Chapter Text
When Nari and the girls got back to the penthouse, the girls led her to the couch. Rumi even cut her a slice of strawberry cake that her uncle her. After everything that had happened, Nari didn't had much of an appetite, but she couldn't say no to cake. She needed something to lightened her mood.
Nari took the plate of cake and set it on her lap. As she took a bite, she made a smile, tasting the strawberry flavor as well as chunks of strawberry in it. The girls sat beside her. Rumi and Mira on her right and Zoey on her left. The girls were silent as they watched her take a couple of bites. Then Nari set the cake on the coffee table, letting out a sigh.
"So you're hunters," Nari said. "From what Jinu said. He even said there's a barrier called the Honmoon."
Rumi froze. "He told you?"
"Just the run down. Not in detail, really." Nari let out a chuckled. "He was more concern how come this "fourth hunter" didn't know anything until I told him I'm just your assistant manager and housekeeper. He wasn't happy about it. Although, the rest of the Saja Boys kept calling me a maid."
"You a maid?!" Mira exclaimed and muttered. "Oh when I get my hands on them..."
Rumi placed a hand on Mira's shoulder. "It's okay, Mira. What matters is that Nari is safe." Rumi looked at her. "I guess we should start from the beginning."
Then Rumi started to explain to Nari about the history of the hunters and the Honmoon. It turned out that four hundred years in the Joseon Dynasty, demons were taking people's soul and feasting on them. Gwi-Ma, was the demon king and the one to feast on human souls the most. One day, three female shaman use their voice to stop the demons and create a barrier from the demon realm and the human world. Gwi-Ma's demonic body was also destroyed, but not fully gone. After that new generations of hunters were chosen and use their voices to stop the demons from entering the human world. It turned out that Rumi's mom was a hunter and in Rumi;s bloodline, it's a generation thing. Also those who are chosen to be the next three shamans and be connected to the Honmoon could only see the Honmoon.
"We keep track every generation of hunters," Rumi explained. "Some like Mira and Zoey aren't from a hunter bloodline, but they were chosen because of their voices and how they're connected to the Honmoon. To tell if someone is a demon, they have purple patterns."
Nari listened intently as Rumi explained the history. She had no idea that all of this was going on for many years. Everything just made sense and the way the girls acted. Nari knew Rumi, Mira, and Zoey were amazing, but she never thought that they were this cool too.
"In order to stop all of these demons coming through," Rumi continued. "We need to make the Honmoon gold, it will sealed all the demons away. Sadly, it's not permanent. It has to be refreshed for around ten to twenty years. Each generation of hunters was able to make the golden Honmoon. The Honmoon we have now is a blue Honmoon. It's the basic Honmoon, that stays forever, but demons can find weak points and escape into the human world. At the Idol Awards, we refresh the blue Honmoon that can keep demons in the demon realm for a year."
Nari did the math in her head. Huntrix debut six years ago and started to gain popularity a year later and the Idol Awards was their first appearance. That meant during those next five years, the girls were refreshing the Honmoon during the time. Kpop idols train around one to three years and sometimes five to ten years before their debut. Celine was the one who formed Huntrix at Sunlight Entertainment. That meant in between the ten to twenty years mark, the golden Honmoon was already fading back to the regular blue Honmoon.
"So that's why you release Golden," Nari said.
Rumi nodded. "That's right. We're so close and we just need to turn it gold."
"So the Saja Boys' goal is to take the soul of the fans?" Nari questioned.
Mira nodded. "Yes, we need the fans to help power the Honmoon. So we have to stop them first."
"Do demons die permanently?" Nari asked.
"Ever since the Honmoon was created," Zoey explained. "and our weapons are made from it, it only sends demons back into the demon realm. We don't know why, but we do like to say we kill them."
So they respawn back. Nari thought. Nari did found that interesting. She remember reading a fictional book based on Greek Mythology and whenever the heroes killed monsters, they just keep coming back because they're not fully dead. Not only that, but that same book had the heroes had special weapons to defeat those monsters because it was the only way to kill them.
"And the demons and the Saja Boys, they were created by Gwi-Ma?" Nari questioned.
"Some are and some aren't," Zoey answered. "Some sold their soul for Gwi-Ma. They were once human and others were demon born."
Nari frowned. "Why not you guys try to defeat Gwi-Ma? Wouldn't defeating him weakened the other demons and possibly give back the souls who sold their soul for him?"
Mira pursed her lips. "Nari...no offense, but that's childish thinking."
"Mira's right," Rumi agreed. "It's not that simple. Trying to defeat only Gwi-Ma is a suicide mission. We can't do that. Yeah, the first hunters did, but Gwi-Ma was already in the human world before he was sent into the demon realm."
Nari glanced to the side. Of course trying to defeat Gwi-Ma would be a life and death situation, but he has no demon body. He probably has to rely on other demons to do the work for him. Whatever form Gwi-Ma has right now, it should be a golden opportunity to defeat him, right? Nari wasn't sure. Maybe it was childish thinking.
"Are there any good demons?" Nari questioned.
"Demons are never nice," Mira huffed.
Zoey nodded. "There's no such thing as a nice demon."
"But they were human once." Nari pointed out.
Mira scoffed. "That's their fault for selling their soul for Gwi-Ma in the first place."
Nari opened her mouth and stopped. She wanted to tell them what happened with Baby, but she couldn't. Instead, she couldn't help and remember how Baby saved her life and left her alone. He had every opportunity to steal her soul, to kill her on the spot, but he didn't. Nari didn't understand. If demons weren't nice, then why let her go? Preserve her before taking her soul? Nari was sure that Baby knew how to preserve a soul after a human dies.
"So, what now?" Nari asked.
"I already contact Celine," Rumi replied. "She's a former hunter and the one who trained us. She said she'll contact you when she has time."
"That make sense."
Rumi chuckled. "Don't worry. Celine's nice. She's like a mother to me. I'm sure she'll like you."
Zoey nodded. "She likes Bobby! She'll like you too!"
"Also," Mira placed a hand on her shoulder. "We will protect you, Nari. We'll make sure the Saja Boys and those demons won't try to do anything to you."
Nari smiled. "Thank you."
The girls hugged her and Nari hugged them back. The four of them giggled a bit. Then the girls got up from the couch as they headed to their personal bathrooms. Nari sighed as she took her cake from the coffee table and ate it. She wondered if there were good demons. It was like saying all humans were good when in fact there are some insane people out there. Since Celine wanted to meet with Nari, maybe she could ask her about it.
After Nari ate her cake, she washed her dish, and went into her room. Nari changed out of her clothes and put on her pajamas. She even went to the bathroom to brushed her teeth too. After Nari brushed her teeth, she stared at herself in the mirror. She adjusted her glasses and slowly, she placed her hand at the back of her head where Baby held her. She couldn't help and blushed as her chest pounded, remembering the way he held her. It was like as if he wanted to make sure that she was safe.
Nari shook her head. Stop it! She thought. Was it wrong that she was thinking like this? Thinking that there was something human in him? Baby is the enemy. The Huntrix's enemy. He and the Saja Boy's whole goal was to get the souls of humans. Nari knew she was the kind of person to see the good in people, unless they're a total jerk and never learn to change, but...she couldn't help it and wondered about his actions.
With a heavy sigh, Nari got out of her bathroom. She walked into the living room and saw Rumi was there, looking at through the window. Slowly, Nari stood next to her as she looked at Rumi and back at the window. Nari knew she couldn't see the Honmoon, but Rumi can.
"You're looking at the Honmoon, right?" Nari guessed.
Rumi nodded. "Yeah."
"Is your arm, okay?" Nari asked.
Rumi blinked. "Wh-What?"
"Your arm," Nari pointed out. "Did you got hurt when fighting those water demons? You had it wrapped with a cloth, right?"
"Oh!" Rumi smiled nervously. "That. I'm fine, Nari. It was just a scratch. Thank you for worrying about me." she ruffled Nari's hair. "but I should be worry about you. You just found out that demons exist. Not only that, but you are the youngest."
Nari scoffed. "I'm only a couple of years younger than Zoey."
"You're still a kid in my eyes."
Nari rolled her eyes while Rumi giggled. Nari couldn't help and made a small smile. Even though she just found out that demons exist and the girls' double life, they're still the same girls that she knew. Nari knew that she wasn't personally close to them, but she was glad that she knew and maybe she could help them if they let her. However, Nari knew that she's no hunter. She doesn't have the qualifications to be one. It's not her place anyway, but that still didn't stop her to be there for Rumi, Mira, and Zoey when they need it.
Yawning, Nari stretched her arms. "I'm gonna get some sleep. Got any cravings for tomorrow?"
Rumi nodded, excitedly. "After fighting those water demons, anything seafood."
"Do you want some sannakji?"
Rumi had a look of horror on her face. "Mira, would, but Zoey and I won't." she sighed. "I don't know how could Mira eat something that moves."
Nari chuckled. "I'll make some raw marinated crabs too."
"That sounds delicious! Thinking about your cooking makes me hungry! The food you make is like heaven!"
"Thank you, Rumi."
Rumi patted her back. "Get some sleep, okay?"
"I will."
"Goodnight, Nari!"
"Night!"
Rumi hugged her and Nari hugged her back. The two waved at each other and Nari headed to her room, passing Mira and Zoey, who told her goodnight and she said it back to them. When Nari got to her room, she collapsed onto her bed. Even though it was only nine o'clock, but she had long day. As Nari was about to turn off the lights, her phone buzzed. Frowning, Nari took her phone and her eyes widened. It was Celine. Nari had Celine's number because her uncle gave it to her just in case of emergency. Rumi probably gave her number to Celine. Either that or Celine looked into the files and saw her information.
Celine: Hello Miss Kim, I know Rumi told you to meet tomorrow, but I would like to meet you now. I expect you to be here at 9:30 p.m.
Nari couldn't believe what was happening. She didn't expected to meet with Celine now. She thought it would be like tomorrow or in a few days. Then again, Nari was a normal person - an outsider that just found out this was going on behind her back.
Right away, she grabbed her coat and went out of her room. When she got there, there was a lot of noise coming from the living room. The first thing she saw was Rumi, Zoey, and Mira running passed her as they headed to their recording studio. Nari blinked a few times and turned as she saw her uncle.
"Not sure about the whole demon thing," Bobby said. "but they seemed like nice guys, but loving the energy!"
"What happened?" Nari asked.
"The girls are going to make a diss track for the Idol Awards," Bobby explained. "Anyway, I'll see you later, sweetie! The girls are going to be in the Play Games with Us next week. The Saja Boys are booked, but I was able to squeeze the girls in. I'll text you the details soon! Night, Nari!"
As Bobby gave her a hug, he left, Nari just blinked a few times. A diss track? Was that even a good idea? Nari understood why a diss track, but at the same time, the girls were trying to make the Honmoon gold and stopping the Saja Boys at the same time. Wouldn't it be best just to keep Golden for the Idol Awards instead? Nari wasn't sure, but she knew she shouldn't butt into what the girls decided.
Then Nari put on her shoes and headed out of the penthouse and got into her car. It didn't took her long to get to Sunlight Entertainment. It was like a fifteen minute drive. Nari parked her car, got out and headed over to the building. When she got there, she went to the elevator. During the whole elevator ride, the song How's It Done was playing. Now knowing the girls were demon hunters, the song was telling the audience that they fight demons without saying it.
Once Nari got to her destination, she got off of the elevator and headed to Celine's office. With a deep breath, Nari knocked on the door and opened it. The first thing she saw was Celine. Her back was facing her and she was looking at the window. Probably looking at the Honmoon. Nari closed the door behind her, but she could feel Celine's eyes were on her by looking at her through the large window's reflection.
"Hello, Miss Kim," Celine said. "I apologize to contact you this soon."
"Hi, Celine," Nari greeted. "It's okay, really, but it's nice to officially meet you. Please call me, Nari."
Celine looked at her, making a small smile. "Nari, huh? Your parents must've love lilies."
"Yeah."
"I heard a little bit from Bobby about your family. You came from a family of poor farmers from both sides, right? Can you tell me a little about your family?"
Nari blinked. She wasn't wrong when Celine said she came from a family of poor farmers. It wasn't something she as ashamed of. Her grandparents from both sides still farm to this day. However, she was a bit taken aback that Celine wanted to know more about her family. Then again, she just found out the Huntrix's secret. It made sense to Celine wanting to know what kind of family she came from.
"That's right," Nari said. "Both of my grandparents were farmers, but my family is still good. I have a big age gape from my three brothers. Around ten to seventeen age gape, but we get along. My oldest brother is a doctor, my second oldest is a teacher, and my third oldest is a personal trainer. Mom and Dad work a lot. Dad's has two janitor jobs and Mom's a waitress. My mom gets sick a lot, so sometimes she's in the hospital. Even though we're all busy, but we still make time for each other."
Nari couldn't help and make a smile. She couldn't help and remember her childhood. Yeah, she had to grow up a bit early because of her mom's sickness, her dad working all the time, her grandparents and her brothers babysitting her most of the time, her brothers going through high school and college, and when she was old enough, she stayed home alone and do the housework, while going to school too, but because of them, they taught her to have a positive outlook in life and made her the person that she is.
Celine finally turned around, facing Nari. She looked at her from head to toe. It was like as if she was judging. Nari kept her composure as calm as possible. She wasn't sure if Celine was judging her on how she looked or everything about Nari in general. Then Celine sighed, leaning against the window with her arms crossed.
"Rumi, Mira, and Zoey explained everything to you, right?" Celine guessed.
Nari nodded. "They did."
"Never in my life I would witnessed a normal human finding out our secret," Celine said. "You do know your place in this situation, don't you?"
Nari pursed her lips. "Yes, I do, actually. I'm not a hunter. I'm just an assistant manager and housekeeper. That's all I am."
"At least you're self aware of that. You're short - shorter than Zoey. At least an inch or two. You're scrawny and you wear glasses. You do have a cute face, I'll give you that, but everything about you doesn't even scream perfect hunter or a perfect idol. You're just plain looking."
So, my appearance has flaws, Nari thought. Nari knew that in the industry, the idols had to be perfect, eat less, and "pure". Nari knew because of her uncle, but she assumed Celine would be different from the industry because of how she let the girls eat whatever they want as long as they keep their figure. She thought Celine would be more mellow about everything.
"If you were a hunter, Nari, what kind of hunter would you be?" Celine asked.
Nari blinked. She didn't really expected to be asked about something like that. However, Nari knew what kind of person she was. Even if she was a hunter like Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, her views are different from them.
"I'll be the kind of hunter that pays respect to the demons," Nari answered.
Celine frowned. "Can you elaborate?"
"I don't like killing," Nari explained. "I know demons still go back to the demon realm, but it's killing. Demons were once humans too. I'll still get the job done, but I'll pray that they'll get back safely to the demon realm without any consequences from Gwi-Ma."
Celine's eyes slightly widened, but she relaxed and her lips pursed. Nari noticed that even though her arms were crossed, her knuckles were turning a white. Nari had a feeling that she might've angered Celine in some way.
"That is a naive and a flawed way of thinking," Celine said. "You shouldn't be kind to demons. Kindness like that is a flaw. A person like you would be easily taken advantage of. Nari, we - Rumi, Mira, and I are hunters. Voices strong. Our faults and fears must never be seen."
"There's nothing wrong to show your faults and fears," Nari protested. "It makes you human."
"That is why is should never be seen! It won't make a good Honmoon, even a golden one."
From what Nari got was everything about her was flawed in Celine's eyes - her looks, her way of thinking, and her personality. That meant Rumi, Mira, and Zoey couldn't show any faults and fears when refreshing the Honmoon every year, even making the golden one. Not only that, but Rumi did told her that they were close on turning the Honmoon gold. That meant as long as they never showed their faults and fears, the Honmoon would turn gold.
"Do you have any other questions?" Celine asked.
"Are there any good demons?" Nari questioned. "I was told that all demons aren't nice."
"That is correct," Celine answered. "There are no such thing is a nice demon. Even over four hundred of years had passed, no hunter has ever met a nice demon."
"But that's like saying all humans are good when they're actually insane ones out there."
"That's different. Anything else?"
Nari wanted to protest on that part. She did find it hard to believe that during those four hundred years, no hunter has met a nice demon. The more she questioned Celine's answer, the more she remembered about what happened with Baby. However, Nari knew that if she kept urging, there was a chance that Celine would get angry at her and fire her. The last thing Nari wanted was to get fired. Also Celine is technically boss too. After all, she was the one who approved of Nari to be an assistant manager to her uncle and the girls' housekeeper.
"Were there any other colors that the Honmoon was?" Nari questioned. "There had to be other colors at some point, since it has already been over four hundred years."
Celine pursed her lips as she spoke sternly. "The Honmoon has only been blue and gold. Nothing else." she sighed. "I believe it's time for you to go."
Nari opened her mouth and stopped, nodding. She bowed to Celine and headed to the door. She wanted to question more, but if she did, Celine might get angry and potentially fire her. The last thing she wanted was to get fired from her job just because she was asking questions about all the things she just found out.
"Oh and Nari," Celine called.
Nari turned her head. "Yes, Celine?"
"Stay out of the girls' way," Celine said. "Know your place in this and there won't be any problems." she chuckled coldly. "You remind me of someone I once knew - showing kindness, faults, and fears, but that's what got her killed in the first place."
Nari felt a chill up her spine when Celine said those words. She gulped, stepped out of the office, and closed the door behind her. Nari let out a breath as she walked away from Celine's office. She didn't realized she was holding it. Nari couldn't stop thinking the way Celine was looking at her. It was like as if she was disgusted with her and the imperfection that she has. Nari thought that Celine was a nice person, from what Rumi told her, but this was the exact opposite. Not only that, but who was this person Celine was talking about? Nari could only think of the other two members of the Sunlight Sisters, since both of them are dead, but Nari wasn't too sure. It could be a pervious girl group of hunters that Nari might not know of.
When Nari got to her car, she drove away from Sunlight Entertainment. Nari couldn't help and reply the whole conversation she had with Celine. She wondered if she should tell Rumi, Mira, and Zoey about it, but she knew she couldn't since it was obvious that they respected Celine. Would they even believe her if she told them what happened? They all knew Celine longer than her and Nari only knew the girls for three years. It was obvious who the girls would believe more.
"It's okay," Nari spoke to herself. "It's okay. Everything will be alright."
Once Nari got to the penthouse, she headed to the recording studio. She wondered if the girls were already in bed or not. As she got there, she noticed light through the doors. Shaking her head, Nari opened the door. Mira was sitting on her chair, writing some lyrics and crumbling the paper, Zoey was looking through her notebooks, trying to find which lines would work, and Rumi had her face planted on the paper, groaning. On the wall was already made posters of the Saja Boys. Some had devil horns, there was a dart board with Jinu's face on it, and there were signs about them not being handsome.
"Having a writer's block?" Nari guessed.
"Yes," the three spoke.
Nari giggled. "Look, we all had a long day. I know you guys want to write a diss track, but you guys can do that later."
"But Nari!" Rumi whined. "We need to expose them!"
"You guys have tons of time before the Idol Awards," Nari said. "Rest first. Diss track later."
The girls sighed. "Okay."
Zoey looked at her. "Did you went somewhere?"
"Celine wanted to see me early," Nari explained.
"How did that go?" Mira asked.
"It was fine," Nari replied. "Just the general stuff about hunters and demons."
Deep in her heart, Nari did wanted to tell them. She really did. Nari wanted to tell them how she was actually scared of Celine. Was it weird that she was more scared of Celine than a demon? Probably, but Nari had her reasons and the whole conversation with Celine made her fear her.
Nari held the door wide enough for each of the girls to walk out of their recording studio. As Nari closed the doors behind them and followed them. Nari watched as the girls went to their respective room, telling Nari to have a goodnight, except for Rumi, who had her hand over her arm. The same place where she got scratched. Nari frowned. Was her wound still hurting her?
"Is your wound okay, Rumi?" Nari asked.
Rumi blinked and chuckled. "It's fine, Nari! Promise!"
Nari looked up at Rumi. "Okay, well goodnight, Rumi."
"Goodnight, Nari!"
Then Rumi went into her room, leaving Nari alone in the living room. Nari let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her temples as she went to her room. When she got there, she fell onto her bed, holding her cat plush. She tried to comprehend on everything that had happened in one day. Meeting Baby, Saja Boys debut, they turned out to be demons, the Huntrix turned out to be demon hunters, there was a fight in the bathhouse, Baby saved her from falling, and officially meeting Celine. However, the way Celine talked to her...Nari just wanted to talk back at her. All her life, she was taught that her physical and inner flaws were okay. Not only that, but Celine said that everything about Nari could get her killed.
Was she right? Celine did told her that someone she knew was similar to Nari and it got them killed, but that thing was that Nari wasn't that person - whoever they were. Nari was just herself and that should be enough.
Was it?
Nari pursed her lips. She turned off the lights and pulled the covers over herself, staring at the dark ceiling. As she closed her eyes, she held her cat plush closer. Nari wasn't sure if being herself was enough, but she does know that what Celine said, won't change Nari who she is.