Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mira paced back and forth over the sterile office carpet, her arms crossed. Finally she stopped and stared at Celine. “Rumi has patterns,” she said, flatly. Without giving her a chance to respond, she added, “Real ones. Demon patterns.”

Celine tried to meet Mira’s gaze, but couldn’t force herself to. She instead averted her eyes, staring at the floor. She could feel the hunter’s stare boring right through her soul.

“Yes,” she finally whispered. “Rumi has patterns. But she is not a demon.”

“Then you’re going to explain everything, right now, or I walk. And when I tell Zoey, she will too. You know she will.”

Celine let the silence hang for just a moment before solemnly nodding in agreement. “If we’re going to have this conversation now, I’m going to need a drink first. And Zoey should be here,” she said, standing from her desk and crossing the room to the small liquor cabinet against the wall.

Mira nodded, already pulling her phone out to call her, watching Celine. Thoughts spiraling, all the thoughts that had been spiraling through her head for hours now, had brought her here.

The day had started like any other day. Combat training with the girls, meetings with Bobby and other people whose names were hard to keep track of. Jae-something in charge of stage effects. Yun-whoever, who wanted to verify Mira’s part of their rider. Lunch with Zoey. Normal.

Then came choreo practice. It wasn’t even something that ambitious, just a side step and turn for her and Rumi, and Zoey would jump between them and slide. It should’ve been easy.

But Zoey tripped, and crashed into Rumi. It was fine, accidents happen. That’s why they practiced so much. But this time, Rumi’s shirt caught on one of the monitors as she moved to stand up, and pulled it away just enough for Mira to see something peeking out from her collarbone.

Something purple and sinister. Just iridescent enough to make sure you could tell it wasn’t a tattoo. The same thing the girls had seen on countless demons. Patterns.

It was over in an instant. Zoey hadn’t seen anything, and Rumi had fixed her shirt reflexively. Mira had quickly turned away, trying to avoid eye contact. She was certain Rumi hadn’t noticed, and she forced herself to remain silent. 

As the other girls reset for another take, Mira felt her ears tingle, a heavy ringing growing in them as she felt her chest tighten and her pulse quicken. Bile rising in her throat that she forced herself to swallow.

“I gotta go!” She shouted, running out of the studio. Darting into the restroom, she locked the door and forced herself toward the sink, splashing water onto her face before looking in the mirror.

Mira didn’t like who she saw. The girl in the mirror was confused, scared, and pale as a ghost. Rumi, her Rumi, was a demon? Or…part demon? Mira struggled to reconcile what she’d seen just a few moments before with what she’d seen the past few years since Huntr/x was formed.

Rumi was a capable hunter. She never hesitated to slay a demon, and she never showed any signs of resentment or ruthlessness. Rumi was…perfect. The best of them, though Mira hated to admit it.

Mira felt an ache in her chest as if she’d been stabbed. She had a dozen questions, and only one person had any answers. Well, two people, but she couldn’t face Rumi right now. One person had been with Rumi from the very beginning, raising her as if she were her own child. If there was an answer to be had, Celine would have it.

In a daze, Mira managed to pull out her phone to summon a car. She felt sluggish, almost drunk as she slumped her way into the back seat, helping herself to a bottle of water as the driver pulled away in silence. It did little to put out the inferno that was racing through her soul.

Zoey arrived shortly, still in her sweats from dance practice. Celine was still nursing her drink, and the girls sat across from her, waiting for the silence to break.

“When Mi-yeong got pregnant, it was…a problem,” Celine finally spoke. “For one, it was the early 2000s, you have to understand. Being an idol then was…we had more expectations of purity. The fact that we had any sort of real life was supposed to be kept under wraps.”

“That was our whole brand. Sexy but innocent. Flirty but chaste. But behind the scenes…” Celine’s voice trailed off, and she stared into space for some time. Mira and Zoey sat there, patiently.

“...You know how it is. You sing a song about how happy you are, you go on TV and act like a middle schooler, then you go stab a dozen demons to death. Our lives were already contradictions, why not…explore?”

Celine forced her eyes shut, as if something was gnawing at her. Zoey, who was still unsure why Mira had called her for this emergency meeting, squeezed Mira’s hand gently. Mira’s face was locked in an uncomfortable scowl, one Zoey had only seen once before. Her eyes kept darting between the two women, whose gazes were unable to meet.

“Alright, let’s back up a bit,” she finally said as the silence dragged uncomfortably. “What the heck is going on here?”

“Our faults and fears must never be seen. That is how I was taught, that is how I’ve been teaching you. That is the only way to protect the Honmoon. Your fans must see you as paragons of virtue. That is how it has been for centuries.”

“Mi-yeong was a flawed woman. We all were. But we were something special when we were together, just like the three of you are. The three of us…”

Celine opened her eyes, finally meeting Mira’s gaze. The glassy, tear-stung eyes softened Mira’s scowl into something that Zoey still couldn’t put a name to, but she would take it over the anger.

“I loved Mi-yeong. And she loved me. And Hana, she…it wasn’t the same kind of love, but it was there nonetheless. We figured as long as we had one secret to hide from the world, why not more?”

“Wait,” Mira murmured, the first sound she’d made since Zoey had arrived, “are you saying..?”

Celine nodded. “We were in love, Mi-yeong and I, and Hana was with us too,” she whispered, her voice breaking. She nodded at Mira and Zoey’s hand, whose fingers had interlaced on their own. “I think it happens to every trio of hunters. The magic that brings us together doesn’t stop once we meet. Of course, our mentors never told us anything of the sort, but seeing you two together, I feel like my theory carries some weight.”

“That’s why it hurt so much when she got pregnant. It wasn’t just the world who was judging her, it wasn’t just the fans, it was us. We’d never felt so betrayed, so conflicted, so…”

“Gwi-ma is tricky. He uses our shame and self-loathing to corrupt us, and nobody is immune. Not even hunters,” Celine added, straining at the end.

“We found out later that Mi-yeong had been pressured into it. Someone at the record company. But the damage was done. Even though we eventually made up, Mi-yeong’s shame had given Gwi-ma an in.”

“So Rumi’s mom was–” Zoey blurted out without thinking. “Wait, did she? Hold up, is Rumi??”

Mira nodded. “Rumi has demon patterns. I noticed during practice earlier, that’s why I bolted.”

Zoey felt the color draining from her face, as the conversation finally clicked into place. “So wait, does that mean we have to..?”

“No!” Celine and Mira both shouted simultaneously. “We aren’t going to hurt Rumi. God, I would never,” Mira added.

“Whoa…that’s just…wow. Maybe I  need a drink now,” Zoey said, reaching for the bottle on Celine’s desk. Mira shot a glare at her, and she pulled her hand back. Celine silently pulled two more glasses from her desk, filling them before continuing.

“I noticed Mi-yeong’s patterns starting to form after the idol awards that year, when we lost to that boy band from Busan. The Honmoon was still strong, but…there were ripples to it. Having to slow down from demon hunting due to the pregnancy was the final straw for her.”

“We did what we could, Hana and I. We kept the demons at bay while Mi-yeong was focused on her baby. We would all help raise the child, so she could return to hunting. That was the plan, anyway,” Celine croaked out, taking a sip from her glass.

“It was too much for her. She was changing, almost every day there was another streak of purple on her skin. She was hurting, too. I think she was hearing voices, near the end at least. But, if there was one thing Mi-yeong was excellent at, it was writing. She wrote journals, documenting the entire process. We learned more about the demon corruption process in those nine months than any hunters had learned in centuries. Some small consolation for what came next.”

“What do you mean?” Mira and Zoey both asked, their glasses emptied.

“The pain of labor, when she gave birth…that’s when Mi-yeong finally changed. That’s when we lost her. I saw her eyes change first, then the claws. Hana and I were holding her down, trying to force the Honmoon to purify her, but it didn’t work. We managed to keep the midwife from seeing anything, but as soon as Rumi was out, we–” Celine’s voice caught in her throat, but she forced herself to swallow and continued. “As soon as Rumi was born, we could tell that Mi-Yeong was gone. The love of my life had been replaced with a snarling, angry demon. I…I had no choice,” she said, trailing off as the tears that had been welling in her eyes finally broke free, spilling down her face.

Zoey was the first to stand, followed quickly by Mira. The two girls crossed the table, Zoey wrapping her arms around the older woman while Mira knelt by her side, clasping her hand between her own. “You don’t have to explain. We get it,” Zoey murmured. Mira slowly nodded in agreement, and the silence in the room dragged out for what seemed like an eternity.

Celine shook her head, giving Mira’s hands a squeeze and patting Zoey on the cheek. “Thank you girls, but no. I need to say this. You’re the only ones I can tell.” Zoey only hugged Celine tighter.

“I killed the demon. I had to do it. She wasn’t her anymore, and she never could be. And I’ve never forgiven myself for it,” she sobbed, tears flowing freely. Zoey felt her own eyes starting to swell in sympathy and understanding, and Mira’s soon followed. The three of them stayed like that for a short while, 

Mira stood, sliding her arm across Zoey’s back. The girls returned to their seats, as Celine wiped the tears from her eyes. “I made a promise to Mi-yeong early on, that if something happened to her, I would do everything in my power to protect her child and that Hana and I would raise her together. Unfortunately, Hana couldn’t keep that promise,” Celine added, her face shifting into one of disdain.

The girls knew this part, at least. It was part of the Sunlight Sisters’ legacy. After Mi-yeong’s death, Hana had left the Sunlight Sisters and moved to Japan, leaving music behind entirely. She’d found some success as an actress, but was now mostly doing commercials and anime voices.

“Rumi was a beautiful baby. Healthy. 48 centimeters, 2.9 kilos. But…well, you know now. The midwife said it was a birthmark. A single line of purple between her shoulder blades. For a while, I wanted to believe that. I wanted to believe that Rumi was pure. That she had only inherited the best of who her mother had been, and not what she had become. And for the first couple of years, that’s all there was, that one streak.”

“But when she got a bit older, and learned that I was not her mother…God, that wrecked me. Going from ‘Umma’ to ‘Aunt Celine’ was almost worse than losing Mi-yeong. I think on some level she realized, even as young as she was, that she’d hurt me with that. That’s when I saw the first new line, on her arm. That’s when I knew.”

“Mi-yeong poured everything that was left of her humanity into Rumi, but…it wasn’t enough. Some of the demon came through as well.”

Mira and Zoey remained silent, but Mira’s knee wouldn’t stop bobbing up and down. She was conflicted. As much as she wanted to hear more, she wanted to go hug Rumi. Rumi, who had always been there for both of them, but always keeping them at arm’s length. Rumi, who had encouraged her and Zoey to get together when they had been worried about things getting weird. Rumi, who always looked a little sad when the two of them were snuggled on the couch.

Mira cut Celine off before she could continue. “How much does Rumi know?” she asked, embers of fire in her voice. Zoey turned to face her girlfriend as Celine’s jaw went slack.

“Rumi…she doesn’t know any of this. Once she was old enough to learn about what being a hunter was, what demons were, what her patterns meant…how do you tell a child that you’re the reason her mother is dead? Yes, I lied to her. Or rather, I let her draw her own conclusions, and refused to correct them. She thinks her father was a demon. He may not be a servant of Gwi-ma, but that man was as evil as any demon I’ve slain. So yes, I let her believe her lie. I carry my own shame from that as well.”

“You carry shame? What do you think she’s carrying? If you had just told her, if you had just told us , maybe we could’ve…”

“I was doing what I was taught, Mira! Our faults and fears must never be seen! We cannot let the honmoon falter due to our own shortcomings!”

“That doesn’t excuse lying to a child! That doesn’t excuse forcing Rumi into isolation and pain! God, what the fuck are we protecting if that’s the cost?” Mira’s voice was dripping with rage, and Zoey could feel the honmoon responding to it. If Mira flexed her fingers, her Gok-Do would materialize, and Mira would…

“Mira, calm down!” Zoey cried. “We’re going to talk to Rumi after this, right? She should be the one angry at Celine, right?” She reached out and grasped Mira’s hand.

Mira looked over at Zoey, took a deep breath, and nodded. “You’re right, Zo. I just…you know how I am.”

Celine sank into her chair. “I…I never meant for Rumi to suffer. I know her patterns have spread. But when the three of you turn the honmoon gold, it should all go away. All the demons. All the corruption. All the patterns. Rumi will finally be able to be herself, without shame.”

Mira forced herself to bite her tongue. The taste of blood in her mouth did little to calm her anger, but she remained silent.

“That’s why she’s been so gung-ho about this world tour, isn’t it?” Zoey asked, breaking the silence. “It’s why she wanted us to finish Golden now, before the tour. Because it’s close.”

Celine nodded. “The honmoon has never been stronger. You can feel it. The three of you are topping charts worldwide. Gwi-ma is so close to burning out, for good. And when that happens, Rumi’s patterns will fade as well. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re assuming,” Mira retorted. “You could be wrong. She could still have them after. You don’t know .”

Celine pursed her lips, contemplating for a moment before responding, “You’re right, Mira. I don’t know for sure. But I have faith. In her, in the two of you, in the honmoon. And for now, that’s enough.”

Mira stood, having heard all she cared to from Celine. “Yeah well, it’s not enough for me. I’m going to see Rumi. We’re going to fix all the damage you’ve done.”

Zoey stood as well, glancing at Celine as she turned to join Mira. There was anger in Zoey’s eyes as well, but tinged with sorrow.

Celine slumped back in her chair, closing her eyes. “Mi-yeong…I’m so sorry. I hope our girls do the right thing.”

Chapter Text

“All right, so, how are we gonna do this?” Zoey asked, climbing into the back of the car with Mira.

“We talk to her. We tell her what we know, and we comfort her. It’s that simple,” Mira said, her voice flat. She stared up at the driver.

“But what if she’s like, not comforted? What if she freaks out that we know? I don’t want to scare her, Mira,” Zoey said, concerned.

“If she freaks, she freaks. She has a right to freak. That doesn’t mean we stop being there for her.”

“Yeah but like, we’re not going to undo a lifetime of trauma with a single conversation.”

“No, but we don’t undo it by keeping our mouths shut, either.”

The rest of the ride was silent. They couldn’t go into specifics while in earshot of the Uber driver.

After arriving at their building and entering the elevator, another thought flashed across Zoey’s mind.

“What are we gonna do about our contract? Like, are we gonna keep working for Celine?”

Mira shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. And if she really cares at all about Rumi, she’s not going to fight us about leaving.”

Mira’s hand found Zoey’s as they rode up, with Zoey leaning against her girlfriend. She kept doing the thing she always did, playing out all the potential ways that this could go in her head, hoping that whatever actually happened would be the right one.

As the elevator opened into their shared apartment, the girls glanced around for any sign of Rumi. Not seeing her in the living room, each of the girls went around the apartment looking for her.

Zoey checked the kitchen, while Mira went back toward the bedrooms. While she was in there, Zoey made a small plate of snacks for the girls to share while they talked. Just some store-bought Kimbap and shrimp crackers. And some Ramyeon. The company had sent them cases of their personalized instant cups as part of the sponsorship, more than they’d ever be able to eat. Some Hotteok and choco pies were important too. After making some popcorn and filling a bowl with grapes, Zoey considered the snack pile complete enough, and brought it out to the living room. 

Mira emerged from the back hallway around the same time, a slight smile crossing her face as she saw Zoey’s spread. “She’s in the shower. Texted her and told her to come out here when she got done. I’m gonna change,” she added, noting that the two of them were both still in their sweatclothes. Zoey set the food down on the couch and skipped over to join Mira.

As the two stripped down, Zoey looked over at Mira, who still had that fierce, determined look on her face that she’d had at Celine’s office.

Zoey crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Mira’s waist, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

“Careful now, we’ve only got a minute,” Mira mused, turning to face her, “You go doing that while we’re both half naked and…”

Zoey shook her head, looking up into Mira’s eyes, “Nah, nothing like that. Just want you to know that I love you. And to remind you that this is Rumi we’re about to talk to, you can tone down the angy-girl face a bit.”

Mira smiled, her expression softening. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m still pissed though. She could’ve told us at any time.”

Zoey shook her head, pulling apart so they could finish getting dressed. “No she couldn’t. Not at any time at least. Imagine if we’d found out like, the same day we found out we could summon magic weapons and kill demons and stuff? That would’ve been major information overload time. I don’t think I could deal.”

Mira snorted a slight laugh, “Okay, maybe not at any time. But like, when we tried to take her to the bathhouse with us? Any of the times?”

“Ooh, yeah! Or when we got her that t-shirt she still has never worn, or when we went to the beach and she was sweltering in that turtleneck the whole time? Or like, when we first got together and she looked like…” Zoey blinked a few times as something slid into place in her brain.

Mira, who had been softly chuckling while Zoey rambled also grew silent as she finished pulling the tank top down over her shoulders. She’d had the same thought in Celine’s office that Zoey was having now.

Like she wanted to be a part of it. Mira thought. Like she was letting go of us.

“Let’s go fix this,” Zoey said, looking to Mira for approval of the silent thought they’d both had.

“Yeah,” Mira nodded, leading the way back out to the living room.

They returned to the living room just in time to hear the water turn off in Rumi’s bathroom.

“Game faces on,” Zoey said, slumping into the couch and idly popping a grape into her mouth.

“Super ready,” Mira agreed, sitting on the other side of the snack pile. The plush couch was super comfortable, the two of them were always happy to sink into it whenever the opportunity came up.

When Rumi emerged a few minutes later, in long sleeved kitty pajamas and her hair wrapped in a towel, the two were practically melting into the softness. She cleared her throat and Mira and Zoey reacted in sync, big fake grins plastered on their faces as they snapped to face her. 

“So, what’s going on? Why did you both dip out of practice?” Rumi asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat on the floor across from them.

Mira scooted off the couch onto the floor, followed by Zoey who arranged their snacks on the table. “No foreplay, huh? Going straight for it?” Mira teased, her voice uneven.

“If you want to make small talk or pretend that’s fine. But you don’t text me stuff like “Hey Rumi we need to talk” when you just want to discuss the weather.”

Mira smirked. Got me there, she thought. “Ok, so, first things first. Zoey?”

Zoey practically launched herself over the table, tackling Rumi with a hug. Mira scooted a little more calmly before joining the embrace. 

“Uhh, guys? You’re kinda scaring me,” Rumi mumbled into Zoey’s collarbone.

“We just want you to know that we love you before we say anything else,” Zoey said, squeezing her tighter.

Rumi was scared. Were they breaking up? Had Mira and Zoey had a fight? Or was there something—

Rumi flashed back to dance practice. The trip. The sleeve of her shirt catching. Had one of them accidentally seen? Her thoughts turned to panic. They were never supposed to see that.

“We love you no matter what, Rumi.” Mira’s mouth was right by her ear, and her words penetrated deep.

“…you saw them.” Rumi choked out, pulling away from the other girls. She could feel her breath quickening, all the blood rushing to her head, the panic starting to set in.

“I did. And I’m still here.”

“We’re not going anywhere, Rums,” Zoey added, wrapping herself around Rumi’s arm.

“We talked to Celine. She told us everything. Stuff she hadn’t even told you,” Mira whispered. “Stuff about your mom, about you..”

Rumi struggled to focus on the words, everything going fuzzy. Her mother? They had gotten Celine to tell them about her mother, when she'd refused to tell Rumi anything that she couldn't have read on Wikipedia.

“What Celine did was wrong, but she thought she was doing the right thing,” Zoey added. “She was taught the same way she’s been teaching us. That we have to hide everything. But she’s wrong. We may not be able to explain what we do to our fans, but between us? When it’s just us here? You know you can trust us.”

Rumi tried to focus. She couldn’t. Everything in her was telling her to run and hide, but somehow, with Zoey holding onto her like a stuffed animal and Mira looking at her with a gentler expression than she thought her face was capable of, she couldn’t. She could feel a dam starting to burst within her, as her eyes started stinging with tears. 

“I…I wanted to. So many times,” Rumi started, the first tear falling down her face. A soft sob punctuated her sentence, and another joined it before she was able to take a breath. “Celine told me you wouldn’t understand. That you would…”

“I didn’t at first,” Mira replied, grasping Rumi’s hand. “For a while I was scared, confused, angry even. But somewhere in Celine’s explanation I realized I could never be angry at you. Not when all of this was her fault to begin with.”

“Honestly I don’t think it was even Celine so much as…your father,” Zoey added. “If anyone deserves to be pissed at, it’s him.”

Rumi’s eyes went wide at the mention of her father. The person Celine would never talk about. The demon that had made her this way.

“He...he was a demon,” Rumi started, shaking as the words came out of her. The looks on the girls’ faces told her that something wasn’t quite right about that, though.

“Rumi..did Celine ever tell you that she and your mother were…together?” Zoey’s voice was shaky, but assuring regardless.

The words landed like a smack across the face. Rumi had never even thought of that possibility. Celine had always avoided talking about either of her parents, but she seemed so fond of her mother.

As the girls continued the explanation of everything that Celine had told them, of all the lies that Celine had told her from the day she was born, Rumi’s life unraveled in front of her. Nothing she had ever known was true.

The dam broke. Sobs were flowing freely from Rumi’s chest, and she felt her bandmates’ arms surrounding her. She leaned into Mira’s shoulder, tears wicking into the fabric of her shirt.

Zoey was the first to start sobbing in unison, but before long Mira was a teary mess as well. The snacks forgotten, all the girls could do was sit there, holding each other as they cried together.

After some time, the sobs dried up, and a heavy silence blanketed the room. A single question sat on each girl’s tongue, but Mira was the first to speak.

“So…now what?” She asked, pulling her head up as the three met each others gaze. Red, puffy eyes all around. Another question lingered in the back of her mind, but that one could wait. It wasn’t as important.

“I— I don’t know,” Rumi answered, the words barely audible. “I don’t want to talk to Celine. Not now. Maybe not ever. She was supposed to be protecting me, guiding me. And all she did was…all she did was make everything worse.”

“She was wrong,” Zoey agreed, squeezing Rumi’s hand. “But she brought all of us together. Even if everything else she did was wrong, she did that right at least. I can’t hate her for that.”

“You’re right, Zoey, but Rumi is too. We can’t let Celine get in between us,” Mira said, locking eyes with Rumi. “We won’t let her take you away from us.”

Rumi’s lip started to quiver again. “You guys..I just love you guys so much, I don’t know how I ever thought you’d hate me for this.”

“Come on, Rumi. Did you really think we could ever hate you?” Zoey said, playfully shoving her. “Do either of us give off racist vibes to you?”

Rumi laughed for the first time all day, her voice crackling but as sweet as ever. “No. Of course not. You’re both perfect.”

“Oh, please,” Mira joked. “Between Zoey’s ADHD and my anger issues, we’re all far from perfect.”

“Yeah! Plus, Mira snores in her sleep!”

“I do not! Anyway, you drool on me every night!”

“You take that back! I have never drooled in my life!”

Rumi watched the lovers pretend to argue, and felt her chest begin to tighten with a familiar fondness and affection. For the first time in her life, she felt like maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be okay.

Chapter Text

Celine woke with the blanket over her head, the bright sunlight outside filtering through the fabric, softly highlighting the figure next to her, who was already awake, watching her.

“You smile in your sleep,” Mi-yeong quipped, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Celine’s lips. Celine’s smile only grew as she leaned into her partner.

“Only because you make me so happy,” she sighed lazily into Mi-yeong’s arms. They laid like that together for a brief moment.

“Never stop smiling, my love,” Mi-yeong whispered into her ear, before pulling the blanket down, revealing the sun.

And just like that, Celine’s eyes snapped open. The light stung her eyes as she reached to disable the alarm on her phone. She looked to her side. Nothing. Nobody. She was alone, just as she always was.

It was a dream, Celine, she forced the thought into her brain. Mi-yeong has been dead for 23 years, 6 months, and 11 days.

Celine forced herself out of bed and into the shower. As she washed herself, she felt the memories of Mi-yeong wrap their arms around her. Wanting to comfort her. Wanting her to tell herself that it was ok.

She shook them away with a shiver that shook to her bone. It was most certainly not okay. She shut the water off and threw on her bathrobe, stepping out into her apartment proper.

Celine looked at the empty bottles of soju and takeout containers that had collected in her apartment. It had been days since her confession to the girls, and she hadn’t heard a peep from any of them since then.

Huntr/x was due to go on tour in just a few weeks, kicking off with a show at Gocheok. Then they’d be off to Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and then the rest of the world before returning home. In that time, the honmoon would need her to return to duty, as it always did when the girls were away.

She knew the girls were mad at her, and she deserved it. It didn’t matter anymore. She could live with their hatred. She’d lived with her own for 23 years now, this was nothing.

Six months, and 11 days, she reminded herself.

“You don’t deserve this,” she muttered to herself, staring at an empty bottle at her feet. “You don’t get to drown yourself in self pity.”

Never stop smiling, my love. Mi-yeong’s words rang through her head. A memory from ages past.

“I’m sorry, Mi-mi…I couldn’t smile forever,” she whispered, half to herself, and half to heaven. Celine couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually smiled. Not her real smile, at least. Not the one that Mi-yeong had loved.

I have to make this right, she thought, collecting herself as she began to clean up from her bender.

The question, she continued contemplating, was how. Releasing them from their recording contract was obvious, and she would do it if they asked, but it felt too final. Too permanent. She would fade into their past if that’s what they wanted, but she would also spend every day she had left atoning, if she could.

Her duty to the honmoon would never be finished, as long as she remained alive. That much she could do. Even if the girls hated her, she could make their duty just a bit easier.

Celine struggled to think. Every plan she’d made, every idea she had, it all had fallen apart when she’d told the girls everything. Hell, everything she’d ever believed in had been shattered.

She couldn’t get over how utterly, primally wrong she’d been. How right Rumi had been. The girls…they had no desire to hurt Rumi, they had no desire to run. They’d just…loved her. Rushed to her side to comfort her.

If she’d been wrong about that, about something that just seemed like second nature to her, what else had she been wrong about?

“Celine, I need you to promise me something,” Mi-yeong said, sitting on the floor of their shared apartment. She idly stroked the swell of her belly, sighing contentedly. Celine was across the room in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for the meal she was making for them.

“Anything, jagiya, ” Celine replied, setting the knife down and stepping toward Mi-yeong. She knelt next to her, smiling that smile of hers. The smile Mi-yeong had fallen in love with.

“Will you love my child?” The words hung in the air, and Celine felt her smile start to falter.

“I…of course I will, Mi-mi. And you will, too. And Hana. We’re all going to love her, together,” Celine replied, fixing her smile. “She’ll have the three best moms on the planet.”

Mi-yeong didn’t respond. She just smiled back at Celine before turning and relaxing her eyes, her expression softening. Celine couldn’t shake the feeling that something she’d said hadn’t landed right, but she stood and returned to the kitchen.

Celine wondered if Mi-yeong knew something that she didn’t.

“How could you make a deal with Gwi-ma?!” Celine shouted, panic in her voice and shock on her face. Mi-yeong sat there on their bed, eyes flooded with tears, her face contorting with a thousand emotions.

“I don’t know! I just…I had to, Celine!” she finally managed to choke out. “Look at me! My patterns are spreading, everywhere! I can feel it…I’m changing, Celine. I don’t have much time left. I had to make sure that…that she would be okay.”

Celine paused, her anger and confusion briefly replaced with concern and that gnawing feeling that had been eating at her for months. The words she was about to say wouldn’t come. A realization slid into place. “That’s what the promise was about.”

Mi-yeong nodded. “And you promised. Everything that’s left of me will live on in her. If you love me…if you ever loved me, if you loved who I was before all of this…then you have to love her. Because she will be all I can leave you with.”

Celine stood, frozen in shock. Everything was happening too fast. She couldn’t process all of this, not like this. Not with Mi-yeong looking at her like that.

She took a deep breath before sitting next to Mi-yeong on the bed, placing her own hand over Mi-yeong’s on top of her stomach. “I do love you. Even now. I won’t lie and say I understand. I don’t get it, I never will. But how I feel for you? How I will feel for your…our child? That I understand, I know for certain. I will never stop loving you, or her. I promised my life to you, and our daughter will inherit that promise.”

Mi-yeong forced a weak smile, leaning against Celine. “As long as I am still myself, as much as I am able to, I will always be yours.”

Celine found herself in the street, walking in the general direction of the Hunters’ training gardens. Somewhere in her reliving of memories, she’d decided that she needed to get out of the apartment and do something else. Anything. Tending to the grounds would do. It would show the girls that she was still there.

Time seemed to disconnect itself as she knelt before the god-tree at the center of the garden. She’d often come here over the years, seeking guidance from the hunters that had come before. Not that they’d ever answered. Not directly, at least. The tree stood over the graves of the first hunters, the three women who had first shaped the honmoon. For centuries now, generations of hunters had sworn their oaths to defend it, sworn to fight against the demon servants of Gwi-ma.

As Celine stared at the linens hung on the branches, she thought about all the mistakes she'd made, trying to piece back where everything had first gone wrong. A misjudgement here, a bad choice there. Her life was full of them. But then something that had happened long before all of this...even before Mi-yeong's pregnancy flooded to the front of her mind. She realized she hadn’t come here to tend to the gardens. She’d come here to swear a new oath. One that she hoped she’d be able to uphold. But not to the original hunters. Not to the honmoon.

Celine rose to her feet, stepping along the path up the hill to the East. She passed the gate separating the gardens from the graveyard, and looked down the row containing Mi-yeong's grave.

There hadn’t been a body. There was nothing left to cremate or bury after the demon had been slain. It didn’t matter. Mi-yeong’s grave held only a few trinkets, jewelry, a cassette of the Sunlight Sister’s first album, and a photo of the three of them.

Celine lit the incense and knelt in front of the grave. She’d come here with Rumi many times when she was younger, but in recent years, Rumi had been busy with Huntr/x, and Celine had felt too guilty for what she’d done to come on her own.

“Mi-yeong…I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m here. I’m still here, my love.”

Celine paused, as if she was giving the spirit world a chance to respond. She forced a laugh as she realized what she’d done before continuing. “I…I fucked up, Mi-yeong. I fucked up bad.”

“Rumi…I think she hates me. I earned that. I couldn’t be a good mother to her. I made a mistake. I made so many mistakes.”

“I made her shame worse. She…her patterns are all over her arms now. Her chest, too. I thought if she kept it covered up, if she hid her patterns, it would keep her safe. It would protect her from having to face what happened to you.”

“These girls…you would be so proud of them, Mi-yeong. The honmoon has never been stronger. They’re actually going to do it, turn it golden. They are so loved, by everyone across the world. And I got them completely wrong.”

“I thought…you know, we all thought, as long as we hid our flaws, our fears, and made ourselves seem perfect, even to each other…that would be for the best. We…we were so wrong. I really underestimated these girls, Mi-yeong. They are just…so full of love. They are so much like you and I were. Like we wanted to be. Like we should've been.”

“So I’m going to do what I should’ve done while you were still alive. I’m going to make sure nobody like us ever feels alone, ever feels shame for who they are again.”

With that, Celine leaned forward, placing her forehead against the stone bearing Mi-yeong’s name. With renewed purpose, she rose to her feet, making her way out of the graveyard, and out of the garden as a whole.

As she made her way back home, she couldn’t help herself. For the first time in more than 20 years, Celine smiled.

Chapter Text

Zoey shivered and snapped her eyes open. It was dark. She wiped a bit of crusted drool from the side of her mouth and listened to the gentle vibrations of Mira sleeping next to her. She smiled as she pressed her face against Mira’s back, savoring the girl’s warmth for a moment before gently, carefully slipping out of bed. She hated disturbing Mira in her sleep.

She tiptoed into their bathroom, closing the door before flicking on the lightswitch. Soft light slowly illuminated the room as Zoey’s eyes found the mirror and stared into it.

“Ugh, I hate bedhead,” she groaned, fussing to manage her hair for a moment before letting her hands fall to her sides. It was still bedtime. She’d be rejoining Mira soon, no sense fretting over her appearance right now. She passed her fingers through her hair one more time anyway. Sometimes they just did that.

After using the restroom and sipping on some water, she turned the light off and slowly opened the door back into the bedroom that had originally been Mira’s, but had since transformed into their shared living space. It was hard to see anything in the dim lights, but Zoey could tell that Mira hadn’t moved. Good, she thought. Didn’t disturb her.

Just then, Zoey heard the pad of footsteps out in the hall. That was different. Rumi never woke up this early. The wee hours of the night were hers , dang it! She eased the door open and slipped out of the room to join her.

Following the path of lights in the hall, Zoey found Rumi in the kitchen, hunched over in front of their freezer, rummaging for something. Zoey cleared her throat, which sent Rumi’s head flying upward into the door of the refrigerator.

“Ow, fuck!” Rumi exclaimed, reaching up to rub the top of her head before turning to face the sound that had interrupted her.

Zoey winced in sympathy as she closed the distance between them. “Sorry! Oh my god I’m so sorry for that. Are you ok?” She asked, as Rumi rose to her feet.

“I’m fine. Just…3 AM cramps calls for 3 AM ice cream,” Rumi replied, her head still stinging.

Zoey nodded sympathetically. “Been there, girl,” she said, nudging Rumi out of the way and retrieving the container of matcha ice cream for Rumi, as well as an ice pop for herself. Blue raspberry seemed appropriate.

“Thanks,” Rumi said, a soft smile spreading across her face.

The two of them sat on the couch in silence, with Rumi eating her ice cream straight from the tub. Zoey drained the last bit of juice from the plastic tube, the slight suction noise cutting through the heavy silence.

“Hey, Rumi?” Zoey asked, almost timidly.

“Hmm?” Rumi hummed in response, the spoon still in her mouth.

“I just wanted to say…I’m sorry for how I reacted the other day. It was just…y’know, training kicked in.”

Rumi took the spoon out of her mouth and planted it back into the ice cream. “Like I told you then, it’s fine. I mean, you were fine right after.”

Both of their memories returned to two days ago. Just after they’d all hugged and told Rumi about everything Celine had told them.

“Can I…can I see them?” Zoey had asked. Mira had seen them already, but for Zoey, she had just been operating off of other people’s words up to that point.

Rumi had nodded meekly, slowly lifting the sleeve of her pajamas to her elbow, the traces of purple clearly visible.

Zoey had felt her pulse race at the sight of the patterns, and something primal had coursed through her. Reflexively, without a conscious thought, her Shin-kal had manifested in her hands.

A beat later, her conscious mind had caught up with her, and she dismissed them, but the look on Rumi’s face had said more than any words could.

“I-I’m sorry Rumi!” Zoey had exclaimed, fresh tears in her eyes as she pulled her into another tight embrace.

Rumi had gone quiet for a little while after that, but by the next morning everything seemed to have returned to normal. Zoey believed her massive apology breakfast spread that she’d brought to Rumi’s bedroom had something to do with that.

Back on the couch, the girls sat quietly again.

“Do they hurt?” Zoey asked, her voice barely a whisper. The question had been weighing on her ever since she’d found out about them in Celine’s office. She could deal with Rumi being part demon. She could reconcile that with her training. But she couldn’t abide the thought of Rumi being in pain. “They look like they would hurt. All jagged edges and stuff.”

Rumi shook her head gently. “No. They don’t feel like anything.” Rumi hesitated a beat before lifting the sleeve of her pajamas, exposing the purple markings that had come to dominate everyone in their home’s minds for the past few days.

She held her arm out toward Zoey. Both of the other girls had seen Rumi’s patterns now, but neither of them had taken their curiosity any further than looking.

Zoey cautiously reached her hand out, pausing before looking up at Rumi. Are you sure? Her eyes asked, and Rumi gave a weak, hesitant nod.

Zoey’s fingers were cold on Rumi’s skin, but the contact was nice. She watched as Zoey’s fingers traced the outline of her patterns, hesitating before brushing across one of the lines going across the inside of her forearm.

“It just feels like Rumi,” Zoey whispered. “Rumi, but purple. Limited edition action figure.” She pulled her hand back as Rumi lowered her sleeve, both of them returning to sitting upright. “I’m so glad they aren’t hurting you, Rumi. I was worried sick about that.”

“I kind of wish they did, though,” Rumi said meekly, looking down into the ice cream.

“Why?” Zoey asked, her face puzzled.

“Because then I would know. Know how much of a mistake they are. How much of a mistake I am,” Rumi stared into her lap, her hands falling limp.

“Rumi, no! You’re not a mistake. You are a beautiful woman. Yeah, you were born a little differently. So what? A few generations ago, I would have been considered a mistake.”

Rumi smiled weakly. “Thanks, Zoey. You’re right. I just spent so long with…” her voice trailed off.

“With Celine’s voice in your head,” Zoey finished. “With years of hunter training telling you that everything with patterns deserved to die.”

Rumi nodded weakly. “I never doubted any of it, though. It was just…how things were. I think Celine…I think she wanted it to motivate me, to push me harder. To turn the honmoon gold. It’s like that was the only thing that mattered to her, and my patterns…it made it the only thing that could matter to me.”

Zoey felt her lip quiver at Rumi’s words, and she reached out and placed her hand on Rumi’s. “Other things matter, too, Rumi. Like us. Each other. God, I’d tear up every lyric book I had ever written if it meant I could keep you and Mira safe. Although, how would that even help? Maybe if there was like, a demon that could only be hurt by paper? And the only paper for miles around was my songbooks? Oh geez, Rumi, what if there’s a paper demon out there?!”

Rumi couldn’t help but chuckle at Zoey’s tangent. “I love the way your mind works, Zoey. Never change,” she said warmly, giving Zoey’s hand a gentle squeeze.

Suddenly, the girls heard a door click from down the hall, followed by Mira’s footsteps. As she rounded the corner into the living room, she called out to them. “What are you two doing up? It’s three in the goddamn morning.”

“Cramps,” Rumi replied, holding up the ice cream carton.

“Had to pee. Heard Rumi.” Zoey echoed.

“Ugh, whatever. I’m going back to bed. Zoey, are you coming?”

Zoey looked back at Rumi, who gave her a smile and nod. “I’m fine. We can talk more tomorrow,” Rumi said sweetly.

Zoey’s lip twitched. She shook her head. “No. You need more hugs first.” She turned to call back to Mira, who had already started turning back toward the bedroom. “Hey, beanpole. Get over here.”

“If Rumi wants hugs, she can come get them,” Mira called from down the hall.

Zoey pondered Mira’s statement for a second before looking back at Rumi. Wordlessly, she gripped Rumi’s hand and pulled her up from the couch, dragging her to her feet.

Rumi smiled warmly as Zoey wrapped her arms around her waist. Without hesitating, she returned the embrace, enjoying the feel of Zoey’s warmth against her.

“Go on. Get your girl,” she whispered to Zoey, pulling away after a moment.

Zoey shook her head, only holding Rumi tighter. “Already got her. Plus she’s cranky now. You’re nice.”

Rumi chuckled. “Well, I think she might be a little less cranky if you were back in bed with her. Go on, I’ll clean up.”

Zoey reluctantly released her grasp on Rumi and nodded. “Thanks, Rumi. I needed this.”

As Rumi picked up Zoey’s discarded wrapper, she felt a familiar tightness in her chest. What Zoey and Mira had was so beautiful. So special. She was happy for them.

Then why did it hurt so much to see Zoey walk away?

Rumi forced the thought out of her mind as she finished cleaning up, flipping the light in the kitchen off as she made her way back to her bedroom. She wasn’t allowed to have those kinds of feelings. Not until the honmoon was sealed, not until her…

She froze as she passed the door to what used to be Zoey’s room.

Until you don’t have to hide yourself from them. The thought sliced through Rumi’s mind like a dagger. Every rule she’d made for herself had been based on those handed down by Celine. Ostensibly to protect her, but also to make sure that there wouldn’t be any discord between the guardians of the honmoon. All of that had gone out the window two days ago.

So…now what? Rumi asked herself as her feet started moving again, leading to her room. If she was allowed to feel things, if she was allowed to want things…

She sat on the side of her bed, afraid to think. Afraid to rock what seemed to be an already shaky boat. She forced her legs up onto the bed and turned her heating pad on, placing it over her stomach. She laid there staring at the ceiling until it turned itself off, afraid to close her eyes. Afraid of what she might dream.

Sleep never came for her.

Zoey curled up next to Mira in their bed, casually pulling a strand of Mira’s hair out of her face. Mira was lying there, with her eyes closed, her breath slow and gentle. Peaceful, soft, serene. So different from the way she carried herself in public. The version of Mira that only Zoey got to see.

“Mira. Hey Mira. I know you’re awake, Mira,” Zoey whispered, “‘cause you’re not snoring.”

Mira slid one eye open, glaring at Zoey. “Go to sleep, bunny. We have work to do tomorrow,” she muttered.

“Yeah, but it’s just boring meetings and stuff. We’re not even training tomorrow. Besides, don’tcha wanna know what Rumi and I were talking about?”

Mira grumbled. “Maybe I care about the boring meetings. Okay, that’s a lie. Dish,” she said, sitting up in the bed.

“I got to touch Rumi’s patterns! It was so weird!” Zoey exclaimed. “Ok, so first off I wanted to apologize again for freaking out the other day,” she continued. As she recounted her and Rumi’s conversation, Mira smiled.

“It’s so like you to hear that Rumi had patterns and be worrying about her ,” Mira said, smiling at Zoey. She leaned toward her, kissing her gently, “that’s one of the things I love about you.”

“I mean, yeah, I was worried. Scared, even. Like, we kill demons. That’s our whole steez. Huntr/x: The Demon Hunting, K-pop Megastars. Ooh, we should put that on a shirt!”

Mira laughed, shaking her head, “I don’t think so, Zo. But same. Definitely a culture shock for me, too. Shit, we killed like…4 demons tonight before dinner.”

“5. There was another one behind the dumpster that Rumi got while you were in that alley.”

“My point stands. We kill demons almost every day, and yet, we live with one? How do we do it?” Mira asked.

“The same way we did before we knew. And Rumi is not a demon. She has patterns, but so did her mom, remember? Like Celine told us.”

Mira sighed, flopping back down onto the pillow. “I know, and we’re never going to let her feel ashamed of that ever again, right?”

“Right!” Zoey said, cuddling next to her. “Although, I think you’re kinda just jealous that I got to touch them first.”

“Am not. You said yourself it just felt like skin,” Mira grumbled.

“Yeah, but it was Rumi skin. That made it special all on its own,” Zoey responded, nudging Mira’s shoulder.

“Oh, so my skin isn’t special enough for you anymore?” Mira teased, raising an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Zoey replied, planting a row of kisses along Mira’s collarbone.

“Zoey, it’s 3 in the morning, we can’t…”

Zoey smirked. “Not anymore it’s not.” She held up her phone so Mira could see it. The clock had just ticked over to 4:00.

“Ugh, you are so paying for breakfast.”

“Deal,” Zoey said, kissing Mira’s neck as she climbed on top of her.

Chapter Text

“Heyyy girls!” Bobby called out, exiting the elevator. Today was a big day, with a busy schedule, so they were starting early. “I brought breakfast!” he added, holding up a large takeout bag.

“...girls?” he asked, more quietly as he stepped further into the apartment. The lack of response was concerning. It was early, but not that early, and they had their first meeting with the show coordinators soon. This was far from the girls’ first tour, but it was far and above the longest. With more than 70 stops over the next 9 months, the girls were also barely getting any downtime between shows, too.

“Oh shit!” he heard Zoey’s voice coming from down the hall, followed by a loud thud . “Two seconds, Bobby!”

Bobby smirked, setting the bag down and pulling his phone out. “Gonna…be…a few…minutes. Girls..not..ready.” Some wiggle room had been allowed for in their morning meetings, but he still wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.

Rumi was the first to emerge from the hallway, walking with determination toward the kitchen, her hair still a work-in-progress. She murmured a greeting toward Bobby through a mouthful of hair ties, heels clacking on the floor as she passed him. Her outfit today was all business, a flowy, bold yellow crop top with a black pencil skirt. Bobby had always admired her fashion sense, she knew how to look amazing in any setting. He made a mental note to snap a pic of the outfit later for the Huntr/x fashion bloggers.

The smell coming from the food Bobby had brought in gave Rumi brief pause, an audible grumble coming from her stomach. She hurriedly finished her braid, tightening and smoothing it out before sitting at the table and digging through the bag.

“No toasts?” she whimpered, looking up at their manager pleadingly.

“I’m sorry, Rumi, the line was too long! I had to skip Mama K’s,” Bobby replied. Rumi had developed a taste for a particular street vendor, but somehow word had gotten out that this was the spot to get “Authentic Huntr/x-approved street food,” and it had exploded in popularity among tourists and locals alike. Seeing Rumi’s expression, Bobby swore vengeance on whoever had spread the news.

Rumi grumbled and continued unpacking the bag. Kimbap, some spicy pork, So that’s what I was smelling , and a few other convenience store staples. Bagels, which were Zoey’s favorite, too. She arranged the foods around their table, placing the bagels near where Zoey usually sat. Otherwise she’ll be looking for them forever.

Mira was the next to step out of the back. Contrasting with Rumi’s business look, Mira had gone with her usual flashy punk aesthetic. An old Huntr/x crop top sliding off of one shoulder, a pair of neon pink shorts, and spiked boots that thudded against the floor, contrasted only by her gold-rimmed glasses. She gave Bobby a smile before joining Rumi on the floor.

Zoey darted out of the hallway behind Mira, still in her pajamas, her hair in a towel. Bobby chuckled as he watched the girls eat, scrolling idly through social pages, chart rankings, and other performance analytics. 

Sold out stadiums across Korea, Japan, and the United States, with slowly rising ticket sales in Canada, Europe, and the rest of Asia. The tour was already a success, and they were still two weeks out from kickoff. He expected no less from the girls, who, despite being a bunch of lovable goofballs, were genuinely talented. There was just something inspiring about their music, something he’d never been able to put into words. It was like just hearing their voices made his heart ignite.

A text alert appeared on his phone as he scrolled that warmed his heart even more.

Jae-seop: Good luck with all the meetings today baby. I’ll see you tonight 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Bobby tried to never let his personal life cross over into his professional life, but the girls…they understood. Mira and Zoey hadn’t exactly been the most careful couple he’d ever seen, although it seemed like so far they’d avoided anything that could be seen as compromising. 

Bobby tapped out a short response, before pulling up a fan video that had been trending lately. “Oh, girls, I need to show you this. It’s going viral!” he called out, closing the distance between them and passing his phone around the table. Each of the girls took turns fawning over the little girl’s dance routine.

“That is so cute!” Rumi exclaimed, her lip quivering as she handed the phone over to Mira.

“Oh, that kid is going places,” Mira added, sliding the phone over to Zoey.

“Wow, Mira. She moves almost as good as you do!” Zoey said through a mouth full of food.. She handed the phone back to Rumi, who passed it back to Bobby. He wiped a few bagel crumbs from the screen before continuing.

“So, should I repost it?” he asked, already knowing the answer. Three heads bobbing in agreement confirmed his intuition, and he quickly hit the share button. He watched the likes pour in as the girls finished their food.

Zoey darted back into the hallway and emerged what seemed like seconds later, fully dressed, her hair perfect. I have got to learn how she does that, he thought to himself. Zoey had gone with florals and pastels. Bobby loved how each of the girls could look so different, yet still look right together.

“Okay, so first things first, the advance team is leaving today, so we’re meeting with Chun-Hwa Jeon. She’s the head of that team. She needs to go over technical specs for sound,” Bobby noted as the four of them entered the penthouse elevator. “She also wants to go over some of the media appearances you’re making in other countries

“Told you,” Zoey said, nudging Mira in the ribs. Mira grumbled, an inside joke that Bobby wasn’t privy too.

“Then we’re meeting with Kay, Elise, and Andrew.” Mira nodded in acknowledgement. They were the three costume designers that worked for their touring company. Mira would be on point for this one, ensuring a consistent look between shows was important to her.

“Rumi, your aunt canceled the meeting for today so you’ll all have a free hour or so,” he continued. Celine had been radio silent for a few days now, when usually he was in contact with her multiple times a day. She normally took a very hands-on approach with the girls, even working out with them most mornings.

“Good,” Mira muttered, as Rumi looked away, almost shrinking into herself.

“...Everything ok on that front?” Bobby asked.

“We’re…not speaking with Celine at the moment,” Rumi answered sheepishly.

Bobby couldn’t help but show a look of deep concern. He put his hand on Rumi’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s ok. Family is always complicated. You’ll work it out,” he said, faking a slight smile. Rumi’s expression remained blank, her gaze not meeting his. An uneasy silence settled in the elevator.

“Right, anyway. After that, lunch with studio people. Nobody whose name you need to remember,” he added. “Then there’s a photo shoot for Woo! Energy, so you’re with stylists after lunch. They want you in your stage costumes so they can launch the ads during the tour.”

Zoey smiled. She was actually excited about this sponsorship. Her favorite energy drink she’d had since moving to Korea wanted to give them money to drink their stuff, something she’d be doing anyway? Yes, please!

Bobby knew that the girls didn’t care about most of these meetings, that for the most part, at this late in the game, it was all just formality. But he cared about them, and about his job. If that meant he had to drag them out of their apartment, remind them of the names of people that the girls could never remember, and wait in line for street food, it was all worth it to keep the ship called Huntr/x sailing smoothly. He took pride in keeping everything operating like a well-oiled machine, and the girls were free to focus on their music and dance moves. They didn't need to worry about all the things he handled behind the scenes.

The elevator finally reached the ground floor, and the four of them exited, with Bobby ushering the girls into the oversized SUV that would drive them to the company offices.

“Are we doing that variety show tonight, or is that tomorrow?” Rumi asked, her voice a little softer than usual.

“Oh, the game show? That’s…” Bobby scrolled through the girls’ schedule. “That’s actually not until Friday. Two more days.”

“I hope they don’t make us chug hot sauce again,” Zoey whined. “That sucked so bad, I was sick that whole week.”

“Different show, Zoey,” Rumi reminded her. “Anyway, Play Games With Us sent you that gift basket to apologize.”

“The gift basket was more hot sauce, Rumi! They were taunting me!” She whimpered, lip quivering.

“And then I yelled at them on the phone for hours until they showed up in person to apologize,” Mira added, patting Zoey’s shoulder.

“Anyway, no, Friday you’re on Itaewon Tonight. I’ve been given a guarantee that there will be nothing spicy, no weird food challenges period,” Bobby noted.

Zoey let out a tiny whimper, prompting Mira to pull her closer.

Bobby smiled. Everything seemed so effortless for those two.

“So…I’ve kinda been thinking about something,” Rumi said, shifting Bobby’s attention. “It’s for something after the tour, long-term kinda.”

“Shoot it at me, Rums!” Bobby turned to face her, his expression the big, toothy grin that he always put on when the girls wanted to share something with him.

“Just a…visual rebrand. For me.”

Bobby pondered the idea for a moment. It wouldn’t be the first time the girls had changed their looks. As a rule, there was no ‘right’ way to look as an idol group. Other groups climbing the charts ran the gamut from cutesy J-pop inspired to dark and broody Emo vibes.

Mira and Zoey, on the other hand, seemed a little more concerned about Rumi’s suggestion. “Are you sure you want to do that, Rumi?” Mira asked, her voice oddly shocked.

“I mean, sure, we can do something like that. You’re not planning on chopping your hair off, are you?” he asked, worried. “That’s like, your trademark. It’s registered and everything!”

Rumi shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. Just…I don’t know. Early plans. Nothing really set in stone. Maybe just some vague ideas.”

Bobby smirked. “You got it, girl! Just shoot me any ideas you have and I’ll give you my honest, but supportive feedback.”

“Thanks, Bobby,” Rumi said, smiling softly as she stared out the window at the city passing by.

“So that’s where we’re at. Everything is looking good, you all are going to look amazing on stage,” Elise said, closing her portfolio.

“When do we not?” Mira scoffed playfully, removing her glasses. “Thanks guys. You knocked it out of the park, as always.”

“So, that was it for the meetings before lunch, right Bobby?” Rumi asked, sounding a little weary.

“That was it, and you’ve got about an hour and a half until then,” he replied, nodding. “If you gals wanted to go hang out in the city, feel free,” he added, turning to exit the room.

“What are you gonna go do?” Zoey asked in her usual chipper voice.

Bobby stopped and spun on his heels. “Oh, you know, the usual. Scroll the internet, eat junk food, maybe do some yoga in my office,” he replied, flashing a grin. “I’m getting pretty good at the Cobra pose!”

“Sounds fun,” Mira said, a wry smile on her face. “What about you, Rumi? Anything you wanna do around here, or should we go see what sort of spontaneous shenanigans we can get into?”

Rumi smiled softly. “I think...I want a nap.”

“Whoa, Rumi downtime? Self care actually happening? I need to document this for posterity!” Zoey joked before Rumi playfully shoved her.

“I…couldn’t sleep last night,” she replied, looking over at Zoey. “I guess the ice cream didn’t help after all.”

Zoey gasped “A problem even ice cream couldn’t fix? Oh, you got it bad, girl. Bobby, get her a couch, stat! Pronto! Whatever!”

“I can just head home for a bit. I just need like…20 minutes. Recharge my batteries a bit to get through the rest of the day, y’know?”

“Okay, but we’re coming too,” Mira added. “Because 20 minutes of our couch is never 20 minutes. You’ll sleep straight through the photo shoot.”

Zoey grumbled. “I kinda wanted to get into some shenanigans…” she pouted.

Mira smirked. “You can go get into some shenanigans if you want. I can handle alarm clock duty.”

“It’s not the saaaaame Mira! If it’s not all three of us, it’s hardly shenanigans at all! It’s just…walking around! Hijinx, at best.”

“Well, how about this. You go have some hijinx,” Mira said, stumbling over the unfamiliar English word, “And tonight, after the photoshoot, the three of us will go out and…set a trash can on fire or something. Shenanigans to the max!”

“We are not setting anything on fire, Mira!” Rumi interjected, leaning forward in her seat. “I want to have fun, not get arrested!”

“I dunno, it sounds pretty fun to me,” Mira said, checking her nails.

“I have an idea,” Rumi continued, ignoring Mira. “What if…after the photoshoot, we finally go to the bathhouse together?”

“Oh my god, do you actually mean it?!” Both girls replied simultaneously. They both looked at Rumi with the saddest, softest faces either of them could muster.

“Only if I get my nap first,” she answered.

“I would burn an entire garbage truck to go to the bathhouse with Rumi,” Mira stated, striking a victorious pose.

“I would…endure an hour of solo Hijinx, I guess ,” Zoey added, her grin reaching all the way across her face.

“That settles it. Nap, work, and then…” Rumi smiled, watching their expressions shift.

“The bathhouse!!!!” All three of them exclaimed in unison.

With that, the girls went their separate ways, Mira and Rumi heading back outside to their car, while Zoey cinched her crossbody bag and strode down the sidewalk. Bobby had excused himself to his office at some point during their discussion about what constituted ‘shenanigans’, leaving the girls to their own devices.

“See you in an hour!” Zoey said, waving at the two of them. She wanted so badly to give Mira a goodbye kiss, but the risk of being seen was too great. Already she could hear a few phone cameras clicking.

“Yeah, see you Zo!” Mira called back to her, climbing into the backseat with Rumi.

As the girls went their separate ways, a quiet comfort set in between them.

“It’s got to be hard for you,” Rumi said to Mira as the car started rolling. “Leaving Zoey like that.”

“I mean, we have lives outside of each other,” Mira replied, smirking. “I think I can manage to keep myself busy for an hour without her.”

“Oh geez, what am I gonna do without Mira and Rumi for a whole hour?” Zoey whimpered, clutching her bag close. The streets that the girls had walked hundreds of times over the past few years seemed to stretch out to infinity before her. As she took a few steps forward, her breathing returned to normal, but she could still feel her heart racing.

Demons she could handle.

Random fans on the street were some of her favorite people.

But just existing? On her own? Without her emotional support people?

That was terrifying.

Chapter Text

“Oh, my god, I love this couch so much,” Rumi sighed, lazily flopping onto the plush sofa. 

“Do you need anything else?” Mira asked, as Rumi sank into the cushion.

Rumi shook her head. “You’re fine. I’m fine,” she replied, closing her eyes.

A few seconds passed without a peep from Mira. Rumi cracked one eye open to see Mira still standing over her, staring.

“Do you hate me?” Mira asked, her voice slightly uncertain.

Rumi’s eyes opened fully, and she sat upright. “No, Mira! Of course not! Why would I hate you?”

“Because…I started all of this. I saw your patterns, and it caused all these problems you have with Celine now, and…now there’s drama. And I feel like maybe, that’s my fault?”

Mira sat on an ottoman across from Rumi, trying to hold her gaze.

Rumi clasped Mira’s hands. “No, Mira. I could never hate you. It’s not your fault that you have eyes. It was a total accident, right? And honestly, I’m relieved. It’s like a weight’s been lifted off of my shoulders.”

Mira looked at Rumi’s hands around her own. Rumi’s hands were so different from Zoey’s. The subtle difference in their skin tones, the slightly longer fingers, and Rumi’s expertly manicured nails, contrasted with Zoey’s chewed-up nubs. There was something nice about it.

“I just…I dunno,” Mira muttered. “I feel like if I hadn’t said anything, if I hadn’t gone to Celine, maybe we would…”

“Still be bottling everything up? Still hiding everything? Only you’d be hiding something, too,” Rumi replied. “It’s gonna be a bumpy road for a while, sure. But it’s better this way, I’m sure of it.”

Mira nodded weakly. “I guess that whole ‘Our faults and fears must never be seen’ thing has gone out the window, huh?”

Rumi chuckled, “Yeah, I always hated that part. Besides, our voices are still just as strong. Stronger, even.”

“Especially Zoey’s,” Mira muttered under her breath.

“Hmm?” Rumi asked, unsure of what Mira had just said.

Mira stood up, pulling her hands away from Rumi’s. “Yeah. I’ll let you get some rest,” she said, turning to leave.

“Thanks, Mira. And thanks for talking with me.”

“Hey, it’s what friends do, right?” Mira responded with a wave as she disappeared into the hallway leading to her bedroom.

“Yeah. Yeah it is,” Rumi replied to herself. Friends. Best friends, even. That’s what the three of us are.

Well, they’re both my best friends at least.

Rumi sighed. The thoughts she’d tried to put out of her mind all night refused to stay dormant. If she couldn’t get them under control soon, she wasn’t sure what would happen.

But for now, she’d indulge them a bit, if it meant she could get some sleep. Maybe a nice dream would take the edge off.

She closed her eyes and laid down, her back arching into the curve of the couch.

Mira scrolled through social media for several minutes, one eye staying on the clock. She was going to give Rumi about 15 more minutes before waking her.

She checked her messages. Nothing from Zoey since they’d arrived back at the apartment. That was odd, she’d kind of figured Zoey would be blowing her phone up the whole time.

Nothing on the internet was grabbing her attention. Music, beauty ads, overhyped influencers, more ads, none of it really was sticking.

She didn’t like scrolling through content featuring herself when she was relaxing. She was always super critical of everything in them. A hair out of place, bad lighting, or worse, would have her hyperfixating on her appearance for the rest of the day, totally killing her “aloof and effortlessly hot” aura.

She closed socials and scrolled through some games she had installed. Time wasters, mostly. Things she installed to have something to do during plane rides and when the other girls were busy. None of them were particularly interesting to her.

She sighed and dropped her phone on the bed. She didn’t mind playing alarm clock, she just wished she’d had something in mind to keep her busy while she waited. She’d originally planned on doing some singing practice, or watching TV, but with Rumi needing to sleep, she realized she needed to keep things quiet.

Mira hated the quiet. Her whole life had been loud. Keeping it down felt like forcing herself into a box that she didn’t fit into. But it’d be worth it, especially if it meant the bathhouse later.

Even without Rumi, visiting the bathhouse with Zoey had been one of her favorite forms of self-care. The hot water, the steam, the relaxation…it was something that mattered to her, in a way she couldn’t quite articulate. It was the one place where being quiet didn’t bother her.

She wondered what Rumi would think. If she’d never been, by her age, she would probably be a little apprehensive. It had been part of growing up for Mira, just something you did . She chuckled to herself thinking about the first time Zoey had gone, all those years ago.

“Wait, what?!” Zoey said in shock, “You want me to…go sit in a tub with you…naked?”

“Uh, yeah, Zoey. It’s the bath. You can’t wear clothes in the bath,” Mira scoffed. “Relax. They have private ones for VIPs and people like us. It won’t be like randos looking at you. Just us. Think of it like the locker rooms at the gym. You did sports and stuff back in the US, right?”

Zoey’s felt her ears turning red. As if that made it any better. Yeah she’d done some sports. And she’d been a flustered mess the entire time. That many other girls? Changing clothes, showering together? Her baby lesbian mind had broken over and over again. And now she was in a completely different country, with completely different social rules, and the girl she shared an apartment with, who was decisively hotter than any of the girls she’d played soccer with, who was so incredibly beautiful and sure of herself and perfect in every imaginable way…wanted her to go through that all over again. With her.

Mira was just sitting there, being impossibly hot and confident, while Zoey was a jumbled mess of emotions. “Anyway, you can go or not. It’s not a big deal. I’d just rather go with someone, and Rumi already blew me off.”

“She didn’t blow you off, she’s just…busy. She’s like, the ‘face’ of the group or whatever, right? She’s got to do a lot more work than we do right now.”

“Huntr/x. Get used to saying the name. That’s one of the rules,” Mira said, flipping through a magazine. “But yeah. I promise it won’t be weird if you don’t make it weird.”

That’s asking an awful lot out of me, Zoey thought as she walked back to her bedroom.

In what felt like the pause between two breaths, she found herself in the changing rooms at an upscale spa. “Ok, you can do this, Zoey. You’re just…sharing a bath with your bandmate. That’s a normal thing here,” she told herself, holding the towel around her. “Totally normal to sit and relax with the girl you’ve been crushing on hard since you met while you’re both naked and you can’t say anything because nobody here knows just how fucking gay you are. Totally, completely normal.”

It won’t be weird if you don’t make it weird, Mira had told her. She just had to figure out, in the next 5 seconds, how to not make it weird.

I made it weird. I made it super fucking weird, she thought to herself. She had hoped that by the time she got out there, Mira would already be in the water, and she wouldn’t have to deal with that .

She wasn’t expecting Mira to still be standing at the edge of the tub, having not even brought a towel, waiting for her.

“Took you long enough,” the taller girl said, smirking at her. “Don’t be shy. It’s just us girls in here.”

That was not the problem, Mira, Zoey thought to herself, her ears fully pink. That is in fact, making the situation that much worse.

Zoey managed a whimper of acknowledgement and tried to keep her eyes on the tile floor. Look at anything but Mira, look at the floor. Look at the grout lines. Those are some pretty nice grout lines. Definitely professional work. For once in her life, Zoey praised her attention deficit.

She silently dropped her towel and stepped into the water, keeping her head bent the entire time.

“You can look, you know. I’m not shy,” Mira teased, sinking into the bath herself.

“S-sorry! I just…not used to it,” Zoey replied. “The gyms at school were a lot different.”

“Uh huh,” Mira said, closing her eyes and leaning back, her legs stretched out into the center of the tub.

Zoey could barely make out Mira’s shape through the rippling water, but it was still sensory overload for her. She finally lifted her head, taking a deep breath before letting her vision drift in Mira’s direction. Mira had sunk up to her neck, but Zoey could still make out her form through the water. As her eyes scanned upwards, she noticed Mira’s face; the normally intense, confident, even aggressive face that she’d seen every time they’d interacted until then, had been replaced with a soft, serene, blissful look.

“You uh, really like it here, huh?” she asked.

“It’s the best, ” Mira replied. “Every bit of tension in my body just melts in here.”

Zoey frowned. It was the source of the tension coursing through her body right now.

Mira cracked her eyes open and turned to face Zoey. “You ok? I didn’t think the water was that hot, but you’re red as a tomato.”

Zoey nodded. Shit. She didn’t mean to be blushing so much. But how could someone like Mira exist ? Zoey felt a tightness in her chest that she didn’t know how to deal with.

“God, you’re hopeless,” Mira joked. “Ok, I don’t know how things are over there. Is this an American thing in general, or is this just you being a disaster lesbian?”

Zoey’s eyes went wide. “A what?” she asked, feeling her skin darken another shade or two. She thought she’d been careful with her stolen glances. Her breathing controlled. No signs. No egregious signs, at least.

“Zoey, you are not as slick as you think you are. Come on.”

Zoey turned her entire body away from Mira, unable to handle even looking in her general direction. “...How did you know?” Zoey asked, barely whispering.

“Oh my god, I was right?! Holy shit. That’s three for three. Go Mira, who’s got the best gaydar in Seoul? Hell yeah.” Mira swayed in place as a little victory dance.

“Wait, you were just guessing?!” Zoey asked, whipping around to face her. “I thought I’d left something out somewhere or did something stupid on social media or something!”

“Nah, just takes one to know one,” Mira replied.

Zoey’s jaw almost landed in the water “Wait…you?”

Mira smirked, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not gonna try and flirt. Not here at least. You’re not my type, anyway.”

How wrong she would turn out to be.

Rumi’s nap was interrupted by a door slamming. She heard Mira’s voice, frantically talking on the phone. She couldn’t make out the words just yet, her head was still in that fuzzy in-between space.

“We’ll be there in five,” she heard, as Mira ended the call and walked hurriedly into the room. “We have to go, now, Rumi.”

“What’s up?” Rumi asked sleepily, pinching a fleck of sleep from her eyes.

Mira was already pressing the button to open the elevator door. “We have to go pick Zoey up from Jail. Somehow, she got herself arrested.”

Rumi grabbed her shoes and leapt over the couch to join her.

“What the hell, Zoey?” they both asked simultaneously.

Chapter Text

Zoey finished signing her little fan’s hat, drawing a little smiling turtle next to her name before handing it back to the kid. She just knelt and smiled as the child looked up to her mother, holding the hat out to show her with a smile that could melt the ice caps. The little girl jumped up and gave Zoey a big hug, and she snapped a quick selfie with her before she and her mother excused themselves and disappeared back into the crowd in the street.

I never get tired of this part. Maybe this isn’t so bad, she thought to herself. She’d still rather be with Mira and Rumi, of course, but as she’d started interacting with people on the streets, her anxiety had melted away. 

Something about being alone reminded her of her youth. Before moving back to Korea for good. Before Huntr/x. Before Mira and Rumi had become such an inextricable part of her life. Before I’d found my own place, she thought, remembering one of her lines from the song they’d been working on. But here she was.

Sure, she missed Los Angeles. That was where she grew up. Seoul was nice, and she did love it here, but there was a part of her that would always be a Cali girl. At least they’d be taking a few days off during the tour so she could spend some time with her family and friends back there.

As she pulled up the group chat she had with Mira and Rumi to send them the picture she’d just taken, she heard a voice shouting from across the street.

“Zoey! Zoey Chin!” A distinctly American-accented, masculine voice called out. She tried to ignore it. The only fans who used either of the girls’ last names were the creepy ones, the ones that were obsessed with them in the bad way. She kept her eyes forward and kept walking in the direction she had been earlier.

“Come on, Crush, I know it’s you!” the voice called out again, in English.

Wait, Crush? Nobody ever used that nickname for her, not since…

Zoey turned on her heels to look in the direction the voice had been calling from. A tall, athletic boy, wearing a Caltech sweatshirt, had run into the street, weaving through cars that were braking and honking as he ran up to her.

“Holy shit, Argyle?!” she shouted, running up and giving the boy a hug. “I haven’t seen you since…”

“Junior year! How you been, kpop?” the boy asked, smiling down at her.

“Dude, it is so crazy running into you, here of all places!” she said, swatting at his arm playfully. “Wait, you didn’t get like creepy obsessed and fly here to look me up, did you?” she added, a look of faux-concern on her face.

“Oh god, no. Sorry. That would be so ick,” he replied, scratching his head nervously. “Here with the girlfriend. She’s a foodtuber, and she’s doing a series on Korean street food. She kinda got obsessed for a while watching those weird cooking ASMR videos, and, well, here we are!”

Zoey nodded. She was familiar with the cooking videos. Some of them had been on her comfort playlist since she’d moved. “So, just to be clear, she’s not also a creepy stalker fan of mine, is she?”

Argyle laughed as he and Zoey kept walking down the street.

“Okay, you have to tell your girlfriend to check this place out,” Zoey said, taking another huge bite of the crepe she’d bought. “She’ll get like, a gajillion views.”

“Man, how is the food here so good?” Argyle replied, doing the same with his own.

“Right? Like, don’t get me wrong, I miss Cali, but ya girl is eating good out here.”

The two of them sat on a bench, catching up on the events of their lives in the past 5 years. Argyle had transferred schools during their senior year, and the two had lost touch once Zoey’s music career had started. She hadn’t had a chance to keep up with much of what had happened in his life since then. He’d been in college since then, and was currently applying for a master’s program in something that went completely over Zoey’s head.

“So, you still obsessed with turtles?” he asked, glancing at Zoey’s bag, which had a large sea turtle charm hanging from the zipper.

“Duh, dude. Although, I’d say I’m kinda in my tortoise era right now. We went to this zoo a few months ago that had a whole exhibit full of different tortoise species, and I had dreams about riding a giant tortoise into a very slow battle for weeks after.”

“Bruh, hold on. I gotta show you something,” Argyle said, pulling out his phone. He scrolled through his photo gallery for a few seconds before passing the phone to Zoey. “My cousin,” he added.

Zoey took the phone and looked. A short video of a little boy, maybe 7 or 8, perched on top of a giant Galapagos tortoise that was munching on a smashed pumpkin. “Oh my god that is incredible. I have never been more jealous of anyone,” she said, handing the phone back to him.

He scrolled through, showing her a few more photos. “My aunt works with this conservation organization, and she goes around to all these different places to make sure they’re taking good care of their animals. And sometimes we get to have fun with them,” he explained. “This guy was like, some rich dude’s illegal pet, and he can’t go back to the wild.”

Zoey barely processed the words, just staring, transfixed as she looked at the photos of the boy playing with the giant tortoise. “That kid is living the dream,” she whispered.

Argyle put his phone away after he finished scrolling, and the conversation returned to normal. “So, what’s it like, going from the ‘hood to the high life?” he asked, smirking at her.

“Argyle, we grew up in Burbank . That’s like, as far from the hood as you can get while still legally being within the LA metro,” she chuckled. “But it’s been nice. Hard work. Like, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is, but like…it’s great. Here, with Mira, and Rumi? I feel more at home with the two of them than I ever did anywhere else.”

“Yeah, that tracks. You always did seem like you could never get comfortable back home. Like no matter where you were, you always wanted to be somewhere else.”

“It’s like I was living life wearing clothes that were two sizes too small. But like…now that I’m here? Now that Mira and I– I mean, the three of us are here together? It’s like I can finally breathe. Like there were colors only I could ever see, and now that I’m with them, it’s like they can see them too. Like everything makes sense with them.”

“That’s like…” Argyle pondered for a moment before responding, “maybe the third, or fourth sappiest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” he replied, chuckling.

Zoey swatted him with her bag. “Shut up. I’m not sappy. I’m hardcore.”

“Sure you are, Crush.”

“I am! Like, you don’t listen to our music, or you’d know. I can kick it with the best of them!”

“So like, what is your type?” Zoey asked, flipping through some fashion magazine that Mira had tossed onto her bed earlier.

“Not you,” Mira smirked, scrolling through her phone. The girls had been hanging out together pretty regularly for the past few days since the bathhouse.

“No, I get that. I’m not like, trying to apply for the job or anything. Just curious. Since you mentioned it.”

Mira turned to face her. “You really want to know?”

Zoey shrugged. “It’s not a huge deal. Just figured, it’s not like we’re gonna have many other queer people that we can talk to about this stuff from here on out.”

“I guess you’re right,” Mira said. “Didn’t really think about that when we signed up for this, did we?”

“I mean, not like we had a choice. Chosen warriors and all that.”

Mira nodded. She switched accounts on her social media app to her private one under a fake name before scrolling through to find something to show Zoey.

“We had a choice. But we all made the right one,” she said, handing the phone over.

Zoey watched the video play. A tall, muscular blonde girl was wielding a huge axe. As Zoey watched, the girl swung the axe down, splitting logs in half effortlessly. She scrunched her nose, not quite understanding the appeal before handing the phone back to Mira. “So…you’re into lumberjacks? Or lumberjanes I guess?”

Mira snorted. “I just want a woman who can kick my ass.”

“Your voices are your greatest weapon against Gwi-Ma,” Celine said, as the girls took turns sparring in the open field. “Your song is what powers the Honmoon, what inspires hope and courage in the people who hear them.”

Mira swung her wooden staff toward Rumi, who expertly dodged it. “Ugh, no fair. You’ve been training for this your whole life! Zoey and I just got here! I’ve never even held a weapon before this year!”

“You are not getting it, Mira. It is not her years of experience that is allowing her to avoid your attack,” Celine responded.

Mira took another swing, as Rumi ducked and went in for a barehanded jab. It connected, and Mira staggered backward, almost to the edge of the circle Celine had dug into the Earth.

“The training has something to do with it,” she muttered.

“It is the music in her soul that allows her to perform as she does. Once the three of you find your harmony, no one, man or demon alike, will be able to stand in your way.”

Mira frowned. Her voice wasn’t nearly as silky smooth as Rumi’s, and she didn’t have the spontaneous mastery of lyricism like Zoey. If she had to be on their level musically to be able to fight demons, she was going to have to put a lot more work in.

Rumi reset, and Mira started again. This time, she tried to pay closer attention to the way Rumi was moving, and time her movements to match them. She managed to sidestep a swipe by Rumi, and gave a confident smirk. Just like learning a new dance, she thought. At the end of the day, it’s all choreo.

A few more well-timed steps, slides, and dodges, and Mira started feeling a little more confident. That’s when she noticed something about how Rumi was attacking. She wasn’t just breathing as she swung at her. She was singing .

Quietly, under her breath, but Mira could just barely make out her lip movements as they fought. As she stopped for a moment to process that information, Rumi took the opportunity to duck low and spin her legs around, knocking Mira’s feet out from under her.

Mira landed hard on her back, staring up at the sky above her. The pain barely registered, her mind was too focused. Rumi nudged her with her foot and held out her hand to help her up. “Thanks,” she said, rising to her feet as she brushed the dust off of her workout clothes.

“Alright, Zoey, you’re up,” Rumi said as Mira exited the ring. She sat on the ground next to Celine, who was overseeing the training.

She watched Rumi and Zoey fight. Zoey was making the same mistakes Mira had made, too tense at the wrong moment, a beat too late to dodge.

“Rumi is singing while she fights. That’s her secret, isn’t it?” she asked. “She already gets it.”

“Yes, Mira,” Celine responded. “And so will you. That is what it means to be a hunter.”

Mira didn’t say anything. Her mind was already trying to figure out how she was going to accomplish that.

“But yeah, it’s been great! I get to meet all kinds of fans everywhere I go, and it’s like, they genuinely want to meet me! Literally right before we ran into each other I just did this!” Zoey exclaimed, pulling out her phone and showing Argyle the photo she’d taken with the little girl. “How cool is it that me, the weird kid from Burbank is signing autographs halfway across the world?”

Argyle smiled. “You’re still a weird kid. Just rich and famous now. I guess the world vibes with your brand of weird,” he added.

“Yeah! It’s wild. Like, later today I’m doing a thing where I get paid to drink energy sauce . And this is just a normal day for us.”

“I bet it comes with some pretty cool perks, though. Like, nobody can touch you here. You’re like, top dog.”

Zoey giggled. “Yeah! I could do anything I wanted! I could fight a gorilla!”

Argyle scoffed at that. “Zoey, you’re 120 pounds soaking wet. I think the gorilla could take you.”

Zoey rolled her eyes, “Yeah, well, I’ve fought de–” she caught herself before she slipped, “dee…ply troubled fans that didn’t know how to back off! That has to count for something!”

That got a genuine laugh out of the boy. “Ok, Crush, I take it back. You could definitely fight a gorilla. But like, you know what I mean. Celebrities get away with shit all the time. You could probably like, steal someone’s camera and everyone would think it was a cool stunt.”

“Yeah, or I could set fire to a trash can, and everyone would think it was for a viral video or something!” she added, remembering what Mira had said earlier.

“You would not set fire to a trash can,” Argyle said, chuckling. “You’re way too soft for that, Crush.”

“I am not soft! I’ll set a trash can on fire right now!” she replied, glancing around on the street. There was one about a block away. She took off in the direction of it, leaving Argyle behind.

He ran to catch up with her. “Zoey, wait! You’re not going to start a fire, are you?”

“Hell yeah I am!” she replied, peering into the metal bin. Empty food containers, takeout cups, and shopping waste filled the can.

“Don’t. That’s stupid, you’re gonna get in trouble,” he said, though his expression betrayed his words. Zoey grinned back at him devilishly

“I’m not gonna get in trouble,” she replied, “I’m rich and famous, remember? It’s just a viral stunt!”

“I cannot believe there was a police officer right behind me!” Zoey cried as Mira draped her arm across Zoey’s shoulder.

“It serves you right, what were you thinking?” Rumi asked, sighing. “You’re lucky nobody was filming it.”

“I swear, we can’t leave you alone for two seconds,” Mira added, smiling at Zoey. “What am I gonna have to do with you?”

“...Love me unconditionally and forgive me for being the biggest idiot on the planet? ” Zoey pleaded, looking up at Mira with tears in her eyes.

Rumi pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re not an idiot, Zoey. You just…had a lapse in judgement.”

“Zoey, wait up!” Argyle called out as the trio exited the police station. Mira and Rumi turned to face the American.

“Who’s this guy?” Mira asked, instinctively shifting to stand in front of her.

“He’s an old friend,” Zoey replied, stepping toward him. “Argyle, Huntr/x. Huntr/x, Argyle.”

Introductions made, Argyle reached out his arm for a handshake, as Mira and Rumi politely bowed. He slowly retracted it, mirroring their actions instead.

“We know each other from back in high school, and ran into each other while I was out,” she explained to them.

“Did he put you up to this?” Rumi asked.

Zoey shook her head. “No, that was all me. We were just joking around, and one thing led to another and then, I…”

“Stole someone’s lighter and set fire to a trash can,” Mira added.

Zoey nodded sheepishly. “You said it sounded fun earlier…”

“I was joking, Zoey! Besides, you do that kinda thing at night, when nobody can see you!”

Argyle stood there, awkwardly, unable to decipher much of what was being said.

“Oh god, sorry Argyle,” Zoey said, looking over at him. “He doesn’t speak much Korean,” she explained to the others.

Rumi nodded, switching languages in her head. “It was nice to have met you. Please do not allow Zoey to cause property damage the next time you meet.”

Mira nodded in agreement. “Enjoy the rest of your visit.”

As Argyle departed, the girls climbed into the backseat of the car.

“Okay, so as far as Hijinx goes…how much trouble am I in?” Zoey asked.

“Oh, no, that was sick,” Mira replied. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Rumi sighed “I’m never going to be able to leave the two of you alone again, am I?”

Not that I want to, she thought to herself, recalling her dream that had been interrupted.

Chapter Text

Rumi’s hands gripped the side of Mira’s face hard, her thumb resting on the girl’s bottom lip as her breath hitched. “Don’t you dare fucking stop,” she panted.

“With pleasure, princess” Mira replied, their bodies moving together, their heartbeats synchronized.

Rumi gasped as Mira’s fingers continued the dance they’d begun together, her expert choreography skills at work.

She started to moan but was silenced, as Zoey’s lips pressed against her own, the sound transforming into a sigh as the kiss deepened.

Zoey’s hand glided along the purple streaks across Rumi’s chest, sending a chill down Rumi’s spine. She felt Zoey’s teeth graze her bottom lip, pulling it away from her as she broke the kiss. Rumi panted in longing, desperately wanting to savor the taste of Zoey’s lips even longer, but her desire was replaced by new sensations as she felt Zoey’s lips trace their way along her jaw line, planting kisses and nibbles as she worked her way toward her neck.

“Is there anywhere else you want me to kiss?” she whispered in Rumi’s ear before taking her earlobe between her teeth and pulling away, the sensation electrifying every inch of Rumi’s body.

“Everywhere,” Rumi managed to whimper, as she heard the slamming sound of a door, jolting her awake.

“How mad at me are you guys?” Zoey whimpered as the car took them to their lunch meeting.

“On a scale of one to ten…” Rumi began.

“Like, a two, maybe,” Mira cut in. “I was getting bored waiting for Rumi to wake up anyway. She talks in her sleep.”

“No I don’t!” Rumi snapped. “And how would you know, anyway? You were back in your room playing Candy Beans or Hero Cup or whatever bullshit it is you’re on this week.”

“Oh, she totally does. No way she’d get that defensive if she didn’t,” Mira quipped.

Rumi frowned. “Okay, now Mira’s at a seven. Zoey, you’re at like, a three. Just…don’t do anything like that again, okay?”

“Someone’s cranky,” Mira said, smirking in Rumi’s direction.

“Someone has had approximately 10 minutes of sleep in the past 24 hours,” Rumi shot back. “I need my beauty rest.” And to finish that dream, she added mentally.

“Just wait. Two more gigs and then we get to go to the bathhouse,” Mira said, smiling. “That’ll take your mind off of Zoey’s Hinkies or whatever.”

“Oh my god! I forgot about the bathhouse! Please tell me we’re still on, Rumi, please? Please?” Zoey looked at Rumi with pleading eyes and a quivering lip.

Rumi looked from Zoey over to Mira, whose face had contorted into a similarly pathetic expression. Huffing in resignation, she smiled “Yeah. We’re still on.”

The speakers thumped with their latest single as the photographer snapped dozens of pictures of each of them, the girls changing poses almost reflexively to mirror the ones they’d taken for the tour promotional photos with the energy drink cans added in.

“Heyyy, girls!” Bobby chirped up as they were breaking for a moment. Rumi and Zoey were sipping water from their Woo! cans, while Mira was sitting sideways in her chair, checking her phone. All three girls looked up toward him with warm smiles as he spoke.

“Hi Bobby!” the girls said in unison, giving him their attention.

“So I know it’s been a hectic day today, what with the incident ,“ he said, wincing as bit as he glanced in Zoey’s direction. “But I just wanted to go over tomorrow’s agenda a bit before I turn you loose for the night.”

Zoey pouted a bit.  I’m never living this down, am I?  she thought to herself.

The girls listened as Bobby mentioned some minor meetings, and blocked out time in the recording studio for them to finish mastering their next big release, one that Zoey and the others had been working on together in the background for months. It clearly meant a lot to the three of them, which meant it also meant a lot to Bobby.

The girls also had most of their morning blocked off tomorrow for their regular workouts. Bobby hadn’t been meaning to pry, but as he did have access to Celine’s schedule due to their frequent meetings with each other, he had noticed that she had taken the mornings off of her morning schedule for the remainder of time until the tour kickoff. He hoped that whatever was responsible for the rift between the girls and their mentor would resolve soon. Rumi had looked so upset this morning, he wished there’d been something else he could’ve said or done.

“Now, I won’t be here in person until Friday afternoon, but we will have a facetime call tomorrow evening, but as always, don’t hesitate to call if you need anything!” he said before departing.

“Thanks, Bobby!” the girls called after him.

“Alright, girls! We’re ready for the next set!” he heard the photographer’s assistant call as he left the studio.

Rumi finished tucking the stray strands of her hair into the towel as she sat, perched on the unfamiliar bench. She hummed a tune idly as she glanced around the empty room. True to her word, Mira had ensured the place was cleared out. The other girls had been through the process before, and were likely already in the water, waiting for her.

She was exhausted and nervous, and the tension in her body was making everything more difficult, and she’d spent longer in the shower than she probably needed to. Still, she couldn’t wait to experience this bizarrely life-changing thing that Mira and Zoey had refused to shut up about for close to 4 years now. She’d been secretly looking forward to it for a while, but Celine had always forbidden even thinking about revealing her patterns to either Mira or Zoey. Patterns that were now on full display as she sat, the spa towel barely concealing her frame.

Rumi was still furious with Celine, but something about what Mira and Zoey had told her made her feel like she needed more answers; like either something hadn’t been said, or something hadn’t been properly relayed to her. She figured that at some point they were going to have to get back in touch with her, if for nothing else than to get ahold of her mother’s journals. Even if they were able to seal the Honmoon, to retire from hunting permanently, those journals were still the last things her mother had ever made, and if anyone was going to keep them, it was going to be her.

For now, though, she was grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to share more of herself and open up to Mira and Zoey. Her closest friends, the girls she spent almost all hours of every day with. Having to hide something that had become such an integral part of how she saw herself; something that had meant wearing more and more concealing clothing over the years, day and night, lest even a hint of purple show.

Separate dressing rooms at live performances, missing out on the fun backstage moments that she always saw Zoey posting online. Deadbolted doors to her bathroom, never able to shower with music playing because she needed to be able to react to even the faintest sound. Missing out on this bathhouse, the shared experience that seemed so universal among her peers, even growing up. 

Missing out on any opportunity to share her feelings. She still wasn’t ready to tell Mira or Zoey how she felt. Hell, she hadn’t been able to tell herself for sure how to describe her feelings toward them. Sexually frustrated by, sure. Hopelessly in love with, absolutely; but what Mira and Zoey had was something special, a connection that she wasn’t sure if she should even try to work her way into.

Instead, she would just…make herself available to them. Let them make the first move. If they had any interest in her, then she would encourage it, but she wouldn’t initiate it. That had always been her plan, after the Honmoon was sealed and her patterns gone. The ability to do so now had only accelerated her timeline.

Which brought her mind back to the present. She knew there wouldn’t be anything going on in the bath, but it would be the first time the other girls saw just how extensive her patterns had reached. How much of her modesty had been dictated by them. Would they freak out again? Would they worry? Or had the moment truly passed, and the three of them were truly ok now?

Sufficiently tucked, Rumi stood, secured the towel around her, and slowly approached the entrance to the bath. She hesitated before pulling open the door, preparing for the worst possible outcome.

She heard Mira and Zoey whispering to each other as she opened the door. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light, hearing the door settle behind her. Steeling her nerves, trying to put her game face on, she stepped forward toward their voices.

Voices which quieted as she stepped into the light over the tub the other girls were already relaxing in. Rumi could feel their eyes on her, though she couldn’t meet their gazes. She felt redness rising in her cheeks and ears.

“So, uh…yeah. This is me,” Rumi muttered, forcing her fingers to pull the towel away as she stepped into the bath, surprised at the warmth.

“I had no idea…” Zoey whispered. “Rumi, you didn’t tell us they were…”

“Everywhere,” Mira finished.

Rumi sank into the tub, barely keeping her head above water. Wishing she could drown. “You’re not supposed to stare in the bath,” she mumbled.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Zoey yelped, quickly looking in every other potential direction. Mira similarly cast her gaze downward.

Rumi sighed. “It’s fine. I know it’s a lot. I know I’m…fucked up.”

Mira looked back at Rumi. “You’re not fucked up, Rumi. You’re…you’re beautiful,” she said softly.

“You’re incredible, Rumi,” Zoey echoed, “I think we’re just a little shocked at the weight you’ve been carrying all this time.” Mira nodded in agreement.

Rumi didn’t know how to respond to that. “It’s just…who I am. What I am. What I’ve always been,” she muttered.

Zoey smiled warmly at Rumi. “What you’ve always been is Rumi. The amazing girl who took the hand she was dealt and turned it into something even more amazing. You’ve been an inspiration to me since we first met, and now even more so.”

Rumi felt her lip quiver a bit at Zoey’s words, and she turned to face her bandmate. No, not just her bandmate, her best friend.. “Zoey, I…thank you,” she managed to choke out.

“Hey, anytime, Rumi,” she replied.

The girls let the silence settle for a short while. Rumi closed her eyes, feeling the warmth penetrate deep into her core. “You guys were right, this is so nice,” she sighed happily.

“We’ve been saying! I mean, it was weird for me at first, too, but then it was just, like, the thing we did when we needed to relax,” Zoey chirped.

“You were super weird that first time,” Mira added. “Way weirder than Rumi.”

“Okay, listen. We barely knew each other back then. That was, what, 2 months into Huntr/x? Before we’d even released our first album?”

“Right after the debut. You were bouncing off the walls. Rumi was barely hanging out with us back then, and I hadn’t…gotten used to you yet.”

Rumi smiled as Mira and Zoey reminisced. Those days had been particularly stressful for her, trying to live up to her mother’s legacy, combined with pressure from Celine, it had made her keep the girls at arm’s length. That had changed after those first few shaky months, and she couldn’t imagine her life without their warmth being a constant presence anymore.

“You didn’t know I was your type back then, you mean,” Zoey shot back.

“...There was that, too. You were crushing hard , though.”

Zoey grinned. She was still crushing hard for Mira, still finding it hard to believe that she was hers.

Their debut performance had gone well, and they’d had a few hard-fought victories against some lesser demons that had managed to slip through the cracks in the Honmoon, but the new crop of hunters was anything but battle-hardened yet. The girls had grown closer together as well, and though Rumi hadn’t quite bonded as well as she and Zoey had, Mira did feel closer to her than she had before. Maybe it was the shared bond of queerness between her and Zoey; they got the distinct vibe that Rumi wasn’t into anyone . She was so focused on the music and the mission, to the detriment of any personal relationships she had.

Their training had gotten more intense after those early lessons. Mira was no longer consistently getting knocked around by Rumi, and had been able to hold her own. The music really was the key, after all. They’d all found their ways to harness that power. Rumi was always singing or mouthing the lyrics to songs she loved, or songs they’d written together. Mira was able to keep the rhythm in her heart with dance moves, humming melodies to herself as she fought.

But Zoey, on the other hand…she was a firecracker. Something had unlocked in her, and when she fought, it was intense. Both she and Rumi struggled when they were fighting, but Zoey could freestyle a rap while kicking ass for an extended period without breaking a sweat. It was like the words were fighting their way out of her chest.

Rumi and Zoey were sparring, while Mira watched, sitting on the ground next to Celine. Zoey’s movements weren’t fluid and careful like Rumi’s, nor were they decisive and practiced like Mira's. She was erratic, chaotic even, responding with precision but not telegraphing anything.

“Do you see it?” Celine asked her. “Look at what Zoey is doing,” she continued.

Mira tried to focus. Zoey swiped at Rumi’s neck, with Rumi barely managing to evade the attack, nearly landing on her back as she ducked. Zoey’s knee was there waiting for her, though, and connected with Rumi’s chest just enough to knock the purple-haired girl off balance.

“She…set her up. The first attack was a feint.”

Celine shook her head. “No, Mira. Look closer. Try to feel Zoey’s rhythm. It will come to you.”

She kept watching as Zoey kept running circles around Rumi. “She’s…wearing her down. Making use of the vertical space. I don’t know.”

Celine clucked her tongue. “Give it time.”

Mira didn’t want to wait. She kept watching, trying to match the rhythm of Zoey’s movements in her head, something that she found incredibly difficult to do.

Zoey delivered a blow that staggered Rumi, and as she caught her balance, one foot landed outside the ring. “Good work, Zoey!” Celine called out to her.

As Rumi fumed, heading over to join Mira, Zoey stretched as she reset to the other side of the ring. Celine looked over at Mira. “Perhaps a closer look will be more educational,” she said, gesturing for Mira to take her turn.

Their sparring session started out rough. Mira was able to evade Zoey’s moves, but she was losing ground. The song she was humming had a particular rhythm to it that Zoey kept throwing her off of, but she was able to assert herself and keep going.

She managed to land a blow after remembering something she’d seen happen during Zoey’s fight with Rumi. An opening, an area that Zoey didn’t defend. She managed another. Zoey changed things up again, and suddenly Mira found herself back on defense.

They danced together like that, trading blows, shifting positions to the point that Mira’s feet had dragged deep gouges in the dirt, while Zoey’s movements were more acrobatic, like she couldn’t stay on the ground for long enough to leave a mark. Mira gritted her teeth, looking for an opening. She found it, and struck with everything she had. Zoey went flying backward, landing on one foot right at the edge of the ring. Looking Mira dead in the eyes, Zoey grinned and placed her other foot, intentionally, on the outside of the ring.

Mira was gobsmacked. Zoey had just let her win. Why? The whole point of these things was to test each other, and to improve.

Was Zoey just that much better than her?

Or was there something else to it? She hadn’t seen what Celine had been trying to show her. She didn’t get it. Not yet, at least.

The girls had settled into a peaceful circle of tranquility, the gentle sounds of the water rippling around them, a slight electrical hum from the dimmed lighting, and their own gentle breathing being the only sounds filling the room.

“You are never getting me out of here,” Rumi sighed lazily. “Cancel the tour. Rent out my bedroom. I live here now.”

“Uh-oh Mira, I think we got a lifer,” Zoey joked, gently nudging Mira’s calf with her foot.

“Shhh,” Mira whispered, her eyes still shut, “I’m centering my energy. 10 more minutes.”

Zoey chuckled to herself, and closed her eyes, preparing to lean her head back and enjoy the last few precious minutes of their time in the spa.

That’s when they felt it. Zoey, Rumi, and Mira all snapped their eyes open, their positions shifting in an instant. The Honmoon had shuddered around them.

Breaktime was over. Demons were nearby.

“No!” Mira shouted. “Not here!” she growled, pulling herself out of the bath, covering herself with a towel quickly as her Gok-do manifested in her hands.

“I’ve never hated these things more!” Zoey added, following suit.

“Now?! Really? When I finally relax for the first time in my life?!” Rumi echoed, searching for her towel. She spotted a rack with some full robes on the other side of the room, darting in that direction to cover her patterns in case the fight took them anywhere someone else might see, her Sain-Geom already held at the ready.

The girls stood back-to-back, waiting for a sign. The energy ripple had told them that the crack was very close, but not much else.

“There!” Mira shouted. A sudden movement, barely visible through the patterned glass window of the main door, then another movement. Someone pursued. The girls raced toward the door, rushing in the direction of the movement they’d seen.

Rumi checked their backs, seeing a faceless demon approaching. She struck it down effortlessly, but more were behind them. “Zoey!” she cried out.

Zoey spun on her heels, sending her Shin-kal flying past Rumi’s shoulders. The faceless dealt with, the knives returned to Zoey’s hands on their own as both of them turned to catch up with Mira.

Mira was laser focused on the demon ahead of her. It was fast. One of the robed, gat- wearing ‘Reapers’; a corrupted human. He was quick and confident. Whereas most demons would panic at the sight of the hunters, this one seemed to be toying with her.

“Mira!” Zoey shouted, causing her to duck just in time for Zoey’s knives to whizz above her head. The demon ducked into another room at the last second, and the three hunters followed.

Mira swung wide, while Rumi slid into the room, pinning the demon in the corner. She swung her sword into his chest, and the girls watched him explode into a shower of embers.

“That’s how it’s done,” Rumi smirked, dismissing her weapon.

“Done,” Zoey added, smiling as she did the same.

“Done,” Mira finished, adjusting the towel that had begun to droop.

The girls giggled to each other as they made their way back to the changing rooms.

Rumi pulled the towel off of her head, starting to work on her braid, while the other girls similarly prepared to return to the real world.

This had been nice. She would do it again, though preferably without the demon interruption. Letting the girls see her was…there wasn’t a word for how terrifying it was. But these girls. These wonderful, incredible, beautiful girls, the girls she had fallen madly in love with. They never stopped surprising her.

As she removed her robe and reached into the locker to retrieve her street clothes, she heard a throat clearing behind her.

“Yes, Mira?” She asked, not turning to face her. The robe was still gathered around her waist as the retrieved her underwear first.

“I, uh. I was wondering something,” Mira stated flatly. “And it’s totally cool if you say no but I just wanted to ask.”

Rumi’s pulse quickened, and she felt a tinge of red creeping up her ears. What did Mira want to ask? Now? In here? While I’m still technically naked?

“Uhh…sure! Ask away!” She replied, peeking over her shoulder, her best fake grin plastered on her face. Mira’s cheeks were tinged with red, and she still had the towel wrapped around her. How much a part of Rumi just wanted to turn around and tug it away from her.

“I was just wondering if…well, Zoey said she got to, y’know, touch your patterns, and I was wondering if I could…”

“I knew you were jealous!” Zoey called from the next row. “You owe me!”

Mira’s blush deepened. “I’m not…jealous. I just wanted to…verify what she told me.”

Rumi’s heart backflipped. With Zoey, it had been different. She’d been curious out of concern for her, and Rumi had offered her arm to her. But this was Mira, actively expressing a desire to touch her . Whether it was for sexual reasons or not, Mira wanted to put her hands on her body.

Trying to hide her own creeping flush, she turned around to face her. “I guess. I swear, they don’t feel like anything special. I can’t even tell where they are without looking, at least when new ones form.”

Mira stepped closer to her as she spoke, but hesitated, hovering her hand over Rumi’s shoulder. A cluster of patterned lines wove their way around the curve. She let her eyes wander through the maze of purple on Rumi’s arms and chest before finally allowing her fingers to fall on her shoulder.

Zoey had been right. There was no difference in texture, or temperature. She traced the line of one of them further, as if following it to its terminus would prove something different. It didn’t, though, and she found herself brushing her fingers across the skin on either side of the pattern.

“Um, Mira?” Rumi asked.

“Yeah?” she replied, still focused on the streak of purple between her fingers.

“You’re kind of…fondling my boob.”

Mira’s eyes went wide, and she jerked her hand back. “I’m so sorry!” she yelped, bowing and stepping back.

"I wasn't complaining," Rumi replied, low enough that she wasn't sure if Mira would be able to hear.

“Wait no I gotta see this!” Zoey shouted, rushing past the row of lockers.

“Show’s over, Zoey,” Rumi joked.

“Aww,” Zoey whined. As Zoey departed back to finish changing, Mira also made another slight sound of apology. 

Rumi turned around, trying not to smile despite the embarrassment. As red-faced as she was, Mira had been at least three shades darker.

Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as she thought.

Chapter Text

Mi-yeong has been dead for 23 years, 6 months, and 13 days.

The same dream. Always the same dream. Always having a count in her head of how long it had been. The fact that it was Friday was secondary to the fact that it had been 23 years, 6 months, and 13 days since she’d seen Mi-yeong’s face.

Most parents remember their child’s birthday as a day to celebrate joy, love, and a shared bond.

Celine had to mark each and every one of Rumi’s birthdays as the anniversary of the worst day of her life.

As she stepped into the shower, she no longer felt Mi-yeong’s spirit reaching to comfort her. Instead, she felt renewed determination to ensure that, even after the girls turned the Honmoon golden, Mi-yeong’s death would not be in vain.

She had withdrawn from her duties at the record label that managed Huntr/x for the time being. She had told her coworkers that she was taking time off due to stress and fatigue. She hadn’t been lying, of course. Carrying the weight of protecting the Honmoon on her own for nearly 20 years prior to Rumi and the others being able to take over had aged her more than it showed.

She had not heard from Rumi, or either of the other girls, since their conversation in her office. She was giving them space. However, she could not idly. She knew she had a multitude of sins to atone for, both to Rumi and the rest of Huntr/x, but also to Mi-yeong and her memory. To the life they’d always planned to share together.

Celine knew her plan was ambitious, and likely to fail. However, if she succeeded, it would not only bring closure to Mi-yeong’s spirit, wherever it was, but it might make life just a little bit easier for the girls, as well as countless other people across Korea, and even the rest of the world.

She dressed sharply, a high-end gray pantsuit with a cream-colored blouse. Her heels clacked as she entered the building.

She operated on autopilot, locating the elevator and riding it to the 16th floor in silence. Notifying the receptionist of her arrival was the first word she’d spoken since the graveyard two days ago. She’d been formulating her plan since then, and had only corresponded with the man she was about to meet via email.

Getting him on board was key to her entire plan. She’d researched him, done her homework to find out more about his private life, the parts that maybe he didn’t want people to find out about.

A few minutes passed, and a tall, thin man with salt-and-pepper hair stepped out into the waiting area.

“Ms. Ho–” he started, already bowing deeply

“Please. Just Celine,” she corrected, bowing in response as well. The name had become her identity. Mi-yeong had fallen in love with Celine, not Chae-su Ho. She’d discarded that name wherever possible.

“Well then, Celine, please come in, I’m very excited to hear what you have in mind for us,” he replied, returning to an upright position.

He ushered her into his office, the din of the office falling silent as he closed the door behind them.

As the two of them sat facing each other, a silence lulled. Celine steeled her nerves for what she was about to propose.

“Mr. Tae Yun, I have a proposal for you.”

“That much was clear from your email,” he responded. “I gather you’re wanting to have something published, or you wouldn’t be contacting me. Although I’m still not sure why you sought me out specifically, there are other partners in our company that are more experienced with handling works created by high profile individuals such as yourself. So I’ve got to ask, Ms. Celine. What are you doing here?”

Celine took a breath to calm herself before responding. “What would you say to a tell-all book about the Sunlight Sisters? Everything, from our first beginnings, to Mi-yeong’s death and Hana’s departure?” she asked, crossing her legs and smirking slightly.

Tae took a moment to ponder the idea, trying to divine an answer to the other questions he’d asked. Something about her statement seemed off, like he should’ve been able to glean more information from it. Clearly, given her position, she could’ve gone to any publishing firm in the country and walked away happier than with any deal he would be able to offer her. And clearly she wasn’t hurting for money, managing the record label behind the largest pop act Korea had ever seen.

“I’m listening,” he said, inviting her to offer more. The Sunlight Sisters were one of the foundational groups in the modern K-pop genre, bursting on the scene in the 90s and topping charts for years before a scandal broke, followed by their Visual’s untimely death. Generations of Kpop groups had emulated their style, to varying success.

“There were tons of things going on behind the scenes that people didn’t know about. Not just talking about the usual manipulation of talents and contract backstabbing. Things that were…unique to us.”

“Such as…?” he asked, clearly wanting the woman sitting across from her to get to her point.

Celine took a deep breath, preparing to tell this man, a complete stranger, something that only four other living people in the world were aware of. Pursing her lips for a moment, she replied, “Such as the fact that Mi-yeong and I were in a romantic relationship, nearly the entire time the group was together?” There. She’d done it. She’d come out to someone. 52 years old and she was finally going to be open about herself.

Tae realized instantly why she had chosen him, though he wondered how she’d found out. He and his partner Jin-hwan had been extremely careful, with false marriages and everything. She went to the only gay publishing agent she could find, to have him help her tell her story. “That, is…certainly something,” he replied.

There had been gay K-pop stars before. Hell, there were a few he could name off the top of his head, and he wasn’t even a big music fan. But, as far as he’d known, there had never been a gay couple in a group together.

“There is more, but for now, I will have to let that be the centerpiece of our conversation,” Celine added.

How could there be more? He wondered to himself. 

“You’re ok, you’re ok, just let me help you,” Mi-yeong instructed, helping Celine lift her injured leg up and onto an ottoman. She eased her shoe and sock off, careful to avoid bending Celine’s foot. Celine groaned in pain regardless, as it was simply too much to bear. Hana darted off to the kitchen.

She’d fallen hard during a practice. Their manager, a short, plump man named Tong, was furious, and he’d shouted at Celine to continue practicing until she’d broken down in tears, and then he had shouted some more. Even the thought of canceling their upcoming show was completely out of the question. Mi-yeong, though, had been right there, shouting back at him. She’d managed to at least get him to storm out of the dance studio, and Mi-yeong and Hana had both helped Celine back to their shared dormitory. By the time they’d gotten her onto the sofa, her ankle was bruised and swollen.

Hana returned from their kitchen with ice, wrapped in a towel. Mi-yeong took it from her and tenderly pressed it against Celine’s injured ankle.

“How is it feeling?” Mi-yeong asked, as she held the ice in place.

“It’s…it’s better,” Celine replied. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Mi-yeong said, looking up into Celine’s eyes.

Neither of them tore their eyes away for a long while, until the towel had soaked through completely, and Celine’s pain was all but forgotten.

Tae poured himself a heavy drink. Celine had just left, and he’d had his assistant cancel the rest of his day’s schedule. She had just dropped a bomb on him. If he published this book, the scandal, the outrage, the damage it could do to not just her career, but to Mi-yeong’s daughter’s career as well.

But, his thoughts continued, it could also help so many people.

Part of the negotiation was that she wanted no announcements, no press releases, no teasers, no media at all, until an unspecified date in the future, and he would not get any updates, or partials, nothing until it was complete. Not even copy editors or proofreaders could take a look at it until it then. She said that even if they had to sit on a finished manuscript for years , they would do so. Even if she passed away, the book was to be held under lock and key until Rumi had given her blessing. She’d essentially contracted him as her agent on retainer, a signed contract with no date filled in that would wait in his desk until. Until when, he wasn't sure, but it would wait there nonetheless.

She’d asked for no advance, claiming that the money was immaterial. Which made sense, when you’re as wealthy as she was, what did she stand to gain from this, financially? Clearly she just wanted her story to be told, to as wide an audience as possible. That had been her other stipulation. Translation into dozens of languages, global distribution. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but clearly something in this book was going to change things, even in more liberal countries.

He wondered what sort of secrets someone could be desperate to reveal, but willing to take to her grave. Maybe it had something to do with Mi-yeong’s daughter. He had to assume she knew about the relationship, given that Celine had raised her. Maybe she wanted to delay it until any potential backlash couldn’t damage her career.

He downed his drink in one hard swallow, then poured another. He was going to be thinking about this for a long time.

Celine stared at her computer screen. She was sure that, once she started, the words would flow out of her. Everything would be easy to explain, and she’d be able to weave a coherent narrative through it.

Her eyes focused on the blinking cursor, a blank canvas, waiting to be filled. There was only one thing Celine wanted to write. Only one set of keystrokes she had any desire to input. She forced her fingers to the keyboard.

Mi-yeong. I am so very sorry for what I did to Rumi.

That was all she could manage, for now. And that would be the first line of her book. If she had said anything else at the beginning, none of what came after would matter.

She closed her laptop, rested her arms on top of her desk, and buried her head in them.

Her tears didn’t stop for a long while. Not until her sleeve was soaked through.

Chapter Text

“Hoo-ray! It’s time for Itaewon Tonight!” The announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers in the studio, drowning out the crowd, who were already cheering.

Rumi, Mira, and Zoey were posed, hidden behind a thin paper veil, their silhouettes projected onto it by spotlights behind them. “Tonight’s guests need no introduction, but I am required by my producer to give them one! Here in the studio we have everyone’s favorite chart topping musical trio, Huntr/x!”

The crowd, which had already been brimming with excitement since the reveal of the silhouettes, lost it at the announcement. The papers dropped one at a time, revealing all three of them, who waved excitedly back at their collected fans.

The hosts of the show entered the stage after them, and they all exchanged the usual pleasantries. Rumi was a fan of this show. Unlike most variety shows, these hosts knew how to put on a fun show without trying to embarrass their guests, and the interviews never seemed to be forced or filled with unnecessary jokes at the guest’s expense.

The girls were all practiced, excellent with crowds. When they’d first started out, they’d all been a little apprehensive, all three of them being relatively private and shy people, but over time they’d all grown to love each and every one of their fans. Even the creepier ones, though they did their best to keep them at arm’s length.

Pleasantries exchanged, and compulsory tour promotion completed, the hosts moved forward with the main attraction of the evening.

The host gestured toward the set for tonight’s challenge “Alright, ladies, you know the name of the game! It’s time for…”

“Bands Versus Fans!” The audience cried out. As the set lit up with swirling, brightly colored lights, spotlights followed the girls as they made their way over to the clear acrylic triple-podium they’d be using to play the game.

“That's right! We’re here to test how well your fans know you, but we’re also testing how well you all know… Each Other!” Another eruption of applause and cheers.

The girls pretended to be quizzing each other, bowing and introducing themselves to each other as if they’d never met. The kids in the audience all laughed.

“Now, the rules are simple! We will be bringing down one fan at a time, and the three of you will see three sets of dry erase boards on the podiums. We will ask all of you a question that is only about one of you, and you will each have 10 seconds to write your answers in secret! Then the fan will have their opportunity to answer! Each of you will get points based on whether your answers match, but be careful! If both of you are wrong, the fans get points even if they also got it wrong! Be confident in your answers!”

The premise was basic, and the game familiar; it was one of Itaewon Tonight’s recurring segments, a challenge that almost always ended in a scripted tie. If the fans started lagging behind on points, the singers were supposed to start making wild guesses until the score was even.

Rumi, Mira, and Zoey all looked at each other. They knew that even if they answered a question wrong, it was part of the show, but Mira and Zoey were both competitive, especially with each other.

The crowd settled down, and fans were selected. The girls held the dry erase boards in front of them, markers at the ready.

“All right, time for our first question!” The host bellowed, standing to the side near the fan, allowing Huntr/x to hold center stage. He looked at the card in his hand. “This is about your sweet little Maknae , Zoey! We all know that Zoey grew up in America and has only lived here for the past few years! What is Zoey’s favorite thing to eat?”

This was a question that was always changing, as Zoey was a big fan of trying new things, and her tastes never sat still for long. However, there was one snack that she always seemed to come back to. Rumi scribbled the characters quickly on her board, as Mira and Zoey did the same. Keeping their answers hidden from each other, the host turned his microphone to the kid standing at his side. The boy couldn’t have been more than 10 or 11.

“Hamburger!” the boy answered, confidently. The crowd laughed. Mira and Rumi both smirked, each knowing they had this one. Zoey might have lived in America for most of her life, and have half of her family still over there, but she had taken to life here like she’d always belonged. They both turned their boards over.

“Kimchi Jigae,” Mira’s card read. 

“Shrimp Crackers,” Rumi’s read.

“Ohh, we have our first disagreement among bandmates! Zoey, let’s see the answer!”

Zoey grinned and turned her board over. “Shrimp Crackers!!!” along with a frantic doodle of Zoey munching on them.

Rumi spoke up for the group on this one. “She’s always got a bag within arm’s reach! There’s even a secret emergency bag under her pillow!”

Zoey gave Rumi a look. How did she remember that? She’d only half-joked about it once, years ago.

“That is a point for Huntr/x! Let’s bring down the next fan!”

Mira wondered how she’d gotten that one wrong. Zoey loved Kimchi Jigae. At least, that’s what she’d told her every time she’d made it for her. Sure, she ate a lot of shrimp crackers, but so did all of them. Right?

Zoey grinned. She’d been seriously tempted to write “Mira,” and try to play it off like she’d misheard the question.

“Next question, now! Mira, you were a wild child in your youth, weren’t you? What do you do when you have too much energy and need to cool down!”

Mira smirked and started writing. She knew the real answer, but she couldn’t write that on TV. So she went with her second favorite answer, as both of the other girls pondered for a moment before answering.

The fan had their turn to answer first. “Dancing!” the girl shouted out.

That one was obvious. All three girls turned their cards over at the same time, revealing that everyone had gotten it correct.

“That’s points all around!” the host announced, as his co-host added another tally to the scoreboard. 1-2 in favor of the girls.

“Mira will just start dancing out of nowhere sometimes. Says it helps her keep from boiling over!” Rumi volunteered. This time, Mira and Zoey both looked slightly puzzled. 

Sure, Mira did that, but she hadn’t mentioned anything about it being to calm her temper, at least not while the three of them were together. The only time it had come up, Rumi had been focused on a TV show, and Mira hadn’t said it loudly enough to break her out of her trance. At least, she hadn’t thought so.

The next question was about Rumi, asking how old she was when she started singing. The young fan guessed correctly (4) while Zoey and Mira had both intentionally guessed wrong, with Zoey writing “12?” and Mira writing “8”, which had been when Rumi’s first video was published on social media.

A few more questions came up, with Rumi getting each one correct, and volunteering information about each of the other girls. Information that was only mentioned in passing.

As the show drew to a close, Huntr/x was still ahead by several points. Rumi just couldn’t make herself lose. As if not knowing something about one of the other girls would offend them.

“All right, this is our last question, and it’s a special one! This question is for all three of you!” The host announced.

“Which Huntr/x song will we be seeing you perform here on Itaewon Tonight?!” The host asked. The girls all smirked, writing quickly.

The audience erupted. The performance hadn’t been announced in advance, and tickets to the broadcast had been given out for free. This was a rare opportunity to see them live for dozens of fans who had missed out on the chance to get tickets for any of the shows in their upcoming world tour.

One by one, the girls turned their cards over.

“Done,”

“Done,”

“Done.”

As the music kicked on, the podiums and rest of the set were quickly wheeled offstage. Rumi, Zoey, and Mira all caught microphones that were tossed to them, and Rumi kicked it off.

“Uhh. You came at a bad time…”

When they returned to their apartment, the first thing the girls did was return to their bedrooms to change into their pajamas. The show had been electrifying, and the musical finale had brightened their fans’ hearts, and the Honmoon with it. There had been so much positive energy in the studio that the girls were practically tingling with excitement when they returned home, and Mira and Zoey had rushed to their bedroom. You guys are not slick, Rumi thought to herself.

Rumi sat on the edge of her bed, her hair half-unbraided, notepad in hand. Jotting down some song ideas she’d had over the past few days. She’d have Zoey take a look at them and help her out later, if anything ever came of it. Golden’s release was still probably a year away, if not longer, and everything Rumi was doing now was sort of an…insurance policy.

She thought back about the show they’d just left. Had she gone overboard answering all of the questions right? No, she thought, it was cute. It helps our brand if we seem closer together. And maybe, just maybe…

Maybe they’d finally pick up what she’d been putting down.

“Rumi, I’d like you to meet your new bandmates,” Celine said, opening the door to her office. A pink-haired girl, several centimeters taller than her, entered first, followed by a petite dark-haired girl. The pink haired girl looked tense, but was trying to put on an air of being aloof. The shorter girl was full of barely contained excitement, eagerly waving at her, while also giving off ‘lost kitten’ energy.

“It’s nice to meet both of you. I’m Rumi. Rumi Kang,” she said, bowing her head in introduction.

“Mira. Mira Hong,” the pink haired girl replied, repeating Rumi’s motion.

“Oh, uh, yeah! I’m Zoey. Zoey Chin. Sorry, I’m a little blown away, you guys are just, like, super cool, ” the dark-haired girl said, bowing a little more deeply than necessary.

“So, I guess we’re going to be working together from now on, huh?” Mira asked, sizing up Rumi and Zoey.

“Working and living together,” Celine added. “I’ve already got a very nice apartment set up for you in one of our buildings, and depending on how things go with your careers, we’ll see about something a little nicer in the future.”

Rumi looked at the two girls, feeling the heat in her ears that always telegraphed her emotions. She had known it was going to happen, but seeing them in person had made it more real.

Seeing her new, incredibly talented, and especially attractive roommates. Girls she was going to have to live with for the foreseeable future, while hiding not only her patterns, but her near-instant attraction to both of them. Rumi wanted to die inside.

“Sounds great. Can’t wait to see the place,” Mira said, deadpan.

Zoey’s attention had already departed. She was staring out Celine’s window, hands pressed to the glass, looking out over the river.

Somehow, that just made Rumi like her even more.

“Oh wow, this food is so good! I thought my dad’s cooking was good, but this is on another level!” Zoey said, her mouth full of spicy pork. “And I can already drink over here? This is crazy !”

Rumi and Mira quietly ate their food, nodding in agreement. “It is good,” Rumi volunteered.

“Mhmm,” Mira hummed as she chewed a piece.

“One thing though, Zoey,” Rumi added, “you need to try to get used to speaking Korean full-time. Like, we both understand English, and your Korean is good, but it is a bit awkward to keep switching back and forth. For me at least. Maybe I’m weird.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Zoey replied, switching to Korean. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward!”

“No, it’s fine,” Mira responded. “Just, we’re gonna be doing a lot of stuff on TV and media from here on out. You need to try to make it your default.”

“There’s that too. Also…my English kinda sucks,” Rumi admitted, trying to convince her hoodie to swallow her. “I’m only getting about half of what you’re saying.” She felt her face grow redder than the Gochujang.

Zoey beamed. “I can teach you! I’m the best at yapping in either language. Just let me know what you have trouble with!”

Mira grabbed another bite of food, allowing the silence to settle for a beat before speaking up. “I…could use some help, too.”

“Great! We can all have a little language conference. Say, tomorrow after all the training and stuff?” Zoey offered.

“Sounds good,” Mira responded.

“We’ll have a date!” Rumi said, in English.

Mira raised an eyebrow at her. Maybe Rumi, little Miss perfect, did suck at something.

"Holy shit, ” Mira muttered, lying on the floor of their apartment, her hair fanned out around her.

“Did you know anything about that?” Zoey replied, her eyes still wide.

Mira shook her head, her eyes still focused on the ceiling. “Rumi had to have known. Celine raised her, there’s no way she didn’t.”

“Yeah. But like…that’s so much pressure on us, though! On top of all the music stuff!”

“It is, but I dunno. It’s like I knew it beforehand, too, kinda. And something about it just feels…right. Does that make sense?” Mira asked, sitting upright.

Zoey nodded in agreement. “It’s like part of it just made perfect sense. And now that I know about it, I can see the threads everywhere !”

“Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s like a whole new set of eyes just opened up that’s focused on this magic shield that…we’re supposed to make stronger?”

“I know! But also, isn’t it like, really cool? Like we have superpowers! They could make comics about us!” Zoey squealed.

“The last thing I want is some manhwa artist trying to turn me into some pink-haired stick figure,” Mira replied.

“Mira, you kind of… are a pink-haired stick figure,” Zoey joked, grinning. “But yeah. I don’t want to see that either. That’d somehow be even more pressure. I don’t think I could deal.”

Rumi’s door opened, and both girls turned to look at her. She sat sheepishly on the floor next to them, keeping her head down.

“I knew about it. Sorry, the walls in this place are like, paper thin. But yeah. I knew,” she started. “Celine, my mom, and their other bandmate, they used to do this. The fighting demons thing.”

“That’s how my mother died,” she continued. “Celine said she went down fighting a demon that just wouldn’t give up. It was right after I was born, too.”

The girls looked over at her, their mouths hanging open. “Oh, Rumi, I am so, so sorry,” Zoey said, placing a hand on Rumi’s shoulder.

“It’s fine. I’ve had time to process it. I just…I’m really glad I have someone else I can talk to about this stuff now,” Rumi replied, placing her hand over Zoey’s.

“You can tell us anything , Rumi. We’re seriously here for you,” Mira added.

“Totally! Hold on, wait, if you new about all this beforehand, does that mean you can…?”

Rumi smiled. She held out her free hand and gripped the hilt of a sword that wasn’t there one moment, and was the next. “Ok, I’ll admit, this part is pretty cool.”

“Ugh, I’m so jealous. I still can’t figure out how to get mine to show up!” Zoey said, distracted by the gentle glow of Rumi’s weapon.

Rumi dismissed the weapon. “It’ll get there. That’s why we have to practice.”

"Auntie, did you set me up? Is this some kind of a trick?” Rumi asked, whispering into the phone. Mira and Zoey had just returned from their first visit to the bathhouse together, and though she hadn’t meant to listen in, she’d learned something that the other girls probably didn’t intend for her to hear.

“What do you mean?” The older woman’s voice came through into Rumi’s ear.

“Did you intentionally form this band to taunt me? Or is it just a coincidence that you’ve just assembled the gayest girl group in all of Korea ?”

Celine couldn’t help but smile. Rumi had always been a special child, not only due to her patterns, but for a multitude of reasons. “Rumi, I can promise you, I did not have a conscious hand in choosing who would be in Huntr/x. All of you were literally born to do this,” she explained. “If the three of you just so happen to be alike in… that way as well, it is purely a coincidence,” she added, chewing her cheek as she did so.

“Well, that doesn’t make it any easier,” Rumi muttered, fuming as she ended the call.

She could handle living with other girls. Other extremely cute girls, even. Because of course neither of them would show any interest in her, she could withdraw into her fantasies without really wanting to pursue anything with either of them. But if they were gay, too, then…

Then nothing can happen anyway, because they would see your patterns, she thought. That would do more damage to the group than anything. The Honmoon would not survive something so tumultuous, she continued, her mind echoing sentiments Celine had driven into her since childhood.

Rumi hated herself. Who she was, what she was. She knew Celine hated her, too, though she did a good job of hiding it. Always making her hide who she was, even from people who wouldn’t know what the streaks of purple on her arms would mean.

She felt a pit in her stomach as she thought about what she had to look forward to. Shame, pain, and guilt. Money, sure. Fame, okay. None of that would allow her to be free. To be herself, to love someone as herself. To love either of the girls she’d gotten to know over the past few months.

Although, she wondered, how could I choose?

Maybe keeping things bottled up would be for the best. Fewer feelings would be hurt.

Mira pulled the top she’d worn to the show over her head and placed it with the rest of her laundry. Zoey was fumbling with a zipper that was caught.

“Let me help,” she whispered, placing her hand over Zoey’s and twisting the zipper to fix it. She planted a kiss on Zoey’s bare shoulder, eliciting a content sigh.

“Mira…I’m all sweaty from the stage lights…and we’re both still caked in makeup. At least let me get a shower first,” Zoey whimpered.

“It’s almost like you read my mind,” Mira whispered, nuzzling her lips against Zoey’s collarbone, her hands already snaking their way across Zoey’s stomach toward the hem of her pants.

Zoey’s breathing hitched as Mira’s hand began to dip lower, teasing along the seams in Zoey’s pants.

“I’m going to kill you one of these days,” Zoey groaned, pulling away and grabbing Mira’s hand, dragging her toward their shared bathroom.

“Why did you let me win?” Mira asked, standing in the doorway of Zoey’s bedroom. The room was just like Zoey. Messy, chaotic, but with a lingering beauty that made the chaos almost seem planned. Intentional. Desired.

Zoey shrugged, sitting on her bed as she snapped a few selfies. “Didn’t want to cause a fuss,” she said, a playful ring to her voice.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Mira asked.

“What we have is nice. We’re good friends. I didn’t want you to go falling in love with me or something.”

“…Why would I fall in love with you? I told you, you’re not my type. I like—“

“Women who can kick my ass,” Zoey shot back, trying to mimic Mira’s cadence. “And I could’ve. But I didn’t.”

Mira scoffed. “No way. I was right about to get the upper hand. I figured out your trick, I’ve got you next time.”

Zoey grinned. “We could go right now, if you want. We could sneak out and head to the garden.”

“What, and risk getting in trouble? Celine would flip, Bobby would probably have our heads.” Mira shifted her weight.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure he’s a big softie. Anyway, how about putting some stakes on it? Name your price. No limits.” Zoey set her phone down, looking up at Mira.

“You want to gamble? Fine. If I beat you…you have to shave your head.”

Zoey’s eyes went wide. “My…whole head? Like, really, you want me to be bald, Mira?”

“Smooth as a bowling ball,” Mira smirked. “Unless you’re going back on that ‘no limits’ thing.”

Zoey grinned. “Not at all, just…didn’t think you’d like that kind of look on me,” she said, batting her eyelashes.

“Ugh, forget it. This is stupid, I’m going to bed,” Mira scoffed, turning to leave.

“Wait,” Zoey commanded, “I didn’t say no. Fine. You win, I’ll shave my head. I’ll…deal with the fallout from Celine and Bobby and everyone else, I’ll wear a wig in public until it grows back.”

Mira paused, turning back to face her. “Ok then. What is it you want? And no copying.”

Zoey’s smile grew even wider. Mira wasn’t sure if she should be scared or not.

“If I win…”

“Ugh, this is so stupid. We’re gonna get in so much trouble,” Mira whined as Zoey hopped over the stone wall surrounding the Hunter’s garden.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were the rebellious one, the wild child that always said ‘fuck the rules!’ and stuff. Getting chicken?” Zoey smirked, perched atop the wall and offering her hand down to help Mira up.

Mira took the outstretched hand and hoisted herself up the wall, sitting on top of it for a moment before both girls hopped down into the grass field behind it.

“I just…I don’t want to lose this. If I get kicked out of Huntr/x, if we don’t succeed at this, then…” Mira’s thoughts flashed to her past. There was no way she could ever go home, ever face them again. If she failed at this, it would prove that everything they’d always told her was right. She couldn’t handle even the thought of that.

“Pssh. Come on, we’re not gonna get kicked out , remember? We’re like, chosen warriors or whatever, remember? Divine guardians, or super shamans, or whatever all that mumbo jumbo Celine was talking about that went way over my head,” Zoey said, grinning. “I think you’re just scared of losing.”

Sure, maybe Zoey had let her win before, but Mira had been paying attention, and she was a quick learner.

She kept playing the fight back in her head. If Zoey had just kept going, Mira was sure she would’ve won fair and square. She’d figured it out.

“I’m not the one who has to worry about going bald,” Mira rebuffed.

However, there was a gnawing part of her that realized that maybe, just maybe, she wanted Zoey to win.

Mira felt like her legs were made of jelly as she staggered her way out of the bathroom to sit on the edge of their bed, her robe barely draped over her shoulders. Zoey hummed confidently as she followed, confidently flopping next to Mira.

“How do you keep doing that to me?” Mira asked, wearily. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now…”

“I’m just built different,” Zoey said, grinning as she booped Mira on the nose. “You want some popcorn? I was thinking we could watch that movie you were talking about, with the dude who gets trapped in the insane asylum?”

Mira couldn’t think about anything. She could barely remember her own name. All capacity for wanting anything, for eating or otherwise, were completely foreign to her. The memory of the concept of what a movie even was had run down her legs earlier in the shower.

“But we can’t watch a movie without popcorn, right? Or maybe those gummy peach rings. Do we have any of those? I am so not about to get dressed just to go buy candy, but we have to have them if we’re going to watch a movie. Maybe I can talk Rumi into–” Zoey continued rambling next to Mira, who slowly shifted onto her side, snuggling against Zoey.

“Or maybe,” Mira managed to croak out, interrupting Zoey’s yap. “We could just relax in bed? I’m kinda spent, I don’t think I’d be able to focus on a movie.”

Zoey smiled, kissing her love. Mira’s mind was always loud and bold, except for moments like these. Moments when something could quiet it for just a moment, in a way that not even Zoey’s prescriptions had done when she was younger. “Yeah. We can just cuddle tonight.”

They each changed into their pajamas and managed to make it out of the room long enough to say goodnight to Rumi, who was sitting out in the living room watching TV while scrolling her phone. Returning to their room, Mira and Zoey settled in under the blankets, snuggled close to each other.

Mira always fell asleep quickly, a side-effect of her post-orgasmic haze. Tonight, she’d chosen to fall asleep on Zoey’s chest. Girl’s got a boob addiction, huh? Zoey thought to herself. Zoey stroked Mira’s hair as she watched her girlfriend sleep, feeling the soft sawing vibrations of Mira’s snoring as she laid there.

Their relationship hadn’t started off in any sort of typical way. Zoey had wagered her hair against the possibility of a date, in an actual fight. That was some shonen anime bullshit, like who even does that?

Of course, Mira didn’t know that Zoey had basically been sparring with one arm tied behind her back up until then. There was no wager to be had. Zoey grew up getting in fights. She wouldn’t have survived the LA Hip Hop scene at 14 years old if she couldn’t handle herself and keep cool under pressure.

Mira still, after all these years, hadn’t discovered Zoey’s secret.

She took her phone out, keeping the volume low enough to not disturb Mira. She just wanted to see how their performance tonight was being received.

Mira and Rumi both hated watching themselves on TV. Mira was always so critical of herself, and Rumi always just seemed… sad seeing herself. Zoey really felt for both of them, but thinking about how hard it must’ve been all those years for Rumi, having to keep something so fundamental to herself hidden, not just from their fans, but from everyone in her life, for so long.

She scrolled through clips of their singing, which were flooded with the usual 😭♥️🤩 and other emoji in the comments, though she did see one comment that said “And they were so cute together before!” She tapped on the comment thread, with several hundred comments to scroll through.

“Rumi knows them both so well!”

“Zoey and Mira can be so cruel! How could they forget so much about Rumi?” stung a little bit, of course it was said in a playful manner, full of 😂🤣 emoji. The guy got ripped apart by the other fans in the thread, though.

“Rumi must really love her sisters!”

“Rumi is so smart when it comes to the others!”

“Rumi must be a psychic!”

“Rumi is the world’s #1 superfan of Mira and Zoey, too!”

Comment after comment about Rumi’s refusal to play dumb on the game show. Zoey scrolled videos some more and came across a clip of them answering questions, the video zooming in on Rumi’s face. During the show, Zoey had been so focused on her own performance and the fans in the audience that she hadn’t paid attention to Rumi much at all.

Rumi’s smile had been softer, gentler, and warmer than her usual stage grin. Whenever she was talking about something she’d noticed about Zoey or Mira, she just lit up.

The comments were insane. Page after page of how much Rumi must care about her friends so well, that she was the band’s mother, boys wishing their girlfriends cared about them half as much as Rumi cared about Mira and Zoey.

Zoey kept scrolling through videos. All saying the same thing. All focused on Rumi.

She stopped processing the comments. Her brain was already chugging, and she could feel her heart racing. The glances Rumi kept making. The same glances Zoey had caught out of the corner of her eye so many times while they were all hanging out together.

The looks Rumi gave them all those years ago, when she and Mira first got together. Like she was letting us go.  

The way Rumi had looked the other night, when she had left her to return to bed with Mira. Like she didn’t want me to go.

Zoey felt a puzzle piece shift into place.

She sat up with a gasp. Mira was jolted awake, scrambling out from under the covers and falling out of bed, recovering and making it to her feet.

“What is it? Is it the Honmoon? Demons?” Mira asked, still half-asleep.

“Rumi’s in love with us!” Zoey cried.

Chapter Text

“Rumi’s in love with us!” Zoey cried.

“What do you mean she’s in love with us?” Mira asked, clearing the sleep from her eyes.

“I mean look at these!” Zoey said, shoving the phone into Mira’s face. Mira reached for her glasses on the bedside table.

She took Zoey’s phone and sat, squinting at page after page of comments.

“So Rumi knows a lot about us, so what?” Mira asked, “She’s a huge nerd, and she lives with us. Of course she knows stuff about us.”

Zoey shook her head. “No, look at it, and think . There are other signs. Think about how she was when we started dating. Think about how she always looks at us when she thinks we can’t see.”

Mira could feel the gears turning in her brain, though the haze of slumber was trying to gum up the works. Zoey had a point. Maybe Rumi did seem to pay a lot more attention to them than they had given her credit for. And she had seemed awfully wistful when she found out she and Zoey were an item. Mira had chalked it up to general loneliness, as Rumi had always been a private person.

And maybe she had gotten more right answers about either of them than even Zoey and Mira had gotten right about each other. Maybe she had let her hand slip a little bit, revealing just how close attention she’d been paying to the little things, the tiny minutiae that shaped the two of them.

Maybe Rumi did see them as something special.

But still, did Rumi like anyone like that? She’d never expressed attraction to other celebrities or fictional characters, of any gender. She’d never even mentioned childhood crushes, something that has come up in multiple conversations. And she never looked at anyone the way she looked at Mira and Zoey. 

There was something else in the back of Mira’s mind. A flash to the other night.

“You’re kind of fondling my boob,” Rumi had said. But she hadn’t sounded offended, or even annoyed. If anything, Rumi had sounded amused. How long had Mira been touching Rumi’s breast before she’d said anything?

All the gears were spinning. Mira was trying to put the equation together like a sexually charged math problem. When she added up all the things she’d seen, things Rumi had said, and things that, more importantly hadn’t ever said…there was only one way to balance the equation.

“You’re right,” Mira admitted. “Rumi’s completely fucking down bad for us.”

Zoey’s chest was doing backflips, a wave of feelings and conflicting emotions threatening to drown her.

“What do we do now?” she managed to whisper.

Mira sighed and draped her arm around Zoey’s shoulder. “We don’t have to do anything. We can just…let her have feelings for us, I guess? I mean, Zoey, I love you. I’m never leaving you. Not for Rumi, not for anyone . I promise.”

Zoey smiled. “I know, I would never leave you either, Mira. You’re the only thing in my life that makes sense. Besides, you’re stuck with me,” Zoey added, nudging Mira in the ribs.

Mira pressed her lips against Zoey’s, sighing gently into the kiss. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replied after pulling away.

“I feel like we should at least say something. Or at least try to verify our guts, right?” Zoey asked.

“I don’t know,” Mira said. “We have the tour coming up, do we really want to stir up potential drama? She’s already not talking to Celine anymore, not that I blame her for that. Maybe she doesn’t want us to know.”

Zoey sighed. That wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear.

“Well, I’m not going to be able to sleep now, wanna watch that movie?” Mira asked.

Zoey nodded weakly. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep either. She handed Mira the remote, who scrolled through their streaming services. Zoey couldn’t help but think about Rumi. Delicate, sweet, modest, Rumi. That innocent girl whose smile could light up a room. She had begun to think Rumi didn’t even know what sex was. Much less have any interest in it.

How much of that innocence was real, though, and how much was her being forced to hide? What if there’s way more to Rumi than we’ve ever seen before? And what if I like it? She looked over at Mira and worried. She couldn’t imagine even a day without Mira in her life. What if Mira finds out she likes it?

Mira pressed play on the movie, her mind still chugging. What did it mean for them if Rumi had feelings for them? It’s not like she and Zoey were on the market, and lots of their fans were hardcore simps. Besides, Rumi wasn’t her type.

Neither was Zoey, the thought creeped in. Mira shook her head, dismissing it, and laid her head against Zoey’s. Her Zoey. Zoey had always been her type. She just hadn’t known it.

As they snuggled into each other, hands clasped together, they both sat there pretending to watch the movie, neither aware of what gears were slowly becoming unstuck in each other’s minds.

“Alright girls, we just have one last media spot before the tour kickoff. Then we have Three. Whole. Days. Off. ” Rumi grinned as the girls huddled.

“Only three days of Couch?! That’s not enough! I’m gonna miss you so much, couch!” Zoey whimpered, leaning back against the plush fabric.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be like, the middle of next year before we even see our couch again,” Mira whined.

“Don’t worry. After the tour, we’re taking a long, long break. At least a couple weeks. Long enough to let the dust settle from the impact,” Rumi said confidently. “We’re gonna show our fans the best shows of their lives! ”

“Yeah, the fans are gonna be so great! I can’t wait to meet all of them around the world! Did you know we have a fan club in Iceland? ” Zoey added.

“Are we doing a show in Iceland?” Mira asked, frowning a bit. She didn’t like the cold, and she wouldn’t be able to cuddle with Zoey much at all while they were on tour. Not enough privacy in hotel rooms with assistants coming and going, or on buses or planes with staff.

“No, there’s only like, 12 members in the fan club. But maybe those 12 fans got tickets to the show in Sweden!” Zoey chirped.

“How many stops is it again?” Mira asked.

“70, counting the kickoff here. 2 in Australia, 30 in the US and Canada, 15 in Europe, and the rest in Asia,” Rumi noted.

“How come we don’t do any stops in like, Africa? Or the Middle East? Don’t we have fans there?”

“We had a stop in Cairo, but the venue canceled. Security concerns; they didn’t have enough seats to satisfy demand, and…I dunno. Might be worth asking Bobby sometime.”

“Next time we go on a world tour, I wanna visit all the fans! Not just some of them!” Zoey said, giggling. “Although that’d be like, a million shows in every country, wouldn’t it?”

“You’d be 70 by the time we got done,” Mira added, smirking.

“Okay, maybe we try to do at least one show somewhere different next time,” Rumi said, changing the subject. “Anyway, who wants to pick the first song for tonight?” She held her hand up in a fist, and the other girls followed suit.

The girls each threw their hands out.

Mira threw Rock. Zoey threw Scissors. Rumi threw Paper. “Tie! Go again!” they all chanted.

This time Mira and Rumi both threw scissors, while Zoey threw a rock.

“Okay…we have to start with My Latitude !” she squealed. It was one of Zoey’s favorites, she’d stayed up all night writing and rewriting her verse when they first wrote it, and it was always a hit with fans.

“ Celebrity, ” Mira chose next. “If you’re up for the choreo,” she added. It was a complicated dance. Rumi and Zoey both nodded.

“I can do it, but then third is gonna be Lullaby ,” Rumi said, taking notes of their setlist. Lullaby was a simpler one, where Rumi had fewer moves.

“Can we please do Unfamiliar tonight?” Zoey asked. It was one of their deeper cuts, an album track that had never charted.

“It’s our show, we can do whatever we want, right Rumi?” Mira answered. Rumi nodded as she wrote down the title.

“If that’s the case, then I’m going with… First Kiss, ” Mira said, looking fondly at Zoey. They’d written it together after they started dating, though none of the fans had cracked that particular nut.

Rumi felt a pang of envy. She always did whenever either of the girls got wistful for each other. She couldn’t tell them outright, but ever since they’d discovered her patterns, it had been harder to keep that secret as well.

“Okay, then I’m going with Thunder Kick which will lead us into How It’s Done nicely,” she said, finishing the setlist. “Alright, let’s get this to Bobby, and go run it through a few times.”

“Check out my attitude ,” Zoey sang, scribbling in her notebook. She repeated the phrase a few times, at different tempos and rhythms, before returning to her original impulse.

“Check out my attitude, get on my latitude , give me the green light, and show me some gratitude, ” she continued.

“No, that doesn’t work. Ugh, this sucks!” she shouted, at no one in particular. She tore the page from her notebook, tossing it in the general direction of her trash can.

“Whatcha working on?” Rumi asked, stepping into their music room. She sat a cup of tea on the table next to where Zoey was working.

“It’s this song, I have an idea for it, and I just can’t…it keeps getting away from me. I know it’ll be good once I figure it out, I just…I’m stuck.” Zoey pouted, folding her arms over her chest.

“I’m not great at writing songs, but maybe I could give you some help? At least you can bounce ideas off of me, and I’ll give you my honest feedback. Even if it sucks.”

Zoey smiled softly. “Thanks Rumi, I appreciate it.” She took a look at the next page in her notebook, already scribbled in with doodles and half-formed sentences.

“We…might be here a while,” she added.

Mira guided the other girls through the Celebrity choreography, which was…acrobatic, to say the least. 

“My back doesn’t wanna bend that way!” Zoey whined.

“You’ve done it before! Do we need to scrap the song?” Mira asked.

Zoey shook her head. “No, I’m just being whiny today. I don’t know why.”

“Maybe because you were up all night watching that nature documentary thing?” Mira said, giving Zoey a playful nudge. “I told you it’s not a good idea the night before a show…”

“No, I got this! Let’s run it through one more time!” She shot back. 

Rumi took the opportunity to take a drink as she watched the two of them. If they knew something, they weren’t being apparent about it. Maybe being a little more affectionate toward each other than usual, but that didn’t mean anything. They always went through cycles like that.

It had been 3 days since their appearance on Itaewon Tonight, and she began to think that maybe being soft and affectionate, and having a database of trivia about her groupmates in her head wasn’t going to get them to fall in love with her.

She tried to think about how they’d first gotten together, but Mira and Zoey hadn’t included her in any of those details, obviously. She knew their first date had something to do with a bet, but nothing beyond that. They’d kept it pretty close to the chest for several months.

“Hey, Rumi? Can we talk about something?” Zoey asked.

Rumi set down her notebook and turned to look. Zoey was standing in her doorway, with a worried look on her face.

“What is it, Zoey?” Rumi asked, lifting herself off of the bed and joining her.

“It’s…you’re cool, right? Like…you don’t freak out about people saying or doing something unusual as long as nobody’s getting hurt?”

Rumi nodded. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m just worried, because things are different over here. I’m never sure who I can talk to about things.”

This is about the bathhouse. The conversation she had with Mira, that they were still whispering about afterward, Rumi thought.

Rumi placed a hand on Zoey’s shoulder, pulling her in for a gentle hug. “Don’t worry, I can be cool. I promise I won’t freak.”

Zoey smiled. “Thanks, Rumi. I knew I could trust you.”

They sat on Rumi’s bed as Zoey told her everything, about herself, about figuring out she was gay in middle school and having to hide it from her parents. Rumi just smiled, listening and being as supportive as she could without revealing more about herself.

“There’s…one more thing,” Zoey admitted. “I think..no, I know that I have a thing for Mira. She already told me I’m not her type, but she’s more than my type. She’s..incredible, and beautiful, and confident about who she is, and so smart and so talented, and I just can’t help it.”

Rumi placed her hand on Zoey’s, smiling softly at her. “If you’re not her type, and you really want to pursue this with her, find out what her type is. See if there’s something you can work with.”

Zoey’s soft, sad smile that she’d had the entire time grew into a wild, energetic grin. “That, I can do!”

“What are you working on?” Zoey asked, as Rumi sat on the small sofa in her dressing room. They were backstage, waiting to go live, but had a little bit of downtime. Rumi had a pencil in her right hand and a drawing pad in her other. Rumi always liked to sketch out things during downtime during shows, just to settle her mind a bit.

“I have an idea I’m working on. Just…in case. In case these don’t go away,” she said, lifting her sleeve.

“Wait, you and Celine both said that when we turn the Honmoon gold, it’ll make them disappear. And we’re almost there, I can feel it!”

“I know, I can feel it too, but with everything else Celine was wrong about, what if she’s wrong about that, too?”

Zoey thought back to their meeting at Celine’s office. She hadn’t given it much thought back then, but in retrospect, Rumi was right. Celine had thought that finding out about Rumi’s patterns would tear Huntr/x apart, when it had only brought them closer together.

“Can I see?” Zoey asked.

Rumi turned the sketchpad over to show Zoey. It was clearly supposed to be Rumi, her braid hanging behind her, though she hadn’t drawn her patterns. The outfit was striking. More revealing than anything she or the other girls had ever worn on stage, with criss-crossed straps covering her chest and not much else. It almost looked like the kind of harness you’d find at a fetish club, or around a caged animal. There were no sleeves, only cuffs around the wrist that Rumi had drawn little curls around to indicate that they were supposed to be fluffy. The skirt was short and asymmetrical, with a jagged, almost torn look to it.

“This is…” Zoey said, unsure of what to think. Her mind struggled to conjure a mental picture of Rumi wearing an outfit like this.

“It’s not done yet. But I just…I don’t want to hide anything anymore. Not about who I am. Not to you guys, not to our fans.”

Zoey smiled at her. “If you really want to do this, I will support you 100%. But don’t think for a second I’m going out on stage in something matching you.”

“No, this is just for me. It’s about who I am. When we were talking this morning about First Kiss during our first run through, you said something and I just…had the idea.”

“Wait, what did we say about the song?” Zoey asked, trying to remember one of the 7,000 things she’d said already today.

“You said that you liked how the lyrics seemed so innocent, but there was this raw, primal energy to it. And that stuck with me. Raw. Primal. I think that’s what I want to lean into with this.” Rumi turned the drawing back toward herself. “I think I could really come out of my shell more with this.”

“Hmm. I think you should show this to Mira when we get home. She could help make the design pop, and maybe give it a little more coverage so our concerts don’t get shutdown due to wardrobe malfunctions,” Zoey said, trying to be helpful.

“Thanks Zoey. That’s a good idea.”

“You’re on in 5!” came a call from out in the hallway.

Ok, guess I better go do final looks,” Zoey said, turning to leave. “I’ll see you out there!”

“Yeah, me too. See you in a couple!”

As Zoey returned to her and Mira’s shared dressing room, she couldn’t get the mental image of Rumi wearing that outfit out of her head.

“This is what you want to wear?” Mira asked, an eyebrow raised.

Rumi nodded, her cheeks flushed. “I…I don’t know. Maybe it’s an overreaction but it’s like I spent so much time hiding myself, hiding my body, hiding who I am, and I don’t want to do that anymore. You and Zoey have been nothing but kind and loving ever since you found out.”

“The fans are going to flip,” Mira said, stifling a laugh. “Innocent Princess Rumi, re-debuting with full sleeve and chest ‘tattoos’ and bondage gear.”

Rumi turned even redder. “It’s going to be a change, yeah,” Rumi admitted. “But like, once the Honmoon is sealed, we can worry a little less about things like that. But yeah, maybe you’re right. I should tone it down some, I don’t want to have to give up the younger fans.”

Mira was already setting up her drawing equipment. “I’ve got an idea. We can keep the same general vibe, show some skin, and avoid some scandal.”

The girls had a few days worth of downtime, and Mira was bored. So if she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. “Sit right there,” she instructed. “I’m gonna do this right.”

Mira started with Rumi’s outline. She wanted to make sure she got all of her curves right, especially on a more revealing outfit.

She continued in silence for several minutes, the light reflecting off of her gold-rimmed glasses. Rumi waited patiently.

“Can you do me a favor and stand up? I want to make sure I get your proportions right,” she said, glancing over at Rumi.

“Sure!” Rumi replied, standing next to the ottoman she’d been sitting on.

“Maybe a little less awkward of a pose,” Mira continued. “Like, how do you want people to see this version of you?”

Rumi thought about it for a minute, and couldn’t come up with a real answer. She hadn’t gotten that far, yet. She shifted her position into one more confident, similar to some of their older promo photos.

Mira didn’t say anything, just kept glancing at her occasionally as she drew. After a few more minutes of Rumi holding the pose, she switched to a different colored pencil. “Okay, you can relax now,” she finally said.

Rumi relaxed, sitting back down. “What do you think I should do? Maybe this whole idea is stupid. Do I even want to be strutting around, dancing while half naked?”

“I mean, it’s up to you. But also, look at what girls are wearing out to nightclubs and stuff these days. If you’re not hiding your patterns, you can afford to live a little.”

Rumi smiled. Living would be nice. Not having to keep any part of herself under wraps anymore would be nicer.

They settled into another lull of silence as Mira worked, only the soft sounds of some LoFi music Mira had put on before Rumi even approached her. Rumi watched the reflection of Mira’s phone screen in the window as she worked, the simple repeating motions accompanying the music stream.

The serene quiet of the room was shattered in an instant. “Can you take your top off for me?” Mira asked, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

“Wh-what?” Rumi stammered, completely unable to process what she’d just heard.

“I need to see all of your patterns so I can make sure the lines of the outfit don’t clash,” Mira replied.

Rumi blushed deeply. “I...I just got out of the shower before I came in here. I’m not wearing a bra..”

“Rumi, I saw you at the bathhouse. I touched you at the bathhouse. Sorry about that, again. This is the same thing. I promise.”

Rumi thought back to their encounter in the bathhouse. She’d let Mira’s touch linger a little longer than she probably should’ve, and she’d had very pleasant dreams that night. It was still embarrassing, though.

“Fine,” she mumbled, pulling her long-sleeved shirt up and over her head, struggling for a moment to free her arms and braid from it.

“Perfect,” Mira said, taking a long look at Rumi’s body before returning to focus on her drawing.

Mira kept glancing over at her, and Rumi was starting to feel a little less embarrassed. If I’m going to make myself available, I could start off worse than this, she thought to herself.

Mira stopped drawing for a minute, looking back over at Rumi. “Okay, question. If you’re up for it,” she asked.

Rumi nodded. “Shoot.”

“Your patterns…they didn’t used to cover your whole arms and everything like that, right? I remember you used to wear short sleeves when we first started out.”

“No, they just…they spread, the more shame I feel, and the more I have to hide,” Rumi replied, looking downward. “I don’t know when it happens, I’ll just look in the mirror, and there’s more. More shame to feel. More of me to hate.”

Mira stood and approached Rumi, sitting on another blob-shaped chair in the room. “Rumi, I don’t want you to hate any part of yourself. Yeah, the patterns are a little strange. Took me a while to deal. But they’re you, and who you are is beautiful. Never regret being who you are again,” she said, trying to resist the urge to stare. Rumi was just too cute. Even though Mira wasn’t attracted to her. Not in that way at least. Not really.

The realization that she and Zoey had come to was still weighing on her, though, and she’d at least been forced to entertain the idea.

Briefly. Momentarily. Instantly dismissed. Zero reciprocation.

Even still, she could appreciate beauty, which Rumi clearly wasn’t lacking in, even with the patterns.

If anything, the patterns gave her a single flaw that made the rest of her natural beauty shine even brighter, like an inclusion in a diamond.

“Thanks, Mira. I’m trying. And I haven’t noticed even an inch of new purple since the day you both found out,” Rumi responded.

Mira started to stand up to return to her drawing when the door slammed open.

“Mira, you have to check out this–” Zoey burst into the room, still in her workout gear, holding her phone out.

Zoey’s eyes were immediately drawn to Mira and Rumi sitting by each other.

Mira, who had frozen in shock, her arms positioned awkwardly.

Rumi, who had just turned to see what the sound was, her face also in shock.

Rumi’s shirt , still sitting on Mira’s bed.

Her phone hadn’t hit the ground before she ran from the room, tears stinging in her eyes.

Chapter Text

“Zoey, wait!” Rumi and Mira both called after her, to no avail. They heard the door to the stairwell slam open and shut as they ran out, Rumi pulling her shirt back over her head as she ran.

“Did she go up or down?” Rumi asked as they reached the door themselves.

Mira peered down the stairwell. “I don’t hear her, she’s probably up on the roof,” she responded. “Or sitting in the stairwell.”

“Ok, you go up, I’ll go down,” Rumi offered.

“Rumi…I think you should stay here,” Mira instructed. “I’m pretty sure that Zoey is gonna be pissed at both of us, but you have less to lose here.”

Rumi’s eyes drifted to the ground. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Mira replied. “Listen, I’m not mad at you, and we’re going to fix this, but I need to find Zoey, now .”

Rumi nodded, turning to return to the main living space of their apartment. Mira ran up the stairs toward the roof.

There I go fucking things up again. If I hadn’t been…me, we wouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with , Rumi thought to herself. She sank to her knees in the hallway, tears starting to sting the corners of her eyes. If I’d been normal, if I didn’t have these patterns, if I didn’t have anything to hide…

She sat against the wall, her knees hugged close to her chest. The tears broke free. She let them.

“There you are,” Mira said, as she approached Zoey. She’d found her sitting on the stairs, several floors down from their apartment.

“Go away,” Zoey choked out, sobbing into her arms. “Wait, don’t really. Don’t leave me. Don’t…don’t go back to Rumi,” she added, weakly.

“Zoey, I’m not going to ‘go back to Rumi’ or whatever,” Mira said, sitting a few steps above Zoey. “There’s context you didn’t see, and you ran before we had a chance to explain.”

“There’s no context for you sitting there next to a girl that I know has feelings for you, while she’s half undressed. There can’t be.”

Mira sighed. “I promise there is, but I can tell you aren’t ready to hear that. If you want me to leave, I’ll go, but…I can just sit here with you. We don’t have to talk. You can stay mad at me, or Rumi, or both of us for as long as you want.”

“...You can stay,” Zoey muttered. She still couldn’t look at Mira, but…as long as she was with her, she wasn’t with Rumi.

Rumi couldn’t move. She had long since run out of tears. Her hands were going numb. Every inch of her body ached in a way she couldn’t describe.

Do they hurt? Zoey had asked. They look like they would hurt.

Rumi had been quick to alleviate Zoey’s concerns. That she couldn’t actually feel the patterns. They didn’t sting, or throb, or pull at her skin. They just were.

But she hadn’t been entirely honest. Each pattern, each jagged line streaking across her skin was a reminder. A reminder of something that had caused her to feel shame, to resent who she was.

She wondered where she would see a new pattern form after today.

I fucked up. Celine was right, I never should’ve…I should’ve just kept it inside.

If she hadn’t felt confident and wanted to experiment with a new look, she never would’ve had the idea for something so revealing. Mira wouldn’t have been drawing. She wouldn’t have needed to take her shirt off. She wouldn’t have gotten in her head. Mira wouldn’t have had to comfort her. Zoey wouldn’t have walked in on them.

Rumi wondered if Mira had found her. She was sure she had. Mira’d had long enough to walk all the way down to the ground level and back up.

They both probably hated her. She deserved that. At the very least Zoey. Mira might try to rationalize it, but Zoey would hate her for this, probably forever.

Zoey doesn’t hate anyone, or anything , she thought. She might be mad, or confused, but at the end of the day, she loves everyone.

No. Don’t think hopeful thoughts. You deserve to feel like this.

Rumi felt her heartbeat quicken. She summoned all of her energy to release her grip, allowing her legs to flop to her side.

Everything I am is a mistake.

Her legs shook as she slowly climbed to her feet.

I don’t deserve either of them. How selfish could I be thinking I could have both?

She opened the door to her bedroom, not bothering to turn the light on. She fell onto her bed, legs curling into her chest again as a new set of tears had found their way out.

“Okay. I’ll listen,” Zoey whispered. Their silence had stretched for what felt like hours. Maybe it had been. For once in her life, her mind was quiet.

Mira leaned forward. “Can we look at each other while I talk? I want you to be able to tell I’m not lying.”

Zoey nodded. “But not here in the stairwell. Or at home.”

“Okay. We’ll go wherever you want to go.” She rose to her feet.

“Can we…get something to eat? I’m actually really hungry.” Zoey’s stomach grumbled, punctuating the sentence.

Mira smiled weakly. “Yeah, bunny. Let’s go get you some food.”

They walked through the hallway of the floor nearest them, toward the regular elevator.

“I’m still in my gym clothes,” Zoey muttered.

“I’m wearing fuzzy slippers,” Mira retorted. “It’s fine. We could be wearing sleeping bags and nobody would say anything. Remember the Met Gala last year?”

“That’s different. That was…planned. You were making a statement. This is random.”

“You love random.”

“Yeah,” Zoey said, unable to muster any enthusiasm.

They entered the elevator. Empty. Thank god, Zoey thought. I’m probably all puffy eyed and gross looking right now. She still hadn’t managed eye contact with Mira.

Mira pressed the combination of buttons that would make the elevator return to the ground floor without stopping, a trick she’d learned ages ago.

The elevator was slower than their express to the penthouse, or maybe it just felt slower.

“Do you still love me?” Zoey whispered, cutting through the silence.

“Of course I do, Zo. You’re the love of my life. My ride or die,” Mira replied, reaching her hand out to drape across Zoey’s shoulders. She thought for a beat before dropping her arm to her side. Zoey probably didn’t want to be touched by anyone right now. She got like that sometimes when negativity was setting in.

Zoey didn’t say anything else, but for now, she was choosing to believe it.

They exited the elevator together, trying not to draw attention to themselves, still in silence.

A block east. Two blocks north. They opened the door of the little chimaek place that was all three of the girls’ comfort food when they were dealing with something, big or small. The owners knew who they were, obviously, which helped, since neither girl had any money on them.

They sat in the private room, waiting for their food to arrive, when Zoey finally raised her eyes to meet Mira’s.

Zoey loved Mira’s face. The sharp angles, the way even when she was soft she looked fierce. The expression on her face right now, though, was a look she’d only ever seen a handful of times. It was a look that told her everything she needed to know.

Mira stared up at the night sky. She had been knocked to the ground three times. That was it. She’d lost.

She had no idea how Zoey had done what she’d done. Everything Mira had seen had told her exactly where Zoey would move. She had her rhythm down. She was matching it perfectly, but then Zoey would dart out of nowhere and surprise her.

Zoey stepped into Mira’s field of vision. “Guess I win, huh?” she said, almost as if she couldn’t believe it.

Mira nodded gently, not moving. “Guess so. Was looking forward to shaving your head for you.” She looked away, the stars replaced with trees and grass.

She felt a sharp jab of pain at her hip. “Ow! What the hell, Zoey? I’m already down, you won!”

Zoey grinned. “That was me, kicking your ass.” Mira watched as she turned and started walking away.

Mira blinked. Was that what this was all about? She felt something unlock in her brain. Weeks of conversations, weeks of training. The night at the bathhouse. The video Mira showed her. It all came flooding back to her.

When she finally looked over at Zoey again, it was like she was seeing her for the first time. Yeah, Zoey was a bit slimmer, and a bit shorter than she usually was attracted to. Yeah, she was definitely more femme than her usual crushes, but…

Mira hadn’t seen it before. She hadn’t been looking for it. She hadn’t been paying attention.

She scrambled to her feet, running to catch up with Zoey like if she didn’t move now, she might lose her chance forever.

She’s been right there in front of me for months now. How did I not see it?

“Zoey! Wait!” she shouted, reaching out her hand to grab Zoey’s shoulder. As she spun Zoey around, she suddenly saw something in her face that she’d never seen before. It was as if she’d finally allowed herself to actually look at her. Actually take in everything that she was. The parts she’d ignored.

She is so much more beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined.

She just stood there, dumbfounded, eyes wide, trying to drink every drop of her. Zoey. Infuriatingly bouncy, socially awkward, chronically insecure Zoey. Strong, capable, and confident in a fight Zoey. Beautiful, freckle-faced, kissably soft-skinned Zoey. Somehow, Mira needed every single thing about her in her life.

“I think I’m in love with you,” she managed to gasp out, like she could hardly believe it herself.

Zoey would remember the look on Mira’s face at that moment for the rest of her life.

“Wait, that’s all it was?” Zoey said, a gasp of a laugh escaping with her words.

”Yeah, that kinky outfit idea she had. I told her I’d tone it down, but since I needed to see her patterns to get the lines right, I had her pop her shirt off, and she got in her head about it,” Mira replied, sipping her drink.

“Oh my god, she’s probably like, pacing around, worried sick. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to call us,” Zoey said.

Mira’s eyes went wide. “You dropped your phone at the apartment.”

Zoey frantically checked the pockets of her leggings. Nothing. “Yours?”

“Probably still playing lofi girl, unless it’s dead now.”

“Rumi’s definitely been blowing up our phones. We need to get back home, now! She’s probably going insane!” Zoey felt new, different tears welling up in her eyes.

“Shit shit shit!” Mira said, finishing her drink as she scrambled to her feet.

Zoey was already out the door.

“Rumi probably thinks we hate her!”

“She’s probably crying! We made Rumi cry, Mira!”

“No, I made her cry! I told her to stay back while I went to find you!”

“Mira, how could you?! How could we go get food and leave Rumi like that!”

“How could I have been so heartless!”

Both girls were sobbing, chastising both themselves and each other as they rode the elevator up to the penthouse.

“Rumi!” Zoey shouted.

“Where are you, Rumi!” Mira echoed.

“Check her bedroom!” Zoey cried, racing toward the other side of the apartment.

Mira sprinted down the hallway to Rumi’s bedroom. Locked. She heard the shower running, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She walked back down the hallway, stopping at her own door. As she opened the door, she saw Zoey’s phone lying on the floor. Kneeling, she picked it up.

Cracked the screen again, she thought. Zoey was clumsy, but this one felt different. This one was, at least partially her fault. Yeah, it had been a big misunderstanding, but still, it hurt to know that she’d done anything that hurt Zoey, even temporarily.

She retrieved her own, which was surprisingly still playing. Between the stairwell and the chicken place, they’d been gone for at least a couple of hours. She closed Youtube and looked at her messages. Just one, from Bobby. She sent a quick reply and stepped out of her room.

As she emerged back into the living room, she saw Zoey stepping out from the other side, where their kitchen and studio were. She approached her, holding out Zoey’s phone.

“She’s in the shower, and your screen’s cracked again. I’ll buy you a new phone tomorr–” she saw the look on Zoey’s face. Something was wrong.

“Mira…there’s blood in the kitchen,” Zoey whispered.

Mira felt a ringing in her ears, and a tightness in her chest.

She sprinted past Zoey, still holding onto Zoey’s phone.

Rumi finally uncurled herself from the fetal position. If she let herself keep hurting, she would lose it, for good, right now.

She had to keep it together. If she spiraled endlessly, she would end up giving in to those feelings. She couldn’t do that. Not to Mira or Zoey. Not even to Celine, as much as Rumi hated her right now.

Instead, there was one thing she could do. One thing that would keep her from falling apart completely. One thing that she hadn’t done for a long time, but this…this called for it. She stood up and softly padded her way toward the kitchen.

Standing in the kitchen, Mira wasn’t sure what to make of it. She was no crime scene detective.

A horizontal streak of crimson that was dripping down in places on one wall, a small pool of blood on the counter, and droplets in multiple places along the floor. A bloody handprint and small kitchen knife in the sink, the water still running over it.

No food anywhere. No cutting board.

“I…don’t know what I’m looking at,” Mira admitted. Zoey had joined her.

“Was this..intentional?” Zoey asked, her voice breaking.

Mira shook her head. “She would never.”

“Then…how?”

Mira didn’t have an answer for that. If she’d been cutting food, there would still be food out. She wouldn’t have just bled all over the kitchen and kept cooking. But still, Rumi wouldn’t…she couldn’t even imagine Rumi trying to hurt herself. She forced the thought out of her mind. “Should we clean it up?”

Zoey nodded. She wet a towel with water and started wiping down the streak on the wall. Mira did the same with the blood on the counter. They both worked in silence, cleaning each spot several times.

“This isn’t coming up,” Mira finally said, scrubbing at the countertop. “There’s going to be a stain.”

“Peroxide,” Zoey said. “I’ll go get it. You start on the floor.

Zoey quickly ran to their bathroom, retrieving the opaque bottle before rejoining Mira in the kitchen. Mira had already managed to get most of the droplets on the floor up, while Zoey stepped around where she was working and poured the clear liquid onto the stained area. It started fizzing immediately.

“How long do you think Rumi’s been in the shower?” Zoey asked.

“Long enough that if she’s not out by the time we get done cleaning, I’m breaking her door down.”

Almost on cue, they heard the door to Rumi’s room unlock. Mira quickly finished scrubbing up the last few droplets, while Zoey wiped the counter. Still a bit of a stain, but much better. She’d try more later.

They emerged from the kitchen just as Rumi rounded the corner, nearly bumping into each other.

“Rumi!” they both shouted.

“Oh, hey guys,” she responded, her gaze dropping to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Mira asked, panic in her voice.

“Oh, uhh…yeah. Sorry about that. I didn’t know when you’d be home, and–”

“Don’t worry about that, are you hurt?” Zoey interjected.

“I’m fine. I just cut my finger,” she said, holding up her left hand, a large bandage wrapped around her middle finger.

Mira’s expression was incredulous. “How did cutting your finger cause that?! ” She pointed back into the kitchen.

“I was cutting an apple. Missed. Apparently I'm a squirter," she replied, her voice flat.

Zoey and Mira breathed a sigh of relief. “We were so worried about you!” Zoey cried, wrapping Rumi in a big hug.

Rumi felt the protective shell she’d just built around her heart start to crack.

The three of them sat in the living room. Rumi on the couch, Mira on an ottoman, with Zoey on the floor between them. A silence settled over them.

“You were just…cutting an apple?” Mira asked, still a little confused.

“Not just normally, no. It’s this thing my Aun…that Celine showed me when I was little. You cut the apple into a little flower. She said it was a magic flower, that would make all the bad feelings go away when you eat it,” Rumi replied. “Every time I was upset as a kid, she would hand me an apple. It’s just a ritual thing. You spend time focusing on making the flower, on holding the apple and the knife right, and it takes your mind off what’s bothering you. And then you eat it, and it’s like you’re eating away the sadness.”

“...And did it?” Zoey asked, looking up at Rumi. “Did it help at least?”

Rumi shook her head. “I didn’t get to eat it. Bled all over it.” She paused for a while before continuing, “Maybe I deserve this sadness.”

Zoey reached up and grabbed Rumi’s non-bandaged hand, squeezing it. “No, Rumi. It was all my fault. I just…assumed. I don’t even know what I assumed.”

Rumi shook her head. “I shouldn’t have put myself in that position to begin with. I should’ve never…that outfit idea was stupid.”

Mira shook her head. “No, Rumi. It’s not stupid. And I promise the situation shouldn’t have been weird. I was not looking at you in any sort of way. It's like those life drawing art classes.”

“And I just…I dunno, I’ve been insecure about…everything lately. I just jumped to the worst possible conclusion and ran with it, I should’ve given both of you a chance to explain.”

Rumi still hadn’t made eye contact with either of them. “I guess we could’ve all handled things a lot differently, huh?”

Both of the other girls made sounds of agreement.

“Can we…can we be okay, now?” Zoey asked, pleadingly. “I miss my Rumi. And Mira. And RuMira.”

“Ru..Mira?” Mira said, hesitating.

“You know, you and Rumi need to make up too so we can all be friends again!” Zoey chirped.

“Zoey, I don’t think that means what you think it means,” Rumi said, smiling for the first time in what felt like days. Zoey, just by being Zoey, could thaw even the coldest hearts.

“Wait, what does it mean?” Zoey asked, her face scrunching up a bit.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mira said, laughing. “Rumi, do you want me to finish the drawing for your new outfit?”

Rumi nodded. “I’m keeping my shirt on this time, though,” she said, glancing at Zoey, who was nodding.

“I’m actually done with the part I need you for, I can do the rest off of your drawing.”

“Does that mean I can steal Rumi and make up with her while you work?” Zoey asked.

“I…I’d kinda like that, Zoey,” Rumi said, a weak smile forming on her face. Proximity to Zoey could never be a bad thing. Even now, even in as bad a place as Rumi was in, Zoey could make her smile.

“Ok, it’s settled. I’m gonna hang out with Rumi while you draw, and then we’re all gonna order in food and watch a movie, sound good?”

Mira smiled warmly at them. “If that’s what you want, then it’s what I want too.”

Mira disappeared into her room, and Zoey turned to look at Rumi.

Rumi looked back at Zoey, unsure of what to say.

They let the silence hang there for a moment.

Then they both moved to embrace each other at the same time, both sobbing.

“Rumi I’m so sorry, I never should’ve assumed anything about you!”

“I’m just sorry I didn’t come with you and Mira!”

“I’m sorry we left you waiting for so long!”

“I’m sorry I left the mess in the kitchen for you to clean up!”

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you, you would never try to steal Mira from me!”

Both of them bawled like that forever, apologizing for various things. Before long, they were apologizing for things that they’d done before they’d even met, unable to stop the flood of emotions pouring out of them.

Eventually, they settled down, wiping their eyes and laughing.

“We, uhh…kinda got out of hand there, didn’t we?” Rumi asked.

“Yeah, we did. I feel like I dealt with some real deep seated stuff I’ve been carrying around for a long time!” Zoey replied.

Rumi chuckled. “Yeah, I think you might need to call Alice from 5th grade and sort some things out. You owe her that much.”

Zoey smiled. “I was just…I don’t know why I was worried. I’ve just been in my head ever since that game show the other night.”

Rumi tilted her head quizzically. “What do you mean? What about the game show?”

“I dunno. I was looking at social media clips and stuff that night in bed and..it’s stupid, but some comments got to me, and I got it in my head that you were secretly in love with us. Me and Mira, I mean. I know it was stupid, but when I saw you two, I…panicked.”

Rumi’s heart did a backflip. So she had figured it out. But right now? She couldn’t say a  word. Everything felt too fragile, wounds mended but too fresh.

“Anyway, I know we’re supposed to be hanging out, but I’m gonna give you like, 10 minutes away from me while I go shower. I’ve been in stinky gym clothes all day, and I am not okay with that,” Zoey said, jumping from the couch. “Seriously, 5 minutes! Set a timer on your phone!”

Rumi couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ll be back in literally 60 seconds!” Zoey yelled, ripping open the door to her and Mira’s bedroom.

25 minutes later, Zoey emerged from the bedroom, freshly changed, munching from a bag of shrimp crackers.

“Okay, I am so sorry! I got distracted but Mira is cooking in there, and you are gonna love this new look!” She offered the bag of crackers to Rumi as she returned to the couch.

“Are those your emergency rations?” Rumi joked.

“Mhmm!” Zoey said, popping another into her mouth. “I’d forgotten about them! You reminded me on the show!”

Rumi took one of the offered chips from the bag. “So, what do you wanna do now?” she asked.

“I was thinking about it while I was in the shower,” Zoey beamed. “In between thinking about Mira, and wondering if turtles could laugh at jokes, and deciding what color I want my new phone to be!”

Rumi smiled. Zoey’s mind was an incredible thing to see in action. “Did you come up with anything?”

Zoey nodded enthusiastically, jumping up and pulling Rumi off of the couch with her. “Come with me!”

She led them into the kitchen, and, retrieving another apple and knife, held them out to show Rumi. “You’re gonna teach me how to make those apple flowers, so I can make one for you!”

Rumi smiled softly, taking them from her. “Are you sure you trust me around knives right now?”

“Yeah! I always trust you, Rumi. I’m never going to doubt you again, I swear!”

“Okay, let’s do this,” she said, smiling warmly.

She held the knife and apple carefully, talking Zoey through all the cuts that had to be made before handing them back to her. As Zoey started cutting, she placed her hands over Zoey’s, guiding her through each cut, similar to how Celine had done for her all those years ago.

The finished product was lopsided, misshapen, and half of the ‘petals” were barely hanging on. By any objective measurement, it was an absolute failure. But it was, without a doubt, one hundred percent Zoey. She was beaming with joy at how she’d accomplished it.

It was the most beautiful flower Rumi had ever seen. 

“So now, you eat it. And the bad feelings go away,” Rumi explained.

Zoey pondered on it for a moment. “You should eat it. We left you alone for so long while we processed our bad feelings, I don’t think it’d be right for me to eat it while you didn’t get to eat yours earlier.”

Rumi felt her eyes welling up again. She shook her head. “That’s not how it works. And I feel better now. Hanging out with you helped, a lot. I mean it.”

“And I mean it, too. Open up!” Zoey said, grinning as she waved the flower around Rumi’s head.

Rumi sighed, began raising her hand to take the flower, and opened her mouth to say “Fine,” but was cut off as Zoey took the opportunity to shove the apple into Rumi’s mouth.

Rumi’s eyes went wide as Zoey pulled her fingers back. “Now swallow that sadness, and let it go away for good, okay?”

Rumi nodded softly, biting down as the flower fell apart between her teeth.

She tasted the tart sweetness of the apple, combined with a different flavor, a mild, slightly salty flavor, tinged with a sweet metallic bite. Zoey’s fingers, from when they’d grazed the inside of her mouth.

“This is the best flower apple I’ve ever tasted,” Rumi whispered, giving Zoey another hug.

As she squeezed Zoey close to her, taking in all the sights and smells and sounds and feelings that came along with being within her proximity, Rumi really did feel all of the bad feelings go away.

She might have new patterns tomorrow. She might never have the courage to tell Zoey and Mira how she truly feels. She might be relegated to dreams, fantasies, and extra-long showers.

But she had them in her life. In one form or another, she had her people.

Chapter Text

“Mira, did you really mean it when you said you didn’t see Rumi in that way?” Zoey asked, crawling into bed. “I mean, she is cute. Like, gives me major insecurities just by existing while that pretty.”

“Of course. I mean, I have eyes. I know how hot she is. But honestly, given the choice between you and Rumi? How could I give you up?” Mira responded, snuggling into Zoey’s side.

Zoey’s expression remained blank. She couldn’t understand the weird gnawing feeling she had. Maybe she’d been wrong about Rumi’s performance on the game show, but even then…

Mira would never leave me.

Rumi might be in love with her, or me, or even both of us, but…

Zoey idly stroked Mira’s hair. “Good night, my love,” she whispered.

Mira murmured a response that Zoey couldn’t quite make out, but it sounded content.

“Oh my god, that was an amazing show!” Zoey beamed, literally skipping her way backstage.

“Did you see all those fans? How many were there?” Rumi asked.

“The stadium holds 60,000 and it was packed!” Bobby said, appearing from behind a support beam. “This tour is going to blow every record out there!”

“Huntr/x don’t miss,” Mira said, smirking.

“Bobby, thank you, really. We couldn’t be doing this without you,” Rumi added as the girls reached the end of the hallway. On the other side of the door would be dozens of fans who had won a chance to meet them up close, while the girls recovered from the show.

“Ladies, please,” Bobby replied, bowing graciously. “I wouldn’t be your manager if I didn’t make sure you had the best!”

Zoey pushed open the door as their fans erupted in cheers.

“Just remember, wheels up at 7 AM!” he shouted as they disappeared into the crowd.

“It’s almost 2,” Rumi groaned, once the girls were finally alone.

“Our plane leaves in 5 hours. We can’t sleep or we’ll miss it,” Mira replied.

Rumi shook her head. “I’m not even tired. I’m super pumped, I just wish we had more time.”

“What are we gonna do for the next few hours?” Zoey asked.

Mira grinned. “I know what I wanna do,” she said, leaning into Zoey.

“Mira, no! We have to be good on the tour!”

“I can be good.”

“No you can’t!” Zoey replied, laughing. “What if someone walked in right now and saw this?”

“Let ‘em watch!”

“Rumi, help! Mira’s breaking my willpower!”

“Mira, stop taunting Zoey,” Rumi said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You two are gonna get caught on this tour, I can tell.”

Mira grinned, her lips inches from Zoey’s earlobe. “Bobby’ll fix it.”

“Mira! Rumi is right there! Do you want her to see?”

Mira turned her attention from Zoey to Rumi.

Instead of Rumi’s yellow jacket and the rest of her tour costume, Rumi was sitting topless in the canvas chair, in her pajama pants.

“She can join in,” Mira purred into Zoey’s ear.

Mira shot up in bed, sweat dripping.

No. No no no no no. You are not going to have those dreams. Not about Rumi. Especially not about Rumi AND Zoey.

She pulled herself out of bed. Cold water. That’s what she needed.

Mira made her way to the bathroom, splashing some water on her face. She stared into the mirror.

“Get it together, Mira. She isn’t even your type,” she sighed, voice barely a whisper. “You are not attracted to Rumi,” she said, her voice more forcefully, as if ordering herself to stop would make it go away.

She left the bathroom, sliding back into bed. She fixed her eyes on Zoey’s face. Zoey’s perfect, innocent, bubbly face. How could I even dream of letting anything, anyone, even Rumi, come between us? She wiped a trail of saliva from the corner of Zoey’s mouth and lightly kissed the sleeping girl’s forehead before returning to her side of the bed.

She struggled to fall back asleep, but eventually it came. She didn’t have any more dreams that night, but somewhere deep inside her, a door had been cracked open. One she didn’t know how to shut.

Mira woke up first, as usual. Zoey had a dozen ‘snooze’ settings on her alarm. She slid out of bed and slipped her fuzzy slippers. They didn’t feel quite right anymore, one of the downsides of wearing them while outside.

As she opened the bedroom door, she could already smell coffee.

“Rumi?” she called out quietly.

A moment later, Rumi ducked her head out into the living room. She was already dressed, her hair braided, and everything. “Hey! I woke up early.”

“I can tell,” Mira muttered. “You know we don’t have any practices or anything today, right? We’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

“I am taking it easy!” Rumi replied, her voice just a few notes too high to be believable.

“Rumi, have you ever taken it easy in your life?” Mira entered the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“I just know that we’re starting tour drills tomorrow so I wanted to be ready, that’s all,” Rumi said, taking a sip of her own cup.

Mira shrugged. “They start tomorrow, not today. Besides, we’ve run through every set list a dozen times already. We’ve got it down, Rumi. We’re ready for the tour.”

Rumi sighed. “I know, I know, it’s just…the last couple days have been stressful, and I just thought maybe…reset. Back to how things used to be. Just while we’re on tour.”

Mira looked up at Rumi. “Rumi, the tour is going to be nearly a year long . We’re not letting you go back to hiding and closed off from us.”

Rumi shook her head. “No no no, not like that, just…I dunno, I feel like I’ve been…pushing buttons too much lately. Saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing.” She lowered her head, the rest coming out as a whisper, “I feel like I caused some damage, and…I don’t want to do that anymore.”

I don’t want to deal with that kind of rejection.

“Rumi…you didn’t cause any damage. Yeah, Zoey and I kinda got in our heads about some stuff. But we don’t want to lose the new Rumi. Yeah, your new outfit idea’s a little…”

“Slutty?” Rumi volunteered, feeling disgusted with herself.

“I was going to say risque, but since you went there…I finished your drawing, though. I can’t say it’s the way I would go, but I’m not the one who’s going through what you have been.”

Rumi nodded. “It was just…first gut instinct. Like, I spent so much of my life just having to cover up more and more of something that everything I ever learned said was a mistake, and now I…”

Mira’s shoulders dropped. “Listen, Rumi…I’m sorry if I made you feel awkward yesterday. I know the whole thing with Zoey overshadowed it, but we never really got closure on the conversation we were having. I don’t want you to feel like what you are is bad.”

“I know, it’s just…I can’t go on stage and tell the world everything. But if there’s even a chance that I’m going to look like this forever…I have to make peace with it. With my shame, and my pain.”

“I know me saying this doesn’t mean much, but…I don’t think you have anything to be ashamed of. Your patterns should’ve never been used against you that way. They’re a gift, a reminder of your mother, and how hard she fought for you.”

Rumi sat silent for a while, the steam from her coffee mug slowly dissipating.

“Celine really fucked me up, didn’t she?”

“Totally. I think you win the most traumatized kid that didn’t grow up gay award,” Mira said, smirking.

“Mira, I’m–” Rumi thought back. Had she really never told her? She was sure she’d told at least Zoey. Back when she…

“Oh my god,” Rumi whispered. “I never told you..”

Zoey heard the gentle tune of her phone’s alarm clock start blaring. She tried to drown it out by covering her head with her pillow, but the tune slowly got louder and louder until she was forced to deal with it.

“Zero snoozes remaining…ugh,” she groaned, unlocking it and trying to figure out the word scramble required to silence it for good. She’d finally figured it out and started typing in the letters to the puzzle when the door burst open, Mira standing there, frantic, a look on her face that Zoey couldn’t quite read.

“Rumi’s gay!” Mira spat out.

As she sat, trying to process that information through her sleepy haze, the timer on her puzzle expired and the alarm started playing again, the cheery tune cutting through the silence that had set in.

Momentarily distracted by the jumble, she started trying to unscramble the letters again.

As she finished, her brain finally caught up with what Mira had just said.

“Wait, what?!”

“Rumi! We’re both so happy for you!” Zoey shouted, rushing toward her, nearly knocking her over with a hug.

Rumi returned the hug, smiling. “Thanks, I…really thought I’d told you.”

Zoey shook her head. “No, I would never have forgotten! How did this never come up? Mira and I are always talking about hot girls on tv, and you’ve never! ”

Mira smirked, arms crossed. “I was pretty sure you were either 4B or Ace entirely.”

Rumi chuckled softly before speaking, “No…it’s girls. Just haven’t seen anyone on tv that I’d really be into.”

”Wow, Rumi’s pickier than you, Mira!” Zoey said, grinning over at her girlfriend.

“I am not picky. I have a type. That’s different.”

Zoey rolled her eyes. “Okay. We need to celebrate!”

“Celebrate…?” Rumi asked.

“Your coming out! That deserves, at least a cake or something.”

“You didn’t get me a cake,” Mira said, trying to disguise her disappointment.

“We came out to each other at the same time! It cancels out!”

“I think I could still use a cake.”

“Okay, we need two cakes!”

“Are you trying to make me fat?”

Rumi laughed as the girls had their back and forth. “Wait, wouldn’t we need three cakes? I didn’t get you one when you told me.”

“How are we going to eat three cakes?! We’re going on tour in like 2 days!” Zoey’s face showed genuine concern.

“How about we get one cake, for all three of us?” Rumi offered.

Zoey pondered. “Okay, that works.”

Rumi tilted her head. “What…kind of cake is traditional for this sort of thing?”

“You have to do like a pride flag on it! And since it’s for all three of us, there has to be three flags!” Zoey was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Uhhh. No. I’m all for us living our best lives, but…” Mira said.

“Can you imagine the scandal? A lesbian pride flag cake delivered to the Huntr/x Penthouse?” Rumi echoed. “Like, don’t get me wrong, it sucks, but…”

Zoey sank to the floor, visibly deflated, with tears welling in her eyes. “Sometimes I really hate it here.”

Rumi and Mira both joined her on the floor, holding her tight. Neither knew what to say.

“What if we get our cake when we’re in America with your family?” Mira offered. “They know, right?”

Zoey nodded weakly. “My dad and my brother. Mom does too, but she’s over here.”

“Then we’ll tell them too. Just us, just them.”

“And cake,” Rumi added.

“Definitely cake,” Zoey said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

As the buzz of joy from Rumi’s coming out faded and the day began itself properly, Mira couldn’t shake the dream she’d had out of her head. Rumi being gay made Zoey’s concerns slightly more plausible, but Mira wasn’t going to leave her for anyone, not even 

Zoey was bouncing around as usual, alternating between humming and singing some of their songs, interspersed with some songs in English Mira had never heard before.

They were packing, the only real task any of them had for the day. Their show costumes and other wardrobes for public appearances had already been prepped and loaded with their advance team. Packing their daily lives and favorite items that they didn’t want to be apart from while on tour.

For Mira, it was mostly a formality. Cosmetics, toiletries, and a few books that were her favorites. Some of her undercover clothes, and a few sentimental trinkets she’d accumulated, either from fans or from Zoey. They were going to be working the entire time they were away, so it wasn’t exactly like she would have an excess of free time. And anything else they could have shipped a few stops ahead of them.

For Zoey, however, it was like she was trying to cram everything she owned into her suitcases. Clothes she hadn’t worn in years. Makeup she had tried and hated but kept because the packaging was cute. Skincare products that had made her break out.

We’re such opposites, Mira thought. She traveled light. Well, not light by civilian standards, but by pop star standards? Absolutely. Zoey on the other hand traveled like she was never coming back.

“Zoey, we’re going on tour. We’re not moving,” Mira said. “We’re gonna be back, and you don’t want to take anything you can’t afford to lose.”

“Yeah, but this is our biggest tour ever! We’re going to be gone for so long, I don’t know how you can just pick a few things to take!” Zoey replied, stuffing a plastic turtle Mira had gotten for her into one of the bags.

Mira walked around the bed and pulled Zoey in for a hug. “Because the only thing I really care about having with me won’t fit in a bag,” she said softly.

Zoey looked up at her. “You’re so soft,” she replied with a grin.

Mira scoffed, looking away. “Am not. I just…I know you’re in your head about this. I just want to help you out.”

Zoey nodded gently. “I just know we’re…not going to be able to be us while we’re on tour. All the stuff we were talking about earlier with Rumi, too. I just feel like…I get it more now.”

“Get what?” Mira asked.

“Her patterns. The hiding…like, we’re hiding too, right? Maybe we carry that with us the same way she did all those years. I dunno. It’s just getting to me.”

Mira wasn’t sure how to respond. Zoey had grown up where this sort of thing wasn’t that big of a deal. Meanwhile, for her and Rumi, this is just how it was .

Maybe we’re more like Rumi than we thought.

Mira finished her packing in silence.

The stage lights were blinding, but they were all used to it. They ran through their sets flawlessly, and the fans were eating it up.

All three of them were buzzing with excitement as they made their way backstage.

“Girls, you were on fire tonight! That was incredible!” Bobby said, walking backwards ahead of them. “60,000 fans and that’s just the start! You’re already trending on every social platform!”

“I knew we would,” Zoey said, smiling as she skipped down the hallway.

“Huntr/x don’t miss!” Rumi and Zoey both chanted.

Mira fell silent. Wait. Is this another dream?

No. The show happened. She could remember every song they’d done. All the encores.

Mira felt the color draining from her face. She shook her head, trying to forget the dream had ever happened. “Yeah, we really showed them how it’s done, didn’t we?” She added, forcing a smirk onto her face. She hoped the others wouldn’t be paying attention.

“Okay, the fans get 30 minutes, tops,” Rumi said as they reached the doorway. “We’re getting at least some sleep tonight.”

“Wheels up at 7!” Bobby chirped as the doors opened to squealing and cheering fans.

The other girls just nodded. Mira’s eyes went wide.

“Man, I love seeing our fans!” Zoey exclaimed. “They’re always so much fun to hang out with!” She sat back in the canvas chair backstage, while Mira had flopped onto a sofa. Rumi was off in her dressing room, leaving the two of them alone.

“Yeah, they’re cool. So, what are we doing now?” Mira asked. “We’ve got time to kill.”

Zoey looked around to make sure there was nobody left in the room. “I’ve got an idea…” she said, swiftly standing and crossing the distance between the two of them.

Mira couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s like you’re trying to get us caught, Zo.”

Zoey sat down and leaned against Mira, who reflexively draped her arm across Zoey’s shoulders. “I’ll be careful, but if it happens, it happens. Bobby’ll fix it.”

“I swear, we put too much pressure on that man,” Mira laughed.

They heard the door click, and instantly shifted their positions to one less intimate. Rumi entered the room wearing a fluffy robe over her high-necked undershirt. Mira and Zoey relaxed, though they didn’t resume cuddling. “Was that a great show, or what, you guys?” Rumi said, slumping in the chair Zoey had been sitting in moments ago.

“First of many,” Mira added. “That was a pretty killer kickoff, though.”

“Yeah, how are we gonna top that for the finale?” Zoey asked.

“We’ll think of something. We’ve got months to prepare,” Mira replied.

“So, we doing anything tonight?” Rumi asked. “Surprised we actually got the fans out of here pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, I thought we were gonna be here til like 2 AM!” Zoey quipped.

Mira had another flashback to her dream. “Yeah…” she said, voice trailing off.

“Thank goodness they weren’t. We need to sleep at some point, and we’re flying out early,” Rumi said.

“I’m too wired to sleep!” Zoey cried. “This is it! We’re officially on tour now! How are you two not more hyped!”

“Oh, I’m hyped,” Mira said, “I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to.”

“...Yeah we’re not sleeping tonight, are we?” Rumi said, defeated. “I don’t know who I was kidding.”

“So what are we gonna do for the next 6 hours or whatever?” Mira asked. “Hotel party? Rockstar it up and trash the place?”

Zoey grinned. “I’ve got an idea for something we can do in the hotel…” she purred, leaning toward Mira again.

“No!” Mira shouted, a little more forcefully than she intended, the weight of her dream still haunting her.

Zoey scooted away from Mira, her eyes going wide. “Okay, geez! I know we can’t, I was just joking…”

Rumi smiled. Something about the way these two interacted always made her feel warm inside. Not just because she wanted to be a part of it, and being closer to them made it feel more real to her, but because they were genuinely her favorite people. She could handle sitting on the sidelines, for now at least.

The girls sat around for a bit, chatting and snacking on random food that had been left for them backstage, before eventually deciding to turn in for the night.

The ride to the hotel was short, and as Mira and Zoey prepared to go to their separate rooms, Rumi could see the pain on both of their faces. When we seal the honmoon, you won’t have to hide anymore, either, she silently swore to them.

She sincerely hoped they’d be able to pull it off. So much of their futures depended on it. A chance to finally, genuinely, be free.

Chapter Text

Celine leaned back in her chair, rereading the paragraphs she’d just written. She had to make sure not to miss one single moment, not one truth of what the three of them had gone through.

The demon hunting aside, of course. She had glossed over that aspect of their careers with a few casual references to their involvement with mudang and embracing their traditional culture. It made it seem so simple, she thought, writing it.

She looked at the clock on the screen. It was nearly 4 AM. She’d been writing all night. I’m going to have to read this again with fresh eyes, she thought. When she was writing, it was like they’d flowed out of her, but now looking back at her words, she could barely make out what characters were what.

She made her way to her bed, not even bothering to undress.

She exhaled, feeling like she was letting out a breath she’d been holding all day, as sleep finally claimed her.

“Today, we’re at the Tokyo Skytree!” Zoey exclaimed, holding out the camera to make sure all of them were in frame. “We’re so high! I feel like I can see all of Tokyo from here!”

Rumi took the phone from her, waving at the camera. “We came here today to remind everyone of our upcoming show tomorrow, here in Tokyo! I hope you all come to join us!”

Mira took her turn, holding the camera above her as she leaned backwards over the railing. “Don’t miss it!”

They ended the recording, and Zoey added all the important hashtags before she posted it to their official feed, before switching to her personal account and reposting it there.

“That was excellent, girls!” Their tour manager, Shae said, clapping. “Listen, you’ve got a busy day today, the interview with KBI is the biggest thing, and there’s another sightseeing tour you need to go on. We’re sending a crew with you to get some shots so we can put a longer video up. Then you’re on the variety shows tonight. Just quick guest spots, no performances or games, just pop in, 5 minute promo interview, and you’re done.”

The girls nodded. “And then tomorrow it’s rehearsals until showtime, right?” Mira asked.

Shae looked at the schedule. “There’s one meeting, you’re having lunch with…Hana Suzumiya, looks like.”

Mira and Zoey looked at Rumi. Hana Suzumiya was the Japanese name of Hana Soo, the third Sunlight Sister. The one that ran away when Rumi was an infant.

“...Well, that’ll be interesting,” Rumi finally said.

Rumi led most of the interviews in Japan, with Mira interjecting occasionally. Zoey mostly smiled silently. The other two, especially Rumi, understood Japanese way better than she did; she was mostly only able to pick up bits and pieces here and there. She had a few phrases she’d practiced well enough to get through public appearances, and English loan words were easy, plus some words were close enough to their Korean counterparts that she was able to sort of understand.

She wasn’t sure if it was feeling left out of the interviews, being away from Mira for the past couple of nights, or just the tour in general that had her feeling kind of off, but she just felt…alone. Even with Mira and Rumi right there, she felt isolated.

That night in their hotel rooms, they texted each other.

[9:39 PM]

Z-dawg: whatcha doin?

TheRealMira: Watching this stupid anime. I don’t get it.

Z-dawg: what anime is it? is it on tv or are you streaming it?

TheRealMira: TV. You know I don’t watch anime, not intentionally at least. I was watching some reality show and this came on after it.

Z-dawg: truuuue idk.

Z-dawg: i miss you 🙁

TheRealMira: I miss you too babe. Feels like it’s been weeks already.

Z-dawg: being next to each other and not holding your hand 🙁🙁🙁 when we have some downtime in la tho im taking you out n we can be gay af together.

TheRealMira: I’m holding you to that, bunny.

Z-dawg: hang on im gonna do somethin dont laugh at me if its stupid but i think youll like it

TheRealMira: Ok…

Zoey closed her messages app and opened her camera, flipping it to selfie mode. She lifted her shirt to just below her chest, and flexed her stomach as much as she could, snapping a picture of her abs.

She checked the picture, deleted it, and tried again. After a few more, she was satisfied. It was tasteful, just her flexed muscles, and maybe the tiniest hint of underboob. She opened her messages back up, attached the photo to her message and hit ‘send’.

[9:47]

Z-dawg: just wanted to show you what you been missing 😉

RumiRito: WHAT THE HELL ZOEY????

TheRealMira: …

TheRealMira: Zoey.

TheRealMira: You sent this to the group chat.

Mira and Rumi could hear Zoey scream from down the hall.

The honmoon groaned, and Celine responded.

It had been like that the past two nights. Always gone before she was able to react. There was a demon that was up to something. Taunting her. Testing the edges, seeing what it could get away with.

She perched on a rooftop in one of the historic neighborhoods, Nat in hand, her face illuminated by its gentle glow. Observing. Waiting.

A man walking down a street, talking on his phone. A likely target. She dropped to an adjacent roof, following him.

A shudder, a wave of red. There it was, nearby.

She watched as a reaper slid through the cracks, alone.

Strange. They usually bring others with them. Faceless usually at least tag along.

She watched as the demon approached the man. Something was unusual about this situation.

The man ended his phone call and turned, seeing the demon in front of him. Celine swung from the roof, prepared to attack when he suddenly started talking to it. She caught herself, holding onto a window ledge.

She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, and couldn’t get closer without revealing herself. She could see the distinct purple streaks shimmer across the man’s skin, however.

So, he is a demon as well. They must both die, then.

She hesitated before attacking. There was something strange about the situation. Demons do not carry cell phones. They do not engage with human society.

She had seen demons go in disguise before, and they could pull it off, to varying degrees of success. She had never seen one behave like this.

Reapers typically did not work alone; they guided demons through the cracks, and funneled the souls consumed by other demons back to Gwi-ma. If there were two of them, and no other demons in sight, this was an aberration in demon behavior.

Was this demon…planning something? Demons did not make plans, they executed them. They attacked, ruthlessly.

With everything you’ve been wrong about so far in the past few weeks, is it any surprise that even demons are somehow different than you’ve been taught?

She watched as their conversation concluded, and when the two turned away, she followed the undisguised reaper back toward the crack it had originally used.

Before it had a chance to descend, she leapt from the building and struck it down from behind. It only registered its own demise after turning to face her, its face shrouded in wiry hair down to its tusked mouth.

One demon taken care of, Celine raced back to where the disguised one had been.

I’m going to have a talk with a demon. That’s new, she thought.

Rumi laid in her bed, thinking about the picture Zoey had accidentally sent earlier.

She’d only looked at it for a moment, before registering what had happened. It wasn’t for her. She wasn’t meant to see it.

Zoey had apologized, and filled the group chat with enough memes and emojis to push it far back into their history.

But Rumi had seen it.

And god, she wished it had been meant for her.

[11:22 PM]
Z-dawg: is it possible to die from cringe?

TheRealMira: No, dear.

Z-dawg: i feel bad for rumi 🙁

TheRealMira: Why?

Z-dawg: cause i mean she likes us right

Z-dawg: i still think she does at least

Z-dawg: and like that has to be awkward for her.

TheRealMira: Even if she does, I think she’ll be fine. Maybe she saved it to her jerk off album.

Z-dawg: MIRA NO

Z-dawg: do you really think she has a jerk off album

TheRealMira: I mean…

Z-dawg: DO YOU HAVE A JERK OFF ALBUM MIRA

TheRealMira: No comment.

Z-dawg: NO YOU HAVE TO TELL ME IF YOU HAVE JERK OFF ALBUM OR ITS ENTRAPMENT

TheRealMira: No. It isn’t even an album. Just…tiktok thirst traps I have saved, shit like that. You’ve seen at least one thing in it.

Z-dawg: ohhhh the lumberjack lady???

Z-dawg: why have i never dressed up in flannel for you? I could probably split a log or two.

TheRealMira: I’ve been asking myself the same question for years.

Z-dawg: you know im gonna have to split you in two for that 😉

TheRealMira: …now that’s just mean. First the picture, now that comment? What are you trying to do to me?

Z-dawg: built different babe 😉

Z-dawg: maybe ill help you put together a proper jerk off album on this tour 😉

Celine pressed the hilt of her sickle against the demon’s throat, the blade millimeters from his neck.

“Talk,” she ordered.

“What use is there in talking? You’ve already decided I’m your enemy, haven’t you? Hunters kill demons, don’t they?” the demon responded.

“Fortunately for you, I’m technically retired,” Celine retorted. “I could kill you now, but instead, I’m giving you a chance to explain what you’re doing here. That determines if you live, or die.”

The demon hesitated, and Celine pressed the blade against his skin. “Don’t test me.”

“Fine, you want to know so bad? I’m…trying to get away. Away from Gwi-ma. Away from the memories he taunts me with.”

Celine shook her head. That didn’t sound plausible, but…something about the way he spoke gave her pause. But just a brief one.

“I can grant you a swift exit from his control,” she said, “It’ll all be over in an instant. Any reason I shouldn’t?”

The demon paused, frantically searching his memory for something that might be useful. Information, knowledge, a skill he had.

“Are you…in need of a singer, perhaps?” The blade dug in. He could feel his skin starting to burn. “Wait wait! I know something! There was a hunter who fell, wasn’t there? Some years ago?”

Twenty-three years, six months, and twenty-two days.

“What about her?” Celine asked.

“I can find out for you…if she’s still down there. Just let me find out. I promise I’ll come back.”

Celine looked at the demon. His eyes looked…honest, somehow.

Are you really about to trust a demon?

If Mi-yeong’s soul is trapped in hell with Gwi-ma, wouldn’t you want to know?

If Mi-yeong is down there…

“You have one day, demon,” she said, pulling the sickle away.

“I have a name. It’s Jinu,” he replied.

“Do you think I care?” she shot back. “Go. And if I don’t see you back here in this exact spot this time tomorrow, you’re ending up like that other demon. I don’t care if I have to go to hell myself to hunt you down, Jinu,” she said, spitting his name.

“You killed him? Damn, he was going to be my lead vocalist.”

He evaporated in a cloud of red mist before Celine could respond.

“Excellent work, girls! Don’t forget you’re having lunch in an hour with Suzumiya-san!” Shae called out as the girls ran through My Latitude.

The music cut as the girls stopped to take a break, each retrieving their water bottles and sitting on the edge of the stage.

“What do you think she wants to meet with us about?” Zoey wondered.

“She probably just wants to reconnect. Maybe finally meet Rumi,” Mira said.

Rumi looked down. “She abandoned me, too. I don’t really want to do this, but…we have to.”

Zoey put her hand on Rumi’s. “Hey, we don’t have to do anything we don’t want to. We can ghost it if you want. Just say we lost track of time during practice or something.”

“Yeah, Rumi. We don’t have to meet anyone or talk to anyone. You have every right to cut her out forever. I mean, yeah. She abandoned you as a baby, left you alone to be raised by Celine, and now that we’re on top and rich and famous, she wants to reconnect? It’s nuts,” Mira added.

“No, we can go. If for nothing else than to tell her that I’m fine, despite what she did,” Rumi said.

“Yeah! You came out on top, Rumi! And you did it all without her! Rub that in her face!” Zoey exclaimed.

“I didn’t even know that…she was supposed to be there until, what, two weeks ago?”

“Do you think she’s talked to Celine since then?” Zoey asked.

“I think there’s some bad blood there, so I doubt it,” Mira responded.

Rumi sat for a moment in contemplation. If Hana was supposed to be a part of her life, why had she run? Why had she fled to another country, changed her name, and left her alone with Celine for all those years?

What had happened when her mother died?

“Let’s run it through one more time before we have to leave,” Rumi said, pulling herself to her feet. “We’ve got a show tonight.”

The girls stood on the corner across from the cafe they were supposed to meet Hana in, watching the activity. It was quiet, the benefits of choosing a spot outside of the usual tourist districts. A few salarymen, couples on dates, and an older woman, sitting alone at a table outside.

“That’s her,” Zoey said, pointing. “She looks different from back then, but it’s definitely her.”

Rumi nodded. She’d seen pictures of them all growing up, of course, and this woman was unmistakably Hana. She looked nice. Not the bratty maknae that she’d been made out to be in the media back in the 90s. Not the cunning, manipulative, battle-hardened executive that Celine had grown into. She just…was. She seemed like a normal person.

She still wasn’t sure how to feel about her, but something about the way she looked made her feel more approachable.

The crossing light changed, and the girls crossed the street, along with a few workers making their way around town.

Rumi was the first to approach her. “..Sazamiya-san?” she asked, hesitantly.

Hana looked up at her, smiling warmly. “You must be Rumi. Please, sit.”

The other girls followed, and the three took their seats around the table.

“I suppose I should say something first,” Hana said. “It’s an honor to meet the three of you. I was out of the country when you last performed in Japan two years ago.”

Rumi nodded. “I…we, didn’t spend much time here then. We flew in for the show and left immediately after. It wasn’t like this tour.”

“Yes, of course. You must be quite busy, with all the burdens you carry,” Hana replied.

Mira felt her leg starting to bob on its own. “You know all about the burdens Rumi is carrying, do you?” she asked, her voice flat.

“Of course, she is leading the global phenomenon that is Huntr/x,” Hana stated, “along with your duties as hunters,” she added in a whisper.

“Duties you abandoned,” Mira spat.

“Mira, relax. We’re not here to fight,” Rumi said, putting her hand over Mira’s.

“She is right, though. I did leave,” Hana replied. “After what happened to your mother, Rumi, I..”

“After what you and Celine had to do to her,” Rumi whispered.

Hana was taken aback. “So..she told you.”

“No. She told us,” Zoey said, speaking up for the first time. “We had to be the ones to tell Rumi.”

A look of shock and confusion spread across the older woman’s face. “Then you must know about…”

Zoey nodded. “Rumi’s patterns.”

Hana sighed deeply, and thought for a moment before responding.

“I have spoken to Celine only twice since I left. The first time was when Rumi was…you must have been about 5 years old then. She was upset that they had started to spread. I had hoped she would explain what had happened to you, when you were old enough. Keep you from feeling much shame about them, but Celine just wanted to…”

“Make her cover them up,” Zoey said.

“Hide herself away,” Mira added.

Hana nodded. “I hope they didn’t spread very far.”

Rumi looked away. “They never really stopped.” She drew a line with her finger from the cuff of her shirt to the top of her high-necked shirt.

Hana’s face was a mixture of shock and sympathy. “You must understand. We were in uncharted territory. Nothing we had learned from our mentors had prepared us for this possibility. Your mother was…she was a strong woman, but everything that happened, it…it would break anyone.”

“Because she felt like she had betrayed Celine. We know they were together,” Mira added.

“And with the pregnancy, and everything in the media. It was too much pressure for her. I don’t know if I could handle it,” Zoey echoed.

“So she mentioned that as well,” Hana said. “She failed to mention that it wasn’t just the two of them, then. It figures she would cut me out of that story as well..”

The first time Hana had joined them had been clumsy, accidental almost. The three of them were all drunk on the sofa in their dormitory, and Celine and Mi-yeong were getting handsier than they usually did outside of their bedrooms.

“We can’t right here, Celine…” Mi-yeong giggled against her lover’s lips.

“Says who? Hana, you don’t mind, do you?”

Hana shook her head. “You two are going to get us dropped from our contract. At least get some fake boyfriends or something.”

“Come on, we’re fine,” Celine slurred. “Besides, just look at her,” she added, turning back to Mi-yeong. “She’s irresistible. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t kiss her.”

Hana took another drink. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t. I just am saying, we’re not the only act in this building.”

Celine leaned into Mi-yeong’s ear. “Hear that, baby? She said she would kiss you, too. Told you you were beautiful.”

“If she wants to, what’s stopping her?” Mi-yeong said, her breath hitching as Celine’s hand moved its way under her shirt.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the Honmoon’s magic, or maybe it was months of unspoken feelings all bubbling to the surface. Maybe it was all three.

Hana wasn’t sure what came over her, but as she leaned toward Mi-yeong, Celine pulled away just enough to allow Hana’s lips to connect with Mi-yeong’s.

Celine felt her heart quicken as Mi-yeong kissed Hana, a snap of jealousy broken in an instant as Hana’s arm wrapped around Celine’s waist.

As Hana pulled away from Mi-yeongs lips, she found Celine’s already waiting for her.

“Wait, all three of you?” Zoey said, her eyes wide.

She thought back to what Celine had said in her office weeks ago.

“Hana was with us too,” Celine had said. “It wasn’t the same kind of love, but it was there.”

She hadn’t consciously put it together back then. She hadn’t thought to even mention it when they were relaying information to Rumi.

“I was never quite…as connected as the two of them were. Maybe I joined in too late. But yes, we were…all, together, an item.”

Mira thought back to her dream she’d had a few nights ago.

“Rumi can join in.”

“Then…why did you leave?” Rumi asked. “My mother was dead, and you left me..alone, with Celine,” she added, starting to visibly shake.

“You left me with her, and what she did to me. How much shame she made me feel. Twenty three years. You could’ve stayed. You could’ve helped. You could’ve...stopped it.”

Hana moved to put her hand on Rumi’s shoulder, but Rumi jerked away. “Don’t touch me!” she shouted, causing heads to turn in the cafe.

“Yeah, we’re done here,” Mira said, standing. Zoey followed, and they helped Rumi to her feet.

“Don’t show up to our show tonight,” Zoey said, turning to leave.

“I need time away from all of this,” Rumi muttered as they sat on the subway. “Away from having to think about Celine, Hana, any of it.”

Zoey grinned. “I have just the idea!” she said, pulling out her phone.

“Oh no…” Rumi and Mira both groaned.

“Come on!” Zoey chirped, as the subway doors opened. Mira and Rumi reluctantly followed her out into the station.

“Where are we, anyway?” Mira asked.

Rumi looked at the signs hanging above them and on the walls. “Uhh…Toshima. Ikebukuro station. I’ve never been to this part of Tokyo before.”

“Me either, but I’ve heard of it,” Mira replied. “Zoey, what do you have in mind?”

Zoey opened her phone and quickly did a search. “Okay, here we go!”

She opened the camera and turned it to face the three of them. The other girls did their best to match Zoey’s instant bubbly energy shift.

“Shout out to our Tokyo fans! It’s ya girls from Huntr/x here! Just letting you all know that we’re going to be doing a quick impromptu meet and greet at Sunshine city in Ikebukuro in about 15 minutes! We’re only going to be there for a little while, so make sure you get there soon!” They all waved at the camera as Zoey ended the recording, handing her phone over to Mira to handle the Japanese subtitles.

“Are you going to be ok with us doing most of the talking?” Rumi asked.

“Yeah! This’ll be fun!”

Mira posted the video. “Zoey, you are nuts. I love you sometimes.”

“SOMETIMES?” Zoey cried.

Rumi had to stifle a laugh as they made their way onto the street.

10 minutes later, the girls reached the plaza, and it was already packed. They quickly fixed their makeup and grinned as they approached the crowd.

“Oh my god, it’s them!”

“We love you Huntr/x!”

“We love Zoey!”

“Rumi is our queen!”

“Mira is the best!”

“I can’t believe they’re really here!”

Suddenly in their element, the girls went to work. Signing CDs and other things people had brought with them, chatting with fans, accepting gifts, it was all second nature to them at this point. The fact that they were in their streetwear and 

Zoey had done surprisingly well, with most of the fans able to at least say something to her in English.

Mira took a photo sitting on a fan’s motorcycle, and signed their helmet. Zoey rode a fan’s skateboard around the plaza, to cheers from the crowd. Rumi listened to a fan gush about how their music had brought her out of depression and helped her get over a breakup. 

After a while, the girls had said goodbye and made their way back to the train station. Boarding the train back to where they needed to return to for the show, the girls smiled contentedly, relaxing in their seats.

“We have the best fans,” Rumi sighed.

“Oh, they’re so cool. That was so much fun!” Zoey said excitedly.

“Yeah Zo, gotta hand it to you. That was a great idea,” Mira added.

“I love our fans,” they all said, simultaneously.

“Do you think we’ll be in trouble for blowing off practice?” Zoey asked.

“Nah, we got this,” Rumi said lazily.

They had this. 50,000 screaming fans, and a Honmoon shining as bright as the sun couldn’t be wrong. As they finished their last encore of My Latitude and How It’s Done , the girls finally realized that this was it. They hadn’t seen gold, and they knew it wasn’t going to happen until they were back in Korea, but the energy in the stadium told them that they were going to do it.

“I’ve gotta tell you girls how blown away I am by that stunt you pulled in Ikebukuro,” Shae said, walking with them. “Honestly, inspired. Don’t get me wrong, I wish you’d cleared it with me first, but just, wow! The amount of buzz you generated was incredible!”

“It was all Zoey’s idea!” Rumi said.

“Yeah, she sprung it on us the same time as everyone else,” Mira added. “Zoey is insane with ideas like this.”

“Well, keep this up, Ms. Chin and you’ll be putting me out of a job!” Shae said, laughing.

Zoey couldn’t have wiped the grin off her face if she wanted to.

Their second fan engagement of the day completed, the exhaustion of two days of promotion and performing had set in by the time the girls finally got back to their hotel rooms.

[11:52PM]

RumiRito: Reminder: Train leaves at 10:30 for Osaka

Z-Dawg: hell yeah full nights sleep we ball

TheRealMira: Why are we taking the train again?

RumiRito: Promo vid/pics on the train

Z-Dawg: ohhhh yea i forgot about that too so were in stage fits on the train right?

TheRealMira: Yeah. But they’ll do them on the train, wear whatever in the morning.

RumiRito: Try to get some good sleep 

RumiRito: We’re only in Osaka one day for the show and I want some takoyaki

Z-Dawg: is that the lil balls of squid or w/e

RumiRito: Yes 🐙🍴 😋 gimme them octoballs

Z-Dawg: turns out rumi was lying mira she does love balls after all

RumiRito: ZOEY WHAT THE FUCK LMAOOOO

RumiRito: Shit did I lose all my lesbian cred 🙁

TheRealMira: ZOEY

TheRealMira: No, Rumi. You’re valid no matter how many balls you put in your mouth

Z-Dawg: LMAOOOOO MIRA WITH THE ASSIST HIGH FIVE ✋

RumiRito: …

RumiRito: I’m going to bed. Good night, perverts.

Z-Dawg: noooo rumi sry im just hyped from tonight

TheRealMira: Yeah…Zoey you really did kill it with that fan event.

Z-Dawg: pfff its nothin just that lunch with hana pissed me off and i didnt want rumi to be sad 🙁

RumiRito: 🥲 Thanks Zoey. That really did help.

RumiRito: I do want to sleep though. Sweet dreams, both of you 💜💜💜

TheRealMira: You too. Good night, Rumi

Z-Dawg: night rumi 🤗

Zoey switched conversations to continue talking with Mira.

[12:09AM]

Z-Dawg: lolll thanks for the help

TheRealMira: Rumi set us up too good to pass up.

Z-Dawg: yeaaa

Z-Dawg: cant believe hana was just like oh yeah i was banging your mom too and then was all 😮 when rumi didnt want to let her into her life

TheRealMira: Yeah. I can understand that it’s a complex situation but

TheRealMira: Either she didn’t know about how bad Celine treated Rumi, in which case it’s her fault for running away, or she did know and didn’t come back to save her. 

TheRealMira: Either way, she is 100% in the wrong and she doesn’t get to suddenly become Rumi’s other aunt. Or mom or whatever.

Z-Dawg: yeah 🙁 i just want rumi to be happy with who she is

TheRealMira: I know. Neither of us are therapists, though. Then again, is there even a therapist in the world who Rumi could talk to?

Z-Dawg: 🙁 no..

Z-Dawg: should i take therapy classes

Z-Dawg: i bet i could be a good therapist

TheRealMira: You would be the best, bunny.

Z-Dawg: aww 🙂 wish we could be cuddling rn you woulda got a kiss

TheRealMira: Just a kiss? 😉

Z-Dawg: MIRA

Z-Dawg: istg we havent even been on tour a week and im bout to have to dip into my jerk off album

TheRealMira: Oh, so now you have one? 🤨

Z-Dawg: no 🙁 just v pent up

TheRealMira: You should take care of yourself. Since I can’t.

Z-Dawg: i mean

Z-Dawg: im gonna

Z-Dawg: lol

TheRealMira: Can I help?

Z-Dawg: ???

TheRealMira: [picture attached]

The picture showed Mira’s torso, her pajama shirt slid up past her chest, her right hand already slipping below her pantyline.

Z-Dawg: MIRA holy shit

TheRealMira: You know what you do to me.

Z-Dawg: fuuuuck

TheRealMira: Can I call? We can just..listen to each other.

Zoey reached for her earbuds, turned them on, and hit the ‘Call’ button, already slipping out of her pajamas.

Zoey straddled Mira, nibbling on her bottom lip, feeling Mira shuddering underneath her. She sat up, sliding her hands along Mira’s bare torso.

“You’re so pretty for me, baby. Do you know how beautiful you are?” She whispered.

“Isn’t she so cute like this?” Mira whispered in her ear.

“Mhmm,” Zoey murmured, turning to kiss Mira. Savoring the flavor of Mira’s lips. Devouring her lover.

She turned back to look at Rumi, whimpering underneath her. “So cute.”

“I wonder how she tastes,” Mira whispered.

“I get to taste her first,” Zoey said, smirking. “I’m the one who let her in.”

[02:41AM]
Z-Dawg: mira

Z-Dawg: are you awake

Z-Dawg: i just had…a weird dream.

Z-Dawg: could really use you rn 🙁

Z-Dawg: wish i could hear your snoring 🙁

Z-Dawg: anyway

Z-Dawg: i love you

Z-Dawg: ill see you in the morning

Chapter Text

The train ride to Osaka was…off. Rumi couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but there was definitely a strange vibe first thing in the morning.

Zoey was lovebombing Mira as best as she could. Nothing overt, just…slight touches that lingered a bit longer than necessary, brushing away bits of Mira’s hair, feeding her snacks by hand. Whispers when she didn’t think anyone was looking. Nothing that couldn’t be dismissed as the ‘cutesy’ behavior that was expected of the group’s maknae.

Except she couldn’t look at Rumi. The whole trip, Zoey didn’t make eye contact with her once.

Mira seemed fine, and they were able to chat normally on the train. But Zoey was just…cold.

All the girls were able to pretend plenty for the cameras, but every time the cameras were off, Zoey couldn’t meet her gaze. It was like Zoey was stabbing her with an icicle.

“Hey, are you ok?” Mira asked, sitting across from Rumi on the train. “You’re acting kinda low energy. What’s up?

“I’m fine, I just…do you know what’s going on with Zoey today? It’s like she’s avoiding me, and I don’t know if it’s something I did or if there’s something bothering her.”

Mira shook her head. “Not sure exactly. I know she had a hard time sleeping, nightmares or something, but she didn’t want to talk specifics. But she’s been all over me today, like she’s trying to get us caught.”

“Maybe the stress of being apart is getting to her. We haven’t toured in a while, you know,” Rumi mentioned.

“I know, but she wasn’t like this at all during the last one. I’ll talk to her,” Mira said, standing up.

“You don’t have to.”

“Yeah I do. She’s hurting. And she’s, for whatever reason, taking it out on you. That’s not okay, you’re too important to both of us for me to let that slide.”

Rumi smiled softly as Mira walked over to where Zoey was standing, looking out the window.

“Hey, bunny,” she said, leaning against Zoey lightly.

“Hey!” Zoey said, smiling up at Mira.

“So, why are you avoiding Rumi? Like, I could understand if you were feeling off but you’re all over me but acting like Rumi doesn’t exist.”

Zoey’s face changed immediately. Sullen, she looked back out the window. “So you noticed.”

“Is this about the weird dream you had last night? The one you were texting me about in the middle of the night?”

Zoey nodded weakly.

Mira sighed. “Zoey..I’m sorry. But I promise you, no matter what it was, it was just a dream. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I..I don’t want to lose what we have, Mira,” Zoey whispered.

“You won’t, Zoey. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not she-who-must-not-be-named,” Mira said, giving Zoey a gentle hug.

Zoey’s headphones were blasting in her ears, drowning out the cacophony of dozens of conversations of other kids passing by. She stared at her notebook page, covered in doodles and scratched out rhymes, and scrawled “I GIVE UP” in the only blank space remaining.

She turned the page. More doodles, some actual fire lyrics in Korean, and a blank top half of the page.

She began to write when a shadow stopped over her. She looked up and saw a girl standing above her, the sunlight from the window behind highlighting her blonde hair.

Zoey removed her headphones. The cacophony invaded her eardrums again.

“Zoey Chin, right?” 

“Uhh, yeah? Sorry, do I know you?”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I’m Penny Brooks. Ms. Emerson said to talk to you? You had her for biology last year, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. Sorry, head’s a little packed. She said you needed some help with…what was it, the..”

“The reptile assignment. I’m doing mine on the turtle family and she said you were the one to talk to,” Penny said.

Zoey’s face lit up. “Hell yeah I am! You wanna meet up after school and we can hit the library? Or you could come to my place and we could study there. I have a bunch of books there on turtles and tortoises and terrapins too!”

Penny giggled. “You’re cute when you’re excited about stuff, has anyone ever told you that?”

“Ok so, sea turtles are actually closer related to the like snapping turtles you see out east than they are the pond turtles you see around here,” Zoey explained, her books spread out on her bed. Penny sat in the beanbag chair next to Zoey’s bed, trying to take notes while Zoey talked.

“They’re all related, it’s just a longer trace back through evolution to find a common ancestor. Like most sea turtles now split off from everyone else over 100 million years ago, so you’re not gonna find any like recent relatives or anything. But if you look at say, giant Galapagos tortoises, they only split off like 25 million years ago.”

“So…let me back up. Maybe I’m not getting all the nearest ancestor thing,” Penny said, looking at her notebook.

“Ok, let’s start again. The assignment is about finding how many steps there are between two different turtle species, and then trying to find the two that are furthest apart while still being in the same suborder, right?” Zoey asked. Penny nodded.

Zoey explained how the evolutionary chart worked again, the major clades of turtles, and how to trace species back to their nearest common ancestor. As she started going through some of the genera she noticed that Penny wasn’t writing anything down anymore.

“Got it now?” She asked.

“I got it a while ago. I just like hearing you talk,” Penny said, smiling.

Zoey blushed deeply and went back to the books. “S-sorry! I just uhh, I have some notes I took for when I did the assignment last year! Let me find them real quick!”

“Sounds good, those will help for sure.”

Zoey could barely speak as she searched through the papers in her room, too afraid her voice would catch in her throat.

“Hey, lil Z, or is it Z-money now?” Her dad asked as Zoey waved goodbye to Penny.

“…Z-Dawg,” Zoey mumbled. “What’s up?”

“Your new friend. You should have let her stay for dinner. I am making extra.”

“Oh, she had to run, sorry.”

“Ahh, maybe next time then. Did you two have a good time?”

Zoey felt the redness creeping up her ears. “Yeah. Yeah we did.”

Penny became a regular fixture at the Chin household after that day. Almost every day she and Zoey were up in her room after school, working on different assignments, jamming out, or just vibing.

“Hey, so, what are you doing this summer?” Penny asked, lying sideways across Zoey’s bed.

“Oh, I’m going to visit my mom. She’s a doctor over in Seoul. I usually go every summer” Zoey replied.

“That’s so cool, I wish I had family somewhere cool. But also, that kinda sucks. I wanted to invite you to this thing in June I’m going to.”

“What kinda thing?”

Penny sat up and reached into her backpack, retrieving a flyer. “Just…if you wanted to. No pressure. I mean, it’s not just for..”

Zoey looked at the page. Los Angeles Pride Festival 2017. “Penny, I didn’t..”

“I mean, it’s no big deal. I’m just not a fan of going to big things like that on my own. It’s cool.”

Zoey read the flier, then looked back at Penny. “Maybe…I could stay here this year,” she said, smiling hesitantly.

Penny grinned, leaning over to take the flier back. “Only if you want to, Z.”

Zoey leaned forward in her chair to hand it to her. Their fingers touched. “I…I want to,” Zoey gasped.

Every first kiss is clumsy. Uncertain. Nobody knows where to put their hands, how to tilt their head, or what to do with their lips. Zoey and Penny were no different. But as they stood there, lips awkwardly meeting for the first time, it was like a spark had ignited. There was something burning, now. A fire Zoey didn’t know how to put out, or if she even wanted to.

“Are you sure about this?” Her mother asked as they talked. “You said you were looking forward to this visit.”

“I am, umma. I just…I have things I want to do here. Especially if I’m moving there after high school, I want to spend time with people here while I can.”

“I understand. Don’t worry about it. I hope you will stay in touch over the summer, though.”

“I will, umma. I love you.”

“I love you too, Zoey.”

Penny held Zoey’s hand as they walked around the festival, looking at vendors, signing petitions, and listening to the bands performing.

“So this year they’re doing some like big political march instead of the usual parade, but I think I still wanna come back tomorrow,” Penny said.

“Yeah. If you’re going, I’m going,” Zoey replied.

Penny smiled and kissed her. “Hey, I’m gonna go get one of those big flag capes, you want one?”

Zoey shook her head. “Not really ready for that yet. I think my dad would flip if he knew where I am.”

“Nah, your dad’s cool. I think he’d be cool about it.”

Zoey wondered. Her dad was pretty traditional, but he’d stayed in the US after the divorce for a reason.

“Maybe. I don’t know though. I’d rather talk to him about it before I come home decked in rainbows, though.”

“Hey, dad?” Zoey asked, as her father sat watching TV. “Got a minute?”

“Sure, Z-Dawg, what’s up?” He said, pausing the show.

“Can I ask you about…like, why did you decided to stay here? When you and mom split. I never really asked before. Just been curious about it.”

Her dad sighed. “Zoey…it was a complicated situation, your mother and I…” he trailed off. “You don’t want to know about that. I just love it here. It feels more like home to me now. Besides, this is where you are, and your brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.”

Zoey smiled. “Thanks dad. I just…wonder if I’m going to fit in over there when I move. I’m so…different.”

Her dad pulled her into the chair for a hug. “You’re a weird kid, but one of these days you’re gonna own that whole country.”

Zoey laid her head on her dad’s chest. “You still love me, even though I’m a weird kid?”

“Kiddo, I would love you even if you got a billion tattoos and shaved your head. Loving my kids is unconditional.”

“Even if I was extra weird?”

“Even then, Zoey.”

Zoey took a deep breath, steeling her nerves for what was about to come. “Even if I was…gay?” 

She felt her lip quiver as the words seemed to hang in the air. She couldn’t look up to face her father. Moments of silence dragged into what felt like hours. She could feel the tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

Then she felt her dads arms squeeze her. “You’re my child. I love you no matter who you are. Gay, straight, trans, anything. I just want you to be happy.”

“Thanks, dad. I uhh, I need to make a phone call,” she said, standing up.

“Go. Call your girlfriend,” he said, dismissing her. “Tell her it’s safe.” 

Zoey grinned. “Thanks, dad.”

”But no more hiding in your room alone with her!”

Zoey’s grin faded a bit, but she still ran excitedly to her room.

Zoey dropped her textbooks, causing a loud THUD! to reverberate through the hallway that caused some of the other kids to stop and look. Her heart sank at what she saw.

Penny was leaning against a row of lockers, chatting with another girl. A tall girl, with a jagged haircut dyed several different colors. Zoey saw their lips meet and crumpled to the floor.

She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but eventually the other girl left and Penny walked over to where Zoey was. Penny knelt down so they were at eye level.

“You weren’t supposed to find out like this,” she said, not making eye contact as she started gathering Zoey’s books up for her.

“How else was I supposed to find out? You haven’t talked to me or come by for the past two weeks!” Zoey said, tears in her eyes.

“Listen, I was just…sorry,” Penny started. “I just…kinda got overwhelmed. You can be a bit too much, sometimes, Z. I just needed something more..chill. Relaxed.”

The words rung hollow in Zoey’s mind. All the times Penny had said she loved when Zoey rambled on about random facts, or her tangents, or celebrated Zoey’s excitement over something relatively minor. Had it all been a lie?

She looked at Penny, who was still talking. “I didn’t know how to tell you, ‘cause of all the…with your dad and stuff. Anyway, I guess…that’s it then, huh?” Penny said, handing Zoey’s books back to her as she stood to leave. “See you around.”

Zoey’s Junior year was off to a great start.

“You don’t think I’m too much?” Zoey asked, still staring out the window.

Mira shook her head. “Never. You’re the perfect amount of Zoey, no notes. Wouldn’t change a thing about you for the world.”

Zoey smiled slightly. “I think I should go talk to Rumi. She’s probably pretty upset.”

Mira scoffed. “Ya think? She’s been pouty all morning.”

Zoey crossed the train car and sat across from Rumi. “Hey,” she said as she took her seat.

Rumi looked up at Zoey. “Hey.”

Zoey grinned at her. “So get this, I got reading this thing about Australian wildlife last night, right?”

Zoey continued talking to Rumi, who just sat, smiling, listening to her ramble until the train pulled into the station.

The show in Osaka went off without a hitch, despite their condensed schedule. Screaming fans, merch signing, and straight onto the airplane.

“So we’re in Sydney for two days before the show. What are we gonna do while we’re there?” Rumi asked.

“We’ve got signings and interviews, some other promo stuff, too. But we should have some downtime.. Tuesday? At least a few hours,” Zoey replied.

Mira sat on the couch, nodding. The two back-to-back shows had taken it out of her, and she was officially on vocal rest until their show on Wednesday.

“Mir, do you think you’re gonna want to do much sightseeing with us, or do you just wanna rest?” Zoey asked, leaning against Mira.

Mira shrugged. She didn’t particularly want to spend a whole day alone while Zoey and Rumi ran off together, but..

“If you want, we can all hang out together and just take it easy. Don’t do anything where we’d be the center of attention,” Rumi offered.

Mira rolled her eyes, staring at Rumi. Not the center of attention? Us? Are you joking? she thought.

She typed into her phone’s notes, turning it to face Rumi, then showing it to Zoey.

“I’ll be fine. I could use a spa day anyway. Bring me back some fried crocodile or whatever.”

“I don’t think that’s a thing, Mira, but…we’ll think of something,” Rumi said.

“Oh, hey! Isn’t there a big like zoo somewhere? The Crocodile Hunter guy’s zoo!” Zoey said, her eyes lighting up.

“Ooh, that could be fun. Let’s look it up and see.”

One quick google search later…

“It’s…nowhere near Sydney,” Zoey said, disappointed. “And the trains in Australia are slow.”

“I didn’t know the guy died …” Rumi added, still reading her phone.

“Do you think they’d let us take the plane on a day trip?” Zoey said, her eyes pleading.

Rumi and Mira both shook their heads. “After we trashed that last one, we’re lucky they even let us have another one,” Rumi said.

“That’s no fair! There were extenuating circumstances! Demons were attacking!” Zoey whined.

“Yeah, and try explaining that to our flight crew! They had to make an emergency landing and everything, we barely made it to the show in Hong Kong!”

“ Fine, ” Zoey said, resigned. “I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff to do in Sydney, anyway.”

Rumi smiled, pulling up a new search in her phone. “Hmm..typical high-end stuff. Fancy restaurants, meh. Cruises, I dunno. Nature tours? Maybe. There’s an old historic amusement park nearby, too. That sounds up your alley, right Zoey?”

Zoey nodded. “Hell yeah! Pick something out, I trust Rumi!”

The girls made it to Sydney, all of them gawking at the coastline from their plane’s windows.

“I know we’re not playing there, but I really want to see the Opera House,” Rumi said. “Just look at it! It looks so much cooler in person.”

“Oh wow, I want to see so much!” Zoey echoed. “How are we gonna settle on what to do?”

“We don’t have that much free time. We’re only here for a few days, and we’re working most of it. We might have to come back here on a vacation or something, though.”

Zoey and Mira both nodded in agreement. “And see that big zoo,” Zoey added.

The plane landed, and the whirlwind began. All of the girls were relatively fluent in English at this point, but Zoey took point on most of their interviews and events in Australia.

“What are you most excited about seeing in Sydney?” One reporter asked.

“The fans!” All three girls answered, Mira trying to limit her volume.

Everyone in the room laughed. No matter where they went, the highlight of their trip was always the people.

Fan events and photo ops were the main focus of the day, and the girls were exhausted by the time they made it back to their hotel room. They’d rented out a huge suite in Sydney, that while it wasn’t quite like home, it was a far cry better than their separate hotel rooms that they’d dealt with in Tokyo.

“Oh, I’m never getting out of this bed,” Rumi said, flopping onto the pillowy mattress. “I’m so tired.”

Mira and Zoey sat on the couch, with Mira’s arm draped around Zoey. “It’s not our couch, but…” Zoey said, trailing off.

“It’s way better than being separated for so long,” Mira murmured.

Zoey snuggled into her.

[11:03PM]

Z-Dawg: miraaaa

Z-Dawg: hi 🙂

TheRealMira: Why are you texting me? I can literally see you typing.

Z-Dawg: cause i still cant sleep with you 🙁

TheRealMira: I mean..

TheRealMira: You could.

Z-Dawg: nooo you said we had to be good until we got to la

TheRealMira: No, that was your idea. Australia is fine, too. We just might get interrupted in the morning.

Z-Dawg: by shae or one of the assistants tho 🙁 idk if bobby could handle it if it got out within the staff

TheRealMira: Bobby can handle anything. But it’s fine.

TheRealMira: Besides, Rumi would definitely hear us.

Z-Dawg: yeah and youre on vocal rest 😛 no screaming my name for at least 2 more days

TheRealMira: I’m going to hurt you.

Z-Dawg: promise 😉

TheRealMira: …

TheRealMira: Go to sleep, Bunny.

Z-Dawg: nuh uh

Z-Dawg: we could at least cuddle for a little bit

TheRealMira: We did cuddle for a little bit. Then you said you wanted to sleep.

Z-Dawg: yeah but i can still see you 🙁 and this bed is big enough for both of us..

TheRealMira: These beds are HUGE. All three of us could fit in one without any of us touching.

Z-Dawg: lol

Z-Dawg: should we wake up rumi

Z-Dawg: have a slumber party

TheRealMira: Not tonight. If we’re gonna be doing all that, I want to be able to talk normally.

TheRealMira: Maybe after you two have your day together.

Z-Dawg: maaaan ok

Z-Dawg: i love you mira

TheRealMira: I love you too, Zoey.

“Isn’t she so precious like this?” Zoey whispered, running her fingers along Rumi’s thigh.

“I can’t believe she’s ours,” Mira purred in agreement, nibbling on Rumi’s earlobe.

“I always was,” Rumi whimpered. “You just didn’t see it.”

Zoey’s dream hadn’t shocked her as much, this time. Something in the air had shifted. Or maybe something inside her.

Either way, she was being forced to accept something: Whatever attraction Rumi had, for her at least, was not entirely one-sided. She wasn’t sure how to handle these new feelings, but whenever she looked at Rumi, it was like she was finally seeing her for the first time.

Maybe it had been having her patterns revealed. Maybe it had been what Hana had told them back in Tokyo. Maybe it had been her trying to reconcile what she’d seen by accident before the tour.

Or maybe it had been there all along, and she’d been trying to ignore it.

Either way, she had no idea how to talk to Mira about it. If she even could, after how she’d reacted before.

Somehow, it felt inevitable, though. She couldn’t ignore the feelings, and she couldn’t bear to live her life without Mira or Rumi. It was like a dammed river starting to leak.

And tomorrow, she was about to spend an entire day with Rumi while Mira rested.

She wondered what might happen.

Zoey knew she would never cheat on Mira. She’d been through that before, she knew how much it hurt, but…if she was feeling these things about Rumi, what if Rumi could tell? Or worse, what if Mira could tell? What if Rumi came on to her while they were out? What if she showed weakness? How would she be able to talk to Mira afterward?

She had no idea how to even begin to have that conversation.

She thought about canceling her plans with Rumi, but quickly decided against it. If nothing happened, she’d be punishing Rumi for her own feelings, when Rumi had done nothing wrong. She’d just existed.

"Don’t forget sunscreen,” Rumi said as the girls did their makeup the next morning. “Sun’s harsher here. Gotta use the good stuff, even for everyday. Regular SPF won’t cut it. There’s a big tube of it in my bag if you need it.”

“Why does the sun hate Australia, it’s so pretty here!” Zoey cried.

“There’s always something,” Rumi answered, working on her eyelashes. “Every great place has something that sucks about it.”

“Like the homophobes in Korea,” Zoey muttered.

“The homophobes everywhere ,” Rumi added. “They ruin everything.”

Mira worked in silence. She would be able to talk normally again by the end of the following day, but for today, she had to just smile and nod.

Their first full day in Sydney was also packed. First on their list was a signing event with posters at the stadium they’d be performing in. As the fans piled into the room they’d be signing in, the girls made their entrance to cheers and excitement.

One thing was clear from their interactions: Australian fans were different. The girls were used to fans in Korea. They were used to fans in Japan. They were even pretty well conditioned to fans in China, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Australia was something else.

The first thing was how much they spoke their mind. As much as they were genuine fans of their work, nearly half of the fans they spoke to had something to nitpick. They gushed about their favorite songs, of course, but they would also be sure to point out their least favorites. Things they didn’t like about music videos.

The girls were no strangers to criticism, but having it just casually dropped to their faces like that was a bit jarring.

“Do these guys even like our music?” Rumi whispered to Zoey.

“I have no idea. I mean…obviously, or they wouldn’t come out here for this, right?”

Mira shrugged. It was baffling her, too.

The accents were difficult, too. Zoey was the only one able to really make out most of what was being said, while both other girls were struggling. They all spoke passable English, but heavy accents that were too different from Zoey’s American accent were still difficult.

By the end of the signing event, all three of them were bewildered.

“Whoa…that was a lot,” Zoey said as they all piled into the SUV taking them to their next engagement.

Mira nodded. She’d had trouble holding her temper after several fans in a row had criticized some of her favorite dance moves.

“Yeah, I feel…I mean, it’s only 10 AM and I’m exhausted. How much more do we have today?” Rumi added.

“You girls get a bit of a breather, you’re just shooting a promo video for the next 2 hours. Try not to get in your heads too much about the fans,” Shae said, scrolling through her tablet. “Just a different culture here, and the crowd this morning skewed a bit older.”

“A meaner culture,” Zoey said, frowning.

“A more…direct, and blunt, culture,” Rumi retorted, trying to keep things somewhat positive. “I can respect it. Don’t worry about formalities, just say what you mean.”

“I’d rather they stay polite,” Zoey said. “I like when people are nice.”

Mira typed on her phone, turning it around to show: “There’s a difference between blunt and rude. I’m blunt. Some of those people were just vicious.”

Zoey nodded. “That was not fun. I love our fans, but…”

“It’s called Tall Poppy Syndrome,” Shae explained. “They see your success, and your confidence, and they want to bring you back to their level. Don’t let it get to you. They only see glimpses of you through the media, and for whatever reason they choose to believe you’ve let success go to your heads. I’m sure the rest of your encounters will be much better.”

Fortunately for them, Shae was right. Their video shoot took them around various parts of the city, from the Opera House, which Rumi was excited to explore, to a drone shot at the top of the harbor bridge.

Once the video was done and off for editors to handle, the girls had a little bit of downtime before their next fan event, which Shae reinforced would be a much more upbeat group.

“I hope so,” Zoey said, “I’m still not recovered from this morning.”

“Yeah, fan events usually leave me feeling better , not…worn out.” Rumi added.

Mira nodded. Some of the things the fans had said were sticking with her, making her rethink things she’d been practicing flawlessly for years.

This one went more like they were used to, smiles and photos and signing things, with only a few indirectly critical comments. By the end of it, the pain from the morning’s event was almost completely forgotten.

They had a few more radio interviews, social media posts, and a dinner photo op at a fancy restaurant that neither of the girls could remember the name of.

By the time the girls got back to their hotel, they were beat. Rumi was the first to shower, while Mira and Zoey took a chance to decompress, flopping onto Mira’s bed.

“Today was actually pretty good,” Zoey said, “despite starting off so rough.”

Mira nodded, typing on her phone: “Was about to kill that guy at the radio station saying Rumi had it easy though.”

“Yeah..they don’t know, though. Like, that’s her ‘brand’ or whatever, the queen inheriting her mom’s legacy,” Zoey mentioned.

“The guy was acting like she had Huntr/x dropped into her lap by Celine. I think that’s what I hate most about her now, Celine gets so much credit for forming Huntr/x when we’re the ones who did all the work,” Mira typed. “Rumi did more than either of us, while being abused, and Celine gets praised for putting us in a room together.”

“You’re right. What she did to Rumi is just…it’s wrong on so many levels I can’t even explain,” Zoey sighed, snuggling against Mira. “We need to make sure Rumi knows that what’s real is what matters, not how people see her.”

Mira pressed a kiss to Zoey’s forehead, turning back to her phone to type: “And how are we going to do that?”

Zoey shrugged. She had ideas for how to show appreciation to Rumi, plenty of them in fact, but none she was ready to share with Mira. At least not yet.

[10:14AM]

RumiRito: I’ve never ridden a boat like this before

Z-Dawg: its like a bus on water making all these stops like this

RumiRito: I think we’re next though

Z-Dawg: hope you have fun at the spa mira 🙂 i know bathhouses arent the same without me but ill make it up to you

TheRealMira: Yeah, this will be nice. I’m doing the whole shebang. Gonna be a brand new me when you get back.

RumiRito: Looking forward to it. I’ve missed hearing your voice.

Z-Dawg: ME TOOOO MIRA IVE HAD TO DO MORE YAPPING TO MAKE UP FOR IT

TheRealMira: You always do enough for both of us. That’s why I love you, dork.

Z-Dawg: not in the group chat mira gonna make me blush in front of rumi 

RumiRito: I don’t mind lol

TheRealMira: Have fun guys. I’m going to spend the next 8 hours relaxing and being pampered. I guess that amusement park will be fun.

Z-Dawg: yeah you jelly

TheRealMira: Am not. I actually hate roller coasters? You know this????

Z-Dawg: yeah but you loooove those stupid games.

TheRealMira: I love winning prizes for you. That’s different.

Z-Dawg: yeah cause i suck at them lol

Z-Dawg: whoa what is that

Z-Dawg: HELP MIRA RUMIS TRYNA GET ME VORED

TheRealMira: WHAT????

“I am not trying to get you vored , Zoey. It’s just the entrance gate,” Rumi said, laughing as she put her phone away.

“That’s weird though, why is it a huge face?” Zoey asked, making a face.

Rumi shrugged. “Artistic license?”

The girls stepped off of the ferry and made their way into the park, Zoey pulling her hat further over her face. Rumi’s hair was down, tucked inside her hoodie. This was about as incognito as they could be, but their faces were still plastered all over promo posters that were hanging all over town. Fortunately, it seemed to be a slow day, and there weren’t many other patrons.

They were immediately greeted with waves of retro styling. “Whoa, it’s like I stepped into last century!” Zoey said, looking at all the different buildings.

Rumi wasn’t sure what she was looking at. Most of the times she’d been to amusement parks in the past were with guides and camera crews. Celine had taken her to Lotte World a few times when she was little, but the visits were always tense, with Rumi not allowed to ride many rides just in case the wind blew in such a way that her shirt sleeves would expose her patterns.

“Do you want to ride the big wheel?” Zoey asked, pointing at the large colorful ride towering over them. Rumi nodded, eagerly rushing over, trying to keep up as Zoey darted around the place.

Zoey and Rumi took some selfies with the ferris wheel in the background prior to riding, and more as they sat in the gondola.

“This is really cool,” Rumi said as the ride began to move.

“Should we shoot a video while we’re up here?” Zoey asked.

Rumi shook her head. “Nah. The fans get us every other day. Let us have this one.”

Zoey smiled, playfully shoving Rumi. “Maybe just to show Mira?”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely. Taunt her with how good of a time we’re having,” Rumi replied, grinning.

Zoey held the camera out and started recording.

“Hey, Mir! We’re up here at the top of the big wheel and wanted to show you that it’s not all rollercoasters and games! Wish you were here!” She said into the camera.

“Mira I hope you’re getting super pampered back at the spa! We’ll have to tell you all about this place tonight! We both miss you!” Rumi added.

As Zoey reached to end the video, the entire ride halted with a jerk, swinging their gondola. Zoey nearly lost her balance, and crashed into Rumi, who put her arm around Zoey to steady her.

“You ok?” Rumi asked.

Zoey, almost reflexively, leaned into Rumi’s embrace. “Yeah..” she said, her voice starting to trail before she realized what she was doing. She immediately overcorrected, scooting over to the far side of the gondola bench. Both she and Rumi felt the heat creeping up their necks and onto their faces.

“S-sorry about that!” Zoey stammered. “I just–!”

“No, it’s fine. I was just trying to…” Rumi added.

“Oh, yeah! No, I just–”

“Yeah! We’re cool!”

Neither of them were cool.

“Ok, so, if we pop all the balloons, we get bigger prizes?” Rumi asked.

Zoey nodded. “Like if you get all 3 in one play, you get one of those,” she said, gesturing toward one of the rows of stuffed animals. “But if you play multiple times and get more, then you can get the big ones instead!” She gestured toward the largest animals.

Rumi cracked her knuckles. “Alright, let’s do this,” she said, taking the darts offered by the man running the game. She narrowed her eyes to slits, lining up her first throw, and managed to pop a yellow balloon.

“Yay, Rumi!” Zoey cheered. Rumi’s next shot also popped a balloon, a white one this time. Zoey’s grin grew even wider. Third dart. Rumi took a deep breath, aimed, and released the dart.

It landed in between two balloons. Rumi instantly deflated. “So I don’t get a prize?” she pouted.

“No, you do!” Zoey said, as the attendant handed Rumi a small stuffed cow.

Rumi took the cow, holding it in her hand like a precious treasure. “I will name him…cow.”

Zoey laughed. “This is why you don’t name our songs, Rumi. Alright, my turn!”

Zoey took her darts, took an exaggerated pose, and threw. The dart barely made it onto the board, missing all of the balloons. She took another swing, landing the dart in between two other balloons. Her last dart missed the board entirely.

“This is why I always bring Mira, she’s so good at carnival style games!” Zoey whined, paying for another play.

Three more darts. Three more misses.

“Zoey…” Rumi asked, hesitantly, “how are you so bad at this?”

“I have bad aim! I played soccer in school, I never had to throw things with my hands!”

Rumi leaned in to whisper. “Zoey, you throw knives at demons on a daily basis. Just…picture the balloons as demons.”

Zoey turned to whisper back to Rumi. “That’s genius! Ok, one more go!”

From behind them, they heard the sound of a camera click. They both immediately spun to see what was going on. A boy, around 15, was waving at them with a big grin on his face. “I knew it was you! I’m such a big fan!”

The girls said their hellos, and let the boy take another photo with them before returning to the balloon game.

“Alright, Zoey. You got this. The balloons are just…little, round, inflated demons!” Zoey told herself, laughing nervously as she lined up her first shot.

The dart sailed through the air gracefully, before landing just below a yellow balloon.

“It’s ok, Zoey! You have two more shots!” Rumi said, trying to comfort Zoey.

“Yeah! Two more demons I have to kill!” Zoey lined up for her next shot.

“If it helps, there’s like 50 balloons. Doesn’t matter which one you hit.”

Zoey paused for a minute. That actually did help.

Two darts later, the girls walked away with another small cow, a pink one in contrast to Rumi’s brown and white one. “I’m gonna give this one to Mira, what should I name it?” Zoey asked.

“Hmm,” Rumi pondered for a moment. “Strawberry?”

“Nah, she already has a frog that I gave her named Strawberry,” Zoey replied. “Maybe…Dr. Moo?”

“Would Mira get the reference?” Rumi asked. “I barely know it. She doesn’t watch a lot of stuff in English.”

“No, but that’s half the fun! I’ll know what it means, you’ll know what it means, but she’ll have this thing with no frame of reference!”

“That seems kinda mean…” Rumi said, stifling a laugh. “But go for it.”

“Hey, you wanna get ice cream?” Zoey asked, pointing at the building across the way.

Rumi nodded. “I hope they have matcha..”

The girls rushed into the ice cream shop, looking through the flavors.

“No matcha…” Rumi whined. “Ooh, Mint chip works.”

Zoey grinned. “Ok, but I want a bite!”

“Only if you get something I can have a bite of,” Rumi counteroffered.

They got their ice cream cups and sat outside to enjoy them. Zoey had gotten a rainbow swirl of fruity flavors covered in sprinkles, while Rumi had opted for no toppings, which Zoey had called “raw dogging” the ice cream.

“This was a good idea,” Rumi said, taking a spoonful of ice cream. “You and I don’t get to spend much time together these days.”

“Yeah, I know. Mira and I are kinda inseparable, aren’t we?” Zoey replied. “But it’s not because I don’t want to spend time with you!” she quickly corrected.

“No, it’s fine. I mean…up until a few weeks ago, I was kind of keeping to myself all the time. I’m still kinda…figuring out what it means to not be like that anymore,” Rumi said, staring at the ice cream in her bowl.

“It’s ok, Rumi! I know it’s rough, but you know Mira and I are in your corner, no matter what!” Zoey said, booping Rumi’s nose with a spoonful of ice cream.

“Zoey!” Rumi gasped, wiping the ice cream off her nose. “What the heck!” She retaliated by smearing a glob of her ice cream on Zoey’s cheek.

Zoey put on a face of mock-injury, and attacked Rumi with ice cream again. Rumi ducked this time, laughing as she claimed victory in their “battle”.

Both of them laughed as they continued eating their ice cream. Rumi took a spoonful of hers and offered it to Zoey. “Truce?”

Zoey grinned, taking the ice cream off the spoon while Rumi kept ahold of it. “Truce. I suppose ,” she replied, returning the offering by scooping a bit of ice cream that still had intact sprinkles and offering it to Rumi.

As Rumi leaned in to take the bite off the spoon, neither of them heard another camera click.

Mira laid on her stomach, sighing contentedly as the hot stones along her spine did their work. A girl could get used to this, she thought.

As she laid there relaxing, she heard the sound of an alert on her phone. Not her text message sound, so it wasn’t something from Rumi or Zoey, or anyone connected to the tour, though. Nevertheless, it had broken the silence of her relaxation, so she begrudgingly reached for her phone lying on top of her robe, just within arm’s reach.

She looked at the alert. A social media post about the Huntr/x tour was trending. Whoopty do. She opened the app to dismiss it, but something about it caught her eye.

“Ran into Zoey and Rumi from #Huntrix at Luna Park today! They look like they’re having fun… #kpop #sydneyaus #zorumi ???”

Attached was a selfie of a young teenage boy with Zoey and Rumi, along with two other pictures, candid shots captured from several feet away. One looked to be Zoey and Rumi leaning in close to each other, whispering in each other’s ear, while the other looked to be Zoey feeding Rumi ice cream.

Mira dismissed the pictures. Out of context pics happened all the time, and Zoey and Rumi had always been more playful like that. Rumi fed into Zoey’s bubbly personality and amplified it, While Mira had always been the straight man that made Zoey’s charms shine brighter.

But that hashtag…were their fans shipping them openly now? She tapped on the blue text to see what else was behind that wall.

She wished she hadn’t. Pictures taken of Rumi and Zoey on stage, at events, photo ops, and around town in Seoul and Tokyo. Clips from the game show where Rumi had answered so many questions right about Zoey. All implying that they had feelings for each other. Fans drawing art of them holding hands, or kissing, or more.

Mira felt a weight drop in her stomach as she scrolled. There wasn’t a lot, but…it was enough. Even though there were people arguing in the comments that they were being taken out of context, and that they were all just good friends, there were still people saying things like “I know, but they’d be so cute together” and “you never know, maybe”.

She closed the app, and texted their group chat.

[03:19PM]

TheRealMira: Hey, how’s the trip going?

TheRealMira: So uhh

TheRealMira: Have you two seen twitter today?

TheRealMira: You guys are trending.

Nothing in response. Mira wasn’t surprised. Rumi usually kept her phone on silent, while Zoey was chronically bad about charging her phone.

Mira’s dreams clawed their way from the back of her mind. What if there was more to it than just out of context photos? What if their outing was bringing them closer together? What if it was turning into a date, and she wasn’t there?

What if Zoey decided she wanted Rumi more than her?

Mira got up, letting the stones fall to the table and floor as she wrapped the robe around her. Zoey wouldn’t do that. Rumi wouldn’t do that, even if she was in love with Zoey. She was sure if she’d typed in a different hashtag there would be just as many people shipping each pairing. Fans were like that. Probably having wars in comments over which pairing was the best.

Obviously, it’s me and Zoey, she thought.

Or maybe all three of us, another thought crept in.

Mira hadn’t been able to get the thought out of her head since Tokyo, no matter how much she’d tried.

Sure, Celine and Hana were horrible people. If they never had to interact with either of them again, it’d be for the best. But…somehow their relationship intrigued her.

She and Zoey would never let Rumi feel shame for who she was. They were both way more understanding and compassionate than Celine was. Even before they’d learned about what Celine had done, she’d always come off as someone highly demanding of perfection and compliance. They’d seen what Celine’s actions had done to Rumi.

We could love her better than anyone. Who knows her, the real her, better?

Mira was shaking. Feelings and thoughts wouldn’t stop flooding her head. All the times both of them had tried to get closer to Rumi. All the times Rumi had crept into her and Zoey’s private conversations. All the quiet peaceful moments they’d shared together, with Rumi just within reach.

All the times she’d admired things about Rumi, all the times Rumi had looked at her with one of those faces that made her heart melt for reasons she hadn’t been able, or willing, to explain.

She was, without a doubt, with the entirety of her heart, in love with Zoey.

But she couldn’t deny that what she felt for Rumi was unmistakable for anything other than the exact same kind of love.

And maybe she had enough room in there for both. Loving Rumi wouldn’t make her love Zoey any less.

And maybe Zoey was starting to feel the same way. Maybe that’s why she had avoided Rumi on the train to Osaka the other day. Maybe she was falling in love with Rumi right now .

Maybe…things were going to change between them. And as scary as it was…maybe that was ok.

She wondered what the shippers would call that .

“Hey, does your phone have service?” Rumi asked, holding her phone high above her head.

Zoey shook her head. “It died while I was trying to send Mira that video earlier.”

“Damn. I guess we’ll have to wait til we get done here to see how Mira’s day went.”

She’d managed to get a bunch of really cute pictures of herself, and some of Zoey, as the day had gone on.

“Yeah, but it’s getting late. We should probably head back,” Zoey said.

Rumi nodded. As they left the park, though, both of their stomachs started growling.

“Food first?” Rumi asked.

“ Definitely food first,” Zoey echoed.

“There’s a ramen shop we passed when we got on the ferry earlier, they had boba there, too,” Rumi offered. “Sound good?”

Zoey grinned and nodded.

The ferry ride was relatively short, but they were both starving by the time they entered the little shop. It was a little more upscale than it had seemed from the outside that morning, but that was fine.

“Would it be bad if I had a beer?” Rumi asked. She didn’t usually drink in public, but since they were relatively disguised, and drinking with meals was common when they were at home, she didn’t really feel the need to worry. Besides, they’d had a long day, and Rumi wanted to try some of this famous Australian beer she’d heard a tour guide mention.

“Nah. I want boba but I might have one too. Just don’t get crazy, we don’t wanna be trying to find our way back to the hotel while we’re drunk,” Zoey replied.

“No, I’m good,” Rumi said.

Almost two hours later, Zoey had Rumi’s arm draped around her as they made their way out of the ramen shop.

“I can get on your latitude,” Rumi slurred.

“ Rumi, ” Zoey whined, “I told you not to drink too much!”

“I had two drinks! How was I s’posed to know it was so strong?”

Zoey sighed, smiling. Rumi definitely couldn’t handle alcohol. “Those beer glasses were way bigger than we have at home. I’m gonna have to tell Mira what you did.”

“I didn’t do nothin,” Rumi mumbled. “And ‘sides, you were drinkin’ too.”

“Yeah, but I’m built different,” Zoey said, grinning. That had always been an inside joke with her and Mira, but for some reason, it felt right to share, at least in this context.

“Built like a brick house,” Rumi said. “How’d you get so strong, anyway? Where you hidin’ them muscles?”

Zoey laughed. “Dork. You’re stronger than me. When you’re sober, at least.”

“Thas’ cause we got superpowers, ” Rumi whispered, “but shh, thas’ a secret.”

Zoey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I think I knew about that one. You’re pretty bad at keeping secrets, Rumi. Probably best to keep any others quiet til we get back to the hotel, don’t want anyone else to hear.”

Rumi nodded, mimicking buttoning her lips.

Zoey let Rumi walk most of the way, staying close to help her if she stumbled. When they finally got into the hotel elevator, though, Zoey helped Rumi lean against the wall, as standing still was proving difficult for her.

“Mira’s lucky,” Rumi slurred as the elevator started moving.

Zoey laughed. “Why do you say that?”

“She gets ta kiss you,” Rumi mumbled, her head hanging limply.

Zoey thought about the first time she had kissed Mira. It had been shortly after their sparring match, right after Mira had confessed her feelings. The feeling of Mira’s lips against hers was pleading, frantic, desperate to make sure she was doing it right. 

Zoey smiled. “Then I guess I’m lucky too, cause Mira’s a really good kisser.”

Zoey couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to kiss Rumi. Her lips were fuller, her mouth a little wider, her features overall softer. Everything about Rumi was soft.

Rumi made a noise of agreement.“Both lucky. I don’t getta kiss nobody. Nobody’s gonna wanna kiss no half demon girl.”

Zoey felt her heart break for Rumi. “I’m sure someone does,” she said, her heart aching. She didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was the someone. Not without talking to Mira, at least.

Mira helped Zoey get Rumi into her bed once they made it into the hotel suite.

“How much did she have?” Mira asked. “She’s not usually this bad.”

“Like, two beers. But they were big ones. I think they snuck up on her,” Zoey said.

They got Rumi’s shoes and jacket off, tucking her into bed, before they both snuggled on the couch. Mira retrieved some makeup wipes to clean Rumi's face.

“Did you have fun today?” Mira asked. “I was trying to get ahold of you, but I’m guessing your phone’s dead.”

Zoey nodded. “And Rumi couldn’t get service. We made a video for you! Hang on!” Zoey said, jumping up from the couch to grab her phone charger.

Returning and plugging in her phone, she waited for it to charge enough to turn back on. Mira laid her head back, staring at the ceiling. Unsure of how to broach the subject of what she’d been thinking about all afternoon.

Zoey’s phone was immediately flooded with notifications as it turned on.

[03:19PM]

TheRealMira: Hey, how’s the trip going?

TheRealMira: So uhh

TheRealMira: Have you two seen twitter today?

TheRealMira: You guys are trending.

157 new posts about #Huntrix near Sydney, Australia that may interest you

[04:41PM]

TheRealMira: So my voice is fine.

TheRealMira: Vocal rest is a lie.

TheRealMira: Why did I even agree to this?

TheRealMira: I’m never doing this again.

TheRealMira: Why do we keep letting people who don’t know about the Honmoon and what we can do make decisions for us?

TheRealMira: We are hunters, voices strong, etc.

TheRealMira: I miss you. Both of you.

TheRealMira: Did you ever check twitter? Shit’s kinda getting to me.

[06:16PM]

TheBobster: Heyyyy girls, just wanted to let you know, I saw the trending hashtag, and I’m on it.

TheBobster: You gals have nothing to worry about! Just focus on the show tomorrow, leave all the social media to me!

TheBobster: And the rest of the team of course!

“Okay, this is kind of a lot. What the hell happened while we were out?” Zoey asked.

“The internet thinks you and Rumi are dating. It’s…dumb. Out of context photos someone snapped of you two at the park,” Mira responded, shrugging.