What You Were Always Meant to Be

by The_Jaded_Writer_23

Summary:

As her patterns only worsen, Rumi grows desperate to rid herself of this part of her. However, what was meant to be a blessing became a curse as she was revealed to be the demon she always was.

Now having been cast out of everything she knew and by everyone she loved, Rumi is left to question her place in the world and reckon with the pain she feels from being rejected by her friends.

Or: Rumi becomes fully demon and gets sent to the Demon Realm for a little bit, just to come back and cause chaos.

Chapter 1: Broken

Summary:

Fed up with hiding herself, Rumi finds herself at an interesting crossroads.

“Alright girls, I know the past few days have been really crazy between staying out late on patrol and working hard on this new single. But tonight we have our toughest battle yet… our song’s premier concert.” Rumi looks across the table to Mira and Zoey, hands locked together in a circle, “So to help us be our best for the fans, I thought we should have a pre-show carb load!”

“Yes!” The two other girls excitedly shout as they look down to the small feast sitting in front of them, “Lets dig in!”

All three quickly reach for their favorite snacks with aggressive eagerness, overjoyed at the prospect of binging before the long day ahead of them. All three girls stuff their faces with chips and cookies and kimbap, savoring the flavors as they scarf down as much food as possible. All the while they fill the green room with jokes and stories about anything that pops into their heads.

It isn’t until Zoey starts to struggle opening a bag where the tall stoic figure of Celine appears as she slowly opens the door. Distracted by her sudden appearance, Zoey pulls the bag just a little too hard, resulting in an explosion of shrimp chips that covers the three girls.

Zoey turns back to an annoyed Rumi and Mira with a bashful look, “Oops, sorry about that… Hi Celine!”

Intercepting a surprise hug from Zoey, Celine smiles and says, “Hello to you too Zoey, and to you two of course.”

Brushing the food off her shoulders, Mira begins to slowly stand up, facing her mentor. “What brings you here Celine?”

“I was in the city and I wanted to come and congratulate you all on your new song. I could sense the Honmoon strengthening after its video debut.” Celine walks over to Mira to put an assuring hand on her shoulder, offering another warm smile towards the taller girl.

“Thanks Celine, I’m glad it’s doing really well with the fans,” Mira adds, “And after tonight’s performance, the Honmoon should last for a long while.”

“Yeah, then we can take a small hiatus and relax for a little bit.” Zoey excitedly states, already planning the fifty-plus things they could all do during their time off.

“That sounds good.” Celine commented, “Just remember that you all must keep your skills sharp as hunters. You never know when the next demon attack will be.”

“Of course, Celine,” Mira nods, now standing next to Zoey who is excited at their mentor’s approval.

Hearing a knock at the door, they all turn to see Bobby waiting with a clipboard in hand and an optimistic look on his face. “Hey girls.”

“Hi Bobby!” Everyone in the green room responds.

“I just wanted to let you all know that we’re ready for the pre-show rehearsal and are just waiting for you. No rush.”

“Thanks Bobby!” Rumi calls to him as he slips back out of the room, giving a hearty wave as he closes the door behind him. She turns her attention back to her friends, who stare back with expecting eyes. Reassuring them, Rumi answers, “Go on ahead, I’ll meet you on stage.”

Giving a reserved nod, Mira replies, “C’mon Zo, let’s get ready for rehearsal.”

Mira and Zoey leave, talking and laughing about what they’d do after the performance as they shut the door behind them. Left in the silence of the green room, Celine and Rumi look at each other as an air of slight unease forms between them.

Breaking the silence, Rumi asks, “So Celine, when will we know if we’re close to turning the Honmoon gold?”

“You’ll feel its strength coursing through the Honmoon, ready for it to be sealed.” Celine explains, rather matter-of-factly, “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering.” Rumi deflects, looking away from her foster mother.

However, Celine presses further, “Rumi…”

With a defeated sigh, Rumi says, “The patterns have spread again.”

To emphasize her point, she lifts up her hoodie’s sleeve to reveal jagged purple markings cascade down her arm, stopping a little past the elbow.

“Put those away.” Celine commands, swiftly moving to tug the sleeve back down in a panic.

“Sorry.” Rumi reflexively adds, hurt evident in her voice. “I’m just scared. What if I can no longer hide them before we make the golden Honmoon?”

“Don’t think that way Rumi. You will make the Honmoon gold soon, you have to.” Celine decrees.

Not entirely convinced, Rumi argues, “But if we don’t, maybe I should finally tell Mira and Zoey. I’m sure that they’d underst--.”

“No!” Celine interjects, “For the last time, they will never understand, Rumi. That is why we cannot tell them, or let anything else change, until you are free of these patterns.”

Feeling dejected, Rumi stares back at the annoyed expression on Celine’s face but quickly looks away. “Alright, I promise I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t.” Celine affirms her, “I’ll wait for you all at the stage, I would like to see your rehearsal before I leave.”

Rumi gives the taller woman a meek bow, allowing Celine to walk out of the green room first. Rumi follows behind, closes the door behind her, and slowly makes her way towards her private dressing room to prepare for their practice.

However, as she confines herself to the solitude of the empty room, Rumi suddenly feels a searing pain emanate from her chest, quickly spreading towards her arms and neck. Stumbling to the mirror, Rumi lifts her sleeves with shaky hands.

The image staring back shocks Rumi to her core.

New patterns, burning with magenta magic, cascade down her arms. They carve a path past her older markings, stopping as they reach towards her palms. Meanwhile, the same sensation extends up her neck, causing her patterns to become visible well above the collar of her shirt.

As the spreading stops, and left in utter disbelief, Rumi exclaims in a panic. “No, no, no, no, NO!”

“How is this happening?” Rumi questions, trying her best to rationalize the situation, “They never spread this fast before. And why now!?”

Examining the patterns adorning her, Rumi only grows frustrated at her dire misfortune. How is she supposed to continue to hide these until the Honmoon is gold when they just keep spreading? What will she tell her family now?

In response, Rumi sends an angry plea to the cosmos, “Please, I just need more time!”

Echoing her sentiment, a wave of energy stretches across the dressing room, causing the mirror in front of Rumi to crack. She gives a distressed yelp at the sight.

Seeing her now broken reflection laid in front of her, Rumi begins to sob at the sight of herself. Wiping a tear, she whispers to herself, “How am I supposed to fix this?”

I might be able to help.

Surprised, Rumi looks around for those who spoke to her only to find no one there. “Who’s there?”

Just someone who is there in a person’s hour of need. The voice once again speaks, clear to Rumi that it was within her own mind. Rumi is apprehensive at the intrusion, convinced that this is all just a panicked delusion responding to her situation.

Despite this, she finds herself entertaining this voice in her head.

“Yeah right. How are you even supposed to help me with this?” Rumi gestures to the patterns crossing her arms.

By giving you the one thing that you’ve wanted all your life, The voice explains.

“And what is that?” Rumi questions.

I can make you whole.

Hesitating at those words, Rumi focuses on her reflection to witness magenta flames eloquently dance around the person staring back at her, inviting Rumi to accept their seeming warmth.

Rumi stares once again at her arms, desperate shame blooming in her chest as she can only imagine what Mira and Zoey would think of them now. How she finally could be the hunter that Celine wants her to be if she wasn’t this half-demon freak.

With newfound conviction, Rumi lifts her head to meet the flames in the mirror. “I accept.”

Notes:

Hello everyone,

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and the early dynamics between these characters. I wanted to start in a place that is set before any major events of the movie and explore more of the characters from this initial divergence. I feel like it will provide fresh takes on these characters and their perspectives as I progress the plot.

Anyways if you like the story or have questions please feel free to let me know because your support is always appreciated. Until next chapter, I wish everyone a good day!

Chapter 2: Monster

Summary:

After she thinks she can finally be herself, Rumi is forced to become what she always feared.

“Where’s Rumi, she’s late.” Mira points out, annoyance clear in her voice at her friend’s absence.

She has been sitting with Zoey on the edge of the stage for a while now, watching Bobby effortlessly direct the stage and film crews from the pit and Celine calmly standing in the middle of the controlled chaos. Locking eyes with her mentor, Mira gives Celine a small wave of her hand, which Celine reciprocates with a small smile.

“Maybe she’s just rebraiding her hair,” Zoey suddenly comments, her mind racing with different theories, “Or she’s bringing us more snacks! Or--or, she had to save a cat from a tree!”

Puzzled, Mira looks back to Zoey and jokes, “You read too many comics, Zo.”

“I’m just pitching over here.” Zoey says, giving the taller girl an smug smile. Mira can’t help but chuckle at her friend.

Both girls continue to joke around, laughter filling in the void of time as they wait patiently for their third band member. Fortunately, they don’t have to wait much longer as they spot Rumi appear on stage, prancing towards them with a care-free expression on her face.

It was honestly a side of Rumi that Mira rarely saw, given her friend’s usual workaholic demeanor.

However, Zoey interrupted the thought as she bounded towards Rumi with open arms. Before she is able to react, Rumi is trapped in Zoey’s eager embrace. “Rumi! I’m so glad you’re finally here!”

“Thanks Zoey,” Rumi struggles to say, “but can you let go? You’re crushing me.”

“Oops, sorry.” Zoey says as she quickly lets go of Rumi, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

Walking up to the other two, Mira bluntly asks, “Hey Rumi, you alright? You seem… different?”

“Never better!” Rumi shoots Mira a content grin to emphasize her point. Grabbing Zoey’s wrist and tugging her to center stage, Rumi shouts, “C’mon, we have a performance to prepare!”

Despite the display, Mira can’t shake the skepticism she feels that something is just a little off. But without proof, she quickly chalks up the thought to an innate sense of paranoia.

Beginning their practice, the three girls run through their vocal warmups, stretching, and run through any last-minute choreography changes. It was a typical ritual to ensure that their performance would be the best it could be for their fans.

Once they are all satisfied with their drills, Huntrix agrees that they are ready to move to a proper rehearsal of the show. With the girls’ go-ahead, Bobby rushes to involve film and sound crews so they could check all systems and get some good b-roll of Huntrix. The stage lights suddenly flicker on, flooding the stage with a shimmering ambience.

Bathed in the array of lights, Rumi finds it difficult to stay cool in her costume’s yellow leather jacket. Instead of delegating herself to suffer, Rumi defiantly takes off her pink jacket and throws it off-stage, revealing a dark blue sleeveless crop-top accompanied by a silver necklace. This is met with shock and awe from Mira, who has never seen Rumi wear anything other than a jacket or a sweater since becoming idols.

However, Celine is left frozen with nervous tension as she witnesses Rumi’s sudden act. Only for it to be slashed by overwhelming fear at the sight of Rumi.

At the sight of her arms completely devoid of patterns.

Before Celine could even recollect herself, the song’s track begins playing, the rising beat echoing through the concert hall. Following the cadence, Huntr/x sing in perfect harmony allowing for the fast-pace of the verses to carry through their parts like a flowing river. Their dance moves sync together with such dynamic precision that they become electrifying to spectate.

So much so that Bobby is standing right off stage mirroring the moves, fully engaged in their performance.

This perfect moment doesn’t last long though, because as Rumi tries to hit a particularly high note within the chorus she feels her throat tighten, forcing her voice to crack. It leaves Rumi stunned by the mistake. After all, she never experienced this problem before, so how could this happen now?

Quickly deflecting, Rumi exclaims, “Let’s restart at the beginning of the verse!”

Met with slow nods by Mira and Zoey, they take the verse from the top, letting the track play to their queue. However, when they reach the same part as the last time, Rumi’s voice cracks once more.

Panic starts to bloom in Rumi’s chest, unsure of why this is happening to her. Unfortunately, she isn’t able to dwell on the issue as the unease in chest is quickly replaced by a sharp pain that blazes within her core. In response, Rumi puts a hand up to her heart in a failing effort to quell the pain. Her face contorting to show her agony.

Deeply concerned, Zoey breaks formation to run towards her friend. “Rumi! Are you okay!?”

Rumi couldn’t say anything, the pain becoming too unbearable as it’s now spreading throughout her whole body, her skin searing as though it was on fire.

Overwhelmed with pain, Rumi can only muster a scream, “AHHHHHHH!”

A wave of energy echoes throughout the stadium, its intensity shaking everything in its path. Cameras shake and tumble, the set on stage begins to crack, and stage lights shatter and dim under the power of the scream. Zoey stops in her tracks with fear as she watches the destruction occur around her. Beholding this sight in terror, Celine spots a loose spotlight snap and falls towards an unsuspecting Bobby. Instincts kicking in, Celine rushes to him and tackles the manager out of the way of the falling debris.

Back on stage, Rumi falls to her knees as the pain only worsens. In an effort to find the issue, Rumi extends her arms in front of her face to examine them.

And the sight of them shatters Rumi.

Fresh patterns, glowing with an intensity she’s never seen before, burn their way across her skin. The disgusting, jagged markings extending down onto her hands. In complete panic, Rumi shrinks into herself, clutching her shaking shoulders in a vain attempt to hide these patterns from everyone.

Mira and Zoey remain frozen at the sight of their friend, watching helplessly as the patterns spread across Rumi’s body.

In a moment of bravery, Zoey slowly approaches Rumi in an effort to do anything for her friend, her sister. Reaching out with her left hand, Zoey can only whisper, “Rumi…?”

Before she’s able to get too close, however, Rumi lashes out at her with a primal fury and growls, “Stay AWAY!”

She swipes her hand at Zoey to push her back, but Zoey instead only feels a deep sting radiate throughout her arm followed by a warm sensation trickle down like a waterfall. Hearing Mira gasp in shock, Zoey looks down to her arm to find a large, bleeding gash cascading down her upper arm.

Lifting her hands in confusion, Rumi finds that their complexion darkened to a sickly purple. Slender fingers have now sprouted dangerous-looking claws. Her right hand is soaked in blood, Zoey’s blood.

Spiraling further, Rumi feels an intense ache coursing throughout her head. Her teeth lengthen and protrude from her mouth to reveal a combination of sharp fangs and small tusks curving outwards. Her eyes flicker from a warm brown to an intense gold as her pupils become slits. Her once white sclera now blotted out by a dark purple.

These are the same eyes that dart around her surroundings to only see people terrified, to see her family terrified.

Terrified of her.

“Rumi?” Mira says with a mix of fear and something unreadable as she tends to Zoey, “What…? What happened to you?”

“I--I don’t know,” Rumi stammers, “you were never supposed to--to see these.”

“What do you mean ‘supposed to’? Have you been hiding.. this from us?” Mira gestures to Rumi’s huddled form.

“No! I mean… yes. But I was going to fix it. I--I did fix it!” Rumi desperately stumbles her way towards Mira and Zoey, looking for any semblance of comfort.

However, Mira and Zoey give her a cold look, like she was someone else entirely.

“Please, I can still fix this. We can still be together.” Rumi pleads.

“How can we be together?” Zoey interjects, “When all you’ve done is lie to us, Rumi.”

“No, no, no. I didn’t want to, I just needed time to fix myself, so I can finally be me!”

Rumi steps closer to the two girls, but Mira steps in front of Zoey with a determined expression, ready to protect the wounded girl.

“Guys, I’m still me. I’m not this--this monster!” Rumi gestures to herself, trying to show them a trace of her humanity.

“Oh, Rumi…” Celine whispers behind her. Whipping her head around, Rumi sees her foster mother onstage, a disappointed tear falling down her face. “What have you done?”

In that moment, white-hot rage blinds Rumi as she growls at Celine. How dare she say that? After all Rumi has done to try and hide herself, to fix herself.

Next thing she knows, Rumi lunges at Celine with a wild rage, letting out an angry scream as she does so. However, Mira is quick to act and launches herself at Rumi, intercepting the purple-haired girl with a diving kick to the stomach. The action causes Rumi to fly across the stage.

Recovering, Rumi slowly lifts herself off the floor to be greeted by Mira’s shining Gok-Do pointed at her. Zoey is weakly standing behind her with her Shin-Kals fanned in her uninjured hand.

“Stay back, demon.” Mira commands, thrusting her weapon a little closer to Rumi.

These words cut through Rumi like a knife.

Before she could get back up to retaliate, Rumi senses a disturbance in the Honmoon around her. Suddenly, purple flames envelop her as the Honmoon splits at the seams. The violent burst of magic causes Mira and Celine to recoil at its ominous light while Zoey crumples to the floor due to her injured state. Her vision blurs as she stares out to the remaining silhouette of Rumi.

But in a final flash of light, Rumi vanishes from sight.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

I'm back with another chapter, and I gotta say that this was very engaging yet emotional to write. I hope that you enjoyed reading it despite it being very heavy. Maybe future chapters will be a little more light-hearted.

This was a crazy chapter though, and I can only imagine where Rumi ended up. Stay tuned for future chapters, and I appreciate the support.

See ya!

Chapter 3: The Realm Below

Summary:

Finding herself in a desolate new world, Rumi struggles to adapt to her life being suddenly upended. Will she be able to find any solace within the realm of the demon king.

The first thing that Rumi feels is the heat.

Lying on the ashen ground, Rumi slowly begins to stir. Having been unconscious for what felt like an eternity, she is awakened by the sensation of uncomfortable warmth on her skin. The air around her flows with this persistent heat, coursing around her with malicious intent. The surrounding humidity weighs heavy on her sprawled form.

In a struggle to lift herself off the ground, Rumi manages only to sit up, pulling her knees close to herself to provide comfort. She brings a palm to her temple in an effort to soothe her splitting headache.

Taking a conscious, grounding breath is instead met with Rumi choking on air. The smell of ash stings her nose and invades her lungs, sending an itching pain throughout her chest and throat. It throws her into an intense coughing fit as she slowly acclimates to the pervasive atmosphere.

Rumi builds up the courage to open her eyes, allowing them to finally assess her surroundings. She stares out into the murky wasteland, looking for any clue of where she might be. However, only darkened earth and fog greet her. Broken veins of unholy magic creep their way across the rocks and hills, providing a soft glow to the otherwise empty void.

The only notable feature that she observes is a small river mere feet in front of her, the water breaking across the smoothened stones of the river bed. Crawling from her spot on the river’s bank, Rumi approaches the water with cupped hands, obtains the desired content, and brings it up towards her mouth. Allowing herself to drink, she relaxes as the cool sensation calms her throat and mouth from its still burning state, but is also left with the fact that the water just tastes… wrong.

Rumi tilts her head to the sky to see faint yet shimmering lights stretch across this plane, as if they were combating the darkness that creeps towards it. Its distant, quiet display sparks a sudden realization that causes Rumi to freeze.

The realization that she is completely alone.

Hello, little Hunter.

Shocked from her trance, Rumi slitted eyes narrow as she heard the all too familiar voice invade her mind. She looks back to her trembling hands, seeing that her markings are once again glowing with a fiery magenta.

“You…” Rumi defiantly states through her encroaching fear, “What have you done? What happened?!”

You dare speak to the king of demons that way. The voice mocks her, You truly have no respect.

Rumi becomes frozen in fear at those words, unable to accept who is talking to her.

Able to sense her doubt, the voice continues, That’s right, Hunter. You have been graced by the voice of Gwi-Ma.

“How--how are you in my head?” Rumi desperately questions Gwi-Ma.

You Hunters truly have no clue the extent of my power. Gwi-Ma scoffs before proceeding, I am the voice you hear when you’re desperate and alone… and the one who offers salvation to those who accept my gifts.

“Were you the one who did.. this to me?” Rumi stands up and looks at her murky reflection in the river, patterns glowing across her face and arms.

I only did what you desired, I made you whole.

“This isn’t what I meant!” Reumi yells.

Is it not? I have sensed your presence your whole life, little Hunter. A half-breed who’s deemed herself a mistake since my first mark. You’ve hidden yourself in the company of the enemy, trying to be one of them, but deep down you knew what you were meant to be…

And I simply helped you achieve that.

“No, no, NO!” Rumi screams, “I am not a demon! I am a Hunter!”

You gave that up when you accepted my offer, Gwi-Ma gloats, Now you are mine, a servant stuck to live out her existence in my domain for all time. Enjoy your stay, ha ha ha Ha Ha!

Eyes growing wide in terror as his words sink in, Rumi feels the unfamiliar world closing in around her. In a final act of defiance, of escape, Rumi finds herself doing the only thing she can think of.

She runs.

— — —

And she doesn’t stop running until her legs give out, having grown heavy from exhaustion.

She has been running for what seemed like hours, letting her fear and adrenaline carry her to where she is now. The only landmark she spots in her journey being the meandering river that she first awoke to, its flow counter-current to her movement.

Rumi collapses to the ground on the river’s edge, gasping for air as she rests on her knees. Looking out to the horizon, Rumi just sees more desolate plains occasionally sprinkled with boulders and mountains.

Hopelessness rests itself in the pit of her stomach as Rumi lets her reality sink in. She was truly lost, roaming an unfamiliar plane of existence with no ways to escape. The thought forces her to slam her fists into the darkened sand in frustration, her claws digging into her palms as she does so. Her rage boiling, she lets out a strangled scream out into the abyss.

But the abyss answers back.

Stepping out from the surrounding shadows, feral demons begin to circle an unsuspecting Rumi. Their golden eyes pierce through the fog as they gaze upon their prey, silently stalking her as she sits still. Their patterns hum through their red and green with the anticipation of a fight, ready to take back their territory. They bare their sharpened teeth at her, letting low growls escape their mouths.

One of the four demons uses their sharp claws to climb a nearby boulder, preparing to pounce on the purple-haired girl.

Between her sobbing, Rumi hears the low grumbling in the fog, the shifting of the earth beneath something’s feet. She uses her golden eyes into the murky distance and notices eyes staring back.

“Who’s there?” Rumi calls out, standing to meet the sounds.

Walking out of the fog, three demons with sharp claws make themselves known, a savage look in their eyes as they circle her.

Out of reflex, Rumi tries to summon her Siangeom, calling forth the power of the Honmoon, but struggles to do so. The demons close in, sensing the opportunity to strike. One becomes antsy and attempts to attack, but Rumi is quicker and uses her claws to slash the demon’s face.

Stumbling back, the demon holds its face as purple embers spew from the fresh wound. It growls back at Rumi with disdain.

Suddenly, the fourth demon hiding above on the boulder leaps at Rumi, ready to avenge his injured friend. Sensing the attack, Rumi whips around to see the demon already mid-air. Panicking, she reaches out to try and summon her weapon once more in a desperate effort to protect herself.

This time the Honmoon complies.

Gathering the magic around her, Rumi’s sword materializes in her hand just in time to block the demon’s attack. Pushing it off of her, she slashes her sword across its chest, causing the demon to disintegrate into purple magic.

Having witnessed the brutal display, the other demons slink back off into the void, not willing to test their might against their foe.

Victorious, Rumi takes the time to look at her sword only to see a surprising development. The weapon she summoned looks slightly different, its usual blue, shimmering visage now a deep purple with magenta cracks cascading across the blade. Furthermore, she spectates the ashes of the slain demon travel into her sword, causing it to briefly swell with power.

Left in weary awe, Rumi vanishes the sword from her grip and lets out a relieved sigh. Her mind quiets for the first time since entering this realm, knowing that she could summon her Siangeom if necessary.

Fearing that more demons will find her, Rumi decides that she can no longer stay here, and soon slowly carries herself away into the depths of the demon realm.

— — —

It’s become hard to keep track of time since she’s arrived.

There are no days, no night, only the dark void watching her as she traverses through the winding mountains and open wastelands of the demon realm. The stagnant glowing of the sky is no help in the matter, only mixing with the eerie purple glow from this underworld to create a somber light that barely illuminates this underworld.

Rumi has been wandering alone for that whole time, left with only her spiraling thoughts and no destination in mind.

Eventually, she found herself no longer travelling through the wastes and instead in a forest. The trees around her were made from a warped wood, branching out into a thin canopy of luminous leaves. Their unfamiliar shape reminded Rumi of stars.

The path through the forest is narrow and winding, forcing Rumi to slow as she climbs over the twisted roots of the trees. Growing tired, she soon finds herself resting at the base of a large tree, letting herself relax for the first time in what felt like days.

The moment of peace doesn’t last long though, as Rumi is rudely interrupted by an awful squawk. Looking for the source she finds a bird perched atop a lonely branch, the white plumage of his body meets the pitch black of its head, which is only broken up by six eyes staring back at her with a curious gleam.

Rumi is frozen with worry at the demon bird, but is quickly overcome with curiosity as she stares at its head. “Is that a… little hat?”

Before she could investigate further, nearby bushes rustle on the forest floor, making it clear to Rumi that something is stalking her, something big. Soon enough, giant orange eyes make themselves visible through the dark of the foliage, looking out from the underbrush at Rumi.

Rumi shifts slightly into a more defensive position as the creature slowly reveals itself. Its wide face bears no thought as it continues to stare at her, its jagged fangs forming a blank smile. It steps rhythmically on the ground, showcasing its giant paws. Blue fur covers its body, only being broken by black striping resembling that of a tiger.

The frankly adorable creature is unlike anything Rumi has seen in this realm.

It continues to make its way towards Rumi, seemingly unaware of her defensive demeanor. Before she can process what to do next, Rumi is tackled to the ground in a flash of blue. Instead of attacking her, however, Rumi remains pinned under the head of the rather content beast.

Chuckling at the situation, Rumi finds herself petting the creature behind the ear with her free hand. It was nice finding some brevity in this otherwise empty world.

Finally getting to relax, Rumi finds herself hearing a faint melody in the distance, its notes getting lost between the trees. It slowly makes its way towards her, its soothing rhythm becoming clear as it approaches.

Making its way down the path, Rumi is able to spot the source of the music. A man in a flowing black hanbok plucking at the strings of a worn instrument. His face is obscured by a large hat.

Lifting his head at the scene before him, he calmly says, “Tiger, what are you doing?”

The tiger rises off of Rumi to go toward the man, nuzzling his large head against his leg. Leaving Rumi alone on the ground. With a cocky smirk, the man remarks, “Woah, not many demons manage to make it all the way out here. What a surprise.”

Curling herself back against the trunk of a tree, Rumi retorts, “I--I’m not a demon.”

“Your patterns say otherwise,” The man looks across to her markings, his golden eye locked at the deep purple. He then points to his arms to draw a comparison.

“I am not like you,” Rumi argues, tears welling between the purple and gold of her eyes, “There’s been a mistake.”

“Ah, I take it you’re new here…” The man ponders. Suddenly, he brings an arm to his chest and bows at Rumi. “The name’s Jinu. What might yours be?”

“...Rumi.”

“Well Rumi,” Jinu replies with sorrow dripping from his voice, “It’s best if you just accept that this is no mere mistake. Take it from a fellow demon.”

Rumi is at a loss of words at this display, trying to find any hint of deceit at Jinu’s words. She finds none. Tears begin to stream down her face as his blunt advice sinks in. She lifts her hands up to wipe her tears, letting quiet sniffles fill the void in the conversation.

Finally speaking up, Jinu states, “Well, I best be off. I have roads to wander and music to play.”

Raising his bipa, Jinu resumes strumming his melody with his clawed hand, letting it drown out the crying girl. However, before he sets off once more Jinu is halted by the tiger pulling at his clothing. Turning to face his pet, Jinu spots the concern and pity on the tiger’s face as its large eyes point back to the girl. Her shrinking form made it clear that she’s been alone.

“No.” Jinu responds to the tiger, the lack of sympathy in his voice cutting through air.

Despite his protest, however, the tiger simply lets out a saddened growl at his friend. Letting Jinu know that he does not approve of this callousness.

Caving in with a frustrated groan, Jinu awkwardly walks back to Rumi and slowly gives her his hand. He begrudgingly asks, “Would you… like to tag along? Tiger thinks you’d be good company.”

Looking up to the demon before her, Rumi scans for any ill intent. After all, demons have never shown any feeling before, so why was this one being… kind?

It is there, in that fleeting moment, where Rumi makes a sudden and bold decision based on her desperate situation. She takes his hand.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

I am actually really excited with how this chapter turned out, as I had a lot of fun trying to world build and incorporate some early lore into my work. I also really enjoyed writing the fight scene in the middle of the story, which is something that I hope you all enjoyed.

Sorry for the late post today, but I wanted to make sure that this chapter was as good as I wanted it to be. That is also why it is much longer than what I typically write, as I wanted to make sure nothing felt rushed.

Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I'm excited for you guys to watch the story progress, especially now that Jinu's in the story. Additionally, I love reading all your comments, and I try to respond as soon as I can (if I don't its likely because of work). See ya next time everyone!

Chapter 4: Lost Souls

Summary:

While on their travels across the Demon Realm, Rumi and Jinu learn a little about each other.

As time slipped into what felt like a small eternity, Rumi and Jinu found themselves in a predictable routine. They would travel aimlessly along the twisting roads of the underworld, listen as Jinu plays his bipa… and not speak to one another.

Rumi prefers it this way. Taking the tenuously agreed upon silence to constantly assess the demon walking before her. Tracking his every move with cautious suspicion. Waiting for him to strike. Instead she’s only met by an annoying smirk and cold, golden eyes that rarely glance back at her.

Until Jinu decides to speak.

“Not that I’m having fun on our little roadtrip,” Jinu chimes in, his gaze locked on the road in front of him, “but you don’t need to keep staring at me.”

Rumi doesn’t reply, her pupils narrowing at the man in front of her. The tiger nudges her legs as Rumi brings her hand to scratch the top of his head in an effort to ground herself.

“I assure you, I’m not a threat.” Jinu turns around to meet the purple-haired girl.

Instead Rumi greets him with venom in her voice, “Don’t talk to me, demon.”

“You could at least use my name.” Jinu comments, shifting his focus briefly to the tiger, who is still being pet by Rumi, and offers his companion a pointed look.

His gesture is met by yet another leer from Rumi.

“Some company you’re turning out to be.” Jinu gives the girl a mischievous smile before turning back around.

Rumi rolls her eyes in response. She leans over to fake-whisper in the tiger’s ear, “Is he always this annoying?”

“I heard that.” Jinu retorts from over his shoulder, irritation clear in his voice. It brought a small chuckle to Rumi’s lips.

Rentering their uneasy silence, it doesn’t take long for the two to find themselves at the threshold of an eroding hongsalum. Beyond the gate, a large pond sits firmly within a frame of rocks comprising its shore. The still water is only illuminated by the glowing bodies of strange creatures floating above its surface. Their visage resembles one of an insect, except that it sports a lion’s mane and sports too many sets of wings across its slender body.

Jinu doesn’t seem to pay attention to the strange site, continuing his trek around the pond. Rumi follows close behind, hugging the water’s edge with the hope of taking a small drink to quench her burning throat.

However, as Rumi stares out to the calm waters she finds her reflection staring back. Falling to her knees for a closer look, Rumi finds a person she no longer recognizes. Eyes made out of gold and twilight gaze back with an intensity she’s never seen before. Sharpened canines and tusks protrude from her upper lip, forcing an inhuman smile. Her once perfect braid is now disheveled and loose, strands of hair now flowing whichever way they deem. But the worse part are the patterns, its jagged design creeping towards her eyes and across her cheeks, consuming her once unblemished skin.

It was a face that Rumi hasn’t been able to gaze upon since before everything that happened, her reflection a final memory that remained frozen in the hopes of still being that person.

But now, letting her new visage sink in, it’s been morphed into a curse of everything she lost.

Allowing herself to shatter just a little more at the sight, Rumi begins to quietly sob. Noticing her absence, Jinu turns around to find her huddled form shaking in anguish. A pang of sympathy radiates within Jinu as similar memories flash through his mind, but he hesitates at the thought of comforting the hurting girl. He ultimately decides to continue down the path, much to the growling protests of his tiger, so Jinu instead slows enough for Rumi to eventually catch up.

She never does though, and after a somber moment Jinu finds himself curious, and the slightest bit concerned to why that is. Leaving the tiger where they stopped, Jinu retraces his steps and returns to the pond to reveal a surprising development.

A band of demons have seemed to have spotted the lone girl and decided to attack, capturing Rumi in the iron grip of a larger red demon as the others circle around. Finding the display rather boarish, Jinu is compelled to intervene and help his recent company. After all, he’d never hear the end of it from the tiger if he left her in the hands of these brutes.

Levitating over towards the scene, Jinu calmly descends in front of the group and says, “Hello. My apologies for intruding like this, but I’m afraid that the girl you have over there is with me. So how about we let her go and forget any of this happened?”

He is instead met by boastful laughter from the other demons. Their sharp, toothy smiles showing noncompliance with his demands. However, one demon, likely their leader, meets Jinu’s with her own slitted eyes. Walking through the group with her long ponytail swaying behind her, she faces Jinu to announce, “Wait a moment… I know you.”

“You must be thinking of someone else.” Jinu is quick to comment, a smug grin crossing his face as the leader gets closer.

“No, I do know you,” The demon scoffs, “You’re that pathetic disgrace, Jinu.”

Rumi looks curiously at Jinu at hearing those words only to find him frozen, his face shifting to an unreadable expression.

“Yes. We’ve heard stories of you,” the demoness continues in her shrill voice, “A selfish demon who only serves himself. Betraying our way of life for his own gain. Tell me, Jinu, does it not bother you that we all starve while you do nothing, choosing to stay here and wander these hills.”

Eyes wide at the revelation, Rumi spectates Jinu as he remarks, “Can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind, but I don’t concern myself with mere pawns of Gwi-Ma.”

Roaring in frustration, the demon leader attacks Jinu trying to get a clean swipe with her long claws. However, Jinu effortlessly dodges as he steps back, letting her rage blind her judgment. With a final lunge from the demoness, Jinu levitates away from her with a smirk. Suddenly, he closes in on the demon and pushes her back several feet with an open palm to her head.

Standing over the injured demon, Jinu threatens, “Anyone else want to test their might.”

“Doesn’t matter, we still have the girl.” An impish demon replies, pointing to the still restrained Rumi. However, she doesn’t remain helpless as she rips an arm from the demon’s hold and digs her claws into his face. Rumi then shifts her strength to lift the much larger demon over herself and slam him onto the ground in front of her.

The remaining demons behold the site in fear at the two demons standing before them. Jinu states with intense eyes, “Like I said, does anyone else want to test their might.”

He’s met by a series of panicked ‘No’s’ from the remaining demons, watching as they drag their injured comrades back into the darkened fog.

Alone once more, Rumi and Jinu look at each other with an uneasy stare, not really knowing what to say to one another. Rumi in particular is still processing everything the demon said about Jinu. If what she claimed is true, why would Jinu have helped her?

Trying to make sense of the situation, Rumi begins to ask, “Hey, what was--”

“Don’t,” Jinu forcefully interjects, his hands flashing the faintest hint of magenta, “Lets.. just go. We left the tiger alone up the road.”

Conceding, Rumi mutters in agreement, “Of course. And Jinu… thank you for your help.”

Giving her a small nod, Jinu turns back to make his way down the path, Rumi following a little closer behind.

— — —

Rumi doesn’t remember falling asleep. She hasn’t felt the need to sleep since entering the Demon Realm, so when she closed her eyes as she rested, she didn’t expect to find herself alone with these memories.

“What happened to you?”

“...You’ve been hiding this from us.”

“All you’ve done is lie to us.”

“They will never understand, Rumi…” The voices keep echoing in her mind, repeating sentiments of fear and disgust bringing forth a storm of shame.

Until another voice, one dripping with venom, speaks clearly through this storm.

You’re just a mistake, a monster.

“Rumi…”

Desperate to prove that she is anything more…

“Rumi.”

And that’s why they all left you.

“Rumi!” The voice pulls her out of her slumber.

Snapping her eyes open, Rumi panics at the appearance of a blurry image crouched before her. Instincts overtake her as she summons her Siangeom in a flash of light, putting it between her and the aggressor. She watches intently as the person swings their arms up in surrender. Focusing on the faint glow of her sword Rumi is finally able to make out this person, realizing that it’s just Jinu.

“Wait, you’re… a hunter?” Jinu questions, shock evident on his face.

Worry overtakes Rumi as he utters those words, quickly muttering, “Stop.”

“A demon girl, who is also a hunter, trapped in the demon realm.” Jinu slowly pieces together, his mind grappling with the frankly alarming circumstance.

“Stop!” Rumi repeats, “I told you, I--I’m not a demon.”

“Then why are you here?!” Jinu asks, gesturing to the darkened world around them.

“Because.. I’m a mistake!” Rumi exclaims, patterns lighting up in frustration. Sensing distress, the tiger awakens and brings himself next to Rumi, offering her a grounding presence.

Jinu sits across from her, silent in a gesture to let her continue.

“I’ve been stuck with th--these patterns my whole life, proof that I’d never be who I wanted to be. And when I thought I fixed them, and could finally be able to fulfill my purpose as a hunter, it was all taken from me.”

Briefly hesitating, Jinu finally speaks up, “I.. can understand how that feels.”

“How could you possibly know?” Rumi protests, “You’re a demon. Demons don’t feel.”

Jinu gives a somber chuckle in response. “You’re wrong. All we do is feel. Feel our shame, our misery. I should know, I’ve spent four hundred years with my pain.”

Rumi lets his words sink in, the revelation silently shattering what she thought she once knew.

“Our patterns are just a reminder of our shame,” Jinu adds, voice low with sadness, “But for what it’s worth, I.. don’t think they’re all you are, no matter how much of a demon you become.”

Easing from the attempted encouragement and from petting the tiger, Rumi whispers, “Thank you, Jinu, and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Having a sword shoved in your face happens more than you think down here.” Jinu jests, a smirk crossing his face.

“That’s not what I meant.” Rumi deadpans.

“I know, but what is a little humor between friends?” Jinu jokingly ponders, “Wait, we are friends, right?”

“Don’t push it.” Rumi casually responds with her own smirk before eventually drifting back to sleep on the soft fur of the Tiger.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

This was a difficult chapter to write, between a busy few days and making sure I got it to somewhere that I enjoyed, it took a little long to finish it. I hope that you all enjoy it nonetheless.

I was pretty excited to explore some more early Rumi and Jinu interactions in the story, since their banter is always great in the movie. I also started to explore a little more demon world-building that I started in the last chapter.

Anyways, I loved looking at all of the comments and support on the last chapter, and I loved commenting on what you had to say. I hope we can keep this kind of support in the future, because it means a lot. Thank you all for reading, and see you next time!

Chapter 5: Plans

Summary:

Under the fire's light, Rumi and Jinu find themselves with new goals and plans for the future.

“Alright, this seems as good a spot as any for camp.” Jinu explains, looking out to the small, secluded clearing between a mix of rocks and scattered trees.

Rumi gives a small nod in agreement towards Jinu, keeping close to the tiger so she could pet him. They’ve been travelling for over a week, with few breaks and even fewer chances to sleep. Oddly enough the lack of rest didn’t really bother Rumi, feeling as though she didn’t need it since they last stopped days ago. This new sensation, combined with the fact that she’s never seen Jinu sleep much either, has led her to the quiet revelation that this is likely a demon trait.

However, her thought is rudely interrupted by Jinu, “I could really use the rest too. After all, I’ve had to deal with you and your annoyed glares since passing through the last valley.”

Only giving him an annoyed look, Rumi playfully shoves Jinu away as he gives her a jestful smirk. But to her surprise, Rumi sends the man flying several feet to land on the ground with a thud. Her eyes widen at this newfound display of strength.

“Ow… you’re strong.” Jinu groans as he rubs his head in pain. Once recovered, he simply teleports in a flash of smoke to the center of the clearing.

“Oops, sorry about that.” Rumi calls out, feeling slightly bad at what happened.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jinu absentmindedly replies as he looks around the site, “I think I’m gonna get a fire going.”

Quickly teleporting throughout the outskirts, Jinu picks up a bundle of twigs from the dried trees surrounding them and places them in the center of the clearing. In a final move, Jinu summons a small pink flame into his hand with the flick of a finger and shoots it into the bundle. The creation of the camp fire lights up the surrounding area.

Honestly impressed, Rumi remarks, “That was pretty neat, Jinu.”

“You think so?” Jinu casually questions, sitting down next to the fire, “Because that was really nothing special.”

Rumi raises her eyebrow at Jinu, clearly disapproving of his words.

“Guess you just get used to it after four hundred years.” Jinu mutters to himself, averting his gaze from Rumi.

“Anyways…” Rumi finally answers as she sits with the tiger, “I have never seen many demons do the types of magic that you’ve shown in the past weeks. Would it be possible… that I could learn how to cast magic too?”

“I thought you were fine with just your little sword trick?” Jinu comments.

“I would be, but since I’m… now this. I’d like to know what powers I possess.” She explains.

Squinting his eyes as if he was assessing the girl, Jinu breaks his stare to cheerfully state, “Sure I don’t mind teaching you. Maybe once you learn some tricks you can finally fix your clothes.”

Looking down to the sleeveless crop top and shorts of her once pristine costume, she sees that it is now dirtied and worn from her travels. Her boots muddy from the ashen earth she tread on. Still, she can’t help but roll her eyes at the comment. Leaning once more into the tiger’s ear, she plays his game, “He’s just mad that I have style.”

“Am not!” Jinu exclaims, “And why do you always do that with Tiger.”

“Because you get annoyed, like now.” Rumi gives him a sly smile. Continuing to pet the tiger, Rumi finally asks, “You know, you never told me the name of this little guy.”

Suddenly, the bird lands on Rumi’s shoulder and squawks into her ear, causing her to jolt at the noise. “And your little demon bird too.”

“They are just Tiger and Bird,” Jinu states plainly, moving his bipa a little closer to him, “I like to keep it simple.”

“Well that won’t do,” Rumi declares. Raising her hands to squish the tiger’s weird yet adorable face, Rumi decides, “I will name you… Derpy. And the bird will be Sussie.”

Derpy gives a warm growl in response to the name.

“‘Derpy?’ ‘Sussie?’ Those names are dumb.” Jinu scoffs.

“Better than just ‘Tiger’ and ‘Bird’.” Rumi rebuttals, continuing to play with Derpy’s face.

“Where do you even come up with names like that?” Jinu asks sarcastically.

“Well, Sussie just fits the bird. And Zoey used to call animals ‘derpy’ all the time when we watched videos of cute animals together.” Rumi absentmindedly explains, only registering what she said after she finished her sentence. It sparks a calming wave of memories that roll through her mind, reminding her of a more simple past. Mundane moments of watching movies and documentaries with Zoey in their living room, and sitting at the counter as Mira prepares dinner. As well as moments where all three sing together, train together, and laugh together.

However, these memories turn sour as voices creep back into Rumi’s head, forcing her to remember their disgusted faces when they saw her patterns.

They only saw you as a monster, just another demon to hunt. The voices begin, They’ll never understand all you went through, how much you sacrificed just to be with them. And just for them to turn their back on you.

These thoughts have become a common occurrence for Rumi, finding herself trapped in her doubts and shame whenever she thinks about Zoey and Mira. Each time chipping away at the love towards her friends and replacing it with painful resentment.

The very same pain that burns her skin as her patterns mix with the glow of the fire.

Before she could spiral further though, Rumi hears the familiar plucking of an instrument accompanied by the humble humming of the person playing. Escaping her mind, she finds Jinu strumming an ancient melody as he harmonizes with his own voice. She never knew he carried notes with such care and precision, as if it was a perfectly tuned instrument.

In an effort to further ground herself, Rumi matches the notes of Jinu’s bipa and soon begins her own harmony. The music seems to almost illuminate the surrounding clearing in pink light just a little bit more.

As they both finish their tune, Rumi and Jinu’s eyes widen in surprise at what transpired.

Rumi is the first one to speak up, “You can sing?!”

“What, you think I can’t?!” Jinu shouts back, defensive towards your comment.

“Well it’s not like you’ve been exactly open about sharing your past.” Rumi points out, “Plus I’ve only seen you strum that little guitar.”

“Bipa.” Jinu corrects, only to be met by a glare from Rumi. They stay frozen like that for a solid minute with Rumi waiting for an explanation.

Jinu sighs in defeat before finally speaking, “Fine… long story short is that I was a musician when I was still human, and when I arrived.. here, Gwi-Ma let me keep my voice as a reminder of my past life. A final gift before serving him.”

“A gift?” Rumi simply asks.

“Yes, Gwi-Ma is able to use his immense power to grant wishes to demons who serve him well.” Jinu explains, “I’ve tried gaining his favor a few times after being banished on this plane, but I was unsuccessful. It’s not like it matters much anyways.”

“Why’s that?” Rumi questions, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Because, with the Honmoon having been as strong as it is and with no souls to feed Gwi-Ma, his power’s been greatly diminished.” Jinu points towards the shimmering lines in the sky, “It’s likely he can barely project his presence to the human world anymore, much less grant wishes.”

Rumi stares up to the heavens in newly-found agitation, “That’s… the Honmoon.”

“Yep,” Jinu states, “say hello to your handiwork. Honestly, I'm a little surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner.”

Rumi lets it all sink in, a mix of different emotions colliding throughout her body. Anger and shame and longing all bubbling within her heart. How could something she once thought was beautiful now be just another piece to her prison, her shame?

“What if… it were to weaken?” Rumi absentmindedly asks.

“Then Gwi-Ma grows stronger.” Jinu replies, shrugging his shoulders. Suddenly, an idea pops into his brain, “How about we be the ones to do it?”

“What?” Rumi grows confused.

“Think about it, we strike a deal with Gwi-Ma to attack the source of power for the Honmoon, weaken it, and get our rewards.” Jinu jumps up in excitement at the plan, now standing over the campfire.

“And how would we do that?”

“By beating the hunters at their own game.” Jinu offers, “After all, your voice alone could put the others to shame.”

Flattered by the sudden compliment, Rumi stops to think about what the man was saying. Was she really willing to undo what she once swore to protect? However, she also thinks about where it got her, how her duty pushed her down here. Her selflessness cost her everything, so why not give selfishness a try? With determination rising in her voice, Rumi states, “Let’s do it.”

“Then we have much to prepare.” Jinu gives a wicked grin as the flames of the fire light his face.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

Hurray another chapter, and this one really starts to solidify the future of this work. I had a really fun time writing this chapter, especially with how dialogue heavy it was, since it had a lot of Jinu and Rumi interacting. Also we finally get to start using Derpy's and Sussie's names!

On a separate note, I update the tags and summary of the fic now to include some new ideas I think are worth sharing now, so don't be alarmed by changes on the main page.

Anyways, thank you for all of the support as usual and I can't wait until next time! See ya!

Chapter 6: Introducing, Huntrix!

Summary:

After all of their hard work, Huntrix is ready to put on a perfect concert for their fans.

Notes:

Finally, a new Huntrix chapter.

The roar of the stadium was becoming deafening as the audience made their way through the gates. Each filled seat adding to the cacophony of excited chants and screams. The fans funnel their way in from the parking lots and streets in droves, joyously chatting with other fans about the upcoming performance. Speculations on the new set travel throughout the crowd as the concert draws near.

This would be Mira’s and Zoey’s biggest concert yet, a celebration of their hard work.

And Bobby was there to make sure that everything will go as smoothly as possible.

He effortlessly weaves through the army of stage crews, observing the controlled chaos for any fault or mishap whatsoever. Rallying the surrounding crew, Bobby shouts every-which-way, “Everyone look alive! All systems are a go. Looking good over there! Hey, make sure those lights are pointing center-stage… thank you!”

Satisfied with the final preparations, Bobby declares, “Alright, let’s begin!”

With a thumbs up to the sound and visuals crews in the box, Bobby gives the go-ahead for the show to start. The stadium erupts in thunderous shouting as the stage lights up and the intricately weaved Huntrix logo playing on the screen, a preamble of music accompanying the display.

“Alright girls, it’s showtime!” Bobby says to himself excitedly, but is disappointed as the minutes pass without Mira and Zoey appearing. Puzzled, Bobby asks, “Where are the girls?”

Meanwhile, hidden deep in the maze-like hallways of the backstage area lies a greenroom where Mira and Zoey are lounging patiently. They’ve been instructed to stay within the space by some crew members as they finish final preparations, and to wait for the queue to leave. However, the two girls grow concerned as time flies by without any word on if they were ready, leaving them to wonder if something was wrong.

After all, this would be the first concert showcasing their first album as a duo. It had to be perfect.

Fortunately, conversation and pre-show activities help them ease their nerves. Their laughter melts away any doubt or fear they have about the upcoming performance. This is especially true as the two watch cute animal videos on Zoey’s phone.

“Awww, look at this!” Zoey excitedly coos as she lifts the phone a little closer to Mira. Playing on the screen is a fluffy cat sleeping atop the shell of a large tortoise. “Isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!”

Giving a small chuckle in response, Mira adds, “Sure is, that turtle’s really chill.”

“Tortoise.” Zoey corrects her.

“Sorry.” Mira sarcastically says in a playful tone as the younger girl gives a victorious giggle. They stay like this for a moment, scrolling through more interesting videos in their feeds, until an idea pops into Mira’s head. “Hey Zo, let’s take a selfie and send it to the fans. Let them know that we're excited to perform.”

“Sure!” Zoey agrees as they stand next to each other and strike a pose. Mira lifts her phone high in the air, letting the camera find the perfect angle. The screen reflects back at them, showcasing their costumes. Mira’s sporting a dark purple t-shirt decorated with cherry blossoms falling from her right shoulder and a white skirt, her pink hair framing her outfit. Meanwhile, Zoey is wearing a baggy turquoise jacket that loosely hangs to cover her left shoulder accompanied by designer jeans.

Mira takes the picture and writes a caption that states that they can’t wait to see all their fans. But before she is able to hit the post button, Mira’s phone buzzes from a video call from Bobby. Accepting the call, the two girls cheerfully greet in unison, “Hi Bobby!”

“Girls, where are you?!” Bobby replies, panic evident on his face.

“Just waiting in the green room, is stage prep going well?” Mira asks, confused as to why Bobby’s so worried.

“Stage prep has been done for a while, the fans are waiting for you to go on stage!” Bobby turns his phone towards the sea of expecting fans. Both girls’ eyes go wide in realization that they were late.

In a flurry of anxiety, Zoey dashes around the room as she freaks out. Mira, on the other hand, found it odd that they were never queued to go on stage. Her pondering has to wait as Mira grounds her friend by saying, “Zoey, it’s alright. Calm down.”

Looking back at the phone, Mira adds, “Bobby, we’re on our way.”

Both girls burst through the door in a hurry as they start to make their way through the dim hallways of the backstage area. Their presence isn’t left unnoticed though as crew members begin trailing them, clearly trying to help them get to the stage. Soon enough, the stage director who initially placed the two in the green room is rushing before them as she flips through the pages on her clipboard and announces in a sickening sweet voice, “Right this way please.”

They twist and turn through the stadium until they all find themselves surrounded by scaffolding illuminated by blue utility lights. Confused, Mira asks the director, “Hey, are you sure we’re going the right way?”

“I assure you, Miss Hunter…x, we are almost there.” The director slowly replies, hiding behind her clipboard.

Under her scrutinizing stare, Mira spots a flash of purple travel across the strange woman’s arm. Suddenly, Mira looks around to see the other crew members circle around her and Zoey. With a smirk, Mira announces, “Alright, we get it. You can reveal yourselves.”

In a flash of smoke, the surrounding group shift into demons, their sharpened teeth baring at the two as their hungry eyes leer at the two Hunters.

“Wait, demons?” Zoey gasps in shock. Mira smacks her head at her friend’s late revelation.

“Foolish girl, you fell into our trap,” The demon director states, “Now we get to destroy you, and then eat your fans.”

“Can you not? this is a really bad time,” Mira explains as Zoey nods in agreement, “We have a concert to put on.. and because of you we’re late. Sooo, now you gotta pay.”

With a stomp of her foot, Mira extends the barrier of the Honmoon around the hoard of demons to make sure they don’t easily retreat. She spots Zoey to her left raising her fists, ready for the brawl about to take place.

Suddenly, a smaller demon lunges at the pink haired woman with claws ready to strike, but is instead met with a knee to the chin as Mira parries the attack. The fight then erupts in a storm of slashes, punches, and kicks that the two girls effortlessly dodge while they get their own attacks in.

As the battle prolongs itself, the Hunters decide that its time to finish it, and in a shimmer of radiant light they summon their weapons. A few desperate demons attack them, but are slain with a clean slash of Mira’s Gok-Do. Another demon, stunned at the sight, is pierced by a throw of Zoey’s Shin-Kals.

Sensing the losing battles, the remaining demons retreat up the scaffolding. However, Mira and Zoey begin to effortlessly pursue them as they twist and flip through the platforms. Both parties soon find themselves in the stage’s rafters, overlooking the massive crowd below. Booming speakers around them play the start of their set. In a final effort, two demons try to strike the ascended girls, only to be quickly struck down into embers. Weapons raised at the remaining demons, the Hunters make a final effort to strike. A cyclops demon evades the attack, causing Mira to slash a stage light which pours out a flurry of sparks that rains onto the stage. Mira then shoves a pair of demons down towards the stage, which prompts her and Zoey to follow. The action leaves the director demon free to retreat with her life.

However, that isn’t a concern to Huntrix as they fall upon the injured demons and finally slay them. With the battle over, the two girls are greeted by the roaring of their fans, ready for the two to begin the show. Walking through the veil of sparks, Mira and Zoey appear on stage ready to begin the concert.

“Hello hunters,” Mira announces, “hope you’re ready for a great show tonight!”

Both girls are met with thunderous applause as they begin to sing.

And soon enough their efforts are rewarded as they hit the final notes of their finale. The uniting standing ovation of the audience warming their hearts and the glow of the light sticks calming the girls’ nerves.

Looking out to their fans, the two girls see the Honmoon shining as powerful blue waves pulse through the barrier with an intensity they haven’t witnessed in a long time.

After everything, they are finally returning to some normalcy.

— — —

Despite the uncomfortably warm air of the demon realm, the Demon director can’t help but feel the icy glares of the demon army as she limps through them. Shame and fear evident on her face as she gets nearer to her destination…

A grand staircase carved into the mountain’s side that leads to the ruins of a once pristine temple. Within its center burns a gigantic purple fire, its eternal flame illuminating the demons that gather at its presence.

However, this flame went by a name that causes both man and monster to tremble in fear. His name was Gwi-Ma, the Demon King.

As the director approaches, she hesitates at the base of the stairs, fearful of whatever punishment may come her way as a result of her failure. Her indecision, however, is met with searing patterns and a forceful pull of magic that drags her up to the fiery maw of Gwi-Ma.

“I take it your plan wasn’t successful?” Gwi-Ma calmly asks, his flames moving as he speaks.

“It’s the hunters, they’re still so powerful.” The demoness meekly pleads, bowing before her king.

“Hmmm, I understand…” Gwi-Ma simply states.

“You--you do?” The demon drops her guard.

“Yes child.. I understand that you’re weak!” Gwi-Ma shoots out a beam of magic that engulfs and incinerates his minion where she stands.

“You’re pathetic! All of you!” Gwi-Ma shouts out to the crowd, “How come just two Hunters are able to ward us off like this? Can’t you idiots see that the Honmoon is already strengthening once more?”

The Honmoon above flares an intense blue in response to the Demon King’s words, leaving the downtrodden demons to bask in their failure.

Suddenly, a note echoes through the crowd, causing the demon to turn and face its source. A figure sitting atop the opposing hongsalum, strumming his worn bipa with a calm demeanor.

“There once was a mighty demon king,” The figure says, “stop me if you heard this one before.”

“He was in total control.”

“He feasted on souls.”

“The world trembled when he roared.” The demon levitates from the structure’s rooftop, landing next to a beast with glowing eyes. “But then some Hunters sang some songs.”

“Now all he does is starve.”

“Can’t get at the souls, and his flame grows cold. Just a whisper in the dark.”

“And will he let the fire go out?”

“Is this the end of him now?”

“Dying king with a crumbling crown.”

“Will he let the fire go out?”

“Ahhh, I remember you.” Gwi-Ma points out, “Tell me, Jinu, why do you dare mock me with the voice I’ve graciously given to you?”

“I’m not here to mock you. I’m here to help you.” Jinu clarifies with a smirk as a hooded figure in shrouded cloth breaks from the crowd to accompany him.

“It’s time for a new strategy. We fight the Hunters where they least expect it.” Both levitate to the top of the stairs, descending at the foot of Gwi-Ma’s flames. “Go after the very thing that powers the Honmoon…”

“The fans.” Jinu’s golden eyes peer into the fire, “And we are just the people to do so.”

Suddenly, the figure drops their robes to reveal a girl in a flowing black hanbok, only broken by a dark purple sash across her torso. Her flowing purple braid cascading down from her head. As if on queue, both snap into a pose with Jinu leaning back with a fist raised in the air, while the girl steps away from him as she puts one hand on her hip and the other forming a finger heart.

“A demon pop band?… Ha ha ha!” Gwi-Ma’s flames erupt in laughter as other demons follow suit. “And with none other than the little hunter. Tell me, girl, how has this hell treated you so far?”

Rumi growls in response, anger starting to boil as the Demon King speaks. However, Jinu is quick to interfere, “I assure you my lord, this plan will work.”

“What makes you think so?” Gwi-Ma entertains, his demons stare forth with expecting faces. With a snap of Jinu’s fingers, Rumi turns to face the army of demons before her and sings a small melody of beautifully haunting notes.

Left in stunned awe, the demons reconvene and mutter amongst themselves, “Oh yeah, that’s totally gonna work.”

“Okay.” Gwi-Ma slowly concedes, “I know you, Jinu. In four hundred years, you’ve never done a single thing that didn’t serve yourself. What do you want?”

“The memories,” Jinu says with a cold expression, “I want them erased.”

Rumi turns her head ever so slightly at those words.

“And you little hunter, you have a lot of nerve to come here like this. Seeking favor with this.. boy,” Gwi-Ma turns his flames towards the girl, “Tell me, what is it that you desire now?”

Rumi pauses at the question before staring up into the fire with golden eyes and glowing patterns before speaking, “I seek to be rid of this pain.”

Notes:

Hello everyone,

We finally got to see a glimpse of what Huntrix has been doing in the aftermath of Rumi's absence. Hopefully they don't have their hands full with these new developments.

Anyways, I hoped that I wrote Mira and Zoey well, as I have been focusing on Rumi and Jinu for like... three chapters. I promise that we will see and focus on these two in the future, as I have some exciting avenues I want to explore with Mira and Zoey. Also I hope the fight scene was engaging enough for this story, especially since I like writing action.

Be sure to show your support if you like this chapter, and as always see you all next time!

Chapter 7: The Human World

Summary:

Rumi and Jinu finally make their way to Earth to start preparing for their mission.

“Mira hurry up! The next movie’s ‘bouta start!” Zoey yells from across the room, poking her head over the couch as she lifts herself from her previously lounged position.

“Alright, be there in a sec!” Mira calls back from the kitchen as she finishes assembling their resupply of snacks. In a flash, she speeds across the room and sets the snacks on the couch before leaping over the backrest to find her seat. Mira practically sinks into the sofa as she finds a comfortable position.

“I’m so excited about this one Mira, I heard it has an awesome opening action scene.” Zoey lights up as the movie begins, bouncing up and down in excitement.

Mira can’t help but quietly chuckle at the display. She’ll never understand why Zoey likes these superhero movies, but she also cannot deny it's not a bad way to pass the time. Mira was just glad to bask in this relaxing moment, a well-earned reward for all of the effort the two of them put into the concert.

However, the moment doesn’t last for much longer as Mira feels her phone vibrate in her robe’s pocket. Lifting to see who it is, Mira finds Celine’s caller icon requesting an audience. Before clicking the accept button, Mira extends her hand to tap Zoey’s left shoulder, absentmindedly adding, “Hey Zo…”

But Mira is interrupted with Zoey wincing in pain, her arm slightly recoiling away from the source of discomfort. Realizing her mistake, Mira quickly exclaims, “Sorry Zoey! I forgot… we just have a call from Celine.”

Recovered, Zoey gives Mira a cheerful nod in recognition, allowing Mira to answer the call. Greeted by the face of Celine, both girls state, “Hi Celine.”

“Hello girls,” Celine answers, “how’s it going?”

“Good, we’re just relaxing,” Mira casually responds, tilting her phone to reveal Zoey munching on a bag of shrimp chips to emphasize her point. Moving towards her own question, Mira asks, “What’re you calling about, Celine?”

“I just wanted to congratulate you two on a wonderful performance this past weekend. I heard that it was your biggest venue yet, since before… you know. Plus I’ve seen plenty of buzz about your song, ‘Switch Up’, on social media. I’m glad that those months of work paid off.” Celine explains.

“Thanks,” Both girls say in unison.

“I would’ve called sooner, but I was at a business meeting in the States regarding some future promo deals. But I was glad to see the Honmoon strengthen as I was returning home. You both have really stepped up, especially you Mira.”

“Thank you Celine.” Mira dutifully remarks at her comment, a sense of pride washing over her as she hears her mentor’s words. The moment is cut short as the Honmoon pulses pink in alarm to demons breaching the barrier. In response, Mira explains, “Celine, we’ll have to call you back. Some demons just broke through.”

“Alright,” Celine replies, “Stay safe.”

Mira gives Celine a firm nod before ending the call. Turning to Zoey, Mira states, “C’mon Zoey, we got work to do.”

“Aww but we just got to the good part.” Zoey whines as she’s dragged away from her movie and her snacks.

— — —

Staring out to the endless wasteland of the Demon Realm has always given Rumi a sense of suffocating isolation that sat deep in her chest. Now it was a grounding presence compared to the unknown of what is to follow.

For today, Jinu and her would make the leap to the Human World… the first time she would return to the plane she’s been banished from after all these months.

Gwi-Ma has been surprisingly gracious towards the two by giving them time to establish themselves on Earth before enacting their plan. A detail that Rumi highlighted as they further discussed their mission. After all, there was only so much demon magic could do when you had to rent recording sessions, schedule interviews, and set up a whole social media presence.

It’s the very same fact that now led to Rumi standing next to Jinu on top of a nearby mountain, overlooking the desolate valleys. The formation’s height is often used by demons to allow them to more easily breach the Honmoon, which is a skill only granted by Gwi-Ma as he imbues them with his magic to do so. A one-way ticket for demons to attack the humans in the world above.

With the magic engulfing his right arm in a pink storm, Jinu grabs Rumi’s attention, “Are you ready?”

Snapping from her trance, Rumi looks to him with distant eyes. “Huh… Yeah I think so.”

Without delay, Jinu focuses the magic in his hand into a swirling vortex that slowly forms in front of the two until it becomes a tear large enough for them to walk through. Looking back at Jinu, she notices beads of sweat trickling down his face as he gasps for air. After recollecting himself, Jinu briefly remarks, “The Honmoon is powerful… portal won’t stay open for long.”

Given her queue, Rumi is the first to step through the gash between realities, feeling a jolt of energy that rattles her whole body as she does so. She never would’ve expected stepping through a tear to be so… weird.

However, she doesn’t dwell on the sensation for long as rays of light hit her eyes. Stepping out of the portal, the sun of the human world greets her for the first time since her banishment. Her ears reacquainting with the restless yet calming sounds of nature that surrounds opposed to the typical eerie quiet of the hell she came from.

Waiting a moment for Jinu to fully exit, Rumi witnesses the tear vanish back into the trunk of a large tree, leaving the two surrounded by the forest around them. Looking back to Jinu, she catches him drinking in the sites with a look of awe before he notices her staring, causing him to snap back to his normal smug expression. “Well, we’re here. That wasn’t so bad.”

“Yes that was really easy,” Rumi confirms before realizing, “Wait! Won’t the Hunters be able to sense the tear.”

“Yes,” Jinu replies, “But I thought of that, and sent a small squad of some low-level demons through another tear across the city to distract them.”

Rumi nods in respect to Jinu’s perceptiveness before wondering how those demons must be faring.

— — —

Across Seoul, Mira and Zoey are absolutely destroying those very same demons in an abandoned warehouse.

Mira is effortlessly weaving between the small hoard attacking her as she slashes them down with an aggressive smile.

Meanwhile a lone demon with one eye is running haphazardly with Zoey perched on his shoulders as she smacks him across the face. The poor demon yelling, “Get her off, get her off, get her off!”

— — —

Shaking the thought from her mind, Rumi meets Jinu bored gaze before he states, “You ready to use glamor magic? Do you remember what I taught you?”

“Yes.” Rumi answers, only having ever used the magic to change her hand. Completely changing her appearance would be a major step up.

“Then let’s begin.” Jinu brings his hands together and in a flash he casts the spell over himself. Rumi follows with her spell taking much more effort to complete. Once she’s done she looks back to Jinu with startled eyes.

Standing before her was still Jinu, except that he just looked so… human. His hanbok was replaced with a simple pair of jeans and a dark gray hoodie, his gat vanished from his visage. His once purple skin was now replaced with a warm yet subtle tan that was not burdened by the patterns that covered it. His face is also lacking the deep marks that cross his left cheek and his once golden eyes shifted into a deep brown, devoid of his usual narrow gaze.

“Wow, you look so different.” Rumi remarks.

“Huh, I could say the same about you.” Jinu curiously adds, meeting Rumi’s confused stare by gesturing to a nearby puzzle.

Meeting her reflection, Rumi gasps at the sight. Replacing her once demonic appearance was her old self staring back at her, completely devoid of fangs and tusks and patterns. Her purple braid traveled behind her to meet a simple tank top. Touching her shoulders, Rumi takes note that they no longer bear the pale purple complexion she recently developed, or her patterns.

However, Rumi knows that this is just an illusion, that this isn’t the real her. She doesn’t dwell on it though, choosing to direct her focus elsewhere. Trying to find her bearing and avoiding Jinu’s staring, Rumi asks, “Where even are we?”

Briefly walking out of the surrounding forest, Rumi gets her answer. They breached into Naksan Park, emerging near a set of stone stairs and railings that overlook the city of Seoul in the far distance with the late afternoon sun slowly descending in the sky. The dynamic skyline is something that Rumi nearly forgot about in her months away.

Jinu stares out at the sight with a much different outlook though, finding newfound awe at the many towering buildings rising into the sky. Shining lights of many different colors breaking through the day to offer a mirage of wondrous displays. It is not anything like Jinu knows.

“This is amazing,” Jinu whispers, reminding Rumi that they are free to explore this world.

And yet there is only one immediate goal that crosses Rumi’s mind.

— — —

“And here we are!” Rumi empties a bag onto a stone pillar that she and Jinu are sitting at, revealing a small pile of kimbap, chips, and candies. Having led a very confused Jinu, Rumi raided the nearest convenience store for her favorite treats (by managing to materialize some money to pay the clerk). Now she was free to feast on some of her favorite foods she had long craving under the setting sun.

“What is all… this?” Jinu questions, picking up a box of Pocky to better examine the item.

“Just a few of my favorite snacks,” Rumi explains, “Now stop being annoying and let me enjoy my food.”

Ripping open the boxes and bags, Rumi begins to feast on the banquet before her. Greedily taking the Kimbap for herself, she quickly stuffs the slices into her face in an effort to sate this hunger she’s long experienced.

The sight of watching Rumi devour the food in front of them leaves Jinu in shock, bewildered at the inhuman speed she consumes the snacks. Looking up at the man with puffed cheeks, Rumi gestures for Jinu to try something. He hesitantly opens the Pocky and takes a bite of the chocolate stick, eyes lighting up slightly at the taste.

Meanwhile, Rumi finishes her small buffet with a satisfied look at how everything tasted. However, the satisfaction of the meal is quickly replaced with the still gnawing sensation of hunger, leaving Rumi wondering how all that food didn’t sate it.

Rumi frustratingly ponders to herself, “Why am I still so hungry.”

Picking up on the question, Jinu answers, “Because demons only gain sustenance from souls.”

Rumi pales a little at the words, the slight shock at the implication worrying her. She already knew that her deal with Gwi-Ma would result in souls taken, but to have it effect herself in this way really shook her.

Sensing her distress, Jinu quickly course-corrects, “Hey, at least this tastes really good. I could see why you got this stuff now.”

Rumi eases at the compliment.

She watches Jinu resume to casually eat the remaining Pocky as he stares out to the city, transfixed on the sun setting behind the skyline. Eyes still locked on the sight, Jinu says, “Y’know, I think this is the first sunset I’ve seen in at least two hundred years. I… forgot what it looked like.”

Rumi turns to Jinu with a sorry look. Finding comforting words, she finally states, “Well, we’ll have the chance to see many more while we’re here.”

Jinu flashes Rumi a warm smile before responding, “Of course. Now, this plan of ours, where should we begin?”

Notes:

Hello everyone,

I hope that you all enjoyed this latest chapter. It was my attempt to work on a fluffier chapter that includes fun moments for all of the characters so far. I also hoped this chapter answered some questions that you might of had regarding the plot and characters at this point (don't worry more questions will be answered in future chapters too).

One plot point I've wanted to add was Jinu not going to Earth in a really long time, which explains some of his behavior in this chapter. I'm excited to explore it more in the future.

I also would like to apologize in advance if new chapters are splotchy in the near future, as I am currently gearing up to move very soon. So it's been and going to be a busy couple days for me.

Anyways thank you all for the support and please comment if you have anymore questions. See you all next time!

Chapter 8: Anniversary

Summary:

Zoey deals with the heavy emotions of the anniversary of that fateful day.

Notes:

Zoey chapter, Zoey chapter, Zoey chapter! (With a little bit of Rumi sprinkled at the end)

TW: for an injury with chronic pain associated with it and for the use alcohol

Staring out the windows of the living room, Zoey couldn’t help but acknowledge just how fitting the weather is today. Gray clouds hang low above the city, heavy with rain that’s left unshed. The gloomy atmosphere brings an air of tired sorrow that surrounds everyone and everything, leaving people to just go through the motions of their otherwise busy lives. Truly a poetic scene to correlate with Zoey’s mood.

For It’s this kind of weather that reminds Zoey just how miserable today is.

A day of heavy revelations… and of loss.

In the rare quiet of the living room of their penthouse, Zoey sits alone on the large white couch. She’s been camping there since morning, lost in a tired haze, lacking the energy to even bother changing out of her turtle pajamas despite it already being well past noon. Her only company today is the mosaic of thoughts that is her mind. Memories of the past mix with a flurry of distressed emotions, creating a sequence clashing colors inside her head. It began overwhelming the poor girl.

In a small effort to ground herself Zoey curls up on the couch, struggling to lift her legs from the floor and towards herself. Feeling the sudden wave of fatigue wash over her, Zoey’s heavy eyes wander to the turtles on her pajama leggings, letting herself slowly wake back up as she studies each image.

However, the thoughts still fill her mind with a lingering sense of melancholy. Stuck with these pictures in her head, Zoey takes a sip of relaxing lavender tea and carefully sets down her mug on the coffee table. She then moves her hands towards one of her notebooks and flips to an empty page, jotting down her ideas and doodles. A practice that she often employs when thoughts just become too much to bear alone.

As time passes, and the page fills with words, Zoey hears feet shifting behind her as they draw near. Before she could turn to identify the source, a voice cuts through the silence, “Hey Zo, what’re you doing?”

Turning around, Zoey discovers Mira standing near the kitchen dressed like she was going out. She is wearing jeans with a matching white blouse, which is accompanied by a small assortment of bracelets adorning her left wrist. Mira intently stares at Zoey from behind her round glasses, an indication that the taller girl didn’t bother with her contacts today. Meeting her gaze, Zoey puts on a weak smile and replies, “Nothing much, just doing some writing.”

“That’s cool.” Mira adds, pausing as if she was waiting for Zoey to continue the conversation. But in the awkward silence that follows, Mira grows impatient and asks, “You know, I was going to step out and try that new Bar and Grill nearby. Would you like to join me?”

Briefly considering the invitation, Zoey ultimately decides, “No thanks.. I think I’m just going to stay here today.”

“Are you sure?” Mira says with concern etched on her face, “I really think you should, you’ve barely eaten anything all day.”

“No I--I’m good. I’m just not really feeling up for it today.” Zoey flashes Mira another hollow smile while rubbing her left arm.

However, Mira sees right through the other girl as she plainly states, “Zoey, if this is about today…”

Zoey gives a small wince at the reminder, “What? That it's been a year, and I should move on?”

“Zoey.” Mira quietly announces with slight irritation evident in her voice.

“Well I can’t, it just really hurts today, you know. And--and I know it's weird but I still miss her and--”

“Zoey listen,” Mira speaks up to interrupt the rambling girl, “I understand, I.. miss Rumi too. But she was the one who lied to us for years, who hurt you… And she chose to leave us.”

The room is briefly filled with a sorrowful silence at those words.

Insistent, Mira asks once again, “Zoey, would you please join me? It’d be good for you.”

Mira is only met with more silence as Zoey hangs her head in sadness. It was enough of an answer for the taller girl.

“Fine, I’ll go alone. You’ll know where to find me when you’re done feeling sorry.” Mira angrily exclaims, storming towards the elevator with a frustrated demeanor. With a quick open and close of the door Mira vanishes from the apartment, leaving Zoey alone once again.

The following minutes proceed to pass in a blur, letting herself fall back into her thoughts in an attempt to ignore the dull pain blooming in her left shoulder. It wasn’t until the ache overpowered the noise in her mind that Zoey began shifting her position on the sofa.

No longer able to find a comfortable spot for her arm, Zoey leaves the couch seeking the comfy familiarity of her bedroom. She dumps the now-cold tea in the sink and slowly shuffles through the halls towards her room, feeling her tired eyes wander around the walls during her trip. Opening the door, Zoey is met by the usual chaos of the space. The floor surrounding her is littered with clothes and crumpled pieces of papers. Her desk isn’t much better as notebooks, comics, and recording equipment are piled around her computer. Looking over to her bed, she sees the small army of stuffed animals, (most of them turtles) meticulously laid across her blue comforter.

Making her way to the foot of the bed, Zoey examines the pile to find the most relaxing spot to lay within the sea of cute animals. Before she finds it though, Zoey finds a particular stuffed turtle that causes her to freeze. It was the plush that Rumi gifted Zoey for her first birthday spent training as a Hunter.

Picking up the turtle, Zoey offers a weak yet soft smile at the plush as she lets the kind memory wrap her like a hug.

However, the moment doesn’t last long as the warmth is replaced by another bout of pain she feels in her arm. With a distressed sigh, Zoey places the turtle back on the bed and moves in front of the mirror on her vanity. She slowly and carefully lifts the hoodie she’s wearing over her head to reveal the shirt sleeved shirt underneath, letting her arms breathe from their common confinement. There Zoey is able to better examine the source of her pain.

A small series of deep scars wrap around her upper left arm, leading from the lower bicep and up around her shoulder. Their fresh, pale image breaking through the collection of small freckles on her upper arm. Zoey allows her other hand to trace the injury, feeling only the slightest sensation of touch before it is quickly drowned by the throbbing pain resonating within her skin. She takes note that today was certainly a ‘bad day’ for her arm.

Still staring into the mirror, Zoey recalls the pain she felt as she laid on the floor of the stage a year ago, blood gushing down her arm and onto Mira’s skirt as she faded in and out of consciousness. She remembers the pain in the following month of physical therapy, struggling to regain a sense of strength and mobility in the arm. Even now, Zoey often faces difficulty dealing with certain activities like dancing or just folding laundry, much less hunting demons.

But the pain seems so small compared to what they represent. A constant reminder of everything that happened that day, of the person Rumi became before her very eyes.

It is an image that always fills Zoey with regret.

She replays this memory in her head, watching the fear and anguish in Rumi’s eyes as she sits on the floor with patterns blazing. The remorse she portrays after she slashes Zoey in a flash of anger. Yet Zoey did nothing except watch in horror, barely making the effort to even reach out to her friend. She thinks about all the ways she could’ve handled the situation better, of the words she should’ve said instead, to do anything to help Rumi despite her lying to her and Mira. However, she’s stuck with the guilt that she wasn’t enough, with the scar as its memento.

No longer able to bear the feeling, Zoey clumsily puts the hoodie back on in an effort to cover the mark. A common practice that the girl employed lately. It first began with Celine telling her to cover the injury in public, warning that the fans cannot question or even know the nature of them. Despite her initial protests, Zoey has grown to follow the advice because it was better than the shame of looking at them.

Flopping down onto her bed, Zoey brings her palms up to her tired eyes and lets out a groan. She reaches for her norigae to provide a grounding object in her hands. It’s times like this where she would also like to scroll through her phone, but checking it today was a no-go as the media took the anniversary as another opportunity to ask where Rumi was now.

Zoey isn’t surprised at the ongoing development, as it’s still a main point of controversy regarding Huntrix. They haven’t done a good job quelling fan debates and speculation too, especially between the concert’s sudden cancellation, Celine’s vague P.R. announcement about Rumi’s all-too-sudden disappearance, and Mira and Zoey having to focus on writing new songs while fighting demons as a duo. There were even times where the Honmoon would weaken and the two girls would need to quickly collaborate with Celine on a single just to ensure the barrier stays strong. Fortunately, their fandom and the Honmoon now seem to be finding a new normal.

Her phoneless pact today, however, is broken as she hears a ding from the device sitting with her on the bed. Picking up the phone, Zoey reads a text from Bobby:

 

Bobby
Hey Zoey, I just got a text from Mira. I think she’s asking me to meet her at some bar, but it seems like she needs to go home. But it looks like ur closer atm. Do u mind going instead?

Zoey
Sure thing Bobby, thx for letting me know! :)

Bobby
Np, please just make sure she’s alright.

 

Zoey quickly shoots out of bed, changes into nicer clothes, and makes her way to the elevator without a second thought. During the descent, she notices just how late it's become as the clouded sky has already shifted a couple shades darker. At least the walk to where Mira suggested isn’t far, but it was long enough for Zoey to become slightly concerned for her friend.

As she finally makes it into the establishment, she finds Mira sitting alone at the bar, a glass of clear liquid in her hand with a large, empty bottle of soju next to her. Zoey is taken by surprise at the scene as this is something she never saw Mira do.

Spotting the shorter girl, Mira drunkenly shouts, “Zoey! You’re.. finally here!”

“Yes I am,” Zoey tries her best to keep calm as she approaches Mira. Gently tearing the glass from her grip and setting it down on the counter, Zoey says, “But maybe it’s time for you to go back home.”

“Nooo. Les’ stay.” Mira’s speech slurs as she tries to shift in her seat only to clumsily fall off at the attempt.

Moving fast to catch her friend, Zoey declares, “No we’re definitely going. You need to rest.”

After paying the bartender, Zoey slowly assists Mira out of the bar and into the streets, letting the taller girl lean on her for support as they walk. The whole time Mira mumbles to herself as small flashes of various emotions cross her face, leaving Zoey to wonder what it could all possibly mean. All the while Mira’s pace slows and speeds in sporadic moments as Zoey concentrates on getting the two of them back to the penthouse.

“Hey Zo.” Mira speaks up as they turn onto their street.

“Yeah Mira?” Zoey quietly asks, looking into Mira’s half-lidded gaze.

“Promise you won’t leave me too… please?”

Pausing at the gravity of her plea, Zoey puts on a brave and earnest face and answers, “I promise, Mir.”

Mira gives Zoey a small smile at the response before returning to her drunken state, leaving Zoey to walk the rest of the way home in silence.

And in the quiet moment, Zoey is glad to know that she was enough this time.

— — —

Somewhere across the city, two figures sit alone on the rooftop of an apartment complex. They both become slowly illuminated as the clouds dissipate to reveal the moonlit sky. However, they don’t pay attention as they huddle around a phone in one of their hands.

“And which thing is it to access the camera ‘app’ again?” Jinu asks, confused at the many apps Rumi set up on his new phone.

“It’s this one.” Rumi points out with an annoyed demeanor.

Nodding slightly in understanding, Jinu clicks the icon only to then question, “And how is this able to put me into a ‘video?’”

“Ugh, why are you being so old right now!?” Rumi exclaims, drooping her shoulders in frustration.

“Hey, you were the one who wanted me to use this phone to set up a social media handle.” Jinu explains, rotating the phone around as if he was inspecting a precious gemstone. “What’s got you in this mood today, anyway?”

“It’s nothing!” Rumi snaps at him, her eyes flashing gold as she does so.

“Fine, be this way. I’ll be with Derpy when you’re done being so snippy.” Jinu stands up and walks a couple steps before teleporting away, leaving Rumi alone with the unassuming company of Sussie.

Letting a frustrated growl escape her mouth, Rumi allows her glamor charm to drop on her hands, leaving the familiar patterns to web their way across its skin. She lets herself dwell with the thought that it's now been a year since she condemned herself to this fate, to becoming a demon. Her patterns are a reminder of the feeling.

Rumi’s mind soon wanders to the final images of Mira’s and Zoey’s faces, contorted in fear and disgust at who she was. The memory still haunts her as the voices begin creeping their way back into her mind. In an effort to distract herself, she pulls out her frayed, faded norigae, which is the only thing she managed to keep through her time in the demon realm, and lets its presence try to ground her just a little bit.

But it doesn’t work, and she soon finds herself silently crying in anger and sorrow as she looks back to now tainted memories of the people who abandoned her.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

This was an extremely long and difficult chapter to write as I wanted to make sure that it had as much care and effort put into it as possible. After all, this chapter deals with some pretty heavy feelings for Zoey along with the other characters along with revealing the emotional state of Zoey and Mira. I hope that you all found a good amounts of questions answered as a result, and I hope that this chapter wasn't too dense as it was definitely less dialogue based.

Additionally, I really enjoyed writing a more Zoey-centric chapter with this one, as I think there were a lot of great nuances to explore with her character.

Anyways, I'd also like to take the time to briefly discuss the timeline of this fic since we have a nice year gap between the first and latest chapter. So after chapter two and the beginning of three, Rumi spends almost a week in the demon realm before meeting Jinu. Then they both travel the realm for about two months before chapter five. From there it takes over 9 months for Jinu and Rumi to present the plan and enter Earth with about a week and a half before the anniversary. (Sorry for dropping such a large exposition dump, but I just wanted to make the time of events clearer).

As always thank you for all of you support with my work, and I love reading all of your comments regarding this fic. Don't expect another upload in a hot minute probably because I'm gearing up to move in the next few days. However, I can't wait to see you all when I get to the next one. See ya!

Chapter 9: Morning Management

Summary:

Rumi and Jinu have a relaxing morning while Mira and Zoey are stuck in the middle of a managerial debate.

Between the thin veil of peaceful darkness of sleep and inviting morning light, Rumi begins to stir from her slumber. Her eyes slowly flicker open, fighting the tempting sensation of rest to pull the girl back into consciousness. Rumi blinks the deep fog out of her eyes only to be greeted by rays of early light hitting her face. She responds with a small, frustrated groan as she’s forced to squint instead of being able to fully open her eyes.

With begrudging effort, Rumi rises from where she was fast asleep, using her arms to prop herself up. However, her hands struggle to find stability on the soft, fluffy surface underneath. Allowing her mind to register the feeling, Rumi realizes that she’s sitting atop the still sleeping form of Derpy. She must’ve dozed off with him after a particularly long and tiresome day.

Carefully maneuvering herself off the tiger, Rumi manages to stand up and yawn as her mind starts to focus. The effort is met with misfortune though as she finally feels just how stiff her body is, which Rumi quickly tries to rectify by stretching out her whole body until she feels her muscles give in.

Lowering her hands back to her sides, Rumi begins to aimlessly shuffle away from Derpy to look out from the rooftop she is on. Her eyes lock on the busy traffic and restless crowds moving below her. As she spectates, she feels an itch forming in the small of her back. Rumi reaches above and behind her with a strained arm, doing her best to reach. Fortunately she is able to reach, letting her claws give relief as she scratches the spot.

It isn’t until she brings her hand back in front that Rumi realizes that the glamor charm dispelled while she slept. In hindsight it should’ve been obvious that she couldn’t maintain the magic necessary through the night.

This type of spell requires time and practice, two things that Rumi has unfortunately lacked since learning about glamours from Jinu. The natural result being that the spell becomes difficult to hold for long, leaving Rumi needing to drop certain aspects of the facade when in private. Additionally, she found that the glamor charm wasn’t perfect, with an example being her canines and nails being just a bit too sharp for a normal human. However, Jinu once told her that these were common issues even for experienced demons, showcasing his still-pointy fangs in a casual gesture.

Rumi focuses on resetting her spell, allowing her patterned skin and demonic features to reside behind the veil of magic. As if on cue, a voice calls out, “Look who's finally awake.”

Surprised, Rumi jumps and flails her arms before facing the voice’s source. “Ugh, Jinu. Don’t do that!”

“What? Can’t I say good morning to my friend?” Jinu responds, adding a smug chuckle. He is currently sitting on top of the structure of a roof access, his own patterns cross across his human arms and face.

“You’re impossible.” Rumi rolls her eyes before asking, “What have you up to since I fell asleep?”

“Oh, just trying to stargaze, whiiich may have turned into looking at posts in my ‘for you page’ and updating my social media account. Oh by the way I also got some sort of weird hearts next to my music videos.” Jinu jumps down from his perch and shoves the phone in Rumi’s face, a mix of confusion and pride evident on his face.

Scrolling through the videos, Rumi remarks, “Well these are ‘likes’, they tell you how many people like your videos. Looks like there’s a decent number of them too.”

“That’s great. This is exactly what we wanted.”

Rumi gives him a confirming nod, noting that the modest number of likes and follows on Jinu’s account will skyrocket soon enough. After all, his account now is just to show that Jinu exists.

Upon further examination of his account, Rumi gives a satisfied hum at the numbers Jinu accumulated. Pushing the phone back to him, the demon girl decides, “I think we’re ready for the next part of the plan.”

— — —

Struggling to wake up, Zoey exits her room with her mind a haze. A consequence of a terrible night of tossing and turning in her bed.

Walking, or more so stumbling, around for a few seconds, the lyricist finds a guiding aroma travelling through the halls, inviting her towards its source. Following this guide, Zoey eventually pads her way out to the kitchen to find Mira manning the stove with a spatula in hand. She’s currently wearing dark joggers and a t-shirt, her sturdier glasses resting on the bridge of her nose and her pink hair pulled back into a long ponytail. Noticing the shorter girl enter the space, Mira cheerily says “Good morning Zoey.”

“Morning Mira.” Zoey groggily replies, “What time is it?”

“About ten A.M.”

“Oh, I must’ve slept in.” Zoey gives a weak laugh at the realization.

“Don’t sweat it. I was busy this morning working out and dancing anyway, and now I’m making us breakfast.” Mira causally explains.

“Oooo, what’re you making?” Zoey asks.

“Well, I know it’s been a.. rough couple days for you, so I made you some american pancakes.” Mira turns to reveal a griddle with fluffy golden pancakes rising off the surface. Slowly adding finished confections to a small stack on a plate, the tower practically glowing in an ethereal light to Zoey as her mouth waters. “I also made rice with some banchan for myself, but I made extra if you want some too.”

Instantly perking up, Zoey excitedly says, “Mira-unnie, thank you so much! Do you need any help!?”

“No I’m good, I’m almost done anyways.”

Giving the taller girl an understanding hum, Zoey sits down at the counter and waits to be served. Fortunately, she only waits a minute before Mira slides her stack of pancakes, accompanied by butter and syrup, for her to eat. Preparing the pancakes, Zoey finally digs in as Mira sits next to her with bowls of her breakfast resting in front of her. The minutes soon tick by as the two girls talk and laugh between bites, with Zoey leading the conversation with little facts about the latest comic and turtle facts she’s discovered. Mira just basks in the chaotic yet calming moment, commenting whenever possible.

As the two finish their food, the elevator door rings throughout the penthouse, causing both girls to turn their attention towards the entrance. The doors open to reveal Bobby and Celine, both clad in respective business attire, already in the middle of a conversation.

“--I don’t think that’s fair though. The girls have barely had two weeks off.” Bobby states, frustration clear in his voice as he steps out of the elevator.

“I understand, but this is time that they’re spending off when they could be working on their next single, or performing.” Celine rebuttals, keeping her usual calm demeanor.

However, Bobby quickly questions, “Is this a ‘Honmoon’ thing, cause I thought you all said that it was strengthening after the concert?”

Before Celine could reply, Mira greets the two, “Hello Celine, Hi Bobby. What brings you up here?”

Celine cuts Bobby off before he can even speak, getting straight to the point, “We are discussing if it is best if we cut your break a little early and start focusing on a new song.”

Both Mira and Zoey remain quiet as they stare at Celine and a slightly distressed Bobby.

“That isn’t what we agreed on though.” Bobby crosses his arms, clearly frustrated.

“I understand Bobby. I’m merely suggesting that given where Huntrix is right now, we shouldn’t wait too long or the fans might become restless.”

“But Huntrix is still doing great on the charts right now.” Bobby pulls out his phone to present his evidence to the three girls, “What do you think girls?”

“Uuuuhhhhh.” Zoey eyes go wide at the decision thrusted and expecting eyes on her and Mira. She shrinks a little in her seat as her mind lets the two options combat each other.

Mira, on the other hand, detects the shorter girl’s anxiety at the decision. Seeing her friend grapple with the potential of losing the chance to relax, of leaving the strife she felt over the past few days go unresolved. Mira knew the feeling well.

Yet Mira hesitates, finding sense in Celine’s opinion. After all, there was still so much to repair, both for Huntrix and their duty as hunters.

It's only after Mira weighs the decision that Mira speaks, “I think… it might be best if we stick with a longer break. It’s better if we’re both rested for the fans.”

“Mira, I strongly suggest that we don’t waste time here. I’m just thinking about your future.”

“I understand Celine, I really do, but I think this break will be good for all of us.” Mira stands her ground, noticing Zoey mutter a thank you that only she could hear.

“Girls please…” Celine tries to command the conversation, only to be betrayed by her pleading tone.

Seizing the moment, Bobby steps in, “Welp, the girls will be ready when they say they’re ready, we owe them that much after all the work… and hunting, they’ve accomplished.”

Bobby, Mira, and Zoey look back to Celine with their own expression, each meeting her icy stare. Finally, Celine concedes, “Fine, I guess you all deserve a break. I could use this time to head back to the mountains and… meditate for a couple days. It’s been too long. When I return though there’s still much to discuss.”

Turning back to leave, Celine swiftly states, “Goodbye, Bobby, Zoey, Mira.”

All three give a respective farewell as Celine enters the elevator, leaving them alone in the penthouse. Feeling tension emanating from the girls, Bobby is quick to address, “Hey, you two alright?”

Zoey is the first to respond this time, “Yes, thank you Bobby.”

“It’s not a problem, seriously.” Bobby gives them both a warm smile, “Now you two enjoy the rest of your time off. I know you two need it. But if you need me for anything, I’ll be only a phone call or a text away, okay?”

“Yep, will do.” Mira confirms.

Bobby nods, “Wonderful… Welp I’m off. See you two later.”

“Bye Bobby.” Mira and Zoey say in unison, giving their manager a small bow as he leaves the apartment.

Left alone, Mira lets out a relieved sigh knowing that the difficult conversation is over. Zoey, on the other hand, is still feeling a bit rattled. Realizing this, Mira gives a grounding hand on Zoey’s right shoulder and offers, “Hey, how about we go shopping today. We could get some new clothes or something, and maybe even stop through the markets and get some street food for lunch.”

“Ooo yes! That sounds like fun!” Zoey claps her hands together in excitement, “I’m gonna go get ready!”

Watching the shorter girl rush out of the room in the blink of an eye, Mira finds the new energy infectious. A smile gracing her lip in response.

Suddenly, Zoey shouts from her room, “Mira hurry up! I wanna leave soon!”

Laughing at her friend’s antics, Mira finds solace in knowing that today will be a good day.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

I am finally back with a new chapter after a crazy week. I just recently made a huge life change by moving across half a country and a different timezone to start university. The past few days have been also busy with setting up my new apartment.

However, while I couldn’t write this new chapter until a day or two ago, I did take the time during the trip to look back and edit previous of the fic. I promise you I made no truly sweeping changes, and I wasn’t dissatisfied with my work, but I just wanted to go back and fix some errors and unclear writing for a better reading experience. For those who keep up with the work, you may go back and reread if you’d like, but it’s completely optional.

On a similar note I updated the tags again.

Now to this chapter, I felt like I needed to ease back into the writing process, so I did more of a simple addition to the story. It originally started out as multiple ideas for one chapter, but I wanted to make sure all future chapters have fully realized ideas. I also acknowledge that this is a slower chapter, but it should lead directly into the next few chapters nicely.

Anyways, thank you for all of the usual support you gave on my last chapter, as it was amazing to see all of the hits and likes. The comments in particular were amazing this chapter and I absolutely loved reading all of them. Overall, I love reading/responding to comments so if you’d like to show your support or ask questions please do.

See you all in the next one!

Chapter 10: Debut

Summary:

Mira and Zoey go out shopping, but end up caught in the debut of a new pop band.

“Oh, oh, Mira, this one would look perfect for you!” Zoey squeals, taking a light pink blouse with flowing sleeves off the rack. Mira stops searching further down the aisle to approach the younger girl and judge the clothing.

Under her scrutinizing gaze, Mira states, “I don’t know, it’s very… pink.”

“What are you talking about?” Zoey complains, “Pink is totally your color, and this is soooo cute.”

“Yeah, but I just don’t think it’s my style, ya know.” Mira argues, her eyes shifting away from the article of clothing to survey the rest of the store. Her eyes staring out across the small sea of a variety of different items scattered across the racks occasionally broken by mannequins sporting the latest trends. A small crowd of people accumulate at the front of the store towards the cash register, methodically presenting the employee clothes to buy.

“Girl, you change your style like every month.” Zoey teases, gesturing to Mira’s newly adorned sleeveless button down, baggy black cargo pants, and black boots to match her favorite black baseball cap and gold-framed glasses.

In response, Mira playfully pulls her friend’s yellow bucket hat over her eyes.

“Okay, okay.” Zoey chuckles, lifting her hat back up, “But I swear I will find you something that you’ll like here!”

Zoey excitedly weaves between the aisles, quickly checking for anything that she thinks Mira would enjoy, taking joy in pulling out item after item to showcase to her friend. Shirts, pants, and jackets of various styles are quickly shoved into Mira’s arms to eventually try on in the dressing room. Soon enough, Mira finds herself with a small pile of clothes draped in one arm as she continues to follow Zoey around.

“Hey Zo, I think that I have enough clothes.” Mira decides, “How about we find some stuff for you now?”

“Oh.. sure! I’d love that!” Zoey happily lets Mira take the lead in searching for outfits. They both spend a little longer than Mira in trying to pin down clothes that would suit Zoey, given that the lyricist was very indecisive about the wild arrangement of clothes presented to her.

Pulling out a light green cropped long-sleeved shirt, Mira explains, “I think this would look great on you.”

With a glimmer in her eyes, Zoey takes the shirt and adds it to her own pile, satisfied by all of the cute clothing she’s accumulated. Suddenly grabbing Mira’s arm in an excited haste, Zoey drags the taller girl towards the dressing room so they could each try on their respective collections. Mira is the first to go into the booth, periodically returning to the waiting area Zoey’s sitting in wearing entirely new outfits. Zoey offers a flurry of cheers and advice with each one, helping Mira sort through any items that don’t quite fit their vision in practice. Eventually, Mira is able to trim off a decent portion of clothing. Zoey is next in queue as she enters the booth to try on her own outfits, only pausing as she takes off her floral jacket to expose her arm in front of the mirror, revealing her ugly scars. Shaking the thought, Zoey steels herself and changes clothes to present to Mira. The shorter girl repeatedly steps out to be met by praise by Mira, finding the word the slightest bit hollow as she confines herself to long sleeves, hoodies, and jackets. By the time Zoey is done with trying on her clothes, she finds herself keeping most of what they found for her.

Taking their hauls to the register, both girls kindly wait for the cashier to complete the transaction. With Mira taking two of the three bags in her hands and Zoey taking the remaining one, they exit the store. They venture out onto the busy streets of downtown Seoul, making their way through crowds of people rushing from one shop to the next. Lines of people fill the streets as they wait for their turn to order food from a variety of street vendors. Zoey briefly notices collections of posters and flyers adorning nearby walls, her eyes focusing on the slightly worn Huntrix posters from their last concert being engulfed by newer, brighter papers that she cannot quite make out.

Focusing her attention back to Mira, Zoey enthusiastically starts planning. “I’m starving. How about we find something to eat? There’s that ramyeon place we like a few shops down, or we can get some kimbap--oh, or we can try that new tteokbokki place over there. And after that we can go to that one collectibles store down the street and--”

“Woah, woah, Zoey slow down.” Mira deadpans as she puts a restraining hand on Zoey’s right shoulder, her cool demeanor in contrast to the younger girl’s boundless energy. So much so that Mira can feel Zoey vibrating under her touch. “Let’s just take a deep breath and then we’ll decide together.”

Following her instructions, Zoey more calmly asks, “What would you like, Mira?”

“Let’s go to the tteokbokki place, it sounds good. Plus I see they also have some other stuff there too.”

Mira and Zoey slip through the crowds and towards the vendor, letting the smell of herbs and spices from the freshly made greet them with open arms. Fortunately the near constant stream of people coming and going has slowed by the time they arrive, allowing them to order in relative peace. Mira ends up ordering both a skewer of tteokbokki and barbeque chicken while Zoey commits to a bowl of the former. They wait and watch their food being quickly prepared, with Zoey in particular salivating as the spicy rice cakes are assembled in her container. As the vendor hands them their food Zoey and Mira thank him, pay him with a small stack of won, and leave.

As they begin to walk and eat with food in hand and bags hanging on their arms, the two girls find themselves in a quieter part of the street with only small clusters of people conversing amongst themselves, some of them holding pink fliers. Mira takes note of their unusual lack of fan interactions this afternoon, only able to recall a few chill people giving a simple ‘hello’ and ‘I love your newest album’ before they even began shopping. Typically the fans would be swarming them if they spotted the two on an outing like this.

At least this new quiet was a nice change of pace, Mira thought.

Resting near the side of a building, Mira and Zoey focus on their lunch, ready to devour the delicious food before them. The pink-haired girl in particular drops her bags and leans against the nearby wall to tear apart her skewers while Zoey remains standing.

Their meal is cut short, however, as the faint patter of footsteps approach them from down the sidewalk. Mira stops mid-bite and briefly turns her gaze to a man walking towards them, a proud smirk clear as day on his face as he pays the women in front of him no mind. His white, window-paned dress shirt is loosely tucked into a pair of skinny jeans while he leaves the top half unbuttoned to reveal a pink under-shirt and a silver chain necklace. A mop of loosely combed black hair completes his obvious attempt to appear more casual.

Mira rolls her eyes in annoyance at the sight before turning her attention back to her food.

But the peace doesn’t last long as the man, seemingly oblivious to his immediate surroundings, bumps into Zoey. The result of the rude interaction being Zoey losing hold of her food, allowing it to slip from her fingers and fall to the ground. Spectating the whole thing, Mira sees her friend's eyes water as her smile turns into a tight frown. Under quivering lips, Zoey mournfully mutters, “My tteokbokki.”

“Hey Buddy!” Mira angrily shouts out, grabbing the man’s attention, “What’s your deal? Why would you do something like that?”

“Don’t blame me. She should’ve watched herself.” The man rudely comments, gesturing to the still downtrodden Zoey.

“But you were the one who ran into her!”

“Not my problem,” The man supplies, “I’ve got places to be anyways.”

Gasping in shock, Mira and Zoey watch as the man turns his back to them and walks away and into the distant crowd, letting the veil of people vanish him from Mira’s furious gaze. After a moment, Mira resorts to a flurry of muttered insults, further cementing her dislike of that guy in the center of her mind.

As Zoey allows the taller girl to vent, she continues to scan for the mysterious man blended within the crowd as an annoyed curiosity takes the wheel. Only managing to catch small glimpses of his bright outfit through the sea of people. It isn’t until she is about to turn away that Zoey spots a familiar flash of purple dart past where she was once spectating the man, causing Zoey to linger at the passing sight in confusion. Before she can dwell on it though, Mira pulls her attention, “Hey don’t worry about him. He’s a damn jerk.”

“Oh.. Yeah he was!” Zoey says half-convincingly, her mind still replaying fragments of the scene in her mind.

Mira takes a calming breath, “Anyways, you can have the rest of my tteokbokki if you’d like, and we could go back to get some dessert. How does that sound?”

“Good.” Zoey concedes, taking the second skewer from Mira’s outreached hand.

After a peaceful moment, both girls start moving again as they finish their food, casually walking through the streets and alleyways trying to get back to the vendors’ area. They purposely go down the quieter streets in the hopes of avoiding all the foot traffic of the ongoing lunch rush. Navigating their way back, Mira and Zoey finally find themselves back on the path straight to the street vendors.

However, they don’t make it far as the sound of music faintly rings through the alleyway, drawing curiosity from the two girls. Both assume that there must be a street performance of some kind nearby, which is quite a common occurrence in this area. Yet Mira and Zoey find themselves being guided by the tune, leading them away from the dim aroma of food in the opposite direction.

Peaking out of the alley, Mira and Zoey look out across to a large plaza, buzzing with people going about their busy lives. All of that is put to an end though as the music begins to crescendo, inviting the bystanders to amass towards the center. The catchy, light-hearted beat acts as a means to retain their attention. Staring out, both girls notice a mist of pink smoke billow in a clearing in the plaza. Clearly something was up.

Wanting to investigate further, Mira pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose as Zoey adjusts her bucket hat and her shoulder pack before heading out. Creeping over, they witness a silhouette emerge from the smoke, striking a pose in time with the beat with what appears to be a pair of hands behind him doing the same. The figure seemingly pushes the pink veil away to reveal the very same man they just bumped into.

Given permission by the music’s queue, the man begins singing. His lyrics follow the upbeat tempo of the notes playing around him, his dance moves drawing in the remaining onlookers who rush past Mira and Zoey for a better view.

“It’s that stupid jerk again.” Mira says with a scowl on her face. Zoey matches her energy as she stares out to the sequence in front of her, noticing the hands behind him moving with the beat.

Before either of them could register the sight, the man slyly moves out of the way to reveal the second person. Left in utter surprise, Mira and Zoey yell in unison, “Rumi?!”

Dancing along with the man while starting her own verse, Rumi twirls around to meet the growing crowd. She’s wearing a dark pair of jean shorts with matching boots that go well together. Her white crop top is lacking her previous turtle-neck appearance, instead replacing it with a looser collar accompanied by a puffy bright purple sleeve that rests above her collar bone and extends down her right arm. Pink floral patterns follow along the outfit until it reaches the tightened cuff of the sleeve. Her other arm is completely bare, only accessorized by a silver bracelet that accompanies her many earrings.

However, Mira and Zoey cannot register any of that as they stare at Rumi’s arm, closely examining for any sign of the marks that once adorned her skin. They don’t find anything.

Tuning into the crowd around them, they hear a myriad of comments from the people surrounding them. With lines like ‘Is that Rumi?’, ‘Oh my god Rumi’s back!’, and ‘We love you Rumi!’ sticking out amongst the cheering of the crowd and the tune of the music.

Snapping out of her daze, Zoey hopefully asks, “Is this real? Is Rumi really back?”

Mira continues to glare at the sight with wide eyes, her expression shifting into something almost unreadable, save for the small frown adorning her face.

“How is she even here right now? And why is she with that jerk?” Zoey ponders, confusion exuding from her voice. A million different thoughts and feelings bounce in her mind, some drawing back to unresolved questions from that fateful rehearsal. But as quickly as they appear, the colors dissipate and are replaced by only a single thought.

Rumi looks so.. normal.

Before she could process it further, Zoey tunes back in to both Rumi and the man singing the chorus.

“Don’t wait up, you’re all we need,”

“We’ll show you how it’s really done.”

“‘Cause we get wild, we feel freed,”

“When you all just have some fun.”

People start to dance along during the chorus, with many people attempting to replicate the mesmerizing choreography. Zoey is one of those people, shifting her shoulders in time with the beat with a small smile on her face. Mira snaps her head over to Zoey with an annoyed expression, silently telling her to stop. Zoey disobeys though, keeping a guilty look as she continues to move her shoulders. Zoey remarks, “You gotta admit it’s pretty catchy.”

Conceding, Mira stops suppressing the urge to join the dance and copies Zoey, “Yeah… it’s infectious.”

As the chorus ends, the fans cheer as the music continues blasting, watching as Rumi and the man hype up the crowds. They briefly stand back-to-back with receiving smiles, showing the fans that they love the support. It concludes as they blow kisses out to the particularly enamored members of the crowd. In doing so, they manifest pink cartoon hearts that fly out towards the fans, slamming into their excited faces. One speeds for Zoey’s face, which is intercepted by Mira before it collides. Bringing it close for inspection, Mira says, “Wait, they can make hearts out of thin-air?”

Distracted by Mira, Zoey doesn’t notice a second heart flying towards her. It slams into her face with enough force to knock her onto the ground.

Rumi and the man start dancing again, mirroring each other as they move their feet and gesture their arms. Examining the two closely, Mira watches a flash of purple move up the man’s arm and rest in a faint glow of his eye. Gasping, Mira exclaims, “He’s a demon!”

“Wait, seriously,” Zoey shoots up off the ground, “How do you know he’s not just a magician.”

Mira gives Zoey an annoyed look.

“Right, right, he’s probably a demon.” Zoey concedes, “Then why is Rumi singing with him?”

“I don’t care,” Mira growls, “A demon’s a demon. We need to kill him.”

Zoey puts a hand on the taller girl’s shoulder, “Mira wait, not in front of all these people. Plus it doesn’t look like he’s gonna hurt anybody. Why else would Rumi be singing with him? Maybe he’s a.. nice demon?”

“Demons are never nice,” Mira declares a little too quickly, causing Zoey to wince ever so slightly.

As they debate, Rumi and the demon go around to their fans as they sing during a bridge, slowly earning their trust with little gifts and taking selfies with excited people. The sight makes Mira a little furious.

The singing duo soon head back to the center of their clearly, preparing for the final chorus. With a unified stomp, they send out a wave of magic that washes everything with a rainbow of bright colors. A swirling, multicolored stage rises from the ground to lift the two into the air, leaving the fans in awe as the demon sings the chorus with Rumi supplying a harmony.

“He must be going after the fans.” Mira pieces together, looking over the hoards of people in front of her to witness the spectacle.

“Don’t wait up, you’re all we need,”

“We’ll show you how it’s really done.”

“‘Cause we get wild, we feel freed,”

“When you all just have some fun.”

“Oooo-ooo yeah!”

“Let’s all have some fun!”

As the song ends, the demon looks out to the crowd while Rumi poses and gives a cheery wave to the fans. The demon locks eyes with Mira and smirks, relishing in the girl’s angry expression, and shoots her a finger gun to further annoy her. With seething breathing Mira turns to Zoey, revealing an offended scowl that could rival an animal. Rumi quickly glances in that direction to see what Jinu was just acknowledging, her smile faltering for a split second at the sight of Mira and Zoey.

Mira’s demeanor is quickly slashed as the two girls hear Rumi shout out, “Woo-hoo, let’s give it up for Jinu, everyone!”

She leads a rally of clapping hands at the demon standing before her.

Jinu then turns to address the crowd of cheering fans and announces, “That’s it for now. See you tonight on everyone’s favorite variety show.”

Jinu and Rumi point up to a hijacked electronic billboard showing the title ‘Play Games With Us.’

“There Rumi will give a heart-warming welcome back message and then we’ll play some games. ‘Dokkaebi’ loves you!”

Rumi and Jinu give a thankful pose as with a final tag they disappear in a cloud of pink smoke. The screen behind them shifts to the name of the band in a stylized font, and with yet another transition shifts to a chibi head of a mischievous looking demon. His purple face sporting a toothy smile that’s accompanied by horns and darker patterns. Not exactly a subtle logo.

Left in the aftermath of the cheering audience, Zoey and Mira are left speechless. Zoey is the first to break the silence between them, “Mira, we need to go after them. Maybe we can save Rumi!”

“Zoey, what are you talking about?”

“She’s obviously being forced by this ‘Jinu’ to help in whatever dastardly plan he has going on. I bet that’s why she’s even back, trapped into doing this demon’s plan.” Zoey states, determination in her voice.

“Zo, I don’t know--” Mira’s words soften at the girl's explanation.

“Why else would she be doing this?” Zoey interrupts, showing the slightest bit of anger and hurt towards Mira, “Why would she not come find us?”

Mira hesitates to answer, a mix of hurt and angry emotions regarding Rumi subside enough for the shorter girl’s optimism to creep into her thoughts. With a final decision set, Mira calmly replies, “Alright Zo, I trust you. Let’s gear up, kill this fool, and save Rumi.”

— — —

Back in their penthouse, the two girls rush into their ridiculously large costume closet to find their battle outfits. Both consisted of stylish black leather adorned with metal spikes and utility pouches.

They quickly and aggressively begin their pre-battle ritual, putting on battle makeup and accompanying glitter across their faces. The only break in the routine is waiting for their nails to dry. Finally done, they gear up with their boots and fingerless gloves, showcasing their finished nails. Mira’s fingers show bedazzled letters on each finger that read ‘KILL JINU’, while Zoey’s says, ‘SAVE RUMI’.

In the faint glow of the setting sun, looking out to the dark sweeping across Seoul, the two girls manifest their glimmering weapons, posing from the balcony of their towers.

With a final thought, Zoey declares, “Operation ‘Save Rumi,’ is a go!”

Notes:

Hello everyone,

After dealing a bout of writers block and recently starting school, I am back with another chapter. This one is a little longer than usual too, which certainly didn't help with the timing of release. Anyways I took a lot of time to make sure this chapter was good, so I hope you all enjoyed it.

Speaking of which, we finally get to a very pivotal point in the story, and we finally get to see some interactions occur between the two groups (mainly with Zoey, Mira, and Jinu for now, lol). I really wanted to set a couple fluffier sequences before the dance too, as I was interested to write out some fun Mira and Zoey character moments. Additionally, I am in no way, shape, or form a lyricist so I apologize if any of the 'singing' dialogue is a little janky/goofy. They were more so trying to convey the essence of the song's meaning than anything else. It also felt disingenuous for me to just make Jinu and Rumi sing 'Soda Pop,' as the divergence between these two and the Saja Boys are notable in this fic.

Also what are your thoughts on Jinu's and Rumi's band name 'Dokkaebi?' I thought it was something cute and different.

Anyways, thank you for all of your usual love and support on this project. I still can't believe we crossed the 5k hits and over 200 kudos milestones from the last chapter! Anyways if you want to want to show your love more, feel free to comment. I love responding to any thoughts and opinions you may have. Have a good one, everyone!

Chapter 11: Play Games With Us!

Summary:

Rumi and Jinu attend the most popular Variety Show in Seoul.

This green room is much nicer than the one Rumi remembers. Its once harsh, industrial white walls have been painted over and replaced with an inviting washed green. Little decals of flowers and waves break up the paint’s otherwise monotonous hue. The room now sports a proper vanity, with ample counter space and a large, well-lit mirror adorning one of the walls. Rumi is currently sitting in front of it doing her makeup.

Behind her lies a new set of furniture, with a stylish coffee table sitting proudly in front of the couch. A welcome basket filled with little snacks and trinkets serving as a centerpiece to the room’s guests. The couch is placed on the opposite wall to Rumi, upgraded from its uncomfortable predecessor to be more sleek, its grey cushions matching the rest of the room. Jinu’s sitting comfortably on the furniture, feet up on the table and idling as they wait to be called to stage.

Rumi hums a little tune to herself as she works on applying foundation.

“Ya know, I’m surprised you managed to book us a spot on this show so quickly.” Jinu remarks, staring up at the ceiling as he casually throws a little red ball in the air. It was a part of their welcome basket.

“Well it pays to still have connections in this business.” Rumi replies nonchalantly, turning briefly to flash him a cocky grin.

“Is that all?” Jinu raises his eyebrow at her.

“I… may have also used a little demonic manipulation to get us this slot.” Rumi winces a little at her words, feeling like they were foreign on her tongue.

Giving a mischievous smile and a glimmer of his golden eyes, Jinu states, “There it is.”

“Oh shut up.” Rumi tries to scold him, but her voice betrays her with a more dismissive tone. Her mind is too focused on other things to deal with her bandmate’s antics. Finishing her makeup is first on that list.

Jinu puts his hands up defensively in a gesture showing the topic is dropped, returning to his bored silence as he pats the cushions underneath him. It doesn’t take long for him to break this quiet. “Ugh, when is this thing gonna even start.”

“Soon.” Rumi simply answers, inspecting herself in the mirror as she applies lipstick. Staring into the mirror, her mind wanders back to their performance from earlier. She remembers the rush of singing in front of people once again, of the faces of adoring fans cheering for her.

And she remembers spotting them amongst the crowd, looks of anger and bewilderment sewn across their faces.

However, her thoughts are rudely interrupted by Jinu, “Hey, what’s the matter? You look upset.”

“What are you talk--”

“I can see your face in the mirror. You have that ‘I’m upset at my own thoughts’ look.” Jinu clarifies.

Damn, she hates how good Jinu has gotten at reading her.

With a defeated sigh, Rumi explains, “I’m just thinking about the performance from earlier. I think Mira and Zoey were in the crowd.”

“The hunters? I knew I felt a strange presence earlier.”Jinu remarks, “Wait, was one of them a really angry girl with pink hair? With the other being shorter and annoyingly perky?”

Rumi wanted to protest on their behalf, but a part of her couldn’t deny the truth behind his words. She gives a small, confirming nod.

“Huh, so those are the ‘formidable’ hunters you told me about. They certainly seem like an… interesting pair.” Jinu says to himself. He turns away from Rumi to casually lay across the couch, arms folded behind his head. Growing curious, he asks, “Are you nervous that they’ll ruin our plan?”

“What? No.” A lie, “It’s just… I didn’t expect to see them so soon. You’d think I’d be more ready to face them again, to accept that they only see a demon now, but I’m not.”

The room enters a tense silence, giving Rumi the opportunity to calm her mind just a little. Sensing the subtle shift in her demeanor, Jinu speaks up. “Hey, it’s alright. I know you still have feelings about this whole situation, but maybe they aren’t worth the trouble. From what I gathered, they were the ones that left you. So why should you care what they think?”

“What are you saying?” Rumi asks, turning around to face him.

“I’m saying, maybe it’ll be easier to just forget about them. To not think about how they’d see you now.”

Rumi lets her words sink in, finding a sort of twisted comfort in his notion. She sits with the thought for a moment.

Suddenly, the light above the door flashes green, signaling for them that they’re ready to go on stage. Seeing this, Rumi sits up and adjusts her outfit, a light pink sweater vest with a blouse undershirt and light purple jeans. Jinu does the same with his pink shirt, dressing similar to his previous performance. Both outfits sport similar and subtle patternings crossing the pink hues.

“You ready?” Rumi asks.

“Yep.” Jinu answers.

They quickly make their way to the stage, letting the surrounding crew cue them into the spotlight as the hosts introduce them. Stepping out into the white of the stage, Rumi and Jinu are met with a cheering audience, excited to see them again. Some of them shout her and Jinu’s names.

Instructing the crowd to quiet down, the host briefly greets the two performers, “What an honor to have you back on the show Rumi. I’ve felt like it’s been forever.”

“Me too.” Rumi comments, letting the host continue as she waves out to the crowd.

“And I’ve seen you’ve been busy during that time, want to tell us about it?” The host asks, going off of their previously rehearsed lines.

“Certainly,” Rumi adds as she takes the stage, performing a cheery smile and waving to her fans before lifting up the mic in her hand. “Hello everyone watching! As many of you already know, I was a part of Huntrix not too long ago until I left rather abruptly from the group. On that I am sorry, but I would like to finally explain why. That reason is because there were growing creative differences between me and the other two members on where to take our music. It soon resulted in the others kicking me out of the band before our performance.”

Rumi can hear audience members gasp a little at the revelation. Of course Celine and the others would leave the details murky.

“While I loved my time with Huntrix, I took this as an opportunity to find myself, to make the music I want to make. That is when I met this new, talented artist, Jinu.” She gestures towards the man, who gives a bow to the crowd, “With him, we set to create the collaborative band you now see before you, Dokkaebi. And we are both so happy to finally debut!”

Through a cheering crowd, Rumi can make out multiple ‘We love you Rumi’ shouting through the chorus of noise. The cheers only get louder as Rumi announces, “Now lets play some games!”

Time flies as Rumi and Jinu are pulled through one game to the next by the hosts of the show. They first begin with a lightning-paced trivia game where the two of them would compete with each other to answer questions about recent music facts. Needless to say, Rumi won by a landslide over a very confused Jinu (he was very proud to answer at least one question correctly though). They then moved to a game where they’d try to perform recent dance trends from social media. Both of them were surprised when a part of their dance from earlier showed up on the screen, prompting both of them to shift their shoulders in their dance to the roar of excited fans.

Eventually, over thirty minutes pass and the two of them find themselves in a drawing challenge, competing with each other over sketching the picture of a tiger. Rumi’s face is contorted into a focused expression, where her right eye oversees the project as she sticks her tongue out in concentration. Meanwhile, Jinu is hunched over with the sketchbook on his lap and his hand carefully moving across the page. The cohost finds himself caught in the midst of drawing as well. All the while, catchy music plays in the background as fans cheer for their hopeful winner.

However, as Rumi and Jinu sink their focus into their work, two shadowy figures skillfully descend from the rafters and into the immediate backstage area. Fortunately there were no staff there to make a scene. Fully clad in their battle outfits and weapons drawn, Zoey and Mira peer around the corner to the stage, finding that they are behind the other band. They carefully observe their movements, watching for any sign of malicious intent from this ‘Jinu’ person.

“Alright, here’s the plan,” Mira says, looking back at Zoey, “When they get off the stage, we’ll jump them, kill that demon fool… and save Rumi.”

“Yay! That sounds great! Let’s get ready.” Zoey quietly claps in approval. To gain an advantageous position, the duo begin to climb behind the set to get the jump the rival band.

As they do so, the participants on stage begin wrapping up their drawings with the cohost presenting his rough sketch first. The announcer states, “Looks like my talented cohost did a great job with his tiger! Can Dokkaebi beat him?”

On that cue, Rumi flips her page around to reveal a rather crude and child-like drawing of a tiger. She bashfully rubs the back of her head while explaining, “It was difficult to get his face right.”

Giving a small nod, the host then turns his attention to Jinu, “I wonder how Jinu did?”

He turns his drawing around to showcase a rather beautiful sketch of the animal, its intricate form ready to pounce off the page. Casually underselling himself, Jinu gives a small remark, “It’s not the best, but I felt inspired.”

Both Rumi and the hosts were left in stunned silence before one of the hosts announces, “We have a winner!”

The crowd erupts in a cacophony of applause, but Jinu doesn’t bask in the adoration. Instead, he feels a similar presence, causing him to quickly glance behind and spot the hunters waiting above them.

“What a display by Jinu! I wonder what the next challenge might be?” The one host calls out.

Suddenly, Jinu steals the microphone from the host, leaving the shorter man to question his intent. “Well I hope it’s a good one, especially when we have extra special guests coming up.”

The crowd gasps in anticipation.

“What the hell is he doing?” Mira asks.

“Please welcome, Huntrix!!” Jinu calls out, gesturing for the spotlights to turn their attention on the duo above the set. Mira and Zoey quickly hide their weapons from view.

The crowd erupts into a mix of excited screams and weary murmurs, with one person in particular ripping his shirt off to reveal another with the Huntrix logo, shouting, “I love you Huntrix!!!”

With an awkward smile plastered on her face, Zoey quickly says, “We just wanted to stop by and congratulate our friends Rumi and Jinu on their debut, and--”

“And of course,” Jinu interrupts, “Play games with uuusss! Bring out the slides!”

Following the instructions, Rumi dashes off stage and returns with some stage crew to wheel a large plastic slide set with a ball pit to the two girls. A sign on the pit says ‘Welcome Huntrix’ with the last word quickly scribbled on. The crowd starts chanting, “Slide! Slide! Slide!”

Confused, Mira deadpans, “Ummm, what is happening right now?”

“In the balls! In the balls!”

“C’mon Mira, it’ll be fun.” Zoey tries to convince her, “And it’s for the fans.”

As they sit at the top of the slide, the duo can hear some fans excitedly whoop and cheer them on. However, as they start to go down they feel, and more importantly hear, the leather catch on the plastic. The squeaking sound of the action grates on everyone’s ears, causing a sea of pained groans as the two inch their way down the slide. Dokkaebi’s faces give a pained expression at the action.

Fortunately, the sound stops as Mira and Zoey reach the bottom only to fall clumsily into the ball pit. Mira stiffly falls with an annoyed glare that slowly sinks beneath the balls while Zoey faceplants hard into the pit. Mira looks over to see the sly smiles of Rumi and Jinu mocking them, a glint of yellow dancing in both their eyes. Upon further inspection, the taller girl notices two strands of hair poke out either side of Rumi’s braid towards the front, giving the impression of horns.

As Huntrix leaves the pit and stands across from the other band, Mira tries to put on a sweet smile and say, “Well that was… fun.”

“And the fun isn’t over yet, cause we have the next challenge!” Jinu hands the mic back to the host.

Zoey spits out a ball from her mouth in response, giving a small smile to the audience.

“Yes! For our final game we have… charades! You’ll have 5 minutes to get more points than the other team!” The host announces, with his associate bringing out a bowl with little pieces of paper in it.

On the queue, both teams start the game with Jinu and Mira taking the first round of prompts. Mira shoots him a furious scowl to match his cocky smirk. She reads her paper, which tells her to act out the title of a popular K-drama.

Trying her best, Mira formulates a plan and awkwardly attempts to flail her arms to convey the message. Zoey excitedly spectates the beginning of their charades. However, the shorter girl is too eager in her guessing to even get past the first phrase. “Ooo, is it a penguin? An airplane? Oh wait, is that supposed to be a dance move maybe?”

Mira’s shoulders drop in frustration, wondering why this is so difficult. She then looks over to see that Rumi and Jinu were quickly rotating between prompts. Effortless in their execution of relatively simple actions. The sight only further annoyed Mira.

Eyes bright in realization, Zoey shouts, “Oh wait! is it--”

“And that’s time! Dokkaebi wins!” The host declares, pointing to an elated Rumi and Jinu.

“Yay! That was fun!” Zoey says, seeming to have briefly forgotten why her and Mira were even her.

“It was truly an honor to share the stage with you again.” Rumi cooly remarks as she faces Huntrix, while standing next to Jinu. The tiniest hint of disappointment can be detected in her voice. Despite that, both of them give a gracious smile and bow to Huntrix.

The crowd goes wild, with one audience member swooning over Jinu, while another states that Rumi’s always been so respectful.

Trying to play this game, Mira summons Zoey to stand next to her, bow, and reply, “No, the honor’s all ours’.”

“No, it was our.” Rumi and Jinu state in unison before bowing further.

“It’s ours.” Huntrix bows even further.

“Ours.” Dokkaebi bows, ducking low.

“Ours.” Huntrix struggles to meet their frankly inhuman angle.

“Ours” Rumi and Jinu are practically folding themselves.

In their final attempt to bow, Mira and Zoey feel their backs pop. Zoey remarks, “Ow, my back.”

On that note, the hosts queue the curtain to close, ending the show with a thunderous applause. In the sudden darkness of the stage, Zoey and Mira give an annoyed growl before taking the effort to look at Rumi and Jinu.

However, all they find is a vacant spot next to them. Turning slightly, they witness as Rumi and Jinu burst the exit door open before running away, retreating into the night of the city.

Notes:

Hello everyone,

After over a week of busy school schedules, housekeeping, and a bout of writers block, I'm finally back with a new chapter for you all. I hope that this was worth the wait. I just wanted to make sure that this chapter would be written with my usual amount of love and care.

Anyways, I was excited to add this chapter because it's goofy and it gives the characters to have some fun. It still isn't a proper interaction between Rumi and the other two because of the formalities of their setting in the chapter, but we're getting really close to a confrontation. I can feel it. This is another chapter that plays somewhat closely to the movie's scene in terms of plot, so there's plenty of jokes that hit similar.

On a separate note, in my struggles of writers block with this chapter (mainly with how to start it) I have begun work on another KPDH fic, called 'I Was a Teenage Demon'. It is going to be more of a different, slice of life story with these characters with some new twists in the universe sprinkled in. My goal is to work on that along with this story, so don't worry about this ending soon. It is just a way for me to stay motivated in writing and exploring different ideas in my head. If you are interested, give it a read. It currently has two chapters available.

With all that said, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. If so, leave a like and comment, as I love all of the comments I receive from this work. I'm excited at the little fandom this work is getting. Until next time, have a good one!