who I truly am! Treat me like a mistake! A  burden! A shame you couldn’t bury!”

She brought the hand that was clasped in Jinu’s up for everyone to see. “Jinu was the first person to see me as who I really am. The first person to see my shame and not run away. He taught me that my patterns are both my darkness and my harmony, that I am not a mistake, that every part of me is beautiful! A lesson that you should have taught me from the start!”.

Tears flowed down her face as she let go of Jinu and walked around the island to finally confront Celine face to face, a mix of absolute certainty and terrified nerves flooded her body as she approached her mentor. “Rumi, cover them up! Rumi, they can’t know the truth!” She stopped next to Zoey who backed off a respectable distance.

“All my life you’ve told me my patterns were a mistake! Well guess what Celine! They aren’t! They’re a part of me! They are part of my heritage and my lineage and I refuse to be ashamed of them anymore!”. Rumi pulled her hoodie (Jinu’s) off with a flourish and threw it onto the couch, her iridescent patterns now on full display under her black crop top as she stared Celine down.

A collective gasp as everyone watched Rumi’s patterns shimmer, even in her heightened emotional state they pulsed a beautiful combo of green, blue and silver. They were enchanting to watch, but not everyone thought so. Celine staggered backwards as if she’d been physically shoved, averting her eyes as if Rumi was some monstrous leper not to be looked at. “Look at me Celine! LOOK at me!”. Rumi roared, the Honmoon rippled pink with the power of her words, the hanging lights shaking in their fixtures. Celine refused to raise her eyes, looking at the floor in fear, hands half raised in surrender.

“Why couldn’t you love me Celine?! WHY!?” “I do!” “ALL OF ME!”. Another ripple of pink Honmoon energy as Rumi screamed the words that had been held hostage in her heart for 28 long years, and everyone gasped as Rumi let her demon half out in all it’s devastating beauty.

Light green and blue patterns turned a miasmic magenta. One molten gold iris glared at her mentor through tears of pain and years of emotional suppression and torment. The slender fingers on one hand turning into long sharp claws that threatened to tear her jeans to shreds as they brushed against the material, and Rumi could taste blood in her mouth as her sharp fangs bit into her bottom lip without permission.

Near three decades of hurt, fear, shame and pain finally exploded in a mess of streaking tears and ruined makeup, the tsunami in a bottle finally shattering after far too long held in containment. “Why couldn’t you accept me for who I am? Why!?”.

“Rumi… Rumi you’re not like them… you’re… differ…” “NO! I’m exactly like them Celine! Don’t you dare try and justify yourself by saying I’m different!” Rumi snapped, shoving Celine hard in the chest, her anger boiling over at the older Hunter’s hypocrisy. Celine looked just as shocked at the move as everyone else as she staggered back. “You don’t get to say I’m not like them and then treat me like you would any other demon! You don’t even have the decency to look me in the eye… because these patterns disgust you!... I disgust you!”. Rumi couldn’t even speak coherently now, her words heaving out past ragged breaths.

Jinu moved quickly, walking quickly around the kitchen island and spun Rumi around and pulled her into a tight hug, pressing her into his chest as she heaved tears that had been held in for far too long and she wrapped her arms around his waist tighter than she ever had before. He ignored the pain in his side as Rumi dug her claws into him as she hugged him close, her tears soaking into his shirt. If looks could kill, then the look Jinu gave Celine in that moment would’ve given him an eternity in solitary confinement.

It was at that point that shit royally hit the fan.

Celine’s eyes darkened as she watched Rumi cling to Jinu. “Get you’re fucking hands off her you filthy demon!”. Celine’s sickle appeared in her hands… and she lunged, aiming to cleave Jinu’s head off his shoulders in one swing. With no time to get out of the way, Jinu instinctually rotated himself so his body was between Rumi and the descending blade, preparing to die for her all over again.

“NOOOOOOOO!!”

A flash of movement… a blur of clothing and pink hair… far too quick to be natural… and then…

CLANG!

Chapter Text

“NOOOOOOOO!!”

CLANG!

…

…

Abby was stood tall between Celine and Jinu… His Morningstar summoned to his hands, blocking the strike that would have sent his Daejang back to the afterlife for the second time. His patterns flared with the iridescent colour of the Honmoon, greens, blues and silver flashed up his arms and across his chest. His eyes burning with anger and hatred for this woman who had walked into their home - into his home – had insulted him and his brothers and tried to attack his friends. This was a charade he wasn’t about to tolerate any longer and he bared his teeth at the woman in front of him.

Everything went deadly silent... pin drop silent. Everyone caught their breath as Rumi pulled Jinu clear of Celine’s attack before they both spun around to witness what was happening with wide eyes. Mira’s jaw was left on the floor of the kitchen as she darted over to look over Rumi who was still clutching Jinu tightly. Her demon form still on full display.

Celine herself looked ghostly pale as she beheld the former demon in front of her. “WHAT!” it was the only word her brain could muster and it was uttered no louder than a whisper. This creature had a Honmoon blade? How?! How is that even possible? Abby used her shock and surprise to his full advantage. Sneaking the hook end of his Morningstar behind Celine’s leg he stepped forward and gave her a brutal shoulder check that sent her stumbling backwards. A low snarl rising in his throat as he bodily forced this threat away from his friends.

Jinu used that moment to leverage his own assault. Before Rumi could stop him, he’d darted around Abby’s right side and launched himself at Celine with a vicious double footed dropkick that sent her crashing backwards, tripping her over the beanbag and slamming head first into one of the full height balcony windows with a sickening crunch.

The window exploded into a million shards of glass as Celine crashed straight through it with the force of Jinu’s kick. She landed in a shower of broken glass on the cold stone tiles and slammed hard into the balcony wall, losing her grip on her sickle as it skittered away across the floor and disappeared under a large plant pot. Jinu regained his feet first. Eyes full of pure malice, he flicked his wrists to summon his Khopesh’s, slamming their hilts together to combine the two blades into one before spinning them around his body and levelling one end of his weapon at Celine who was staggering back to her own feet.

Celine was clutching the back of her head, hissing in pain. Her mind was swimming from the impact of going through the window and hitting the concrete balcony wall. When she pulled her fingers back around in front of her face, they were crimson with blood. Her surprise replaced with pure fury in an instant as she summoned her sickle back to her hand. ‘How dare these lowly creatures lay a hand on her?’.

But before she had a chance to go on the attack, a sharp jolt of pain exploded in her wrist as Jinu slammed the razor edge of his Khopesh into her sickle, snapping the blade clean off just above the hilt. The harsh ring of steel on stone met everyone’s ears as the truncated farming tool hit the ground.

Now wielding nothing but a handle with an inch of blade left on it, Celine looked up and what she saw made her blood run cold.

She watched as the other (former) demons rounded on her. The big fucker with the exposed chest was approaching her through the shattered window, carefully stepping around the myriad of glass shards covering the floor, the spiked head of his Morningstar trained on her own head. The one with black hair that she’d just tried to slice off of Rumi was right in front of her, his Khopesh pointed straight at her heart, his eyes seemed to say ‘make a move, I dare you!’.

Celine’s eyes shifted to the other pink haired one, the one who’d knocked a chair over shouting at her as he approached from the right balcony door. He’d summoned a Rope Dart which he effortlessly twirled around his slender frame before grabbing the knife and aiming it at her. his eyes flashed dangerously, growling at her as he approached, blocking off any escape from that side.

From the left side she witnessed the shaggy ashen haired one running around from the other balcony door. He launched himself over a waist high flower planter like a gymnast and dropped into a completely unnecessary but highly impressive combat roll before summoning a pair of Ulak blades as he landed, sliding to a stop in a low combat ready pose on one knee, the leading edge of one blade a mere inch from Celine’s throat. His teeth were bared at her in disgust and anger, a single blue eye staring at her through a curtain of hair. He would have looked intimidating, if not for the turtle themed socks on his feet.

Celine’s eyes settled on the final member of this strange group. The one with the blue hair wearing an oversized sweater and a yellow beanie. He was crouched down next to the one with the Rope Dart, a glowing bow in his hands, an arrow ready to bury itself in her chest if she even twitched wrong. She was caged in; they had effectively surrounded her. No way out… nowhere to go…

But as Celine was evaluating her options, trying to figure out which one was the weak link in this chain she heard a deep angry growling coming from her left side. Her eyes almost bugged right out of her skull as a huge bright blue tiger growled its way towards her from the same direction as the ashen haired one had. It made no effort to skirt around the high planter and instead knocked it clean over as it walked, spreading soil and delicate flowers everywhere. Its exposed claws clicked against the stone tiles, its many teeth bared in a feral snarl, ears flat against its skull, saliva dripping from its tongue and two massive orange eyes locked right onto her with clear hostile intent.

Celine actually shivered at the sight, it was as if the creature was staring into her very soul and it wasn’t at all impressed with what it saw. The tiger prowled around the cordon of demons hemming her in before standing next to the big fucker with the muscles. It’s hackles raised and its tail swished side to side as if it was preparing to pounce.

And as if that wasn’t enough, a loud angry squawk caused Celine to wince and her eyes focused on a six eyed magpie wearing a hat that was sat above the balcony door. A magpie that immediately proceeded to dive-bomb her, talons reaching out to grab and scratch. Celine managed to duck under the angry corvid’s first strike before it looped around for another go, this strike landing and Celine hissed in pain as the birds talons grazed her dominant arm, drawing more blood and forcing her to drop the hilt of her mangled sickle. Mercifully it flew off after that, settling on the beanie hat of the one with the Horse Bow, glaring in mistrust and cawing at her.

-----

Well… That wasn’t how Rumi planned for breakfast to go this morning…

• Stealing half of Jinu’s breakfast… absolutely
• Listen to Zoey ramble about turtles… most likely
• Watch Mira try not to strangle Abby and Romance… more than likely
• End up on the couch in Jinu’s lap exchanging kisses… that was the plan

But this? This wasn’t on her bingo card for the day… not in the slightest.

She watched on, completely slack jawed as the Saja Boys essentially… almost effortlessly trapped Celine against the balcony wall, their eyes heavy with hate and anger, all five of their patterns glowing green, blue and silver, their Honmoon blades (and arrows) glinting in the morning light.

Honestly she was most surprised at Derpy who had dropped the whole ‘Wouldn’t harm a fly’ act and now looked like an actual apex predator cornering its prey. It was the only time she’d seen the oversized cat actually look at something with both eyes simultaneously, and it was a terrifying sight to behold. Rumi genuinely prayed she’d never have to see Derpy like that again.

A tiny part of her did feel a little sorry for Celine, being boxed in and cornered by five former demons and a pissed off tiger wasn’t something she imagined was much fun. But the demon part of her brain was screaming at her ‘She just tried to kill Jinu, she just tried to attack you!’, and as much as she wanted to listen to that part of her brain and let the boys deliver punishment onto Celine for her transgression, it would only cause more problems than it would solve to let this go on for much longer.

Rumi spoke quietly, approaching the boys from behind. “Ok, Jinu… I think you and the boys have made your point. Can we… calm it down a little… please?” Rumi stepped up next to Jinu who hadn’t waivered in his stance, his Khopesh still trained on Celine’s heart. “Jinu… look at me… please, its ok!”. Still he didn’t look at her. “She just tried to kill me Rumi, she just tried to attack you!”. His words mirroring her own thoughts perfectly. Rumi put herself right in front of Jinu, reaching up to cup his face and pull his gaze down to her. “Yes she did, but she didn’t succeed… did she? Abby stopped her, all of you stopped her”.

Rumi looked deep into his eyes, “Please, Jinu… its done, she won’t do anything… if she does… then…”. Slowly, carefully, inch by inch she pushed his blade down towards the floor and Jinu slowly relented. Sending one last furious look at Celine he stepped back, disconnecting his blades and dispelled his Khopesh’s back to the Honmoon, Rumi grabbing his hand as soon as the blades were gone. After a few hesitant seconds and a few wary glances between them, the other Saja Boys released their own weapons back to the Honmoon and backed away too. Mystery stood up from where he’d had Celine pinned against the cold stone and Sussie kept her many eyes locked on the woman who was almost cowering on the floor before she flew off back to her perch on the curtain rail.

Mira stalked towards Celine, gently running her hand along Derpy’s back. The oversized housecat lowering his hackles and sitting down, his growl replaced with a purr as his eyes closed when Mira’s hand reached his ears, giving them a gentle scratch. When they opened again they were as bug eyed as ever. “You ready to talk like a civilised human being now? Or are we going to have more problems?”. Short, blunt, no bullshit and straight to the point, typical Mira but it got the point across. Celine just nodded, but still glared at the Saja Boys, a look they all happily returned. Baby giving Celine the middle finger behind Abby’s back so she wouldn’t notice.

-----

After that little shit show had ended, nobody had much of an appetite left for breakfast, with the obvious exception of Baby who was now the sole occupier of the kitchen island. He was busy hoovering down bacon,  eggs and Zoey’s leftover pancakes like they were going out of style; he was never one to let good food go to waste.

The rest of the gang had moved over to the couch. Rumi, Jinu, Zoey and Mystery sat on the cushions. Abby, Romance and Mira standing behind them. Rumi had calmed down just enough to push her demonic features back. Fangs and claws returning to their normal shapes and her patterns and golden eye returning to their more natural shades, but she still eyed Celine with nothing short of malice and mistrust. She’d not let go of Jinu’s hand since the boys had dispelled their blades, and she had no plans to release his hand now just for Celine’s comfort, not after the shit she just pulled.

Celine had been rather unceremoniously shoved into the single seater chair next to the couch by Abby before Zoey had darted off to grab a first aid kit. There followed a short period where everyone else just glowered at the woman who had so rudely interrupted their morning while Zoey cleaned up the mercifully small gash on the back of her head and Sussie’s scratches on her arm. While that was happening Jinu had whispered into Rumi’s ear “Sorry about the window” but Rumi had waived him off saying it was no biggie. In all honesty she’d thought it was really fucking hot the way he’d launched himself at Celine, but that might be her demon talking… maybe.

Once Zoey had finished patching up Celine’s head and arm, the young Maknae joined her friends on the couch, filling in the gap between Jinu and Mystery. Mira leaned forward on the back of the couch and started off the conversation. “So… care to explain why you went apeshit and tried to kill Jinu back there?” Her gaze could’ve cracked concrete and sheared steel, it wasn’t very often that Mira got really angry but this was one of those times. If the boys hadn’t pulled their blades on Celine then she definitely would have, and she wasn’t sure she could have restrained herself from doing some real damage.

Celine on the other hand seemed subdued. Her eyes stayed locked on the floor, like she couldn’t bear to look at anyone on the couch. “Because I thought he was a danger to her, to all of you. I thought you were being held against your wills. None of you have been returning my calls or messages, I was worried about you”. “So what exactly?  You decided to just show up unannounced, uninvited and start screaming blue murder?”. Mira glared at Celine.

Zoey spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically cold. “Why exactly do you think we cut all contact with you Celine? Rumi told us what you said to her, told us what you used to say to her!”. Celine’s eyes finally lifted to briefly look at Rumi who was staring back at her like she was a stranger.

“You told them?” the tone was almost accusatory. Rumi just nodded. “They deserved to know. No more secrets, no more hiding!”. Rumi looked over to Jinu and the other Saja Boys. “The boys… they know as well… they know everything”. Celine knew she was referring to the altercation when Rumi had begged Celine to kill her and she dropped her gaze again.

“Yeah, Rumi told us how you used to treat her, how you isolated her because of her patterns. Every cruel and disgusting thing you said about her, her heritage and her parents. It wasn’t pretty to listen to”. Baby wandered over from the kitchen with half a rasher of bacon in his mouth, fixing Celine with another glare that was begging her to try and start shit again so he’d have an excuse to do something about it.

“She may not have had Gwi-Ma pissing poison into her ear for years, but she had you doing the exact same thing, and I’m honestly not sure which one is worse”. Baby stood behind the couch next to Abby, fixing their unwanted houseguest with a look that could curdle milk as he chewed his bacon.

Celine couldn’t bring herself to look at Rumi again who had cuddled herself into Jinu’s side, seeking his warmth and touch which he willingly gave her, wrapping an arm behind her back and pulling her close. Abby also reaching forward to plant a large hand on Rumi’s shoulder in support, she brought her free hand up to rest on top of his, flashing him a quick smile and mouthing a quiet “thank you”.

“I never meant to hurt you Rumi… I just…”

Romance cut Celine off with a raised hand and a snarl before she could continue. “You called her a burden and a mistake… you made her feel ashamed of something she had zero control over. How the fuck is that not meant to hurt her!?”. Romance still spoke with that primal and dark undertone from earlier and it was doing things to Mira as she listened to Romance verbally tear into her mentor.

“You took a child… an innocent fucking child who had lost both her parents! And you taught her to hate herself. Made her feel like she was never enough. Made her feel like filth just for existing! And you made your love for her conditional on her success!”. Romance looked like he was seconds away from rounding the couch and slapping Celine across the face, only being stilled by Mira putting her hand carefully on his arm in an attempt to calm him down, but Romance wasn’t quite finished ripping Celine a new one just yet. “You have a lot more in common with Gwi-Ma than you think Celine”. That last word spat with utter contempt for the woman in the chair.

That comment finally got a reaction out of the brunette who had been looking at the floor the entire time. Her eyes snapping up to meet his as Romance continued his verbal lashing. “You manipulated her, you lied to her, you kept her away from the people she loved!” Romance gestured to Mira and Zoey “and you have the brass balls to sit there and tell her that you never meant to hurt her? Well I call BULLSHIT!”.

Everyone jumped as Romance bellowed that last word before he continued, his voice laced with ice and venom. “Like Baby said… Rumi didn’t have Gwi-Ma whispering poison in her ear, but she had you doing the exact… same… fucking… thing! And you dare to call us cold blooded demons and ‘Manipulative Monsters’ when your just as bad as him! You fucking hypocrite!”.

Romance’s fists were shaking violently and he had to grip the back of the couch to stop himself from launching himself at this deceitful bitch. Celine reminded him far too much of the women who ran the places where he was forced to… ‘Oh HELL no! Not going there! NOPE!’ Romance forced those memories down with a shake of his head, if he didn’t stop those thoughts from invading his mind he was going to break, and that wouldn’t be a pretty sight for anyone to see.

He wouldn’t allow his past trauma to dictate his actions here in front of everyone… but he was so fucking  close to losing it, so very fucking close. So he forced those memories of cold red rooms, of rough hands, of rats and cruel laughs that sought to defile down deep and refocused his ire on Celine.

“It took Rumi meeting Jinu, a demon and the literal enemy at the time to teach her the lessons you should’ve been instilling from day one. To show her she wasn’t a mistake or some burden to be dismissed! You’re vile Celine! Fucking VILE!”.

Rant over, Romance couldn’t stop himself, a single tear escaped his eye and he stormed off towards his room. Slamming the door with all the strength he could muster, the poor door rattling against its hinges as he flopped onto his bed, his mind racing back to his abuse… to those blasted red rooms… to those hands that pushed and forced… to the countless tears he’d shed into those filthy white sheets, and those massive rats that had given him such a deep-rooted phobia he’d never recover from.

He buried his face into his pillow and let loose a guttural scream, hoping the noise would chase his demons away.

-----

Back in the lounge, everyone was staring after the pink haired Saja in shock, Abby was about to speak when a scream of anguish came from Romance’s room. A noise that was far to visceral to be fake and it sent a shiver down everyone’s spine. Mira looked like a ghost, her own hands shaking by her sides. What the fuck had gotten into Romance that caused him to go off like that? she’d go talk to him later. But right now though?

Mira pulled her thoughts and her gaze back onto Celine who still refused to look Rumi in the eye, choosing to keep her eyes on the corridor Romance had disappeared down. “Do Rumi’s patterns repulse you that much Celine? Me and Zo accepted her within a few minutes after she told us the whole truth! Jinu accepted her the moment he saw them and the boys have accepted her just the same. Why is it so fucking difficult for you to do it too?!”

Celine averted her eyes again, staring at the floor. “Our faults and fears must never…” Rumi cut her off. “Don’t! Don’t start spouting that traditional bullshit again!” Celine started muttering something under her breath and Mira was fast losing her patience with the woman. “Speak the fuck up Celine! If you’ve got something to say, say it out loud!”.

Celine met her eye, a hint of coldness creeping back into her tone. “If I’d have just dealt with this when it all started, then none of this would’ve happened!”. Jinu spoke for the first time since he’d sat down, his words thick with venom and ire. “What do you mean by ‘dealt with it when it started’?”.

Celine glared at him, clearly her head injury hadn’t done that much damage. “If I’d have just killed Rumi’s father the first time I saw him. If I’d have just trusted my training instead of letting Mi-Yeong cavort around with a monster, this never would’ve happened!”.

There it was! The truth finally out in the open. All of Celine’s reasoning laid bare before them… and it was fucking sickening. It took every ounce of Jinu’s strength not to launch himself off the sofa at this evil woman. His fingers twitching against the Honmoon, internally debating how upset Rumi would be if he summoned his Khopesh and removed her head. Pretty upset he reasoned, so Jinu forced himself to relax, to be there for Rumi. She was more important right now than his vendetta against this vile woman.

Mystery leaned forward, elbows on his knees. ”So the fault that must never be seen, it wasn’t about Rumi’s patterns at all… was it? It was her in her entirety. She was the shame you wanted to hide… the fault that couldn’t be seen…”. The words landed like a tonne of bricks. Each one driving another dagger into Rumi’s heart as Celine didn’t even bother to deny them.

Baby looked like he was about to be sick, and not because he’d just hoovered up the remains of eight people’s breakfasts. “Wow! You evil fucking witch!”.

Rumi could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. She could feel her chest tightening, she felt like she was being squeezed in a vice. The pain spreading from her chest and down her limbs. Nausea and dizziness crept up on her as she struggled to breathe. Jinu noticed the change in her immediately. “Rumi! What’s going on? What’s happening?”.

She couldn’t answer, her words betrayed her as she grabbed for Jinu. Her vision darkened at the edges and the concerned voices around her faded into the background as she collapsed forward onto the floor. The last thing she saw was the roof of the penthouse suite and Jinu’s and Zoey’s panicked faces before it all went black.

-----

Rumi awoke with a start, sitting up from where she’d been laid. Her eyes darting around trying to orient herself but her blurred vision was still marred by large black spots, panicked breathing fighting to be let loose until she felt a warm hand on her arm. “Woah Rumi! Relax.. Hey!... its ok it’s me!” “…Jinu?!” “Yeah… yeah it’s me, your safe”. She could hear the words but she couldn’t process them. Her breathing still ragged and uneven.

“Rumi… listen to me. I need you to tell me four things you can feel”. His voice filtered through the maelstrom of swirling thoughts in her mind like a ray of sunlight through the dark. “Huh?” “Four things you can feel… can you do that for me Rumi?”. Rumi tried to force herself to focus, it wasn’t easy but she managed it.

“I feel your hand on me”. “Ok good, what else? What else can you feel?”. “I feel something heavy on my legs, I feel my hair in my face… and I feel cold for some reason”. Her vision was finally coming back into focus. She recognised her room, she was in her bed under her weighted duvet and Jinu was sat criss-cross next to her on the bed, holding her arm and her hand.

“Ok good.. now can you tell me three things you can see?”. His voice was calm and his touch was warm. “Umm… I can see the skyline out my balcony door… I can see… Sussie outside on the railing?”. Jinu looked over and saw his familiar had extricated herself from the lounge and was preening outside. He turned his attention back to Rumi. “And one last thing you can see?”. She brought her eyes up to meet his. “I can see… I see you…”.

Rumi surged forward and wrapped her arms around Jinu. He instantly returned the gesture, pulling her in close and inhaling the scent of her Blackcurrant and Elderflower shampoo. “It’s ok Rumi… its ok… your safe…”. Jinu gave her a quick kiss to her temple as they embraced, feeling her heart pound like a drum through her ribs. Rumi inhaled his scent like it was the only thing that could keep her grounded, forcing in deep breaths of his musk and cologne. An intoxicating cocktail she could never get bored of.

“Jinu, what happened to me?”. He pulled away just enough to meet her eye. “Zoey said you had a panic attack, she said you’d had them before”. Rumi nodded, “I used to get them when I was doing Hunter training, haven’t had one for years though, I got them whenever Celine started screaming at me for whatever reason”.

“Wait, that fucking bitch gave you a trauma response?! When I get my hands on her I’m gonna fuckin…”. Whatever else Jinu was about to say was swallowed as Rumi crashed her lips into his, stealing the words and the breath from his lungs. She kissed him like he was the very oxygen she needed to survive and he returned the favour, his tongue battling for supremacy with hers.

They pulled away just far enough so they could breathe, staying in their little bubble until concern flooded Rumi’s face. “Wait! What about the others!? Are they ok? Where’s Celine?”. She tried to get out of bed but Jinu gently but forcefully stopped her, carefully pushing her back against her pillows. “Don’t worry about the others right now, they can look after themselves”.

Jinu flashed his signature smirk and it made Rumi’s cheeks flush with colour. “When I was carrying you away, Mira was cursing Celine out like it was a national sport and Abby looked seconds away from punching her lights out. I think they can handle it just fine”. Rumi just nodded as she settled against her pillows.

The storm of emotion under her skin ebbing slightly as Jinu offered her a glass of water and she took a long sip, the cold liquid helping her ground herself back into reality. Jinu tucked her in just the way she liked it when she was stressed. “That being said, I’m gonna go check on them quickly, make sure there’s not a crime scene in our lounge”.

Jinu didn’t even make it off the bed before Rumi reached out and grabbed his wrist. “No… wait, stay with me please. Jinu, I don’t want to be alone…”. He met her eyes and saw the tears threatening to escape. “Ok Rumi, I’m not going anywhere”. Pulling back her duvet Jinu shuffled himself into her bed, pulling her close to his chest. She fisted her hands into his shirt and buried her head in his neck and a few quiet sobs escaped her lips. Jinu wrapped one arm over her shoulders, the other reached up to hold the back of her head. He whispered in her ear as she finally let herself cry into his chest. “I’m not going anywhere Rumi. Rest now… I’ve got you… your safe… your safe”. His mind flashed back to the first night she’d stayed with him when he had his really bad nightmare. “I’ll fight the darkness by your side Rumi”.

Together they laid there in the silence, no words spoken. None were needed, their contact alone spoke volume’s that couldn’t be put into 1000 books. As he held her close, listening to her choked sobs, Jinu made himself a promise. No one was ever going to put Rumi in a situation like that ever again, no one was ever going to hurt her like that again. Not if he had anything to say about it.

-----

Back out in the lounge, things weren’t exactly going much better. After Rumi had her panic attack, Celine had again tried to force Jinu away from her, clearly not learning her lesson from the last time. She’d shot to her feet again only to be met by Derpy who had gone full predator mode for the second time that day, forcing Celine to back off with a growl that actually shook the hanging lights, alongside Baby and Mystery who had summoned their weapons again.

Abby had warned her not to try anything or she’d end up with another head injury to match the one she got going through the window. Without her sickle, Celine had been forced back into the chair and could only watch as Jinu carried Rumi away to her room. Only once they’d heard Rumi’s bedroom door close and lock did Baby and Mystery dispel their weapons and bribe Derpy away with a good chin scratch.

Now that the group had lost three of its members, Baby, Abby and Mira took up positions on the couch next to Zoey and Mystery. All five of them staring Celine down. The bitch in question now at least had the balls to meet their eyes as they grilled her, but they knew that was only because Rumi was no longer present to insult Celine’s eyes.

“You really are a spineless witch aren’t you!” Abby growled out as he poured every ounce of anger he could into his glare. “She trusted you to look out for her, and you betrayed that trust at every… single… turn”. He enunciated each word to drive his point home. Mystery was shaking his head at Celine. “I spent 650 years under the rule of a tyrant, and I’ve never heard of or witnessed anything as cruel as what I’ve heard here today”.

Celine winced at every veiled jab that compared her to Gwi-Ma and it was clear that Baby was enjoying her squirming a little too much. Mira decided that enough was enough. “I think you’ve overstayed you’re welcome Celine”. The older Hunter looking up at her with glassy eyes but Mira wasn’t falling for the crocodile tears. “You’re no longer welcome here at Huntrix HQ, and you are no longer welcome in our lives. Not after you tried to kill Jinu, he has nothing but love and adoration for Rumi… he’s treated her better than you ever did… and you tried to take that away from her today, because you are too stuck in your own ways to see her happiness even when it’s dangled right in front of you”.

Mira stood and stormed past Celine to the elevator doors and slammed her fist into the call button. The doors opening almost instantly. “You’re going to get into the lift, you’re going to leave our home and not come back. We want nothing to do with you anymore!”.

Celine looked back at the others, hoping for some tiny glimpse of sympathy or understanding but instead found a wall of distain and hatred. Abby jerked his chin at the elevator, a silent order to move before he threw her into it. Celine slowly rose to her feet, pulling her coat around herself like a shield and shuffled slowly into the lift. Mira jabbing her finger into the button that would sent her disgraced mentor back down to the lobby. “Goodbye… Celine”. The elevator door closed with a quiet hiss.

“Fucking vile woman! If you had a bunny I’d shoot it!”. Baby growled under his breath, quiet enough so the others wouldn’t hear. The others had no words to say as the silence settled back into the room. Abby wondered over to the pantry to grab a bin, dustpan and brush before heading over to the exploded window and started piling up the shattered glass.

Zoey, Mystery and Baby walked to the kitchen to clear up whatever was left of the cold remnants of breakfast, stacking plates and bowls into the sink and dishwasher…  and Mira… Mira took a deep breath, and started walking towards Romance’s room.

Chapter Text

Mira honestly had no idea what she was going to say to him as she approached Romance’s room. The way he’d acted, the way he’d spoken and the utter distain with which he’d torn into Celine was far too convincing to be fake, far too visceral to mean anything other than real experience. His scream after he’d stormed away from Celine had sent a chill down her spine so quickly Mira had nearly keeled over. What had Romance been subjected too to cause that kind of reaction?

In her hands Mira held a can of Romance’s favourite soda and a bag of her special Hot N’ Spicy limited-edition chips which he always tried to pinch when she wasn’t looking. She hoped the offering might make him more willing to talk.

Romance hadn’t spoken about his past with the girls yet, he’d remained conspicuously tight-lipped whenever the topic of the boys pasts had come up, even when the others had offered glimpse into their own. Besides the fact that he was born in 1655 in the Northern Hamgyŏng Province of what is now North Korea, the girls knew next to nothing about his past or what he went through to both end up in the demon realm and what he suffered through down there.

-----

‘Knock Knock Knock’

Mira knocked thrice quietly on Romance’s door, not wanting to be too loud just in case he’d fallen asleep, she patiently waited outside the door for a response or any sort of permission to enter. Under most other circumstances she’d have just walked into his room without waiting for permission, but given what had happened Mira thought it would be incredibly insensitive to do so here.

“Come in”. The broken voice that reached her ears almost caused Mira to cry on the spot. It wasn’t his normal happy, flirty and chatty voice. It wasn’t even the deep dangerous tone he’d used earlier today. No, this voice was quiet, restrained, full of pain and disguising years, decades… no… centuries of every type of agony imaginable, and it put a large crack in Mira’s stone heart to hear it.

Slowly, carefully… Mira opened the door and stepped into the room. The curtains had been drawn, leaving the room in a semi state of darkness. Casting her gaze around they eventually settled on Romance. He was sat on his bed, curled un in the corner, pillows piled up behind him for support, his lilac comforter wrapped around the rest of him like a cocoon. His face was an ugly mess of red puffy eyes and a face streaked with tears and snot. His normally perfectly styled hair now a fuzzy mess of static. His face was downcast, staring at his hands like they hold the answers he so desperately sought.

“Hey Rom… umm… mind if I join you for a while?”. Mira had no real idea how to broach the topic so she was hoping that Romance might give her an ‘in’ so to speak. He gestured with a hand that she was welcome to take a seat and Mira cautiously walked over, parking herself on the edge of his bed, giving him enough room so he wasn’t crowded but close enough that he couldn’t ignore her presence.

“I brought you a little something… wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry but… I wanted to bring something…”. She put the drink and the crisps on his bedside table and sat back, looking at the miserable man before her. “Tha… Thank you Mira”, Romance mumbled past a tissue that had clearly seen better days. His eyes still locked in his lap, not wanting to meet her own.

Mira recognised what he was doing instantly, because it was exactly what she had done herself whenever she’d had an argument with her estranged family in the past before they cut her off. He was shutting himself down, wrapping himself in whatever he could find comfort in and praying the hurt would go away. Mira knew from firsthand experience it wouldn’t, not without help, and right now… she found herself wanting to be that help he needed. So she shuffled a little closer to him, but still gave him enough room so he could keep control.

“That was… quite the show Rom… of all people I wasn’t expecting you to snap at Celine”. Romance offered a mirthless laugh at that, before he spoke. The words left his mouth no louder than a whisper, so quiet Mira had to strain to hear them. “What she said, how she acted… it reminded me of… of things I thought I’d buried centuries ago. Of people I thought I’d left behind”.

He hadn’t exactly opened the door for Mira, but he had metaphorically at least unlocked said door which Mira saw as progress. She didn’t speak though, allowing Romance to continue at his own pace. “I never spoke of my past before… not even with the boys… the memories were too painful… the scars ran too deep”. Tears flowed down his cheeks, the tissue now laying ignored in his hands which had now clenched into fists around the comforter.

“What I went through… I wouldn’t wish onto anyone. Not even my worst enemy… no one should have to go through that… no child should have to suffer through what I did!”. He finally looked up and met Mira’s eye and what she saw froze her in place. He looked… old. it was the only way to describe it. His eyes betrayed the decades upon decades of abuse and torment he’d suffered. The look of a man who had spent centuries burying his pain as deep as he could, only to have it all dredged back to the surface in one morning.

Mira swallowed past the growing lump in her throat before speaking again. “Rom, I understand if you don’t want to talk about your past. If it pains you to talk about it then you don’t have too. Just know that we are here for you… I’m here for you”. Those last four words surprised her. they had leapt unbridled from her lips without her permission. But they were out now, no taking them back. Mira didn’t think she would want to take them back even if she could.

Those words seemed to have a similar effect on Romance. His eyes widened almost imperceptivity and his jaw worked to find words that he couldn’t form. Eventually he settled on a small nod. “Tha… Thank you Mira… that means a lot… from you especially”. He shrugged the comforter from around his shoulders, but kept it wrapped around his chest, Mira could see that he’d gotten changed since he left the lounge, getting into his silk pyjamas and dressing gown.

“But I think it’s about time someone finally knew the full truth”. His eyes locked back onto hers, before he reached out and grabbed the soda can from his sideboard, pulling the tab and taking a couple of small sips. “So if you’re willing to sit with me, then I’ll tell you my story”. Mira stayed silent, just nodding slowly, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to hear.

“You sure you want to hear this? Because it isn’t going to be pretty”. Romance gave her one last chance to back out but Mira shook her head. “No… I’m not going anywhere”. Romance gave a look, and dived into his tale.

-----

Flashback: 1667 – North Hamgyŏng Province

Ryun Ruhian was celebrating his 12^th birthday. He’d woken to the smell of his mother’s cooking, and the sound of excited chattering, he’d ran from the bedroom he shared with his younger brother to be met by his entire family. “Happy Birthday Ryun!” his mother shouted over the din from where she was stood at the stove.

Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family gather around him to offer congratulations, hugs and the like and Ryun laps up the attention. He’s always been a sucker for attention, what young man wouldn’t be? He’d enjoyed a healthy breakfast of Mushroom Pancakes and Jjigae before his mother sent him out into the garden to play with his sister while the adults discussed business with his uncle and some of his associates that had showed up.

His family wouldn’t exactly class themselves as affluent. They weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination. His mother stayed at home to look after him and his siblings and his father was a horse trainer for a well-respected family who lived a few miles away. His oldest brother served in the Army as a general so Ryun rarely got to see him but he sent a generous piece of his wage to help support his family. No… they weren’t rich, more like ‘comfortable’.

He had been playing chase with his sister and a couple of his cousins in the garden when he decided to sit on the bench at the bottom of the family garden, out of sight from the house. He’d snagged a handful of cherry’s from the tree growing along the edge of the garden and wanted to eat them in peace. He was so caught up in peeling and eating his snack he failed to notice the two men creeping up behind him, a long length of rope and a burlap sack between their hands.

The next thing he’d been aware of was his vision darkening as the sack was dragged over his head, his scream of fear muffled as a rough hand was clamped over his mouth, his hands forcefully pulled behind his back and bound tight with rope. The rough fibres scratching and burning into his skin as he struggled to fight back. A fight that was a losing battle as he felt himself being picked up and thrown over a broad shoulder.

Ryun flailed and struggled as hard as he could against his captors, but everything he tried failed to produce results. After an unknown amount of time he found himself dumped on the floor. Sharp stones dug into his arms and legs and the ropes binding his wrists were now joined by additional restraints around his legs. His cries and pleads falling on deaf ears as he heard muffled voices discussing what to do. Finding himself roughly manhandled into what he could only assume was horse drawn carriage, Ryun could do nothing to sit there, forced to lean against one of his kidnappers to keep his balance in as the carriage rolled over uneven roads.

Bound and now gagged as he was taken away from his home and his family, Ryun could only think of his mother, panicking and scared for her child who had now disappeared without a trace and without a word. What would she be thinking?

-----

Currant Day

Romance took a break from his story to excuse himself to use the bathroom and Mira couldn’t help but be grateful for the break. She was already close to tears. Being abducted as a child was bad enough, but having it done on your birthday of all things somehow had it 1000 times worse.

Her mind was cast back to her lessons on demons with Celine, the chat she’d had with Abby on the boys first night at the tower and the very uncomfortable conversation earlier today with said former mentor. Everything she’d ever be taught about demons was that they were soulless, heartless, power hungry, dangerous creatures with no past, no feelings or thoughts of their own that didn’t come from Gwi-Ma’s corruption.

But everything she’d heard and learnt from the guys over the last two months had shattered that believe into more pieces than the window Jinu kicked Celine through. And this conversation with Romance was grinding every single one of those pieces into powder and shoving it down her neck.

To hear Romance discussing what memories of his past still clung to him like a shadow sent such a cold chill down her spine she never thought she could be warm again. She had felt physically sick as Romance recalled his kidnapping, and she suspended (correctly) that he hadn’t even begun to get to the really bad stuff yet. Mira didn’t know if she had the strength to hear whatever else he had to say, didn’t think she could handle hearing what came next.

Her spiralling thoughts were interrupted as Romance came out of the bathroom. He’d made some effort to clean himself up but his face was still a red puffy mess. Instead of wrapping himself back into his comforter, he chose to sit near Mira which she saw as more improvement. He wasn’t shutting himself down, he was sat in the open, on full display and Mira didn’t stop herself when her hand reached out to rest gently on his knee.

Flashback: 1667 – North Hamgyŏng Province

The carriage ride felt like it had gone on for hours. Ryun had lost track of time after the first hour or so, he hadn’t realized he’d actually nodded off until rough hands jolted him awake. Orders to move barked into his ear far too loudly as he was shoved out of the carriage. He guessed his abductors had forgotten about his leg restraints as he fell out of the carriage, hitting the stone road hard. His head bounced off the cobbles and he groaned in pain.

“Hey! Careful with the merchandise!” he heard someone shout through his burlap hood, a voice that sounded familiar. ‘Merchandise? What does that mean?’ Ryun thought to himself as he was hauled roughly back up to his feet. Snatches of the outside world flickered through the gaps in the sack over his head as he was dragged along. A flickering candle mounted on a wall next to a large doorway, shadowy shapes resembling people lining the walls as he was dragged past. A smell of sweat and heat, the sound out a woman screaming… no… not a woman… a girl. Eventually he was forced to his knees and the sack ripped off his head.

Ryun’s eyes adjusted to the light quickly. He was in what appeared to be a spacious office. The wooden floor creaked under his weight as he shifted, the walls painted half red and half white. A large wooden desk dominated the space, a pair of chairs in front and behind it, and a frankly disgusting looking carpet covered most of the floor. Two women stood behind the desk, both brunettes, both middle aged and both glowering at him with unimpressed looks.

Before Ryun could take in anymore of the room, another person was forcible pushed down next to him, similarly bound and gagged like him. The grunt of pain he heard told him it was a girl. Her hood was yanked off by a large muscular hand revealing a girl who couldn’t be any older than he was, she looked terrified, wide eyes darting around the room as she struggled against her bindings. Ryun couldn’t exactly blame her; he was feeling the exact same. Fear, panic and nausea ran rampant through his body, every nerve and synapse in his brain screaming at him to run, to flee, to hide. But his bindings kept him locked in place… nowhere to run… nowhere to hide.

Ryun winced as one of the women behind the desk cracked a small whip against the wood, the crack stopping the young girls struggling, tears now flowing down her face. “What have you brought us this time Zhang-Li?” the other woman spoke, clear disinterest in her voice as she eyes the two kids on the floor before her. ‘Zhang-Li? That was his uncle’s name!’. A deep voice entered the conversation from somewhere behind the bound children and Ryun tried to twist his body to see its owner only to be grabbed by those strong hands and forced back to face the desk.

“Two new ‘toys’ for your amusement Si-Yeu”. Zhang-Li appeared from the shadows of the room. A cruel smirk on his face as he eyed the bound kids. “Found the girl on the streets begging for scraps… she was an easy acquisition. The boy…” Zhang-Li spared his nephew the shortest of glances before continuing “snatched him out of a garden. He put up a fight but we managed”. Ryun tried to speak past his gag, but no words managed to make it past the obstacle.

The one called Si-Yeu rounded the desk and grabbed Ryun roughly by the jaw, her sharp nails digging into his cheeks as she observed him. She let him go with little interest before repeating the same inspection of the girl. “Your late with the delivery Zhang-Li! I expect new stock every month… and you’re close to two months behind!”. Zhang-Li mumbled something about it ‘not being as easy as it used to be’ but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

“They seem in good health, but I’m more concerned with her”. Si-Yeu pointed at the girl next to Ryun. “If she came from the streets then it’s unlikely she’s clean. You know how my clients value their health Zhang-Li!”. Si-Yeu sounded angry but Zhang-Li chuckled as he leaned against the wall. “Don’t worry about that Si-Yeu, we’ve been watching that one for a while. I promise she’s clean… you’re ‘clients’ won’t catch anything”.

Ryun couldn’t suppress the shiver running through his body. They were talking about the pair of them like they were cattle… products to be bought and sold… less than human. He had no idea how true those thoughts would come to be.

“Fine! We’ll take them. Tao will see to your payment on the way out”. The other woman with the short whip spoke again. Zhang-Li just nodded, made a gesture at the other men in the room and they all made their way towards the door. Zhang-Li sharing one last glance at his nephew before he turned away and left Ryun and the girl on the floor of this office but he was stopped before he got out. “And Zhang! Don’t be late again. You remember what happened last time, don’t you?”.

Currant Day

Mira actively had tears running down her face. She looked no better than Romance had when she first entered his room. Her face streaked with ruined makeup as she listened to him speak. She had a pretty good idea what sort of establishment Romance and that mystery girl had been sold to and it sickened her to her very core. If there was one thing Mira despised the most in the world, it was slavery… especially… that kind of slavery.

Romance looked over to meet Mira’s eye, his own glassing over with tears. “I spend four years under that whip. Every day was a new client, a new visitor. I remember every… single… one”. His tears flowed freely again, soaking into his pyjama top. “All I could think about while I was there was my parents. How they must have looked for me… how they must have searched… how they would’ve cried after every search yielded no results”. Romance’s hands came up to cover his face as he cried. Mira’s hand still on his knee, offering what little comfort she could, knowing it would never be enough.

“I can’t even remember her Mira! I can’t even recall what my own mother looked like. The colour of her hair, the colour of her eyes. I don’t even remember her fucking name!”. The howl of a tortured soul ripped from his throat as a new wave of tears soaked his shirt. “What kind of son can’t even remember his own mother’s name?!”. desperate to pull him out of this before he went royally off the deep end of a depressive spiral Mira grabbed his arms and pulled them down, forcing him to face her. “Someone who went through an unimaginable trauma that no one should ever have to go through!”.

Her own breath was ragged now, her visage looking no better than Romance’s. “You went through something horrendous and cruel… but you survived it Romance! You made it through! That shows you’re strength, and wherever she is now you’re mother would be proud of who you’ve become. You’ve beaten insurmountable odds over and over. If that’s not strength then I don’t know what is!”.

A hint of anger filtered through Romance’s tone. “But I didn’t survive it Mira! I made a deal to escape that torment! Gwi-Ma got to me in there… he offered me an escape… a way out… and I took it! I took his deal. I exchanged a cruel mistress with a whip for an even crueller master with a cattle brand!”. Romance looked seconds away from a full psychic breakdown and Mira couldn’t catch him in time to stop him slipping forward off the bed onto his knees.

“I don’t even know what happened to the girl who was dragged in with me! I only saw her once after we arrived, and she was broken!... BROKEN! She’d fought against them… and they broke her for it. Mentally… Physically… Emotionally… she was just an empty husk of a girl after that!... I never even knew her name…”. Romance’s was now sat on the floor, knee’s tucked up hard under his chin and his arms wrapped around his legs. Whimpering sobs fought past ragged breaths and Mira slid off the bed to kneel right in front of Romance.

‘Fuck it!’ Mira thought to herself… and she wrapped her arms around Romance in a tight hug, pulling him close in an embrace she’d normally reserve for the girls. She wasn’t about to let this boy break entirely, not after what he’d suffered through, not after everything he’d survived. Her doubts and reservations were cast aside completely, leaving nothing behind but a young woman who didn’t want to see someone she had begrudgingly started to care about shatter like this.

The contact was something that Romance clearly hadn’t been expecting either. A confused grunt escaped his throat alongside his strangled cries as Mira dragged him into an embrace he hadn’t felt in hundreds of years. A touch and gesture that felt so foreign to him after all this time. He could feel her own tears soaking into the back of his top, his words clearly having as much an impact on her as they did for him to say.

Flashback: 1667 – North Hamgyŏng Province

Ryun had been thrown into an almost completely darkened room after the two matriarchal women had performed a full examination of him. By this point he was almost completely naked, only being allowed to keep his shirt which was also in a sorry state, having torn in several places as be fought to get away from those women.

The only light came from under the door, a weak flickering candle outside casting pathetic shadows under the door. Even in the near absolute dark though, Ryun could tell he wasn’t alone in the room. The shapes of other victims sat huddled against walls, crammed into the corners of the room, or laid out across the floor. The smell of human waste filled his nostrils as he eyed a revolting looking bucket in one corner that was unoccupied by any of these huddled shapes. Easily a dozen huddled forms that would shrink away from even the touch of their neighbour.

An involuntary scream tore from his lips as something small and fast ran across his bare feet, it squeaked as it ran away. A rat! Eww! Ryun hated rats. He found a part of the side wall that was clear of any other huddled children and sank down against it. Tears welling up behind his eyes. He had no idea what was going to happen to him here, but he had a strong suspicion he wasn’t going to like it… he had no idea just how right he was.

-----

Days melted into weeks which melted into months. Ryun lost could of the amount of ‘clients’ he was forced to ‘service’ as they called it here. He’d be dragged out of the room when a client ‘ordered’ him, like he was some kinda fucking option on a menu. He’d be dragged into a room bathed in red lights and white walls. Forced to wait for his client to arrive, dreading whatever this one had planned for him.

Once they were done with him, he’d be dragged back to the filthy dark room where he’d spent the first night, fighting to hide himself as far into a corner as he could, but it was first come first served for those positions. At least 5 of the others held captive in that room needed medical attention from fights that broke out over the safest places to sleep.

And then there were the rats. Huge and vicious, they’d go out of their way to bite Ryun and the others. Ryun even beat several to death with a shoe that one kid came in with a few months after he had arrived. Over the years under Si-Yeu’s whip Ryun learned how best to survive but it never made it any easier.

-----

The night Ryun first heard him he thought he was going crazy. He’d just been thrown back into the room that couldn’t be called a ‘dorm’ if you tried. He was huddled against the side wall kicking away a massive rat when the voice whispered into his ear.

“You don’t belong here… you shouldn’t have to suffer like this… I can offer you an escape”.

Ryun had started looking around, thinking someone was playing some form of cruel trick on him. But the room around him was silent besides the few coughs coming from one of the others.

“I can set you free Ryun… All you have to do is say yes… Accept my deal and you will be free of this torment”.

And like a limpet, Ryun latched onto this thin sliver of hope that had appeared through the darkness. “Yes! I accept. I can’t stand the shame of what I’ve been made to do here… please… save me…”. The words uttered almost silently so as not to draw anyone’s attention. attention here was something you didn’t want. This mystery voice only chuckled deeply before continuing.

“Good Ryun… Good… I’ll come for you soon…”

“Wait! Please don’t leave me here! Please don’t leave me alone!”. But the voice had already gone. Leaving him alone again in the darkness… with the rats.

-----

Currant Day

“And once he’d pulled me down to his realm, he used my shame of my abuse to torment me”. Romance looked Mira in the eye. “He enjoyed the flavour of my suffering… probably the most after Jinu’s. Whenever he was feeling particularly malicious he’d play a choir of torment inside my mind. All the screams I heard within those walls played on repeat... all of my screams”.

Mira looked shellshocked. Her face was as white as a sheet, her hands clasped over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She looked at Romance through a different lens. Not the lens of a Demon Hunter looking at a former demon. But as a friend looking at a survivor. What Romance had suffered through was disgusting and Mira silently wished everyone involved in his torment was suffering hard in hell or wherever they were.

“And when Jinu offered me the chance to join the Saja Boys… I took it. I grabbed that chance to see the surface again. At the time I didn’t care that it was for nefarious purposes. I just wanted to feel… something. Something that wasn’t shame, regret and disgust at myself”.

Romance looked back down at his hands, a new tissue held lightly between thumb and fore-finger. “And the rest of the story you know. Rumi and Jinu fell for each other, Zoey fell for Mystery and you couldn’t stand me and Abby”. He offered her a small smile which she returned. “After our final battle I thought I could finally find peace, I wasn’t expecting the Honmoon to stop me from passing over, for it to give me my soul back… much less to be given another chance at life. After everything I did… everything we did…”.

His words trailed off. Replaying his past had taken it out of him, both mentally and apparently physically as he heaved himself upright, swaying slightly on his feet. Mira was right there for him, steadying him against herself. “Easy Rom… easy… lean on me”. He did, leaning carefully on her shoulder, as if he was worried she’d change her mind.

“So what now?” he asked. “Now we decide how to go forward”. Mira turned him so he was looking into her eyes. “Now you decide if you are going to let you’re past stop you from making the most out of your future”.

Mira wrapped him in another tight hug. God only knows this man needs it, and this time he returns the gesture. His hands coming up to meet her, one halfway down her back, the other between her shoulder blades. “I’m so fucking sorry you went through that Rom… I truly am.. and I’m sorry about how coldly I treated you… I had no idea at the time that demons could feel. I know that’s no excuse… but I’m so… so sorry”.

“I don’t blame you Mira… I really don’t. You were taught to hate us and you were taught to kill us… You did what you were trained to do… and we didn’t exactly give you any reason to doubt your training did we?”. He let out a quiet laugh into Mira’s hair. “I suppose I have Jinu’s dumb face and charm to thank for Rumi and by extension you and Zoey seeing us as more than what we were”. Mira gave a short laugh back at that before she pulled back to look Romance in the face. He seemed lighter, even though talking about his past had taken its toll, he looked relieved to finally have someone he could talk to.

“Do you want to come back out? Or would you prefer so stay here for a while?”. He didn’t need very long to come to an answer. “I think I want to go back out there. The others deserve to know why I lost my shit”. Another short-shared laugh before the duo walked over the door. Mira let Romance take the lead, let him open the door to the rest of his life, let him lead the way back to the lounge. She’d be there for him if he ever broke again… because that’s what a friend is for.

Chapter Text

Rumi had lost track of time while she was wrapped up in Jinu’s embrace. Had it been minutes? Or had it been hours? She had no idea... She didn’t particularly care either. All she knew was that she felt warm… wanted… safe… She felt that the rest of the world and all of its cruelty and judgement couldn’t get to her so long as she was in his arms. Her tears had dried long ago as she cuddled her face into his neck, pecking his throat with the odd kiss and inhaling his scent, pulling herself closer to him, as if that was even possible.

Her thoughts looped back to the events of this morning, repeatedly replaying the moment that Jinu had kicked Celine through the window after she took a swing at the pair of them. Jinu had no idea just how hot and bothered that move had made her down under so to speak. Even through her fear, pain and anger Rumi had noticed the heat that had pooled between her legs as Jinu protected her from Celine.

Jinu held her tight like she was the last precious thing on the planet, like she was the crown jewel in his life that he dared not let go of for fear of losing her. She didn’t really know how to explain what a ‘Jinu’ hug felt like compared to a normal hug, there was just something about the way his broad arms framed her body, something in the way his hands traced idle shapes into her back, something about the way their bodies fit together like two pieces of a long incomplete puzzle finally finished.

She couldn’t explain it… and she didn’t want to either. No one hugged her like he did, no one hugged him like she did. No one loved her the way he did and no one loved him like she did.

Their tranquil peace was disturbed by a quiet knocking on the door. The duo groaning in sync at the interruption and called out for their guest to enter. Rumi peeked her head above her duvet to spy Baby peering around the corner of the door. “Sorry to bother you guys, but Romance is about to tell us about his past and why he blew up at Celine. He’s asked if everyone can come to the lounge so he doesn’t have to tell it more than once”. The pair nodded, saying they’d be out in a few minutes and Baby’s head disappeared, closing the door behind him.

Once they’d managed to extricate themselves from both the comforter and each other’s tangled limbs they made their way out to the lounge. The others were all already sat around the couch, Rumi was surprised to see Mira sat flush against Romance, her hand on his as it lay in his lap. Zoey had taken up her perch in Mystery’s lap again while Baby had deposited himself back into his beanbag. Abby sat somewhere in the middle of the couch but shuffled up to make room for Rumi and Jinu who apprehensively took the offered space.

Romance cleared his throat once everyone was settled. “Ok… so first off I want to apologise to everyone for storming off earlier. How Celine spoke to and treated Rumi reminded me of… of things I hoped never to be reminded of”. He raised his hand to cut off the anticipated responses of ‘you have nothing to apologise for’ that tried to spill from many mouths. “Secondly I want to say thank you to Mira for sitting with me and letting me tell my story. It wasn’t easy but I’m happy that I finally got to tell someone”. He spared a quick smile at Mira who returned it and gave his hand a squeeze of encouragement. “and thirdly I’d appreciate it if I could tell you guys as well. You guys deserve to know and keeping it bottled up is only going to hurt me again further down the line”.

Romance looked around at the six other faces, a mix of apprehension and nerves looking back at him as they all nodded. “Take your time mate, no one’s gonna rush you”. Abby leaned over and planted a big hand on his brothers shoulder, giving him a very gentle shake before retracting the hand. Romance took a deep breath and launched into his backstory for the second time.

-----

‘Whichever pillock first said that telling a story a second time makes it any fucking easier needed to be found and slapped around the head repeatedly’ Mira thought to herself as Romance finished retelling his backstory to the group. Her eyes glassy with tears again despite already knowing the story, and judging by the looks on everyone else’s face they were all of a similar mindset.

Zoey somehow looked both pale and green at the same time, Mystery had a deeply unsettled frown carved onto his features as he held Zoey lightly around the waist. Rumi had started crying and had buried her face into Jinu’s neck again. Jinu looked very uncomfortable with what he’d just heard, he didn’t know where to look so he’d settled for comforting Rumi as best he could.

Abby had both a look of sadness and disgust fighting for control of his face, his jaw hanging limp as his brain tried to process the tale he’d just been told. Even Baby who normally had a quip or jab locked and loaded for any occasion sat in silence, twiddling his thumbs together. “Ok, I think I can speak for everyone here when I say this. That is fucked up to the max”. Zoey was really struggling to keep herself together, her usually hyperactive mind unable to keep the images of Romance’s past from replaying themselves without her permission.

“Yeah… I fully understand why you didn’t want to talk about it for all those years… no one should ever have to go through that”. Jinu had stood up and had pulled Romance into a tight hug, joined shortly after by Abby and then by Mystery and finally by Baby. They surrounded their bandmate in a group hug and allowed him to break against them. All of them allowing a tear or two to fall in solidarity. “You’re not alone brother… you never were… and you never will be…” Abby whispered into Romance’s ear as the flirt of the group sobbed into Jinu’s shoulder.

“We’re here for you man”. Mystery… ever the man of few (ish) words spoke, offering quiet comfort to his bandmate. While the guys were having their heart to heart, the girls had congregated to the same couch cushion to have a little group hug of their own. Tears were shed all around and Rumi was surprised at just how emotional Mira was. Normally she was the stone wall of the group, the one who never cracked, the one who ever allowed something as trivial as emotion to rock her foundations. But Romance’s tale had done exactly that and now the pink haired hunter let herself cry on Rumi’s shoulder.

-----

“Ok ladies! So I think we all need something to cheer us up after everything that’s happened today!”. After a brief trip to the ‘ladies room’ Zoey had quickly managed to recover some of her usual bounce and zest for life. She’d skipped back into the lounge with a pamphlet in her hand, waving it above her head like it held the answers to anything and everything.

The others had all spread out around the penthouse and were busy going about distracting themselves from the events of that day. Rumi and Jinu were cuddled up together in a tangle of limbs and lips on the couch, which was how they’d wanted to spend their day from the get go.  Abby, Romance and Mira were standing in the kitchen, the pink haired trio seeming in somewhat better spirits as they debated what flavour of Pringles was the best (something about Smoky Bacon being highly overrated and Prawn Cocktail reigning supreme). Baby was buried in his beanbag, his attention fully devoted to whatever game he was playing on his Switch and Mystery had disappeared under a mountain of blue fluff as Derpy had decided he was going to be a lap cat tonight.

All heads (with the exception of Mystery’s) turned to face the Huntrix Maknae as she bounced on her heels with a semi manic grin attached to her face. Rumi and Mira exchanged that knowing look that said whatever suggestion was about to drop from Zoey’s lips would definitely involve alcohol. “Uh Oh!” they said in unison. “Yeah.. I agree with Uh Oh” Jinu chuckled from his position under Rumi. He remembered their game night all too well… a certain dare about ‘losing’ his shirt for the rest of the night replaying in his head.

Zoey was either completely oblivious to the girls hesitation or was just entirely ignoring it as she bounced over to the couch, giving Derpy a quick scratch behind his ears. “I think we can all agree this day has been kinda shitty… but I’m determined that it ends on a high note”. Zoey had the full classes attention now and she wasn’t about to waste it. “So… we are all going out… to a karaoke club!”.

A round of groans from the girls met her announcement. Rumi and Mira knew all too well about Zoey’s obsession with karaoke night. She’d tried to drag the other girls out every other weekend to one club or another, and the night would usually end with the three of them getting absolutely shit-faced on Soju and completely embarrassing themselves… usually in public.

They often found themselves waking up to a thumping headache and a new Dispatch news article about how Zoey; in a fit of drunken madness had fallen into a pond trying to hug a duck, or that time when Rumi had needed to be bailed out of jail after drunk dancing on top of a cop car and using a traffic cone as a microphone/megaphone. Or even the time Mira had ended up in the A&E after somehow falling ‘up’ a set of stairs approaching a stray cat she wanted to cuddle and breaking her wrist in two places.

If previous experiences were anything to go by, then tonight would be complete and utter chaos… legendary chaos.

The boys however seemed entirely enamoured by the idea, it was highly unlikely the guys had ever been to a karaoke bar before but they were always interested to try new experiences, especially if the girls suggested it in the first place. Abby and Romance flashed grins at each other, Jinu smirked into Rumi’s neck as he peppered her with kisses, Baby actually paused his game (I know… shocker right) to give the idea genuine consideration and Mystery could only offer a muffled ‘humph’ from under Derpy who still hadn’t let him move.

“Fuck it! Why not… we need something to…” whatever else Rumi was about to say was replaced with a quiet gasp as Jinu’s teeth graced over a certain spot on her jaw just below her ear that he knew would make her melt – and she did – her hand flying up to fist into his hair, not caring that six other people were watching the PDA with a mix of amusement and fake revolt. Well technically five other people… Mystery couldn’t see shit from where he was buried under blue fur.

“Then its settled… I found a new place that only opened a few weeks ago. It’s only like a ten-minute walk from us… and they have private function rooms you can book for parties… private rooms that come with unlimited Soju might I add”. Zoey’s grin was manic now. “Ladies and Gentlemen… prepare yourselves for the best night of your lives… tonight we sing… tonight we drink… tomorrow we regret!”.

Zoey bounced away towards her room to find something probably unsuitable to wear for a ten-minute walk and the others chuckled before heading off to do the same, Mystery finally managing to extricate himself from under Derpy. “I guess we’re going out then” Jinu murmured into Rumi’s lips as he picked her up as he stood. Rumi offered a small squeak as she found herself suddenly airborne and she wrapped her legs around her boyfriend.

“Jinu! Put me down!” she tried to berate him but he silenced her with a passionate kiss as he walked towards her room. “Not a chance” he smirked into her mouth, enjoying the colour tinting her cheeks and ears. “God your insufferable” Rumi pouted and Jinu couldn’t help but laugh as he carefully kicked her door open. “and you… princess… love every second of it”. Not one to let him have the last word Rumi attacked his lips with her own, playfully biting his bottom lip with a slightly elongated fang as he carefully dropped her onto her bed. “Maybe I do” she whispered.

-----

It took everyone about 30 minutes to get ready and reconvene near the elevator doors. The primary reason for the long wait was mainly due to the fact that Rumi and Jinu couldn’t keep their bloody hands off each other. Rumi had been mid-way through trying on a flowing knee length skirt when Jinu had cheekily pinched her backside which had resulted in her tackling him onto her bed and trying to kiss his face off. When the pair had eventually emerged from her room Jinu looked far too pleased with himself and Rumi was still blushing a lovely shade of scarlet.

To be fair to them, the group did look good.

• Rumi had decided against the knee-high skirt and had instead gone with pair of blue jeans and a comfy cream polo neck, basically the same outfit she’d worn on the aquarium date. She knew she didn’t have to hide her patterns anymore but it was getting towards evening time and the wind would be cold… so she’d also ‘borrowed’ one of Jinu’s hoodies.
• Zoey had gone with a figure hugging black Above Knee dress and matching heels that had Mystery barking like a lunatic until Zoey had patted him on the head to calm him down.
• Mira had also chosen a pair of comfy jeans, topped with a plain blue jacket and comfy plimsoles. Smart… but suitable for walking in, unlike Zoey’s monstrous 3-inch heels.
• Jinu went smart casual. A crisp white button up and his slate grey jeans paired with his cleanest footwear.
• Abby – to no one’s surprise – had a floral shirt on although for once it was buttoned up. White with hibiscus flowers across its fabric and blue jeans hugging his slim waist and legs like a clingy lover.
• Romance had decided tonight was a night to impress. After the mess he was in earlier he decided to go all out. He wore a yellow silk collared shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. He’d painted his nails an electric blue for the occasion, a blue that matched his shoes perfectly.
• Mystery had gone full dark mode. Black boots disappeared into black cargo pants and a plain black t-shirt hid under a dark grey hoodie.
• Baby was the complete opposite to Mystery. He wore a full rainbow of colour. His blue jeans tucked into a shirt that looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope and his usual yellow beanie was perched on his head.

The group had decided that tonight was the them and them alone, so they all had some form of disguises to stop themselves being recognised by fans, at least until they arrived at this club Zoey had found. Oversized sunglasses, facemasks and hats pulled low adorned their faces in various combinations as the two bands took the elevator down to the lobby of their building. They took the back exit, knowing full well that trying to walk out the front entrance would mean being mobbed by diehard fans and persistent paparazzi dying for a headline.

Under most other circumstances Rumi would’ve just asked for a few cars to be brought up… but tonight she wanted to see the city on foot, rather than through tempered and  blacked out glass. She slipped her slender fingers into Jinu’s hand as the group slipped out onto the streets. He brought her hand up to press featherlike kisses across her knuckles as they started walking off into the evening light, her cheeks dusting pink with warmth as she leaned against him.

-----

“Ok, note to everyone. Zoey’s access to a GPS needs to be revoked immediately!” Abby chuckled as the group finally arrived at the karaoke club. What should have been a 10-minute walk had turned into something closer to a 45-minute disaster as Zoey’s navigational skills could safely be compared to a drunk blind man in a hedge maze. Nearly a ½ dozen detours of Zoey’s own devising had meant the group arrived at their destination much later than they thought.

Luckily for the group, Rumi had anticipated Zoey’s lack of co-ordination and navigation, and had booked the private room for later than they planned anyway. If they arrived early, then hey-Ho all well and good, but as Rumi had expected, Zoey just ‘had’ to make several stops that were well out of the groups way to the karaoke club.

Once they were inside they were met by a young woman manning the front desk who had a manufactured smile on her face that said she’d heard too many drunken frat parties this week and just wanted a nap… or a strong drink… probably both. “Welcome to Vocal Lounge. How may I help you tonight?”. Anyone who’s worked a retail job would’ve been able to tell the hint of bored disinterest in her tone but that tone soon changed when she realised just who had walked through the front door.

Rumi wandered up to the front desk and smiled warmly at the woman, removing the oversized glasses that masked her face. “Private party under Rumi for 19:30”. If the young woman wasn’t sat down already, Rumi was sure she’d have fallen down. “Of course! Of course…” Her name badge said So-Lee and Rumi watched as she grabbed a key card from the rack behind her and asked the group to follow her which they dutifully did.

So-Lee led them down a hallway lined with numbered doors. The two super groups could hear loud music and questionable singing coming from most of them until So-Lee stopped before a door marked with the number 18. “Here’s your room and here’s your key card. The restrooms are down there and on the left. Please enjoy your evening with us”. And just like that So-Lee turned on her heel and walked back down the corridor but not without giving one last glance over her shoulder at the group of K-Pop idols. Romance gave her a finger heart and a cheeky wink and So-Lee almost fell over her own feet as she disappeared out of sight.

Shaking her head at Romance’s antics but deciding not to bring it up all things considered, Rumi swiped the key card and opened the door, leading the group into their private room.

-----

The room was surprisingly spacious… longer than it was wide. The carpet had that weird patterned design that you’d find on public transport seats, the walls were half wood panels up to waist height and then bland wallpaper up to the roof. At the end of the room was a small stage with a microphone stand, a tablet on a lectern next to it and a pair of oversized speakers hung from the back corners of the roof. A large TV monitor hung on the wall, presumably for song lyrics to play across when singers were performing.

A pair of red leather sofa’s commanded the right-side wall with a pair of low tables sat before them, bowls containing a mish mash of snacks on top. The left wall was dominated by a ‘self-help’ bar with a fully stocked wall of beers, wines and hard spirits. Baby immediately sprung over to the bar and pulled eight shot glasses from under the counter. “Welcome to Casa Del Baby bitches! What’ll be your poison tonight?” he asked with exaggerated hospitality.

That pulled a laugh from everyone else as they removed their disguises and got themselves set up. Baby’s question turned out to be rhetorical as he prepped eight shots of hard liquor and passed them around. “Some liquid courage to get this party rolling. Ready… 3… 2… 1… and down the hatch!”. Everyone tipped their shot back and any lingering tension from the days events started to melt away.

“So who’s volunteering as first tribute tonight then?”. Zoey asked, parking herself on one of the couches next to Mystery. “No one’s getting out of singing tonight. Everyone’s having a go!”. Her wide eyes already raking over the others. “And we’re making a rule… we can’t sing anything any of us or the other group has produced”. She looked at the Saja Boys. “So no ‘Soda Pop’ or Your Idol’”. The boys groaned as their ‘get out of jail free’ card was stripped away in an instant. “Then the same goes for you girls too… no ‘Golden’ or ‘How it’s Done’” Jinu laughed as the same groans escaped the girls.

Baby wandered over from the bar with a shallow bowl in his hands, eight folded pieces of paper sitting in the bottom. “Everyone’s names in here, we draw a name and we see who sings first”. He offered the bowl to Rumi. “Rumi… please select our first victim of the night”. He said it with such exaggerated flair and dramaticism. Rumi dutifully stuck her hand into the bowl, shuffled the pieces around to show she was being fair before pinching one and pulling it out. she decided she was getting in on Baby’s dramatics and made a hilarious act of showing off the piece of paper before slowly opening it.

Rumi had a rare shit eating grin on her face as she turned the paper so everyone could see who’d been selected. “Baby!”. The rest of the Saja Boys exploded into laughter as Baby’s little idea backfired on him instantly. “Hah! Go on Baby! Show us whatcha got!” Abby laughed as he poured himself, Romance and Mira a glass of wine from the bar. Rumi grabbed a full bottle of Soju and two glasses before sitting in Jinu’s lap and pouring them both a ‘healthy’ serving, Mystery poured himself a bourbon and Zoey a Margarita.

Baby just shrugged nonchalantly and made his way over to the tablet. “Oh sweet, its plugged into Spotify! We’ve got literally millions of options here!”. Baby tapped on the screen as he typed in the song he was looking for before he grabbed the mic and pressed play.

Over the months of knowing Baby, the girls had discovered that his personal music tastes were incredibly varied, the man seemed to have no definitive preference. His playlists went straight from Five Finger Death Punch and Skillet right into Britney Spears and Katy Perry… so nobody had any idea what he was about to sing until the first notes of Amarillo by Tony Christie boomed out of the speakers, the lyrics appearing on the monitor hanging off the wall.

“When the day is dawning

On a Texas Sunday morning.

How I long to be there

With Marie who’s waiting for me there”

Baby’s voiced boomed out through the speakers as his hands gestured wildly along to the song. The others all clapping along with dopey smiles on their face.

“Every lonely city

Where I hang my hat

Ain’t as half as pretty

As where my baby’s at”

Baby flashed a cheeky smile and double finger guns at his audience as he ploughed headfirst into the chorus.

“Is this the way to Amarillo?

Every night I’ve been hugging my pillow

Dreaming dreams of Amarillo

And sweet Marie who waits for me

Show me the way to Amarillo

I’ve been weeping like a willow

Crying over Amarillo

And sweet Marie who waits for me”

Everyone else joined in the song whenever it got to the ‘Sha-la-la’ part, which in the girls defence was the only part they really knew. Once Baby had finished the song, he bowed deeply to a round of uproarious applause and a standing ovation. After stepping off the stage Mira shoved another shot into Baby’s hand which he eagerly threw back, his own dopey grin plastered across his face. “That was awesome! Zoey why didn’t you tell me about karaoke before?”.

Baby dropped down on the couch next to Zoey and Mystery as Rumi offered him the bowl of names. “Last performer gets to choose the next victim”. Baby smiled wickedly and stuck a hand into the bowl, pulling out a name. “Jinu!”. A round of ‘Ooooo’s’ as the man of the hour stood up and wandered over to the stage with a casual ease before he flicked through the near infinite options.

While he wasn’t as varied in his taste as Baby was, Jinu made an effort to sample a large variety of music and as he was scrolling, one caught his eye and he poked select. Grabbing the mic he looked straight into Rumi’s eyes as Beneath Your Beautiful by Labrinth started to play.

“You tell all the boys no

Makes you feel good, yeah

I know your out of my league

But that won’t scare me away, oh no”

Jinu’s angelic voice hit every note perfectly and even from the stage he could see Rumi’s tearing up before he’d even got to the chorus. He was more than happy to remind her of her beauty every chance he got, either through his words, his touch or in this case… his singing.

“You’ve carried on so long

You couldn’t stop if you tried it

You’ve built your walls so high

That no one could climb it”

He flashed Rumi a cheeky wink and a loving smile.

“But I’m gonna try

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful

Would you let me see beneath your perfect”

By the time he’d finished the performance Rumi was actively crying, but they were happy tears as Jinu stepped off the stage to a wave of applause. She jumped up and wrapped him in a tight hug as she wept into his shirt. “That was beautiful, but why’d you have to make me cry you dumbass?”. Jinu just smiled as he lifted her face to look into his eyes. “Because you deserve to be reminded of how special you are. Everyday… forever”. Jinu leaned down to kiss her, slowly, reverently… savouring her touch and taste.

“Oh for Gwi-Ma’s sake! If you two don’t fuck tonight I'm gonna sue you!”. Baby had a hand buried in a peanut bowl on the table and watching the PDA with a mix of fake disgust and actual disgust. Jinu flipped him off before reaching into the bowl and snagging the name of the next victim. “Mira… you’re up!”.

Mira stood up, finishing the last mouthful of her glass of wine before making her way over to the stage. “That glass better be full by the time I get back over there” she ordered over her shoulder at Abby and Romance who both went to grab the wine bottle only to collide with each other and almost knock it onto the floor. Mira smirked at the two fumbling idiots as she keyed in her choice.

Now anyone who knew Mira even in passing knew she was a massive BLACKPINK fan. Hell, her laptop screensaver was a photo of her with Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé when the girls were on their 2024 Born Pink tour. So it was no surprise to either Rumi or Zoey when How You Like That blasted through the speakers. Mira slipped easily into Korean for the song and even the guys couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Boran deushi muneojeosseo
Badageul ttulko jeo jihalkkaji
Ot kkeutjarak japgettago
Jeo nopi du soneul ppeodeobwado”

Abby and Romance’s jaws hit the floor with such speed and force Rumi was surprised they didn’t lose any teeth as they watched Mira perform like she was on a world stage and not on a slightly grubby stage in a backroom.

“Dashi kamkamhan igose Light up the sky
Ni du nuneul bomyeo I'll kiss you goodbye
Shilkeot biuseora kkoljoeunikka
Ije neohi hana dul set. Ha, how you like that?”

Zoey and Rumi couldn’t help but sing along as Mira’s voice swept them up into her performance. Even the guys got in on a few lyrics here and there, and when she finished she was greeted by a wall of applause from her friends. She smiled wide and warm as she took up her place on the couch, Abby handing her a fresh glass of white wine.

“Ok fuckers! Time to decide who’s next!”. Mira’s words were ever so slightly slurred with drink as she stuck her hand into the bowl and dragged a slip out into her lap. “Romance my dear boy!… your stage awaits you”. The man himself grinned as he made his way onto the stage, offering an overly exaggerated bow to his audience. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Hunters and former Demons! Tonight I shall be performing the greatest song in all of existence for your entertainment”.

The look on his face told everyone that he was equally as serious as he was taking the piss. They were all expecting him to perform some soppy love ballad… that was his typical style, but apparently he had other plans and another song in mind as he tapped his song choice into the tablet and after one final teasing smile at his captive audience, he pressed play.

Rumi’s jaw hit the floor, Jinu’s eyebrows went into orbit, Mira choked on her wine, Abby fell off the sofa laughing, Zoey actively started squealing and Mystery just sat there with a smirk on his lips… as Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley blasted through the speakers. Romance nailed the choreography perfectly, almost as if he’d been religiously studying it (he had been) as he launched into the iconic song.

“We’re no strangers to love

You know the rules and so do I

A full commitment’s what I’m thinking of

You wouldn’t get this from any other guy

I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling

Gotta make you understand”

Everyone was on their feet, clapping along, stamping their feet in tune and laughing like maniacs as Romance nailed every word and every dance move with exaggerated flair.

“never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you”

After he had finished, Romance bowed deeply again and held his arms out wide.. challenging… but in the fun way. “Beat That!”. he smirked as he took his seat next to Mira and picked up the bowl of names. “Mystery… you have been chosen”.

Mystery stood silently, taking his bourbon with him as he ascended the stage stairs. Tapping the mic a few times for some reason before he keyed in his choice. Just like with Baby, the girls had no idea what Mystery was going to sing… but that was mainly due to the fact that they had never heard him sing anything that hadn’t been ‘Soda Pop’ or ‘Your Idol’ or any of the new works the guys had been working on over the last few weeks.

So you could imagine their surprise when the first notes filtered through the speakers and the lyrics came up on the screen…

Chapter Text

“We’re leaving together

But still it’s farewell

And maybe we’ll come back

To earth, who can tell?

I guess there is no one to blame

We’re leaving ground ~leaving ground~”

Just like with Romance’s performance, everyone was instantly on their feet clapping and singing along as ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe thudded through the speakers. Mystery nailed the vocals perfectly and everyone joined in at full volume when the chorus began, shot glasses, wine flutes and beer mugs raised high.

“It’s the final countdown!

The final countdown!”

Baby was stood on one of the snack tables using a rolled-up magazine he’d found as a makeshift microphone. In his other hand he raised his soju above his head like it was the Holy Grail. Rumi and Jinu were dancing in each other’s arms, half swaying to Mystery’s choice of song and half to whatever beat was going on in their heads. Zoey looked like she was about to have a nosebleed, her eyes never leaving Mystery. They flicked from his lips to his gesturing hands to the subtle sway of his hips as he sang. His usually guarded persona shifting into something more relaxed… something a little more carefree.

When the final note faded into silence, Mystery ran both hands through his hair, offering everyone a rare (and I mean very rare) glance at his full face and his beautiful heterochromia. Zoey’s eyes exploded with popcorn and Abby dived to catch it with an empty bowl laughing like a madman as Mystery descended the stairs to a wave of applause. “Rock on Mystery!” Romance laughed past his wine flute and did the ‘rock n’ roll’ fingers.

Mystery seemed entirely unbothered by the commotion he’d caused as he took a sip of his bourbon before reaching towards the bowl of names. He flashed Zoey a cheeky smirk as he flicked a piece of popcorn out of the bowl at her. To give the pair credit where it was due, Mystery’s flick perfectly arced the piece of popcorn high into the air and Zoey leaned over to catch it in her mouth with an ease that suggested much practice, her eyes sparkling with amusement and mischief.

Mystery unfurled a ticket and announced the next performer, holding the paper aloft before folding it and pocketing it. “Abby!”. “Ok ladies… time to show y’all how it’s really done”. Abby chuckled as he wandered nonchalantly over to the stage to a mixed bowl of  sarcastic comments and obscene gestures from his tipsy friends, Baby saying something about ‘a bag of bricks can probably sing better than Abby’ which earned a chuckle out of anyone who heard it.

The strongman of the Saja Boys tapped in his choice of song and jabbed the play button. Over his time as a human again, Abby had found his music tastes leaning towards the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was that appealed that music to him, but he’d often find himself singing along to what he called his ‘Old and Gold’ Playlist, even though he was considerably older than every single track in said playlist. Probably older than them all put together if he was being honest.

Abby grabbed the mic as the piano beat of Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ filled the room. Mira raised her glass of wine in approval as Abby launched into the lyrics.

“You could never know what it’s like

Your blood like winter, freezes just like ice

And there’s a cold, lonely light that shines from you

You’ll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use”

Abby’s smile widened as he watched his bandmates and friends dancing along as he sang. Zoey had pulled Mystery onto his feet to dance with her, Romance was drumming along to the beat on his knee’s while Mira was swaying her shoulders along with the song, sipping at her wine whenever her eyes met his. Jinu and Rumi had settled back into the couch, her sat with her legs ducked under her and his arm around her waist, cheeks dusted pink with drink and adoration for each other. Baby was dancing by himself… could that even be called dancing? It looked painful.

This was exactly what life should be. Two groups just enjoying each other’s company… former enemies now friends. People who couldn’t stand each other at one point now drinking and laughing with each other. Insults and hatred traded for banter and teasing and Abby would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

If only his family could see him now. See how far he’d come from that cruel, angry, hateful creature he’d been at one point. To see him as the protector he had always wished he could’ve been, instead of the monster under the bed. The sadness at what he’d lost scattering to the winds as he finished his performance and stepped off the stage, receiving a high five from Baby and Romance as he took his seat again.

“So who’s it gonna be next?” Zoey asked, looking at the bowl that only had two slips left now. She knew it would be between her and Rumi to go next and she’d had enough of her drink to know she felt confident enough not to completely murder the song she had in mind. She’d been practicing like mad trying to get the singers lyrics down, but it hadn’t been an easy feat. Zoey thought of herself as a talented rapper… but this guy? He was a legend.

Abby answered for her, sticking his hand into the bowl and pulling out a slip before turning it to show everyone else. “You’re up Zo”. Zoey puffed out a breath before she made her way towards the stage, only to find a slender hand wrapped around her wrist stopping her in her tracks. She turned to see Mystery and he smiled warmly at her. “You’ve got this Noona”. He wasn’t much for peptalks but those few words were all she needed to hear to give her the extra confidence boost she needed.

Bounding up to the stage, Zoey keyed in her choice and picked the mic up as the first notes of the song played.

No… this guy wasn’t just a legend… he was a god… a Rap God.

It was the turn of Rumi’s eyebrows to launch into low orbit as Zoey launched into Eminem’s legendary song. Zoey had always talked about wanting to be able to sing ‘Rap God’ ever since she’d met Eminem that one time back in the States. He’d even signed one of her lyric books, but whenever she practiced she’d always trip over her own tongue when it got to that part of the song.

“I’m beginnin’ to feel like a Rap God, Rap God

All my people from the front to the back nod, back nod

Now, who thinks their arms are long enough to slap box, slap box?

They said I rap like a robot, so call me Rap-Bot”

Everyone was leaning forward to hear Zoey rap, her mouth moving at highway speed as she flew through the song with ease and style. Rumi was eagerly awaiting that particular part of the song that everyone had tried to copy at least once in their lives and completely butchered, including herself (And me).

She was actually very invested in watching what Baby’s reaction was going to be. She hadn’t heard any Eminem in any of his playlists so this was going to be an interesting sight to see. Both her and Mira held their breath as Zoey arrived at the hardest part of the song.

“Uh, summa-lumma dooma-lumma, you assumin’ I’m a human

What I gotta do to get it through to you I’m superhuman?

Innovative and I’m made of rubber so that anything

You say is ricochetin’ off of me, and it’ll glue to you and

I’m devastating, more than ever demonstrating

How to give a motherfuckin’ audience a feeling like it’s levitating

Never fading, and I know the haters are forever waiting

For the day that they can say I fell off, they’ll be celebrating”

Everyone went absolutely berserk as Zoey flawlessly flew through the fastest rap verse to ever be put to a microphone. Rumi and Mira shot to their feet, punching the air, Rumi spilling her soju all over her polo neck but she didn’t really care. Abby and Romance again had to pick their jaw’s up off the floor. Mystery looked incredulous at Zoey’s show stopping performance. Much like Abs and Rome, his jaw swung low as he listened.

As soon as the last bar left her lips, Baby made a show of getting down on his knees and Kowtowing towards Zoey. “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy” but the smile on his face showed his appreciation for another skilled rapper. Talent acknowledges talent and all that.

All eyes turned to the only member of the group who had yet to sing. “Well I guess it’s my turn now”. Rumi handed her now almost empty glass to Jinu as she stood up. “You got this Jagiya” Jinu offered in encouragement, flashing her his favourite smirk as she wandered over to the stage and started flicking through the near infinite options on the tablet.

What did she want to sing? There were a myriad of options available to her. Should she go with something she was familiar with? Or should she venture out of her comfort zone a little? Under other circumstances she’d already be completely rat arsed on Soju by now, probably leaning on Mira or throwing up in a bathroom, but tonight she had some plans in mind that she wanted to be sober (ish) to enjoy so she’d been carefully monitoring her booze intake, along with someone else’s. She hadn’t even been that annoyed when she spilt her Soju down herself earlier.

‘Bugger it! We’re going for something different’ she thought to herself. Jinu had chosen a song that had made her feel special… made her feel wanted… made her feel valuable… precious even. He’d made her feel what he feels for her. So it seemed only fair to return the favour… and Rumi was feeling a little promiscuous after what little alcohol she’d actually had, and a certain song filtered through her mind… it fit perfectly so she keyed it in and stabbed the play button, grabbing the mic and directing her eyes right at Jinu.

“Ooh, I can’t pretend

Like you didn’t bring my tempo up again

My heads in a spin

You send my body to a place it’s never been

Baby won’t you let me”

She’d only heard Alan Walker’s ‘The Drum’ for the first time last week. It showed up in her Spotify ‘Weekly Suggestions’ playlist and she’d immediately fallen in love with the track. For some reason it resonated with her and it reminded her of her relationship with Jinu.  The song perfectly captured how she felt whenever he was near, the lyrics perfectly describing what she’d wanted to do to him since the moment she found his soul and body at Namsam.

It reminded her of all the things the pair had been dancing around for weeks, but never taking that final plunge… maybe tonight would be the night they finally took that dive.

“Keep you up all night? Let the morning come closer

You send me so high now, the ceiling can’t hold us

Listen to my heart let the rhythm control ya

I’ll be there when you need my love

Just follow the beat of my drum”

While the others had looked all around the room when they’d sung, Rumi had eyes only for her boyfriend who was sat frozen in place on the sofa. His eyebrows again lost somewhere in low earth orbit and his jaw seemingly having gone right through the floor and was now somewhere back down in the demon realm paying Gwi-Ma a visit. Her eyes bore into his as she sang, suggestive hand movements running up and down her waist, her hips and her chest as she moved into the next verse.

“Ooh, I can’t pretend

Like I didn’t let your love go to my head, ah-ah, mm-mm

Ooh, I’m in a spin

You send my body to a place it never been, ah-ah

Whoa-oh, oh, no

Thinkin’ about you, makin’ my body behave so

Crazy, oh you make me wanna sway slow”

She was fairly sure she could see a bit of drool escape the corner of Jinu’s mouth as she sang, she’d have to give that mouth of his something to do for the rest of the evening.

Once the final lyric fell from her lips and the last note faded into the background she was greeted by a solid wall of noise. Abby and Romance were loudly whistling through their fingers, Baby and Mystery were applauding so hard it looked like it hurt. Mira was giving her the most suggestive side-eye she could muster being several wines deep at this point. Zoey looked feral as her eyes darted between Rumi and Jinu as the pair reconnected in a clash of lips on the couch, Rumi straddling Jinu’s legs as she kissed him hard.

“Let you keep me up all night huh?” Jinu smirked into her lips. “Something you’re trying to tell me Gongjunim?”. Rumi couldn’t contain the scarlet blush that hit her as his hands wandered slowly over her ribs… caring but also teasing. “Maybe…” she whispered into his lips as she kissed him deeply and he chuckled deep in his chest. “You gonna give me a hint?”. Her mind went back to when the pair had been coming back from the K24 interview and Rumi smiled, not being able to resist throwing Jinu’s own joke back at him.

Stroking her chin like a cheesy movie villain just like he had done to her, she pretended to think about it. “Hmm… do I give you a hint or not? … … Nah”. She reached up to whisper, her breath ghosting over the shell of his ear “You’re gonna have to wait and see… aren’t you?”.

-----

Once everyone had performed at least once, the stage became a free-for-all. Anyone who wanted to sing could do so and everyone made good use of the freedom. More solo performances followed as well as duo’s and even groups as Huntrix and the Saja Boys wasted the evening away with drink, good company and questionable singing, the unfortunate events of that morning pushed to the backs of everyone’s mind.

• Baby gave everyone a lovely rendition of ‘Paradise City’ by Guns N’ Roses which ended with him stumbling off the stage thanks to him being on his fourth pint of the night by that point. He almost crashed into the floor before Abby caught him by the scruff of his shirt.
• Jinu – not one to be one upped by his girlfriend – sang ‘My Universe’ by Coldplay which had Rumi close to tears again and had her surgically attaching her lips to his for the next 20 minutes.
• Romance treated everyone to a stellar performance of ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ by Swedish House Mafia, which involved a hilarious attempt at doing the splits… the only thing that actually split was his trousers which Mira found so funny she nearly needed the Heimlich manoeuvre after she choked on the Shrimp chips she was eating at the time.
• Abby and Jinu treated everyone to a masterful duet version of ‘Summer of 69’ by Bryan Adams. Rumi and Mira both getting a little hot under the collar as they watched.
• Mystery and Zoey sang a lovely duet of JP Cooper and Astrid S’s ‘Sing it With Me’ which had most everyone getting emotional… emotions definitely caused by the consummation of alcohol and not due to Mystery’s angelic vocals… maybe.
• The Huntrix girls all got on stage to sing ‘Work From Home’ by Fifth Harmony which had the guys actively drooling into their drinks with their suggestive dancing.
• The Saja Boys all got on stage to belt out ‘Don’t Stop me Now’ by Queen which had the girls drooling over them as payback for ‘Work From Home’.
• Abby sang another song from his ‘Old and Gold’ Playlist. ‘Your Love’ by The Outfield had everyone back on their feet dancing around and on top of tables.
• Rumi belted out Shania Twain’s ‘Man I Feel Like a Woman’ that continued the wine induced dancing. She also threw in Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ because why the fuck not?
• Jinu decided to throw in another few songs just to remind Rumi of how beautiful and perfect she was to him by singing ‘Infinity’ by Jaymes Young and ‘Ordinary’ by Alex Warren.
• Throwing Zoey’s rule out the window, all eight of them got on stage to sing ‘Golden’ and ‘Soda Pop’. Each group also doing a cover of the others biggest song just for the entertainment value.
• Abby jumped up to do Elvis Presley’s ‘Burning Love’ in which he invited Mira to join him on stage. Mira was on her 4^th… no 5^th glass of wine by that point so she was straight up there dancing on and around Abby like he was an exotic dancers pole, though he kept his hands in PG places. He didn’t want to face her wrath tomorrow if he wasn’t a gentleman about it.
• And Rumi and Jinu closed out the night with a duet version of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. A performance that shook the room with how loud the applause and cheering was.

Throughout the night everyone had been taking photos, selfies and doing other dumb shit that only a group of drunk young adults did when they thought no one else was watching.

Mystery executed a flawless moonwalk into a perfect split that had Romance playfully cursing his name after his own disastrous attempt. Zoey spent the best part of 15 minutes looking for one of her lost heels which she eventually located behind the bar in the ice bucket for some reason. Abby tried his hand at juggling three empty glasses which ended exactly how you’d expect a half-drunken dumbasses attempt at juggling would.

Honestly… Rumi had been entirely correct in her prediction for the night. Chaos… legendary chaos.

-----

Unfortunately it was time to start packing up and heading for home. Most everyone had had a little too much to drink with a few exceptions. Those exceptions being Rumi, Jinu and Mystery – the trio only having had two drinks each so they could be classed as sober. So after the group collected their various scattered belongings and tracked down the rooms key card (which they eventually remembered was in Jinu’s wallet for safe keeping) the eight of them left the room behind and headed back out to the main lobby.

So-Lee had been replaced with a man with a goatee beard who seemed equally astonished at the fact that THE two super groups of Korea’s music scene had frequented his place of work. After the group took a few selfies with the clerk, Rumi handed over the room key card as well as a few Won notes to replace the glasses Abby had broken before the group donned their disguises again and stepped back out onto the streets.

“So do we need the GPS to get home then or…?” Zoey asked, half serious and half joking. Mira who was slightly too drunk to deal with Zoey’s abysmal navigational skills just pointed in the vague direction of a large glowing skyscraper. “We’re literally in that building over there Zo! I don’t think we need a GPS”. Romance gently rotated Mira 180 degrees and helped her point at the correct building. Apparently she’d been pointing at a large office block in completely the opposite direction to Huntrix Tower and she buried her bright red face into Romance’s shoulder in embarrassment as everyone laughed.

“Ok guys… lets go home”. Jinu chuckled as he and Rumi took the lead. With them being the most sober out of the group it made sense they lead the way. Zoey decided she didn’t want to walk home in ‘these fucking heels!’ and she badgered Mystery into giving her a piggyback which he dutifully provided. Mira was absolutely wasted (5 large glasses of wine will do that to you so I’ve been told) and she had an arm draped over both Abby and Romance’s shoulders as they supported her slender frame between them.

Rumi should’ve brought a leash because she was having serious issues keeping Baby on track and going in the right direction. Honestly he was as bad as Zoey for getting distracted and wandering off in completely the wrong direction. At one point they’d lost him entirely only to find him a few minutes later sat on a curb demolishing some chicken skewers he’d got from a street vendor, a vendor who quickly found himself surrounded by another seven hungry idols eager for a late-night snack.

-----

At one point the group found themselves walking through a park which they definitely hadn’t walked through to get to the club in the first place. They ended up sat on the grass overlooking the city and watching the stars as they tucked into a large bag full of ‘to go’ boxes from various stores and street vendors.

Rumi was busy snacking on some Dakgangjeong while she leant against Jinu who was attacking a Hotteok pancake like it was a culinary demon.

Zoey and Mystery were sharing a large box of Eomuk between them and chattering about… something that Rumi couldn’t exactly hear.

Mira was destroying a box of sticky BBQ ribs and furiously fending off Abby who kept trying to pinch one instead of eating his own Hweori Gamja.

Romance decided to keep his fingers to himself, having no desire to lose them to a territorial Mira. He was tucking into some sweet and spicy Tteokbokki skewers and watching the skyline.

Baby was gnawing on some Kkwabaegi like a chipmunk and humming to himself as he enjoyed the sugary treat.

“You know … despite this morning going to absolute shite… I think we managed to make a good day out of it in the end”. Zoey blurted out before stuffing another piece of Eomuk into her mouth. Everyone agreed wholeheartedly and Jinu raised the last bite of his pancake above his head like he was making a toast. “To drunken nights out”. Everyone else raised whatever they could in lieu of a drink. “To questionable singing and even more questionable dancing” Baby laughed. “To second chances” Mira slurred out. “To found family” Mystery said sombrely.

Rumi took a second to think before she said her piece. “To being there for each other… whenever they need it”.

The group nodded their agreement and with the exception of Abby’s quiet humming, the group sat in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the city and gazing at the sky. Zoey eagerly pointed out a shooting star. “Ooh! Look! Quick… everyone make a wish!”.

No one spoke it out loud, everyone keeping their wish to the confines of their own heads. Rumi leant her body back into Jinu who wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, kissing her temple and resting his head on her shoulder. “So what’d you wish for Oppa?” she whispered to him as his fingers began tracing idle shapes across her arms.

He tilted her head to the side so his lips could meet hers. His touch and caress featherlike and worshipping. His reply no louder than her whispering. “Nothing… I’ve got my wish right here”.

-----

It was close to 23:00 when the group finally wandered back into the penthouse. The shattered window had already been replaced, Mira having called building maintenance after Romance had told everyone about his past to get the window repaired, the moonlight shone off a few shards of glass on the balcony that had been left behind by the clean-up crew but they all decided that was a tomorrow problem.

“Right… dunno bout you guys but I’m beat… night!” Baby darted off towards his room without another word and the others decided he had a point and made their ways to their respective rooms. Abby ended up carrying a now snoring Mira to her room and getting her settled while Mystery, Romance and Zoey headed towards their own domiciles.

Jinu felt Rumi’s slender hand wrap around his and he turned to look at her. She didn’t give him a chance to speak as her lips met his in a storm of passion, her hands wandering up and down his chest, tracing the contours of his muscles, his own hands moving to map her stomach and hips.

Jinu slowly walked Rumi backwards towards her room, she trusted him to guide her true. Careful not to let their lips separate Rumi kicked her door open and the pair staggered inside. She let out a disapproving sigh as Jinu’s wandering hands momentarily left her body to shut the door and her ears picked up the distinct sound of the lock clicking.

“Now…” Jinu whispered into her ear, making her blush and melt into his touch and his voice as his hands returned to their ministrations. “I believe you said something about keeping me up all night”.

Chapter Text

“I believe you said something about keeping me up all night?”. Rumi shivered as Jinu’s fingertips trailed from her wrists up to her shoulders, perfectly mapping the jagged patterns on her upper arms even through her polo neck, almost as if he’s memorised their paths (which he absolutely has). His kiss was fervent, hungry, his lips blazing a trail of liquid lightning from her own to her cheeks to her jaw and back again. His every touch electric under her skin.

He continued to walk her slowly backwards towards her bed, every step taking them closer to crossing that final line… taking that final plunge… that final dive, and Rumi couldn’t hide her desire for him any longer as she began furiously undoing Jinu’s shirt, fumbling over the tiny buttons in the dark. By the time she felt her bedframe on the back of her legs she’d only managed to get four buttons undone, another four taunting her with her lack of success.

Jinu moved his hands from her arms to her face, cupping her cheeks and tilting her face upwards to look into his eyes, eyes that were half lidded with love and lust. “Rumi… are you sure you want to do this…?” His breathing was heavy thanks to the kissing and his lips a little swollen from Rumi nibbling on them.

But even like this, even love drunk and clearly horny if what she could feel through his jeans was anything to go by, he was still caring… still letting her choose this… still letting her lead, and that turned her on so much more than anything else he’d done that day. “Yes” she gasped against his lips as she felt his fingers trace under the hem of her polo neck, teasing over her abdomen. “Yes Jinu I want this… I want you… all of you… I need you…”.

The groan that escapes his lips at that admission had her clenching her legs together as heat pooled low in her belly.

She finally managed to get the final buttons undone on his shirt and her hands meet solid muscle as the fabric opens like a pair of stage curtains. Her fingernails rising slowly over his sixpack towards his pecs, agonisingly slowly. Her actions reward her with a stuttering moan torn from his lips as she runs the tip of a nail over his now exposed nipple, a nipple that’s rapidly hardening under her touch. “F-Fuck Rumi…” the words barely audible as his head tips back on his shoulders.

One of her hands snakes up past his face and fists into his hair, dragging his head back down so she can crash her lips back into his with the force of a car crash as her other hand moves to push his shirt off his back. The soft fabric easily sliding down Jinu’s muscular body and he kicks it away with his foot as it hits the floor before his own hands move to strip Rumi of her polo neck.

She couldn’t stop the moan that forced its way from her lips as Jinu ran his hands up her sides under her shirt, lifting the garment away from her body, his fingers catching slightly on the fabric of her bra and she lifted her arms so Jinu could fully remove the article, throwing it off to the side with a casual disregard for clothing rights. They were both now shirtless and bare on their upper halves, with the exception of Rumi’s bra, a thin red frilly lace number that did nothing to mask the hardness of her own nipples, a hardness that wasn’t in any way caused by the slight chill in the air.

Their lips collided again, Jinu laying siege to her mouth as his hands came down to gently caress over her breasts. Another involuntary gasp was pulled from Rumi and swallowed instantly by Jinu as he massaged and cupped her breasts, running his hands across every inch of sensitive skin he could reach, his thumbs beginning to rub slow teasing circles around her hardened peaks. “Sh-Shit!” Rumi gasped out as her own hands reached around to anchor into his back, leaving two sets of scratches across his back.

“May I?” Jinu asked breathily, his hands roaming around to reach for the clasp of her bra and Rumi could only nod frantically against his lips, far too occupied to form intelligible language right now. It took Jinu a few too many tries than it should have but he eventually managed to undo the garment and threw it off to the side, leaving Rumi naked above the waist.

Rumi couldn’t help but chuckle into his lips as her own hands continued to explore him. “Anyone would think you’ve never taken a bra off before”. She pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes only to find his own looking down at the floor, cheeks bright pink in embarrassment. The realisation hit her like a truck. “Wait!... Is this your first time?”. Jinu could only nod almost imperceptibly. “Eternal torment doesn’t exactly leave much room for dating apps”.

A whole new wave of warmth flooded through Rumi’s body as she cupped his cheeks, directing his eyes to look at her. Her smile was warm and kind as she pecked him once on the tip of his nose. “I imagine hellfire really kills the vibe… It’s ok… it’s uhh… it’s my first time too…”. Now her own cheeks dusted with pink and embarrassment as her own head turned downcast, “I don’t really know what to do either…”.

She felt Jinu’s own fingers on her chin, lifting her head back up to meet his gaze. His eyes carrying nothing but adoration for the girl before him. “Then lets learn together”. The words no higher than a whisper and Rumi couldn’t fight the happy tear that fell, Jinu’s thumb catching it before it could get past her cheek. All she could offer was a nod, her mouth unable to form solid words.

Jinu guided Rumi back and carefully laid her out on her back on her bed, her tits bouncing slightly as she hit the sheets and her fingers traced lightly up and down her lithe figure as Jinu slowly climbed above her, supporting himself on his hands either side of her arms. His eyes drinking her in, half bare and trembling slightly beneath him. “Fuck Rumi… you’re perfect…” Her patterns shimmered at the compliment, greens, blue’s and lavender pulses raced across her body as Jinu traced a gentle finger down the lone mark that ran across her cleavage.

The moan she let out at the touch encouraged Jinu to continue. Supporting himself on one hand he ran the other across every inch of pattern he could see, tracing each one from root to tip with a featherlike touch, Rumi’s body arching against him whenever his fingernail brushed against her skin. He kissed her again, roughly and she responded in kind, biting at his bottom lip as his hand returned to gently torment her nipple with its maddeningly slow circles.

She groaned at the sensation and her head fell back to meet her pillow, her hands reaching to fist into his raven locks again as his lips leave hers to begin a trail of molten fire across her cheek to the shell of her ear and along her jaw, paying particular attention to that sweet spot under her ear that has her melting into a gooey Rumi puddle on her comforter.

“Mmmm!” It was the only noise she could make that wasn’t garbled gibberish as Jinu slowly moved his lips lower, tracing along the pattern on her neck and down to her collarbone, sucking on the skin hard enough to leave a mark that would absolutely bruise in the morning before flicking his tongue over the now highly sensitive flesh. She couldn’t bring herself to care about the mark right now, she was too far gone for that.

Each of his kisses was slower and deeper than the last, the sensation that his lips and tongue left on her skin set her alight to her very core, burning her inside and out as the lava in her veins boiled her alive under his touch. “Argh!... Jinu!...” At best her words left her lips no louder than a breathy whine as Jinu’s lips finally reached her breast. His lips lavishing over one nipple while his thumb and fore finger tended to the other, gently squeezing and pinching, it was a sensation Rumi couldn’t describe, it was driving her wild. She’d explored herself before… but nothing could compare to Jinu as he worshipped her body.

His touch was heaven upon her. His tongue swirled around her nipple, flicking over it a few times before returning to circling like a shark, his hand performing the same dance across the other. After a few minutes he kissed his way across her chest to treat her other nipple to the same thoroughly heavenly experience and Rumi couldn’t stop her nails from digging into his scalp at the sensations he was sending through her. Urgent morse code from every nerve sending a message of a single word up to her brain on repeat. ‘Yes!’. The same message seemingly going through Jinu’s mind too as he moaned into the grip she had on his hair.

Jinu continued his assault of kisses as he trailed almost lazily down her body, meandering nearly aimlessly across her chest, abdomen and stomach, every action careful and reverent… very… Jinu. A bolt of fire shot through her body as Jinu kissed just above her bellybutton before diving his tongue in before returning to kissing a trail of wetness further south.

The sensations he was making her feel left her soaked in her own arousal and they hadn’t even got to the ‘good’ part yet. Rumi’s breath shuddered as her mind ran rampant with fantasy under Jinu’s ministrations. His hands leaving her breasts alone to trail slow movements down her sides that had her arching into her sheets, before she managed to prop herself up on her elbows to watch him as he neared the top of her jeans.

He met her eyes, a silent request to continue and Rumi could only nod, her breath coming in ragged pants from his touch. Undoing her belt was much simpler for Jinu than her bra had been and Rumi arched her hips slightly to aid him in removing them. She almost laughed at how forcefully he balled them up and launched them across her room once they were free of her legs.

She was almost completely naked under him now with the exception of her red lace lingerie and Jinu didn’t even bother trying to mask the near growl that forced its way free as his eyes settled on the damp patch already there against the fabric. “Fuck… Rumi!... Your soaked already”. Her patterns flashed red and pink at his words as he climbed back up to claim her mouth with his, one hand supporting his weight, the other reaching between her legs, rubbing his fingers softly over the thin fabric.

Her hips bucked up into him instinctually as his fingers ran over her sex, her want and need seeping through the thin material and collecting on Jinu’s fingers, leaving him in no doubt she wanted this. Her words panted out past gasps and whines of pleasure. “Jinu… I need… I need…” her words died on her tongue as Jinu’s thumb grazed over her clit for the first time, a movement that made her throw her head back against the bed with a loud moan as a spark of desire roared through her. She was suddenly very very happy her room is soundproofed.

Jinu attacked her neck with another barrage of kisses, slowly making his way back up to the sweet spot on her jaw. “You need what Rumi? Use your words Gongjunim”. Rumi had enough mental faculties left to offer a half-baked glare at him. “Jerk!” She gasped but there’s zero bite to the insult. However there was some bite left in her as Jinu nibbled at her sweet spot so she leans up to return the favour. Clamping her teeth into his shoulder causing a shiver to run through his body. “I need you… Jinu… I… need more…please…”.

If there was one thing Jinu was a sucker for, it was Rumi saying please. And in this context and that tone? It sent a wave of his own arousal straight into his pants and he groaned as his cock strained against the confines of his trousers. ‘Soon’ he thought to himself as he pulled his attention back to Rumi. He wouldn’t allow himself a release until she’d had her’s first. “As you wish Jagiya”. Fuck her if he couldn’t be seductive when he wanted to be.

He watched her blush crimson and he smirked at her, before retracing his warpath of kisses back down her body, kissing and caressing slowly down her cleavage and across her ribs, over her naval and stomach until he reached the strap of her panties.

He paused momentarily… giving her a chance to pull away, but when he met no resistance he gripped the edge of her panties between his teeth, made eye contact with her… and slowly began to drag the garment down her legs, exposing a small patch of neatly trimmed purple pubic hair. The squeak Rumi made at his action was its own reward as he pulled the red lingerie down past her knees and past her ankles. Once he had the frilly garment free of her body, he stood and drank her in in all her glory. Naked and already soaked… ready for him… A goddess made flesh.

Seeing him standing there half naked with her lingerie clamped between his teeth was doing things to Rumi. Her hands roamed across her tits, teasing her nipples as she watched Jinu jerk his head to the side to throw her panties out of the way before he knelt down and pulled her slightly towards the edge of the bed, her ass balanced on the edge.

Starting on her calf, Jinu began treating her lower half to the same assault of kisses he’d given the rest of her. Slowly creeping his lips up her legs, giving each the same level of devotion while his hands massaged ahead of his wandering mouth. Rumi gasped loud enough for him to hear as he reached a spot just below the side of her knee that seemed to have the same effect as the spot under her ear. ‘Hmm, Interesting’ Jinu thought to himself, filing this second sweet spot away for future reference.

His kisses became more frantic and hungry as he burned a path of molten lightning up the insides of her thighs, his hands carefully spreading her legs as he got closer to her heat. She didn’t fight him, spreading her legs to allow him entry, biting her lip hard enough to hurt as he got closer to what she really wanted, her eyes fluttering with pleasure and want… no it wasn’t want at this point… it was need.

The low groan that rumbled in his throat vibrated into her and it sent another bolt through to her core and she covered her mouth to stop the cry of pleasure that tried to escape her lips. She knew her friends couldn’t hear them but she’d never experienced anything like this before. “Don’t you dare hold back!” Jinu growled into her thigh before he sucked another deep hickey into her flesh. “I want to hear you fall apart for me”.

He was inches away by now, teasing her mercilessly with what she desperately sought and she mustered up enough brain power to glare at him from her position. “Isn’t that mouth of yours supposed to be busy right now?” she growled back at him. Her head fell back momentarily as Jinu darted his tongue over the hickey he’d just planted on her, his teeth grazing the mark ever so slightly. His eyes darted back and forth between her pulsing patterns and her dripping cunt, a wicked smile spreading over his face.

“Don’t you worry Gongjunim… it’s about to be very busy indeed”. Rumi made the mistake of making eye contact with him and what she saw removed any and all remaining vestiges of her self-control. The cheeky fucker waggled his eyebrows at her… and dived in to lick a long stripe from bottom to top, the flat of his tongue running the length of her folds and Rumi couldn’t stop the cry that tore free as he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked sweetly, swirling his tongue around the sensitive bud, collecting her slick on his tongue and swallowing feverishly.

Her head fell back with force and her hands scrambled to find purchase, one found Jinu’s hair again, fisting in and holding on for dear life as he repeated the motion in reverse, her other hand fisting into her bedding to keep herself anchored. “Argh! F-Fuck!... Ji…Jinu!...Shi…Shit!” she gasped out past a whine that reverberated deep in her throat.

Jinu was gone too… lost in a paradise of his own making as he set up his own rhythm. Three full length licks from bottom to top, a fourth that darted his tongue between her folds but not penetrating just yet, then a final suck on her clit that had her gasping for air before repeating the sequence.

Pulling up just enough to breathe – because he’d apparently forgotten he still needed to do that – he gasped in oxygen and laid his eyes on Rumi who had turned into a horny sweaty mess under his tongue. Her chest heaved as she panted for breath, her eyes lidded with lust and desire.  “Fuck!… Rumi… you taste so good!...” his words panted out through ragged breaths, his own chest heaving in time with hers. Rumi, half mad with lust forced herself to meet his eye.

“Did I say you could stop?”. She catches the hint of a smirk on his lips as he leans back down. “Who says I’m planning on stopping?” and before she can offer a sarcastic retort, his tongue is back on her and Rumi lets loose another moan, louder than last time… letting herself feel it all… letting him feel her reaction. No more hiding…

“Don’t you dare fucking stop!”.  The words were meant to sound commanding, but they came out more like a whimpered plea as Jinu finally stopped teasing her and plunged his long tongue deep into her folds. Her back arching clean off the bed and she let loose a strangled scream as the fire in her belly turned volcanic. Jinu for his part complies with her command, darting his tongue in and out of her folds while circling her clit with his thumb, applying the perfect amount of pressure to make the spring coiled low in Rumi’s belly get ready to snap.

Then the moment she’d been waiting for finally happened… Just as Jinu attaches his lips around her clit, she feels him slowly… carefully slip a long finger deep inside her. “Argh!... JINU!” her words said more like a prayer than anything else as she sees white spots across her vision, Jinu set up a slow steady rhythm, pulling his finger out almost all the way before driving it forwards again. His finger was so much longer than hers, thicker too and Rumi let herself cry out in pleasure as Jinu curved his finger to hit her right where she needed it the most.

Her legs twitched and trembled as the tension in her lower belly coiled tighter with every pump of his finger and flick of his tongue. Jinu wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked roughly as he added another finger, stretching her out and sending another wave of molten heat coursing through her veins, every nerve lighting up with pleasure as her head thudded back hard against the bed. A string of swears left her lips interspersed with his name as he brought her closer to the edge with every movement.

“Jinu… Faster… Please… I… I need more…”. She can feel him smile his answer into her thigh as his tongue darts inside along with his fingers and he picks up the pace, quickening his thrusts and curling his fingers to hit her sweet spot perfectly.  Rumi could feel the sensation of weightlessness approaching fast, her eyes rolling back and she began rocking her hips against his face, chasing the high she’d so desperately been wanting for so long now. The friction felt divine, the feel of his face grinding up against her core sent her teetering along the edge of paradise.

“More!... More!... Jinu… I’m close!... so close!...” her words barely audible over the obscene noises coming from the pair of them. Gasps, moans and the wet squelch of Jinu’s fingers working her perfectly came together to create the best symphony they’d ever produced. Jinu slips his fingers in all the way to the hilt and sucks harshly on her clit, the little bundle of nerves radiating pure pleasure throughout her body as Rumi finally saw stars. She screamed his name aloud as she shattered hard, breaking all across Jinu’s face and hand and he eagerly laps up her release like a man starved, determined to catch every drop she has to offer.

-----

Rumi laid there panting hard, her heart pounding in her chest as she came down from her high. Her vision still clouded with sparks and stars from the best orgasm she’s ever had. She looks on as Jinu stands from his position and she feels her heat returning with a vengeance as he makes eye contact with her and licks his fingers and his lips clean of every drop of release she just drenched him with, moaning loud at her taste on his tongue. “Fucking hell… Rumi… you taste like heaven…”.

Her patterns pulse at the praise and Rumi was fairly sure she heard herself purr like a damn cat. His words pull a moan of her own from lips and her hungry eyes wander down his body until they reached his waist and a slight scowl settled on her face. “Jinu”. “Yeah?” his reply a breathy pant as his heartrate slowly settled down. Rumi just pointed at his jeans which were still firmly around his lower half, cruelly depriving her of seeing him in all his glory.

“Your pants!… Off!… Now!” Jinu raised his eyebrows at her commanding tone but complied, moving closer to her as he fussed with his belt, his fingers fumbling with the zipper. Rumi was far too impatient for this; she sat up and bodily dragged Jinu closer by the seat of his pants so she could remove the offending item of clothing herself. He’d undressed her, seemed fair to do the same back... right? Rumi dragged his jeans down around his ankles and Jinu couldn’t contain the sigh of relief as the pressure on his cock disappeared, allowing it to breathe within his boxers.

Kicking his jeans out of the way he was distracted by Rumi’s patterns shimmering enchanting shades of magenta and lilac. They were mesmerising to Jinu and to him she only looked more beautiful when she let her patterns shine. He would watch them forever if she let him. His distraction lasted only a matter of seconds as he felt Rumi’s touch on his stomach, tracing the lines of his muscles and traveling down… south.

A stuttering moan forced itself free from his lips as Rumi experimentally palmed over his engorged erection through his boxers, her eyes swimming with lust and want. She felt his cock twitch against the contact and she couldn’t help herself from licking her lips in anticipation of what laid hidden under the last item of clothing either of them wore. Returning the same courtesy that he’d shown her, she raised her eyes to meet his. “May I?”. Jinu nodded, his breathing still recovering from pleasuring Rumi, he’d have willingly drowned himself in her if he’d been allowed to.

Slowly, reverently… Rumi hooked her fingers into the top of his boxers and pulled them down, inch by inch, slowly stripping Jinu as bare as she was, letting his cock spring free and slap gently against his stomach. Jinu had enough mental fortitude left to watch her reaction as she laid eyes on his cock for the first time, and it was a thing of beauty.

Whenever the pair had ‘slept’ together over the last month, they’d always kept their underwear on. So this was both their first times seeing the other naked… truly naked and neither could get enough of the sight of the other. Drinking the other in like they had been starved of intimacy their entire lives… which in hindsight was exactly the case for both of them.

Rumi was gobsmacked. She’d felt him when they’d slept together before, but seeing it up close and personal was an entirely different beast. While she’d never had a relationship before Jinu, she could safety say that Jinu had an ‘above average’ package. Whether that was because he’d been a demon or because he had always been ‘well endowed’ she didn’t know and definitely didn’t care. She was hungry to taste him. Just like he’d done unto her… she wanted to do unto him… and maybe get some payback for all the times he’d teased her.

She watched as his cock twitched against his stomach, thick and long just like her favourite Kimbap rolls and Rumi licked her lips again, her mind briefly flashing back to what happened on the plane before the girls sang ‘How it’s Done’. The head was pinkish in colour, a single bead of precum leaking from its tip. A vein running the length of the underside was begging…  just begging her to run her tongue along it and there was a patch of curly black hair that looked equal parts unkempt and intentionally styled.

“Shit!... Jinu…”. Jinu couldn’t help but appreciate her reaction to him in all his glory, while he wasn’t the longest or the thickest out of the Saja Boys, those honours going to Mystery and Abby respectively, he certainly wasn’t lacking in either department. Rumi stood slowly so she could press herself against him, truly skin on skin at long last. Standing on her tiptoes so she could press her lips to his again, both of them moaned at the residual taste of her on his lips and the contact between them. He felt her bare breasts against his chest, breath still heavy from her earlier climax, she felt his cock thrum against her stomach, twitching with anticipation.

She’d lost count of the amount of times she’d imagined this exact scenario in her head, but she was fairly sure it was close to a four-figure number by now. Finally though, her imagination got to take a back seat to the real thing, and Rumi was eager to get started… to give him the same pleasure and release he’d given her.

She treated Jinu to the same torturous trail of kisses he’d given her, nipping and biting at his flesh as she moved inexorably downwards.

Jinu hissed out through his teeth when her own grazed over his nipple before continuing south, always south. “Fu-Fuck me Rumi!”, his gasps of pleasure only adding to her own as she slipped one hand between her own legs, teasing and probing herself to keep stoking that fire. She looked up at him with a grin that could only mean mischief. “Don’t worry Jinu… I plan to”.

By now she’s down on her knee’s before him, face to face with his cock, and its fucking beautiful. Every twitch makes her want it more. She wants to take it… to claim… to own… to have him become a boneless mess under her just like he did to her… and what better time than the present?

Keeping eye contact with him, Rumi gently wrapped her hand around the base of his cock, feeling the warmth of it in her hand and gives it an experimental pump, just to see his reaction. “F-F-Fuck!” Jinu’s head falls back as she touches him for the first time, his mouth hanging open in pure bliss. Keeping her eyes on him, Rumi slowly pumped her hand up his entire length, stopping just before his head, before retreating her hand back down his shaft and repeating the motion several times.

“Rumi!... F-Fuck I want you so bad!...” The pace of his breathing picked up again as Rumi increased her own pace, never taking her eyes off his as she pumped him. She could see another bead of precum leak from his tip and Rumi found herself itching for a taste… a taste she wasn’t going to deny herself any longer as she runs her tongue over his slit. “Gah! Sh-Sh-Shit!!” Jinu’s legs almost give out under the sensation as Rumi collects the drop on her tongue before swallowing. Sweet… a little salty… and a little something she couldn’t place.

‘Well… that was the appetiser’ she thought to herself as her eyes left Jinu’s to rove over his cock. ‘Time for the main course’. That vein that had been begging for her to run her tongue across it finally got its wish as Rumi leaned in to lick a stripe right from his base to his tip and the guttural noise that forced itself out of Jinu’s mouth was so carnal and animalistic, it made Rumi want to do it again, and again. So she did just that. Peppering his cock with gentle kisses and teasing licks, Rumi ran her lips up his length until she arrived at his head, more precum leaked from the tip and Rumi lapped it up, swirling her tongue around him several times.

The noises he’s making tighten the coil in her own belly and Rumi refuses to deny herself what she’d been truly wanting since they stepped into her room. Her own moans of lust rivalled only by his as she pleasured him.

“Jinu… I need you… I need you right now!…” he doesn’t even get a chance to reply before Rumi opens wide.. and slides him down her throat. ‘Having no gag reflex was a beautiful thing’ she thought as Rumi took his full length into her mouth, all the way to the base. A few of his pubes tickled her nose as Rumi held her position for a few seconds before sliding him back out, she swirled her tongue around his tip a few times before deepthroating him again, breathing through her nose as he filled her mouth. Jinu groaned loudly in response, a hand coming down to wrap around her braid, anchoring himself.

Jinu could do nothing but watch as Rumi repeatedly bobbed him down her throat, he hadn’t excepted her to be able to take him so well, but she seemed to be having no problems at all as she repeatedly took him all the way to the hilt and back again. He could feel his own pleasure rising as he watched her patterns pulse blue through green, bright enough to light up the shadows around the darkened room and he groaned loudly at the sight, not realising in the moment his own patterns were doing the exact same thing. She looked equal parts devastatingly beautiful and unimaginably dangerous, a mixture that Jinu couldn’t ever get enough of.

Rumi meanwhile was in a heaven of her own creation, her eyes still on his and her hands now reaching around to grab hold of Jinu’s ass, digging her acrylics into the tender skin, a movement that causes him to involuntarily buck his hips forward with a gasp, slamming his cock down her throat even further, a move that Rumi greatly appreciated as her tongue worked wonders around him as she hollowed her cheeks to suck him deeper.

All he could manage verbally was her name on repeat, mixed with a string of expletives that even Baby would be proud of. Jinu could feel his balls tightening with a familiar anticipation and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer.

“Rumi… Rumi… I’m close… Urgh!...” he tried to pull back from her but Rumi’s hands in his ass won’t let him leave. “Rumi… if you don’t let me go I’m gonna…” Jinu doesn’t get to finish his sentence, Rumi had no intentions of letting him go anywhere and she makes her point crystal clear as she shakes her head as best she can with a 7in cock down her throat, growling in irritation whenever he tried to pull her off him. That growling sent vibrations right through him and Jinu cried out in pleasure at the feeling.

If anything, Rumi seems determined for him to finish down her throat. Her moaning sends vibrations into his cock that do nothing to slow the rising tension in his balls. Rumi ups her speed, bobbing away with renewed vigour, determined to give him the same pleasurable release he’d given her and she can feel his getting close, the trembling in his legs is a dead giveaway.

“Gah!... Rumi!... I’m gonna… I’m gonna…” again he doesn’t get to finish his sentence as he feels his release rising fast. His mind thinking ‘fuck it! If she wants it she can have it’ and his hands come down to grab the back of her head, pushing her to take everything he can offer. She takes it like she was born to and Jinu can only offer a strained grunt as his own climax hits him like a train.

Thick ropes of hot seed course down Rumi’s throat and she seals her lips around his base so as not to let a single drop go to waste. Rumi had thought his precum tasted good… well this was positively delicious. She swallowed everything he gave her, an ungodly amount of seed that no normal human should be able to produce at any one time and Rumi loved every second and every drop of it, humming happily as he spurted down her throat.

Once she’s satisfied Rumi finally pulls back slowly, giving him a few extra pumps to milk any leftover cum from him before her lips leave his cock, her tongue darting out for one final lick across his slit.

-----

Jinu thought he’d been in heaven between her legs… well this was a different heaven entirely. The feeling of her around his cock had sent such an electric surge through his body he could still feel it tingling beneath his skin, like a static shock that now lived inside him.

“Rumi!... that was… that was incredible…”. Rumi seemed to agree with him as she slowly rose to her full height, humming in agreement and licking her lips to ensure she’d collected every drop of cum he’d released before leaning up to crash her lips back into his. Neither bothering to restrain the moan of pleasure at the leftover taste of him on her lips as their hands roamed the others body with wonton abandon.

His hands snaked back to her tits and resumed his torturously slow circling around her nipples which pulled a loud whine from Rumi. Only now she had ammunition of her own to play with. Smirking into his lips, she wrapped a hand around his cock and pumping it in pace with his own ministrations, his own moan swallowed by her as their tongues collided in the space between lips and teeth.

Rumi’d had enough of waiting though… they’ve tasted each other, now it time for the main event and Rumi spins Jinu around so she can push him sultrily onto the bed. he bounces a little as the springs push him back up and he wriggles to get comfortable, excitement and anticipation lighting up his face and his patterns. An anticipation Rumi seemed to share as she slowly crawls on top of him, low enough that her tits drag ever so slightly against his chest as she moves.

She’s knelt over him now, just like he’d been over her, straddling his body with her hands either side of his head, looking down at him. From this angle, she looks even more radiant to Jinu and he fails to mask the fuck drunk look in his eyes as his pupils blow wide with lust.

He also completely fails to mask the grunt of surprise as Rumi sits back, grinding her soaking cunt against his cock, coating him with her slick as she ruts her hips across him. “Fuck!... Jinu…” the words a prayer and a demand at the same time as his hands roam across her chest and stomach, his eyes locked on hers as he bucks his hips up to meet her grind. Fucking hell this felt like heaven!

“Rumi… your so fucking hot… I need you… I need you right fucking now!...”. Jinu’s usual silver tongue had been replaced with something cruder, more carnal and Rumi loved it, to hear how badly he wanted her… to truly pleasure her in a way he’d not been able to before was sending sparks throughout her body. Her cunt ached to be filled and she could feel his cock twitching at every drag she made over him, it only made her more horny as she reached a hand down to grab him and drag him through her folds, soaking his cock in her want and slick, lubing him up for what she has planned next.

Jinu’s mouth fell open as his head slammed back into the sheets at the new sensation. The head of his cock had been sensitive ever since Rumi had let it out of her heavenly mouth, and now it was being dragged through her heat with a clear indication she wanted it to go further. It made the heat in his own core boil over as a breathless whine left his lips, only to be greeted by Rumi’s as she kissed him hard.

“Rumi… please!... use me… I want you to use me… use me to get yourself off!”. Was it a plea? A prayer? Or an order? Whatever it was Rumi wanted to comply and she sat back on him to better position herself for the ‘Grand Finale’. “Jinu… I love you…”. “I love you too Rumi… Fuck! I love you so fuc… Shit!...”. this was the third time Jinu had been cut off from speaking as Rumi positioned his pulsing cock at her entrance, teasing his tip through her folds a few times… before she met his eyes… and slowly inched herself down on his length.

Rumi gasped aloud at the stretch, her lips parting half in surprise at the tight fit, half in pure wanton lust as she slowly slid down on Jinu’s cock, her walls clenching at the unexpected visitor deep inside her. Jinu looked completely gone… his mind floating high in the clouds as she enveloped him, his hands digging into her hips hard enough to bruise as he desperately tried to anchor himself for fear of actually floating away.

Rumi wasn’t far behind him as her bliss at being full… truly full crashed into her at highway speed. The sensation of him stretching her was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She thought his fingers and tongue had felt good?… well his cock felt absolutely godly as he finally bottomed out inside her, surrounded by her impossibly tight walls. Both of them gasping for breath as they adjusted to the new sensations.

“Shitting Hell!... Rumi… you… your so fucking tight!...” The words grunted out through pleasure and want, they were lewd and carnal, but it only turned her on more as Rumi gave an experimental roll of her hips, jolting as a new wave of pleasure went straight to her core. That volcanic heat in her belly fighting to erupt… demanding to release over them both. “Shit!... You feel… Argh!...” now it was Rumi’s turn to be interrupted as Jinu offered an experimental movement of his own, bucking his hips up into her. “F-Fuck me Jinu!...” she gasped out, dragging her nails across Jinu’s chest hard enough to mark.

His hands trailed up from her hips to caress her breasts. His cocky smirk creeping around the corners of his lips, if she wasn’t already blushing, then she definitely was now. “Don’t you worry Rumi… I intend to”. This cheeky bastard was throwing her own joke back at her? but before Rumi could offer a response, Jinu bucked his hips up hard, slamming himself into her and Rumi cried out at the feeling.

She could feel her body changing and Jinu noticed it instantly, his eyes locking onto her lithe figure, eyes full of pure love and devotion.  “Fuck Rumi!… Look at you… letting your demon out for me!...”.

Rumi looked up to stare at her reflection in her vanity mirror as she sat impaled on Jinu’s heavenly cock. Her demon staring right back at her in all her devastating beauty. Patterns that used to be green and blue now an enchanting red and purple, her right arm turning dark and her slender fingers transforming into long blackened claws. A single molten gold iris looking back at her and the glint of her fangs peaked out from under her top lip as her mouth fell open in desire.

In the past Rumi would’ve freaked out whenever her demon side was revealed, but here… with him… she didn’t care… this was who she truly was, and like she’d told her mentor, she wasn’t hiding anymore. She flashed a devilish grin down at Jinu and carefully dragged her clawed hand from his neck to his stomach, relishing his whine of pleasure as she touched him.

“Christ! Jinu… you feel so good! So… so… fucking good!...” her breath coming out in short ragged gasps as she set up a rhythm on his cock. Lifting herself up so only his tip remained inside before sliding back down, taking him all the way to the hilt with every thrust. Her own pleasure mounting as her walls clenched against him with every movement, that volcano inside her close to reaching the point of no return as she increased her speed, setting up a brutal pace that had them both gasping for air.

Jinu seemed to be getting close too, his pupils were blown comically wide with pure lust and his mouth hung open as they danced together towards the edge of oblivion. They were the others perfect dance partner. Every move Rumi made was reciprocated by Jinu, every touch of a finger or claw, every drag of lips and tongue sent bolts of molten fire through the other, every thrust and moan received and returned with interest. Every tiny imperceptible movement dragging them both inexorably closer to the edge… and neither one cared.

“Jinu!... Urgh!... I’m close… so close!...” Rumi was almost seeing stars again, spots appearing at the corners of her vision, his cock inside her slamming into her repeatedly, mercilessly hitting her right where she needed it most. The feeling of weightlessness reaching for her again as she rode him, hard and fast.

“Cum for me Rumi!” Jinu spoke to her in that seductive voice he knew she loved, low and gravely, just deep enough to send a shiver down her spine. “I want to feel you break apart on my cock Rumi… Let me feel it!... let me feel it all!”, he sat up to clamp his lips around her nipple, his tongue going to town on the rock-hard bud, pinching the other between thumb and forefinger, not hard enough to hurt, but just enough to drag her over the edge with him.

His touch and those words were all she needed. Rumi slammed herself down on him hard, shrieking out his name as her climax washed over her like the tide, sending her to the stars. Her claws leaving significant scratches down his back as she held on for dear life.

“FUCK!” the word leaving both their mouths simultaneously as Jinu’s orgasm slammed into him as well, thick, hot ropes of cum shooting out and painting Rumi’s walls white just as her own release crashed over him again. Rumi kept riding, spearing herself on him through her orgasm, her head falling back as his name tore from her lips in a guttural howl.

Again she was very glad her room was soundproofed. If it wasn’t then no one would be getting any sleep right now.

-----

Rumi collapsed on top of Jinu, melting across his chest as they fought to catch their breath. Jinu bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks and pull her into a passionate kiss and Rumi could feel his tongue requesting entry. She granted it permission, allowing her own tongue to crash into his as they kissed fervently. His arms came around to cuddle her close and she loved the feeling of being wanted… of being needed… of being desired.

“That was…” her voice shaky from crying his name “That was… amazing!...” she looked into his eyes, seeing only the same love, lust, desire and want she felt in her own chest, but there was something else there as well… and Rumi swallowed hard, feeling his half hard cock against her return to a full salute, poking into her gently. Jinu chuckled deep in his chest, his finger reaching to tuck an errand hair behind her ear, before his lips travelled to the sweet spot on her jaw, whispering “Oh Rumi… I’m not done with you just yet… Gongjunim”.

He claimed her mouth, gently nibbling on her bottom lip before wrapping his arm around her waist and flipping the pair over so he was on top. Rumi squeaked at the sudden movement, but her desire soon overtook her surprise as Jinu’s fingers snaked back down her body, finding her slick folds again, slowly pumping in and out and Rumi’s head fell back against the comforter as euphoric bliss hit her like freight train.

-----

Rumi lost count of the amount of times she climaxed that night; she gave up trying to keep count after it hit the double digits. Jinu was relentless. On top, from underneath, sitting, standing, laying down? It didn’t matter. For someone with no experience, he had the libido to go all night. The only noises coming from her room were the wet squelch of skin on skin, the harmonious cries of desire and far, far too many swear words.

They did it on the bed, Jinu bent her over her vanity desk to take her from behind, Rumi fucked him while he sat in her beanbag chair, he even did her up against her balcony door, leaving sweaty tit marks against the glass as he pounded into her like a man possessed.

Just when Rumi thought they’d finished, Jinu would pull her in for another round, not that she was complaining in the slightest. This night had been a long time coming (pardon the pun) and she was thoroughly enjoying every second of it. His cock was heavenly – whether it was down her throat or inside her cunt – and now that Rumi’d had a taste of it all, she wasn’t going to let Jinu out of her sight ever again if she could help it.

-----

They laid together on the bed, utterly spent. After they'd finally calmed down, Jinu had grabbed a damp towel from her ensuite and cleaned the pair of them up, taking extra care with Rumi considering how sensitive she'd become. He laid behind Rumi, reaching his arm over her waist and pulling her close and she snuggled into him, feeling his finally soft cock against her ass. “That was… … I don’t even have the fucking words right now!…”. Jinu breathed into her hair, which at some point during their throes of passion had escaped its braid. The long purple locks fanning out around the pair like a purple waterfall. Rumi could only hum in agreement, feeling Jinu press a kiss to the back of her shoulder. “Better than I ever thought it would be” she replied, her voice slightly hoarse from screaming his name.

She heard him chuckle into her hair. “So you’ve been imagining this, is what I’m hearing”. If Rumi’s skull was see-through, then her eye roll would’ve let her look him in the eye. But she knew he was only teasing her so she let herself smile as she cuddled into him. “Yeah.. I have… a lot actually”. He hummed into her, his hand claiming hers, engulfing it within his grasp.

“Don’t think I won't be needing you’re… services again though!”, Rumi spun herself over so she was face to face with Jinu. Their still naked bodies now flush together, Jinu shivered as her nipples grazed against his chest, just as she shivered at the feel of his cock brushing against her naval.

He leaned over to kiss her. Slow, deep, passionate, full of every word they didn’t say out loud. “And how soon do you expect to require my services again hmm?”. She blushed a pretty pink, but in the low light it was hardly noticeable, unfortunately her blush also extended to her patterns which traitorously gave her away, thrumming a happy lavender.

“As a safe bet… I’d say… at least daily… for the rest of my life… maybe more than once”. Rumi peeked at him through her lashes, her quiet laugh at his reaction making her words worth every syllable.

“Daily’s a big commitment Rumi… you sure you can handle that?...” his trademark smirk escaping his mouth as his hand moved down her body to grab her ass, the movement making her buck into him involuntarily, her blush deepening as she brushed up against his cock.

But she wasn’t one to be outdone. Reaching her own hand down to run a single fingernail along the vein on the underside of his cock which reflexively twitched at the touch, Rumi smirked back up at Jinu. “I think I can handle that… do you think you can handle me?”. Jinu chuckled deep in his chest before leaning in to kiss her jaw, going straight for her sweet spot, a ragged gasp leaving her mouth. “I know I can”.

They drifted off into sleep eventually. Their night of passion draining them of all energy, but Rumi couldn’t help but feel more alive than she had for years. As she closed her eyes and drifted slowly off into her dreams, one single thought played through her head.

If she’d known that demon dick was this good, she’d have jumped Jinu weeks ago.

Chapter Text

Rumi awoke with the happiest smile she’d ever had plastered across her face, her eyes fluttering open slowly to be greeted by her favourite sight and her favourite person in the world… Jinu. He was still out like a light, laying on his side under her duvet, his usual deep baritone snoring replaced by a much quieter - more peaceful noise and Rumi could feel the gentle puffs of air escaping his nostrils on her bare skin with every exhale, his patterns shimmering silver and cyan in his sleep. He looked so cute like this… naked… vulnerable… beautiful… and all hers.

As she took him in, her mind flashed back to last night. Every sordid detail of their love making flooding behind her eyes, making her blush bright red as she stared at her boyfriend. Last night had been absolutely fucking incredible!, she’d never felt so alive. While she hadn’t exactly planned to get completely destroyed or completely destroying him, she absolutely wasn’t complaining with the results. She’d never felt this loved… this desired… this seen… this wanted.

Her thought process was interrupted as Jinu shuffled as he slowly came too, letting out a drowsy moan into her pillow, a moan that had her ovaries demanding to have their dance partner back again. His eyes cracked open, his gorgeous brown eyes peering out at her through his thick hair that had fallen over his face during his sleep. “Morning Aein” Rumi whispered, reaching up to kiss him softly, a move he returned with interest, cupping her face and circling her cheeks with his thumbs. “Morning… Gongjunim”. His voice was again deep with morning warmth, and still slightly cracked from last night’s pleasurable activities.

“So… have you managed to find some words to describe last night yet or?...” Rumi teased, loving the touch of colour that tinted his ears. “I don’t think the words to describe it have been invented yet…” He leaned in to kiss her again, gently pulling her bottom lip between his teeth, a move that had Rumi gasping into him, her hands roaming over him as they kissed, Jinu reached out to pull her flush to his chest, tangling their legs together and wrapping an arm around her back, securing her against him, sneaking a hand down to tease her body.

They stayed in each other’s embrace until Rumi’s phone buzzed into life, vibrating itself around her bedside table like an angry wasp. “You really need to remember to turn that alarm off” Jinu chuckled into her lips, his fingers teasing one of her nipples between finger and thumb. “Don’t you start!” Rumi pouted back at him, poking him playfully on the chest with a semi sharp acrylic nail before pulling back a little.

“I’m going for a shower… you uh… you wanna join me?”. Her voice slightly hesitant… nervous even and she had no idea why, it’s not like she’s got anything to be nervous about, they literally spend all night going at it like rabbits. Jinu seemed to sense her hesitancy and nipped it in the bud with his signature sarcastic style before she could spiral. “If you ask me that and I ever say no… please punch me in the face… repeatedly”.

Rumi snorted out a laugh before giving him one last peck on the lips before rolling over and putting her feet on the carpeted floor, her sheets pooling around her waist, treating Jinu to a mesmerising view of her bare back and shoulders all the way down to her slim waist, patterns shimmering green and silver against her creamy skin, hair billowing around her like a purple moat.

“Fucking hell Rumi!… your gorgeous!” The words were meant to remain within the confines of his head, but his mouth betrayed him, the words falling free without his permission, a slight blush tinting his own cheeks as she looked over her shoulder at him. The smile on her face and in her eyes told him that mistake or not, his words meant more to her than she could ever put into words. Her eyes wandered up and down his chest as he leaned up on his elbow, the bedding falling down, revealing his toned muscles and the trio of hickey’s Rumi had given him on his right pec as payback for the ones he gave her.

“You’re not so bad yourself Yeobo”. She flashed him a cheeky wink as she stood, giving Jinu a beautiful view of her pert ass and those devastatingly long legs as she walked naked  towards her ensuite, swaying her hips just enough to demand his attention as she moved. Standing in the doorway to her bathroom, she looked back at him, still sitting there, dumbstruck and drooling in her bed. “You coming or what?” She was fairly sure Jinu broke the sound barrier with how quickly he got up and raced after her.

-----

So what should have been a quick shower to get ready for the day turned into anything but. Who would’ve thought putting two people who can’t keep their hands off each other at the best of times in a shower together, soapy and naked would end any other way than exactly how you’d expect it to. All it took was Rumi feeling Jinu’s erection poke her in the ass as he washed her back for any plans to get clean to fly clean out of the window… along with what little self-control she had left.

The pair ended up having steamy shower sex, Jinu's tongue and cock treating Rumi to another three euphoric jaw dropping climaxes that sent her to the land of fuzzy thoughts and garbled language before she got revenge by sucking him dry under the pounding water, new hickeys joined both of their respective collections as they enjoyed each other’s bodies.

½ hour later the pair eventually staggered out of Rumi’s bedroom, legs a little wobbly but mercifully both fully dressed (hickey’s mercifully hidden) him in a hoodie and slacks, her in a crop top and shorts. They were both still flushed with heat and desire as they made their way into the lounge, Rumi holding onto Jinu’s hand and arm, her head leaning on his shoulder.

They found the rest of the gang already awake, loitering around the couch. The other Saja Boys were gathered around the coffee table playing Uno, the scent of strong coffee floating around the air. Mira was perched on the arm of the couch behind Romance, sipping from a mug of chamomile tea and groaning about her hangover, she was observing the game like a judgemental parent while Zoey offered overly exaggerated commentary, dancing around the guys and being nosey at their cards – gathering information that she definitely wasn’t feeding to Mystery on the sly, information Mystery definitely wasn’t using to make Romance draw cards from the pile with a groan.

Abby perked up upon seeing the last remaining pair of this misfit family finally show their faces. “Hey they’re alive!” he laughed, half at the looks on Rumi and Jinu’s faces and half at the fact he’d just +4’d Baby for the fifth time this match. The oldest member of the Saja Boys flipping him off before drawing more cards to add to his considerable collection.

Zoey’s eyes locked straight onto the duo, her head spinning around so fast her loose shoulder length hair flew around to smack her in the face. Her eyes instantly noticing the dopey smiles on Jinu and Rumi’s face and the tint of… something incriminating in their cheeks. “WAIT… Hold the fuck up!... Pause!... Why do you two look so happy this morning?...”. Rumi just looked at her puzzled, tilting her head slightly at her bandmate.

“I’m always happy in the morning Zo. What are you on about?”. But Zoey had entered detective mode, her mind was working overtime to make sense of the suspicions floating around her brain. “No!… You’re not usually this happy! No something fishy is going on here! Rumi you’re glowing… like literally glowing!”. It’s true… Rumi’s patterns were on full display under her crop top and they were pulsing blue and lilac along her skin, the colours that usually told everyone she was very very happy.

Zoey started listing off Rumi’s guilty features on her fingers like she was presenting evidence in court.

“You’ve got a dopey lovestruck smile on your face, you look like you haven’t slept properly – if at all, your voice sounds like it’s had a workout and I know you’ve not been to the studio yet, your radiantly glowing, you’re clinging to Jinu like he’ll disappear if you let him go… and he’s… got a smug ass smile on his face… and he smells like your shampoo! You never let anyone use your shampoo…”. She pointed an accusatory finger at Jinu who looked much too pleased with himself.

Zoey came to a revelation and her eyes went comically wide and she gasped so loudly it got everyone’s attention. “Wait!… No!… don’t tell me… you guys finally!”.

She didn’t get a chance to finish her words as Jinu slipped his arm around Rumi’s waist, pulling her flush to him like it was the most natural place for her to be. Rumi for her part blushed a furious shade of scarlet and hid her face in Jinu’s chest as the whole group exploded, all of them reaching the same conclusion as Zoey.

“No fucking way!” Abby shot to his feet, launching his cards into the air, the game of Uno completely forgotten in lieu of this new bombshell that just landed in the room. “You guys finally fucked?! Like actually fucked?!”.

Romance’s grin seemed to extend past the confines of his face. “About bloody time” he chuckled to Mira who was sat behind him, the redhead’s mouth twitching in amusement at this new revelation as she took another sip of her tea.

Baby started ‘whoop whooping’ and whistling through his fingers before falling over laughing at Jinu’s smugness and Rumi’s embarrassment. He only calmed down after Mira threatened to throw the TV remote at his head for making too much noise and she was still hungover.

Mystery at least had the decency to be polite about the news. Offering the pair a polite smile and a thumbs up before grabbing his coffee and taking a long drink.

“OMG Rumi! No wonder you look so radiant!”. Zoey practically sprinted over and crashed into Rumi. She would’ve taken the pair of them to the floor if not for Jinu keeping them all upright. She wrapped Rumi up in a hug that squeezed the air right out of the poor girls lungs before turning and sending a manic look right at Mira. “I told you Mira! I fucking told you! Pay up biatch!”.

Mira just groaned, wandering over to the kitchen island to her purse before pulling out a pair of ₩50,000 notes and handing them to Zoey who looked far to smug about it, pocketing the notes with an exaggerated flourish.

Rumi’s blush had been replaced with a look that said she was half confused and half about to be angry. “Did you two have a bloody bet on us?”. Mira at least had the sense to look slightly embarrassed, but Zoey on the other hand did not. “Yup… we’ve had a bet going for weeks now. Which reminds me… Oi! Abby… you need to pay up too!”.

Abby just chuckled before flicking a card at Zoey who caught it, looked at it and then back at Abby. “The fuck is this?” she asked. “Uno reverse card… now you owe me money” Abby said matter-of-factly at her before yelping and ducked as Zoey threw her slipper at his head, eliciting a laugh from everyone else. Despite the news her friends had been betting on when she’d finally ‘get laid’ Rumi couldn’t help but smile at her friends antics as Jinu guided her towards the kitchen so he could make her breakfast, sitting her down at the island as he grabbed an apron and fired up the stove.

-----

“Bye guys! Good luck with the radio show”. Zoey stood in the kitchen, enthusiastically waving at Jinu, Mira and Mystery who were heading out the door for a mixing bands radio interview about the two groups upcoming work and their respective comebacks. Rumi sat on the couch with an apple in her hands, sending dreamy eyes Jinu’s way which he was returning with interest, along with some suggestive looks that had Rumi turning the same colour as her apple.

Abby and Romance were sat nearby on the couch, swearing at each other as they played Mario Kart on the plasma TV, pushing and jostling like siblings. Baby was sat at the kitchen island, his laptop in front of him, headphones in and his fingers flying over the keys as he worked on the cover art for the Saja Boys new album.

The group had decided on the name of their comeback album, calling it ‘Marionettes’ along with the names of all 12 songs, but there was also a secret 13^th track that Jinu was working on which he'd sworn the other Saja's to secrecy about, saying that if any of them said anything about it to Rumi there would be literal hell to pay. 

“We’ll see you guys in a few hours” Mira called back before the trio disappeared from view as the door closed, leaving the other five alone around the penthouse. Rumi could feel Zoey’s eyes lock onto her through the back of her skull, she knew exactly what was about to happen and she wasn’t looking forward to it, bracing herself for the assault that was about to hit her like a truck… and right on cue…

“Soooooooooooooo… Ruuumiii… How was your night?”, Zoey’s singsong voice was laced with far too much curiosity (or outright nosiness) as the brunette hurdled over the back of the couch to crash down next to Rumi who could only roll her eyes.

“It was… fine…I guess…” Rumi mumbled, trying to distract herself by taking a bite of her apple and praying that Zoey would fuck off. Zoey did in fact… not fuck off. The Maknae of the girl group actually shuffling closer to Rumi instead, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Just fine huh?... well the fact that your cherry red and avoiding my eye right now tells me it was better than ‘just fine’”. Rumi just groaned, not bothering to elaborate as she took another bite.

“So does he have a big cock? Did you finally do Sucky Sucky?”. Rumi choked on her apple, spitting chunks across the lounge and Abby and Romance fell over laughing. The pink haired duo pausing their game to watch the interrogation, deciding that Rumi’s embarrassment was infinitely more entertaining than Mario Kart.

Rumi finally managed to string a sentence together, half glaring at Zoey as she composed herself. “My love life is none of your concern Zoey!”. Rumi realised her mistake far too late and Zoey latched onto it with a feral grin. “Oh so you admit it… you two finally smashed! Was it good? Did you turn the Honmoon golden?”.

Abby smirked from where he was watching the show. “Looks closer to diamond to me Zoey” he laughed, strumming his fingers against the Honmoon, which danced under his touch. “Oh and yes Zoey… Jinu does indeed have a big cock”. Rumi’s squeaked and her eyes blew wide as she launched a throw cushion at Abby’s head which he caught with one hand, a wide smile on his face. “One might even say it’s ‘Museum Grade Chastity’ and Rumi finally made it ‘Minimal Wear’… Woah hey! Rumi chill!”.

Abby rolled over the back of the sofa and away from Rumi who’d grabbed another cushion and was trying to batter him over the head with it, her face blushing crimson in embarrassment. Keeping the couch between himself and a furiously blushing Rumi, Abby couldn’t resist poking the bear. “400 Years of Celibacy: The Ballad of Jinu. His junior was a pristine historical artifact until last night… Woah!”.

He ducked as another cushion was launched at his head but it was only a distraction as Rumi launched herself at Abby next, her Hunter strength tackling the Saja Boy to the floor to uproarious laughter from Zoey and Romance and a bombastic side-eye from Baby. Rumi stood over Abby, repeatedly whacking him across the head and chest with her cushion, her glare murderous which only served to make Abby laugh harder as he tried in vain to defend himself.

“Wait! Hold up! So Jinu was a virgin?!” Zoey looked incredulous. “He never got laid? He never had an experimental phase? No ‘it was dark and I was bored’ moment?”. Romance decided to get in on the fun even though he knew he was risking Rumi’s ire. “Well, he did almost hook up with a succubus once, but she kept calling him by her ex’s name”.

Romance was right about attracting Rumi’s ire as she whirled on him, whacking him over the head with her cushion “Hey! Watch the hair!” Romance scrambled around the coffee table to escape Rumi who was now torn between who to beat with her pillow, Abby using the distraction to get away, laughing like a madman as he scurried towards the kitchen where Baby had now removed his headphones and was watching the drama unfold with a look of mild amusement.

After Rumi had worked out her rage and embarrassment by bullying the pink haired dumbasses with a cushion, she flopped back down on the couch next to Zoey with a groan, a half-baked glare peering at her bandmate. “Fine! Yes Zoey… we had sex… and… it was amazing…”.

“Rumi, Rumi, Rumi… you lucky bitch!” Zoey had a vicious smirk on her face as she spoke and Rumi looked mortified, burying her face back into her cushion and trying to mask her blush, failing spectacularly. Abby also clearly deciding he’d not had enough punishment from the Huntrix leader because he opened his big dumb mouth again. “Right? She’ll need a plaque, a medal, maybe even a commemorative statue”. Rumi screamed into her cushion, the heat in her cheeks could cook an entire five course meal at this point.

“So Rumi… how’d it feel having something inside of you older than some of the greatest kingdoms lasted?”. The look of apocalyptic fury Rumi gave Zoey at that comment could’ve turned flesh to stone, unfortunately for Rumi however, Zoey remained completely unaffected as she reached over to pat Rumi on her arm, giggling to herself at how easy it was to fluster her friend. “We only tease because we care… and you look insanely cute when your blushing”.

Rumi just flipped Zoey off before whacking her with the cushion a few times for good measure. “Can we please discuss something that doesn’t involve me or Jinu or our love life?”.

Mercifully Zoey decided to honour her request. Switching gears she launched into a discussion about Huntrix new comeback song, Rumi being all too happy for the change in topic. Romance wandered over to the kitchen to join the others so they could see what Baby had been up to while the pair had been ‘gently’ bullying Rumi over her night of passion with their Daejang.

-----

Halfway across town, Jinu wasn’t having much more luck avoiding some very inappropriate questions either. Mira was in an unusually chatty mood, especially with him… and she was never really chatty, especially with him.

The entire drive to the radio interview she had been asking heaps of inappropriate questions and Jinu could only pray that Rumi was having better luck with her interrogation, though he doubted it… Mira was bad, but Zoey was definitely worse and Abby was unlikely to be helping matters either. “Mira I’m not… I’m not answering that!” he groaned as the pink haired Hunter dropped a very unhinged question about his ‘flexibility’ and ‘endurance’ that had his cheeks flushing with colour.

“And why not Jinu?”. Mira had a very amused look on her face as she watched him squirm like a worm on a fishing line in the back of the car. Mystery was lucky, he’d claimed shotgun and had spent the entire drive poking at his phone, blissfully out of the line of fire as Mira grilled his Daejang about his ‘extracurricular activities’.

“Urgh! Because Mira, what goes on between me and Rumi is nobody’s business but our own”. Jinu thought that Zoey was meant to be the nosey one out of the girls, but nope… apparently Mira could be just as nosey as her bandmate when she wanted to be. He’d kept his gaze locked on the rolling scenery since their journey had started, thinking his disinterest in conversation might save him… oh how wrong he’d been.

“It becomes my business when I’m sleeping less than 10ft from the spot where Rumi’s inhaling your cock like it’s a Gimbap Roll”. Jinu turned his head around so fast Mira thought he’d given himself whiplash. Even Mystery’s head had turned around to stare open mouthed at Mira and she couldn’t help but smirk at both of their horrified expressions.

Mercifully Jinu was spared further embarrassment as their driver pulled into the parking lot of the radio station. Jinu was suddenly very glad to remember that all of Huntrix’s staff (drivers included) had signed NDA’s regarding anything they heard on the job. He and Rumi still hadn’t gone public yet, and he very much didn’t want the public’s first images of them together being Jinu’s cock down Rumi’s throat. That would be a Dispatch headline he didn’t want to read.

“Fucking hell!... Can we just get this interview out of the way please?” Jinu practically fell out of the car in his eagerness to get away from Mira’s lewd questioning. Mystery was just shaking his head as he stepped out of the car, firing off a quick text to Zoey saying they’d arrived before pocketing the device and walking towards the stations front door. Jinu followed, pulling his hood up around his face to try and cover his flushed cheeks and ears. Mira bringing up the rear with a very satisfied look on her face. ‘Oh tormenting him is going to be fun’ she thought to herself as the door swung closed behind her.

-----

Luckily for both Rumi and Jinu, the next few hours went by relatively uneventfully. Jinu managed to get through the radio interview and the return journey without Mira being ‘too’ nosey about his sexual adventures and Rumi managed to placate Zoey by giving her the barest minimum of ammunition to hold over her. She’d outright refused to give Abby or Romance any details at all. Baby for his part didn't seem to give a single fuck.

When the trio wandered back into the penthouse it was just before 14:00pm. With nothing on his calendar until Thursday morning now, Jinu was determined to relax a little, and he knew exactly who he wanted to do that with… well maybe ‘relaxing’ was a questionable choice of word for what he had in mind.

But first things first, he was dying for a drink, he’d not had anything since breakfast. Separating from Mira and Mystery who headed off to do their own things, Jinu beelined it for the kitchen. As he opened the massive fridge, his eyes settled on a seemingly endless choice of chilled drinks, from soda’s to tea’s and other choices.

Even now, it never ceased to amaze him just how many flavours of beverages there were these days, something like this would have been unthinkable back when he was alive the first time. He settled of a can of tropical fruit Soda Pop which had become one of his unofficial favourites, he claimed it was his favourite because he liked the flavour, but the real reason was because it was Huntrix branded and it had Rumi’s face on the can.

As he pulled the tab and took a long drink, the ice-cold liquid coursing down his throat, he eyed Baby who was sat on the couch, messing with his phone like he usually did. Jinu was about to walk over and irritate the little menace until he saw that someone else was also about to irritate the teal haired fucker in a much more entertaining way that he had in mind.

Mira had seemingly also spotted Baby and his distracted state because she was skulking up behind him with something tubular in her hands. Jinu leaned against the fridge, an amused smile creeping over his face; he knew exactly what was about to go down.

Mira slowly crept up behind Baby, her socked feet moving silently over the marble floor until she was stood right behind him.

‘HONK!’

Baby shot so far into the air he could’ve touched the ceiling as Mira blasted the airhorn behind his head, his phone disappearing somewhere into low orbit as he let out a startled shriek at the unexpected noise before he whirled around and chased after Mira as she legged it towards the relative safety of her room. “I’m gonna shove that fucking airhorn up your ass Mira!” Baby shouted, pounding his fist on Mira’s now locked door, listening to her die of laughter on the other side.

Jinu couldn’t help but chuckle as Baby stomped back to the couch, recovering his phone from where it had landed on the carpet. He downed the last of his soda and threw the empty can in the recycling bin, letting out a quiet burp as the bubbles tickled his throat.

This little prank war they’d started was easily one of the funniest parts of their groups dynamic. However his mirth was interrupted when his favourite person decided to jump scare him as well. Rumi had managed to sneak up behind him while he was distracted and poked him in the ribs “Boo!” she half shouted in his ear, causing him to jump and whirl around.

Laying his eyes on his girlfriend made Jinu’s heart melt as he wrapped her in his arms, inhaling the scent of her perfume and shampoo. Rumi responded by jumping into his arms and wrapping herself around him, arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, locking her heels behind his back. “Hey Aegiya” Jinu smiled into her lips as he savoured the taste of her cherry lip balm, his hands roaming up her sides, sending a shiver down her spine. “Hey Nae Sarang” Rumi whispered back, nibbling on his ear lobe, sending a shiver down him in return.

“How’d your interrogation go?” Jinu asked into her lips, sending a side-eye towards Zoey who had appeared from her room dressed in workout gear, seemingly heading towards the gym. Rumi rolled her eyes but smiled warmly as she twirled a strand of Jinu hair around her finger. “Let’s just say I had to beat three people up with a cushion because they wouldn’t shut up”.

Jinu snorted in laughter, parking Rumi’s backside on a stool so he could properly attend to his girlfriend. His fingers teased her inner thighs causing her to moan into his mouth. “I don’t imagine Mira was any easier on you than Zoey was on me huh?” Rumi managed to get out, trying not to moan out loud as Jinu teased her.

“Nope, she was a ruthless bastard! Kept asking me questions about my… ‘flexibility’ and ‘endurance’”. Rumi tilted her head back to laugh, exposing her neck and Jinu went full predator mode, kissing her down the length of her neck and across her collarbone, gently sucking on the skin she’d exposed.

“I think… we both know… there’s nothing wrong… with either of those”. Rumi gasped as Jinu teased a finger over the second sweet spot he’d discovered yesterday… the one just below her knee. She reached one of her hands down to palm over his obvious erection, the other roamed freely under his t-shirt, circling his nipple hungrily.

Jinu pulled back just enough for Rumi to see his smirk before leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Well we don’t have anything on until dinner tonight… what say we go test that hypothesis huh?”, he waggled his eyebrows at her and Rumi flushed bright red, but the twinkle of mischief in her eyes was as obvious as Jinu’s boner. “Fuck Yeah!”, her voice was full of desire and lust “There’s a few new things I want to try”.

She dragged Jinu flush to her - grinding herself against him - daring him to make the next move. Jinu responded in kind, pulling Rumi off the stool and wrapping her around him again, seating her on his erection as he walked her towards her room. The pair laughing to each other as Jinu kicked her door open and walked inside, locking it behind them. The moment the door as locked, clothes were launched in every direction and Rumi laughed as Jinu practically tackled her onto her bed.

They wouldn’t emerge for nearly another five hours.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week went off surprisingly without a hitch for the most part, although the work load for both groups was now ramping up again significantly. With only two weeks left until Huntrix needed to release their new single and only three weeks left until the Saja Boys went on their localised comeback tour around Korea, the two groups found themselves spending less and less time together again.

Both groups ended up spending significantly more time in the recording and editing studio’s. Abby even dragged the other Saja’s into the dance studio to get them familiar with the news songs choreographies. The girls occasionally sat in to watch as Abby acted like a Drill Sergeant with a bad hangover, barking out orders at everyone and threatening to hit them with his clipboard if they messed up.

Mira wouldn’t admit it out loud but seeing him being bossy and serious was doing numbers on her attraction to him.

There was also an interesting moment on the Wednesday afternoon when Bobby showed up with a massive binder under his arm. Turned out, all this time the Saja Boys had been living with Huntrix, they didn’t have any form of legal identification or paperwork that marked them as Korean citizens.

Jinu had forgotten he’d told Bobby (a little white lie) that all the Saja Boys legal documents had been in their original apartment when it flooded, damaging or outright destroying every legal document the boys had. So Bobby had been working tirelessly behind the scene to get the boys set up with new ID Cards, Citizen Documentation, Medical ID numbers, Passports and the like. All things they would be needing before they went on tour next month.

-----

Thursday:

It was absolutely pissing it down. The weather forecast had said to expect drizzle and light rain for today, but that seemed to have been a major understatement as water ran down the roads like a river. However instead of cancelling their Fan Sign, Bobby had managed to negotiate a relocation for the event. He’d pulled some strings to rent out an empty warehouse near the market square for the event.

The Saja Boys sat in the back of a pair of SUV’s making their way towards the event. Jinu and Baby sat in the lead vehicle with Abby, Romance and Mystery in the following ride, Bobby sat shotgun, turned around in his seat as he rattled off how this event was going to go down. But Jinu was only half paying attention, his focus primarily on his phone as he texted back and forth with Rumi.

RuJinu Chat:

Jinu: Almost at the Fan Sign Event, shouldn’t be longer than two hours ish maybe three at most xx

Rumi: Two hours is too long without you Jinu! 🥺🥺

Jinu: How are you gonna cope without me when we go on tour next month if you can’t last a few hours without me now? Hmm? 🤔

Rumi: I’m FUCKING not!!! I’m gonna hide in your luggage! Heheh 😈😈

Jinu: You’d be all I need anyway 😗❤️

Rumi: You can’t just say that! 😳

Jinu: Why not? and now I think about it, if you replace my clothes... I’d have to walk around on tour naked 😏😏

Rumi: 😳😳🫠🫠

Rumi: Ok now I’m deffo hiding in your luggage!

Jinu: HAHA! Love you Ru xx We’ve just pulled up. See you soon Gongjunim 👸👑

Rumi: I love you too xx Hurry back! I need my cuddles!! 🥰🥰

Jinu: As soon as I’m back you shall have them xx ❤️❤️

Rumi: … and that godly cock too 🍆🍑😏😏

Jinu: 😶😶😶

Jinu smiled as he pocketed his phone. He’d mastered the art of texting much easier than he thought he would’ve, but he’d needed a lot more help when it came to these ‘emoji’ thingies that the girls were obsessed with. There had been a very awkward conversation once about a peach and an eggplant emoji that had all three girls gasping for air on the floor much to Jinu’s consternation, but he’d eventually figured it out… and for the most part, he wished he hadn’t… that poor eggplant.

His attention was pulled back to the present when he heard Bobby’s slightly annoyed voice. “Jinu! Were you listening to anything I just said?”. His cheeks flushed with colour at being caught “Sorry Bobby”. His manager just huffed out a breath and shook his head a little. Baby for once showed a little compassion to his captain, “Don’t worry Bobby. I’ll catch him up when we get inside, you know how he gets when his future wife texts him”.

Ok… so Baby’s compassion was only a front to wind Jinu up. The Saja Boy’s frontman glaring at his bandmate as he popped an umbrella getting out of the SUV into the pouring rain, Baby not caring in the slightest as he smiled a cheeky smile at his leader before running inside before his sweater got drenched.

As he walked towards the door, Jinu took in the ocean of umbrella’s and poncho’s that snaked around the building. Even with this shitty weather, their fans were out in force to support them and it brought a smile to Jinu’s lips as he finally stepping in out of the rain.

-----

The Saja Boys were sat behind a long foldup desk near the back wall of the warehouse.  Jinu sat in the middle of the group with Abby and Romance on his left side and Mystery and Baby on his right. Piles of various promotional materials for their upcoming ‘Marionettes’ album and tour littered the table. Abby had a pile of pre-signed sketches of his abs to give out, Baby had a large bowl of his signature lollipops to hand out as well like it was Halloween.

Bobby stood next to a pair of shipping containers full of clothing and other merch, how the fuck Bobby had managed to get these colossal steel monstrosities inside was beyond Jinu. He sometimes thought Bobby had some demonic magic of his own.

Snaking out before the desk the boys were sat at was a winding mess of barriers designed to funnel their fans towards them in a neat line. Staffers standing at key points in the que line to hand out lanyards and other bits of free merch just to keep the hype going. Once Bobby had finished giving the boys their last minute peptalk, Jinu sat straight – his game face on – and gave the word. “Ok! Let them in”.

-----

For the first hour, the event went as smoothly as any of them could hope for. Regardless of the weather, the fans were in high spirits. Everyone had nothing but lovely things to say to the boys and Jinu was starting to understand why the girls loved being Idols so much, the energy from the fans was infectious and all the boys were getting on the hype train too.

Of course, it wouldn’t be long before something – or someone – threw a spanner into the works. Jinu had just signed the plaster cast of a young female fans broken arm when his phone went ballistic in his pocket, the sound alert saying he’d gotten messages from Rumi.

Jinu stood, under the guise of getting some more Men’s XL shirts from the merch container, but in all honestly he just wanted a moment to talk to his girlfriend, as much as he loved his fans, saying the same things on repeat for an hour and signing his name countless times was very draining. His hand was cramping up hard and he needed a small moment to unwind. Opening his phone, he was expecting to see another text from her, probably asking for a SitRep or something. But what he saw on his messages caused his eyes to bug out on stalks and he nearly dropped his phone.

There was no other way to describe it… Rumi had sent him a nude. She was posed naked under her shower, her patterns aglow and the hand not holding the camera teasing her naval. Water droplets captured in eternity as they trailed down her lithe frame. She was winking at the camera and there was a caption under the image. ‘What you could be doing right now 😘’.

Jinu was at a loss for words, he was very happy he was alone right now because he was suddenly hyper aware he had an erection straining against his jeans. That would prove problematic to hide. He fired off a quick text to her.

RuJinu Chat:

Jinu: Bloody Hell Rumi! Are you trying to kill me??  😵‍💫😵

Rumi: Yes… I’m lonely and my boyfriend isn’t here!

Rumi: And don’t tell me you don’t like what you saw. 😏😏

Jinu: Rumi! I’m hiding in a merch container rn because you’ve just given me a raging hard on!

Rumi: 😂🤣😂🤣 Send us a pic will ya? 🥺🥺

Jinu: Ru!

Rumi: What? You’re not here and my fingers are having to do the job your cock should be doing! Here look…

Another ~ding~ as another spicy photo arrived that did nothing to stop Jinu’s junk from trying to escape his trousers. He could just picture the evil grin she would have on her face as she tortured him with her body through the phone. It seemed that Jinu had traded a cruel master in Gwi-Ma for an even more cruel mistress in Rumi. Not that he was complaining about the upgrade in the slightest. But he wasn’t about to let Rumi have all the fun though, so he fired back a few suggestive messages of his own.

RuJinu Chat:

Jinu: When I get back in an hour, you’re getting back under that shower and I’ll show you exactly what you’ve done to me just now.

Jinu: and don’t expect me to go easy on you either!

Rumi: …

Rumi: Promise… 🥺👉👈

Jinu: Oh you’re in so much trouble now 😈😈

Rumi: Hehehe… I’ll be waiting

Jinu: You wanna get wild? Ok I’ll show you wild!

Jinu pocketed his phone again with a malicious grin, grabbed the XL shirts he’d claimed he was in here for from the get go before rejoining his bandmates at the table. He’d done a poor job of hiding his blush at the image now seared into his brain, but he’s done a much better job of disguising his frankly painful erection, using the pile of clothes in his arms to mask it.

Sitting back down, he shuffled to make himself more comfortable, forced his game face back on and immersed himself in the near endless throng of fans screaming his name. But the image of Rumi naked and waiting for him never left the back of his mind.

-----

Jinu practically kicked the penthouse door off its hinges when the group arrived back just after lunchtime. The man was on a mission and no one was getting in his way of completing it, he barely even acknowledged Zoey and Mira in the kitchen as he made his way straight towards Rumi’s bedroom.

“What’s up with him?” Mira asked, popping a dumpling into her mouth as she watched Jinu disappear out of sight without a word. “Rumi sent him a nude while we were out. Poor fucker’s had a boner out to here for the last hour” Baby said matter-of-factly as he dropped down on the couch with a smug grin on his face. Mira spat her dumpling out in shock and Zoey fell off her chair laughing hysterically.

Rumi must’ve heard the arrival of the boys, because by the time Jinu had snuck into her room and locked the door behind him, she was already naked again, posing suggestively in the bathroom doorway. “About time Oppa” were the only words she managed before Jinu’s lips kissed her with such passion it nearly hurt, swallowing whatever else she was about to say. “Remember when I said you were in so much trouble?” Jinu growled into her ear as he walked her backwards into her walk-in shower, stripping himself as he went until they both stood naked behind the frosted glass.

Rumi moaned as he attacked both her sweet spots simultaneously, liquid lightning arcing under her skin at his touch. Both of their patterns pulsing with lust and desire. “Yes” she gasped, reaching one hand to grab his hair, the other reaching to turn the shower on. “Good!” Jinu snarled - dropping to his knees before her - his tongue trailing hot down her body as water pounded the pair of them. “Because I’m about to show you exactly what’s been going through my mind for the last hour!”.

Rumi made the mistake of looking down at him, kneeling before her, his hands on her hips, ready to pray at the alter between her thighs. Jinu’s eyes wandered over her… slick, wet and ready. He licked his lips “Time to finally turn the Honmoon diamond” he smirked before his tongue dove in to delivery his prayer straight to her core, his name screamed loud upon her lips.

By the time he’d finished with her, Rumi was a happy horny gooey mess that couldn’t even walk, Jinu had to carry her out of the shower and lay her down on her bed, drying her off and helping her into some fresh clothes. Rumi couldn’t resist teasing him as he ministered aftercare to her.

“You know… if this is my ‘punishment’… I might send you nudes every time you go out from now on”. Jinu chuckled at that, sliding her arms into one of his fluffy lined hoodies she’d ‘claimed’ for herself. “I’m surprised you’ve got the energy to talk after what I just did to you”. His smirk made her blush as she sat up, pulling him in for a messy kiss.

Her eyes held a sultry look as they separated. “I’m a Hunter remember… I’ve got stamina for days”. Her implication was clear. Well that was that then… rational thought and their newly donned fresh clothes went right out the window. Neither of them were seen again for the rest of that day, Rumi found herself quite sore, but very satisfied when she laid down to go to sleep that night, snuggled up against Jinu. She regretted nothing!

-----

Friday:

For once, Rumi actually remembered to turn her alarm off, she awoke sometime just after 10:30am, her head resting on Jinu’s torso which rose and fell slowly as he breathed. Another night of raunchy love making had left her completely drained in more ways than one but utterly satisfied regardless. She could absolutely get used to this.

Her legs still felt like jelly as she rolled slowly over onto her back and stared up at her ceiling. She thought she had stamina when it came to bedroom aerobics? Well Jinu definitely had her beat on that front, that man was insatiable, he’d pulled so many climaxes from her yesterday and last night Rumi was sure she’d forgotten her own name at one point.

True to his word… Jinu had indeed… not gone easy on her, not that she was complaining about it at all… she loved it… she loved when he was rough with her, turns out she had a kink for being thrown around a bit and Jinu had been more than happy to oblige.

Rubbing some feeling back into her aching legs, Rumi decided to leave Jinu to his dreams as she headed for the shower. Today they all had that appearance on ‘Play Games With Us’ in the evening, plus the Huntrix girls had another meeting with their board of directors at lunch, so she should probably make herself presentable for the day.

Once she’d finished her morning routine, Jinu was still out like a light under her sheets. Rumi smiled as warmth flooded her at the sight, giving him a kiss on the forehead before leaving her room and heading towards the lounge.

-----

Jinu awoke to someone gently poking him in the cheek repeatedly. He rolled over in an attempt to get away from the probing finger but it followed him as he now laid on his back. “Mmm! Rumi… it’s too early” be grumbled, until his ears locked onto a deep laugh, presumably belonging to the same person as this finger. Even with her morning warmth, this laugh was far too deep to belong to Rumi and Jinu cracked his eyes open to be greeted by the rest of the Saja Boys. They were stood around the edge of Rumi’s bed, shit eating grins all around as Mystery sat on the bed, the mysterious finger’s owner now revealed.

“Oh so he is alive!” he heard Romance chuckle as Jinu finally sat up, his chest exposed to the others as the sheets slipped down. “Fucking Hell! If the girl keeps biting him, he might not be alive for much longer”. Abby had to physically restrain himself from laughing. Jinu’s chest and neck was covered in bite marks and scratches, he looked like he’d been mauled by a bear, but everyone knew he’d only been mauled by Rumi.

Jinu ran a hand over the back of his neck, groaning as he woke up properly. “The hell are you clowns doing in here? And where’s Rumi?” his eyes finally noticing the lack of his girlfriend present. Baby jumped onto the bed, sitting criss cross near the footrest. “The girls have all gone out for their directors meeting”. Baby pulled his phone up and showed Jinu the text Rumi had sent him earlier. “She said if he’s not out of bed by lunch, please go poke him”. Mystery gave him another few pokes on the cheek until Jinu swatted his hand away.

“Honestly we thought she’d killed you when you didn’t emerge with her this morning”. Abby laughed, hauling his Daejang up onto his feet, completely unbothered by the fact Jinu was stark bollock naked. “I know we all agreed that death by Hunter was a good way to go… but we kinda meant by her blade, not by being suffocated by her thighs”. Abby thought that was the funniest thing he’d ever said because his booming laugh filled the room seconds later.

“Well I am alive… just about I think…” Jinu mumbled, shooing his bandmates away. “You lot can piss off now… I need a shower”. Jinu wandered naked towards Rumi’s ensuite, scratching his arse as he went. He glared over his shoulder when Baby wolf whistled at him before darting for the door, the other Saja’s following soon after, their own laughter echoing down the halls. Jinu just shook his head, half in amusement, half in exasperation as he stepping into Rumi’s shower and turned it on. This girl was going to be the death of him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

-----

Rumi wandered towards the recording studio with a tray laden with goodies. After her and girls had returned from their meeting, they’d found a note stuck to the fridge saying the guys were down here working on their new album. Zoey had wanted to chill in her room, mulling over 17 different notebooks of lyrics and costume idea’s. Mira had wanted to go beat the shit out of some training dummies in the gym, so that left Rumi on her own and she figured she’d bring some drinks and snacks down to the boys and sit in on the work.

There was something enchanting about listening to the boys, they had a different dynamic when it came to work than she had with the girls and it was equal parts impressive and amusing to watch. Abby could be just as unforgiving when it came to choreo as Mira was, and after he whacked Jinu up the back of the head with a clipboard for missing a simple step last week, Rumi’d had to excuse herself to the bathroom before she pissed herself laughing.

As she kicked the door to the studio open with her boot - her hands holding a tray of Soda Pop and snacks - she could hear Jinu singing in the recording booth, his angelic voice filtering through the speakers singing something in Korean. “Hey guys… brought you some refreshments, thought you’d…”

Four heads swung her way with wide eyes as she entered the room. Abby, Romance, Mystery and Baby had looks of panic on their faces at her sudden arrival and the four of them practically rushed her before she could react.

“Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope!” She heard Romance shouting as he barrelled towards her and clapped his hands firmly over her ears muffling the sound of Jinu’s voice to a dull nothing. Rumi was so shocked at the sudden commotion she didn’t even register that Abby had literally picked her up under her armpits and carried her back out of the room, all while Romance still had his hands clamped firmly over her ears. Mystery managed to grab the tray of refreshments before it hit the floor. Baby following along for ‘moral support’ or something.

Only once the door to the studio was closed and Jinu’s voice was cut off by the soundproofing did Abby deposit Rumi back on her feet and Romance removed his hands from her head. Both of them having very sheepish and apologetic looks on their faces. “Guys! What the actual FUCK!” Rumi was understandably pissed. She’d just been kicked out of her own studio and she wanted answers.

“Sorry Rumi… but we couldn’t let you hear what Jinu was working on right now…”. Abby smoothed out the wrinkles he’d put in the arms of her shirt before backing away a short distance, holding his hands up in surrender. Romance did the same. “And why not exactly?” Rumi quizzed; her arms now crossed over her chest. “I know you guys are working on your album, I’ve heard all 10 of the new songs at some point or another”.

She had indeed heard the new songs, and she was a fan of all of them. Abby had at one point even handed her a list of the song titles before she’d even heard the demo tracks. Alongside ‘Soda Pop’ and ‘Your Idol’, the guys had come up with 10 new songs. ‘Cut The Strings’ which was going to be their title track along with ‘Empire Awakening’, ‘The Marks We Hide’, ‘Second Chance’, ‘Whisper in the Dark’, ‘Reignite My Soul’, ‘Rise From the Ashes’, ‘Destiny’s Blade’, ‘Chains of Shame’ and ‘Kings of Stars’. So she didn’t quite understand why the guys were being so cagey right now.

A groan from behind the flirt and the muscles drew her attention to Baby who was dragging his hands across his face. “Fuck! He’s gonna be so pissed now!”. The eldest Saja cast a look at Rumi “How much of it did you hear exactly?”. Rumi was royally confused now; the guys were acting like there was some big secret she wasn’t privy to. “I dunno, like half a line of Korean if that”. the others all visibly relaxed at that. “Ok… that’s a mercy at least” Abby muttered, running a relieved hand though his pink locks.

“Does someone want to tell me exactly why I just got evicted out of my own studio?”. Rumi was still annoyed, but the way the guys were behaving was unnerving her a little. Mystery sidled up next to Abby, shifting his mop of hair to show his green iris. “Because there’s not just 12 tracks on this album Rumi… Jinu’s working on a secret 13^th… one we’ve all been sworn to secrecy on… we couldn’t tell you even if we wanted to”.

The others nodded in agreement. “Jinu said he wanted the first you knew about it to be when we start our tour. He wanted it to be a complete surprise”. Romance spoke, looking at his fingernails like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “But that surprise seems to have gone to shit now”. Baby continued, his tone wasn’t exactly accusatory, it wasn’t Rumi’s fault she walked into her own studio, she’d just walked in at the worst possible time and possibly overheard something that was meant to be a surprise.

They should’ve put a note on the door or something, hindsight was a wonderful thing wasn’t it?

Rumi however seemed much more understanding than they were expecting her to be. She had a small smile on her face at the news. She’d actually overheard Jinu talking about this ‘secret 13^th track’ a few weeks ago, she hadn’t heard any details but she was oddly happy to find out it was real, the way the guys had acted when she walked in was too good for it to be fake.

“Ok then… I’ll pretend like I was never here then”. Rumi turned on her heel and started back towards the elevator. “I’ll see you guys back up in the penthouse. Don’t forget we need to leave by 18:00pm for this variety show”. The other Saja Boys offered mixed ‘coolio’s’, ‘rogers’, ‘will do’s’ and thumbs up before Rumi disappeared around the corner.

Only once they were sure she was gone - Baby actually following her slyly to make sure she got on the elevator - did the guys open the studio door and head back inside. “That was too fucking close!” Mystery growled, sitting down on one of the chairs and grabbed one of the soda’s Rumi had brought. “Yeah… too fucking close”, Abby slumped down next to him.

“What was too close?” four heads turned to face Jinu who had just stepped out of the sound booth, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

-----

The two super groups found themselves back in a familiar backroom at the K24 Live studio. While they weren’t going on that show again for a while, the studio was shared with the ‘Play Games With Us’ set. A remarkably similar ritual was going on as the Idols awaited their summons to the stage.

Zoey was again fumigating a high rise building with hairspray, Mira’s magazine was held hostage by slender fingernails painted a striking yellow. But this time, the Saja Boys were much more calm, lounging on a sofa and talking animatedly.

Jinu stood leaning against the wall, almost in the exact same position as the last time he was here, although this time Rumi wasn’t wearing a track into the linoleum flooring. She was stood in front of him, chest to chest as she hugged him. She claimed it was preshow nerves that had her wrapped around him but Jinu silently called bullshit on that.

“you Ok?” he whispered, tilting her face up so he could kiss her. The press of his lips against hers never failed to ground her and Rumi hummed happily into the contact, tracing her fingers over his chest. “I am now” she smiled into him before sneaking another kiss for ‘good luck’.

“Will you two get a fucking room?!” Mira grumbled, flicking over a page of her magazine and not bothering to look up at the kissing couple. “Some of us are still single and your making it very difficult for anyone to compete”. Jinu was about to fire back a sassy comment but surprisingly Rumi beat him to it. “Aww… what’s the matter Mira? Are you jealous I bagged the best of the bunch?”. Her bottom lip was blown out in a childish pout and her voice was teasing in its tone.

Mira muttered something about ‘hoping his cock falls off’ before going back to her magazine without another word.

-----

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Please give a warm welcome to our guests for tonight. Huntrix and the Saja Boys!”.

Jin-Hao threw his arms up in the air, pulling a roar of applause from the 300 strong crowd as Huntrix led the way onto the stage. They were the Sunbae group so it was customary for them to lead the way. The Saja Boys being the Hoobae’s following them out onto the stage. All eight of them stood in a line next to their host and waved at the crowd, eliciting another roaring wave of applause and shouting.

 “It’s so good to see you again so soon Saja Boys” Jin-Hao smiled, flipping his cue card over. “We all remember your last appearance with us… you all left quite the impression”. He smirked at the nearest camera and a laugh track played over the speakers. Both Huntrix and the Saja Boys shuffled awkwardly. They’d all made complete fools of themselves last time they appeared on this stage. The Saja Boys all clearly remembering the hot sauce challenge with grimaces and Huntrix cringed as they remembered that blasted slide and ball pit... and by the gods they all remembered the horrific noise those leather body suites made coming down those slides.

“So… what say we get into tonight’s two games then shall we?...” They all knew it was a rhetorical question but they all nodded anyway, manufactured smiles all around.

-----

Game 1:

“Ok Folks. Tonight’s first game is a simple drawing challenge. Our contestants will line up behind each other with a piece of paper and pencil resting on the back of the person in front. The player at the back will be given a prompt to draw and they must draw it as best they can. The goal is to get the image to the front of the line as close to the original as possible”. Jin-Hao spoke into in mic as a few staff members handed out the art supplies.

After names were drawn from a hat for fairness, the line ended up being Romance at the front followed by Rumi behind him, then Baby, Mystery, Mira, Jinu, Abby and finally Zoey. Zoey ended up requesting a box to stand on to reach Abby’s back because in her own words ‘I’m a short arse and he’s a long arse’ which had the entire studio rolling around in laughter.

The game started and Zoey’s first prompt flashed up on a screen only she could see. It was a simple image, a child’s version of a simple fish swimming from left to right. Zoey wasn’t much of an artist, she was more of a lyricist, but even she could draw a fish. So could everyone else apparently, the image made its way to the front with little to no deviation and the crowd loved it.

The problems started when the prompts got a bit more ‘devious’. Zoey’s attempt to draw a basic sailing ship failed before it even started, when the image got to the front… it couldn’t be described as anything other than an artistic ‘vomit’. The crowd laughing it up as the idols went beet red in embarrassment.

The final image in this game turned out to be the Saja Boy’s lion motif and Zoey prayed they’d at least get this right… they didn’t. Romance’s drawing looked more like an elephant/rhino hybrid and after comparing works, they decided it was Jinu’s inability to draw a snout that led to this amusing disaster.

Game 2:

“Game 2 ladies and gents! We asked our players to write down something that you – their adoring fans – don’t know about them. One of them will read out a prompt and you – our lovely audience – will vote on your tablets on who you think the prompt belongs too”. Jin-Hao had another bowl in front of him, eight folded pieces of paper laying inside. Huntrix and the Saja Boys were sat on a very long couch. From left to right it was Romance, Mira, Abby, Mystery, Zoey, Baby, Jinu and Rumi. Only Rumi and Jinu seemed to notice they were in the exact same line as when the boys had crashed their fan meet and greet.

Jin-Hao started on the left, offering the bowl to Romance who rummaged around before pulling a slip out and read it aloud. “I love a good True Crime Podcast”. All heads on stage swivelled to the screen above that showed a pie chart of the audiences votes. Everyone chuckled when the results were finalised.

Abby had 25 votes, Mira had 43, Romance had 42, Jinu 35, Rumi 62, Mystery 33, Zoey 41 and Baby had 19.

“Well our fans think the answer is Rumi. But did they get it right?” Rumi shook her head, a wide smile on her face and both Jin-Hao and the audience gasped as Zoey raised her hand. “Nope! It’s me!”. Everyone laughed and the game continued.

The audience only ended up getting two of the prompts right in the end, successfully guessing Jinu’s prompt of ‘I’m a cat dad’ and Mira’s ‘Secretly listens to music I claim to hate’.

Romance laughed when he got a single vote for his own prompt ‘Enjoys knitting to relax’.

Abby was a close second on his prompt of ‘Used to work on a farm’ just behind Baby of all people.

Rumi was exposed as a secret enjoyer of ‘Reading soppy romance novels’. Jinu giving her a smirk that threatened Rumi’s resolve not to jump him live on stage for a snog.

Mystery’s admission of ‘Never learnt how to swim’ had everyone gasping in surprise. He just shrugged with disinterest.

And Baby’s prompt of being ‘Multi-lingual’ ended up with him talking to an audience member in Japanese for three minutes, said audience member blushing a furious pink and hiding behind her hair for the rest of the programme.

-----

Their little three car convoy got stuck on the way back to the tower. Gridlocked traffic caused by an overturned 18-wheeler and more torrential downpour left them all stuck on the hard shoulder for an hour. Not that a certain couple minded the extra delay. Rumi and Jinu sat in the lead car in their little convoy, very thankful indeed for the limo-grade partition between them and the driver.

Rumi was straddling Jinu’s lap, his shirt pulled open and her hands roaming up his chest as she kissed him passionately, smearing her lipstick all over his face, his own hands sneaking up the leg of her shorts, massaging her thighs. “Hey! No fair!” Rumi gasped into his lips as Jinu circled the sweet spot on her leg with a finger. “Former demon remember… I don’t play fair”. Jinu smirked as he felt Rumi’s nipples harden against his chest. “Oh I’m so getting you back for that tonight!” She half growled at him, nipping at his bottom lip, her eyes lidded with mischief and lust.

“Bring it on Hunter!” he chuckled back, until Rumi shut him up with another passionate kiss. If she had her way, she’d claw both their clothes off and fuck him right here and now. But some things were worth waiting for… so Rumi settled for torturing him by grinding herself on his bulge, enjoying the moans it pulled from his throat.

Chapter Text

Steam enveloped Jinu’s naked body as the shower blasted into life around him, heat surrounding him like a second skin as he washed away the sleep crowding his eyes. For once, he’d been the first one up out of him and Rumi. She was completely wrecked in their bed – in more ways than one – still snoring away happily to herself and Jinu allowed himself a brief trip down memory lane as he grabbed his sponge and bodywash.

Rumi had let her demon out to play the moment they were alone last night and Jinu would be lying if he said he didn’t love every single second of it. He’d amassed a new collection of bites and scratches from her teeth, claws and nails that would probably require some very good stage makeup to hide properly.

Not that he particularly cared about hiding them per se. He would be all too happy for everyone to see her claim over him. Her marks on his body, warning everyone he was taken… hers… to stay away or risk her wrath. But he would still need to cover them up for now, alas they still hadn’t gone public with their relationship yet… but that could be changing soon. Jinu had a plan in mind.

He’d still needed to talk to Rumi about it and see if she’d be amicable to it, and if so then he knew exactly how he wanted it to go… and it all hinged on his little secret weapon. The secret track of the ‘Marionettes’ album, his ace in the hole, the project he’d poured his blood, sweat, tears and many late nights into. If they were going to do this, then he wanted it to be perfect and memorable… immortalized in the annals of K-Pop history for everyone to see.

He’s talk to her about his idea when they went out for their date this afternoon.

Once he’d washed himself clean and dried off, he slathered some antiseptic cream over the worst offenders in his new collection of scratches. That was one of a few things he legitimately missed about his demon powers. Along with the ability to teleport and his golden eyes making nifty nightlights, he really missed his demonic healing factor. His human body took far too long to heal from even the most basic injury. A paper cut that used to take ten seconds to heal now took ten hours.

Jinu walked back out into his bedroom; towel hung criminally low around his hips. It technically was his bedroom now, one he shared with her. Rumi had essentially made him move in with her after their first time together. His clothes now lived in her spare dresser, his bodywash, deodorant and toothbrush lined her shower and sink, even his phone had migrated to ‘his’ side of her bed.

Today was a day just for the pair of them. He’d been eagerly looking forward to it ever since he’d actually begged Bobby for the day off. With both the groups schedules ramping up for their comebacks, he’d been desperate to treat Rumi to another proper date and he was finally getting his chance. He had a full itinerary for today, a full step by step plan.

Step 1: Start with the all-important breakfast in bed. After getting dressed and making sure Rumi was still out of it, Jinu snuck out of her room like some comical burglar and headed towards the kitchen. Luckily for him he was the only one awake at this hour apparently. None of the others were lounging around being noisy bastards like they usually were.

The only member of his misfit family Jinu saw was Sussie who was snoozing near the TV. She’d built herself a little nest on top of one of the surround sound speakers, primarily made out of the girls stolen hair ties, a few odd socks she’d scavenged from somewhere and Derpy’s fluff. Speaking of Derpy, Jinu figured he was in with Zoey. After him and Rumi, Zoey was the oversized cat’s best friend, always showering the tiger with an excess of love and attention.

Jinu grabbed an apron from its hook – paying no mind that it was Rumi’s apron he grabbed, totally a coincidence… right? – and fired up the stove. Over the last few weeks, he’d memorised her favourite breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon, strawberries and/or an apple depending on the day and a large glass of orange juice with NO BITS! Jinu agreed with Rumi on that point, people who liked bits in their orange juice were weirdo’s that belonged with Gwi-Ma.

Jinu didn’t know if he was either impressed or surprised he actually managed to pull cooking breakfast off without setting the smoke alarm off like he’d done on his first few attempts at using modern cooking equipment. How he’d managed to set fire to a pan of water he would never know. Killing the stove and hanging up the apron he made his way back towards his girlfriend’s room.

On the tray he was carrying was a plate piled high with perfectly cooked bacon - a little on the thick side just how Rumi loved it – next to a small mountain of scrambled eggs. A bowl of strawberries sat next to the best-looking apple Jinu could find in the bowl and a large glass of orange juice finished the deal as Jinu pushed her door open with his foot.

Rumi was just coming around as he entered their room, her usual groggy morning face disappearing almost instantly when her nostrils picked up the smell of breakfast. Jinu almost laughed at how she sat up like a curious meerkat, her fabulous hair falling in her face causing her to puff it out the way to meet his eyes.

“Morning Gwiyomi” he smiled, watching as Rumi stretched her arms so wide she was risking dislocating them at the shoulder. “Morning Aegiya… What’s all this?” Her nose could tell there was food present, but her brain was still catching up, Rumi.exe still booting up all the necessary programmes needed to function.

“I brought you breakfast, you’re gonna need your energy” Jinu said as he sat down next to her, brushing her hair out of her face and leaning in to plant a tender kiss to her lips. Turns out a kiss was what Rumi.exe really needed to wake up properly. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Rumi was torn between focusing on her dutiful and devilishly handsome boyfriend or the feast he’d brought her.

Her decision was made for her as Jinu placed the tray carefully on her knee’s, handed her a fork and told her to “dig in”. Rumi didn’t need telling twice. Jinu shifted so he was sat behind her while she tucked into her breakfast, and while she was occupied he grabbed her hairbrush and began taming her static ridden purple mane.

Being extra careful whenever he encountered a tangle or a knot, Jinu slowly and meticulously brushed Rumi’s silky locks into submission. He didn’t know if the frankly sensual noises coming from Rumi were from her enjoyment of breakfast or his ministrations… he liked to think it was both.

Once he’d brushed her hair out he began the arduous job of working it into her signature braid. Honestly he loved doing this for her, it reminded him of when he used to do the same thing for his little sister. His long fingers carded through Rumi luscious locks with exaggerated care, her various hair ties held loosely between his lips as he worked her hair.

By the time he’d put the final tie in at the base of her braid, Rumi had almost finished devouring her breakfast. All that was left was a single long strip of bacon. Jinu had a cheeky idea flash inside his head, he was fairly sure a cartoonish lightbulb appeared above his head as he shuffled around so he was facing Rumi as she put the end of the last piece between her lips.

“Mwhat you mwoing?” Rumi mumbled around her bacon as Jinu leaned it to claim the other end of the rasher in his lips. He winked at her as he slowly started nibbling his way down the rasher and Rumi caught onto his idea quick, nibbling on her own end.

Eventually they met in the middle, lips brushing together as the last of the impromptu pocky stick was consumed. The kiss was light… full of tender love and devotion for the other. Rumi had to pull away as a wave of giggles hit her at the ridiculous thing they’d just done. Jinu just sat there watching her laugh, a dopey smile on his face as her cheeks reddened.

“That was somehow the sappiest and the sweetest thing you’ve ever done” Rumi managed to say through her giggles, giving Jinu a playful shove in the chest and he replied by pulling her into a tight hug. “Guess I’ve got my work cut out to beat it then huh?”. He pecked a wave of kisses across her face. Lips, nose, cheeks, forehead… it didn’t matter and Jinu loved watching her colour deepen with every touch of his lips.

He only stopped when she matched the colour of a tomato, she was so cute when she was blushing, her patterns pulsing blue and lilac against her skin. Of course Rumi couldn’t let him have the last word so she gave him another playful shove. “So… you made me clear my calendar for today… care to share the plan?”. Jinu just shook his head. “Nope! This is probably the last proper date day we’re gonna have before our tour starts. I want it to be a surprise”. Rumi didn’t bother to hide the lovestruck look in her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her again.

Step 2 in his ‘date day’ plan was lying in bed with her watching a few movies. They each chose one from one of the many streaming services the girls had access to and laid back against their pillows to watch them, Rumi cuddling up into Jinu’s side, her hand resting idly on his leg, his arm over her shoulder, tracing shapes along her ribs.

Rumi chose one about an astronaut left behind on Mars by mistake and Jinu chose a comedy special, an American ventriloquist with a grumpy old man, a skeleton and some purple monkey looking thing. Jinu liked the green pepper character, it gave no shits and made frequent jokes about the monkey’s mother and sister which Jinu found oddly hilarious.

By the time the films had ended it was early afternoon. The happy couple emerged into the common area of the penthouse to be met by the usual madness they’d come to expect from their respective groups.

Mira was chasing after Mystery with a murderous grin on her face and Jinu guessed (correctly) that Mystery had successfully pulled another one of his barking pranks. Zoey and Abby were recording the chase for ‘nostalgia’ reasons. Romance was sat in the kitchen mulling over a crossword puzzle and chewing on the end of a pencil. Baby was currently unaccounted for and upon being asked, Romance said he’d gone down to the recording studio to go over some of his rap verses he wasn’t fully happy with.

“Shall we, milady?” Jinu asked as they got to the front door, extending his hand to Rumi and bowing low, melodramatic as always. But today Rumi was happy to play along. “Indeed we shall good sir” she chuckled, offering him an old timey courtesy and took his hand. She enjoyed how easy it was for her to throw his own jokes back at him sometimes.

“Try not to get arrested for indecent exposure yeah? I can’t be bothered bailing you two out of jail”. Mira deadpanned at them from where she’d finally caught Mystery and had him in a ‘gentle’ chokehold on the floor. A twitch of a smile cornered her mouth as the lovebirds both flipped her off before they disappeared out the door.

-----

Once they were out of sight, she released Mystery and pulled him back to his feet before she grabbed her phone and fired up the group chat she’d secretly made with the pink haired duo.

Dumbasses + Mira Chat

Mira: Right… they’ve gone now, you two clowns want to take me out? Now’s your chance.

Abby: You’ve no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that! 🤩

Rome: Same here, lemme grab my hoodie and we’ll get going.

Mira: You’ve earned this shot… don’t fuck it up! 🍕🍷

Abby: Wouldn’t dream of it.

Rome: I’m ready! Let’s go!👟👟

Mira allowed herself a small smile. Over the last few weeks those two idiots had slowly been breaking her walls down more and more, small gestures here and there had built up slowly until they had finally got Mira alone the evening before last and asked her out properly. No flirty comments designed to trick her in agreeing, no melodramatics, just an outright question leaving her every chance to say no. but she’d surprised herself by saying ‘yes’.

She would deny it until she was blue in the face to anyone out loud, but secretly she had slowly come to enjoy their antics, their dumb flirty comments, Abby’s flexing and Romance’s poetry. She’d finally let her walls down enough to allow them to climb over, though she was fully prepared to kick them up the arses right back over said walls if they tried any dumb shit.

Rumi would never let her hear the end of it if she knew Mira was going on a ‘date’ with the boys she once claimed to hate and had tried to murder on several occasions. Not that Rumi was any better anyway, she was with Jinu and Mira was almost certain Zoey and Mystery were a secret item as well.

The only one left without a girl (or guy, Mira wasn’t one to judge) was Baby though he seemed to be completely unbothered by the lack of female (or male) attention. He seemed quite happy with the single life for now. The trio left at different times so as not to attract too much attention. Detective Zoey was still loitering around after all, so they made their respective excuses and disappeared. Mira going for a ‘run’ and Abby and Romance going to the ‘gym’.

-----

Zoey waved them all off before turning her attention to Mystery who had migrated to the couch. “Hey Myst!”. The ashen Saja turned his head to face her, his bangs parting to show his green eye. “Yeh?” “We appear to be alone… you thinking what I’m thinking?”. A smirk spread slowly over his lips as he realised they were indeed alone. “I think I might just be”. He chuckled as Zoey launched herself into his lap giggling to herself, straddling his legs and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Why don’t you show me what you’re thinking then huh?”.

Mystery chuckled deep in his throat, the noise vibrating into Zoey’s chest as he bared his teeth at her in mock threat. “Careful there Hunter. The mind of a former demon’s a dangerous place to be!”. His fingers wandering slowly up Zoey’s thighs which caused her to giggle and shiver simultaneously. “Luckily for me I like a bit of danger”, Zoey accentuated her point by rolling her hips over Mystery and he let out a little hiss at the sensation. “You’re treading dangerous waters here Zo!”. Zoey wasn’t fazed, rolling her hips again. “I can swim… and I’ve got a lifeguard who’s just my type to save me if I go under”.

Zoey yipped as Mystery stood suddenly and she had to wrap her legs around him to stop herself falling, locking her heels behind his back. “Let’s see how deep those waters run then shall we?” His tone was dark and dangerous and it sent Zoey’s insides fluttering. She’d always liked to flirt with danger – the girls even said she had little in the way of survival instincts – but Zoey enjoyed the risk. She might be the bright bubbly Maknae of her group, but she had a dark side just like the rest of them, and Mystery had a way of bringing her dark side to the surface without even trying.

And it’s not like the girls could say anything about it without being hypocrites anyway. Rumi had literally been sneaking out to meet up with Jinu on her own before Namsam and now the pair were attached at the lips during the day and attached at the pelvis during the night, and even though Mira thought she was being slick about it, Zoey could tell the pink haired ones had slowly worn her walls down. She’d just snuck out with them both for fucks sakes, claiming she was going for a ‘run’… yeah Zoey was calling bullshit, she’d grill Mira later.

And if her bandmates were allowed to have a little fun with their respective former demons, then why shouldn’t she have a little fun with hers as well?

Turns out it hadn’t just been Rumi and Jinu who were getting a little ‘handsy’ coming back from the ‘Play Games With Us’ set. Zoey had jumped into Mystery’s lap when a thunder clap boomed directly overhead. That little action had let to their first proper make-out session and Zoey had loved it and wanted more.

Now she was very curious to see what else lay in store for her as Mystery slowly carried her into her bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him before locking it and putting Zoey down so he could strip off his shirt, his ripped chest catching the light through her window, that sexy little snail trail starting just under his bellybutton and heading south entrancing her. Mystery ran his hands through his hair, exposing his face fully to her, his beautiful heterochromia on full display, flashing her a toothy grin and Zoey’s eyes detonated with popcorn.

-----

­Baby wandered back into the penthouse a little while later to be met with complete silence. No one answered when he called their names, only Sussie and Derpy acknowledged his existence with a squawk and rumbling purr respectively. He crashed down on the couch and grabbed the TV remote; he was quite happy with a bit of time to himself to be honest; it would give him a chance to catch up of the TV series he’d started last week. Zoey had introduced him to a show about a chem teacher turned drug kingpin and Baby found himself hooked immediately.

As he settled in to watch the latest episode, one small thought did float to the top of his mind briefly.

‘Where the fuck is everyone?’

-----

Rumi and Jinu walked hand in hand through the old Bukchon Hanok Village. Rumi’s heart was beating wildly in her chest as they walked through the narrow stone streets. Her mind casting back to all their secret meetings that took place within this very village. Their very first meeting where she’d tried to remove his head and instead ended up executing a poor defenceless mannequin. Their first proper conversation where she finally started learning about demons and what they went through… and when they sang ‘Free’ together for the first time.

Rumi was so caught up in her memories that she hadn’t even realised Jinu had lead her to that exact wall they were leaning on when Rumi sang those first few words that changed both their lives forever.

“You brought us back here?”. She asked, Jinu nodded, pulling Rumi close and pecked her lips with his. “I figured it made sense. This is the spot you made me realise I could be more than Gwi-Ma’s lap dog… more than just a demon. This was where you taught me I wasn’t a lost cause”. Rumi’s eyes brimmed with tears as she listened to him talk. “You are the most important person in the world to me Rumi… I love you with everything I have and I never want to be without you”.

His finger came up to caress her cheek and wipe away the tear that managed to escape her. “I’ve been thinking recently about us Rumi… specifically us going public. I don’t want to hide us anymore. I want the world to know I care… I want the world to see how happy you make me”.

Rumi could feel her heart thudding hard in her chest, her smile so warm as she leaned up to kiss him. The feeling of his soft warm lips against hers sent a bolt of heat through her as he deepened the kiss. They pulled away after a long minute, cheeks flushed with colour and warmth.

“I want to love you in front of the people who couldn’t Rumi. I want them all to see how brightly you glow when you’re loved right”. Her heart was about to jump out of her chest but Jinu wasn’t finished speaking yet as he took both her hands in his, staring into her eyes as he spoke.

“Your mine Rumi… and when I say your mine, I don’t mean you belong to me. I mean you belong with me, the way the moon pulls the tide, the way the night clings to its stars. When I say that I want you, I don’t mean I want to keep you locked away, I mean I want to witness you. Your growth, your scars, even the parts you once saw as unlovable, because to me they always are and always will be loveable”.

Tears were actively flowing down her face now.

“When I say I’ll never let you go, I don’t mean I’ll hold on too tightly, I mean I’ll stand beside you, even when the world feels too heavy for you to carry. So when I say your mine, what I really mean is… I’d give every piece of myself just to prove I’m yours”.

Rumi crashed herself into Jinu’s chest, wrapping him up in a hug so tight he though she was going to crack a few ribs. Her tears soaking into his shirt and some rather unladylike noises resembling crying were coming from her mouth.

“I want everyone to know how much you mean to me Rumi… I don’t want to hide us anymore”.

“I don’t wanna hide anymore either” she mumbled into his chest, making no effort to pull her head back far enough to make her words intelligible. His words had touched her so deeply and she was trying desperately to etch every one of them into her mind forever.

“Wait! Really?” she finally managed to extract herself from his chest, tear-streaked face looking up at him with love and care. She nodded fervently, “Yes… I don’t want to hide us anymore Jinu. I want everyone to know I’m yours, just like how you’re mine”. She leaned up to kiss him again and he melted into her lips, his hands moving to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer… pulling her deeper into him.

After a while they continued their walk. Rumi had grabbed a few napkins from a street vendor to clean her face up before wrapping her arm through his and pulling him along on their walk. They ended up walking along next to the wall where Rumi had first jump scared Jinu, something she insisted on reminding him of and him insisting he was only humouring her with his act, his fingers absently running over the blue chrysanthemum knotted bracelet on his left wrist.

-----

The pair ended up taking a break from walking, sitting on a bench and watching the skyline over the flickering lanterns hanging from every building, the low golden glow just barely reaching them where they sat. “So do you have any idea’s about how we go public?” Rumi whispered as a few other people walked past, unaware that the biggest names in K-Pop sat less than 5ft from them.

“Yeh… I’ve got an idea…” Jinu whispered back “I was thinking that we could…”

“Excuse me?” came a tiny voice from in front of them. Both Idols jumped slightly at the interruption and they looked down to see a couple of children staring at Rumi with star filled eyes. “Are you Rumi from Huntrix?” the young boy asked, utterly starstruck. The young girl stood next to him, silent but equally starstruck. They looking about 12 years old, maybe 13.

Rumi had decided that night not to bother stuffing her brain inside her hoodie - no more hiding were her words - so it had been hanging free all night, it was currently pooled in her lap, her fingers twiddling idly with the end of it. Rumi’s eyes and smile were warm as she leaned forward a little. “Yes I am… and what’s your names?”. Both children appeared a little nervous upon realising it actually was Rumi and they stood in awestruck silence until a woman’s exerted voice broke the quiet.

“Chul! Hanuel! How many times do I have to tell you not to wander off!”. She was blonde, looked about early 40’s ish and Rumi guessed she was these kids mother. Rumi’s brain couldn’t help but think they’re names were kinda pretty. “I’m so sorry, they ran off the moment they saw you” the woman gasped as she stopped behind her kids, she must’ve run a fair way to be this out of breath Jinu thought to himself. Rumi waived it off saying it was no problem and asked the children if they’d like some photos taken with her to which they enthusiastically agreed.

At this point Jinu was sat back enjoying the show. He had a plain baseball cap on that was hiding his features to some degree, but his anonymity was sacrificed moments later when Rumi turned to him with a smile and asked out loud “Jinu, would you like to take some photos?”.

Jinu sat forward, pulling his cap off and revealing his – in Rumi’s words ‘sexy mug’ – to the family before him. He watched in amusement as all three of them had different reactions to his reveal. The mother’s brain short circuited and crashed right into a wall, her mouth hanging open. The little boy had to sit down before he fell down and the little girl squealed so highly he was fairly sure dogs could hear it.

“Of course I’d like that” he smiled, leaning forward too. The kids scrambled to stand before their idols and the mother finally managed to pull herself together enough to snap a dozen or more photos of the group.

“Again, I’m so sorry they interrupted you guys… they’re such huge fans. They were devastated when the tickets for ‘Marionettes’ sold out in less than an hour” the mother spoke to Jinu apologetically as he signed the back of her phone case with a biro he always carried with him for just such an occasion. At the mention of the tour tickets, Chul and Hanuel looked like they were about to cry.

“Actually…” Jinu smirked, pulling an envelope out of his back pocket. “What if I can get you tickets… VIP tickets even… would you two like that?” he asked the kids who now looked like they’d just learnt that Santa was real.

Jinu leaned forward some more to talk quietly to Chul and Hanuel. “I’ll make you two a deal. I’ll get you both VIP tickets… maybe even some backstage passes, you just need to keep this” Jinu gestured at him and Rumi who were clearly not here on a business meeting “our little secret… at least for now. Can you do that for me?”.

Rumi looked at him with a smirk that said ‘really’ and gently whacked him on the arm. “Jinu! Please tell me you’re not bribing children!” but her eyes sparkled with love as she watched Jinu interact with them in such a silly manner. Her mind wandering if he’d be like this with their future children. ‘Woah! Where the fuck did that come from?’ she thought to herself, blushing furiously at the fact she’d just imagined having Jinu’s children, although it wasn’t a terrible idea she conceded.

The two kids hesitated, looking between Rumi and Jinu before settling their gazes on Rumi, looking for confirmation of what they’d both been thinking since the moment Jinu revealed himself. Rumi smiled warmly, flashing the pair a playful wink as she slipped her hand into Jinu’s and planted a quick peck on his cheek. their question answered silently, but the answer was unmistakable.

“We promise!” they said in unison, faces lighting up with excitement. “We won’t say anything… pinky promise”. Both of them reaching out their pinkies for Rumi and Jinu to ‘shake’ which they both did with a small laugh. Jinu handed the envelope over to their mother. “Three VIP Gold tickets in there with backstage passes, the last ones available”. The mother looked like she was about to faint as she wiped a tear away. “Thank you so much… both of you… you’ve no idea how much this means to them”.

After saying goodbye to the family as the mother finally managed to drag Chul and Hanuel away, the couple sat back against the bench, Rumi leaning into Jinu’s warmth, sneaking her hand into his hoodie pocket and intertwining their fingers. “Even when your not a demon you’re still making deals” she teased as the sun started to set over the horizon. “Old habits die hard I guess” Jinu chuckled back, reaching his left arm behind her back and pulling her close.

As the pair sat there watching the sunset, hand in hand, Rumi started to sing quietly…

“I tried to hide, but something broke

I tried to sing, couldn’t hit the notes

The words kept catching in my throat

I tried to smile; I was suffocating though”

-----

They were walking back towards the tower now. After they’d finished singing ‘Free’ they’d continued their romantic walk, Jinu finally managing to tell Rumi his plan for going public - without mentioning his secret song – and from how she reacted Jinu could tell she was on board with it. ‘Excellent’ he beamed to himself as they walked arm in arm along the street.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to recognise Rumi had just stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes locked onto a restaurant on the street corner. He only noticed her lack of forward momentum when his own almost sent him crashing to the floor thanks to her arm still being around his.

“What’s up Rumi? You hungry?” he asked, noticing where her eyes were. Rumi shushed him and dragged him out of sight of the glass window. He was about to question her when she pointed to one of the corner tables near the back of the restaurant. The table was far enough away from the window so it’s occupants wouldn’t be easily seen, but they weren’t fooling Rumi, she’d recognise that pink haired trio anywhere.

“It that fucking Mira… with Abby and Romance?” she whispered, almost as if she was worried her voice would carry all that distance and reach the trio’s ears. Jinu followed her pointing finger and had to physically restrain himself from laughing out loud. “No fucking way!... Mira out on a date?... with them two!?”.

Rumi was about to comment in return but what she saw next killed any words she was about to say. Mira was sat between the two Saja Boys and something Romance said must have tickled Mira something big because she threw her head back and laughed hard…

And then Mira leaned in and planted a quick kiss to Romance’s cheek. Rumi’s jaw hit the floor so hard it hurt. Jinu looked both shocked and highly entertained. “Oh they are never living this down!” he whispered at Rumi who had grabbed her phone, zoomed it in as far as she could and was snapping a few pics for ‘evidence’.

“Oh no the fuck she isn’t! She wants to give me shit for dating you and she’s out here with two Saja Boys! Zoey’s gonna have a fucking field day with this!”. Rumi’s grin was pure evil as she flicked through the photos she’d just snapped, finding the best ones. “We gonna spoil their fun or?...” Jinu asked but Rumi shook her head. “Nah… let them have this moment, god knows Mira deserves a chance to unwind and have a little fun”. Rumi pulled Jinu close as they watched their friends for another few seconds before she pulled him away. “We can interrogate them tomorrow”.

Armed with new ammunition, Rumi and Jinu walked slowly back towards Huntrix HQ, their talk aimless and their hearts warm. Hand in hand as they disappeared into the throng of people walking home from work.

Chapter Text

Sunday morning rolled around without too much fanfare to begin with, Huntrix HQ was silent with the exception of the persistent rain that pounded the windows like it was trying to break in. Honestly with the exception of Rumi and Jinu’s date yesterday, this entire week had just been absolutely abysmal weather. Whoever the watery equivalent of Gwi-Ma was, they weren’t very happy this week and were making their feelings perfectly well known to the entire city of Seoul.

Jinu and Rumi were the first ones of the group to emerge into the lounge on this soggy grey morning. That was quite unusual in and of itself considering the duo loved to stay lounging around in bed until nearly lunchtime ever since Jinu moved into Rumi’s bedroom. But after a sly discussion last night after arriving home from their date, they decided to turn Rumi’s early morning alarm back on. They wanted to be the first ones up this morning because they were on a mission… a mission to roast a certain trio of pink haired singers.

They wanted to turn the tables on their bandmates who definitely had some serious explaining to do. Abby, Mira and Romance were about to get a proper grilling if the duo had anything to say about it. All their teasing was about to get turned on its head. Rumi was busying herself with flicking through the photos she’d snagged of the trio sat in the restaurant having a right old good time.

She’d emailed them to her tablet last night and was now currently running them through one of her photo booth apps, trying to clean the image up as best she could, but she wasn’t having much in the way of success. The images were too grainy because they were taken at full zoom, but they were clear enough that there was no doubt as to who it was in the image.

Rumi only regretted she couldn’t get a photo of the moment Mira kissed Romance, but she’d absolutely be bringing that up… Mira wasn’t getting away scott free… no way José… not after all the shit she’d given Rumi about her own lover.

The pair were posted up in the kitchen, getting themselves a simple breakfast of fruit and some leftover’s from the fridge and awaiting the arrival of their victims. Jinu had suggested they bust into their rooms and present their case like they were barristers in court, but Rumi had shot that idea down. Better to get them all together so they can grill them all at once, don’t give them a chance to message the others and warn them.

However the first one to arrive in the kitchen had actually been Zoey… and she looked rough. She was wearing her oversized turtle sleep shirt and some black shorts, her hair looked like you could lose a badger in it and she was wobbling a little as she wandered into the kitchen, offering a mumbled ‘Mornin’ to the pair as she grabbed a bowl, filled it with enough sugary cereal to give an entire army cavities and dropped down onto one of the stools around the island.

“Damn Zoey… you look like shit!” Zoey flipped Jinu off as he chuckled at her. “Some of us didn’t get our required beauty sleep Jinu. Not all of us can crawl out of bed looking fabulous like you”. Jinu’s eyebrows raised at the unexpected compliment… could that be called a compliment? But he brushed it off as Zoey just having a rough night for some reason and he went back to his conversation with Rumi.

Zoey was only half aware of the conversation Rumi and Jinu had started between them at this point, her main focus being that her body was fucking wrecked. She’d been woken up by someone’s loud snoring in her ear and had rolled over to find herself face to face with a half-naked Mystery, his snoring sounding like someone was sawing down a tree in her bedroom.

As she chewed through her breakfast, Zoey’s mind cast back to yesterday. After Rumi and Jinu had disappeared on their date, and Mira had gone out for a ‘run’ with the guys following shortly after, she and Mystery had ended up in her room… naked. They’d ended up having sex… and by the gods it had been incredible.

Although it had started out slow and gentle… cautious even, over the course of the evening both of them had gotten progressively rougher with each other, and Zoey had loved… every… single… second of it. Mystery had a certain way about him that scratched Zoey’s itch for danger, and holy fucking shit, that boy was hung like a fucking horse! Zoey wasn’t a prude by any extent of the imagination, she’d had sex before… mainly with casual hookups and one semi-serious relationship many years ago. But that had all been before she joined Huntrix.

Being a world-famous idol and a Demon Hunter on the side hadn’t left much room for a full-time relationship so she was considerably out of practice when it came to the ‘pleasurable experiences of the flesh’. But when Mystery had dropped his trousers last night, Zoey was close to needing CPR. What’s a girl to do with an 8-inch cock that looks like it could bench-press a small car on its own?

It was at that point that Zoey became hyper aware that Rumi and Jinu’s conversation had ceased. The duo now fixing her with wide eyes and even wider grins. “What? What are you guys looking at?” Zoey grumbled around her spoon, but she was fairly sure she already knew exactly what the pair were looking at. She thought she’d done a good job of hiding it when she got dressed that morning but apparently she’d not been as careful as she thought.

“Oh nothing really Zoey” Jinu purred. His voice smooth as velvet but hiding a beast beneath. “Just… uh… hmm… how do I say this gently?... Just the hickey the size of Abby’s fist on your neck”. He pointed his chopsticks at the lovely purple bruise that was peeking out the top of Zoey’s pyjamas like a curious cat peering at a mouse. Rumi was struggling not to laugh as Zoey’s face went beet red and she groaned, resting her head gently on the counter, the cool surface offering a tiny amount of relief.

“You guys aren’t letting me live this down are you?” she mumbled into the marble surface. Rumi snort laughed at her bandmate. “Abso-fucking-lutely not! I thought we’d only busted Mira having a good time last night!… but apparently she wasn’t the only one!”. Zoey’s head snapped up at that, her eyes locking onto Rumi. “Wait! What! Mira?! Seriously?”.

“Yup!” Rumi popped the ‘P’ on that word as she showed Zoey the photo on the tablet of Mira sat in the restaurant with Abby and Romance. Zoey’s jaw hit the countertop as her eyes focused on the slightly blurry image of the pink haired trio clearly having a good time. “When the hell did that happen?” Zoey sputtered, desperate for the conversation to move away from her own embarrassment at being caught doing the walk of shame.

Rumi had no such compulsion to let her bandmate off the hook so easily however, spinning her tablet around again. “Oh don’t you worry Zoey my dear… you’ll find out when we grill Mira when she eventually shows her face, then we’ll all find out how you and Myst spent your evening”.

Zoey just groaned again. ‘Oh look at how the turns have tabled’ Rumi thought to herself with a wicked grin as she watched Zoey squirm for once. After all the shit both Zoey and Mira had given her over her love life with Jinu, she was about to get some much-needed vengeance, and she was looking forward to it immensely.

-----

It was close to another ½ hour before the original guilty trio staggered into the kitchen. Abby rocked up first, looking like butter wouldn’t melt as he took his place at the kitchen island. Romance followed a few minutes later, a careful grin on his face as he parked himself near Abby, leaving a space open between them for everyone knows who.

Rumi and Jinu played it cool, plying them both with harmless conversation about this and that while they waited patiently for their primary prey to arrive. Neither of the pink haired pair had any idea their little secret late-night date wasn’t quite as secret as they thought it was.

It took another 10 minutes before said primary prey skulked into the kitchen. Mira muttered a similar greeting as Zoey had before parking herself between Abby and Romance and poked absently at her phone. Rumi cleared her throat loud enough for all to hear before speaking. “What’s the matter Mira? No appetite this morning huh?” Rumi asked coyly. Her grin could be seen from space at this point. The interrogation hadn’t even started yet and she was already enjoying it.

“No… not really… not particularly hungry… think I ate something dodgy last night… think those leftover’s might have turned bad”. Mira made a show of rubbing her stomach which promptly growled loudly. Jinu cast his mind back to last night, his brain remembering the name of the restaurant he and Rumi had seem the trio in. An idea floated to the surface of his mind and he saw the perfect opportunity to put Mira on the spot. “Yeah, I’ve read some questionable reviews about ‘Holden’s’ online. Mostly their seafood, it’s why I haven’t taken Rumi there”. Rumi had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing.

Mira’s head snapped up at the mention of the restaurant. “What!?”. Jinu fought to hold back a snort of laughter himself as he looked at Mira’s expression. Half murderous, half about to die of embarrassment. “Well… I mean it might not have been you guys” Jinu pointed at each of the pink haired trio with his chopsticks in turn, his voice still velvet smooth but with more than a hint of mischief underlying his tone. “But I very distinctly remember seeing three very familiar looking faces… clearly enjoying a meal together last night when me and Rumi were heading back from our date”.

Mira looked like she was about to spontaneously combust, Abby’s face gave nothing away, even when he cast a momentary glance at Romance, Romance himself had a careful smile on his face, but his eyes betrayed a hint of nerves. Mira scoffed. “Don’t know what you’re talking about Jinu… I never left the tower last night”. Rumi finally managed to speak, seizing her chance to get a lick in on her friend. “Oh Mira, Mira, Mira… denial does not look good on you girlie”.

Mira blanched at the accusation, staring Rumi down with her ‘pissed off pigeon’ look. Rumi had a smug grin on her face as she opened her tablet, spun it around and showed Mira the photo already loaded up on the screen. It showed the trio sat in a booth in the corner of the restaurant. Mira’s head tilted back in laughter, Abby’s arm running behind both her and Romance, and Romance himself captured with a wine flute halfway to his lips.

“Looks like you very much left the tower MirMir… and you had some company too”. Rumi laughed as Mira’s face went beet red, half in embarrassment and half in anger. “You followed me?” she demanded, looking like she was about ready to start throwing hands.

“Of course not!” Jinu chuckled. “We just so happened to be on our way back from the Hanok Village when we passed Holden’s and Rumi just happened to notice a certain trio of people hiding in the back corner”. He laughed as Mira went even redder. “Of course Rumi couldn’t resist capturing the moment… ya know, for sentimental reasons… Hey Rumi? Do ya think we should but these pics in their wedding album?”.

The pair laughed as the pink trio shuffled in their chairs, even Abby looked a little embarrassed at being found out. Rumi stood and walked around the island so she could wrap Mira in a hug, something the redhead clearly hadn’t been expecting. “We’re only teasing you Mira… I’m happy for you… I’m happy you can finally let loose and have a little fun”. Rumi leaned in to whisper in Mira’s ear, quietly enough so that only she would hear. “Oh and we both saw you peck Ro on the cheek… it was very cute”. Mira’s cheeks went crimson as Rumi pulled back, hiding her face behind her hands and screaming.

“Oh don’t you worry Mira… you’re not the only one on the chopping block this morning” Jinu chuckled as his attention shifted to the third Huntrix girl who was trying to disappear into her oversized shirt. “Mira, you weren’t the only one having an ‘enjoyable evening’ with pleasurable company… isn’t that right?… Zoey?”.

All heads snapped onto Zoey who could only groan loudly as it became her turn in front of the proverbial firing squad. Rumi smirked as she rounded the island to wrap Zoey up in a hug. “Yeh Zo… How was your night huh?... Tell us all about it”.

Zoey now matched Mira’s blush with her own. “It was… fine… I guess…”. Rumi burst out laughing as Zoey mirrored the words Rumi had used the morning after her first night with Jinu, and Rumi couldn’t resist the temptation to throw her Maknae’s own words back at her as well. The irony was too good not to. “Just fine huh?... well the fact that your cherry red and avoiding my eye right now tells me it was better than ‘just fine’”.

Zoey fired Rumi a glare as she recognised her own words. She really couldn’t be mad at her friend, could she? This was just karma coming back to bite her in the arse, much like Mystery did last night, but no one needed to know that little factoid. It’s funny when you’re giving the roasting, not so funny when you’re on the receiving end of it.

“So does he have a big cock? Did you finally do Sucky Sucky?” Rumi asked, a smug shit eating grin on her face as she used more of Zoey’s own words to fluster her friend. Zoey’s cheeks were burning so hot Rumi could feel the heat radiating off her.

“Wait! Are you saying Zo and Myst…?” Abby asked, taking a drink of his pineapple juice.

Groaning, Zoey pulled her shirt to the side, exposing the large hickey on her neck for all to see. Abby spluttered his drink across the island top as he laid eyes on the bruise, Romance had to recover his jaw from the floor and Mira’s eyebrows shot clean off her face… and of course at that exact moment Mystery decided to show his face, wandering into the kitchen still shirtless.

He’d clearly had a shower if the few stray water droplets clinging to his torso were anything to go by and he had a pair of Zoey’s turtle pyjama bottoms on. “Morning all” he said, completely nonchalantly as he pulled up a stool next to a furiously blushing Zoey who couldn’t meet his eye right now.

“Morning Mystery” Jinu smirked at his bandmate. “Did you sleep well?”. Mystery smirked right back, knowing full well what Jinu was insinuating. “Who said I did any sleeping?”. Everyone burst out laughing at that. Zoey retreated into her oversized shirt much like the animals that adorned its fabric. Her muffled voice filtering through the garment. “You were snoring like a fucking chainsaw so you obviously did some sleeping”.

Mystery just smiled as he pulled Zoey into a quick hug. “That’s because you actually tired me out Noona. No one’s been able to do that in 600 years”. Another loud wave of laughter went around the table as Zoey’s blush deepened and she shrunk further into her shirt.

“So I think it’s safe to say that everyone had an ‘enjoyable evening’ then?” All heads turned to see the last member of the crew arriving in the kitchen. Baby wandered in without a care in the world and sat down next to Rumi who had migrated back to her stool by this point.

“It would appear so” Romance chuckled as he tucked into a banana. He’d been sure to monitor the banana situation over the last few days. He still had no idea what happened to that massive bunch he brought home a while back; the girls had been suspiciously tight lipped about the whole business and he couldn’t be bothered to dig any deeper. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know anyway.

“Hang on Baby. You said everyone had an ‘enjoyable evening’?” Abby cottoned on to his friends choice of words with interest. “What exactly did you do with your evening that was so enjoyable?”.

Baby just smirked and made a very obscene gesture with his hand that had everyone stifling a laugh or a gag. “Ok… I had no need for any mental images of Baby jerking it thank you very fucking much!” Mira growled, reaching out to try and whack Baby up the back of the head but the Saja rapper leaned out of the way. His smirk getting wider, he loved causing shit.

-----

Breakfast devolved into its usual chaos from that point onwards. Now that Rumi and Jinu had had their fun getting back at their bandmates, they both let them off the hook a little. Of course Mira still had some choice words to say about the whole deal and Zoey was allowed to go into detective mode for a short while.

In the end, everyone ended up flushed and blushing, so at least it was equal roastings all around. Rumi sat next to Jinu, leaning into his arm and smiling like a lunatic as they watched Zoey pester Abby and Romance for details about their date with Mira, while Mira herself threatened them both with castration with a fork if they dared open their mouths. The duo wisely chose to keep their mouths closed, if they ever wanted another date with Mira then keeping their mouths shut was a good start to getting it.

Zoey wasn’t fully out of the firing line either though. Mira had some rather inappropriate questions for her, and if Zoey didn’t want to answer them, then Mystery was all too happy to fill in the blanks much to the Huntrix Maknae’s embarrassment. But in the end, everyone had a laugh at someone else’s expense and got laughed at in return.

Breakfast ended with smiles all around, along with high fives among the boys and tight hugs among the girls before they all scattered to their respective rooms, possibly to salvage whatever was left of their dignities before they got ready to face the rest of the day as a group. A group of idiots that couldn’t resist teasing and winding each other up every chance they got, but a group never the less.

After that eventful breakfast Zoey had admitted she was in a relationship with Mystery and Mira had begrudgingly conceded that she would be interested in possibly pursuing a relationship with Abby and Romance. Honestly that was the admission that shook the table, all eight of them surprised at the words Mira was saying, none more so than Mira herself.

And much like Rumi and Jinu, they all decided to keep their fledgling romance’s private for the time being. The last thing any of them needed right now was Dispatch getting a hold of this news and running wild.

-----

For the next two weeks, work didn’t just double down for both groups. It tripled down, even quadrupled down. Neither group really saw that much of the other. Fleeting glances in hallways or 30 second facetimes during recording breaks were the best they really got.

-----

It was 19:30 in the evening. The girls were all sat on the couch with their boys all standing in a line behind them, a mixed bag of nerves and excitement radiated off the Huntrix girls as they all looked at Rumi’s tablet. It was release day for the girls new song. On Rumi’s tablet was a brightly coloured screen. The title of the girls new comeback track ‘Fireflies’ pulsed with colour and underneath was a large rectangular box with a single word written in it… ‘Launch?’.

Rumi took a deep breath, trying to calm the slight shake in her hands as she looked at the screen, the last time she’d pressed this button, she’d knowingly… callously even, cut the girls last hiatus short due to her eagerness to release ‘Golden’ in a rushed attempt to seal the Honmoon and remove those ugly patterns from her skin. A decision that she couldn’t really say was a bad thing in the end considering everything.

Sure it had caused a lot of problems… well ‘problems’ was an understatement. A demon incursion that almost tore her group apart as well as the entire city of Seoul nearly being sacrificed to a demon king was slightly more than a ‘problem’. But her decision had eventually also led to this exact moment right here.

Her patterns were now on full display and glowing beautifully, no longer hidden under cold and scratchy turtlenecks, her girls were cuddled up next to her and there were five devilishly handsome – if rather annoying – boys who would tear the entire world down for them if they had to standing behind them, supporting the girls all the way.

The boys had become the unofficial backbone in the girls support network alongside Bobby. Even if her specific boy wasn’t around, Rumi knew she could go to any of the others and receive the help, support or comfort she needed. She knew Zoey and Mira felt the same. Her weird little dysfunctional family who she’d do anything for, all of them eagerly awaiting her decision.

Rumi glanced over at Mira, then at Zoey. All three nodded, having the same idea and they said it at the same time. “Together!”. And together, three fingers stabbed the screen, officially launching  Huntrix’s comeback track. Baby connected his phone to the plasma TV and loaded up the premiere MV for the song, the opening guitar riff pounding through the speakers… much to the annoyance of a certain magpie that was asleep on said speaker.

Everyone laughed as Sussie glared at them all before flying off towards one of the boys rooms… probably to crap on one of their pillows as punishment for waking her up so rudely. Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened… probably won’t be the last either.

Jinu rested his hand on Rumi’s shoulder as the opening lyrics played across the screen and he leaned forward to plant a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m so fucking proud of you right now” he whispered as he watched all the hard work and effort the girls had poured into this song come to fruition. Comments, likes and shares bombarding the screen and the fans were going mental over the new single. If this response was anything to go by, then ‘Fireflies’ was likely to be a chart topper within a week, it should easily be able to hold its own with the likes of ‘Golden’ and ‘What it Sounds Like’ in the charts, both here in Korea and overseas.

Rumi leaned her head back on the cushions so she was looking up at her boyfriend, she couldn’t stop herself from giggling at how his face looked upside down and she pouted her lips at him. A clear instruction for him to kiss her again, which Jinu readily did, their lips colliding gently. She pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear. “After the reveal is done… why don’t you show me just how proud of me you really are?”.

Jinu smirked as he kissed her again. “Oh we’re playing that game are we Hunter?... You wanna get wild?”. Rumi returned his smirk with one of her own. “Ok, I’ll show you wild!”.

Those two little lines from ‘How it’s Done’ had become their little secret signal to each other whenever they were feeling… ‘provocative’ shall we say. A sly way to let the other know what they were thinking of in that exact moment. All they needed to hear was the other person finish the lyric and they both knew it was game on… and clothes off.

By the time the premiere had finished, ‘Fireflies’ was already at 238,000 views with nearly 61,000 comments. It would go live on all major music streaming services first thing tomorrow morning and everyone expected it to go far.

But for now, Rumi needed some time to relax and unwind after the whirlwind that had been the last fortnight… luckily for her she had a devoted and very sexy boyfriend who was all too willing to provide her with whatever her heart desired, and right now it was desiring him… naked and on his knees before her.

Making their excuses to the others, Rumi and Jinu disappeared into their room. They weren’t fooling anyone though, all six remaining idols flashing knowing looks between them as their leaders disappeared, knowing full well they likely would not emerge again until tomorrow morning.

-----

One Week Later:

The Saja Boys stood beneath the stage at Namsam Tower. The thunderous noise coming from the 45,000 strong crowd was deafening, Jinu could hear them chanting ‘Saja Boys’ and it sent a shiver of excitement down his whole body. He also couldn’t contain the stupid grin that had spread across his face as he anticipated the night that was about to unfold. He was looking forward to every single second of it… but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t most excited for the 13^th track of the night, his little secret weapon locked and loaded, ready to rock the K-Pop scene to its very roots.

As far as he was aware, Rumi was still completely in the dark about his little secret track. So the plan he’d told her about was that after the Saja Boys finished their 12^th track, he’d go out on stage and announce a special surprise for the fans. That surprise being the official release of his and Rumi’s duet ‘Free’. The plan was for them to perform the song and then kiss under the spotlight, officially confirming their relationship and going public… side by side, hand in hand.

But he hadn’t been entirely honest with her. After the 12^th track there would be a surprise, but it would be for Rumi. He would stay on stage on his own, announce the surprise single, then he’d perform it first before Rumi would join him on stage for ‘Free’. Honestly he was so looking forward to seeing her face when she joined him on stage. He’d worked so hard on this single and he hoped she’d love it as much as he did.

But back to the moment at hand.

After the Huntrix girls had launched ‘Fireflies’ the boys had less than a week left until their own tour started, so for the next few days, he and the boys had been almost living at the stadium, going over endless rehearsals of their new songs - secret weapon excluded – , going through their choreography until it gave them all blisters and learning how the new stage sets worked.

Turns out the massive amount of royalties the Saja Boys had made from ‘Soda Pop’ had been more than enough to fully repair the stadium, there was even enough left over to give the entire venue a massive mechanical overhaul. New pneumatic lifts that could launch performers onto the stage from beneath, new smoke machines all over the place that could do the full spectrum of colour at the touch of a button.  There were even a pair of moving platforms on the corners of the stage that went out into the crowd on a wide arc. All of which the boys would be utilising to make their comeback performance one to remember for all time.

Jinu’s thought process was interrupted when a familiar figure appeared in his field of view. Rumi was in full disguise mode. A large grey hoodie hid her signature braid, her eyes hidden behind large tinted glasses and a face mask hid her lower facial features. A Hi-Vis sat on top of her hoodie with ‘Event Staff’ written on the back in fluorescent text. A ‘Marionettes’ branded lanyard around her neck with ‘Backstage Staff’ written on it swung gently as she moved.

“Hey… how you feeling?” she whispered as she pretended to adjust his mic cable that ran down the inside of his stage outfit for the first track. Her demon eye glowing with a hint of gold as she caught a glimpse of his muscular chest, even through her tinted shades and mask Jinu could tell she was blushing slightly.

Jinu kept his voice equally low, fully aware of the actual stadium staff roaming around them, doing their last-minute checks, completely unaware of the imposter within their midst. “Better now that you’re here” he whispered to her. he could sense her blush deepening at his words and she gave him a flick on the chest for his antics.

“Your hopeless, you know that right?”. Her eyes met his through her glasses as she finished faffing with his mic cable and Jinu couldn’t stop the rush of warmth and love he felt for her right now. “I’m hopelessly in love with you… yes… and soon everyone out there and around the world will know it too”.

As much as he would love to stay here staring dreamily into her eyes, the Saja Boys had a concert to perform and Jinu made his way over to the pneumatic lifts that would launch him and the other boys onto the stage in a cloud of pink smoke. They would be opening their concert with ‘Soda Pop’ simply because they wanted to start with something the crowds knew. Something that would drive the hype up for the rest of the night.

The other Saja Boys were already waiting on the lifts as Jinu took his place in the centre with Abby and Romance on his left side, Baby and Mystery on the right.  They’d all had their own mic’s ‘fixed’ by a pair of ‘Event Staff’ who definitely weren’t Mira and Zoey in full incognito mode as well. The Saja Boys all wore outfits similar to the ones they wore when they debuted in the market, it would call back to their emergence and it was probably the simplest outfit the guys had for their set tonight.

Jinu flashed Rumi a quick wink and a smirk that absolutely made her want to hit him with her shoe. “Don’t wander off too far Rumi. I’ll need you for the encore”. But before Rumi could reply; a booming voice pounded through the PA system around the arena.

“Ladies and Gentlemen… Boys and Girls… fans of all ages… please welcome onto the stage… THE SAJA BOYS!!!!!”.

“Hahahah! Wish us luck ladies!” Romance laughed blowing a cheeky kiss at Mira who actually caught it and pocketed it with a small smile on her face. “You’re gonna kick ass boys!” Zoey was as hyperactive as ever, bouncing on her heels and sending lovey dovey eyes at Mystery who parted his bangs and winked at her. “Good luck guys, you’re gonna kill that stage” Rumi smiled, waving at her man. Jinu flashed a quick salute to Rumi as the first notes of ‘Soda Pop’ began to play through the speakers. The crowd started going ballistic above them… and the pneumatic lifts launched the Saja Boys out of Rumi’s sight and into the spotlight.

-----

Jinu braced himself as the lift beneath him rumbled into life, the high-pressure canisters under the platform forcing air into the pumps and shooting him and his brothers upwards onto the stage through a cloud of pink smoke. The five idols landing in their signature ‘Soda Pop’ poses, met by a thunderous racket from the crowds.

Jinu’s eyes took a second to adjust from the relative darkness from the underground of the stage to the bright lights of the main stage. Countless lightbulbs shone in an array of colours, the spotlight momentarily blinding him as he took in the crowds for the first time.

It was a breath-taking sight, 45,000 people screaming his name and those of his brothers and waving fan cams, banners and handmade posters. He could see 1000’s of lion motif wands waving in the air. He also clocked the dozens of camera’s hooked up to boom arms, blinking red lights telling him The Saja Boys concert was being broadcast live across the country and around the world.

He took a deep breath… and launched into the first song of the ‘Marionettes’ tour.

“Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey!

Don't want you, need you, yeah, I need you to fill me up
마시고 마셔 봐도, 성에 차지 않아
Got a feelin' that, oh, yeah (yeah), you could be everything that
That I need (need), taste so sweet (sweet), every sip makes me want more, yeah”

Chapter Text

Rumi and the girls had retreated to a spot just out of sight of the main stage and away from the many camera’s so they could watch the boys performance. They kept their disguises on, trying to blend in with the other staff members roaming around chattering into radio’s. This little idea had been Bobby’s actually. He said it would be a nice touch but Rumi couldn’t help but think that Bobby knew something he wasn’t letting the girls in on.

The thought was niggling at the back of her mind as she watched her boyfriend own the stage like he was born for it. When she clocked her shoulders doing the little ‘Soda Pop’ dance that had become a viral TikTok trend, she made zero effort to stop herself, or stop the girls when they started doing it too. At this point they could just allow themselves to enjoy the song. Even if it was a total earworm, none of them could be bothered to pretend it wasn’t a banging track anymore.

As the final note of ‘Soda Pop’ faded with the sound of another soda can being cracked open, Jinu spread his arms wide as he walked towards the front of the stage, smiling from ear to ear. “Good evening Seoul! How’re we all doing tonight?!”. He shouted, throwing his arms up as the crowd roared in response.

Abby stepped up next to him, his Hawaiian shirt open, abs on full display as he flexed for the front rows. “What was what Seoul? We couldn’t hear you!”. The roar came back louder and the girls couldn’t help but chuckle as the boys played up their interactions for the crowds and cameras.

Romance stepped up next, his movements smooth as butter as one of the main stage cameras zoomed in on him. “We want to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight. Your support for us means more than we could ever repay”. He flashed a finger heart at a camera, Rumi was fairly certain she saw several women in the front rows swoon. Romance continued with a cheeky smile. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t give our best shot”.

A wave of laughter rolled around the crowd as the other Saja Boys stepped up to the front. Mystery and Baby played up their antics for the front rows as Jinu spoke again, panning his gaze around the stadium. “That’s right… we’ve got a jam-packed night for you all… plus maybe a few surprises… you’re not gonna want to miss a second”. The crowd roared its support and the Saja Boys lapped up the attention.

Now they were truly human again, they could enjoy this properly. No demon overlord to appease with their shows, no fight to stay alive whenever Huntrix showed up to ruin their plans, no need to steal anyone’s souls. Just them, the stage, the music and dance, the adoring fans… and the very special trio of girls waiting for them backstage.

“So now ladies and gents” Jinu smiled as the slow thumping bassline of their title track started to play “What say we into this concert shall we?”. The solid wall of noise coming from the spectators was answer enough and the Saja Boys moved to take up their positions on stage before Mystery’s harmonious voice opened the first verse of ‘Cut The Strings’.

Zoey’s jaw was on the floor as she watched her boyfriend lead his group into their title track. None of the girls had actually heard the full final cut of any of the new songs, they’d only heard snippets and edits that were still on the cutting room floor - so just like the fans - this was their first time hearing the track in it’s entirety… and fucking hell it was beautiful.

The song conveyed a message of being trapped with no way out, of finding the strength in yourself to cut free and let those around you build you back up. Mystery and Romance harmonised so perfectly that both Mira and Zoey were actually drooling as the final note faded into silence. The Saja Boys finishing the song standing on the pneumatic lifts that’s suddenly dropped them out of sight in a cloud of yellow smoke.

Two songs down, ten to go. Rumi thought to herself as she watched the crowd going absolutely wild. The massive screens above the stage started playing a large set of short clips while the boys were getting changed for the next songs. It was mainly behind the scenes footage, silly little video’s filmed by the guys themselves and Rumi recognised a few clips that had been recorded in Huntrix’s own studio.

She laughed at one little clip that showed Romance posing next to the Huntrix logo on the wall of their sound studio before giving it a ‘thumbs down’ and poking his tongue out at the camera. “I’m gonna kill that fucker!” Mira muttered as she watched the clip but the smile on her face gave the game away that she thought it was kinda funny.

Another clip showed the guys trying to learn the choreo for one of the songs only for Jinu to mess up a basic step and Abby to step in and whack him up the head with a clipboard. That had the entire stadium in stitches and Rumi was fairly sure she heard her own laugh in the background before the clip rolled onto the next one.

But before the next clip could play, the soundtrack for the next song pulsed through the speakers. Rumi recognised the opening riffs of ‘Empire Awakening’ as the smoke machines fired into life, only for the Saja Boys to step out of the smoke in some very striking outfits. All five of them wore something like the male equivalents of the girls ‘Golden’ outfits.

Figure hugging blacks trousers tucked into black combat boots, both stitched with yellow thread wherever highlights were needed. A crisp white shirt that didn’t even cover the top half of their chests sat under a smart leather jacket adorned with more yellow stitching. Jinu and Baby wore black baseball caps with yellow accents while the others didn’t. They looked smart, professional. But Rumi didn’t have too much time to admire Jinu’s outfit as Abby led the way into ‘Empire Awakening’, his voice so low and soft it actually made Mira squeak.

The Saja Boys flew through their album with the grace of a band who’d been in the scene for a number of years instead of just a few months. Rumi actually shed a tear at Jinu’s verse in ‘The Marks We Hide’, Zoey actually got a nosebleed when Mystery sang his part of ‘Second Chance’ and Mira was entranced by Abby and Romance’s back and forth verses in ‘Whisper in the Dark’, blushing when a particular line referenced a certain hot-headed, bad-tempered girl.

-----

Once the final notes of ‘Whisper in the Dark’ faded into nothingness, Jinu stepped up and announced a short intermission so the crowd could take a short break for refreshments before he took his place on the pneumatic lifts that dropped them all out of sight under a cloud of red smoke. The girls deciding now was the perfect time to make their way under the stage to see their boys. They’d been performing beautifully. A perfect balance of phenomenal singing, exquisite dancing and solid crowd interaction and they couldn’t help but be proud of what the boys had accomplished in such a short timeframe.

It took them a few minutes to make the trip, winding their way through the actual staff at the venue. Luckily no one seemed to notice the trio of hoodie’d ‘staff’ wearing Hi-Vis as they slinked through the maze that was backstage, Rumi couldn’t help but notice how easy it was for her to get almost anywhere back here with this disguise, she might have to use it more often.

When they arrived, they saw the boys being fussed over by a small army of staff. Make-up techs fussed and grumbled over eyeliner and lip gloss, stage techs were talking about how Baby and Romance would be using the moving parts of the stage for ‘Reignite my soul’ and Jinu and Abby would be using them for ‘Rise From the Ashes’ as well as going over lighting and smoke settings for ‘Destiny’s Blade’ and ‘Chains of Shame’.

Rumi watched as a pair of catering staff handed out iced water bottles and some energy bars to the boys which they dutifully crammed down. Abby almost inhaled his energy bar whole which made Mira chuckle behind her mask. Jinu was the first to clock the trio of unexpected visitors hanging around the fringes. “Sorry guys… bear with me a second, just gotta talk to the lady from my PR team”. The stage tech waived him off, having already told Jinu all he needed to hear before turning to Mystery and waffling in his ear.

Aware she was still incognito and couldn’t wrap him in a hug without risking exposure, Rumi settled for pulling her phone out and pretending to show Jinu some made up stats about how the performance was going so far. “So how are you feeling now?… you boys are absolutely killing it out there.” She whispered, casting a quick glance at the others. “I’m doing great! I love this! I understand why you girls enjoy it so much… the energy… the crowds… the stage… its electric!” he whispered back to her.

Jinu sounded like a child at Christmas and Rumi felt her heart swell with pride and adoration. The dopey grin on his face made all this hard work worth it. Flicking her phone around to show some other ‘stats’ Rumi leaned in so only he could hear her. “You still wanting to go public tonight? I understand if you want to wait for tomorrow night’s show”.

Jinu shook his head, leaning in just close enough to brush his shoulder against hers. It was the only physical contact they could get away with without being suspicious. “No way!” he whispered. “we’ve doing this tonight… no more hiding… remember?”. Rumi’s cheeks flushed with colour at his words and could only nod. Jinu was about to say something else but he was cut off by the stage manager calling him over. “Jinu! You guys are back on in 60!”. Jinu gave him a thumbs up before turning back to Rumi. “I love you Gongjunim” before walking backwards towards the boys, giving her a two fingered salute and a smile so wide it looked like it hurt.

“I love you too” Rumi whispered to no one in particular as she watched him get into position with the other Saja Boys. He flashed her another warm smile before they were gone again, shot back up onto the stage in a mixture of smoke and screams from the crowd. As Rumi made her way back to the girls, she heard Jinu launch into ‘Reignite my Soul’ and her heart buzzed with warmth.

-----

The Saja Boys owned the stage. Their voices… angelic. Their choreography… flawless. Their crowd interactions… seamless and engaging. ‘Reignite my Soul’ sent the fans into a wild frenzy. Jinu couldn't help but smile as Baby launched himself into the front rows to crowd surf during ‘Rise From the Ashes’, his teal mop of hair floating around the arena before being deposited back onto main stage seconds before his rap verse sent everyone into overdrive.

Romance jumped down from the stage to serenade a camera – and maybe the camera woman by accident – during ‘Destiny’s Blade’ and Jinu even got a Mexican wave thing going during ‘Chains of Shame’. Mystery ran through the front rows in front of the stage high fiving anyone he could reach during ‘Kings of Stars’ which got such a disapproving look from the stage director that Jinu nearly forgot he had the next verse, nearly tripping over his lines as he chuckled at his ashen friend's antics.

Once the final notes of ‘Kings of Stars’ went quiet, the boys all gathered on centre stage as the lifts dropped them back into the space beneath. The only song they had left to perform in this set that everyone knew about was ‘Your Idol’ and then… it was time for Jinu’s secret track. The song he’d painstakingly crafted specifically for Rumi, and he prayed to whatever gods were listening that it went well. He’d be devastated if something fucked this up now.

For their performance of ‘Your Idol’ the boys would be back in their traditional Hanbok’s and Gat’s. These outfits had to be specially made for them now they didn’t have demon powers. They couldn’t use their magic to create the garments, so Bobby had run through his list of contacts and found a guy in Seoul who still made custom fit traditional dress ware, including the very Hanboks and Gats the boys were now hurriedly changing into.

While the other four Saja Boys wore their plain black Hanboks, Jinu’s was accented with strips of gold and purple, subtle stitching in deep blue shone when the light hit them just right. This was all part of his plan. All eyes needed to be on him for what was coming up soon. Once they were dressed and Abby had given the thumbs up to a technician to say they were ready to go, Jinu could feel the platform under him shift slightly as the air pressure built up.

He listened as the announcer spoke over the PA system, his booming voice echoing around the cavernous arena. “Ladies and Gentlemen! Please put your hands together and welcome back onto the stage… THE SAJA BOYS!!!”.

-----

“Dies irea illa

Vos solve in Favilla

Meladictus erus

In flammas Eternum

I’ll be your idol”

The boys exploded onto the stage the moment the Latin lyrics of ‘Your idol’ finished, Abby leading the charge into the first verse, with Baby providing the backup vocals in his deepest tone.

This song had once been tainted with demonic energy, just the simple act of uttering the words had at one time caused devastating damage to the Honmoon. Now though? The demonic energy had been purged from the song, replaced with love, care and adoration for their fans, and the change was noticeable. As the boys performed, Jinu watched the Honmoon thrumming around the arena, pulses of green, blue and yellow rippled through the spectral barrier, keeping the unsavoury ilk of his former brethren locked away from the people he now swore to protect.

“Know I’m the only one right now

I will love you more when it all burns down.

More than power

More than gold.

Yeah, you gave me your heart

Now I’m here for your soul”.

Mystery and Romance’s harmony and melody worked in perfect synchronicity, their voices carrying to every corner of the stadium and the crowd roared its approval. Jinu and Abby played up their interactions with the crowd when it came time for Baby’s rap. Jinu copying Abby by lazily toying with the string on his Gat for a fan cam before hiding his face behind his hands, letting a single golden eye (it’s a contact lens) peak through his fingers at a TV camera.

If he’d have been up in the media room when he did that, he’d have seen the viewer numbers spike into eight figure territory. Together the boys flew through their final verses, closing their distance to each other as Jinu sang the final line.

“You’re down on your knees, I’ma be your idol!”

Billowing black smoke erupted from hidden nozzles, engulfing the Saja Boys and hiding them entirely from fans and cameras alike, before the pneumatic lifts dropped four of the boys down out of sight, lights cutting out entirely, leaving the stage in total darkness. Once they stepped off the lifts, the Saja Boys let out a collective breath of relief. They’d done it! they’d fucking done it!

-----

Rumi had been eagerly waiting for this moment, she’d snuck back into the area under the stage to meet the boys after they’d finished performing ‘Your Idol’. She’d also gotten changed from her incognito staff outfit into the getup she was meant to wear for their performance of ‘Free’.

When Jinu had pitched his original idea to her for going public, he’d asked her if she’d be interested in wearing something a little different, something to make her stand out even more than she already did and she’d said yes within a heartbeat.

Now she sported a custom made traditional Hanbok of her own in silver and navy blue, subtle stitching in deep purple peaked out in places. She was meant to meet Jinu after the Saja Boys came down off the stage so they could go over the final finer details of their performance of ‘Free’. But when her eyes settled on the group of boys who came off the pneumatic lifts, high fiving each other and talking shit like boys do, she was shocked to see that Jinu wasn’t among them.

“Guys! What going on!”. A hint of panic crept into her voice as she looked up at a monitor on the wall that showed the main stage, seeing Jinu stood silently, head down and hands clasped together, fingers idly wandering over the blue and purple chrysanthemum knotted bracelet that hadn’t left his wrist since the day after he moved into Huntrix HQ, her own fingers wandering to do the same over her bracelet.

The last remnants of smoke floated lazily around his feet. He was completely alone on centre stage without even the spotlight to lead him. Had something gone wrong? What the hell was happening? Rumi was close to freaking out when Romance walked up to her and made her look at him.

“Rumi… I need you to pay attention to what I’m saying… ok?” Rumi just nodded, managing to pull her eyes off the screen to look at the flirty Saja. “Nothing has gone wrong Rumi… this was all part of the plan… Jinu knows what he’s doing… ok, please… you need to trust us?”. Another nod from Rumi. “But this wasn’t the plan though! He was meant to come down so we could talk about ‘Free’! What’s he doing up there all alone?”. Rumi looked like she was close to tears at this point.

“Yeah…uhh… Jinu kinda made us all add a secret step into you guys’s plan”. Baby wandered up to her with Mira and Zoey in tow, grins across all their faces, as if they were all in on it. “What?!” Rumi was confused, maybe even angry. What did they mean there was another step in their plan? What the fuck was going on right now?

Just out of sight of the camera’s and the fans, watching from the eaves, Bobby was having similar thoughts. He stood in consternation, watching as Jinu stood like a statue on the stage. ‘What’s he up to?’ he thought to himself. Bobby would be lying if he said he didn’t expect the boys to have something special in store for their concert, but whatever was going on right now hadn’t been in the brief he’d been given. Bobby’s eyes stayed locked on Jinu, his mind racing through every conceivable possibility in seconds.

That was at that point that the spotlight burst back into life, painting Jinu with a brilliant white light and Rumi’s eyes locked onto her boyfriend through the screen. ‘What are you doing Jinu?’ she thought as he raised his head.

Jinu turned to the nearest camera which just so happened to be the one Rumi was looking at him through and winked before turning to address the audience, somewhere along the way he’d acquired a wireless microphone instead of the ear mounted one’s the Saja Boys had been using all night.

“Ladies and Gentlemen… I want to say a heartfelt thank you to every single one of you who’ve come out to support us here tonight, and to every single one of you watching at home and around the world”. Jinu’s voice carried throughout the arena and a wave of cheers and shouts reached his ears as he spoke.

“But alas, all shows must come to an end”. He laughed as a wave of amused ‘boo’s’ reached him but he held up a hand to quiet the crowd. “But, I distinctly remember saying that there would be a few surprises for you all here tonight”. the crowd roared in approval at the fact that the night was indeed not over and Jinu smiled at another camera before he spoke again.

“So I originally made a plan to perform something a little special for you all tonight with another very talented singer, a little… collaboration that’s been long in the works”. The crowd went mental as they pieced together what Jinu was saying, and Rumi was having a tough time keeping it together underneath the stage as well. Her eyes brimming with tears as Jinu spoke about her.

“But that collaboration isn’t the only surprise you’ll hear tonight… because I’m happy to announce that there is a little special project on our new album… A secret 13^th track!”. The crowd went insane. No one had any idea this was coming but they were all hyped to find out.

Jinu looked into the camera that was being shown under the stage, unknowingly looking Rumi directly in the eyes again. She’d actually forgotten about Jinu’s secret song… was she about to hear it?

“This secret track, I wrote for someone who’s very important to me. Someone who found me when I was at my lowest point and pulled me back from the brink of oblivion. Someone who saw my darkest side and chose to stay instead of running away. Someone who convinced me… I was more than just my pain and suffering. Someone who… who I love…”. Jinu smiled at the audience who were going feral at this point, stadium security closing ranks in case any of them tried to rush the stage.

“And so tonight, for everyone here… and for her… I would like for you all to hear… for the first time… my secret solo song… ‘Be My Freedom’. The crowd went mental.

-----

The lights all dimmed into a muted blue, casting long shadows across the stage, the main spotlight still locked firmly on the lone man on stage, the bright light glinting on the subtle stitching of Jinu’s Hanbok.

Jinu took a deep breath and looked directly into the main camera, and straight into Rumi’s eyes as the first notes of ‘Be My Freedom’ played over the speakers… and then he sang the first lyrics.

“Oh Oh, Yeah Yeah (Oh oh)

Oh Oh, Yeah Yeah (Eh)

Shine the light, break the dark

We can make a brand-new start.

Ohhhh, Yeah Yeah (Eh)

You and me, no fear inside

Take my hand, we’ll touch the sky.”

The crowd when ballistic. The roar of their voices threatened to overpower Jinu’s even though his was being broadcast across the arena. Women swooned or outright passed out where they stood, children screamed loud enough to wake the dead… and Rumi burst into tears under the stage as Jinu’s first verse met her ears.

The other Saja Boys smiled as they watched their Daejang pour every ounce of love, care and devotion he had for Rumi into every single word. Mira’s mouth was hanging open, a murmured “What the Fuck!” as she watched Jinu perform. Zoey was bouncing on her heels and squealing with excitement, stars in her eyes as her hands came up to her face, fighting back tears of her own. This was better than anything she ever thought she’d see or hear.

Back on the stage, Jinu held his mic firm, his other hand gesturing along with his lyrics, punctuating his song with every line.

“Midnight falling, but I’m wide awake

Running from the shadows I can’t shake.

Every step I take, I feel you near

Every breath I hold, you disappear.

In this world that pulls me down

You’re the strength I’ve finally found.

Close my eyes and feel your flame

Nothing here will be the same.”

Rumi was ugly crying now. She was leaning her weight on Mira otherwise she was going to collapse. She could barely see the screen properly because of how emotional she was right now. Every word Jinu sang carved itself into her heart for all eternity. His care and love for her evident in every word as he sang the pre-chorus.

“When the night is closing in

And I’m lost in everything.

I feel your touch, I hear your voice

You’re the only choice.”

And when he hit the chorus, his voice rose high as the smoke machine’s let out a gentle stream of blue and purple.

“Be my freedom, be my reason

Take me higher through the seasons.

Be my shelter in the storm

Be the fire, keep me warm.

Be my freedom.”

“Be my freedom~

Be my freedom~”

Rumi was a blubbering mess now. There was no way of saying it any other way. Her makeup was ruined, tears carved a path through mascara and blush and dripped onto the floor as she watched her boyfriend. Romance wandered over with one of his makeup pallets and started cleaning her up. It wouldn’t do at all if she went up on stage after this song looking like this. No way!

Back on stage, Jinu launched into the next verse, he eyes gleaming as he watched the crowd react to his words of love and devotion for one girl and one girl only.

“In the dark, your my clarity

Every road leads you back to me.

Hold my heart, never let it go

You’re the truth I’ve come to know.

I’ve been fighting all the ghosts inside

Breaking walls I used to hide behind.

You’re the spark in my empty sky

With you here, I learn to fly.”

Switching into Korean for the next verse, Jinu smiled wide, his eyes catching a glimpse of Bobby standing just off stage, his eyes wider than saucers and his jaw absolutely nowhere to be seen. Jinu flashed him a quick smile before turning back to the crowd as the next chorus came up.

“When the night is closing in

And I’m lost in everything.

I feel your touch, I hear your voice

You’re the only choice.

Be my freedom, be my reason

Take me higher through the seasons.

Be my shelter in the storm

Be the fire, keep me warm.

Be my freedom- (Oh Oh).”

Another verse in Korean followed the second chorus and Jinu wandered how Rumi was reacting underneath the stage right now. He was praying internally she was enjoying the song. He’d poured so much of himself into this song and this performance. This was his message to her, his vow to her that he was here to stay… that he would stand by her side forever if she’d let him. To be her love.. to be her friend… to be her freedom.

Rumi was in fact, loving the song. She’d managed to get control of her tears and was standing next to Romance and Mira, clutching both their arms for support. Her smile was infectious as the other idols all had similar looks on their faces. Romance had done a godly job of cleaning her face up, there wasn’t a trace of her earlier tears left, she looked as radiant as she felt.

Her attention was pulled away from the screen when Abby walked up to her. “Time to get you in position Rumi” he said, gesturing at the lifts that would take her onto the stage for the end of Jinu’s song. She allowed the muscleman to lead her by the hand, her legs a tiny bit wobbly with emotion and as she took her place on the lifts she looked up to see the smoke machines start pumping out purple and blue smoke. A momentary worry crossed her mind, would that smoke stain her Hanbok?

Mystery handed her a wireless mic of her own, currently muted but needing only the flick of a switch to unmute. His smile was warm as he looked at her. “Go get your man Rumi, you deserve this… you both do”.

On stage, Jinu began his final verse and chorus.

“Set me free, no more chains

Run with me through the rain.

In your arms, I’m alive

With you, I survive.

Be my freedom, be my reason

Take me higher through the seasons.

Be my shelter in the storm

Be the fire, keep me warm.

Be my freedom- Oh Oh”

Once he sang that last line, Rumi felt the launch pad whir into life under her, she was expecting it to blast her up onto the stage like the boys had been all night, but instead she was slowly risen up into the smoke, appearing on stage next to Jinu as he sang the final two lines of his track.

“Be my freedom~

Be my freedom~”

His eyes locking onto her’s as she arrived fully on stage. Nothing but love for the woman before him as the final notes of ‘Be My Freedom’ faded into silence.

-----

If the crowds had gone ballistic at Jinu’s song, then they went positively nuclear when Rumi emerged onto stage next to him. Her flowing Hanbok shifting slightly under the stage fans that blew a gentle breeze between the pair of idols.

As Bobby watched Rumi appear out of the smoke to stand next to Jinu, his heart was seconds away from jumping up his throat and running out of the venue. He began massaging his temples, fighting off the start of what promised to be the worst migraine he’d ever had. ‘Why do these fuckers have to make his life more difficult than it already was?’.

-----

Their eyes were locked on each other, standing several feet apart. Jinu lowered his mic and hit the mute button so his words wouldn’t be picked up. “Hey Aegiya… glad you could make it”. A hint of his smirk played around the corners of his mouth and Rumi could feel the heat in her cheeks rising.

“Jinu… … That was… that was beautiful… you wrote that?... For me?”. He nodded, a tiny almost unnoticeable movement as the pair started circling each other slowly, maintaining their distance. This bit had been part of the original plan, and Rumi had just about enough braincells left that hadn’t been fried by Jinu’s declaration of love to her to remember the plan they’d originally come up with. “I’d write a million songs for you and about you Rumi… You are my everything… and I’ll remind you of that everyday for the rest of my life”.

Her cheeks burned with colour, mercifully hidden under Romance’s godly makeup skills. “Jinu… I… I love you”. Her voice was quiet but his smile came back warm and caring. “I love you too Rumi, more than a million song could ever say… Now what say we blow the roof off this place huh?”. A smirk appeared on her face… her mischievous look that was both adorable and deadly. “Think you can keep up… old man?”. Jinu laughed quietly. “This old man can still outrun you”.

Together the pair unmuted their mic’s and turned to face the crowd as the soft piano notes of ‘Free’ drifted from the speakers… and the audience detonated. A solid wall of noise crashed straight into the couple as Rumi started to sing, her perfect pitch and tone enchanting everyone as she sang the opening verses.

“I tried to hide, but something broke

I tried to sing, couldn’t hit the notes.

The words kept, catching in my throat

I tried to smile; I was suffocating though.

But here with you, I can finally breath

You say you’re no good, but you’re good for me.

I’ve been hoping to change, now I know we can change

But I won’t if you’re not by my side”

The other members of Huntrix and the Saja Boys had made their way out from under the stage now. They were hanging around the eaves, watching from just out of sight of the camera’s. Dopey grins all around as they watched their leaders dominate the stage like the gods they were.

“why does it feel right every time I let you in?

Why does it feel like I can tell you anything?

All the secrets that keep me in chains, and

All the damage that might make me dangerous.

You got a dark side, guess you’re not the only one

What if we both tried fighting what we’re running from?

We can’t fix it if we never face it

What if we find a way to escape it?

We could be free, free

We can’t fix it if we never face it

Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless”.

On the other side of the stage eaves, Bobby was close to having an aneurism. “What the actual fuck is going on here tonight?” he muttered under his breath, a large bottle of water in his hands which he proceeded to drain in a single drag along with a pair of headache tablets.

These Idols were gonna be the death of him he just knew it. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit” he grumbled, only half jokingly. But even though he knew he was gonna have to make a press statement after this, he couldn’t keep the smile from his face, watching as Jinu and Rumi enchanted an entire stadium with ease.

On stage, the two idol still circled each other like sharks. Inching ever so slightly closer with every rotation, their footwork slow and precise, their eyes locked on the other. The crowd almost forgotten as they weaved their words together in a tapestry that would stand for decades to come. A song that would live in the annals of K-Pop history until the end of time.

Jinu gave Rumi a sly wink that he hoped the camera’s didn’t catch (they definitely did) before launching into his verses.

“Oh, time goes by, and I lose perspective

Yeah, hope only hurts so I just forget it

But you’re breaking through all the dark in me

When I thought that nobody could

And you’re waking up all these parts of me

That I thought were buried for good”

The crowd had gone silent… utterly enraptured by the show unfolding on stage, no one daring to make a noise and interrupt what was possibly the performance of the millenia.

“Between imposter and this monster, I’ve been lost inside my head

Ain’t no choice when all these voices keep me pointing towards no end.

It’s just easy when I’m with you

No one see’s me the way you do.

I don’t trust it, but I want to

I keep coming back to”.

They had toyed with the idea of rigging up some harnesses to do some of the song airborne like they had done the first time they sang this song. However they decided against it in the end. Rigging up a quick release harness and fly wires under a traditional Hanbok was no easy feat. What was the old phrase? ‘Keep it simple stupid’. So that’s exactly what they did.

No fancy gimmicks, no fly wires or harnesses. Just two people in love, and no longer willing to hide it from the world.

“Why does it feel right every time I let you in?

Why does it feel like I can tell you anything?

We can’t fix it if we never face it

What if we find a way to escape it?

We could be free, free

We can’t fix it if we never face it

Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless”.

And now came the part that would send a shudder down the spine of every single person in the arena, but none more so than Jinu. This was his favourite line from the song, he loved hearing Rumi hit this high note. It made him fall for her all over again, every… single… time.

“Oh-oh, so take my hand, it’s open (free, free)

What if we heal what’s broken? (free, free)”

The music died down to nearly nothing, leaving the pair to sing almost A Cappella for the final few lines. The crowd leaning in, straining to hear as the two idol’s finally stopped circling, now standing face to face, their free hands clasped together.

“I tried to hide, but something broke

I couldn’t sing, but you give me hope.

We can’t fix it if we never face it

Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless”.

And as the final notes faded into silence, as the enraptured crowd held its breath, Jinu dropped his mic to the floor, put his arm around Rumi’s waist and pulled her in.

And finally, after nearly three months of hiding their feelings from the world…

Finally... Under the spotlight in the very stadium they once fought in…

In front of 45,000 fans and countless camera’s…

Rumi and Jinu… kissed.

The crowd exploded…

Bobby passed out.

Chapter Text

“OhMyFuckingGod! That concert just did for me what nine years of therapy failed to do!”.

“If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I’m watching that final song on repeat and crying myself into a box of chocolates!”.

“If that kiss wasn’t real, then I’ma go commit a felony! They are so perfect for each other”.

“Their chemistry is so good! Rujinu for the win!”

“I’m not crying! You’re crying!”

It was safe to say that by the time everyone had woken up the morning after the opening night, the concert hadn’t just blown up, it had detonated with the force of an atomic bomb. Fan edits ran rampant, clips from throughout the night bombarded every timeline and every forum chat. The sheer amount of foot traffic even caused Twitter to crash for three hour because the servers couldn’t keep up. Every major and minor news station had picked up the story. Radio shows and talk shows couldn’t speak about anything else, it was pandemonium in all the best ways.

But there were a few moments of the night that blew up the most out of everything.

Jinu’s surprise solo took the internet and the rest of the world by storm. Fans were screaming about it from the second it finished. The Saja Boys social media page being blown up with requests for it to be released immediately or the fans were going to riot in the streets.

Then there was Rumi and Jinu’s first official performance of ‘Free’. The crowd had been foaming at the mouth throughout the song, the deep resonating message of the lyrics sinking into countless hearts. Even if the style of song differed from what Huntrix and the Saja Boys were used to releasing, the fans adored it. Much like with ‘Be My Freedom’ the bands socials teams had issues keeping up with the amount of people demanding its immediate release.

And then there was the moment that looked like it was going to break the internet entirely. The moment that Rumi and Jinu KISSED live on stage. The camera’s zooming in to capture the moment their lips met in high definition. Rumi had dropped her mic with a bang and wrapped her hands behind Jinu’s neck, pulling him closer and deepened their kiss. Their love for each other clear for the entire country and the world to see.

After separating from each other, they’d stepped onto the hydraulic lifts and waved at the audience as they slowly disappeared from the stage in a cloud of brilliant white smoke to the loudest round of applause any of the singers had ever heard.

Once they had left the stage, the massive screens above the stage fired into life, showing a slideshow of photos and short video’s confirming that the power couple were indeed official. Photos and selfies either taken by the couple themselves, or by other members of their group flashed across the screens.

A selfie taken by Mystery showed the pair of them cuddled up on the couch together watching some soppy movie, arms wrapped around each other, an image taken by Mira of Rumi flipping pancakes in the penthouse kitchen wearing Jinu’s apron while Jinu was laughing, a photo of Jinu carrying Rumi bridal style as he cannon balled into Huntrix’s private pool with a manic grin on his face, even one of the photo’s Zoey had snapped of Rumi drooling on Jinu’s chest made its way into the slideshow. Rumi would have some choice words about that particular image with Zoey later.

But there were two photo’s right at the end that took the crown. First there was a backstage photo of Rumi and Jinu smiling widely, crouched down behind a pair of kids who looked no older than 12 years old, kids wearing VIP Gold lanyards and smiling like it was Christmas and their birthdays rolled into one, the photo clearly having been taken only minutes previously as both Idols were still in their Hanbok’s, and Jinu clearly had a few lipstick marks on his cheeks.

And the final one, a portrait image of Rumi and Jinu standing in the COEX aquarium, smiling and making a finger heart at the camera while Rumi winked, poked her tongue out and flashed a peace sign with the other hand.

If this didn’t convince the doubters that the pair were a legitimate couple, then nothing ever would. Not that Rumi and Jinu really cared what the doubters thought. They were happy together, and that’s all they needed… each other.

The pair had decided to let Bobby off the hook tonight after they had sprung this quite literal song and dance on him. They did the press conference themselves, standing side by side, hand in hand at the podium answering questions from both the tabloids and the fans alike. When someone asked what was next for the couple, Jinu only smirked and said “Watch this space and find out” before he kissed Rumi again, slow and worshipping, the pops and flashes of camera’s immortalising the moment forever.

After the stunt Rumi and Jinu had pulled, they both decided that Bobby deserved a raise and they’d pulled him aside to tell him just that once he’d recovered properly from passing out on opening night. Bobby had of course tried to outright refuse the raise, but Rumi and Jinu had been… persistent… if a little evil.

Bobby could either accept a raise from 3% to 6% or they’d make him listen to Romance recite his entire library of poetry and then make him listen to Zoey talk about turtles for an entire day. As much as Bobby loved his girls… and boys, he didn’t have a death wish so he’d reluctantly agreed to the raise, though the couple were fairly sure they heard him muttering something about donating it to charity as he walked away.

-----

It was a little after 21:15 and the eight Idols stood on the platform at Seoul Station, saying their goodbyes to each other before the boys boarded the final KTX train of the night that would take them to the second city on their local tour. From Seoul the boys would travel to Incheon for another two-night sold out concert, then they’d travel onto Daejeon, then onto Gwangju, then to Daegu and finally they’d close out their tour in Busan before catching a private flight back to Seoul at the end of next week.

The girls wouldn’t be coming with them for the remainder of their tour. Now that Huntrix’s hiatus was officially over, they needed to busy themselves working on a new album of their own. They’d all promised to stay in regular contact. Rumi even insisting the boys message the collective group chat every morning and evening just to make sure everything was going smoothly. There was to be no exceptions allowed… for anyone.

Each of the Saja Boys pulled a small wheely suitcase behind them as they approached their platform. Bobby had already sent the vast majority of their stuff ahead of them so it would all be ready by the time they arrived. Bobby himself had also gone ahead of the boys so he could make sure that the venue and their accommodations were ready for them when they arrived.

-----

Rumi and Jinu stood together, a little aside from the rest of their group. They were chest to chest as Rumi wrapped him up in a crushing hug, tears running down her face as she inhaled his scent like it was her favourite perfume. They’d just gone public as a couple and now they were being separated for a fortnight. Fate was a cruel motherfucker sometimes.

She didn’t want to let Jinu go; she didn’t want to be apart from him, not even for a second. But she knew she had to let him go. The Saja Boys were now a fully-fledged Idol group and as a result they had an obligation to their fans, just as much as they had an obligation to each other.

“Hey… look at me”. Jinu tilted her head up so she was looking into his eyes… those devastating chocolate brown eyes that she’d lost herself in so many times before and would do so many more times again. Jinu wiped her tears away with his thumbs, tracing light circles into her cheeks. “We’re only going to be gone for two weeks Rumi; you’ll do just fine without us”. His smile was full of love as he leaned in to kiss her softly.

Rumi never failed to melt into a puddle whenever his lips touched hers. It was a sensation she couldn’t describe… not that she’d try to explain it even if she was asked. His lips were her’s and her’s alone, no one else is allowed to know what they feel like. “But Jinu… I can barely manage without you for two hours when your just across town! How am I going to cope when your halfway across the country for two weeks?!”.

Jinu pulled her tight, letting her sob into his shirt. “You managed without me for years before we showed up to make a mess of things… you’ll manage just fine without me for a few weeks”. Rumi gave a short snort laugh at that, the noise vibrating into his chest. “Yeah I did… but that was before I got to know you! Before you became one of the most important people in my life”. Her tears redoubled their efforts to make a mess of her makeup. “I’m gonna miss you so fucking much Jinu!”.

One of Jinu’s hands went to her back, rubbing reassuring circles, the other held the back of her head against his chest. “I’m gonna miss you too Rumi, but you’ll always be with me… in here”. Pulling back slightly, Jinu took one of her hands in his and held it over his heart, letting her feel it’s beat. “You gave me more than my soul back Rumi… you gave me my heart back too. No matter where I am or how far away I am, I’ll always have you near, because you are my very heartbeat… you are the reason it beats”.

‘God this man is a sappy bastard’ Rumi smiled to herself through her tears as she felt his heart beat for her. He always knew exactly what she needed to hear; it was one of his many little quirks she adored about him.

“Why are you making me cry you dork? You know I’m a big cry-baby!”. She could sense he was smirking at her right now but she couldn’t be bothered reacting. “I know you are. You cried at a cat food commercial two days ago”. “Because the kitten was CUTE!”. She decided she would react to his teasing after all and playfully stood on his foot.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Rumi resting her head against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat and she smiled as he held her. Their touch conveying the countless words they didn’t say out loud.

-----

While Rumi and Jinu were having their little moment, the others were all having a little moment of their own. Zoey was rambling endlessly to Mystery and Baby; she was running through a mental checklist of everything the guys should have on them. Phones… Check, chargers…. Check…. Fresh undies…. Check, though they were optional when it came to Mystery, that boy did love to go commando sometimes.

Mystery could only smile as he watched his girlfriend have a minor existential crisis on the platform as her brain moved faster than the KTX train that would take them away on their tour. ‘Zoey’s mind was a wonderful thing’ he thought as he forced himself not to laugh at Zoey’s ridiculous idea that they’d get abducted by aliens on the way to Incheon.

Wrapping her up in a hug that forced the air out of her lungs, Mystery enjoyed the contact as Zoey returned the hug, her own tears soaking into his shoulder. “You sure you boys are gonna be ok?” she mumbled into him; her face buried in the crook of Mystery’s neck. “We’ll be fine Noona. It’s only two weeks… nothings gonna happen… we’ll be ok. We’ll be back before you know it”.

He knew he was tempting fate with his words, but he could handle fate, he’d fight it if he had too, he couldn’t handle Zoey if she had a full breakdown. At least not right now anyway, if she had a full breakdown, he wouldn’t be going on this tour at all.

Baby stood a few steps away, casually watching the display of affection with a mix of revulsion and a hint of longing. He was the only one of the Saja Boys who didn’t have someone to confide in really.

Oh sure he could talk to the girls about anything that bugged him, he’d done it a few times. He’d sought all three of them out at some point over the last few months, but he didn’t have something like what the others had… and it made him a tiny bit envious. He loved his brothers to the ends of the earth and he wouldn’t wish ill on any of them for what they had. But that didn’t stop the hint of loneliness from creeping into his bones whenever he saw them all huggee and lovey dovey with each other.

Which is why he was surprised to be dragged out of his mental warfare with himself to find himself engulfed in a hug from Zoey. It took him a few seconds to realise what had happened before he hesitantly returned the gesture, fully aware that Mystery was watching them. Baby knew just how protective Mystery had become of Zoey so he kept his hands firmly where they could be seen… halfway up her back, nowhere near anywhere that Mystery could think was inappropriate. The last thing anyone needed right now was Mystery going full psycho on him.

“You guys are gonna kill this tour… I’m so proud of you all”. Baby had not been expecting that and all he could do was offer a few words back as his eyes flashed up to the timetable, seeing their train was three minutes out. “Thank you Zoey… that means a lot to me… from you especially”.

-----

A little way off in their own little huddle, Abby, Romance and Mira stood in a triangle trying to find the words they desperately wanted to say to each other. For Mira, she wanted to say that she’d miss them, that she’d think about them, that she’d pray for their success and their speedy return. But the words never made the journey from her mind to her lips. How was she supposed to say all those things? Over the last week she’d become considerably closer to these two morons, but Mira was still having reservations about their budding relationship.

She’d been so used to being the black sheep of her family, the one that was looked down on for choosing to be different, the one who bucked the trend and refused to fit the cookie cutter mould her parents had made for her. she was the one that was excluded from everything just because she chose to not play along with the script she’d been given.

She refused to be anyone’s puppet. She was no one’s pawn in a game she had no interest in playing, and that had extended to her romantical attachments. Sure she’d had a few relationships in the past, but they’d all ended in a shouting match and Mira storming away and not looking back.

She’d resigned herself to the fact she wasn’t worthy of anyone’s time, devotion or god forbid love, and now she found herself with not only one, but two guys fawning over her. Two boys who would worship the very ground she stood on if they got the chance, and Mira had no idea what to do with that knowledge.

“We’ll be alright Mira… we survived the demon realm for centuries; we can handle a few weeks on the road”. Her mental gymnastics were disrupted by Abby – who sensed her spiralling – and stepped forward into her space, his imposing but oddly calming presence making Mira raise her eyes from the floor to meet his eyes.

“Yeah Mira… we’ll be fine… what could possibly go wrong, we’re superstars after all”. Romance chuckled as he sidled up next to Abby and slowly, almost hesitantly reached for Mira’s hand. She didn’t stop him from claiming her slender fingers with his, she didn’t stop Abby from doing the same with her other hand. They felt warm, inviting, caring and Mira fought back the tears that tried to escape.

At one point she would’ve been revolted at the very idea of these two being in the same area code as her, but now she found herself standing on a train station platform holding their hands and fighting off the urge to kiss them, how time changes a person huh?

Her emotions were a tangled mess inside her head as she struggled to find the words she wanted to say to them. But how could she confess her true feelings to them without sounding insane. How does she go about saying that she want’s both of them in equal measure without sounding greedy?.

“I’m gonna miss you two” she eventually managed to mumble. Her words barely audible as she fought to stop herself breaking. “We’re going to miss you too Mira. But we’ll text, we’ll facetime. Whatever you need, whenever you need it”. Romance smiled, raising her hand in his to press a featherlike kiss to her knuckles.

Romance couldn’t stop the memory that entered his brain from a few months ago. The final battle between Huntrix and the Saja Boys when they’d still been demons. These very knuckles once punched him in the head so hard he was fairly sure it was still ringing. Now he was kissing them like he was greeting royalty and she was letting him do it, no hint of her former malice present.

“Yeah. We don’t care if it’s at breakfast or four in the morning Mira… if you need us… we will answer. We’ll be there when you need us, whether we’re just down the hall or across the country, or even halfway around the globe”. Abby smiled warmly, copying Romance’s action. His lips were a little drier, a little rougher than Romance’s and Mira smiled carefully at their gesture.

Even through her cold and closed off exterior, these boys had seen something in her that had been crying out for attention for longer than she cared to admit, and with time and gentle coaxing, and maybe a little more a touch of teasing, they’d managed to bring that something out of her. Letting her be a little more of herself around them, and not the polished act she put on to keep people at a distance. They let her be vulnerable with them, and that both intrigued her and terrified her more than she could ever describe.

She didn’t bother to resist as Abby pulled her in for a gentle hug, Romance coming around to hug her from behind. She let herself enjoy being held, let herself enjoy the warmth these two idiots had brought to her life. A small smile peaking around the edges of her lips.

Once they let her go, Mira decided that she was done pretending she didn’t want this. Reached up on her tiptoes she gave each of them a quick peck on the cheek before her brain could stop her. The looks on both their faces made her decision worth it as they both stood there dumbstruck, looking like they’d been hit with a brick, jaws hanging low as the KTX pulled into the station behind them.

-----

The boys took up their seats aboard the train once it arrived, claiming window seats in the final carriage of the KTX HST that would whisk them away to Incheon. Shoving their suitcases under the table and across a few unoccupied seats, the boys lined up before the window, waving and blowing kisses to the girls as the train started to pull out of the station.

Rumi ran alongside the train, her hand against the window until even her demonic speed couldn’t keep up with technology. Jinu blew her one last kiss before speed and distance tore her away from him for the first time in three months. His heart already aching from the lack of her touch and the sound of her voice. He sat down heavily in his seat next to Baby and closed his eyes, tilted his head back against the headrest and pinched the bridge of his nose, a deep sigh escaping his lips.

Despite putting up a brave face for Rumi, he was just as emotional about being separated for such a long time as she had been. It was going to feel really weird not having her in his bed, her warm reassuring presence pressed against him, grounding him, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to go ‘spoon’ with the boys just so he had some comfort, no fucking way that’s gonna happen.

The only part of her he had with him was the blue/purple chrysanthemum knotted bracelet, its colours faded slightly from age and him constantly running his fingers across its surface. He raised the bracelet to his face, pressing a reverent, worshipping kiss to the strands, praying she’d feel it somehow.

“Hey man! Don’t worry. We’ll be fine… and so will she”. Baby poked him in the arm and gave him a reassuring smile. It didn’t do much to calm Jinu’s tsunamic feelings but he appreciated the effort. He gave Baby a gentle thump in the arm. “Thanks man… Wake me up when we get there… yeh?”. Baby nodded and threw Jinu a sleep mask from the side pocket of his carry-on.

Jinu donned the mask and let himself drift off into an unease rest. These coming weeks were gonna test him in more ways than he cared to admit. His biggest challenge undoubtedly was being so far away from his love. He only prayed he had the strength to hold it together.

He was only vaguely aware of what his bandmates were doing as he rested. No doubt Abby and Romance would be watching a movie or documentary on Baby’s tablet, sharing a pair of headphones so they didn’t disturb anyone. Baby would be poking at his phone or listening to music the entire way. Mystery would probably just watch the scenery fly by at 190mph (305km).

The train ride to Incheon would only take about 50 minutes so Jinu tried his best to cram a little sleep in before they got there. Once they arrived it would be another 45-to-60-minute drive to their hotel and then he’d probably go straight to bed.

-----

Rumi flopped down on the couch with an exaggerated groan. It had only been 25 minutes since Jinu been torn away from her and she was already missing him terribly. The penthouse felt weird without the boys present. Their shoes weren’t by the door, their coats didn’t hang on the wall, their voices didn’t float through the air. The place felt empty without them.

It was weird really. Four months ago, this silence around the place was the norm. But now the girls had gotten so used to the boys being around that the place felt almost alien without their particular brand of boisterous madness to keep them entertained.

It would be so strange not seeing Baby buried in the oversized beanbag swearing at whatever game he was playing on his phone… not seeing Romance grumble over his crosswords on the corner of the couch he’d claimed as his spot… not seeing Abby act like a Michelin star chef cooking up a feast for any reason he could think of… not seeing Mystery meditating out on the balcony among the many flowerbeds he so religiously maintained… not seeing Jinu laying in her bed waiting to pleasure her however she saw fit.

These coming weeks were going to be rough for her.

Whomp! Fwack!

Rumi directed her frustrations at the nearest couch cushion, burying her fist in it before striking it with her other fist.

“Uh Rumi? You do know that’s our couch and not an evil demon pretending to be our couch… right?”. She looked up to see Mira and Zoey looking at her. Zoey had already grabbed a comforter from her room and was wearing it like a cape and hood. Mira had grabbed an armful of snacks from the pantry.

Both girls had an amused look on their faces as they watched Rumi commit a crime against cushion rights.

“You miss him already don’t you?” Mira smirked as Rumi blushed bright red, sitting back on the sofa and cuddling the abused cushion to her chest. “Yeah… I do… I really do”. The other girls offered her knowing smiles and piled onto the couch themselves, Zoey throwing her comforter over the other girls legs while Mira set up the snacks and grabbed the TV remote.

“Girls Night!” Zoey chanted. It had been too long since they’d had one of these and Rumi couldn’t help but laugh as Mira joined in on the chant and passed Rumi a bowl of popcorn. She let herself smile as she popped a few kernels into her mouth as Mira picked out a dumb action movie that they could waste the evening away on.

“Ok, Ok, girls night it is”. Rumi chuckled and Zoey whooped in agreement as she settled against Rumi’s side, pulling the comforter up under her chin as the opening scene played, and for a few minutes Rumi allowed herself to get lost in the overly exaggerated explosions and silly car chases unfolding on the screen.

But her mind always wandered back to a certain former demon who was much too far away for her liking. She fought the urge to open her phone and facetime him, she didn’t want to be needy, but she couldn’t help the cold feeling his absence was leaving in her chest.

After the credits rolled, all three girls phones buzzed in sync from where they’d been put on the coffee table. The trio of girls nearly falling over each other to grab their devices, knowing it was an update from the boys. Gods they all had it down bad for these guys didn’t they?

Huntrix + Dumbasses Chat:

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Hey girls x We just arrived at the hotel. Getting set in before showering and bed.

⚔️Rumi: How was the trip? Xx 🤨

💖Rome: Uneventful, Abby fell over his own feet getting out the van though. 👞👞

💪Abby: Oi! Don’t expose me like that! 😤😤

🐻‍❄️Mira: Lol Dumbass x 😏

💪Abby: I’m your dumbass. You’re stuck with me Mira.

🐢Zoey: What times the show start tomorrow guys? xx

🍼Baby: Got a meeting with Bobby at 09:00 but preshow starts at 20:00. Camera’s roll at 21:00. 🎥

❓Myst: So we’ve got most of the day to explore Incheon.

⚔️Rumi: Check out Songdo Central Park if you get the chance.

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Will do. How’re you guys doing?

🐢Zoey: We’re having a girls night! Mir stuck a movie on. 📽️🍿

💖Rome: Nice. What film?

🐻‍❄️Mira: Death Race w/ Jason Statham

💪Abby: He’s the bald British guy that sounds like he chews rocks right?

⚔️Rumi: HAHAH that’s the one. 😆

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Good choice 👍

The girls laughed as they chattered back and forth with the boys for close to ½ hour. It almost felt like they were here again. Zoey was giggling at everything Mystery wrote and even Mira looked like a teenager with a crush whenever Abby or Romance put something daft in the chat. Rumi let herself get swept up in the conversation, the coldness in her chest ebbing slightly whenever Jinu typed.

Huntrix + Dumbasses Chat:

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Sorry girls, we’re gotta get some shut-eye. Early start. Talk tomorrow. 🥱😴

💪Abby: Night ladies

❓Myst: Bye for now

⚔️Rumi: Goodnight xx

💖Rome: Sweet Dreams 💭

🐢Zoey: Night guys

🍼Baby: Night fuckers! ✌️😎✌️

🐻‍❄️Mira: Chat soon

-----

13 Days Later:

“Thank you Busan! You’ve been an incredible audience. The Saja Boys love you!”. Jinu threw his arms up and the crowd went ballistic as the final show of the Saja Boys tour came to an end. This tour had turned out even better than Jinu had thought it would. Every stadium and venue was sold-out and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed every second of it. He only wished his girlfriend was here to enjoy it with him.

Although as he was about to leave the stage, Jinu saw one of the main camera’s following his movements. He paused for a second as a dumb idea hit him. Just before he walked off stage, he beckoned the camera operator to close in on him. Once the camera was at the correct distance and height, Jinu smirked into the lens, leaned in and brushed some imaginary dust off his right shoulder.

It was a move only the boys and the girls knew and if she was watching, then he knew Rumi’s cheeks would be bright red right now. It was a cheeky little callback to when he’d knocked her on her ass in the alleyway when they first met. With his little act of amusement finished, Jinu flashed one final wave to the crowd and disappeared out of sight.

-----

Abby was in a mind of his own as the Saja Boys all walked along the streets heading back to their hotel. Bobby had wanted to whisk them away as soon as the show had ended but the guys had wanted to take a walk, enjoy the street view for a change.

They all had their disguises on so Bobby had somewhat reluctantly agreed to let them take the scenic route back to their accommodations. As long as they were all at the hotel lobby by 09:30 the next day to get the airport for their flight, he was reasonably happy to let them do their own thing.

Abby was just as hyped by the completion of their tour as Jinu and the others were. When they’d asked Huntrix to help them get back into the K-Pop scene, he’d never imagined he’d actually get the chance to perform in sold out stadiums again, but all the hard work and effort they’d put in had led to what was possibly the best two weeks of his life.

But even idols make mistakes, and Abby was the one to make one tonight. While he had joined in on the banter and ribbing with his brothers as they walked, his mind was mulling over his minor fuck-up during the last performance of ‘Kings of Stars’.

He was normally the one to call out his brethren whenever they missed a step or did something wrong during the dancing. He was the choreographer for the Saja Boys for fucks sakes! He wasn’t meant to made mistakes, especially when it involved something he himself created.

But tonight he’d had a momentary lapse. He’d forgotten his moves and had nearly fallen flat on his face in front of nearly 25,000 fans. Luckily he’d managed to ad lib his way out of it, but Mira was so going to give him hell for it, he’d be in for a proper teasing when they got back to Seoul.

He was only pulled out of his own head when a loud noise passing him on the roads. A pair of police cars blasted past at full speed, lights and sirens blazing in the evening light. “Ooh… someone not having a good night” Baby said, watching as the EMS vehicles disappeared around a corner and out of sight. Abby muttered a half-arsed grunt in response.

But as the quintet of former demons rounded the street corner, they were met with a sight none of them had been really expecting to see that night. The street ahead of them was cordoned off with police barriers and patrol cars, blue lights flashing in the moonlight.

A small army of the general public were standing on the sidewalk and the road, their eyes looking up in a mix of fear and panic. The five idols weaved their way through the crowd to stand by the cordoned barrier, manned by a few police officers to see what was going on.

Abby laid his eyes on something that made his blood run cold and sent a shiver all the way down his body. His vision locking onto a three-story family home that was engulfed in a roaring inferno. Smoke and soot billowed into the air as golden flames arched into the sky, completely ignoring any attempts to beat them back. It looked as if Gwi-Ma himself was burning the place down. No amount of water seemed to have any effect on the blaze as a few brave volunteers threw buckets of water through the front door.

Abby was all too familiar with fire and its disastrous consequences. His past was evident enough of that. Hell, it had been a main contributor to how he ended up under Gwi-Ma’s fiery thumb in the first place. It was the main reason his patterns had developed to begin with. It was ironic really; you accidentally burn a place down and you end up serving a demon firepit for 350 years.

“Umm, we should probably find a way around this” Jinu spoke quietly to the other Saja Boys, turning away to backtrack up the street and weaving his way back through the crowd of onlookers, there was no way they were getting past this situation without problems, they’d have to find another route. The others seemed to agree and as Abby was about to follow them, he heard a woman’s frantic screaming. He turned back around to witness a woman crying into an police officers arms. “My little girl’s STILL IN THERE!”.

Abby froze, his heart dropped out of his chest, his past roaring back into his mind. Memories of the flames, the screams, the cries of those two kids trapped by debris and a fire eager to consume both timber and flesh. Memories of his own cowardice and Abby nearly collapsed to his knees.

He followed the woman’s pointing finger to what he assumed would be the child’s bedroom window on the third floor. Luckily the blaze seemed to not have made it that far up the building yet but it would only be a matter of time. He heard the woman scream again “Someone needs to get her out! she’s all I have left”. Abby flinched as a window blow out from the heat on the second floor, scattering shards of glass across the properties front garden.

Where the fuck were the fire department? Surely they should be here by now?

The other Saja Boys had at this point noticed Abby wasn’t with them. He heard Jinu call his name as they made their way back towards him.  But Abby didn’t give his brothers the chance to get to him. He wasn’t about to let another child burn when he could’ve done something about it. His resolve hardening into something he hadn’t felt for three and ½ centuries.

Before anyone could stop him, Abby had vaulted over the police cordon, ducked under the grabbing arms of the nearest cop… and ran straight through the burning front door of the building like the very hounds of hell were snapping at his heels.

“ABBY WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!” He heard Jinu scream after him, his own attempt to hurdle the barrier stopped by a pair of cops who grabbed him by the arms as he shouted after his bandmate. Abby paid his Daejang no mind as he charged headfirst into the blazing building.

-----

The smell of acrid smoke assaulted his nostrils and stung his eyes, forcing him to squint as Abby ran full speed into the burning home. Floating embers singed the hairs on his arms as he looked frantically around for the stairs. He dragged the scarf he had around his neck up and over his lower face, fashioning a makeshift mask out of it to keep the smoke out.

Eventually he located the stairs towards the back of the first floor, taking them three at a time, his long legs making the distance up with ease. There was no way he was letting another child become a casualty of a blaze like this. He’d let it happen in the past; he wasn’t about to let it happen again. He coughed violently as the smoke pressed against him, dodging around burning furniture and a large light fixture that chose that exact moment to fall, nearly braining him.

The heat was uncomfortable. For anyone else it would be a nightmare, but Abby was a former demon and while his human body was just as susceptible to fire as anyone else, the heat itself was pathetically mild compared to Gwi-Ma’s fire. He still hissed in pain when an ember burnt his face though.

Finding the next set of stairs was easy and Abby again took them three at a time, desperate to reach this trapped child. “Hey!” he shouted loud as he could as he rounded the top of the third-floor landing, staggering a little as the floor shifted under his feet. “Hey Kid! Where are you!?”

His ears strained to listen for any response past the roar of the flames. He could just about hear a frightened scream coming from behind the door in the corner. A door that was currently blocked by a fallen beam currently being devoured by fire.

Another memory of his past seared itself into the forefront of his mind. He remembered this exact situation from his past life, a blocked door and terrified children on the other side, children he’d been too cowardly to save… well not this time!

Abby snarled to himself as he took hold of the burning beam of wood with both arms, ignoring the pain as flames licked at his exposed skin. He heaved the solid beam away from the door before reaching for the handle. His hand stopping millimetres from the metal when he realised it was glowing with heat. The poor kid probably tried the handle as well, probably burned herself pretty bad… guess that’s why she couldn’t escape.

“Hey kid! If you can hear me, stay clear of the door!” Abby didn’t wait for a reply as he backtracked across the hallway, making sure he had enough room to do what he needed. “Ok Abby, lets do this” he growled to himself as he charged the door like a line-backer, shoulder down and a loud shout upon his lips.

He hit it with such force he knocked it clean off its hinges, sending the large door flying across the room. “Hey kid! You in here?” he called out, his eyes straining to see through the smoke. “Down here” he heard a tiny terrified voice call out. His eyes settling on the bed in the corner of the room.

Abby crouched down next to the bed, getting down on his hands and knees to find a terrified little girl cowering underneath. She couldn’t be more than 7-years-old, her left hand clutched tight to her chest. ‘Guess she did try the door’ Abby thought as he tried to coax the kid out. “It’s ok little one. I’m here to help. I’m gonna get you out of here”. The kid didn’t move, she was cleared terrified. Abby didn’t blame her in the slightest, he was scared too and he probably looked kinda scary right now as well. His face was covered in soot and ash, he probably looked like some evil monster to her.

But he wasn’t an evil monster… not anymore.

He reached a large hand out to the girl. “Hey, what’s you’re name little one… I’m Abby, I’m here to help”. “Ye-Jin” the girl whispered, shifting a little closer to Abby’s outreached hand. Abby tried his best fan smile through his makeshift mask. “That’s a very pretty name Ye-Jin. Your mother’s outside waiting for you, she’d scared and worried about you, she asked me to come and get you”. A little white lie but he needed to get her out of this building before it came down on both their heads.

Luckily his words had the desired effect. Ye-Jin took his hand and Abby carefully pulled her out from under the bed, giving her other hand a quick check over. Yeah she’d touched the doorknob, a nasty burn covered her entire palm. Tearing his scarf mask off, Abby fashioned in around Ye-Jin’s face, keeping the worst of the smoke away from her. His own soot-streaked face now fully revealed to her.

Her eyes lit up as she seemed to recognise him. “Wait! are you Abby from the Saja Boys?” she asked despite the clear danger she was in. Abby felt a wave of warmth that had nothing to do with the burning building as he smiled at her. “Yes I am, now lets get you out of here and back to your mother”. He couldn’t deny it was nice to be recognised, even if the situation was significantly less than ideal.

Scooping the little girl up, her little arms around his neck and his supporting her from beneath and around her back, Abby made his way back out of the room. The fire had now spread higher, the hallway he’d been in now fully engulfed at the edges and Abby could feel the heat from the fire as it burned inside the walls.

But shit went wrong the moment he tried to take the stairs. The floor shifted under him and Abby staggered against the wall, wincing at the heat and as he was regaining his balance, a large chunk of the ceiling gave way above him. Abby lunged backwards to avoid being crushed as a huge support beam crashed through the gaping hole… and took the stairs with it, crashing down to the ground floor.

“SHIT!” Abby swore, peaking over the edge of the cavernous hole through the middle of the house. How the hell was he meant to get out of here now?

Ye-Jin looked up at him, a look of shock on her face. “Abby! You said a No-No word!” she said it with such surprise that Abby couldn’t help but laugh, something he immediately regretted doing as he inhaled smoke and coughed violently. “Yes I did… please don’t tell your mother” he chuckled and he could swear he saw a hint of a smile on her face.

Now what? His was down was gone… literally, the stairs were now a pile of burning detritus two stories down. How the fuck was he getting out of here with a child in tow? He was running out of time as Abby backtracked into Ye-Jin’s room. His eyes settling on the window. He winced at the thought… was he gonna have to jump? That could only end badly.

Staggering over to the window, he flung it open with one hand, the sounds of the fire engines finally arriving outside reaching him as he stuck his head out, trying to get someone’s attention. If those engines had ladders, then that was his best shot.

-----

Jinu was losing his shit on the sidewalk. What the fuck had Abby been thinking? He just ran into a burning FUCKING building! He was standing next to a woman who he assumed was a relative of someone still trapped inside the building. Both of them busy arguing with the two cops who’d stopped him from following his idiot bandmate into the building when he heard Romance shout his name, his finger pointing up to the window on the third floor.

Jinu backtracked to see Abby’s head stuck out the window… and was that a fucking kid in his arms? Jinu thought he had a flair for the dramatics, but Abby just took the fucking crown and the cake in one fell swoop.

“ABBY! Get the fuck out of there you jackass!” he screamed at his brother. “No can do! The stairs are gone… no way down!” Abby shouted back shaking his head and Jinu felt the cold pit in his stomach drop even further. What did he mean no way out?

-----

Back inside the inferno, Abby scanned his eyes over the emergency vehicles outside. None of the fire engines had ladders and he guessed it would take longer than he and Ye-Jin had left to get one here that did. He was going to have to do this himself. He looked down at the ground and wasn’t particularly happy with what he saw.

Straight down was a no go. Solid concrete and metal barriers lined the side of the property. But further away was the front garden. Dirt and grass… better than the alternative and Abby flinched at the idea he’d just had. But he was running out of time to make a decision, this building was close to collapse, if he didn’t do something right now, the EMT’s would be pulling two bodies out of the wreckage. He’d come this far; he wasn’t about fail Ye-Jin now.

It was at that point he heard a sound that truly chilled him to the core. He’d heard it before in that tavern where he’d failed to save those other kids. The noise that comes before the fireball and Abby made up his mind. He looked down at Ye-Jin who had buried her head in his shoulder. “Hey Ye-Jin” he had to raise his voice just to be heard over the fire and the little girl looked up at him. “Yeh?” “Do you trust me?” the little girl nodded.

Abby’s breath was laboured as he tried to psyche himself up. “Good, because I’m gonna have to do something incredibly stupid. It’s gonna be scary as hell but it’s also gonna make for one hell of story”. He met her eyes. “I just need you to hold on tight and keep your eyes closed for me, can you do that?”. Ye-Jin nodded and did as she was asked.

‘Ok… this is gonna fucking suck!’ Abby thought as the noise came back louder, his head looking over his shoulder to see the orange flames outside the room turning yellow.

Now or never. The air was being sucked out of the room, the hissing sound that said this place was about to flash over.

Abby set his face in a grimace as he backed up. The heat at his back painful now, he had seconds to act before his choice was made for him.

Clutching Ye-Jin close to his chest, one hand on the back of her head, Abby set off at a full sprint, just as the fireball rounded the top of the landing behind him, chasing him across the room…

And Abby launched himself and Ye-Jin out of the window.

Chapter Text

Abby launched himself out of the window at a full sprint, clutching Ye-Jin close to his chest. He shouted out in pain as the fireball blasted out of the window moments after him, momentarily engulfing his entire body in boiling hot yellow and orange flames before speed and distance plucked him from the blaze’s grip. The fireball roiled upwards, reaching for the stars above.

Although Abby didn’t have any time to focus on being free of the flames licking after him, because now he had a bigger problem. The ground was coming up fast and he still had a small child holding onto his chest that definitely wouldn’t survive him landing on her.

Snarling in exertion, Abby forcibly twisted his body mid freefall, throwing his weight to one side so he was now facing the sky, using his body like a human airbag for the scared child who had trusted him with her life. Tucking his arms and legs in, he wrapped himself around Ye-Jin as best he could, closed his eyes… and braced for impact.

Impact came without mercy. He felt like he’d just been sucker punched by an entire building as he slammed into the ground. The air was forced from his lungs so violently it made him see stars. His aim had been spot on though, he’d cleared the concrete pathway surrounding of the building and landed on the grass of the front garden.

The impact knocked the back of his head against the ground hard, those stars coming back with a vengeance and his ears had started ringing. Abby cried out in pain as several of the shards of glass from the blown-out windows sliced into his back and arms and he was fairly sure his shirt was actually on fire at this point. But he ignored the pain as best he could, trying his best to check on Ye-Jin. Please tell him she was ok? Please!... Please! No response came from the child when he tried to call her name.

But his vision was going blurry now, his muscles felt they were made from lead. Noises blended into an indecipherable mess in his ears as his vision started to darken at the edges. He remembered reading about this in one of the medical books he’d borrowed from Mira at one point for some evening reading. What was this called again? Going unconscious? He thought that was it. Whatever it was it felt warm, but that could also be the burns he’d sustained.

The last thing Abby saw before slipping into unconsciousness were two figures hovering over him, panic and worry etched deep on their faces as they tore the burning fabric away from his body exposing his abs for all to see, but right now – and possibly for the first time ever – Abby didn’t care if anyone saw his abs… he just needed the little girl to be alright.

What looked like a blonde woman in a Hi-Vis pulled something small away from his chest and disappeared from sight. The other shape vaguely resembled someone he thought he knew. Male, black hair and he was holding Abby’s hand. Muffled words making their way through the fog in his head, it sounded like Jinu. “Abby! Hold on Abby… Hey! Stay with me Abby!… You stay with me you bloody idiot! Don’t you fucking dare close those eyes!”.

Abby floated between unconsciousness and semi consciousness for the next hour. Snatches of images and sounds filtered through the tangled mess in his head. The glow of the fire as he was carefully lifted onto a stretcher… The blue flashing lights of the ambulance he was put into… A paramedic talking frantically into a walkie talkie while simultaneously fitting him with an oxygen mask... Jinu’s terrified face as he sat next to his brother in the ambulance, clutching his hand tightly… Flashing strip lights and white painted walls, possibly a hospital. That was the last thing Abby remembered before the darkness rose up to swallow him whole.

-----

“HE DID FUCKING WHAT!?” Mira screamed down the phone. She’d initially been highly irritated when she was woken up at 01:30 in the morning by her phone buzzing like an angry wasp. She was about ready to rip Romance a new one for facetiming her at this ungodly hour. But that irritation disappeared instantly and was replaced with utter shock and horror when she saw Romance’s panic ridden face.

“He ran into a fucking inferno Mira! And then he jumped out a third story window saving a child!”. Romance’s voice was several octaves higher than it usually was, the panic clear in his tone as he spoke. He appeared to be in a car of some sorts, squashed between Mystery and Baby who both looked equally unsettled as they bounced along.

Mira watched as Baby shouted directions to someone out of frame and all three idols were crushed together as whatever car they were in made a sharp turn at a considerable speed if the tire screech she heard was anything to go by.

“Where is he now?” Mira was panicking, pacing her room like a stressed cat. If she had a tail it would’ve been swishing. “The paramedics are taking him to Busan St Mary’s Hospital right now. Jinu went with him in the ambo. Me, Myst and Baby are taking a cab to meet them there”.

“How bad is he?” Mira can’t believe what she was hearing as Romance tried to give her any details he could. “I don’t know. The paramedics wouldn’t let me near him. Think he got burned, but other than that I don’t know, a fall like that should’ve broken bones. We’re heading to the hospital now. I’ll call you back as soon as I get some more information”. Mira was about to question Romance further but he disconnected the call. She glared at her phone, the message of ‘call ended’ flashing at her, almost mocking her.

Mira ran out of her room like an Olympic sprinter off the blocks, making her way to Rumi and Zoey who had fallen asleep on the couch after watching the Saja Boys Live concert on the TV.

“GIRLS!”

-----

Abby had no idea how long he was out for. He’d regain consciousness for a matter of minutes at a time before he’d be swallowed by the darkness again. He saw very little; he heard even less. He must have hit his head really fucking hard.

When he did finally wake up, he found himself laying on a bed that couldn’t really be described as ‘comfy’ but was far from the worst thing he’d ever slept on. He was propped up behind his chest on a pair of large pillows so he was half-sitting up. His eyes flickered open to show him his surroundings in gradually sharpening detail. A room painted half in the sickly pale blue colour no one really liked and half bright white that made him squint until his eyes adjusted.

His arms were wrapped in gauze and bandages from his wrists to just below his elbows and his shoulders were also similarly wrapped and he could feel stitches pulling ever so slightly as he moved. An IV line ran from his right arm up to an IV drip bag on a stand next to his bed, and a machine that was monitoring his vitals beeped constantly in a steady rhythm.

As his vision sharpened further, he noticed he wasn’t alone in his room. Sat in a chair next to his bed was Mira, her head downcast and her fingers tapping away at her phone. The look on her face made Abby want to cry. She looked wrecked, like she hadn’t slept for days and she’d clearly been crying herself.

Further away in the corner of the room next to a window that ran the length of the room, Jinu sat on a low two-person couch, his legs crossed at the ankles. Tucked up into his side was Rumi, Jinu’s arms wrapping around her and holding her close. They both appeared to be asleep. How long had they been there? When did the girls get here? How long had he been out for? Abby had so many questions.

A pained moan left his lips as he shifted slightly in his bed, the tiny movement stretching the burned skin on his upper back. The sound reached Mira’s ears and her head shot up, her eyes locking onto his. The look she gave him was a complicated mix of happiness, relief, fear, anger and pain.

“Abby! You’re awake?!” Mira jumped out of her chair, leaning to check him over as best she could. Mira was the most medically trained out of the girls, while they all had some medical training due to their roles as Hunter’s, Rumi and Zoey’s knowledge wasn’t as extensive as Mira’s. Abby took an odd sense of pride at that fact as he let her fuss.

“Thank fuck! Thank fuck you’re awake!?” Mira’s slender fingers slid into his hand and he gave them a reassuring squeeze as she sat back down, pulling her chair closer to his bed. She had a hesitant smile on her lips, but the smile didn’t really reach her eyes.

“How long have I been out for?” Abby asked. His eyes on Jinu who was wearing fresh clothes that weren’t the ones he’d been wearing when the guys were walking back from the concert. “Three days. The doc’s had you on some serious pain meds while they stitched you up”. Mira had a tiny smile on her face when she said that before her tone got serious.

“Do you remember what happened? How you got here?”. Another slight shift from Abby caused him to hiss in pain as his skin stretched. “I remember walking back from the final show… I was in my own head over a mistake I made”. He looked down at his arms. “I remember we… turned a corner… there was a crowd… a fire…”.

The memories flooded back to him en-masse. Everything that happened that night replaying on fast forward and Abby sat bolt upright in his bed, ignoring the burning pain in his back. “The child! The girl! Ye-Jin? Did she make it? Is she alright?”.

Mira had shot back to her feet when Abby jolted upright and she carefully pushed him back against his pillows, her voice low and oddly soothing. “She’s ok Abby! She’s down the hall and she’d doing fine thanks to you”.

Abby let himself relax at that. “How bad is she?” his eyes pleaded for answers and luckily for him Mira had them. “Apart from that nasty burn on her hand and some minor smoke inhalation, she’s perfectly fine. Doc’s say she’ll make a full recovery”. “Thank fuck for that!” Abby groaned, shifting against his pillows again, the pain throbbing uncomfortably under his skin.

“What the fuck were you thinking anyway?” Mira asked, her usual scowl taking up residence on her face as she glared at her somewhat boyfriend. “What do you mean?” Abby was confused. Why did she look angry at him? “I mean, what the fuck possessed you to run into a burning building you pillock?!”.

Abby was taken aback a little at her tone. He wasn’t sure how he’d expected her to react to his little stunt but he hadn’t been expecting this hostility. She was looking at him like she used to when he was a demon and that hurt him more than any of his burns or stitches ever could.

“What was I meant to do Mira? I couldn’t let her die! I had to do something!”. Mira’s voice took on a darker tone. “You could’ve waited for the fire service to get there! It’s their job to run into burning buildings Abby, not yours!”. Abby got defensive. “The fire service didn’t even arrive until 30 seconds before I jumped out the window. If I didn’t save her then Ye-Jin would’ve died in that room and I wasn’t about to let that happen!”.

He was almost shouting now, completely unaware that Jinu and Rumi had woken up and were watching his little verbal spat with Mira with wide eyes.

“But why Abby? Why would you risk your own life like that! You could’ve died!”. Mira nearly screamed, tears in her eyes by now. She wanted to hit him, she wanted to hug him she wanted to cry until she had no tears left “We could’ve lost you… I could’ve lost you!”.

“Because I wasn’t about to let another child burn to death when I could’ve stopped it!”. Abby was equally as emotional, his voice raised much louder than he intended it to go. His past racing back into his mind as his cowardice played behind his eyes, tears falling free and soaking into his bedding. Those words shut Mira up quick as she sat back hard into the chair. Behind her Rumi gasped quietly, though not loud enough that the pink haired duo could hear.

Abby slumped back into his pillows, pulling his hand free from Mira’s as he wiped the tears from his face. He turned his head away, unable to look at Mira as the words tumbled from his lips without his permission no louder than a whimper.

“That fire… it reminded me of… of my shame… of what I did…”. All faces were locked on Abby now. “I… I let two kids burn to death… I left them to die… because I was a monster. A greedy, selfish, heartless, drunk monster!” Abby flinched away from Mira as she reached out for him, just like he’d done that first night at the tower when they spoke on the balcony, not daring to let her touch him.

“I ran into that building because I couldn’t let it happen again… Because I thought if I could save her… then maybe I could atone for my past in some way… that if I could get her out of there, then maybe I could convince myself I wasn’t a monster”.

Abby was a wreck by now. His face streaked with tears as he poured his past out. Damn it! This wasn’t how he wanted them to find out. But it was happening now and he had no choice but to go along for the ride.

“Abby?”. His head snapped up to look at Rumi who was now standing, Jinu just behind her, faces pale at what they were hearing. Rumi’s face looked just as bad as his, tear streaked and puffy. Abby turned his head away again; he couldn’t bear to look at any of them right now. “I’m sorry guys. I’m sorry I’ve put you all through this… I wasn’t thinking, I was just reacting. I couldn’t… I couldn’t let Ye-Jin suffer the same fate. I couldn’t let my past repeat itself… not again”.

Mira was standing again now, her face red from crying. Her earlier anger gone, replaced with… something Abby couldn’t place. “You idiot Abby!”. His eyes locked back onto hers. ‘Oh boy here we go again’ he thought. Mira got closer to him with every word. “You big… dumb… stupid… brave… ridiculous… handsome… IDIOT!”.

Mira’s lips crashed into his.

Well shit! He definitely hadn’t been expecting that. Neither had Rumi or Jinu apparently judging by how they both squeaked in surprise. Mira’s lips were soft, her lip balm sweet against his dry cracked lips. Her hands came up to rest on his cheeks and he let himself sink into her kiss, a touch he hadn’t felt for as long as he could remember.

-----

A few minutes later, all the others were crowded around Abby’s bed. Rumi had slipped out to go get Zoey and Mystery who’d gone to the cafeteria. Jinu had texted Romance who had taken Baby outside before the guy had his sixth breakdown over Abby’s condition.

Now they all stood around Abby’s hospital room, a mix of emotions roaming around that none of them could contain. Baby stood near the closed door, acting like a bouncer. He would spot anyone heading towards the room and give the signal for everyone to be quiet. No one else needed to hear that the person in this bed was a 350-year-old former demon.

Abby sighed loudly, adjusting his position against his pillows. “I guess I owe you all a proper explanation don’t I?” He offered a half smile at his friends. Would any of them even want to be his friends after he told them his past? After he told them what he did? What he allowed to happen?? He didn’t have particularly high hopes for it. But he owed them all the full truth, and it was far too long overdue.

-----

Flashback: 1690: Gwangju

Fa-Ahn hadn’t always been the physical embodiment of strength. Once upon a time he was a stick thin weakling that couldn’t lift a bucket of cow shite. Fa-Ahn had been born to a poor farmers household in 1675. He was the youngest sibling in his family, with two older sisters and one older brother. As a farmer’s son, he was expected to help out on the farm from the moment he could walk.

But Fa-Ahn had the misfortune to been born with Cachexia. A wasting disease that severely affected his muscle growth and hindered his ability to be useful to his father. Having a weak son was a mark of shame for his father and he was shunned for it at every turn. Fa-Ahn wasn’t even allowed to sleep in his family home because his father distained him so much, he was forced to sleep with their livestock on a pile of scratchy hay in the barn.

No matter what Fa-Ahn did, he was never good enough for his father. Fa-Ahn might as well have not existed in his father’s eyes. He treated the boy like he was invisible. Only his mother and his older sisters interacted with him, his older brother following their fathers example and ignoring him. But it was his father’s approval that Fa-Ahn truly sought, he was so desperate for it that he was willing to do anything to earn it… even sell his soul for it.

He first heard Gwi-Ma’s voice one freezing winter night when he was 15. Fa-Ahn had been using an empty feed sack as a blanket and one of the family cows as a boney pillow when that velvet voice of poison had wormed its way into his dreams.

It fed him a gilded story that he didn’t deserve his father’s ire… that he could be the strongest of them all… that he deserved to show them what he was truly capable of… and like any teenager dreaming of being big and strong, Fa-Ahn had taken that deal without a second thought. Unknowingly selling his soul for all eternity to a benevolent demon king who couldn’t wait for the butcher’s bill to come due.

The change for Fa-Ahn hadn’t been instant, it had taken nearly a month for him to turn into the muscle-bound eye candy he was. But Fa-Ahn didn’t care about that, he wasn’t weak anymore. He was big, he was strong, he was finally getting the recognition he’d so desperately craved from his father. He spoke proudly of how his son could carry an entire haybale on his back… of how he could pull a plough better than any oxen. Fa-Ahn was finally happy.

But happiness had a way of slipping through your fingers like sand if you’re not careful, and Fa-Ahn was about to find that out the hardest way possible.

He’d been sleeping in the barn again, this time of his own volition. One of their horses was having a difficult time birthing her fawn, so Fa-Ahn had volunteered to stay out overnight with her, doing his best to help the animal however he could. But the long day in the fields had taken its toll on him and Fa-Ahn had slipped into a deep sleep despite his best efforts.

He awoke to the stench of smoke in his nostrils. His eyes flying open to see the night sky usually dark and blank now lit with flickering orange and yellow light. He’d scrambled to his feet, startling the cattle who were still dozing as he ran for the door of the barn, throwing it open to witness his family home engulfed in flame. Wood and thatch twisted and burned, glass and slate cracked and shattered under the intense heat that Fa-Ahn could feel from across the field.

He'd ran for his family home, praying he could do something, anything. But he’d frozen when the roof collapsed in on itself, the huge support beams weakened by fire and age. The massive stone chimney crumbling under its own weight, crushing anything… or anyone unlucky enough to be in its path. Fa-Ahn had collapsed as well, sitting there on his knees as he watched his family home, and his family burn down… nothing he could do to save them, his tears stung his face just as much as the smoke did.

He stayed there until the flames burned themselves out. Nothing left but charred wood, cracked stone and a few smouldering embers still glowing in the ruins, mocking him with what they had stolen from him.

Fa-Ahn couldn’t even bring himself to dig through the ruins to find his families remains. He couldn’t find the strength in himself to collect their charred bones to bury in a shallow grave near the river that flowed past what was left of his home.

-----

Current Day:

Jinu looked physically ill. He was leaning against the window sill, Rumi leaning against him looking equally pale. He’d known for a long time that Abby had a certain relationship with fire. He wasn’t particularly afraid of it per se, but he had always been the one who would just stare into the flames as if they held the answers to whatever questions the strongman held in his heart.

He’d never asked Abby about it; he didn’t want to pry into the guys past if he wasn’t comfortable talking about it. Hearing what his brother had gone through now however, he understood perfectly well why Abby had kept this story locked away in the deepest recesses of his head and heart.

Mira wasn’t having much luck holding her shit together either. She was sat down on the edge of Abby’s bed, one of his big meaty hands sandwiched between both of hers. She had resonated somewhat with Abby’s story. She knew all too well what it was like having a disapproving father and sibling.

But at least her father and brother were still alive. Even if they were twat’s, Mira didn’t think she’d ever want them dead. Especially not burned to death while she could only watch. The thought made her want to be sick.

Baby kept up his vigil at the door. While he wasn’t looking at his dumbass brother propped up in bed, he was listening intently, and he wasn’t particularly enjoying what he was hearing. His eyes locked onto movement heading towards them and he gave the signal to silence the story. A quick two whistles that had every head turned in his direction.

A trio of doctors wandered past, clipboards in hand and stethoscopes swinging against their chests. Once they were gone, baby gave the all clear, all heads bar his turning back towards Abby.

-----

Flashback: 1690: Gwangju

He had nothing left now. No home, no family. The property and land wasn’t worth much, maybe a handful of coins if Fa-Ahn was lucky. The cattle were thin and unhealthy, not worth the meat on their bones or the milk in their udders. They ended being sold at market for a pathetically small amount. The horses however brough him a little more favour, being purchased for what Fa-Ahn considered a fair amount.

But what the hell was a 15-year-old farm hand meant to do without a home and a handful of coins? He had other relatives but he had no means to reaching them or even contacting them. Being a poor farmer meant that Fa-Ahn never learnt to write. He could read basic Hangul but he couldn’t even spell his own name, let alone write to his grandmother who lived over three week’s ride away on horseback.

So Fa-Ahn took to wandering, he became what some would call a gypsy. Roaming from place to place, picking up whatever odd jobs might pay for his next meal or his next bed that wasn’t ridden with fleas before continuing, never staying in one place too long. Movement meant survival for him now.

That was until he found himself walking through a dingy back alley in Gwangju’s less savoury neighbourhoods. His luck had been shit rotten over the last weeks. He hadn’t eaten in three days and he was close to desperation at this point. So when he was just about able to read a sign offering money for underground fights, Fa-Ahn decided he might as well put his strength to use. If a fight can bring coin, then he could finally eat… and at this point he’d eat a damn dog if it came too close to him.

And that’s how Fa-Ahn found himself becoming something of a household name in Gwangju’s underground fight scene. His name was spoken of in whispered adoration and fear in the same breath. The strongman who couldn’t lose a fight, the one who could beat three grown men at once without breaking a sweat. None of them knew his body was a gift from a demon king, none of them really cared when their bets on him raked in more money in a month than they used to make in a year.

And Fa-Ahn loved it. the thrill of the fight, the cheer of the crowd, the taste of blood on his lips. He developed a reputation as a dirty fighter. He bit, he scratched, he clawed, he gouged eyes and pulled hair. He did whatever he needed to do to win.

Fa-Ahn had thought he’d found his calling. For the first time since he lost his family and his home, he felt untouchable. He felt like the world was his for the taking. But once again, the sands of fate had other plans for the scrappy young fighter. Another fastball special aimed perfectly to shatter his perfectly crafted house of cards.

-----

It all started after a particularly bad fight. Normally Fa-Ahn had no problems with a two on one tag-team fight. He’d beaten enough of them in the past so he was overly cocky about his chances. He’d tried to goad his opponents, trying to bait them, to make them make mistakes, to make them easy targets, but these two weren’t falling for his tricks.

For the first time in weeks, Fa-Ahn had lost a fight and lost badly, and boy was he pissed about it. His perfect record shattered and left in the dirt and straw next to him. He had a black eye, a split lip, a concussion and a lovely collection of bruises and scrapes that would see him out of the fight for days.

After dragging himself out to the streets, Fa-Ahn had made his way to a nearby tavern to drown his sorrows in ale or whatever other drink he could get. He’d amassed a small fortune during his weeks as the top fighter and he had drank until he was dizzy and fell off his stool.

He couldn’t remember what had started the fight. He was fairly sure he had started it regardless but the reason why escaped him. All he remembered was a fight that caused him to be physically thrown out of the tavern by the barkeep and his pack of thugs. Even Fa-Ahn couldn’t win a 6 on 1 fight.

As he staggered drunkenly away from the tavern, Fa-Ahn completely failed to notice he’d knocked a large barrel over. A barrel that had a burning whale oil lamp sitting on top of it. a burning lamp that rolled to a stop against a pile of logs and kindling… the tavern’s firewood supply.

He passed out in the dirt seconds later, the bottle of wine he’d managed to snag before being thrown out shattering against the floor, the liquid soaking into the mud and shit covering the path. He welcomed the sweet release of sleep; it greeted him like an old friend with a warm hug.

-----

For the second time in his life, Fa-Ahn awoke to the acrid stench of smoke choking his nostrils. Staggering upright and rubbing his head, his eyes landed on the tavern which was now completely engulfed in fire. Flames eagerly consumed everything they could touch and Fa-Ahn ducked as an upstairs window blew out from the heat.

But as he was about to walk away from the blaze, Fa-Ahn heard the screams of children. A trill horrifying noise, because it wasn’t just a scream of terror. It was a scream of pain, those kids were being burnt, the fire eager to consume them just as much as the building.

Fa-Ahn staggered towards the building, his balance almost non existent thanks to his over-indulgence of wine and hard liquor. His mind racing as he forced his way through the crowd, he had to help… he had to do something.

Running through the burning front door he was met with a scene that looked straight out of a modern disaster movie. Tables and stools over turned, fire raging across most every surface. The occasional bottle of booze shattering in the heat which only served to spread the flames further as the alcohol ignited, trails of liquid fire running across the floor like fiery cobwebs.

Fa-Ahn ran for the stairs behind the bar, he knew the tavernkeeper and his family lived about the bar. Most families lived in or above their businesses these days just because of the convenience. What he saw at the top of the stairs actually made him throw up against the wall.

The tavernkeepers wife lying dead on the floor, her body crushed under a fallen beam of wood and the smell of burnt flesh assaulted his nose. Blood poured from a massive wound on her head and Fa-Ahn could tell she’d been running for her children when she was felled.

Those screams again. Two distinct voices crying out in panic, pain and fear. He made his way towards the noise, a room a the end of the hall. But before he could get to the room and try the door, the ceiling above gave way, a huge solid beam collapsing through the gap and blocking Fa-Ahn’s access to the room.

Even his strength couldn’t move it. The door was blocked, there was no way he could get in there and he tried his best not to listen to the panicked screams of pain coming from the other side.

It was then that he heard it. A hissing whooshing noise. Something he’d never heard before, but it sent a chill down his spine. He had no idea the place was about to flash over, that a fireball was about to consume everything in its path, including him if he didn’t get out now. He struggled to breath as the air began to be pulled out of the room… and Fa-Ahn made the decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He didn’t know what made him do it. Fear? Shame? Self-preservation? Cowardice? His concussion?

But he turned his back on the blocked door and the screaming kids, and he ran away. He was halfway back down the stairs when the fireball roared up behind him through a hole in the floor, consuming everything in that hallway. The screams now silenced as he ran back out of the building, coughing violently.

He was covered in soot and ash, looking like some evil spirit of ancient folklore. Perhaps he was one. He’d just abandoned two innocent children to die in a blaze of his own creation. He’d done this! He was responsible! His drunken idiocy was the reason for all of this and Fa-Ahn collapsed to his knees as tears fled his eyes. His own screams of anguish ripped through the night air, rivalling the roar of the fire with their intensity.

He was a monster! He was a coward! He didn’t deserve to live!

Fa-Ahn felt a burning sensation on his skin. Was he on fire? No he wasn’t, so why did he feel like the fires of hell were burning under his skin? He tore his shirt away from his body and he watched in pure horror as a single purple lightning bolt grew on his right pec, it glowed faintly in the light and Fa-Ahn could only stare at it in disgust.

That was when he heard that velvet voice again. It was laughing at him. Mocking him, every word laced with poison. “Pathetic! Even with all that strength, you couldn’t save them. You couldn’t save your own family, now you’ve shattered someone else’s. You’re a coward, a worthless cur… unworthy!”. Fa-Ahn agreed as he wept into the dirt. He was a coward.

He didn’t resist as the ground opened up to swallow him whole, pulling him down into a hellscape he wouldn’t escape for 350 years. The butchers bill finally coming due.

-----

Current Day:

Abby cried into his sheets. The truth now out in the open, everyone aware of what a pathetic coward he’d been. His eyes searched his friends eyes for something… anything.

Mira was pale, looking at him aghast. She was no longer holding his hand, and he couldn’t blame her in the slightest. He was a monster; he didn’t deserve her comfort.

The others didn’t know what to say or even where to look. Jinu was comforting Rumi as best he could as she wept into his chest. His hands rubbing reassuring shapes into her back, hers fisted into his shirt and holding on tight.

Mystery and Zoey were in a similar state, although Zoey was sat on the floor crying into her hands while Mystery crouched next her to, pulling her in for a hug she clearly needed.

Romance was struggling to wrap his brain around what he’d just heard. To hear his brothers past told in such vivid detail was concerning for him. Abby was never one to over share. Sure he talked a big game but he never went this… deep.

Baby looked sick, his post at the door abandoned as he slumped on the sofa that Jinu and Rumi had been asleep on.

No one spoke, until someone did.

Mira rose from the end of Abby’s bed, her eyes locked on the floor. “I uh… I need a moment to myself”. “Mira, wait!” Rumi called after her but the pink haired Hunter was already gone. The sound of her shoes receding down the hallway. Abby didn’t blame her one bit for wanting some space. He was surprised the rest of them are even still here in the first place. He’d been fully expecting them to all walk out on him after finding out what he did.

Romance rose from his chair, gripping Abby’s hand with him as his own tears flowed down his face. “You’re past is the past Abby. You’re not the same person you were all those years ago... You wouldn’t have done what you did for Ye-Jin if you were”. The words hit Abby hard and he ugly cried into Romance as his brother hugged him as best he could without aggravating his injuries.

After releasing Abby, Romance looked towards the door. “I’ll uh… I’ll go speak to Mira”. the others all nodded and Romance disappeared, following where he saw Mira go, leaving the others to close in on Abby to offer what little comfort they could.

-----

Mira was outside the hospital, sat on a bench in what appeared to be a memorial garden of sorts, a cherry blossom tree was currently throwing a small army of petals in her general direction. Her mind was racing with this new information. She was just as emotional now as when Romance had told her about his past. But somehow Abby’s was worse, how could she even look at him after finding out he left two children to burn? She didn’t know.

All she knew was that she wanted to cry, to scream, to run back up there and either hug the guy or strangle him and she didn’t know which she’d do until she did it. Mira buried her face in her hands and cried what little tears she had left.

But just as much as her mind wanted to scream at Abby for his past, she also couldn’t ignore the fact that he’d willingly run into that burning building. He had willingly thrown himself out of a fucking window to rescue that little girl. He couldn’t be the same person as he used to be, he just couldn’t. He’d have walked away if he was. She knew he’d changed, he’d proven he’d changed, so why did she feel like this? Why couldn’t she stand to look at him right now?

Mira didn’t even notice that someone had sat down next to her at that point. She was so caught up in her roiling emotions. She only became aware she had company when said company put a hand on her knee, making her jump.

Her eyes locked onto Romance who had somehow managed to track her down. “Hey… how you feeling?”. His voice was quiet, restrained, offering her what little comfort he could. “I… I don’t know Rom… I really don’t know”. Her words spoken past sobs as she tried to stop herself breaking apart at the seams.

Romance pulled her to lean against him, and they sat together for a quiet minute, just watching as the blossom petals floated aimlessly past their bench. He heard Mira sniff and watched as she blew her nose into a tissue she’d got from somewhere. It was a very cute noise Romance thought, but he decided against teasing her over it considering the situation.

“I don’t know how I can face him again” Mira mumbled and Romance reached for her hand, wrapping her slender fingers with his. It was calming, grounding and it helped pull Mira out of her own head as she continued to speak. “I want to be angry at him Rom, I want to scream and rage at him, but I also want to hug the big idiot!”. Romance gave her a small smile.

“I can’t judge Abby for his past… I wasn’t there, I didn’t see what he saw or feel what he felt. I can only go with what I’ve heard and what I’ve witnessed”. He turned to face Mira, encouraging her to do the same. “What I’ve seen, is a tortured soul desperate to redeem itself for its past mistakes. Someone who clearly regrets that he did… what he let happen and what I saw that night was Abby doing something incredibly brave, even if it was very fucking stupid. He’s not the same person he was all those years ago Mira, he wouldn’t have done what he did if he was”.

Mira let his words wash over her. She knew what he was saying was true, but it still hurt. Knowing never made it any easier. Romance continued before Mira could spiral again. “He needs you Mira. He needs you by his side… just like you were by mine when I broke after that whole shitshow with Celine”.

Mira shuddered against him as a cold breeze blew through and a single petal settled in her lap. “I want to be there for him Rom, I really do. But how can I look past what he did? He let them burn, he let them die”.

Romance could only nod. “He did… but it was Fa-Ahn who let those kids die in that fire, not Abby. Fa-Ahn was a boy younger than we are now and he had to make an impossible choice… and he chose wrong, and he’s regretted that choice ever since. You can see it in his eyes, the guilt, the shame. You don’t get that kind of guilt from someone who doesn’t care”.

Romance took a second to watch the falling petals dance in the breeze before he continued.

“Abby didn’t let Ye-Jin die though. Abby was the one who risked his life to save a child he never met before…  Do you truly think he’s the same person he was all those years ago? Do you really think he’s still Fa-Ahn?”.

Mira slumped further against him, his words ringing true inside her head. She shook her head. “No, I don’t think that. But I still think he’d an idiot for doing what he did”. Romance laughed. “He’s an idiot alright… but he’s our idiot. And right now our idiot needs us to there to support him”.

Romance stood slowly, offering his hand to Mira who took it and stood with him. “So lets go be there for our idiot shall we?” Romance asked through a small smile. Mira could only nod and the pair walked out of the garden and headed back into the hospital.

-----

By the time the pair arrived back in Abby’s room, the others had all had their little heart to heart with the injured Saja. All eyes turned to the returning pair and Abby struggled to keep eye contact with Mira as she walked around his bed to where she had been when he first woke up. She walked like she was on a mission.

“Mira… I…” “Shut up!”. Mira didn’t let him get another word out, cupping his cheeks with her hands she pulled him into another kiss that silenced the room. Baby was tempted to fake a gag but he figured Mira might actually kill him if he interrupted their moment, so he wisely kept his trap shut.

Pulling away so she could look him in the eye, Mira let her thoughts pour out like a faucet left on full blast. “Listen Abby… I don’t want to lose anyone I’m close too. When I found out what you did the other day I was… angry, I was scared, I was confused and worried. I thought I was going to lose you; my mind went straight to the worst possible outcome… and I don’t know how I would’ve coped if I had lost you”.

No one else dared to speak. It was rare for Mira to open up like this with anyone, even the girls rarely got to see this side of her so everyone held their tongues and let Mira pour her heart out.

“I know I’m not exactly the easiest person to be around. I’m sarcastic and blunt, rude even. When I don’t understand something I have a tendency to push people away, including the one’s I care the most about. I didn’t understand your past or the choices you made, so I left, I walked out… when I should’ve stayed. You needed me here and I walked away from you, and for that… I am so, so sorry Abby”.

Mira sat on the bed next to Abby, her hand on his cheek and chest. “I’m not leaving you again Abby. I won’t lie, what you did in your past life sucked ass, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have made the same decisions in your shoes. Like Romance told me outside, I can only go with what I know and what I’ve been told”.

She send a small smile at Romance. “And from what Romance told me, you didn’t waste a second in charging into that burning building. You put the life of a child you’d never met until then before your own in a heartbeat. You were willing to put her safety above your own life… and that makes you stronger than your past self could’ve ever have hoped to be”.

Abby was close to crying again, which in turn made Mira close to crying too. “Your past is your past, but it shouldn’t define your future. You infuriate me to the n^th degree… but I’m so fucking proud of you. You did something heroic… if very, very fucking stupid and that little girl lives because of you”. She threw her arms around Abby as best she could and he returned the gesture, though his bandaged arms made it difficult.

Everyone else watched on, having moved over to the window to give the pair space to have their little moment. For Mira to be this open and honest with him… it was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Rumi had a warm smile on her face as she leaned her head on Jinu’s shoulder, her hand over his heart as she watched her bandmate.

-----

Their embrace lasted for a few minutes, neither willing to break the contact, until there came a knock on the door. All eyes turned to be met by a woman standing in the doorway. She wore doctor scrubs in pale blue and she held a clipboard in her hands, which she took a cursory glance at. “Mr Abby Saja?”. Abby turned his head to cough before speaking. “Yeah, that’s me”. The nurse smiled warmly. “There’s someone out here that very much want’s to speak to you”.

Jinu was about to tell her that press or fans could wait until his brother had recovered but he didn’t get the chance to speak as the nurse stepped to the side and someone else stepped into view in the doorway.

“ABBY!” Ye-Jin squealed as she ran into the room. Her eyes locked on the man who had saved her life. Her left hand was wrapped up in bandages but other than that she seemed in high spirits as she ran up to Abby’s bed, jumping up to sit next to him on the side not occupied by Mira. “Hey Ye-Jin… how you doing?” Abby reached an arm out to tousle the girls hair, an action that caused her to giggle.

“I’m fine. My hand hurts but mommy and the doctors say it’ll heal just fine”. Abby visibly relaxed at seeing his efforts weren’t in vain. “That’s great! I told you you’d have one hell of a story to tell didn’t I?” Ye-Jin laughed at that. There was something different about a child’s laugh, it was warm and bubbly and it drained the stress out of the room in seconds.

Ye-Jin’s eyes moved onto Mira who was half cuddled up on the bed next to Abby at this point, her hand on his chest. “Are you Abby’s girlfriend?” Mira nearly choked on her own spit at the unexpected question. Rumi snorted in laughter from where she was standing and the other’s offered quiet mirth.

“Yes I am”. Mira had no intentions of denying her feeling for Abby anymore. What was Rumi always saying these days? No more hiding. She had a smile on her face as she said it and Ye-Jin’s own smile widened. “Mommy says he’s very brave. The bravest!”. Mira allowed herself to smirk up at Abby as he shuffled himself to get comfortable. “Yeah he is… even if he is a bit of an idiot”. “Oi!” Abby grumbled which caused both girls to laugh at his mock offended look.

-----

The hospital kept Abby for another three days until they were happy that he could return home to Seoul without causing himself further injury. Mira had outright refused to leave his side the entire time he’d been there. She left only for long enough to go to a hotel, have a quick shower and get changed before she was right back by his side.

The others were of a similar mindset. None of them wanted to leave Abby’s side. Bobby had tried to insist some of them head back to Seoul but he’d met a united front of Idols who absolutely refused to budge.  They would need to be forcibly removed before any of them went willingly. Bobby recognised a losing battle when he saw it so he relented, pulling a few strings to book the others last minute rooms at a nearby hotel.

Baby, Mystery, Romance and Zoey made good use of those rooms but Rumi, Jinu and Mira refused to leave Abby alone. Mira actually slept on Abby’s bed with him, refusing to leave his side. She even growled at a young nurse when she was offered a sleeping bag. The low couch turned out to be a small foldout bed as well, so Rumi and Jinu slept on that during the night. The others coming by during the day to keep them all entertained. Movies, dumb games and daft conversation wiled the days away until Abby was released.

-----

Abby ended up being discharged with a small laundry list of creams and medication for his burns and various other injuries. According to the doctors, Abby was very lucky. The second degree burns on his forearms were unlikely to scar as they weren’t that deep. The first degree burns on his upper back should heal fine within a week at most, and the seven cuts he’d sustained from the shattered glass should heal up fine without much interference.

The only thing the doctors were worried about was the head injury. Abby had given himself a pretty nasty concussion when he hit the ground so the doctors gave him very strict instructions on what he should do if he started feeling nausea, dizziness or vomiting. Mira promised he’d behave himself or else… Abby gulped at that which drew a laugh from everyone.

He was ordered to ‘take it easy’ for at least three weeks so that meant he was house bound – or penthouse – bound until the end of the month which was fine by him. The Saja Boys had a month off now anyway after their tour had finished. He was just looking forward to some proper rest and relaxation.

Now that his past was out in the open, he felt lighter. While it still hurt like shit to remember what had happened to him, he refused to let it get him down. Like Mira had said, he wasn’t the same person he was 350 years ago. He’d grown, he’d changed, and now he had a new family who would help him through it.

Chapter Text

July 15^th Dispatch News Bulletin:

Breaking News: Lead choreographer of the Saja Boys Hospitalised after Braving Burning Building in Busan.

Abby Saja has been rushed to St Mary’s hospital in Busan today after running into a burning building to rescue a trapped child. Footage captured by residents and a local news helicopter catch the moment that the Saja Boy threw himself out of a window to escape the blaze with a child clutched in his arms.

The condition of both Abby Saja and the child are currently unknown. We have reached out to the Saja Boys management team but they have declined to comment on the situation at this time. More on this story as it develops.

July 18^th Dispatch News Bulletin:

Breaking News: Abby Saja Confirmed Alive and Well in Busan Hospital.

Sources today have confirmed that Abby Saja is alive and recovering after his death-defying escape from a three-story home engulfed in flames earlier this week. A photo posted to the Saja Boys social media pages today shows the Saja Strongman alert and awake in a hospital bed.

We have reached out to their management for comment but they have declined our request to speak. The other members of the Saja Boys have also declined to comment further. More on this story as it develops.

July 21^st Dispatch News Bulletin:

Breaking News: Abby Saja confirmed to have left Busan Hospital after Six Day Stay.

A statement released today by the Saja Boys management team has confirmed that Abby Saja has been released from St Mary’s Hospital in Busan after nearly a week-long stay, and will soon be travelling back to Seoul with his bandmates and fellow Idol group Huntrix.

When asked about his condition and return to the stage, Dispatch was told he needed rest and privacy to recover properly. More on this story as it develops.

-----

Abby groaned as he threw his phone onto the couch cushions. He should know better than to be reading Dispatch articles, especially ones about himself. But since he couldn’t exactly do anything or go anywhere without at least one of the others acting like an overprotective chaperone hovering over him like a mother hen, he’d been relegated to mostly just sitting on the couch in the penthouse since he returned home eight days ago.

There was only so much TV he could watch as well. He wasn’t like some of the others who could watch a screen for 14 hours a day without any issues. Zoey and Baby were the worst for that, Baby with his phone and Zoey with the TV. Abby could only manage a few hours looking at a screen before his eyes started to itch from the dryness regardless of how much he blinked.

He’d also already exhausted the entire library of books he had; he was a very fast reader at the end of the day. So now he was ‘bored AF’ as the kids would say these days. And so against his better judgement, he’d started scrolling through the near 10,000 news stories about his little act of heroics/stupidity as a means to pass the time, including the Dispatch articles.

Apparently while he’d been in hospital in Busan, the videos of him leaping out the window had gone viral. Footage captured by the people on the street had shown the moment he launched himself out that window being chased by a fireball, and the aerial footage captured by a local news chopper crew showed the moment from upon high, also showing him the building almost collapsing behind him.

Now Abby was perfectly happy to toot his own horn so to speak, but even he couldn’t deny that the footage looked fucking epic. It looked like a scene out of one of those dumb Hollywood action movies Zoey would make them all watch on occasion.

Only he’d done it for real, and as badass as it looked on camera, his body was still feeling the effects of it and Abby could honestly say he wouldn’t recommend anyone throw themselves out of a third story window. Just how the Huntrix girls had leapt out of a damn plane and landed without parachutes was something Abby would never understand, even if they were Hunters.

Although there were a few benefits to this whole situation. Firstly, his relationship with Mira had gotten exponentially stronger. Him, Mira and Romance where now officially a couple… no… a throuple… a polyamorous relationship. The trio still had to cross that final line so to speak but that could wait. Their relationship was still fresh and out of the public eye and they all wanted to take it slow for now.

The other main benefit out of this situation was the PR boon that had come from the general public finding out about Abby’s actions. Sales for the Saja Boys music and merchandise had skyrocketed over the last week. He’d even received a personalised letter of thanks from the Korean Prime Minister.

Abby groaned again; he was so bloody bored. Stroking his own ego with the Dispatch articles hadn’t been nearly as interesting as he thought it would be, so he heaved himself up off the couch to go find something to do. His sudden rising drew the attention of Baby who was sat at the kitchen island destroying a bowl of ice-cream.

“Yo big man! Where ya goin?”. Abby gave his friend a side eye as he stretched his arms. The burns on his back had healed over completely now, none of the soreness or tenderness remained as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. The burns on his arms were also healing up nicely, although he did end up with a tiny little scar on his left arm.

He'd also managed to luck out with no headaches, dizziness or nausea from his concussion so he didn’t really get why everyone was still babying him. He knew Mira had basically strong-armed everyone into keeping an eye on him when she wasn’t around even though they’d all willingly done that anyway.

“I’m bored Baby, I need something to do or I’m gonna go crazy”. The teal haired Saja turned to face his brother. “You know what Mira said right? No strenuous activities for another two weeks”.

Abby wandered slowly over to the kitchen island, putting his palms on the cool marble surface and stared at Baby with a look that was equal parts boredom and restlessness. “I know Baby, but I’ve been sat on that bloody couch for eight days now. I need to do… something or I’m gonna flip my lid, so I’m going down to the pool for an hour or so”.

“You do realise that means I’ve got to get up and come with you right? You know I’m on Abby-sitting duty until Mira gets back from the bathhouse with the girls?”. Abby rolled his eyes at that. He was a grown ass man of 377 years; he didn’t need babysitting by someone who predated fossil fuels. He may look like a child, but Baby was over double his age and then some.

“You don’t have to follow me Baby. I’m not made of fucking glass you know!”. His bandmate just stared back at him; a small teasing look on his face. “You think I’m gonna risk suffering Mira’s wrath if something happens to your dozy ass while I’m meant to be watching over you? Do you not remember the ass whooping she gave us at Namsam? I’m not after a repeat performance, no thank you!”. Despite the situation, Abby couldn’t help but appreciate his teammates concern for him.

“Go on then, go get your gear. Do I need to break out the armbands and the floaties or do you think you can manage without them?”. Baby had a smug smirk on his face now and Abby returned it with a middle finger for extra credit. “Very fucking funny you toddler”. Baby flipped Abby off in return. “Goo-Goo Ga-Ga suck my dick!”

“Goo-Goo Ga-Ga my ass you undeveloped embryo!”, and with that Abby stalked off towards his room to change into his swimwear and grab his towel. He just needed to burn off some energy, and aside from working out in the gym which he still wasn’t allowed to do (which was a cruel torture on its own) he found that swimming was the best way for him to do just that, and the doctors in Busan had said that as long as he didn’t go crazy, he was allowed to swim.

By the time he’d gotten down to the pool under the penthouse, Baby was already set up on the lifeguard tower in a pair of red shorts with a whistle around his neck. He looked so overly smug Abby wanted to throw him in the water and then beat him with a pool noodle. But he knew the guy was only watching out for him, even if he was being an insufferable cunt about it.

Doing his best to ignore Baby’s snide remarks about his form, Abby launched himself into the chilled pool and started doing lengths. Front Crawl, Back Crawl, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Trudgen, Abby went through several styles of swimming just to get his muscle groups working. Holy shit he’d needed this. He made sure not to overdo himself, setting a gentle pace that Baby couldn’t help but mock.

As he ploughed through the pool, Abby couldn’t decide what he was more excited to do after his ‘house arrest’ was done. Get back in the gym, or get back on the stage.

-----

Meanwhile over at the bathhouse, the Huntrix girls were unwinding for once. Now that their hiatus was officially over, they were waist deep in working on their own new album, although they weren’t having a massive amount of luck.

Mira couldn’t really work on new choreography until they had a song to work with, and Rumi and Zoey had been struggling to come up with anything really. Mira had chalked it up to them both missing their boys while they were away on their little tour. The boys would often sit in and help them come up with lyrics. Hell… Jinu was the one who came up with the opening line for ‘Fireflies’ in the first place.

They’d all been in a bit of a slouch just like when they were trying to figure out ‘Takedown’ and of course the moment Mira had gotten that phone call saying Abby had played fireman and landed himself in hospital, they’d instantly put a pin in their work and rushed to be by his side.

Honestly, their private pilot was going to get a fat bonus this year after the girls dragged him out of bed at nearly 02:00 in the morning for an emergency flight to Busan.

“Urgh! I needed this so bad!” Mira moaned as she sank into the sauna, letting the hot water and steam wash away the stress of the last few days. She’d honestly thought keeping an eye on Abby would’ve been hard work, but surprisingly he turned out to be relatively low maintenance with the exception of him always trying to sneak off to alleviate his growing boredom.

The only thing he’d really needed any help with was applying the burn cream to his back during the first week of him being home, which Mira had been overly happy to do for him. Although her reasons for volunteering to help him weren’t entirely PG rated. She found herself jumping at the chance to run her fingers over his body, just like she’d spent many a night fantasising about (not that she’d admit that to anybody).

They say that some men are carved from marble… well marble was carved from Abby, and Mira had to squeeze her legs together on numerous occasions when she’d run her hands over his back and the fucker had moaned at her touch. That was something else Mira found herself thinking about more and more this past week. Eventually, her and her boys would end up in bed together, and Mira couldn’t tell if she was excited about it, or terrified of it.

“Yeah… I think we all did” Rumi agreed as she slipped down next to Mira and Zoey made an agreeable noise as she sank down on Mira’s other side. Besides their underwear, the girls were naked, not that it really mattered. They were in the women’s section of the bathhouse, no one untoward was going to see anything inappropriate. “One of these days we need to bring the boys here” Zoey rambled as she cupped some water to pour over her head. “With all the stress they’ve been under recently, they definitely deserve it”.

Rumi and Mira agreed. Maybe they could rent the co-ed baths out at some point soon. The boys had been run off their feet for the last few months, what with working on their new album, going on their local tour and the most recent situation with Abby, they could all use a chance to unwind.

“So Mira… how’re things going with Abby and Romance?”.

Of course Zoey wanted to steer their conversation towards the Huntrix choreographer and her new polyamorous relationship. Honestly Zoey was like a dog with a bone whenever she sunk her teeth into something. She wouldn’t let it go until she got what she wanted from it, and unfortunately for Mira, that current ‘something’ was her budding relationship with Abby and Romance.

The day after the eight of them had returned from Busan, Mira had all but confirmed she was in a relationship with not only Abby but also Romance. Granted that admission had come after Zoey and Baby had found the trio actually cuddling up on the penthouse couch together half asleep.

Abby had been sat in his usual spot with his long arms running along the back of the couch, Mira was cuddled up into his side and Romance had been laid out, using Mira’s legs as a pillow. Mira had been running one hand through Romance’s hair – something he never let anyone do BTW – and the other lightly tracing Abby’s abs. All three had their eyes closed and happy smiles on their faces.

It seemed that any remaining reservations she had regarding the two Saja’s were now well and truly gone, and after Zoey had almost squealed the house down, Mira had gathered everyone and basically told them outright she was dating them both. High fives and hugs all around followed that announcement and Rumi had insisted the group go out to celebrate. Nothing too mad considering Abby’s condition, just a nice meal at a restaurant of the trio’s choosing. Not Holden’s though! No one wanted a repeat of the seafood fiasco.

“We’re uhh… doing ok. Abby’s healing up nicely and Romance has been very supportive of both of us”. Mira could tell where Zoey was angling for this conversation to go and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to the topic that was about to come up. Any second now Zoey would drop the question that would have Mira feeling the heat, and not the heat of the sauna they were currently sat in… and as if she could read her mind, Zoey’s eyes widened and that very question dropped from her lips.

“So have you slept with them yet?”. Rumi snorted out a laugh as Mira desperately tried to hide her blushing face behind her hands. “ZOEY!”, “What? You’ve got two of the hottest boys in the K-Pop scene worshipping the very ground you walk on, I just want to know if their worshipping extends to…” Zoey’s eyes wander up and over Mira’s lithe frame, her insinuation very clear. “Zoey for the love of god I will drown you in this pool!” Mira groaned, splashing water at her friend.

“Nah… you like me too much MirMir. Besides, you can’t say you’ve not been imagining doing unholy things to Abby’s corncob”. Mira flushed scarlet as an image of Abby’s sixpack placed itself front and centre in her brain without her permission. “Ok, yes I want him. I want to do unholy things to his abs; I want to sink my teeth into that corncob” Mira groaned into her hands ‘and I want him to fucking wreck me’ she added privately in her head.

And it wasn’t just Abby either, she’d had some rather unholy thoughts about what Romance was packing down under as well. Just the mere thought of seeing her boys naked for the first time sent another wave of heat straight south of the border, and Mira couldn’t exactly say that she wasn’t looking forward to the day it happened, even if she was terrified.

“Exactly Mira, we’ve all seen the way you look at the pair of them, and after me and Baby found the three of you canoodling on the couch, it’s only a matter of time before it’s your turn to stagger out of your room because they’ve absolutely destroyed you”. Rumi couldn’t stop herself, she let loose a full-blown belly laugh at that, clutching her sides as she snorted in laughter. “Zoey I swear, you are an RNG in human form! A dice is more predictable than you are” Mira growled.

But Zoey was far from finished, her mind was in full fanfic mode and it was running wild. “Who knows Mira, maybe it won’t be Rumi and Jinu locked in a bedroom who turn the Honmoon diamond after all. Imagine the moment Abby and Romance finally slip in, and you let the quietest but strongest moan slip out, they will literally see your feelings for them in 4K”.

“Rumi… Help! Please!”, Mira cast a pleading look at her bandmate, praying for rescue from their demented Maknae but Rumi was having far too much fun watching Mira squirm for once. “Did you help me when Zoey was doing this exact thing to me?”.

“Uh… Umm…”

“Yeah I thought so… honestly its kinda fun being a spectator for once, not the victim”. Rumi sounded a little too pleased with herself. But honestly she was just happy that it wasn’t her love life under Zoey’s microscope this time.

Although all this talk about ‘making the Honmoon diamond’ was making Rumi think of her own boyfriend. Thank god that the steam in here was masking her blush as she imagined Jinu in this very sauna with her making her sweat for a completely different reason other than the heat. Rumi didn’t even notice her fingers were roaming until it was much too late, luckily Mira and Zoey hadn’t noticed. She was gonna have to text Jinu the moment she got out of here, her thoughts were not PG and she needed him… badly.

Mercifully by the time Rumi had dragged her own brain out of the proverbial gutter, Zoey had finished trying to mortify Mira with talks of threesomes and the trio sat back to enjoy the sauna.

-----

The girls talked idly about this and that while they relaxed. Talk of their new album slipped into the conversation and the girls chatted about how they were going to get out of this little rut they found themselves in. Song lyrics, album concepts and other ideas floated around until Zoey seemed to have a Eureka moment.

“Umm… girls… I just had the best idea in the history of all ideas in the history of EVER!”. Zoey actually shot to her feet in her excitement, but she had forgotten where she was and she immediately slipped and fell backwards, dunking herself under the water with a muffled splutter.

Both Rumi and Mira burst out laughing as Zoey surfaced, her dual buns now soaked and hanging low. Zoey wasn’t about to let them get away with that so she splashed the pair of them which ended up devolving into a full-on splash fight, a splash fight that earned the trio a disapproving look from another group of women in the far corner of the bathhouse but Huntrix weren’t paying any attention to them.

After their little water war, the trio sat back down around the sauna. They were flushed pink with laughter and drenched, but none of them really cared. “Ok Zoey, tell us about this amazing idea of yours” Rumi smiled.

Zoey shifted around the sauna so she could see both of the other girls at the same time. She had that same wild smile on her face whenever she got one of her crazy ideas. Generally speaking, the rule of thumb was ‘the wider Zoey’s smile was, the madder the idea was’ and her smile right now looked like it was outright painful.

“Ok so hear me out on this… I think its safe to say none of us want to be separated from the guys again… correct?”. She received nods from Rumi and Mira. “And with the boys now being Idols proper, that means they’re gonna be going on bigger and longer tours… correct?”. Another pair of nods. “And we’ll be going on our own tours again soon as well, so we won’t be able to spend a lot of time together if we’re all doing different tours”.

Rumi actually shuddered at the thought of being away from Jinu for the length of a world tour. She’d struggled hard enough as it was during the two weeks he’d been gone around Korea. She’d missed his gentle touch every single second he was gone, nothing could compare to his warmth. She couldn’t imagine how bad she’d be when either of them did a world tour. Six months to a year away from each other? Oh hell no! No fucking thank you!

Mira was in a similar mindset. She’d just recently admitted to herself she loved her two dumbasses and the idea of being away from them for months at a time wasn’t one she wanted to entertain. Mainly because she was worried Abby might do something else incredibly stupid… if insanely hot. She couldn’t deny that the footage she’d seen of his dive out the window made her a little bit wet.

“And considering all three of us are now in a relationship with one or more of them” Zoey flashed a cheeky side-eye smirk at Mira “it would be cruel to separate us from each other right?”.

Zoey sat forward, like she was about to deliver the punchline, she had Rumi and Mira’s full attention and she wasn’t going to waste it.

“Sooooo… what if we decided to merge our groups?”. Silence around the sauna. “Zoey are you trying to suggest that we merge Huntrix and the Saja Boys together?” Rumi asked, not quite sure if she’d heard Zoey correctly. Zoey was nodding with a speed that would give anyone else a headache. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting! Think about it! The two biggest groups in K-Pop merging to become one massive super group. The fans would go completely feral!”.

Zoey was back on her feet again, but this time more cautiously so as to keep her balance. “We’d be unstoppable, we’d dominate every chart. We’d share every stage and every tour. We wouldn’t ever need to be apart from them again!”. Zoey put her hands together and then pulled them apart like she was trying to summon a rainbow above her head. “Imagine it… ‘Huntrix and the Saja Boys’. The world would go insane!”.

Rumi opened her mouth to reply, not that any words came out. She usually had at least something to say whenever Zoey dropped one of her crazy ideas, usually it was to tell her that what she wanted to do was illegal in most countries. But for probably the first time, she was actually speechless.

What Zoey was suggesting had only ever happened once in the entire history of K-Pop and it had ended in a complete disaster. Both of those bands had been legends in their own rights, but when they had merged it had all gone down hill quickly. Fan support dried up faster than Mira’s temper ever could and the new super group received so much backlash and hatred for their merger that they ended up quitting the scene altogether. No one has heard from any of the members since and that was 12 years ago now.

But on the other hand, Rumi couldn’t deny the appeal of merging with the Saja Boys. The most obvious reason being she’d get to spend even more time with her future husband. ‘Whoa! Hold the fucking phone Rumi!’, Rumi blushed scarlet as her face boiled with heat. Where the fuck did that thought come from? Probably the exact same traitorous part of her brain that had thought about what it would be like to have Jinu’s kids when they met Chul and Hanuel in Bukchon Hanok Village.

Was she really thinking about marrying Jinu? Of course she was, she’d be lying through her teeth if she said she hadn’t imagined herself walking down the aisle towards him on many occasions. He was the only person she ever wanted to be with, so it was only natural for her brain to lead her down that path. But she figured that was a long way off... didn’t stop it being a nice thought though.

Mira’s mind wasn’t quite ready to envision walking down the aisle yet, but she was also thinking about Zoey’s suggestion with more genuine interest than she usually gave to the Maknae’s mad ass schemes. It was an interesting proposition. Huntrix were global superstars already, they’d owned stages all around the world, and the Saja Boys looked like they were on track to do exactly the same thing.

Even without their demonic powers, their debut Album ‘Marionettes’ was right up there in sales and streams. It was holding its own with Huntrix’s own albums, even beating a few of them. So was it too far a stretch to see the two groups merging to absolutely bulldoze everyone else on the charts? And Mira couldn’t deny the appeal of owning a stage with the boys, to hear the world scream their names together instead of as competition.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what the two groups were, regardless of their inter-band-relationships or the fact they were all living together. Even if they were helping each other with their music, when the chips were down Huntrix and the Saja Boys were industry rivals. So to have that rivalry no longer be a factor was a pleasant thought to have.

“We’d need to have a serious talk with the boys about it first. This could make or break all of our careers” Rumi whispered, pulling Mira and Zoey in so their conversation couldn’t be picked up as a new group of women entered the bathhouse, claiming the sauna right next to the girls. “I’ll bring the idea up with Jinu tonight, see if he’d be interested. Zo, you have a word with Myst and Baby. Mira, you’ve got Abs and Ro”. The other girls nodded.

“If their all in agreement, then we can pull Bobby in and pitch the idea to him, no doubt he’ll have some words to say on the matter but we can cross that bridge when we get to it”.

-----

The girls ended up getting out of the sauna shortly after that conversation ended. The group in the next sauna over were overly loud and annoying so Huntrix decided they would head back to the penthouse. Upon getting dressed and grabbing her bag, Rumi had immediately opened her phone to text Jinu. She’d gotten herself all hot and bothered imagining him in the sauna with her, so it was a safe bet that she was going to jump him when she got home. She thought it was only fair to give the poor boy a little advanced warning.

Rujinu Chat:

⚔️Rumi: Hey Aein xx we’re done at the bathhouse. Heading back now

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Hey Jagiya xx Did you and the girls have fun?

⚔️Rumi: Yeh we did… I may have been thinking about you though 🫦

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Oh you were? Tell me more Gongjunim 😏

⚔️Rumi: Wouldn’t you rather let me show you? hmm 🤔

🐦‍⬛Jinu: You wanna get wild? xx

⚔️Rumi: Ok I’ll show you wild xx 🍆

Rumi’s phone ~dinged~ as a photo arrived seconds later. She squeaked and nearly choked on her own tongue at the image and she had to quickly clutch her phone to her chest to stop Zoey and Mira catching a glimpse. Jinu really knew how to tease her. The image showed him posing in her vanity mirror wearing nothing but his purple boxers, a thumb teasing the side of said boxers down over his hips. Boxers that were Huntrix branded! When did he get those? Oh he was in so much trouble now, and Rumi was biting her bottom lip as she texted him back.

Rujinu Chat:

⚔️Rumi: Jinu!

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Ready and waiting Nae Sarang

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Hurry back xx

⚔️Rumi: … 🫠🫣

🐦‍⬛Jinu: What’s the matter? Catching breath before we even start? 😏😏

⚔️Rumi: Please! Your gonna finish faster than a sped-up Mukbang

🐦‍⬛Jinu: Nah, I’ve got stamina girl. I came, died, then came again😈😈

The heat in her core almost boiled over right then and there. God damn this man knew how to be seductive when he wanted to be and Rumi found herself upping her pace as the girls walked back to Huntrix HQ, Mira and Zoey complained she was walking too fast, but Rumi didn’t really pay them much mind. Her mind was on a certain boy who was absolutely going to regret teasing her like that. Oh she was so gonna make him pay.

While Rumi set up a brutal marching pace, Mira was busy typing away on her own phone, relying on Zoey to guide her and make sure she didn’t walk into traffic. She’d opened the chat she had with her boys and was busy getting an update on her ‘wounded soldier’ as she’d taken to calling Abby. It amused her greatly to see him grumble whenever she called him that, which was exactly why she did it. It was about time she got some revenge for all the teasing he’d given her over the last few months.

MiRoMabby Chat:

🐻‍❄️Mira: Hey boys. We’re on our way back now. Please tell me my wounded soldier has been behaving himself? 🪖

💪Abby: Yes Mira I’ve been behaving 🙄 Spent an hour or so in the pool just to burn off some energy. xx

💖Rome: Baby kept an eye on him, took the piss out of him the whole time too 😄 Did you have fun at the bathhouse Mira? xx

🐻‍❄️Mira: It was fine Rom thx for asking xo. Me and the girls got a much-needed chat, plus a few ideas. Rumi’s frog marching us back to the tower rn. Shouldn’t be too long.

💖Rome: I’ll prep the TV, the season finale of our drama’s come out. We can watch that when your back xx 🎥

💪Abby: And I’ll get the snacks and stuff ready. See you soon Cat xx 🍿🍵

🐻‍❄️Mira: You two are the best. See ya soon. Xx

💖Rome: See you in a few Cat xx 🥰

Pocketing her phone, Mira couldn’t help but smile. ‘Cat’ had become the boys little pet name for her and while it had taken her a while to get used to it, now she just found it endearing. She’d never had a pet name before, she’d never had a relationship that lasted long enough to earn one. Honestly she found it quite cute and it never failed to make her blush a little bit. Now she knew exactly how Rumi felt whenever Jinu called her Gongjunim in front of everyone.

-----

Her boys were already set up on the couch waiting for her when Mira and the girls got back. True to their words, her favourite drama was up and ready to go and the coffee table looked like a warzone of her favourite snacks and soda. The duo turned their head’s upon hearing the door open and flashed the girls waves and smiles. “Afternoon ladies” Romance smiled, sneaking a quick wink at Mira who blushed slightly.

“Good time at the bathhouse?” Abby asked, also winking at Mira who blushed even further. “Yeah we had a good time, ran some ideas by each other and had a little girl time” Zoey replied, picking up instantly on Mira’s new facial shade.

After exchanging a little small talk with the two Saja’s, the other girls split off. Rumi beelined it for her bedroom to ‘punish’ Jinu for teasing her earlier while Zoey wandered off to track down Mystery.

Mira hung her coat up and walked over to the couch, sinking down between her boys with a contented sigh and subconsciously snuggling into Abby’s side and pulled Romance in on her other side, caging herself in between the two guys she’d slowly started to love.

She felt Abby’s huge arm slip down behind her back and pull her in, his hand settling against her side, she felt Romance’s hand settle on her leg as both of them leaned in to plant a quick kiss to her cheeks at the same time. Mira let herself smile at their gesture.

This felt right… they felt right. Abby handed her a bowl of popcorn as Romance grabbed the remote and pressed play on their drama. She chuckled as she threw a kernel into the air and caught it in her mouth before offering the bowl to Romance who took a few, tried to copy Mira and failed miserably, smacking himself in the face with the salty snack.

As they sat together watching their show, Mira couldn’t stop her brain wandering back to the things the girls had talked about at the bathhouse. The possible merger of Huntrix with the Saja Boys, but more specifically the inevitable fact that she was going to end up in bed with them both at some point… maybe even some point soon, and that thought equally excited her and terrified her.

She’d talk to them later about Zoey’s little idea of the merger. But for now she just wanted to enjoy the show and enjoy their company. Once upon a time she had tried to murder these two, and she’d very nearly succeeded on a few of them. Now she was actively in a relationship with them both. What a difference less than half a year can make huh?

-----

Rumi was on a mission as she walked towards her bedroom. Just as the girls had walked through the main lobby of their building, Jinu had sent her another spicy picture that had made her blush crimson… and you better believe she was going to make him re-enact what he was doing in that image.

As she stepped into her bedroom, her eyes scanned around for Jinu. They landed on him and what she saw made her eyes bug out on stalks and made her ovaries start screaming for their dance partner.

By the gods he looked good… and straight out of Mira’s soppy K-Drama. Jinu was laid out on her bed, laid on his side and naked aside from his purple Huntrix branded boxers. He was propped up on his elbow, head resting on his hand and he had a pink rose between his teeth. Where the hell had he gotten that from? Whatever! Wasn’t important right now.

“Hello Aegiya. Care to join me?”. His voice was low, sultry and kinda warped as he spoke past the rose stem clamped between his teeth. Rumi slowly walked towards him, treating him to a strip tease as she moved. First her hoodie disappeared, then her shirt, revealing the complete lack of a bra as well as exposing her mesmerising patterns that were pulsing pink and red with lust just like his own.

Her jeans followed shortly after, revealing to Jinu that Rumi had gone commando on the trip home from the bathhouse. He must’ve done something right as she crawled onto the bed with him. Laying down on top of him. Rumi stole the rose stem from his lips and put it carefully on her bedside table before she leaned in to roughly claim his mouth for herself, their tongues colliding in the space between lips and teeth.

“Do you have any idea the amount of unholy thoughts I’ve been having since you sent me that first pic?” Rumi growled into his lips as she snuck a hand inside his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his length, giving it a quick pump and causing Jinu to moan into her. “I’ve got no idea Aein” Jinu replied sweetly, groaning at how Rumi was working him slowly.

His fingers moved to caress her breasts, pulling a moan from Rumi in return. “Why don’t you show me like you promised”. Rumi smirked into his lips, giving him a little squeeze which made him inhale sharply. “Oh I’m gonna show you alright. Starting with this”.

Before Jinu could ask what ‘this’ was, Rumi had pulled away and spun herself around, straddling his chest so she was face to face with his boxers which she promptly removed, shoving them down his legs towards his ankles, freeing his magnificent cock from its fabric prison.

Rumi wrapped her hand around him and licked the bead of precum that was already trying to escape her. An action that was rewarded by Jinu’s own tongue going to work on her, diving into her folds. ‘Fuck Yeah!’ Rumi thought through a wave of pleasure as she returned the favour, taking Jinu deep down her throat.

This was going to be a fun evening.

Through the cloud of lust she was currently feeling, Rumi spared a single thought to Zoey’s idea of the merger of Huntrix and the Saja Boys. She’d bring it up later with Jinu, but right now? Right now she was far too preoccupied with being sent to heaven upon his tongue. She’d ask him about it… eventually.

-----

Zoey had spent a little time trying to track Mystery down. He hadn’t been in the lounge or the kitchen when the girls had returned and he hadn’t been in his room when she’d knocked. So where the hell was he? Zoey had even ventured downstairs to check the gym and the pool. While Mystery didn’t typically bother with a workout routine like Abby and Jinu did, he would on occasion go down there.

But he wasn’t there either, he also wasn’t in his usual meditation spot out on the balcony. Eventually Zoey got bored of playing hide and go seek with her boyfriend and just texted him, which to be fair was what she should’ve done from the start. But hey ho… hindsight… am I right? It took a few minutes before she got a reply from him.

Zoeystry Chat:

🐢Zoey: Hey Myst. We’re back from the bathhouse, where you hiding? x

❓Myst: I’m up on the roof garden. You want me to come down? x

🐢Zoey: Nah, I’ll come up to you. Lemme just grab my coat. x

❓Myst: See you soon Noona x

Zoey honestly kept forgetting they had a roof garden now. Huntrix could actually thank Mystery himself for that. While the girls owned the entire building, they never really ventured up to the roof. Mainly because the roof had been an overgrown gardeners nightmare full of tangled roots, weeds and plants that hadn’t been alive in years.

But when Mystery had discovered it, he’d made it his personal mission to turn the neglected rooftop garden into a small paradise. With his interest in botany, he’d cleared out all the dead plants and shrubs, replacing them with bright and beautiful flowerbeds as well as a young healthy-looking cherry blossom tree and a small zen garden. So proud he was of his work, Mystery had also started spending a fair amount of his free time up there, meditating and playing his new Hang that Zoey had bought for him.

She’d never even heard of the instrument before until she overheard a conversation between him and Jinu. Jinu had been talking about his old Bipa that he used to busk with and Mystery had mentioned he used to play a Hang when he was alive. So Zoey had done some digging, watched a few videos and had instantly fallen in love with the instrument.

So one day she’d gone to a music store that specialised in ‘strange’ instruments and presented it to him one evening while the pair were watching TV. Mystery had been so grateful he’d kept the pair of them up all night, and not because he was serenading her with his new instrument. Although he was making her sing with a different instrument altogether if you catch my drift.

Grabbing her coat and heading to the elevator, Zoey poked the button for the rooftop and watched the doors slide shut with a quiet whisper. The ride took only a matter of seconds and the moment the doors swished open; she was met with the melodious noises of Mystery’s Hang drifting through the air. Her eyes settled on her boyfriend, he was sat under the cherry tree on an orange cushion he’d gotten from his room. His legs crossed in front of him and the Hang sitting in his lap.

His fingers danced over the steel instrument, every tap of his fingers against one of the ‘tone fields’ resulting in a gorgeous harmony that would entrance the ears if they were allowed to listen for long enough. Zoey loved listening to him play, it was one of the only things she’d ever found that actually helped calm her mind.

Anyone who’d met her knew that Zoey’s mind was like a racetrack… actually a demolition derby was a more appropriate representation. Countless thoughts racing around and slamming into each other at full speed, creating the most wild scenarios and conclusions before anyone else even got a word out. But listening to Mystery play his Hang somehow helped quieten the racket within her mind. She would sit and listen to him forever if she could.

Not wanting to interrupt his playing, Zoey walked over quietly and sat near him, closed her eyes and just listened to him play. The music was so calming and beautiful it would often leave her in tears. Even Abby of all people had shed a tear when he’d heard Mystery play. If even the strongman would cry at Mystery’s melody, then what hope did the rest of them have?

She listened for a few minutes before the tune faded out and she looked up to see Mystery smiling at her, peaking at her with his blue heterochromic eye through his bangs. “Hi Noona”, he carefully placed the instrument off to the side and rose to his feet, Zoey doing the same so she could wrap him in a hug. “Hey Myst. That was beautiful”. She meant every word, every melody he played was stunning to her.

“Thank you Noona… I wrote that one for you”. he kissed her forehead as the pair swayed against the breeze. “How was the bathhouse?” he asked as he held her close, enjoying the lingering scent of her perfume. “Yeah it was great… we uhh… got some talking done and we… came up with a few ideas”. “That’s good then. You girls will be back working on your new album then?”.

“Actually… the idea we had… we kinda want to run by you guys, because it… also involves you too”. Mystery tilted his head at that before motioning for Zoey to join him as he sat on a small bench he’d built. Zoey dutifully sat, Mystery holding her hands as the cherry blossom petals blew in the wind.

He could tell Zoey was serious just by her tone, and he knew that she was rarely serious… well at least not this serious so he sat patiently, waiting for her to continue. Zoey was struggling to find the words that would put her idea out in the open. Usually she had no issue speaking like she was officiating a cattle auction, but sat here with Mystery, the words refused to form an orderly line in her head.

“Zoey… whatever you want to tell me, you don’t need to rush. Take your time”. His tone was quiet and calming, and it helped more than Zoey could ever admit. She took a deep breath and spoke.

“The girls and I were wondering if the Saja Boys would be interested in a merger with Huntrix?”. If she could’ve seen Mystery’s eyebrows, she’d have watched them launch off his forehead at Mack 5. That wasn’t even remotely close to what Mystery had thought she was going to say. Granted he never did have any idea what Zoey would come out with next, but this was definitely not high on the list.

“You want us to merge… with you?”. He was just trying to figure out if he heard her correctly or if he’d finally lost the plot. A merger? With Huntrix? That would be… interesting to say the least.

Zoey nodded. “After the whole situation with Abby, all of us decided we didn’t want to be apart from you guys again. We’re all onboard with the idea of a merger but we wanted to see if you guys would be interested”. Her eyes looked like they were brimming with tears, when in truth it was just the soft glow from the hanging lights hitting them just right.

It took Mystery nearly a minute to formulate a response. “It’s an… intriguing proposition”. Zoey waited for him to continue. “Honestly Zoey… as long as I’m with you. I’m in agreement”. “Wait! Wait! Wait! You are?”. Mystery nodded, before leaning in to kiss Zoey softly. “I am. It sounds like fun, and I agree with you. I don’t want to be apart from you either”.

Now those glassy eyes were brimming with tears as Zoey wrapped Mystery up in another hug. “Great. That’s really great. I’ll uhh.. talk to the girls, let them know your onboard”. They stayed in their embrace for a long while until Mystery felt Zoey shiver. The wind was biting up here sometimes so he grabbed the blanket from the back of the bench and wrapped it around her shoulders, nearly swaddling her with the fabric.

“It’s getting late” he spoke quietly “You want to go back inside?”. Zoey shook her head. “No, not yet. I want to hear you play some more”. Mystery just smiled before moving to retrieve his Hang before sitting back down next to Zoey and started to play the song he’d made for her.

-----

Mira was in a bad mood. Her favourite K-Drama had ended in a way she was utterly unhappy with. A fucking cliff-hanger! What bastard leaves a story on a cliff-hanger? Especially at the end of a season? Now she was going to have to wait until next year to find out if the heroine gets the boy. Urgh she was pissed.

Her shoulders felt tight, she was pent up and her mind was racing. After the show had ended she’d gone down to the gym to beat up a punching bag in the vague hope it would remove the tension in her body, but it didn’t seem to do fuck all, and now she was on her way to Abby and Romance’s rooms to try and talk to them about this merger that Zoey had come up with.

Honestly she didn’t really even know how to broach the topic with them. That was one of the things she struggled with when it came to her boys. With the girls, Mira had no issues bringing things up with them, but when it came to Action Man and Casanova over there, she was hopeless. She fumbled over her words like a teenager with her first crush.

Her mind was racing with those and many other thoughts as she knocked on Abby’s door, expecting to hear a reply. But none was forthcoming, so she opened the door slowly and peaked inside. The bedroom was mostly dark except for the thin strip of light coming from under the bathroom door, the sound of the shower running reaching her ears.

‘Great’ she thought to herself as she walked into his bedroom and approached the bathroom door. Abby’s scent hung in the air. The faint smell of his deodorant and his natural musk invaded her nostrils and Mira couldn’t help but enjoy the smell. He and Romance had vastly different aroma’s about them. Abby’s was rich, strong and deep, whereas Romance’s was subtle and gentle. Both smells entranced her.

“Abby? You in there? I need a word with you and Ro about something.” she asked, tapping on the door a few times. “Yeh… we’re in here, come in if you want to”. She really shouldn’t… she really, really shouldn’t. But Mira found her hand pushing the door open and found herself walking into the ensuite Abby shared with Romance.

What she saw made her brain short circuit entirely. Abby was standing in front of the mirror. But her eyes weren’t on those of her boyfriend’s as they smirked at her in the reflection. No her eyes were glued to the fact that Abby was STARK FUCKING BOLLOCK NAKED! Mira’s eyes were glued to his body. His broad shoulders, the rippling muscles across his back. His fucking arse! It was glorious. Pert and muscular, but looked so soft at the same time. Mira didn’t bother to hide the fact she was drooling. If he turned around right now, she didn’t think she’d survive what she would see.

She was about to attempt to speak but she was suddenly distracted by Romance peaking his head out from behind the frosted glass door, his hair soaked, his mouth open, clearly about to say something to Abby except his eyes locked straight onto Mira, standing there mouth agape and drooling on the floor.

“Hey Yeobo”. Romance’s eyes darted to Abby’s backside before going back to Mira with a smirk. “Like what you’re seeing?”. Mira’s jaw worked, but no words fell out. Her brain had outright left the chat. They were both here, both naked and her thoughts had instantly gone into Zoey’s favourite territory… smut. She hadn’t seen either of her boys fully naked yet, and yet here they both were.  Only a 180 degree turn and a frosted glass pane saving her from seeing both of them in all their full glory.

Half of her begged for them to stay where they were, the other half begged for Abby to turn around and for that glass door to open. “Aww look at her Abby… we’ve left her speechless” Romance snickered and Abby smirked back before he moved.

Mira watched in awe and trepidation as Abby did the one thing she had simultaneously been waiting for and dreading. He turned around… and she was right, she wasn’t going to survive seeing him in all his glory. Abby was thick, he certainly wasn’t lacking in the length department either. Mira couldn’t tear her eyes away, her mind running wild with fantasy.

Abby mercifully saved her from herself as he turned and stepped into the shower with Romance, his girth now hidden behind the frosted glass, Mira found herself internally screaming for him to get back out so she could see him again.

But before he disappeared from view entirely, Abby cleared his throat and got her attention. “You uhh… you want to join us Cat? You’re looking a little pent up. We could give you a shoulder massage… make you feel good”.

Mira’s mind was screaming at her, telling her to turn and run. But a shower sounded amazing right now, and a shoulder massage sounded even better, and if it happened to be given by her boyfriends while they were all soaking wet and naked… then so be it.

Mira found herself nodding, licking her lips a little as she walked slowly forward…